Chapter 44: Staying
My little princess.
Seeing his sister standing between them, Li Jing had no choice but to withdraw his sword, turning his gaze to the man in military attire with a cold demeanor before him.
Xuan Rui pulled Li Youqing behind him, only to have her suddenly embrace him from behind.
His figure stiffened momentarily as he heard her trembling voice weeping, “General Xuan, Zhenbei Wang has rebelled! Are you really going to help him hunt down the crown prince of Daliang?!”
Hearing her tone, Li Jing’s expression darkened further as he swung his sword toward Xuan Rui again.
Worried about injuring the person behind him, Xuan Rui didn’t dodge but directly raised his Mystic Iron Sword to block the strike.
Seeing this, Li Youqing tried to stop Li Jing again, but Xuan Rui pulled her back to his side, her unsteady steps landing in the crook of his arm.
As his intimidating aura pressed down, she couldn’t help feeling frightened, thinking to herself that he was finally going to lose his temper.
Xuan Rui stared at her fluctuating expression, a trace of cold mockery appearing in his eyes as he said in a deep voice, “I once told you that once you leave my territory, I can’t guarantee whether what you fear might happen.”
The sounds of fighting outside grew closer when Xiao Ziqi suddenly rushed in and reported, “General, many from the prince’s residence have come. I just went up to the roof to check – almost the entire Imperial Guard has been mobilized.”
“Youqing, come over here now.” Li Jing held his sword against Xuan Rui’s, saying sternly, “Father Emperor longs for your return to the palace, yet here you are entangled with an outsider man. What improper behavior!”
Hearing him mention Father Emperor, Li Youqing’s heart tightened as she choked out, “Imperial Brother, if we both die in the northwest, the blow to Father Emperor would only be greater. Now you still have a chance to escape, why don’t you go first—”
Imperial Brother?
Hearing this form of address, Xuan Rui couldn’t help but carefully examine the man opposite him.
Previously, he had mistakenly thought she had eloped with another man, blinded by jealousy, which made him overlook many details.
Li Jing, Crown Prince of Daliang – it was he who had orchestrated the little princess’s fake death, and now he was risking his life to infiltrate the northwest, repeatedly claiming he wanted to bring her back to the palace.
What purpose lay hidden behind these contradictory actions?
With the situation critical, Xuan Rui glanced at the half-opened secret passage in the wall and said sternly, “Enough talk! If you don’t leave now, do you really want to die here?”
Through tear-filled eyes, Li Youqing saw the man’s resolute and stern profile. Though fierce, it inexplicably brought her a sense of security.
As the man led her into the secret passage, she turned to call out to the crown prince, “Imperial Brother, hurry!”
Li Jing coldly watched their interlocked hands, then grabbed her other hand and said coldly, “Now that General Xuan knows her identity, you should restrain your behavior.”
This scoundrel—
He and his imperial sister had been close since childhood, yet he had never held her hand so intimately.
Xuan Rui lowered his gaze, seeing the troubled expression on Li Youqing’s face and the rapid reddening of her eyes. He voluntarily released her hand and walked forward without a word.
These two actually shared no blood relation – something the little princess didn’t know, though the crown prince might be aware.
Xiao Ziqi was the last to enter the secret passage, closing the hidden door behind him.
Li Youqing stared at the broad back of the man ahead, feeling as if even his hair strands were radiating anger. After some thought, she broke free of his hand and said, “Imperial Brother, I can walk by myself.””
Li Jing glanced at her. Though quite displeased, he said nothing more at this moment.
The four of them emerged from the secret passage one by one, arriving at a secluded narrow alley.
Not far away, a visibly anxious Cong Ying was driving a carriage to provide support. Seeing Xuan Rui and the others there, she spoke in a tone tinged with surprise and uncertainty, “Your Highness, please get in the carriage quickly!”
Li Youqing hesitated and glanced at Xuan Rui. The Crown Prince urged again from beside her, “Youqing, we should go.”
Xuan Rui said solemnly, “With soldiers and officers swarming the city now, it would be better to have Ziqi escort you out of the pass first. I will do everything in my power to protect the princess. Once the situation calms down, I will personally escort her back to the capital.”
Having spent his life on the battlefield, relying on his skills to make a living, he rarely lowered his posture like this.
At this moment, with a sincere expression, he revealed the bold determination of a young man and said earnestly to Li Youqing, “Princess, will you trust me?”
Li Youqing knew that if the Crown Prince brought her along, she would only be a burden.
But under her Imperial Brother’s stern and gloomy gaze, she couldn’t bring herself to say the word “yes.”
Since childhood, she had never seen her Imperial Brother so angry.
It felt as though if she dared to nod, he would immediately draw his sword.
