The arrow pierced the air with a loud bang and came suddenly.

Li Xuanzhen's tall body enveloped Li Yaoying, holding her to avoid the attack. Several long arrows brushed past his arms, got stuck in the sand, and penetrated into his tail.

There were several sharp whooshing sounds, and iron arrows came from nowhere. The arrows were full of power, like meteors chasing the moon. Several Northern Rong cavalrymen who shot the arrows in the distance fell off their horses one after another.

Li Xuanzhen held the gently trembling Yaoying in his arms, oblivious to the sound of war behind him. His body was covered with wounds, as if sharp knives were ripping through his flesh and blood. However, at this moment, he was already overwhelmed by the overwhelming joy and could not feel the pain in his body at all.

Chang'an was not far from Liangzhou. If she was afraid, regretted, and asked him for help, he would save her at any time. But she was captured by Haidu A Ling and taken to the Western Regions. Then she was exiled to the even more distant royal court, which had almost no contact with the Central Plains. He crossed the Qilian Mountains, passed through the Yumen Pass, walked through the 800-mile Moheyan Desert, escaped from Yizhou, crossed the majestic Tianshan Mountains, and searched for her for so long in the vast desert that seemed to have no end. He finally found her in the unfamiliar foreign land.

She was still alive, taller and stronger, her little face pressed against his chest, her arms around his waist soft and strong.

Li Xuanzhen clenched his arms and hugged Yao Ying tightly, fearing that this was just an illusion caused by his thirst, hunger and pain. When he and Li Zhongqian were in desperate situation, they were troubled by a mirage and rushed over madly, but all they saw was yellow sand all over the sky.

The arm around her shoulders was tightened like a clamp. Yaoying felt a little breathless. She raised her head, and a string of crystal tears rolled down her cheeks. Her eyes were full of smiles, and her tears could not hide her overflowing joy.

Li Xuanzhen's face was covered with blood and dust, and his features could not be recognized. Only a pair of phoenix eyes could be seen clearly.

He looked at her, lowered his head, put his fingers on her neck, and continued to hug her.

Yao Ying smelled a strong smell of blood and gradually regained consciousness. The sounds of fighting and arrows flying around her forced her to calm down from her ecstasy.

They are still on the battlefield and cannot be complacent. The scene in the dream may appear again at any time!

"Brother, let's evacuate to a safe place first!"

Yao Ying gently pushed Li Xuanzhen away.

Li Xuanzhen seemed startled and trembled. He held her tighter with his arms to prevent her from moving. He pressed his fingers tightly on her neck to prevent her from looking up at him.

She hasn't reacted yet, but if she looks at him one more moment, she will realize that he is not Li Zhongqian.

"Brother?"

Yaoying felt the sudden burst of energy from him and called out softly. Her fingers felt something sticky and wet. He was covered in blood.

"Brother, you are injured, be obedient..."

Yaoying raised her head.

Li Xuanzhen met her slender eyes.

When their eyes met, the smile on her face suddenly froze, and a hint of doubt flashed across her eyes.

This doubt immediately cleared Li Xuanzhen's mind. The pain in the wound suddenly became extremely clear and intense. He shivered a few times in pain and fell to the sand.

"Brother!"

Yaoying hugged him and called him anxiously.

"Awei, come here!"

The personal soldier answered loudly, ran to their side quickly, took out gauze and wound medicine, cut open Li Xuanzhen's tattered leather jacket with scissors, checked the wound, found the one that was bleeding heavily, and bandaged it to stop the bleeding.

"Brother, don't fall asleep, talk to me, I'm Mingyue Nu, I'm here..."

Yao Ying's hands trembled slightly as she untied the leather bag from her waist, poured out some clean water to wet the towel, moistened Li Xuanzhen's chapped lips, and brushed the towel across his neck to wipe away the blood.

She paused in her movements, suddenly came to her senses from the panic, and looked at Li Xuanzhen carefully.

Li Zhongqian had strong features, and a finger-long scar running from his chin to his neck, which was left when he fought with the general of Southern Chu.

This man's eyes don't look like a brother.

