The sky was dark and the earth was gloomy, dark clouds rolled like ink, thunder roared, and it seemed as if thousands of peaks were collapsing one after another.

Silver snakes danced wildly and flashed among the rolling dark clouds.

The wind howled, blowing gravel all over the ground. Yao Ying was shivering with cold. She wrapped herself tightly in her leather jacket, rolled up her sleeves, and led her horse, stumbling through the rugged canyon.

There were strange rocks standing beside the road and the mountains were steep. There was no smooth road for travel at all. She stumbled along the way and fell several times. Her knees and arms were scraped and painful. The sky darkened in an instant and she had no time to lift up her clothes to check.

Bi Suo walked in front of her, looked up at the rolling rain clouds overhead, then turned back to look at Yao Ying, who was swaying and standing unsteadily in the strong wind, and frowned and said, "Princess, the wind is too strong. Let's come back tomorrow."

The wind was so strong that his voice was drowned out by the flying sand and gravel, so he had to shout again at the top of his lungs.

Yao Ying stood hunched over, her eyes beneath the windproof mask looking like thousands of pearls, staring at him intently.

Bi Suo said helplessly: "The horses can't go on the next journey. It's getting dark too fast. I have to hurry back. The army won't move camp tonight. We can rest for one night and come back tomorrow morning when the wind dies down."

Yao Ying glanced at the dark canyon ahead, loosened the reins, and said, "Then I will go in, and the general will show me the way."

Hearing her calm and firm tone, Bi Sa knew that he could not persuade her. He sighed secretly, took the reins from her, arranged their mounts, and continued to move forward with her.

Yao Ying took the cloth bag off the horse's back and put it on her back, then followed him forward.

It was dark and nothing could be seen clearly a few steps away. The canyon became increasingly steep. The two climbed up by grabbing onto the rocks. Suddenly, the stone she was standing on gave way and she fell into a pile of rocks nearby. She felt dizzy and could not recover for a long time.

Biso was so frightened that she gasped for breath. She quickly hopped over to her side and helped her up. "Did you fall anywhere?"

"It's OK."

Yaoying shook her head, got up, and climbed forward using almost both her hands and feet.

Lightning split the sky overhead, and heavy rain poured down. The sky and the earth were filled with the sound of rain. Clothes, scarves, hats, and windproof masks were quickly soaked and stuck to the body and face coldly.

Her body was stiff and cold, and her hands were covered with scars even though she was wearing animal leather gloves.

I don’t know how long I climbed, but I finally heard Bisha’s voice from the front: “Princess, we’re here.”

He stood up and pointed to a dark entrance.

"Right here...Princess, the Regent's power this time is even more terrifying than last time, you have to be careful."

It was raining heavily, and from time to time rocks rolled down from the cliffs on both sides, with intermittent rumbling sounds.

Yao Yinghun was soaking wet. She stood in front of the entrance, shivering. She wiped away the wet hair that stuck to her face and walked inside step by step.

Bisa stood where she was, watching her trembling figure being swallowed up by the darkness.

The depths of the canyon were cold and dark, with no visibility of one's hand in front of one's face. Rainwater poured in through the cracks in the rocks, dripping.

Yaoying groped forward in the darkness, trying to light a fire for illumination, and found that the tinder wrapped in the cloth bag had been soaked by the rain.

She shivered all over, tore off her wet mask, her face as pale as snow, and walked inside with her arms folded.

"General Su?"

Her gentle voice echoed and swirled in the narrow space.

Suddenly a light breeze blew by, and a hand suddenly reached out from the darkness and grabbed her wrist.

Yaoying was startled. Before she could scream, another hand grabbed her throat. The fingertips rubbed her wet skin, and the cold fingers pressed on her neck.

She couldn't breathe and her whole body was shaking.

Outside the canyon, a faint blue flash of lightning cut through the entire night sky, illuminating the vast sky and the vast land, illuminating the entire canyon, and also reflecting the outline of the man beside Yao Ying.

