I don't want you to suffer.
Ye Qian froze, instinctively clenching his fist, but Shen Zhiqing immediately said, "Impossible!"
"What's impossible?" Sheng Xingxing, who had just stood up and was negotiating with the guards, asked.
“We said Tang Yan couldn’t possibly be in any trouble,” Ye Qian replied calmly.
Realizing she had misspoke, Shen Zhiqing immediately stopped talking, and Yun An chimed in, "That's right, we won't let anything happen to Xiaoyan."
"Ayan?" Sheng Xingxing was stunned, her face full of confusion as she hurriedly asked, "What happened to Ayan?"
“She impersonated me and drew away the Southern Continent army for me.”
Like a muffled thunderbolt, Sheng Xingxing froze on the spot.
"What...what are you saying?"
Tang Qi wasn't here. He had already secretly left when he came out of the cave. When he saw Yun An in the cave, he guessed that the place where he had seen the female corpse must be the point where Tang Yan and Yun An separated.
He originally thought that Tang Yan was the one who used the bamboo firefly grass as a clue, but now it seems that the opposite is true.
However, there was only one trace of bamboo firefly grass in that place, so either it was already dark when Tang Yan was captured, and her skill in using bamboo firefly grass would be easily discovered, or the person who captured her was too strong, so strong that Tang Yan dared not make any unnecessary small moves.
It turns out that both are true.
Tang Yan's luck is just that bad.
Although Gui Luo temporarily agreed to spare her life, he didn't make her life any easier. Her hands were tied in front of her, with the other end of the rope tied to Gui Luo's hand—like a hunted prey.
She didn't have to suffer so much, but she tried to escape.
She thought she had a chance.
After all, Gui Luo only had one subordinate besides himself.
Unfortunately, she miscalculated. Sure enough, how easy is it to deal with someone that her brother fears?
As night deepened, Gui Luo had already taken her away from Dongshou Mountain. Along the way, she dared not scatter bamboo fireflies, as it was too risky. Gui Luo had already warned her when he caught her in the water.
"Very good. I've always liked smart people. But let me remind you, next time you should choose a time when you're 100% sure you can escape, since I'm 100% confident I can kill you."
They stopped in an unfamiliar place and started a fire, and Gui Luo even caught a few wild animals.
He killed the chicken and roasted it over the fire. The skin quickly turned golden brown, and the sizzling, oily aroma made Tang Yan swallow hard.
Since he captured her, Tang Yan hadn't eaten anything. Her hands and feet were tied, and the night wind was chilly. Her clothes were wet, but she could only huddle at the edge of the fire. Tang Yan stared intently at the roasted chicken that Gui Luo was turning over in his hand, like a predator eyeing its prey.
"Want some?" Gui Luo smiled and glanced at her.
Tang Yan nodded without hesitation. She was starving, and her strength was completely gone. If she didn't eat soon, she definitely wouldn't survive this cold night.
She smacked her lips and kept staring.
"Mine." Gui Luo deliberately lifted the roast chicken and shook it, even bringing it close to smell it: "Mmm~ It smells so good."
Tang Yan's veins throbbed. This guy was really asking for it.
However, Gui Luo's smugness didn't last long, because soon his subordinate rushed over recklessly and bumped into his arm.
"Boss! Look what this is! Can we grill it?"
Gui Luo clenched his fists, suppressing his anger as he looked at the person in front of him who was holding up a large worm and showing off his success with a look of delight. He said, "Li Pingfeng, is there something stuck between your ears?"
Li Pingfeng felt a little wronged by his scolding. Holding the big worm, he sat down and grumbled. Gui Luo glared at him several times before finally resigning himself to his fate and reaching out his hand, saying, "Give it to me."
So the big bug started sizzling and oozing oil.
The roast chicken that had been knocked away rolled around in the mud a few times before finally stopping in front of Tang Yan.
She immediately reached out and took a big bite of the top layer. After tearing off the outer skin, the inside wasn't actually very cooked, but Tang Yan didn't care. She just kept suppressing her nausea and stuffing the food into her mouth.
Gui Luo paused in his roasting of the large worm, stared at her blankly, and said, "Even Li Pingfeng doesn't eat the things on the ground."
Li Pingfeng punched him.
Tang Yan continued to put meat in her mouth, her mouth full of mud and blood. She said calmly, "My life is cheap, I just want to live."
Gui Luo laughed twice, and Tang Yan dropped the branch in his hand and stepped on the bones he had just eaten.
Do you know what you look like right now?
Tang Yan met his eyes through the mask of the blue-faced, fanged man: "What does he look like?"
"Like a wild beast."
"Then you'd better be careful, lest I bite you to death."
Her gaze shifted downwards and lingered on Gui Luo's throat, staring at him fiercely.
"Oh, I'm so scared, please don't kill me~" Gui Luo chuckled, continuing to stare at her: "So, shouldn't I say that?"
His words were laced with undisguised mockery, and Tang Yan turned away, holding her breath.
"Do you still want to eat?"
Tang Yan leaned against the tree, closed her eyes, and replied, "I'm full."
The taste of blood still lingered in her mouth, irritating her stomach and making her feel nauseous. The calories from one roast chicken were enough to get her through the night.
"What is your relationship with Princess Yun'an?"
After a long period of oppressive silence, Gui Luo suddenly spoke.
"She's a princess. What relationship could I possibly have with her? It's nothing more than me dying in her place," Tang Yan replied.
However, she did it voluntarily.
"So you really are just a maid?"