The next moment, Yao Ying continued to pour water, her movements no longer as gentle and compassionate as before. She brushed away the messy hair on Li Xuanzhen's face and wiped his face with the towel, wiping away half of the blood.

His handsome features gradually emerged, with sharp eyebrows and sharp eyes, and a lingering gloom between his brows.

In an instant, the joy in Yaoying's eyes faded away completely, leaving only emptiness.

Ups and downs, that's all.

She held the handkerchief blankly and said nothing for a long time.

Li Xuanzhen knew that she recognized him and smiled bitterly in his heart.

Yao Ying looked at him coldly. The person she saw in her dream was clearly Li Zhongqian, so why did he turn into Li Xuanzhen?

Almost the same scene, the same attire, the same drum-beating jar and golden hammer... Why did Li Xuanzhen end up holding the two hammers that Li Zhongqian never left behind?

A thought flashed through his mind, and the blood drained from Yao Ying's face. His expression suddenly turned cold, and with a swish, he pushed aside his personal guards, rushed in front of Li Xuanzhen, pulled out the dagger hidden in the leather belt around his waist, and put the tip of the knife against his throat.

"How come my brother's golden hammer is in your hand?"

Her voice trembled, and her eyes fell on his face, without a trace of tenderness.

"What did you do to him?"

Li Xuanzhen met Yao Ying's cold and suspicious gaze, opened his mouth with difficulty, but no sound came out.

The look she gave Li Zhongqian was filled with surprise, tenderness, admiration, trust, closeness, and joy so intense that it almost overflowed.

The look in his eyes was only coldness.

The difference is so huge.

It was so great that for a moment, Li Xuanzhen's chest was filled with jealousy, resentment and some things he himself could not distinguish. He really wished that Li Zhongqian had never existed in this world.

Yao Ying exerted force on her hand, and the dagger was pressed against his throat: "Li Xuanzhen, what did you do to my brother? How did you take his golden hammer!"

Li Xuanzhen looked into her eyes, "He's still alive..."

He started coughing violently, blood oozed from his lips, his body trembled, and his pupils dilated.

The soldier's face turned pale, and he took out a bottle of heart-strengthening and life-saving pills and stuffed them into Li Xuanzhen's mouth: "Princess, he has several large wounds on his body, and you can even see the bones. This is weakness, and he is dying! We must stop the bleeding quickly and send him back to the camp!"

Yao Ying frowned, retracted the dagger, stood up, and signaled his personal soldiers to continue bandaging Li Xuanzhen's wound.

Li Xuanzhen was lucky and he could always survive desperate situations. It was not so easy for him to die.

The guards gathered around and recognized Li Xuanzhen. They were dumbfounded and wiped their eyes in disbelief to make sure they were not seeing wrongly: "Why is His Royal Highness the Crown Prince here?"

Yao Ying put the dagger back into her waist and said, "He must be here to look for Zhu Luyun."

When she met Zhu Luyun, she guessed that Li Xuanzhen would leave Central Plains for Zhu Luyun. He was hunted down by the Beirong soldiers, perhaps because his identity was exposed during the meeting with Zhu Luyun.

The guards looked at each other and asked, "Princess, should we save her or not?"

Yao Ying nodded and said calmly: "Save."

Keeping Li Xuanzhen would be useful. To recover the Hexi area, we must form an alliance with him. Moreover, he has Li Zhongqian's double hammers, so he might know where Li Zhongqian is.

We will settle accounts with him after we find out how he got Li Zhongqian's double hammers.

Yaoying gathered her thoughts and calmed down completely, but her face was full of disappointment.

She really thought that the scene in her dream was replaying itself. The man riding towards her was Li Zhongqian. Fearing that he might be injured, she rushed towards him without even seeing his face.

It’s not like Li Xuanzhen didn’t hear what she called out, so why didn’t he say anything?

If he made a sound, she would know it immediately.

The guard holding the flag scratched his head and asked, "Why was the Crown Prince so concerned about the princess just now? He even held the princess tightly and refused to let go?"

As arrows flew everywhere, Li Xuanzhen held Yao Ying tightly to avoid the stray arrows, and they all saw it.