He stood in the darkness, silently, looking down at her, his face full of hideous scars, a hint of crimson between his brows, his green eyes were cold, without any sadness or joy, without a trace of tenderness, and in the illumination of the lightning, he looked like a Shura.

Lightning flashed, sometimes bright and sometimes dark.

When the light was bright, Yao Ying could see his ugly face clearly; when the light was dim, all she could see were his cold eyes.

He said nothing, obviously not recognizing her. He looked at her with a cold and indifferent gaze, with tangled red bloodshot veins in his eyes.

It's creepy.

Amid the sound of rain, Yaoying smelled the blood on his body. She was cold, her wounds hurt, and she was almost suffocating. She raised her free hand and slowly stretched her fingers towards his face.

"Look at me."

"I'm Li Yaoying."

She looked at him, her eyes slightly red, and drops of water fell from her wet temples. She put her fingers behind his head, hooked them around his neck, and pulled him closer to her little by little, until she could see her own pale face in his eyes.

"Are you going to kill me?"

Their eyes met, their auras blended, she felt cold all over, and he felt chilly.

The next moment, he suddenly let go of his hand and pushed Yao Ying away.

"Stay away from me."

He said coldly, his voice low and hoarse, turned and walked inside, his boots stepping on the rocks, and the sound of his footsteps gradually faded away.

Yaoying felt a sore throat and kept coughing, so she raised her feet and ran after him.

He took big steps and disappeared in a blink of an eye. Yao Ying staggered after him. Suddenly, there was a crash in front of him. His tall figure suddenly stopped moving, and then he groaned a few times and fell on the cliff.

Yao Ying's heart was pounding. She ran over quickly, helped him up, turned his face, and her fingers were sticky with blood.

He closed his eyes and passed out.

She held him in her arms and sat beside the cold mountain wall.

The rain, mixed with gravel and sand, flowed and dripped, hitting their heads and bodies, and his fierce face was covered in blood.

Yao Ying's hands were shaking, she closed her eyes, hugged him, stroked his face with her fingers, slowly unwrapped the layers of scarves, then reached down, groped carefully, and tore them off with force.

A flash of lightning shone into the canyon, and beneath the scars, mud and blood, a picturesque face slowly emerged.

The regent Sultan Kumarajiva was Tanmarajiva.

Yao Ying's face was calm. She put down her mask and headscarf, took out a clean handkerchief, and wiped away the mud and water that splashed on the man's cheeks and neck.

The time when his martial arts skills almost backfired and he almost went insane, she confirmed his identity.

He was imprisoned since childhood and grew up to be weak and sickly. Because the situation was unstable, he had to hide his illness and not let the news leak out. In the end, he ran out of energy and died...

In the past, she didn't understand why Sultan's swordsmanship was so fierce and ruthless, with a sharp edge, but also had a kind of compassionate aura that was as vast as the sea and waves. Later, she suddenly realized.

Because he is Luo Jia.

…

When returning to the Holy City from Gaochang, Yaoying was about to tell Tanmo Luoga that she knew about his dual identity. Zhu Luyun was also in the Holy City at that time and wrote a letter to her. She took the letter to find Luoga... He was very cold to her.

Yao Ying was at a loss for a while, staring at him for a long time, but he ignored her. She walked around him for a while, but he still said nothing.

When he was a Buddhist, he was high and mighty and very unfamiliar with her, as if Sultan Kumar was really another person.

Yao Ying thought that for him, holding the butcher knife and killing people was a last resort. He definitely didn't want to recall those things, and the fewer people who knew this secret, the safer it would be.

But she was just an outsider and shouldn't pry into his secrets.

If Bisha and the others knew that she knew that Sultan Kumarajiva was Tanmaraka, they might hesitate between killing her to silence her and letting her go.

On that early spring morning, Yaoying was playing with Kaluga while thinking seriously. She didn't want to embarrass Tanmaraka, so she made up her mind to hide her thoughts and pretend that she didn't know they were the same person.

