The interlaced light and shadows were cast on the carpet at the door.

Li Xuanzhen smiled sadly: "Qiniang, will you never forgive me in this life?"

Yao Ying didn't look at him and said, "You hated my mother, you hurt my mother and my brother, you hurt me, and then you saved my brother, you saved me... Between you and me there is the hatred of our parents and elders, and after going through so much, there is nothing left for us to say."

Li Xuanzhen closed his eyes, "Li Zhongqian wanted to kill me, why did you stop him? Do you really only hate me?"

Yao Ying said calmly: "Because you are the crown prince of the Wei Dynasty after all. If he kills you, he will be hunted down by Li De."

The light in Li Xuanzhen's eyes gradually dimmed and his expression became lonely.

"I can wait for you to forgive me, even if it takes a lifetime."

Yao Ying had no expression on her face.

"Brother..."

She whispered.

Hearing this title, Li Xuanzhen trembled all over.

"I gave my elder brother a chance. I think he was just blinded by hatred for a while... You pushed my brother into a desperate situation time and time again. I had to learn how to fight with Wei Ming and deal with the difficulties of the Eastern Palace. You led the troops with my brother. As the crown prince, you have enough money and food, and you can get reinforcements whenever you want. It is even more difficult for my brother to ask for reinforcements. Anyone with a discerning eye knows that my brother will be troubled by you in the future. He led the troops to attack the most solid cities, but the results of the battles had to be divided up by others. His subordinates were often not promoted, so he could only recruit some people from all walks of life..."

"My brother had a very hard time because he could not escape from Li De's control. He had no choice but to persevere."

Yao Ying looked at Li Xuanzhen and said, "It's fine if you hate us or if you let go of your hatred. I don't want to have anything to do with you anymore."

There was a moist light in Li Xuanzhen's eyes.

"You gave me a chance... then give me another chance! I can become immortal again. I will make up for all my mistakes. Give me a chance!"

Yao Ying shook her head: "If you stop disturbing my life and my brother's life, that will be the greatest compensation for me."

Li Xuanzhen was silent for a while, with an indissoluble haze flashing in his eyes.

"Qiniang, I can't do it."

Yao Ying frowned.

Li Xuanzhen laughed at himself and said, "You see, that's who I am."

"Before my mother died, I just wanted to live well with her in this chaotic world. Later, Wei County was conquered by the enemy, and we suffered a lot..."

Li Xuanzhen closed his eyes in pain.

His mother's experience had always been buried deep in his heart. For the sake of his mother's reputation, he had never told anyone about it and never would.

"Later... my mother died in front of me just to protect my position as crown prince. What could I do?"

He was tied to the gallows, and he had to live out the rest of his life to fulfill his mother's dying wish. Otherwise, he didn't know what to do.

For the sake of his mother, he secretly accumulated strength, waiting to assassinate Li De and target Li Zhongqian.

Because of the void in his heart that could never be filled, he protected Zhu Luyun.

In order to gain the trust of his subordinates, to quell the chaos and to reduce the number of women like his mother in the world, he led his troops into battle.

Now, he wants to be himself again and make up for his past mistakes. He once had a chance to be like a normal person. She gave him hope, and he chased that light in the darkness.

Just like praising the father and chasing the sun, either realize your wish or die in the pursuit, there is no other choice.

He died on the same day as his mother.

"Qiniang, I met you and have been through so much with you. You are still alive, and I am still alive..."

He smiled bitterly, his eyes dark and crazy.

"I accept it. This is my fate, Li Xuanzhen."

He let out a long sigh, which was both bitter and sweet.

"When I first met you, I thought we could get along well, but I didn't expect you to be my enemy. I felt resentful and humiliated. I hated you, and I hated myself even more for being soft-hearted towards you. I allowed Wei Ming to get rid of you, and then I found myself regretting it..."

"Qiniang, I don't want to regret it anymore. Since God wants to play with me like this, I'll just indulge myself! I'm shameless. I know you look down on me and hate me. I have no other choice. As long as I have a breath left, I won't give up."

Li Xuanzhen sighed quietly, the hostility in his eyes grew deeper and deeper, he sat up straight abruptly, grabbed a dagger and stuffed it into her hand.

"Do you hate me? Is it only by killing me that you can forgive me? Okay, you kill me."

He held Yao Ying's hand tightly and thrust the dagger into his own chest.

The dagger was sharp and quickly made a wound, from which blood oozed out.