Another guard snorted and said, "He must have seen an acquaintance while running for his life and got too excited. He wanted to ask the princess to save him, but was afraid that the princess would ignore him, so he hugged the princess tightly and wouldn't let go!"

Everyone agreed and nodded.

No matter how disgusted they were, they still tried their best to save Li Xuanzhen. They brought a horse, lifted the man on it, and retreated to a place far away from the battlefield.

…

On the other side, Mobido ended the battle, leaving some people to clean up the traces and retreating with the rescued Han people.

A few men escaped from the desperate situation, tidied their appearance, tied up their messy long hair, and climbed up the hill.

The two most seriously injured people suddenly lost their strength and fell to the sand. The others helped them up, and the group walked towards Yao Ying step by step in silence.

Yao Ying and others were waiting beside the hill. They came forward and glanced at these seriously injured Han men wearing Northern Rong cavalry uniforms. Suddenly, they seemed familiar to her.

In the cool twilight, several men, looking like wolves and beasts, covered in blood and with determined eyes, supported each other as they walked up to her and saluted her solemnly.

"I will never turn back until I reach Liangzhou. Your Highness, I have fulfilled your mission!"

They raised their heads and looked at her with smiles, their eyes eager, innocent and bright.

The scene in her memory emerged before her eyes. Yao Ying looked at the young man covered in blood. She felt a surge of excitement in her heart. Her heart was pounding wildly. Her mouth opened and her eyes became moist.

The emotional fluctuations brought by Li Xuanzhen disappeared in an instant.

Yao Ying turned over and got off the horse, walked towards the Han people, leaned over and bowed, bowing all the way.

She once saw off the young people in front of her and said to them: One day, you and I will meet again!

Today, they reunited in the sand dunes. Those fearless young men were either dead or injured, buried in a foreign land, unknown to the public. Only these few were left alive.

They looked at her with smiles, just as they had when they left.

A strong youth means a prosperous family and country.

One of the Han people carefully took out a book wrapped in yellow silk, held it in his hand, and knelt on one knee towards Yaoying: "Princess, we were ordered to pass through many blockades, arrived in Liangzhou, found the Wei Dynasty garrison commander, and with the help of Zheng Jing and Du Sinan, presented the ten thousand word letter and the king's letter. The Wei Dynasty emperor replied."

The others followed suit and knelt on one knee, clasping their right fists in front of their chests, their eyes blazing with sparks.

Yao Ying calmed herself down, suppressed the shock in her heart, and took the letter.

Li De had unified the north and completely controlled Western Shu. It was the time to appease the people and consolidate his power. The Western Regions states that had once been under the jurisdiction of the Central Plains dynasty requested the court to send troops, and the Han descendants begged the royal army to retake their homeland. He immediately posted a ten-thousand-word letter on the board and wrote an impassioned reply, every word of which was heartbreaking and every sentence was inspiring.

But he did not guarantee that he would immediately send troops to retake Hexi.

A look of shame flashed across the young people's faces.

"Princess, Zheng Jing told us that the court has not forgotten us, but they can't send troops now..."

They were in a hurry to return to Gaochang to report the news and did not dare to stay in the Central Plains for long. Although all the officials in the Central Plains were very enthusiastic and shared the same hatred of the enemy with them and were eager to recover their homeland immediately, when it came to when to send troops, the officials hesitated and deliberately procrastinated. They could see that the Wei Dynasty did not have that many troops now.

Disappointment is inevitable, but they can wait. Once the Wei Dynasty unifies the north and the south, they can send troops to recover their homeland!

Yao Ying was not surprised to get such an answer. Li De was used to being cautious and would not easily send the elite Wei army to the battlefield to recover the Hexi area. She never expected him to send reinforcements to directly fight the Beirong. As long as she got the support and response of the Central Plains dynasty, things would be easy.

Now Li Xuanzhen is right under her nose. The Northern Rong are busy fighting the royal court, and the Liangzhou Army can send troops to support them. Why should they put all their hopes on the elite of the imperial court?

Li De would only commit troops when they became strong enough to pose a threat to the Northern Rong.

