As autumn arrives, dusk comes very early.
Yuan Yuan wandered through the tangled woods for a long time, trying to figure out the way he came.
He returned to the place where he had parted ways with Qi Xi before it got completely dark.
The path was quiet.
Raindrops fell from the withered branches and yellow leaves, making a clear "plop" sound.
The path was muddy all over.
The fallen leaves had long been trampled by horses' hooves.
The clean path was now covered in mud.
The air was thick with the stench of blood.
A tattered rag, limp and lifeless, was thrown into the mud.
No, that's not a rag!
That's 7UP!
Yuan Yuan felt completely cold.
A tree branch tripped him, causing him to fall heavily into the muddy, blood-soaked water. The cold blood and mud splashed onto his face and soaked his clothes.
The once dashing young man is now more pathetic than a beggar...
However, he was completely unaware!
Yuan Yuan crawled on all fours through the mud, picked the person up, and cried out, "Qi Xi! Qi Xi, wake up! Wake up..."
The boy, covered in mud, felt colder than the autumn night's chilly rain.
Yuan Yuan frantically rubbed Qi Xi's icy hands, as if he had gone mad: "Wake up, wake up..."
The boy, with a hint of timidity and a smile revealing his small, white tiger teeth, would never respond to him again...
Yuan Yuan understood everything.
7UP was used to distract him.
Yuan Yuan hugged Qi Xi's body, which was as frail as a rag, his vision blurred: "You idiot, how could you be so stupid?"
Without you, who will help me change clothes, who will lead my horse?
No one will ever again leave a candle lit in his room, warm a cup of tea, and greet him with a smile in the dead of night, "Young master, you've finally come home!"
No!
He has no home anymore!
7UP is gone, my home is gone...
But, my father and the others are still here!
He can't fall!
Yuan Yuan recovered from the pain, took a deep breath, bent down, and pulled the gradually stiffening Qi Xi behind him.
The mountains were pitch black.
On a chilly autumn night, all the birds and wild animals in the mountains hid away.
Yuan Yuan carried Qi Xi on his back and walked forward, his steps uneven.
After walking for a long time, he came to a stream.
With a "thud," Yuan Yuan's knee slammed heavily against the stone.
Seven-Up's cold body rolled off his back, his mud-covered head sinking into the icy river.
Yuan Yuan instinctively reached out to help Qi Xi, but he flinched as soon as his fingertips touched Qi Xi's cold skin.
Seven Up is dead.
I will no longer be afraid of water, the dark, or pain...
Yuan Yuan numbly scooped up some water and washed Qi Xi from head to toe.
This was the first time in his life he had ever served someone.
This is also... the first time I've buried someone...
As the sun rose the next day, Yuan Yuan climbed up from beside the grave.
Seven Up's remains are buried atop a small hill covered with pine trees, his head facing the direction of the capital...
After carefully collecting Qi Xi's remains, Yuan Yuan picked up the blood-soaked silver notes, then took out the dry rations and water bag.
Facing the cool autumn wind, he dragged his heavy body through the mountains and forests, walking towards the capital.
After traveling for ten days, the city gates of the capital finally came into view.
He went around in circles and went to the south gate.
All four gates of the capital were guarded by imperial guards.
Everyone entering the city must undergo strict checks!
Every time one person enters, they have to be searched...
Yuan Yuan subconsciously reached out to smooth the wrinkles in his clothes, only to find that they had long been torn to shreds by the branches of trees in the mountains...
He took a deep breath, raised a piece of cloth to cover his face, and tried to blend in with the people who were about to enter the city.
However, before the others could get close, the sound of horses' hooves rang out.
The ground shook violently.
A voice came from afar: "Make way! Make way..."
A troop of imperial guards, numbering two or three hundred men, came from the official road.
The imperial guards stationed at the city gate immediately blocked the civilians, shouting, "Get out of the way! Make way!"
Yuan Yuan instinctively covered his face and squeezed into the crowd.
As soon as he slipped inside, a well-to-do man in a light blue brocade robe immediately yelled at him menacingly, "You stinking beggar! Stay away from me!"
Yuan Yuan: "..."
A metallic taste of blood lingered in his throat.
A stinking beggar?
Half a month ago, he was a noble young master from a prominent family.
In the blink of an eye, he was called a stinking beggar...
Unfortunately, he couldn't retaliate!
If this gets out of hand, it might attract the attention of the Imperial Guards...
Yuan Yuan clenched his fist and said in a low voice, "I'm sorry..."
He stepped back a few paces from the crowd.
At this moment, a group of people quickly approached this side.
The person leading the group was none other than Jiang Chi, dressed in a purple robe!
Jiang Chi...
The prison cart in the procession shocked Yuan Yuan even more.
The prison van held two people.
That is...
Yuan Yuan gritted his teeth, his jaw grinding: "Mother! Aning!"
Madam Yuan and young Yuan Ning, who were supposed to visit their relatives and stay at Fotai Mountain for a while, were instead dressed in thin prison clothes and imprisoned in a drafty prison van.
The greyish-white prison uniform was covered in bloodstains...
Yuan Ning was too young to withstand the torture and cold, and fainted in Madam Yuan's arms.
Madam Yuan has lost a lot of weight; her once snow-white skin is now a pale, haggard, sallow yellow.
She always paid attention to her appearance, but at this moment, there was no trace of it to speak of.
Yuan Yuan managed to utter two words: "Mother..."
Sudden.
Madam Yuan, inside the prison cart, suddenly looked up.
Her thin, narrow phoenix eyes glanced into the crowd.
Yuan Yuan met her gaze precisely.
"Mother," Yuan Yuan called out to her silently.
Madam Yuan, who always paid great attention to her appearance, immediately went crazy.
She released the unconscious Yuan Ning, her thin, bony hands gripping the wooden bars of the prison cart with great strength, and roared in a hoarse voice, "Get out! Get out of here! Get out now..."
With a "crack," a whip lashed out.
Jiang Chi rode up on horseback, a cold smile appearing on his sinister face: "Madam Yuan, I advise you to behave yourself!"
The heads of everyone in the Yuan family are hanging on the east gate!
If you still want to collect their bodies, then you'd better cooperate with this prince and lure out Young Master Yuan!
Otherwise, this prince will castrate the delicate and tender young master Yuan and throw him into a brothel!
Madam Yuan gritted her teeth.
Seeing Yuan Yuan's family reduced to such a state, Jiang Chi felt inexplicably extremely pleased.
He gripped the reins tightly, sneered, and said loudly, "Madam Yuan, this prince only wants Yuan Yuan!"
If Yuan Yuan comes, I will plead with my father to release Young Master Yuan!
With Heaven and Earth as witness, and the people as my witness, I, the prince, will certainly keep my word!
Madam Yuan bit her lip in pain.
She glanced at the young child who was unconscious, then looked up and gazed into the crowd.
Yuan Yuan had been clenching his fists tightly in his palms ever since he heard the news of the Yuan family's entire "heads".
Bright red blood soaked into every line of his palm.
Mother……
don't want……
Suddenly, Jiang Chi raised his sinister eyes and looked in their direction.
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