Yaoying was startled and tried to shake his hand off.

Li Xuanzhen held on tightly and stared at her with a crazy look, as if he could not feel any pain. The dagger continued to pierce inside, and his chest was covered in blood.

"Qiniang, this is me!"

He hissed, his eyes bloodshot.

Yao Ying was horrified.

The next moment, Li Xuanzhen released his grip on her hand, raised his arm to hold her, and pulled her closer to him, his face filled with a gloomy and vicious look getting closer and closer.

Yao Ying was caught off guard and stared at him blankly.

Those narrow eyes were filled with dark and passionate desire.

Yao Ying widened her eyes and was stunned for a long time.

"You're crazy!"

She reacted suddenly, pushed Li Xuanzhen away, stood up suddenly, and felt an uncomfortable feeling in her heart. Goose bumps appeared all over her body, and the places where he touched felt like burning.

Li Xuanzhen fell back on the couch, his face twitching in pain, blood oozing out from under the gauze, his face expressionless, his phoenix eyes looking straight at her.

"I'm not crazy."

He said.

"Li Yaoying, I want you."

It was as if a firecracker exploded in her ears. Yao Ying felt a surge of nausea and walked out.

He was her brother, and she thought his apology came from his repentance and the affection they had for each other in the past. She never expected that he would have such thoughts about her. It was simply unreasonable!

Li Xuanzhen looked at Yaoying's determined back as she left and smiled bitterly.

"Yao Ying, you are not the daughter of Li De and Xie Manyan."

Yaoying's mind was buzzing with confusion, but upon hearing this, she suddenly calmed down and stopped in her tracks.

Li Xuanzhen endured the severe pain from the wound and climbed up: "I sent people to check and confirmed again and again that Xie Manyan was not pregnant at that time. Because my mother died, she lied that she was pregnant. Xie's family helped her hide it. Li De was often away from home and did not suspect anything... You are the abandoned baby that Xie Wuliang picked up on the battlefield. Pei Gong's letter can confirm your identity."

Yao Ying turned her back to him and remained silent for a long time.

"I didn't lie to you. I'm not your brother."

Neither is Li Zhongqian.

So when Li Xuanzhen first found Yao Ying, he didn't dare tell her the truth, because at that time he had to return to Liangzhou to take charge of the situation and could not stay for long.

Now he had to tell her the truth. She had come to the royal court in secret, and it must be for the regent Sultan.

"so what?"

A faint question broke the silence. Yao Ying turned around and looked at Li Xuanzhen with a normal expression.

"Just because you are not my brother, everything between us is written off?"

Li Xuanzhen was stunned.

Yao Ying twitched her lips, "Even if I was adopted by my uncle, my mother took care of me, my brother raised me, and we depended on each other. Whether my brother and I are related by blood or not will not change this. What happened between you and me will not be wiped out like this. Nothing will change."

She turned and walked away.

Li Xuanzhen came to his senses and called her: "What if you still have relatives alive?"

Yaoying's back stopped.

"Yao Ying, I know who your biological father is, and I know you have blood relatives alive... You don't care about your own background, but what about Li Zhongqian? What would he think if he knew you were not his biological sister?"

Yao Ying smiled and turned around: "You want to use my background to threaten me?"

Li Xuanzhen smiled bitterly and shook his head: "No, I just want to remind you that Li Zhongqian doesn't want to know your background... Believe me, I don't want to hurt you."

He looked into her eyes.

"I just want to start over with you."

Yaoying looked at him and asked, "Who is my biological father?"

Li Xuanzhen mentioned a name.

Yao Ying clenched her hands in her sleeves and turned away.

The guards were waiting for her outside. Seeing her unhappy face, they asked hurriedly, "Qiniang, what's wrong?"

Yaoying was unable to recover for a long time, her face turned pale, and after walking a long way, she suddenly stopped.

"Send the prince to the silk shop and arrange for someone to send him back to Gaochang. Keep this a secret from Alang and don't let Alang meet the prince."

The personal guards didn't understand what was going on and just nodded.

Yao Ying looked dazed. She returned to the house, dismissed her personal guards, and said, "I am not feeling well. I need to sleep for a while. If there is anything, please report to me after I wake up."

The bodyguards retreated.

…

An hour later, several personal soldiers rushed into Li Xuanzhen's house, forcibly lifted him up, and took him out.