Ignoring Xuan Rui’s earlier words, she walked over to the Crown Prince and said calmly, “Imperial Brother, I will return to the palace with you.”
Xuan Rui’s eyes dimmed. Noticing the Crown Prince’s extremely unfriendly gaze, even tinged with an inexplicable hostility, a vague, ominous suspicion arose in his heart.
The two boarded the carriage one after another. Li Jing lowered the curtain and said to Cong Ying, “It’s time. Head for Shanyu Pass.”
Xiao Ziqi stared blankly as the carriage sped away, thinking he was finally free to rest. But then he saw the General, after a momentary daze, mount his horse again and chase after the departing carriage.
Frustrated on behalf of his leader, he stomped his feet in anger but had no choice but to exert all his effort to follow.
As Xuan Rui rode, the cold wind cleared his mind somewhat.
They had hidden in Baoyue Brothel for a day, and heading to Shanyu Pass at this moment surely meant everything there had been arranged.
Chasing after someone determined to return to the capital without even a word of farewell—how ridiculous.
Though he thought this, he didn’t slow down in the slightest.
Xuan Rui followed the carriage at a distance, dealing with any pursuers who caught up, thus protecting them all the way to Shanyu Pass.
His nerves were taut as he watched them draw closer to the pass, suppressing emotions on the verge of erupting.
Suddenly, the carriage’s rear curtain was pulled aside, revealing her pale face as she shouted something to him across the distance, but the wind was too loud to make out her words.
Xuan Rui’s expression sharpened, and he sped up to catch up.
But just then, the carriage was forced to a sudden halt. In the blink of an eye, he saw the Crown Prince tumble out of the carriage with someone in his arms, and for a moment, his heart seemed to stop.
Fortunately, the delicate figure was well-protected, looking at him with a bewildered expression.
He steadied his breathing and, seeing the Crown Prince already on his feet and engaged in a fight with several black-clad assassins, immediately drew his sword to assist.
Xiao Ziqi, who had caught up, joined in as well. Noticing that the Crown Prince, despite Cong Ying’s protection, was quickly losing ground, he shouted, “Boss, you take three, I’ll take two!”
These assassins were all raised by the Prince’s estate. Though they were first-rate experts, they were no match for soldiers like them, forged in the fires of bloody battles.
The Crown Prince, a noble from the palace, would only become a burden if he joined the fray.
Unfortunately, it was already too late as they spoke. The five men seemed to see only Li Jing, and one of them, unrestrained, lunged toward the Crown Prince with a ghostly swiftness.
A woman’s scream pierced the air as the Crown Prince was struck in the right side of his abdomen. He staggered back, his face deathly pale.
Seeing that the assassin had also been wounded by the Crown Prince and could no longer press the attack, Cong Ying rushed to steady him and called out to Li Youqing, “Princess, we must leave now!”
The situation was critical. Steeling her heart, Li Youqing helped Cong Ying lift the Crown Prince into the carriage.
Just then, the injured assassin suddenly leaped into the air, his blade poised to strike Li Jing’s back. Fortunately, Xuan Rui arrived in time, his Mystic Iron Sword piercing the assassin’s chest.
Seizing the opportunity, the two remaining assassins swiftly closed in on Xuan Rui. Unable to dodge in time, he raised his left arm to block the blow—even his armor was pierced instantly.
As if feeling nothing, he spun around and silenced the ambushing assassin with a single sword stroke to the throat.
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a slender figure disappearing into the carriage. Ignoring the pain in his left arm, he continued to engage the assassins, preventing them from pursuing the carriage.
As the sound of carriage wheels turning reached his ears, he seemed oblivious to the agony in his shoulder. Resolute, his Mystic Iron Sword struck with lethal precision, his eyes blazing with fury.
Before long, Xiao Ziqi collapsed to the ground, panting heavily, while all five assassins lay cold and lifeless in pools of blood.
Xuan Rui knelt on one knee, his shoulder bleeding profusely, his face pale.
Seeing his commander struggling, Xiao Ziqi quickly retrieved bandages from the saddlebag and wrapped the wound.
Xuan Rui hung his head, his brow tightly furrowed, a cold sweat beading on his forehead from the pain.
“Commander, what’s wrong?” Xiao Ziqi couldn’t help but feel puzzled.
There had been many times when his commander had suffered worse injuries yet never allowed anyone to assist him, staggering on his own to find his warhorse and only summoning the army physician upon returning to camp.
He had always believed his commander’s body was forged of iron, so why did he appear so weak now, kneeling on the ground for so long without rising?
It wasn’t until he heard a woman’s sharp intake of breath nearby that Xiao Ziqi looked up and realized the young lady had returned.
