Chapter 124 Part 2

 

With a loud bang, accompanied by tragic human voices and chaotic horse neighing, the huge boulder pressed down on the heads of several people who had no time to escape, and then smashed heavily at the bottom of the valley.

It was like an earthquake, with a cloud of dust rising as high as ten feet. Those people nearby who were lucky enough not to be hit were also shaken and fell to the ground.

As the dust gradually settled, the scene ahead became clear—the exit was now completely blocked by the massive boulder, along with countless broken branches and debris. More rocks continued to tumble down the cliffside, piling up higher and higher. One man lay trapped beneath the boulder, his lower body crushed. Blood streamed endlessly from his eyes, ears, and nose. From his open mouth, he slowly spat out pieces of bloody and fleshy things that looked like intestines. Yet, he was not fully dead. One hand still twitched weakly, clawing at the ground, his eyes locked onto his comrades, silently pleading for help.

But his companions had no time to spare him. Seven to eight of them had been struck by smaller falling rocks—some merely suffered bleeding wounds, while others had bones shattered and tendons torn.

Li Meng was hit on the arm by a falling rock, forcing him to release Li Yan. When he regained his bearings, he ignored his own injury, sprang to his feet, and frantically searched for Li Yan.

“Your Highness! Your Highness! Where are you!”

Hearing a suppressed groan of pain, he saw that one of Li Yan’s legs was pinned by a stone weighing at least several dozen pounds, and blood was dripping from his leg. Li Meng turned pale and quickly rushed up, pushing the stone away. He then summoned several nearby men who were safe and sound, and helped Li Yan onto the horse: “Your Highness, follow me! There is another way out from the edge of the marshland!”

This route was a relatively long detour and required passing through a swamp.

However, even though danger lurk everywhere, it was worth the risk. In any case, it was better than being trapped here and fighting like a trapped beast.

“Take her too!” Li Yan’s face turned pale, but he still gritted his teeth and gave the order.

Wei Yinniang had just escaped a disaster and was now hugging herself with both hands, huddled at the bottom of the valley to avoid the large and small pieces of rubble that were still falling from above her head.

She stayed in Chang’an, but she no longer associated with the woman she once called “Sister” who later officially became a princess of the Holy Dynasty. Even when that person got married and sent someone to deliver wedding cakes, she refused to accept them.

Her sister was very smart and must have understood her wish. From then on, she never bothered her again.

This made Wei Yiniang extremely grateful.

She could reminisce with the “Sister” named Xuyu, as if nothing had happened. One of them was the elder sister of the Wei family, and the other was still the little county princess of the Prince Mansion. However, she could not pretend that nothing had happened. Just as she could not erase the memories of her home, she also could not summon the same all-consuming thirst for vengeance that consumed her former lover.

She had lost her origin and did not know where to return. That, perhaps, was her greatest sorrow.

Apart from the small building she was familiar with, she didn’t know where else she could go.

She thought that her stagnant life would continue like this until not long ago, when Li Yan, who had disappeared, sent someone to contact her again. Then, just a few days ago, she didn’t know what kind of connections he used to quietly take her out of Chang’an.

Li Yan said that his great plan was about to be accomplished and he had to leave Chang’an temporarily, so he took her with him to make up for his past debt to her.

He wanted her to see him reach the summit with her own eyes and share the glory with him.

When she heard Li Yan telling her these things, her heart was calm and there was no ripple.

Perhaps because of what she had endured in her youth, she no longer believed that her life would ever see any light—let alone any so-called “glory.” To be alive was merely the result of not having died. She had no faith whatsoever in the dazzling and triumphant future he painted for her, no matter how earnestly he swore it to be true, no matter how many times he emphasized the immense power he now possessed.

And yet, in the end, she did not expose his illusion. She simply listened, calmly, with a faint smile, letting him speak to his heart’s content. Because in that moment, as he spoke to her, she saw in his eyes a brightness that had not been there for a long time.

She could not bear to extinguish it—to spoil his joy, to push him back into the same hopeless despair he had once known.

Once, no one in the world understood—no one could empathize with—the pain he had suppressed beneath his calm exterior better than she did.

And so, in the end, with a bit of confusion, she let herself be led away by the man who had been her love in her youth.

According to him, he was here to meet someone, and after the meeting, he would take her away from Chang’an and go to a new place. That was where everything would start for them in the future.

She never thought that the situation would end up like this.

Li Meng looked back at Wei Yinniang and hesitated.

“Go! Do you dare to disobey my orders?” Li Yan tore off a piece of his clothes, bound his injured leg, and shouted again.

Li Meng hesitated, gritted his teeth, but ultimately obeyed his orders. He turned back, swiftly carried Wei Yinnang on his back, and, dodging the falling rain of stones above, rushed to deliver her to Li Yan’s side.

Li Yan pulled her onto the horse’s back. With her riding in front of him, he spurred his mount forward, maneuvering along the rugged terrain at the base of the cliff.