When Li Xuanzhen was about to fight, his personal guards held down his arms, lowered his head, and pulled off his veil.

"Your Highness, it's me."

His tone was respectful.

Li Xuanzhen was startled and his eyes widened.

The visitor quickly put on a face scarf and said, "Whatever your Highness wants, we can do for you."

Half an hour later, a carriage surrounded by curtains drove out of the courtyard. The guard knew that Yao Ying was going to send Li Xuanzhen away, so he checked the carriage and let the carriage pass.

In the afternoon, Li Zhongqian hurried back to the courtyard and went into the house to see his sister. He knocked on the door for a long time, but there was no movement inside. He frowned, pushed the door open, and lifted the brocade quilt on the couch.

Under the quilt, there was only a pile of clothes.

Li Zhongqian's expression suddenly changed: "Where are the people?"

Everyone was shocked and hurriedly called the personal guards who were on guard everywhere. After counting, they found that some people were missing and there was no trace of Yao Ying anywhere.

Li Zhongqian was furious: "Mingyue Nu has never left the house, how could she be missing?"

The personal soldiers searched everywhere, and when they remembered that only Li Xuanzhen's carriage had been out today, they broke out in a cold sweat.

At this moment, a sharp whoosh sounded through the air, and a feather arrow flew into the courtyard and stuck on the earth wall, with the tail of the arrow clanging.

Li Zhongqian pulled out the feather arrow with a sullen face, took out the letter from the arrow, and after reading it, he trembled all over and his eyes became fierce.

"They took Mingyue Nu away and warned us not to leak the news, or they would kill us to silence us."

The guards' faces changed drastically.

…

Wang Temple.

Tanmarajiva was wearing a snow-white cassock and sitting in front of a desk.

The Lieutenant General of the Imperial Guard reported the disturbance in the city to him and promised that it would be thoroughly investigated. The celebrations would continue and there would be no more disturbances or violence.

He listened quietly.

"king!"

The awareness rushed into the meditation room, leaving me breathless.

Bi Suo signaled the General of the Household to withdraw.

After everyone left, Yuan Jue hurriedly said, "The princess is gone!"

The meditation room suddenly became quiet.

"Duke Wei suddenly got furious and left with the princess and his personal guards. I couldn't stop him no matter what I did."

Bi Suo was stunned.

Tanmarajiva stroked the Buddhist beads with his fingers without saying a word.

…

Outside the holy city.

When Yaoying woke up, she found herself in a dim carriage. Her hands and feet were tied with ropes, and her mouth was stuffed with soft cloth. The carriage was shaking, making her dizzy and nauseous.

She remembered that she was taking a nap on the couch in the room. Who took her away?

A whisper came from the side: "Are you awake?"

Yao Ying came to her senses and met a pair of bloodshot eyes.

She tried to sit up, but couldn't move. She tried to bite the rope around her hands with her teeth, but the rope was made of leather and she couldn't bite it.

Li Xuanzhen lay beside her, groaning a few times, suppressing the pain, and whispered: "Don't break your teeth, you can't bite them off."

Yao Ying gritted her teeth: "What do you want to do?"

Li Xuanzhen smiled bitterly: "I didn't do anything..."

"Who kidnapped me?"

Anyone who could take her away under the guards' noses must be a Han Chinese.

"It's Li De."

Yao Ying's mind raced, "Impossible."

Li De had many plans. He wanted to recover the Western Regions, win the hearts of the people, stabilize the court, and consolidate his position. The recovery of the Western Regions was a great achievement that would go down in history. However, the noble families in the Western Regions did not trust the Wei Dynasty. Once he angered the noble families, he would completely lose the hearts of the people. He did not dare to easily break the current balance. His decree to confer the title of Princess Yaoying was to appease her and show his goodwill to the noble families. At the moment, Li De could not send someone to arrest her.

Li Xuanzhen coughed a few times and said weakly, "It was not Li De's order, but the assassins sent by Li De. I know their leader. They were ordered to capture me and bring me back to Chang'an. I fell into their hands before and escaped several times. They mixed in with the envoys and followed me to the royal court. When they saw me risking my life to save you, they guessed that you were the reason why I came to the royal court, so they wanted to capture you and bring you back to report."

"These assassins have been trained since childhood and only care about their mission, not the overall situation."

Yao Ying asked anxiously: "Did they do anything to my brother?"

Li Xuanzhen looked at her.

Even though she knew her own life experience, she still cared so much about Li Zhongqian.