…

It's raining heavily.

Yao Ying calmed herself down and used her last bit of strength to move Tanmarajiva to a dry place to make him lie down. She poured out a few pills and fed them to him.

On the way to the canyon, Biso told her that she had to get close to him and let him wake up. As long as he regained consciousness, nothing serious would happen.

Everything should be fine when he wakes up again.

She undressed him and wiped him.

He usually wears a loose monk's robe and looks thin, but when he takes off his clothes, his muscles and body lines are smooth and unrestrained.

Yaoying stopped and stared at the gauze wrapped around his shoulders.

This arrow wound was caused by him when he rescued Li Zhongqian.

He traveled thousands of miles alone, rescued Li Zhongqian, lifted the siege of Gaochang, and then left quietly, still injured.

If she hadn't been thinking about thanking Abhi in person but couldn't find him, she would have become suspicious and asked Li Zhongqian and Mo Biduo about Abhi. She would never have discovered that Abhi was him.

Originally she was just suspicious, but when she arrived at Yuanjue's room and smelled the familiar smell of pills that he had to take regularly, her suspicion turned into certainty.

She didn't even bother to ask Yuanjue for confirmation, she just rushed over.

A few days later, he returned to the Holy City.

Yaoying lifted the gauze to look at the wound, applied medicine, bandaged it, and then put on his robe and turban for him.

After doing all this, she was so tired that her hands and feet were shaking, her body was as cold as ice, and even her heart was cold.

She took out the sheepskin jacket from the cloth bag and covered herself with it, then curled up against the cliff. She kicked Tanmaragha lightly with her feet and smiled with the corners of her lips curled up.

"Monk, you lied to me."

More than once.

She wasn't angry at all.

I just feel sad.

…

In the middle of the night, the wind stopped and the rain stopped. The surroundings were quiet. The rain flowed along the cracks in the rocks, and the sound of water was gurgling.

Tanmarajiva woke up slowly, closed his eyes, practiced qigong and regulated his breathing, his dantian felt slightly warm. After the blood circulation in his body was unblocked, he slowly opened his eyes. Everything in front of him was dark, with a few faint lights leaking in from the cracks. The puddles on the ground reflected silver light.

Just as he was about to continue regulating his breathing, a cough suddenly sounded beside him.

Then, there was another sound, with a suppressed gasp.

Tanmaraka opened his eyes, his gaze fell on a dark shadow beside him, and his pupils dilated.

Yao Ying sat on the cliff beside him, her face pale, her brows furrowed, her eyes tightly shut, and she coughed. Her long hair fell down, wetly draped over her shoulders, and she trembled.

Tanmaraka's figure froze, his face expressionless.

The next moment, his eyes regained clarity. He pushed aside the messy hair beside Yao Ying's cheek and touched her neck with his fingers. It was wet and damp.

She was cold as ice, shivering constantly, and her coughs sounded painful.

Tanmarajiva had no worries and was always calm and sober. He was not troubled by life and death. But at this moment, the coughs he heard were like waves crashing on the shore, making him feel a little helpless.

Yao Ying curled up into a ball and shivered.

Tanmarajiva picked her up, held the sheepskin blanket covering her tightly, wrapped her up carefully, stood up and walked out of the canyon, using his inner strength to leap down the cliff, his toes stepping over the slippery rocks, his figure as fast as lightning.

His body was shaking all the time. He took a deep breath and ran as fast as he could. He ran two miles in one breath. In the distance, he saw a flickering fire. A few horses were munching on grass cakes in the valley. Bisa, wearing a shawl, was sitting by the fire and dozing off.

He carried Yaoying forward.

Bisha was awakened by the sound of footsteps. She raised her curtains and met the look in Tanmaraka's eyes. She was so frightened that she trembled and fell to the ground. Before she could get up, she said quickly, "Princess Wen Zhao came here herself!"

"The princess knew you saved her brother and was worried about your injury, so she came all the way here."

