Tanmarajiva returned to the tent. The candlelight flickered, but the jade-patterned silk on the other side of the long table remained motionless, as if it had fallen asleep.

He did not sleep, but sat in meditation. After sitting for a while, he felt a line of sight in the dim candlelight fixed on him for a long time, and he raised his eyes to look over.

Yaoying sat up for some reason, her long hair disheveled, her hands hugging her knees, resting her head on her arms, staring at him blankly with tears in her eyes.

The candlelight reflected on her pale face. At this moment, she was no longer the spirited Princess Wen Zhao during the day, but just a fragile and sad young lady.

Tanmarajiva was stunned for a moment, remembering the absent-minded smile on Yaoying's face when he returned to the tent.

She is worried.

Yao Ying noticed his gaze, came to her senses, wiped the corners of her eyes, and the tip of her nose turned slightly red.

"Having a nightmare?"

Tanmaraka asked, his voice softer than he thought.

Yaoying was about to lie down and continue sleeping, but she paused when she heard his gentle question. She hummed, "I heard from Yang Nianxiang and the others today that my brother's martial arts skills are useless and he can no longer use the golden hammers... He came to me before his injury healed... I don't know where he is now... I just dreamed of him... he..."

Li Xuanzhen was a skilled warrior with personal soldiers to protect him, but he was injured like this. Yang Nianxiang and his men had a narrow escape from death, so you can imagine how strict the Beirong blockade was. Li Zhongqian was seriously injured and couldn't speak nonsense. How much suffering did he have to endure to risk passing through the blockade to find her?

No matter how much suffering he had to endure, Li Zhongqian would never turn back as long as he didn't find her. He was so stubborn.

From childhood to adulthood, he never cared about Li De's oppression and suspicion, but he just couldn't bear to see her suffer any injustice... He actually assassinated Li De in public, directly tearing apart the appearance of father and son and monarch and subject. He didn't care about anything anymore, including his own life.

Yaoying's voice trembled and she could not continue. In the flickering candlelight, her eyes sparkled and tears seemed to be about to burst out.

The scriptures that Tanmaraka was reciting in his heart became blurred, and were replaced by the sound of dripping tears.

Drop by drop, ripples appear.

She should smile more often. When she smiles, she is so radiant, just like the paradise described in the scriptures, where the ground is paved with golden sand, trees appear in the Buddha's land, and all kinds of wonderful flowers are falling from the ceiling, and all things are shining.

Tanmo Luojia looked at Yaoying and said softly: "What you think about during the day, you will dream at night. It's just a dream. The princess and her brother have a deep relationship. He will be able to turn danger into fortune and be safe and sound."

His voice was cold and without a trace of emotion, yet it somehow had the power to soothe people's hearts.

Yaoying nodded softly, smiled, shook her head, and the tears in her eyes disappeared.

"The general is right, it's just a dream. My brother will be safe. I will find him and reunite with him!"

She let out a long sigh and said firmly.

The two fell silent, Yao Ying lay down again, her breathing gradually becoming even. Tanmaraka closed his eyes and continued to meditate.

After a while, there was a rustling sound beside the long table.

Tanmarajiva opened his eyes.

Yao Ying supported herself on the ground with her hands, went around the long table, carefully crawled to his side, grabbed the felt blanket and wrapped herself in it.

Tanmaraka looked down at her.

She moved closer to him, only half a foot away, and her blanket covered the corner of his robe.

His eyes were as cold as ice, without any blame, but they gave people a sense of dignified oppression. Yao Ying felt a little embarrassed, picked up a book, and whispered: "General, I really can't sleep, and I dream when I fall asleep... Can I sit over here? I want to read some documents before going to sleep."

Tanmaraka said nothing, nodded his chin slightly, and closed his eyes.

Yaoying chuckled and lowered her head to flip through the book.

The tent was silent. One of them closed his eyes in meditation, while the other was wrapped in a felt blanket reading documents. It was quiet with only the rustling of papers.

The tent is full of dim candlelight.

Tanmaragha was reciting scriptures silently. After he finished reciting the first chapter of "The Karma of the Sentient Beings in Yanfu", he suddenly felt a heaviness on his arm and something was lightly sticking to it.

He was startled and opened his eyes.

The candlelight was still burning, and the light and shadows were intertwined. Yaoying was leaning face down on him, with her eyes closed, her thick eyelashes trembling slightly, and she was very sleepy, with an open book in her hand.

Tanmaraka did not move.

With a soft snap, the book in Yaoying's hand fell to the ground. She seemed to be awakened, and uttered a vague mutter. She raised her hand to grasp Tanmaraj's sleeve, rubbed her arm against his, found a comfortable position, and her breathing became long.

Tanmaraka did not move, nor did she push her away. Her emerald eyes stared at the candles burning quietly on the table.

I don't know how long it was before a wisp of green smoke came out of the candlestick and the candle went out.