However, by that time, the team had already grown in size, and Reed could only cooperate with them rather than give them orders.

Yao Ying looked at the young people in front of her with tears in her eyes.

His personal guards surrounded her one by one and knelt at her feet like the young men.

The royal court soldiers did not approach, but stood on horseback to the side, watching from a distance.

Yao Ying stood among the hills, with the sunset glow on her shoulders, and smiled.

"You are all the bravest men of Gaochang. There are many men like you in Shazhou and Guazhou. You are the hope for recovering Hexi."

"Yang Qian organized a righteous army and united the noble families in various places who were loyal to the Wei Dynasty. The team is growing stronger and stronger."

"Without the Wei Dynasty's troops, we will go to the battlefield ourselves."

"There is no food, so we have to find it ourselves."

"This army is called the Western Army! We will unite all the tribes that want to return to the East, reclaim our homeland and take back our homeland!"

A strong wind blew past, blowing Yaoying's robes and making them flutter. Behind her, several flags representing her stretched out their bodies in the strong wind, fluttering and flying.

The young men looked at her, their tired faces glowed with a strange look, their eyes were burning, their fighting spirit was rekindled, their blood was boiling - why don't men take Wu Gou and take over the fifty states of Guanshan?

They will definitely be able to fulfill their ancestors' last wish and return to their homeland!

…

The wind is hunting and the dusk is magnificent.

Not far away, a team stopped behind the sand dunes. The men on horseback put down their longbows and iron arrows, and looked into the distance at Yao Ying standing under the blue sky and between the yellow sands, without saying a word for a long time.

Bi Su, who was standing by, looked at Li Xuanzhen in the distance and could not help but say, "I have never seen Princess Wen Zhao lose her composure like this. The princess must miss her brother very much and is looking forward to returning to her hometown as soon as possible."

In the afternoon, Tanmarajya returned to the camp alone and had a secret talk with Bisha. Suddenly, they received an urgent message that some Northern Rong people were lurking nearby. Thinking of Mobito and Yaoying, they were afraid that something might happen, so they led a team out to pick them up and intercepted the Northern Rong people.

When they arrived nearby, they heard the sound of fighting. They waved flags to Mobido's men, indicating that they were their own people. They slowly approached and saw Yao Ying rushing into a man's arms and the two hugged each other tightly.

Bisha's green eyes widened so wide that their eyeballs almost popped out, and she subconsciously looked at Tanmaragha's reaction.

Tanmaraka covered his face with a veil to protect him from the wind and sand. He calmly drew his bow and shot down the Northern Rong cavalry with a few arrows.

He did not release the bowstring until Mobito led his men to kill all the Northern Rong soldiers.

Bisa couldn't guess what expression was on his face.

After a while, a soldier came over and said, "General, Princess Wen Zhao seems to have found her brother!"

Bi Suo had mixed feelings. At one moment she seemed relieved, and at another she felt a little disappointed. Her mind was a mess.

Tanmarajiva remained silent throughout.

Bisha sighed a few times and asked tentatively: "They are going back to the camp. Can we pass through?"

"No need, just go back to the camp."

Tanmaraka withdrew his gaze, turned his horse and turned around.

He had seen her lose her composure before, but that was only when she was dreaming. She mistook him for Li Zhongqian, holding his hand tightly, rubbing it affectionately in his palm, and acting coquettishly with him.

But that was nothing compared to seeing her dash down the sand dune and throw herself desperately into her brother's arms.

Only in front of Li Zhongqian could she truly relax and be like a child.

She has people she trusts more and is closer to.

All the things that happened before were like a dream, a bubble, and a fleeting shadow.

She came from thousands of miles away, across mountains and rivers, thousands of miles away.

Now, she is going back.

The wind blew up Tanmaragha's robe. He touched the beads on his wrist, but found it was empty.

…

The two teams came down the sand dunes one after the other and met head-on.

Mobhido immediately went forward and talked quietly with Tanmaraka and Bhisatta.