"No, they didn't dare to make too much noise. Wang Ting definitely didn't find out that you were kidnapped. Li Zhongqian is fine."

Yao Ying heaved a sigh of relief, her mind racing, thinking about how to escape.

Did Tanmaraka know that she was missing? If he knew, would he be very worried?

He was sick, and he still had to worry about her...

While thinking about how to escape, Yao Ying was worried about Tanmarajiva and Li Zhongqian. She rubbed her head and found that the hairpin in her hair had been pulled out long ago. She kicked her legs and the dagger hidden in her boots was gone.

"Don't move, don't hurt yourself..." Li Xuanzhen comforted her softly, "Li Zhongqian must be catching up. I will try to hold them back. You find a chance to escape."

Yaoying said nothing.

Li Xuanzhen smiled and said, "You don't believe me?"

He sighed and looked at the roof of the car.

"Qiniang, I really want you, and I will do whatever it takes, but I know that if Li De gets involved, you'll be in danger... I can't let him find out that I like you."

Yao Ying said nothing.

After an unknown amount of time, the carriage suddenly stopped and Li Xuanzhen signaled Yao Ying to bite the soft cloth and pretend to sleep.

One of them lifted the curtain and took a peek inside, saying, "Your Highness, we have arranged for several more carriages to take Li Zhongqian away. Don't worry, once we leave the royal court, we won't have to hide anything."

Li Xuanzhen's heart sank.

If Li Zhongqian was lured away, even if he held back these assassins, Yao Ying would not be able to escape. But now he was seriously injured and couldn't even lift the knife.

"How did you get into the Holy City? Who is the insider?"

The assassin smiled and said, "Your Highness, don't worry about it. Money makes the world go round. A year ago, the emperor ordered us to bring the Crown Prince back to Chang'an. We have been following him for a year, but he still refuses to go back. Now that we have captured the princess, you must not run away again, otherwise we will treat her badly."

Li Xuanzhen sneered: "The princess is now the leader of the Western Army. If you touch her, how will you explain to His Majesty?"

The assassin laughed: "We don't care who she is! As long as we can bring the Crown Prince back, we don't have to worry about what happens next!"

As he spoke, he raised the knife towards Yao Ying.

Li Xuanzhen's face was gloomy: "Don't touch her!"

The assassin smiled, put away his knife, and lowered the curtain: "Then Your Highness should behave yourself and don't force us to take action."

…

The road was covered with yellow sand, and the galloping horses were like a dark cloud, sweeping across the road with the sound of thunder.

Li Zhongqian led his personal soldiers and ran for dozens of miles, finally discovering the traces of the carriage, chasing after it and surrounding it.

The person who was rushing the car trembled and rolled out of the car.

"Ming Yue Nu!"

Li Zhongqian pulled aside the curtain and glanced inside the carriage. A woman with a veil on her face was hiding in the carriage, looking at him in horror.

His heart skipped a beat and his face turned pale.

“This one is fake too.”

The group immediately turned their horses around and chased in another direction.

…

The other direction.

The carriage was galloping.

After struggling for a long time, Yao Ying finally bit the ropes on her hands, quickly untied those on her feet, and then loosely put the ropes back on her wrists and legs to avoid being noticed by the assassins.

She was extremely anxious.

Li Xuanzhen's face became paler and paler, he vomited some blood, and his body trembled.

Yao Ying rolled her eyes and stopped the assassins: "The prince is so badly injured, why don't you stop and change his bandages? If anything happens to him, how will you report back to Chang'an?"

The assassins were skeptical and lifted the curtain to look inside.

Li Xuanzhen understood Yaoying's plan and cooperated with her by trembling all over.

The assassin had been following Li Xuanzhen and saw with his own eyes that he was injured while blocking the knife for Yao Ying. He hesitated for a moment, fearing that he really had an accident, so he stopped the carriage and changed the medicine for him.

After quickly wrapping it up, he continued on his way.

Yaoying looked disappointed, she thought she could delay a little longer.

The sky darkened and the wind howled violently.

In order to avoid patrols, the assassins chose to go to places where there were few people. There was a wasteland all around them and they could not travel fast at night, so the carriage finally stopped.

The temperature dropped sharply at night, the wind was biting, and the car curtains were rustling in the wind.

Li Xuanzhen sat up with great difficulty, opened the curtain, glanced outside, and said, "Grab a horse and run away. Don't look back. Run to the south. They are very cunning. They are not going east, but north."