His mount was a strong horse, and carrying the two of them did not slow it down significantly. Though the path was treacherous, they eventually managed to shake off their pursuers and entered a quiet valley.

“Your Highness, watch your way! Go this way!”

Li Yan followed the path led by Li Meng in front of him and avoided a swamp covered with weeds. Just as he was able to catch his breath and urged his horse to pass a banyan tree and speed up, he suddenly felt his body sink slightly. He looked down and found that one of the horse’s hind legs had sunk into the ground.

It looked like a piece of ordinary-looking wasteland covered with some gravel.

Just when he realized something was wrong and wanted to drive his horse away quickly, it was too late. The ground, which was just a few feet away from the banyan tree, swelled slightly, and the horse’s hooves sank.

His mount began to struggle, trying to keep its footing, but the more it did so, the faster it sank.

In just a few breaths, the horse’s hind legs sank to the knees.

Wei Yinniang, who was sitting in front of him, could not keep her balance. She screamed and fell off the horse, and her feet and knees disappeared immediately.

Li Meng and several of his followers were horrified and quickly came under the banyan tree. They took tentative steps and slowly approached.

“Don’t move, Your Highness!”

Li Meng took off his coat, held one end, and threw the other end towards Li Yan.

“Hurry up and grab it! We’ll pull you out before you get stuck!”

Li Yan was still sitting on the horse. Only his feet were stuck in the mud. He caught the clothing thrown to him with one hand, gripping it tightly, while his other hand reached for Wei Yinnang, trying to pull her up along with him.

“There’s no time! They’re almost here! Two people are too heavy to pull up!”

He had already grasped Wei Yinnang’s hand and tried to lift her, but he quickly realized that it was impossible. The more he exerted force, the more futile it became—worse still, it also made him sink a little more along with the horse under him.

“Your Highness, please consider yourself and the greater cause!” Li Meng roared.

Li Yan’s eyes suddenly turned red. He turned his head and looked at Wei Yinniang.

“Your Highness, don’t worry about me.”

Wei Yinniang’s body below her thighs was already stuck in the mud. She looked at Li Yan’s eyes and said this in a calm tone, with even a faint smile on her lips.

“Go on your own.”

As she finished her words, she pulled her hand out of Li Yan’s palm.

Then, Li Yan was forcefully pulled up by several people on the shore, leaving only his two boots stuck in the mud.

Li Yan was helped up and almost carried by people, stumbling forward, and finally got on the back of another horse.

“Yinniang—I’m sorry—

“I will avenge you…”

He turned his neck, but before his head could fully follow, it was as if an invisible hand had seized his throat, stopping him from moving any further. Finally, he slowly lowered his head, his voice trembling, nearly choking as he uttered these words. For a moment, his eyes seemed to be dripping with blood, yet Li Meng and the others still urged him forward. Like a lifeless puppet, he was forced to continue on.

Behind him, Wei Yinniang had already closed her eyes.

At the last moment of her life, strangely, she did not feel any fear. Her mind flashed through the memories of her family, the music bureau and the brothel, and finally, for some reason, the little girl who always liked to follow her and Li Yan appeared in front of her again.

“…In my heart, I still hope that one day you can take me to eat sesame cakes, fresh from the oven, and you can tell the lady to sprinkle more sesame for me…”

Wei Yinniang seemed to hear again the words she said when they last met.

She couldn’t help but feel her eyes warm and tears fell down.

Suddenly, at that very moment, a rope flew down from above, looping around the half of her body still exposed above the muddy ground. The next instant, she felt a tightness around her shoulders and arms—someone had caught hold of her.

She opened her eyes in surprise and saw Pei Xiaoyuan appear in front of her.

He stopped under the banyan tree and threw a lasso to her, trying to save her.

She was stunned.

How could she not know that he was the person Li Yan had risked his life to meet today.

And Li Yan was also the person he wanted to capture.

But at this moment…

“Master Pei, go do your thing. You don’t have to worry about me! It has nothing to do with you!”

How could she deserve such help? When she came to her senses, she struggled to get out of the rope.

After dislodging the boulder, Pei Xiaoyuan did not try to return to the other side. Instead, he securely fastened the rope to a nearby cluster of thick vines, then lowered himself down, descending swiftly along the cliffside. Moving with practiced ease, he leaped downward, making his way directly to the valley floor from the opposite side.

Before Chen Shao and others arrived, he was the first to grab a horse that had been frightened in the chaos. Leaping onto its back, he sped past those groaning on the ground, relentlessly pursuing the direction in which Li Yan had fled—until he witnessed this scene unfold.

He frowned slightly: “Don’t move! I’ll pull you up!

“If the Princess knew that I didn’t save you, she would definitely blame me!”

Wei Yinniang’s eyelashes trembled and her face turned pale.

She stopped struggling and slowly lowered her arms, allowing Pei Xiaoyuan to pull her out of the mud inch by inch and finally onto the shore.