Yao Ying left Li Xuanzhen to the care of his personal soldiers and ordered them to pick up the pair of golden hammers for beating drums. When he saw Tanmaragha, he was startled and rode away quickly, but saw that they were discussing something. It was not convenient for him to get close to them, so he turned his horse and rode away.

Rushing back to the camp, Biso and his companions continued to discuss matters in the big tent.

Yao Ying invited military doctors to treat the injuries of Li Xuanzhen and others.

The military doctor pointed at Li Xuanzhen and said, "His wound is too severe. The wound is prone to infection. He must sleep alone in a tent."

The soldier said in embarrassment: "The tents are all full..."

Yao Ying frowned, "Let him live in my tent."

Yuan Jue's eyes widened.

Yao Ying whispered, "He is of a special status. Please stay in my tent until the Regent returns so that we can meet and talk with him."

Yuan Jue suddenly realized what was going on and helped to move the seriously injured Li Xuanzhen into Yao Ying's felt tent.

Yao Ying left her personal soldiers to take care of them, and went to meet those children of Gaochang noble families, asking them about the details of their journey and their experiences in the Central Plains, and how they got together with Li Xuanzhen.

One of the young men was from the same clan as Yang Qian, named Yang Nianxiang. He was also seriously injured, but in good spirits. He lay on the blanket and told the whole story.

"We left Gaochang and passed through each checkpoint in the name of hunting down Haidu Aling. The princess's method helped us solve a lot of problems. However, after arriving in Beirong, Madam Yina's warrant was indeed useless. We pretended to be herdsmen and tried to get out of the town. The Beirong blockade was too strict, and we lost too many people. We could only hide in the city."

"Later, there was a riot among the Northern Rong people. We met a group of monks and pretended to be their monk soldiers. We took the opportunity to escape. In the end, we were discovered by the Northern Rong people and almost died under their swords. At the critical moment, a group of Liangzhou soldiers rescued us... It turned out that Crown Prince Li Xuanzhen went to Yizhou. The Liangzhou soldiers didn't know when he would return, so they could only send teams to patrol the border every few days to meet him. We were lucky to meet them."

Later, they delivered the letter, and the governor of Liangzhou was greatly shocked, especially when he learned that Li Yaoying was still alive, he was even more moved.

Soon, Zheng Jing, Du Sinan, the Crown Princess and others who received the news sent people to Liangzhou one after another to pick up Yang Nianxiang and others to come to Beijing for an audience with the emperor. Li De specially arranged for them to present a ten-thousand-word letter in public during the grand court meeting. All the civil and military officials in the court were moved to tears.

Yang Nianxiang couldn't wait to return to Gaochang. After receiving Li De's verbal guarantee, he took the letter and set off immediately. The return journey was also full of dangers. They passed through one checkpoint after another and tried every means to contact Yang Qian. Yang Qian learned from Xie Qing that Ale would lead his troops to join Yao Ying and told them in a secret letter.

The situation was serious. They were hesitating whether to catch up with the Ale tribe or Gaochang. Unfortunately, they encountered the Northern Rong people and were forcibly conscripted to transport food and fodder for them.

They wanted to escape from the Northern Rong camp, but before they had formulated a comprehensive plan, they accidentally exposed their identities and escaped. At that time, Li Xuanzhen was also being hunted by the Northern Rong people. Several people supported each other and fled all the way. They found the traces of the Ale tribe and hurriedly found them. The Northern Rong cavalry chased them closely, and everyone realized that Li Xuanzhen was an extraordinary person.

After listening to Yang Nianxiang's story, Yao Ying asked softly, "How many brothers died?"

Yang Nianxiang's eyes turned slightly red, and he reported a number in a deep voice.

Brothers fell beside him one by one, but they did not retreat and kept heading east until they completed their mission. Those brothers could never come back.

Yaoying poured him a bowl of hot tea, looked around, and made eye contact with everyone in the tent.

"Their deaths will not be in vain, and they will never be forgotten. Their names will be forever engraved in everyone's heart, their stories will be recorded in books, and their heroic deeds will be passed down from generation to generation."

"We cannot let their sacrifice go to waste. We must fulfill their wishes. Only by recovering their homeland and returning to the Wei Dynasty can we comfort their heroic spirits and make their names remembered by the world."