He turned around and looked at Yao Ying.

She looked nervous and focused on observing what was happening outside.

After discovering she was caught, she was anxious but not panicked. She must have gotten used to this kind of life during the time she was wandering in the Western Regions.

He felt very uncomfortable.

The two men waited patiently until midnight. There was no star or moon, and the sky was pitch black. Li Xuanzhen struggled to get off the carriage, saying that he wanted to go to the toilet and did not want to dirty the carriage. The assassins laughed and helped him away.

In the dark night, Li Xuanzhen's eyes went dark and his hands and feet trembled. He waited for half a cup of tea, bit his tongue hard, twisted his body abruptly, pulled out the dagger from the waist of the assassin who was urging him, and stabbed the assassin's throat.

Hearing the commotion in the carriage at the other end, Yao Ying quickly climbed down, took a deep breath, ran as fast as she could, jumped on the horse, pulled the reins, and rushed into the night.

The assassins will not kill Li Xuanzhen, so Li Xuanzhen is not in danger of losing his life. She must escape as soon as possible. Even if she fails and is caught, she can delay some time or leave some traces.

Yao Ying's heart was beating like a drum. She gripped the reins tightly and galloped in the dark night.

Soon, the sound of dense horse hooves and the shouts and curses of the dead soldiers came from behind.

Yao Ying gritted her teeth and urged her horse to speed up.

The assassins behind her were getting closer and closer, so close that she could see the gleaming long swords in their hands. Shouts rang in her ears, and one of the assassins opened his big hands to grab her arm.

There was a sharp whoosh sound.

An iron arrow pierced through the gloomy night and shot out from the darkness. The arrow was filled with internal strength and had tremendous momentum, and it directly pierced through the arm of the assassin.

The assassin screamed and fell off his horse.

Iron arrows were shot out in succession, with whizzing sounds one after another, like a rainbow penetrating the sun. Screams were heard everywhere, and several assassins fell to the ground one after another.

Yaoying was panting like a bellows and raised her head.

There was a faint shadow floating in the darkness ahead.

A man and a horseman rushed out from the darkness. The man on the horse was wearing a blue shirt and a white robe on his shoulders. He stood tall and straight, holding a longbow and a quiver on his waist. He calmly drew the string and put an arrow on it. The arrow was as fast as lightning, fierce and domineering, yet also had a sense of compassion.

Several more assassins fell off their horses.

Dark clouds gathered, the night was thick, the cold light of the iron arrow reflected on the man's face, reflecting a pair of cold green eyes under the veil.

Yaoying opened her mouth and her eyes suddenly became hot.

The only sound between heaven and earth was the sound of his hooves galloping towards her.

There were deafening shouts of killing behind him, and the black horse galloped up to him in an instant. The man held the bow in one hand and her waist with the other, and with a light leverage, he lifted her into his arms. She stretched out her hand, hugged his neck tightly, and felt herself landed safely on the horse's back.

Yao Ying's whole body was trembling.

Tanmarajiva spread out his white robe, wrapped her in it, and looked down at her.

Yao Ying's eyes were filled with tears, and she trembled as she said, "You are crazy."

The same three words used to evaluate Li Xuanzhen, but with completely different feelings.

The horse was galloping wildly, and in the bumpy ride, Tanmaragha said nothing. He put his hand on her neck and held her tightly in his arms.

Yaoying heard his heartbeat, which was still slow and calm.

Monk, you are crazy.

Yaoying smiled, tears welling up in her eyes, shock, bitterness, sweetness, joy, heartache, worry... all kinds of emotions surged up and boiled, and her heart slowly settled down.

…

Not far away, the sound of hooves was like thunder, and more dark shadows approached them. The man in the lead had a pair of violent eyes. He rode forward, sword raised, and was stunned when he saw Tanmarajiva and Yaoying hugging each other on horseback.

"Ah Lang! I found Qi Niang!"

The guards shouted at him.

Li Zhongqian frowned, glared at Tanmaragha fiercely, and rode forward to kill.

Forget it. This Sultan is very smart. He knows that he and Yao Ying would not leave the holy city without a reason. Something must have happened. He came to help him search everywhere to track down the assassins. They were able to catch up with them thanks to his familiarity with the terrain. He deserves all the credit for his hard work... I'll settle the score with him tomorrow!