Yaoying moved and her body slid down.

Tanmaraka said nothing and raised his arms to catch her.

Yao Ying fell into his arms. This time the position was more comfortable. She moved forward unconsciously and pressed her body against him.

There was a faint fragrance on her body that lingered.

Tanmaraka lowered his eyes, pulled up the felt blanket that had slipped off, and pulled it under her chin, covering her exposed shoulders.

When his fingers brushed across her cheek, he paused.

There seemed to be tears sparkling beside her eyelashes.

He bent his fingers slightly and moved them closer and closer to her eyes, trying to wipe away her tears.

There was a small pop and the coals flickered. She looked calm, her brows relaxed, and she was sleeping soundly.

Tanmaraka withdrew his fingers and continued to recite the scriptures.

…

When Li Xuanzhen woke up, it was already early morning. The sunlight shone through the felt tent, and the rising and falling light revealed the general outline of the furnishings in the tent.

Several large boxes stacked up, a red-hot charcoal basin, hanging saddles, bows and arrows, quivers, several animal skins, a long table filled with parchment and scrolls, a small table with bowls, cups, and teapots scattered around, and a pile of uneaten hard naan on a plate...

Li Xuanzhen looked around, his gaze finally stopped on two figures beside the long table, and he suddenly woke up.

The man was tall and thin, his military uniform outlining his muscular lines. Although he was sitting, he still exuded a calm aura. A woman with long hair was resting her head on his legs, sleeping soundly with her eyes closed, her cheeks flushed, her body curled up, leaning against him tightly. He sat still, looking down at the sleeping woman, his face calm.

Li Xuanzhen's breathing became rapid.

The man raised his eyes, and their gazes met, one cold and one gloomy, like swords clashing, frost splashing.

Li Xuanzhen didn't recognize the man with scars all over his face, but he recognized the woman lying on him - in this world, besides Li Zhongqian, when had Li Yaoying been so close to any other man?

She rode through the long streets, wearing gorgeous clothes with her skirt fluttering. Young men who loved her rode after her on horseback. She never laughed at or mocked them, nor did she play hard to get with them, but she also never responded to any of the young men's love.

In order to survive, she threw away her modesty and self-respect and became entangled with a monk... Every time he heard the Hu people talk about the romantic story between Princess Wen Zhao and Wang Tingfuzi in an obscene tone, and discussed what means she would use to seduce Fuzi, it was like a knife stirring in Li Xuanzhen's heart, and he had to use all his strength to restrain the urge to tear those people's mouths apart.

He didn't dare to think about what Yaoying had sacrificed in order to survive, and could only tell himself over and over again that he and Li Zhongqian would save her and let her forget this experience.

At this moment, looking at Yaoying sleeping soundly leaning on a man with great trust, Li Xuanzhen was forced to face a bloody reality after feeling ecstasy of finding her and knowing that she was safe: all this was caused by Li De and him.

He sent her to the bed of the chief of the Yelu tribe, causing her to be coveted by Haidu Aling and exiled thousands of miles away, where she suffered a lot.

Li Xuanzhen was shaking all over and coughing violently, as if he wanted to cough out his heart, liver, and lungs.

Perhaps only in this way could he relieve the pain that permeated his internal organs.

The violent coughing woke up Yao Ying who was sleeping soundly. She got up and was dazed for a few breaths. The next moment, her pupils dilated, and she quickly got up and rushed to Li Xuanzhen.

"Li Xuanzhen, where is my brother? How did his golden hammer fall into your hands?"

Her hair was disheveled and there were marks on her cheeks. She looked at him with cold, disgusted, wary, and nervous eyes - nervous for Li Zhongqian.

Li Xuanzhen frowned in pain and said softly, "Don't worry, he's still alive..."

"Where is he?"

The pain in his body became more and more intense, and Li Xuanzhen trembled all over, "He might be in the Beirong Ya tent..."

A chill ran down Yao Ying's spine: "Bei Rong Ya Tent? Why would he go to Bei Rong Ya Tent?!"

Li Xuanzhen took a breath, holding back the pain, and said, "Bei Rong blocked the news, we didn't know... we didn't know where you were... we thought you were still in Bei Rong... we found Yizhou... later, we were planning to go to the royal court, but something unexpected happened on the way..."

The two brothers infiltrated the Northern Rong army and thought they could reach the royal court smoothly. However, on the way, Wakhan Khan suddenly changed the route, the team stopped, and the slaves were sent to serve the nobles in the Ya tent.

During this period, Li Xuanzhen met several acquaintances who had secretly infiltrated the Northern Rong - personal soldiers sent by Li De to persuade him to return to the Central Plains.

Li Xuanzhen resolutely sent away his personal guards, but those personal guards discovered Li Zhongqian and wanted to kill him. Moreover, their identities were exposed the next day, and the news that Li Zhongqian was in the Northern Rong was leaked. As a result, Li Xuanzhen and Li Zhongqian were also hunted down by the Northern Rong people.