Over the years, Xiao Ziqi had become the General’s right-hand man in the Zhenbei Army not without some cleverness. He immediately adopted a grief-stricken expression and wailed, “Commander, you were wounded saving the Crown Prince—your tendons and meridians in your arm are severed! I fear you’ll be crippled for life. How will you manage?”
Hearing this, Li Youqing hurried over to examine his arm. Finding the wound hastily bandaged and still bleeding, she scolded angrily, “Do you even know how to bandage a wound? Why is it still bleeding so much?”
Xiao Ziqi sighed helplessly, “The cut is deep and damaged the bones and tendons. It won’t stop bleeding so quickly.”
“Then why are you just standing there? Carry him to the nearest clinic at once!” Li Youqing’s composure frayed. If this were the palace, any attendant who neglected their master like this would have been dragged away and executed.
Sensing a gaze fixed upon her, she grew flustered and lowered her eyes to avoid it.
Remembering the severity of his injury and the agony he must be enduring, she forced herself to meet his eyes calmly and said, “Don’t worry, I won’t let you die.”
As for his arm—if it truly never healed—she would simply buy him a house full of servants to attend to his every need.
Xiao Ziqi could no longer bear to listen. Glancing at the corpses strewn across the ground, he spotted two warhorses not far away and silently mounted one before riding off.
Hearing the hoofbeats, Li Youqing grew anxious and tried to pursue him, but a large hand pulled her back.
Stumbling, she fell against the man’s chest, feeling his heavy breath against her ear. She instinctively held her breath.
Xuan Rui cupped the back of her head with his uninjured hand, took a deep breath, and asked, “The Crown Prince is also wounded. Why didn’t you follow to tend to him? Instead of seizing the chance to return to the capital, you risked coming back for me.”
Had he failed to eliminate all the assassins, she would have swiftly fallen into Zhenbei Wang’s clutches.
Such high stakes were obvious—he refused to believe this cunning little creature was unaware of them.
A faint warmth stirred in his chest, yet the recent agony of nearly losing her made him hesitant to dwell on it.
“Don’t speak now. Let me help you find a physician,” Li Youqing steadied herself, straining to support him.
Xuan Rui’s gaze flickered as he rose, allowing her to assist him toward the side.
The warhorse stood waiting. He swung onto the saddle first and, seeing her still frozen in place, frowned. “Weren’t you taking me to a physician? Why aren’t you getting on?”
“Oh.” Li Youqing stepped onto the stirrup, intending to sit behind him, but he hauled her in front instead.
Xuan Rui leaned against her from behind, his voice breathless. “You take the reins. I need to rest.”
After a day and night of battle without sleep, and emotions plummeting and soaring, even an iron man would buckle under such strain.
Li Youqing feared jostling his wounds and dared not ride too fast.
Though Xuan Rui closed his eyes to rest, his hands enveloped hers on the reins, guiding the horse toward a secluded wilderness.
The sky darkened steadily—not only were there no clinics, but not a single dwelling appeared along the way.
Li Youqing glanced sideways and noticed the armor over his shoulder and arm had darkened, saturated with an unquantifiable amount of blood.
The night wind bit cold. Sensing the slight figure before him shiver, Xuan Rui tugged the reins to halt.
As he dismounted and began removing his armor, Li Youqing gasped, “General Xuan, what are you doing?”
Xuan Rui didn’t answer. After shedding the armor, he retrieved a bottle of травма medicine and bandages from the saddlebag.
Sprinkling powder over his wounds, he clenched one end of the bandage in his teeth and rewrapped the injury.
His frame bore no excess fat—the blade had cut deep enough to reveal bone, but his black form-fitting clothes concealed it in the darkness.
A gust of wind carried a thick metallic scent. Li Youqing’s eyes reddened, her voice trembling. “We’ve ridden so long without finding a clinic… Are we lost? You’ve lost so much blood… Could it—”
Her lowered eyes met his, and both froze momentarily.
In the shadows, his gaze burned with a feral intensity, piercing through her like hooks. “This general isn’t as delicate as your Crown Prince brother. I won’t die.”
Seeing he still had energy for such remarks, Li Youqing relaxed slightly and murmured in response to his earlier question, “You were wounded protecting us. By reason and duty, I should stay to care for you first. And besides—”
Truthfully, she had her own private reasons.
If I were to stay, would it make Xuan Rui stand more firmly by Father Emperor’s side, rather than colluding with Zhenbei Wang?
Wasn’t this the same scheme Shu Fei and the Sima Family had in mind when they conspired to marry me off to Zhenbei Wang back then?
Li Youqing sat upright on her horse, gazing at the blood-stained man before her. She lifted her chin slightly and said calmly, “Moreover, didn’t General Xuan promise that he would personally escort this princess back to the capital?”
Xuan Rui stared at her for a moment, then took her hand and pressed a kiss to it, his expression devout as he said, “Then it’s settled, my little princess.”