"Try my foot, you shameless wretch."
Ye Luan felt as disgusted as if she had swallowed a fly, but her limbs were pinned against his body, making escape impossible.
He leisurely savored her distress, his thin lips curling into a smile that revealed his pearly white teeth. His aura was wild and unrestrained, infuriating her to no end.
"Your Highness, please release me. This is meaningless when forced."
"Release you?" He gave a disdainful smile. "Kiss me first, and I'll let you go."
Ye Luan suppressed the rage surging within her, forcing a charming smile onto her face. "If Your Highness loosens your grip, I will naturally serve you well. Holding me like this is truly painful."
Hearing this, his grip loosened slightly, a smile playing on his sinister and alluring face.
"Serve this prince? Tsk, interesting."
Ye Luan subtly raised her eyebrows, enticing him. "Then why isn't Your Highness releasing me first?"
He seemed to believe her and let go.
The next second, Ye Luan kicked him directly in the abdomen, her knee straightening to pin him against the bed.
But he skillfully twisted his palm, catching the hidden weapon in her hand and waving it at her with a chuckle.
"Trying to injure me with a hidden weapon, little girl? You're still too inexperienced."
Ye Luan's heart sank.
Just then, a thunderous explosion suddenly erupted from outside, the sound violent.
Both of them startled and quickly got up to investigate.
Xie Beihan's eyes narrowed slightly, his aura as cold and serpentine as ever. Looking at the fiery front courtyard, he let out a contemptuous sneer.
This madman is here quickly!
"Your Highness, shouldn't you go and see?"
Xie Beihan chuckled. "You seem rather happy?"
"I'm just afraid Your Highness might perish in Mobei. I'm merely concerned."
He said no more. After ordering his hidden guards to keep an eye on her, he strode away.
Ye Luan's expression turned cold instantly. She walked to the window, pulled out a signal flare, and shot it into the air. Then, she donned the cloak draped over the rack and slipped out through the window.
Throughout the estate, sounds of fighting erupted. The front courtyard was filled with the roar of gunpowder explosions, intensely fierce.
The guarding dark guard, seeing her escape, immediately appeared to block her path and engaged her in combat.
"Miss Ye!"
Qingyi!
Finally, he had arrived.
A dozen shadow guards suddenly emerged from the backyard, directly injuring the dark guards left by Xie Beihan and whisking her away.
"Why are there so many shadow guards?"
Ye Luan scaled the wall and fled, leaping onto a horse and following them.
Qingyi's expression remained unchanged as he briefly explained, "The young marquis learned of your situation and sent shadow guards to assist."
"Jing Zhi? Where is he?"
"The young marquis is gravely ill and is no longer in Mobei."
Upon hearing this, Ye Luan frowned and rode away swiftly.
Under the moonlight, the group traversed the wilderness, soon disappearing into the night.
The estate behind them was left far behind.
Qingyi asked, "Where does Miss plan to go?"
Ahead lay Blood Ridge Mountain. Beyond the pass, if one turned west, it would lead to the border of Northern Qi.
"I plan to go to Beidi. You don't need to follow me. Go and take care of your young marquis."
She needed to leave quickly under the cover of night, absolutely unwilling to be pursued by those two madmen.
However, Ye Luan did not expect to encounter Lu Feibo, who was waiting for her, at a post station in the frontier before she could even leave the pass.
The sky was just beginning to lighten.
He wore a light green robe with a cloak draped over it. His features were handsome, his bearing as elegant as jade, yet it could not conceal his profound weakness and pallor.
The golden lotus flowers at the entrance were scattered like fine dust on his clothes and hair, adding a fragile,病态 beauty.
She had traveled all night, exhausted to the bone, covered in frost.
Lu Feibo shifted his wheelchair and slowly walked towards her.
"A'Luan, are you alright?"
Ye Luan moved her aching legs and dismounted, asking with concern, "Why are you here? How long have you been waiting in the cold?"
The wind in the frontier was quite biting. Had he been waiting for her here all along?
Lu Feibo shook his head. "I'm fine."
"Fine? The young marquis was worried about you and waited here all night despite his illness. If not for his limited mobility, he would have personally gone to--"
Before Qingluan's complaining words could finish, Lu Feibo sharply interrupted him.
This was followed by a bout of heavy coughing.
The handkerchief was stained with blood, more terrifying than ever before.
Ye Luan was startled, a sense of guilt rising in her heart.
"Your Highness, please go in and rest for a while before continuing your journey."
Lu Feibo, his face pale, nodded and entered the post station.
This was the frontier, along the ancient roads beyond the pass. Everywhere, there were camel caravans of Hu merchants. Along the official roads, one could occasionally see tea stalls, taverns, and temporary lodgings for merchants to trade.
However, with frequent wars, the frontier was quite chaotic, with bandits and sand thieves aplenty.
"A'Luan, are you going to Beidi?"
Lu Feibo asked her weakly, lying on the cot in the post station.
Ye Luan paused and retorted, "Have you found Handanzhu yet?"
"Not yet."
His body was at its limit. Forget it, no need to search further.
Ye Luan saw the despair in his eyes; he had lost the will to live.
Her abdomen ached unbearably. She wanted to help him find medicine, but now, she was barely able to save herself. Staying by his side to help him would only be a burden.
"You haven't eaten since morning, have you? Go out and eat something first. I'll have the shadow guards escort you away later."
Let's go, go far away. As far away from them as possible.
Ye Luan's eyes reddened slightly, and she nodded faintly.
"You should rest first."
After leaving the room, she leaned against the door and remained silent for a long time.
Handanzhu!
Where on earth could it be found?
"Miss Ye, come down and eat something quickly."
Downstairs, Qingyi sat on a long bench, having ordered a table full of food.
Ye Luan withdrew her complex emotions and went downstairs to eat.
"These sesame cakes are baked so crispy, not like those in the Central Plains at all. Try one."
"Thank you." After a pause, Ye Luan asked, "Qingluan, where are you going?"
Qingluan drank some soy milk and replied, "The young marquis is going to Wuhui Gate."
If it weren't for waiting for Miss Ye, they would have left this place long ago.
"Wuhui Gate?"
Qingyi, noticing Ye Luan's confusion, explained, "The young marquis's grandmaster is from Wuhui Gate."
The young marquis's illness could not be cured.
A dying man only wished to return to his homeland for burial.
Ye Luan was slightly surprised. If he was from Wuhui Gate, after all these years, why couldn't Wuhui Gate save him?
She held the cake, her fingers turning pale, her heart aching with a dull pain.
What should I do?
Where on earth can Handanzhu be found?
What exactly should I do?
"Miss Ye, eat quickly. I'll escort you away after you're done."
'Qingluan, even with so many of you, you still haven't found any trace of Handanzhu?'
Hearing her words, Qingluan sighed helplessly. "The Crown Prince must have sent countless people to search, but they found nothing. The young marquis's body cannot hold on any longer."
He was relying entirely on medicine to sustain his life now.
Ye Luan mechanically bit into the cake, tasting nothing. After a moment, she made a sudden decision. "Can I go with you to Wuhui Gate?"
She wanted to save him, to meticulously study his current physical condition.