Tang Yan finally opened her eyes and looked in his direction: "What do you think? Do I look like a princess?"
Gui Luo pouted and said, "You don't have the air of a princess."
"She doesn't have the life of a princess."
Tang Yan closed her eyes again, wondering if Princess Yun'an had successfully escaped.
"Tomorrow you will come with me to the base to rescue people."
Tang Yan hummed in response.
“Tsk tsk tsk,” Gui Luo suddenly clicked his tongue repeatedly: “Shouldn’t you be shouting that you’d rather die than save the enemy? You really have no backbone.”
"If I don't save you, will you kill me?" Tang Yan stared at him.
"Of course, if you weren't coming with me to save people, what would I have done with you until now?"
Tang Yan curled her lip: "That's settled then. I don't want to die, so I have no choice."
"What if I kill you after I save you?" Gui Luo said with a smile. If you ignored what he said, his appearance could really be described as gentle.
Li Pingfeng, gnawing on the large meat worm that Gui Luo had just grilled, said casually, "Then you, boss, are really heartless."
Then he got kicked by Gui Luo again.
"Even if you're ungrateful for crossing the river, I'll still haunt you every day, even if I die, and I won't let you have a good time, whether you live or die."
Tang Yan stared at him fiercely, her tone as if she wanted to tear him to pieces.
"Ah...you're so fierce~" Gui Luo still had that cheeky look on his face.
Tang Yan resisted the urge to punch him and turned her head away, ignoring him.
"If you can really save him, I will let you go."
Gui Luo spoke up once again.
"Really? Why?"
Tang Yan suddenly turned her head to look at him. She really couldn't believe that Gui Luo could have such a kind heart.
Gui Luo met her gaze, chuckled lightly, and said in a rather serious tone, "Didn't you say your life was cheap? I'll let you go back and rest. When we meet again, when you're more valuable, I'll buy you back and sell you to the ghost messengers for a good price."
Tang Yan was stunned for a moment, then frowned and changed her expression, saying to him, "You won't have that chance. Next time, I'll definitely be the one to tie you up."
Gui Luo looked at her and laughed, then slowly began to clap his hands:
"Wow, you're so amazing!"
...
"Gira!!!"
She couldn't hold back any longer.
While Tang Yan was still leaning against a tree to calm herself down, Tang Qi had already arrived at the place where she had encountered the female corpse. The blood on the ground had almost dried and congealed in the soil, looking like flowers.
The girl's body was taken away by the guards who had come before, and now only a few pools of blood remain at the scene.
Since Tang Yan was pretending to be Yun An to lure the enemy, then Yun An's hiding place must be in the opposite direction from where Tang Yan ran out. Tang Qi squatted down and carefully examined the footprints left by the soil.
There were many guards coming and going on Dongshou Mountain, so the footprints were naturally numerous. However, what Tang Qi found strange was that so much time had passed, and they should have searched the entire Dongshou Mountain once by now, but there was not a trace of the Southern Continent Army.
He now has some doubts about whether Tang Yan and the Southern Continent Army soldiers who captured her have already left Dongshou Mountain.
But this is even stranger. As early as when the news of Yun An's disappearance came out, Dong Shou Mountain had already been completely sealed off. Even they had difficulty entering and leaving Dong Shou Mountain, let alone those people from the Southern Continent.
Moreover, Dong Shou is within the territory of Shuo Dynasty. No matter what their purpose is, no one from the Southern Continent would dare to sneak into Shuo territory alone. Since there was more than one person, how did they manage to do it so quietly?
Tang Qi suddenly remembered someone.
Zhou Ziye stared at Yun An's retreating figure as she was taken away by the guards, with Shen Zhiqing accompanying her.
The others followed the garrison down the mountain, but Zhou Ziye and Ye Qian did not move.
“She saw it.” Zhou Ziye said calmly, with Ye Qian standing behind him.
It was a declarative sentence; Zhou Ziye did not turn around.
"Do you hope she saw it, or didn't?"
Ye Qian asked.
Zhou Ziye chuckled softly upon hearing this, looked up at the only bright star in the night sky, and said in a calm tone, "I hope... she didn't see it."
Ye Qian grabbed Zhou Ziye by the collar and punched him in the face, yelling, "Do you know that's his sister?!"
Zhou Ziye took the punch, but Ye Qian still angrily said, "That's Tang Yan, haven't you seen him before? Zhong Le is dead, do you want his sister to get hurt too? What are you thinking, Zhou Ziye!"
Zhou Ziye wiped the blood from the tip of his nose and looked at him: "I know."
Ye Qian was so angry that his chest was trembling. After calming down for a moment, he spoke again: "Zhong Le once told me that you had scrapped your military license plate. He was very angry and felt sorry for you."
Zhou Ziye clenched his fist.
“But I don’t think it’s important whether you have a military license plate or not. Even if you don’t join the army, you’re still Zhou Ziye.”
Ye Qian looked at him, his tone disappointed: "But now I feel that you've ruined more than just your military license plate, Zhou Ziye. Do you remember what you said before?"
"You're associating with people from the Southern Continent, that's treason, don't you understand! If His Majesty finds out, your entire family will be executed!" Ye Qian practically roared.
If a louder voice could wake Zhou Ziye, he would gladly shout himself hoarse.
Unexpectedly, Zhou Ziye laughed. He looked up at Ye Qian again, his eyes filled with despair.
A sense of despair washed over him, realizing that all his efforts had been in vain: "Are you so sure His Majesty doesn't know?"
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