Tanmaraka put Yaoying down and said, "Clothes, medicine for the cold."

Bishuo was in a hurry and took out his clothes to hand them to Tanmaragha. He went back to the camp and saw that it was raining heavily, so he took some clothes and food and returned, thinking that he would go to find them in the daybreak. Unexpectedly, Tanmaragha came to him by himself.

Tanmo Luojia first fed Yaoying the medicine, but she pursed her lips tightly and refused to eat. He let her rest her head on his legs, pinched her chin with his fingers, and fed her the medicine.

Then he opened her clothes, but suddenly stopped and looked up at Biso.

Bisha quickly jumped up and walked away without looking back.

Tanmarajiva picked up Yaoying, moved her to the fire, brushed away her long hair, and untied her clothes.

In the firelight, her snow-white skin was as smooth and silky as mutton fat, dazzlingly white, and her snow-white shoulders were soft and moist.

Tanmarajiva closed his eyes, wiped Yaoying's body hastily according to his feeling, changed her into dry clothes, then opened his eyes again, poured a bowl of water heated by the fire, fed her a few sips, touched her forehead, and the fever subsided a little.

He helped her to tidy up her long hair, stared at her for a while, and then let go of her hand.

After the wet and sticky clothes were changed, Yaoying felt very comfortable and coughed less often. She felt that the person who took care of her was about to leave, so she subconsciously grabbed his sleeves with both hands.

Tanmaraka lowered his eyes and looked at her grasping his fingers.

Under the boundless sky, the bonfire burned quietly.

He stared at Yao Ying, his heart feeling empty, as if he had thought of nothing, yet it seemed as if he had already thought of everything.

Just as he was lost in thought, his sleeves were tightened, Yaoying's eyelashes trembled slightly, and she opened her eyes, two hazy eyes fell on his face.

He remained motionless.

Yao Ying had just woken up and was still a little groggy. After a while, she recognized the person in front of her, and two lights lit up in her eyes. She clutched his sleeve tightly, struggling to sit up. Her eyebrows suddenly knitted into a ball, and she covered her chest and coughed violently.

Tanmarajiva leaned over, helped Yaoying sit up, poured a bowl of water for her to drink. She pushed the bowl away, raised her hands suddenly and grabbed his collar, her face almost touching his.

Her cheeks were flushed, she was unconscious, her eyes were wet, but her gaze was clear and bright.

"Sultan," she asked word by word, her breath lingering with his, "Do you like me?"

With a bang, the ceramic bowl was knocked over, and half a bowl of hot water spilled all over the floor.

There was a faint white glow in the sky, the morning light broke through the clouds, and the wind was howling.

She was asking about Sultan Kumar.

Tanmarajiva regained consciousness, picked up the earthenware bowl on the ground, and poured a new bowl of hot water into it.

Yao Ying's mouth twitched as she watched him busying himself. She coughed a few times, her eyes widened as she stared at him: "You...you answer me first...yes, or no?"

As she spoke, she coughed so hard that tears came out of her eyes.

Tanmaraka looked at her, his hand holding the earthenware bowl raised steadily to her lips.

Yao Ying continued to cough.

Tanmarajika remained silent, looked away, glanced at her with the corner of his eyes, his brows suddenly wrinkled, he raised his hand and brushed away the long hair on Yaoying's forehead.

He didn't dare to look at her closely. He didn't notice it at first, but when it was dawn, he found that there was redness and swelling on her forehead.

"Be good and drink some water."

He spoke softly, gently, yet without question.

Yao Ying's heart was throbbing. She didn't know why, but she suddenly felt a surge of sadness. She looked straight into his eyes and said, "If you don't answer, I will keep waiting until you answer. Sultan Gu, do you like me?"

Her eyes were bright and clear, and the gaze she gave him was gentle and firm.

He was a monk and could not give her anything.

Tanmarajika shook his head to deny it, but then he heard a familiar voice softly say, "Yes."

After a long time, he responded.

That was his own voice.