Fortunately, Haidu Aling was not there at the time, and his troops did not take any action for the time being. It was Wakhan Khan's men who were chasing them.

"We fled all the way to the Beirong Yazhang and met a few Han people. They were spies of Yang Qian's rebel army. I heard that Haidu Aling had returned, so I handed Li Zhongqian over to them and asked them to hide in a safe place first... I used Li Zhongqian's golden hammer to divert the pursuers... Later I met Yang Nianxiang..."

There were too many pursuers, and he escaped death several times. Fortunately, he did not bring Li Zhongqian with him, otherwise neither of them would have escaped. Not long ago, he met Yang Nianxiang. They were carrying secret letters and were also being chased by the Northern Rong people. They were all Han people, and they fled together in desperation. Li Xuanzhen gradually learned the identities of Yang Nianxiang and his men, and knew that they had returned from the Central Plains and were going to the Ale tribe to see Li Yaoying. He was ecstatic and went with them.

Li Xuanzhen spoke in a sincere tone as he recounted his experiences over the past six months.

Yao Ying's brows furrowed when she heard this.

To her, Li Xuanzhen's words were simply unbelievable.

From the first sentence, she didn't understand.

How could Li Zhongqian go to Yizhou with Li Xuanzhen?

Why would Li Xuanzhen risk his life for Li Zhongqian's safety and divert the pursuers?

Didn't he abandon his position as crown prince and leave the Central Plains for Zhu Luyun? Why didn't he go directly to find Zhu Luyun and travel with Li Zhongqian? After finding Zhu Luyun, did he follow Li Zhongqian to the royal court?

She heard Li Xuanzhen's story clearly, but she didn't believe a word of it.

She looked at Li Xuanzhen, wondering if he was seriously injured and had a fever. "Why are you helping my brother?"

Li Xuanzhen smiled bitterly, staring at her with his eyes wide open, and said in a hoarse voice, "For you, Ah Yue."

After these words were spoken, the tent fell silent for a moment.

Yaoying frowned.

Li Xuanzhen's face was full of bitterness. "Ayue, you don't believe me?"

Yao Ying was silent for a long time, then smiled and said, "Your Highness, if it were you, would you believe it?"

He had always wanted to kill Li Zhongqian, and for this reason he acquiesced to Wei Ming's training of knights and assassins. How could he take the risk to save Li Zhongqian's life?

Li Xuanzhen felt a pain all over his body, and his lips trembled: "Ayue, I did harm Li Zhongqian many times...but I never lied to you...Li Zhongqian's identity has been exposed, and the Beirong people will definitely catch him and threaten you, so I have to protect him."

Yaoying didn't say anything.

Li Xuanzhen was indeed not the kind of person who would lie to her. He was gloomy and capricious. He had harmed Li Zhongqian in front of her several times without mercy, but he would not go to such great lengths to tell such a ridiculous lie.

He disdains to do so.

"Ayue..."

"Don't call me that. Ah Yue died a long time ago."

Yao Ying interrupted Li Xuanzhen's words.

Li Xuanzhen was sweating profusely, his body was shaking more and more violently, and his teeth were chattering, "Okay... I won't call you... Don't worry, Li Zhongqian is very safe, the Northern Rong's tent is in the back, after I lead away the pursuers, he will go to Gaochang with those spies, and then go to the royal court. That route is safer... He may have already arrived in Gaochang..."

He looked at Yao Ying with his eyes fixed.

"Ayue, don't be afraid. You won't suffer anymore... I will take you home..."

Yao Ying had a blank expression on her face as she tried to analyze which of Li Xuanzhen's words were the most credible from the chaos.

Is Li Zhongqian really out of danger?

Every word he said sounded true, but when put together, they became nonsense.

In case he was not lying, she had to write to Yang Qian and Wei Chi Damo quickly, asking them to send troops to support Li Zhongqian.

The expression on Yaoying's face changed.

Li Xuanzhen's breathing became more and more rapid. He sat up suddenly and held her wrist tightly.

"You believe me..."

Before Yao Ying could react, a gloved hand reached out from the side and lightly tapped with two fingers. Li Xuanzhen felt weak, let go of her hand, and fell back onto the blanket.

His eyes widened as he looked at Tanmaragha who had appeared beside Yaoying at some point in time.

"You are from the royal court... Tell your Buddhist disciples that I know where the main force of the Northern Rong army is... We, the Great Wei, can send troops to attack the Northern Rong..."

Ignoring the gaping wounds on his body, he struggled to sit up again and looked into Tanmaragha's eyes.

"The condition is... the royal court must agree to immediately release Princess Wen Zhao to return home."

The author has something to say: "All things are radiating light" is quoted from the annotation of the Infinite Life Sutra.