Everyone should shed tears.

Yao Ying did not leave immediately. She took out a pen and paper and wrote down the name and hometown of the deceased boy in detail.

What she said just now was all big talk to comfort people and alleviate the guilt in Yang Nianxiang and others' hearts. In fact, the truth is that ordinary heroes are easily forgotten.

She would take note of them.

She wrote down the name of every personal soldier who had escorted her to the wedding and died silently.

They are all her soldiers, her followers.

…

Yao Ying returned to the tent, but Li Xuanzhen was still asleep.

She bent over her desk and wrote a few letters and dealt with some paperwork. Before she knew it, it was already late at night. The wind was howling outside, and the sound of the flags flapping in the strong wind echoed in the camp.

At night, Yuan Jue brought some medicine and said, "The Regent King asked me to bring it. It's better than what the military doctor gave me."

Yao Ying asked, "Where is the Regent?"

"He's busy."

"When the Regent is done with his work, please ask him to come over."

It should be the fate that brings the message to the point.

Half an hour later, footsteps were heard outside the tent. A hand wearing a black glove opened the felt curtain. Yao Ying immediately put down her pen and stood up to greet him: "General, are you coming back alone?"

Tanmarajiva nodded in agreement and her eyes fell on Li Xuanzhen, who was lying on the blanket where she usually slept, his face pale and still in a coma.

Yao Ying whispered, "General, he is the Crown Prince Li Xuanzhen of the Wei Dynasty, my half-brother."

Tanmarajiva was speechless for a long while.

The candlelight flickered in the tent.

After a long silence, he asked, "Isn't he Li Zhongqian?"

"No." Yao Ying shook his head. "General, he may know the whereabouts of my brother, and he is the crown prince of the Wei Dynasty. When he wakes up, I want to talk to him about attacking the Northern Rong and regaining the lost territory, so I have to keep him in my tent and take care of him. The territory of the Northern Rong spans the east and the west, and he must be willing to unite with the royal court and attack the eastern territory of the Northern Rong while the main force of the Northern Rong is concentrated here."

She raised her curtains. "But this might disturb the general's rest."

Tanmaraka found his blanket in the corner and moved to another place, still using the long table to separate the two ends, leaving the other end empty.

He said, "No problem."

Yao Ying smiled at him, but there was no smile in her eyes, and she was worried.

Tanmaraka asked, "Where is the princess?"

Yao Ying patted the empty space beside the desk and said, "I'll sleep here. Just spread out the blanket."

As she spoke, she spread out the blanket, lay down, wrapped herself tightly in it, looked at the ceiling, and said nothing more.

Tanmarajiva frowned slightly, sat quietly in the candlelight for a while, and suddenly stood up and went out.

"I have something to do. I will be out for a while. Princess, you don't have to wait for me. Please settle down as soon as possible."

Yao Ying just said "oh" and didn't ask any more questions.

…

The night wind is chilly.

Tanmarajiva stood outside the tent, gazing at the starry night sky, a passage of scripture flashed through his mind.

All wonderful desires are like salt water; the more you enjoy them, the greedier you become.

What is greed?

Princess Manda was beautiful and charming, and her dancing was graceful, but he was not moved, let alone sexually aroused.

Beauty is but a withered skeleton; beauty and ugliness are merely superficial.

But greed is more than just desire.

He knew that Li Yaoying would leave after one year. It was all just a passing cloud and a dream, so he should just let it go.

Today, he discovered that she didn't have to wait for the one-year period to expire and could leave at any time.

From now on, she will never set foot in the royal court thousands of miles away again.

She is open and enthusiastic with others.

Tanmarajiva slowly closed his eyes.

He recalled the day of the prayer meeting when Li Yaoying put her hands together and bowed to him. The bright beams of light in front of the Buddhist temple shone on her. She looked pious with a smile in her eyes.

At that moment, an inappropriate thought suddenly came to my mind.

If she entered Buddhism and became one of his thousands of followers... he hoped that her bright eyes would only look at him.

She believed in him alone.

He had a greedy thought.