At this time, Chen Shao and others who were lagging behind hurriedly arrived. Pei Xiaoyuan ordered someone to take care of her, and he continued to lead people on the road to chase. However, the opportunity was missed. When the group followed the traces of Li Yan’s escape in front, and finally chased out of the valley and turned to a vast hill, Li Yan and the remaining people around him were already far ahead.

Then, the shadow rolled down the hill and completely disappeared below the horizon.

The wind was blowing hard.

“Pei Xiaoyuan! Just wait! The real drama is about to begin!”

Li Yan’s faint voice, filled with hatred, was carried by the wind before it could fully take shape—only to be swiftly scattered, vanishing into the boundless wilderness and mountain forests.

Xuyu arrived and ordered people to send Wei Yinniang back.

Pei Xiaoyuan stopped alone on a mountain plateau, facing north.

A strong wind blew, blowing up his blood-and-soot-stained clothes, but his back remained motionless, like a statue.

Qingtou blew a whistle to catch the white-headed falcon that was still flying in the sky, while following Xuyu closely, sighing: “So close! Just a little more! What a pity! This great achievement is lost…”

“Shut up!” Xuyu scolded softly.

Qingtou looked at the back of his master in front of him and shut up.

Xuyu walked behind him, and before she could speak, she saw him slowly turn around and whispered, “It’s my incompetence. I sent out so many people, but in the end, I failed to catch Li Yan.

“Please forgive me, Princess.”

“It’s alright.” Xuyu looked at his depressed face.

“I’ve said it before, man proposes, Heavens disposes. How can I blame you? You tried your best. If it doesn’t work this time, there will always be next time. What’s more, you saved my sister, I am very grateful.”

After hearing this, he slightly raised the corners of his mouth, as if he wanted to smile at her, but he didn’t know how forced the smile was, which made Xuyu feel uncomfortable.

“You are tired too, let’s go back.” She said softly.

He was silent for a moment, then said, “I want to be alone for a while. Princess, you go back first.”

After he finished speaking, he seemed to realize that his response was not appropriate, so he immediately changed his words and said with a smile, “Alright! I’ll take you back first. You didn’t sleep last night, so you must be very tired, right?”

Xuyu’s gaze paused on his face for a moment, and she said, “I’m not tired. I suddenly remembered that I have something else to do. I’d better leave first, and you can do whatever you want. When you’re done, you can come back. I’ll wait for you at the posthouse, no matter how long it takes.”

After Xuyu finished speaking, she smiled at him and then turned and left.

Suddenly, the young man nearby exclaimed, “Princess! Prince Consort! Look! There’s someone over there! It seems to be…”

He squinted his eyes and tried to identify him, then shouted, “It’s Prince Ashina!

“That’s him! No wonder the falcon didn’t listen to me just now! It kept flying over my head!”

Pei Xiaoyuan turned his head suddenly, and sure enough, on the other highest hilltop in the distance, there was a man sitting on horseback. In the sunlight, he could vaguely see that the man was wearing a pointed hat and a fur coat with a lapel. The figure was very familiar, it was Chengping.

He must have been watching the battle from this high ground, and he may have witnessed how Li Yan finally escaped, but he did not leave immediately. He raised his arm and summoned the falcon down, letting it land on his arm, stroking it for a while, and then letting it fly again.

The falcon circled twice above his head, then turned and flew back towards Qingtou, landing on Qingtou’s shoulder.

Then he turned his horse around and rode away quickly.

Pei Xiaoyuan’s eyes were filled with dark clouds.

He suddenly whistled to call his mount not far away, jumped onto the horse’s back, took the sword and bow from a nearby guard, urged his horse to chase after him.

Xuyu climbed up a nearby high ground and looked into the distance.

In the wilderness, Chengping rode his horse in front and Pei Xiaoyuan chased him closely. The two riders rode one in front and one behind, as fast as shooting stars. Suddenly, Pei Xiaoyuan stopped his horse.

He took off the longbow on his shoulder, put an arrow on it, and drew the bowstring taut until it curved like a full moon. Silently, he aimed at the swiftly retreating figure ahead. For a long time, he remained motionless, waiting—until the rider was just about to escape beyond the range of his shot. In that instant, he suddenly released the arrow.

At the very moment his thumb, which had loosed countless arrows before, let go of the tightly drawn bowstring, the corner of his sharp-featured face twitched involuntarily.

The arrow tore through the wild wind, carrying a low, piercing whistle as it streaked toward its mark—striking deep into the rider’s back, right between the shoulder blades.

Chengping fell off the horse and landed on the ground. He lay there motionless, as if dead. But a moment later, he seemed to have recovered his breath and got up from the ground with difficulty, staggering toward the horse that had sensed something amiss and instinctively turned back. When the man and the horse met, he seized the reins and hauled himself back onto the saddle. As the horse broke into a gallop once more, he slumped forward over its back, utterly still.

After a moment, suddenly, he slowly turned his head, staring at the figure standing behind him that was getting smaller and smaller. He let the horse carry him farther and farther away—until at last, he vanished completely into the vast northern wilderness.

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