The assassin did not expect to be caught up so quickly, so he decisively turned his horse around and returned to the campfire. He asked others to lead Li Zhongqian away, while he grabbed Li Xuanzhen and fled.

With a puff.

The dagger pierced into flesh.

Feeling severe pain, the assassin lowered his head and looked at Li Xuanzhen in disbelief.

"Prince, Li Zhongqian is here. If you kill me, aren't you afraid that Li Zhongqian will kill you? We are now grasshoppers on the same rope!"

Li Xuanzhen's eyes were grim. He raised the dagger and stabbed it into the chest of the assassin again and again without mercy.

The assassin screamed and both of them fell off their horses.

Li Xuanzhen rolled on the ground several times and saw the assassin stand up while covering his wound. He rushed forward and hugged the assassin's legs. The assassin staggered and fell. Li Xuanzhen climbed up and slashed the assassin's throat with a dagger.

The assassin stared at him with his eyes wide open.

Li Xuanzhen threw away the dagger.

"No one who wants to hurt her can be spared..."

These people have a secret way of communicating, which can pass messages without anyone noticing, and no one can be left behind.

Li De must not be allowed to know what he is thinking.

Li Xuanzhen collapsed to the ground and closed his eyes.

…

Li Zhongqian led his personal soldiers to deal with the remaining assassins and turned around on his horse.

"Ming Yue Nu!"

He shouted from a distance.

"Are you okay?"

Yao Ying came back to her senses and leaned out of Tanmarajya's arms, "Brother, I'm fine. How about you? Are you not hurt?"

"I'm fine."

Li Zhongqian shook his head and said, looking at Tanmarajiva's arms holding Yaoying, he felt uncomfortable all over.

The guards brought the unconscious Li Xuanzhen over and asked, "Ah Lang, what should we do with him?"

Li Zhongqian raised his long sword.

Yao Ying thought for a moment and said, "Brother, he is not in the same group as those people."

Li Zhongqian snorted coldly and put away his long sword. "Take it back and watch it for yourself. There are accomplices in the Gaochang delegation. Remember, don't take any strangers."

Everyone gets the order.

Li Zhongqian ordered his personal soldiers to bring a horse over to Yao Ying.

Yaoying emerged from Tanmarajiva's arms. Without saying a word, he took off his white robe and covered her with it, then watched her dismount.

She climbed onto another horse, gripped the reins tightly, and whispered to Li Zhongqian, "Brother, General Su is injured, and I am worried about him. Let's go with him first. When we get back, I will tell you in detail what happened today."

Li Zhongqian was unhappy, but seeing Yaoying's anxious face, her eyes were red with anxiety, and he couldn't bear to embarrass her, so he snorted and said, "Okay."

He felt a little guilty because his subordinates drove away the royal guards, allowing these assassins to take advantage of the opportunity and sneak in.

Yaoying separated from him and rode to catch up with Tanmarajiva who was walking alone on the side.

The wind was howling, she wrapped her white robe tightly around her body, moved closer to him, and wanted to speak, but before she opened her mouth, her eyes turned red.

With a loud bang, Tanmarajiva suddenly fell off the horse. The horse took a few steps forward, noticed the movement, turned around, and circled around him.

"Roga!"

Yao Ying pulled the reins, got off the horse, rushed to his side, and turned him over.

The veil on his face fell off and he looked up at her with his blue eyes.

"Are you leaving?"

He asked softly, his consciousness hazy.

Yao Ying felt as if she had been stabbed hard by someone, and her heart was filled with grief.

Aren't you angry? You ignored me for a few days and forced me to leave?

Didn't you say that I could leave whenever I wanted?

You consider everything carefully, afraid of getting me into trouble and not wanting to look down on me. You know that all love is fleeting and illusory. You have thought everything through, so why are you still obsessed with me?

Yao Ying's tears flowed like a spring, but the corners of her mouth curled up slightly. She held Tanmarajiva's cheeks with both hands, lowered her head, and rested her forehead against his.

"I'm here, monk."

Tanmaraka looked at her face so close to him, and their breath blended together.

He said in a daze: "I am a Buddhist disciple of the royal court... my illness cannot be cured."

Yao Ying smiled with tears in her eyes: "Don't worry, we will treat you slowly. I told you, it doesn't matter that you are a monk, you don't have to return to secular life and break your vows."

No matter how long the treatment lasts, no matter what the outcome is.

Give it a try, there is always hope.