The nearest village at the foot of the mountain was only about one kilometer away. Tong Shuxue had no intention of borrowing lodging there, fearing that the people pursuing her might bring disaster upon the villagers.
She deliberately chose a spot somewhat far from the mountain trail entrance before returning to the dimensional space, trying to reduce the chance of encountering nearby villagers when exiting the dimensional space the next morning.
When she came out of the dimensional space the next day, dawn had only just begun to brighten the horizon.
Although her leg had been fixed with bone adhesive and she could slowly walk a few steps on flat ground without much issue, mountain paths were definitely impossible for her now.
Moreover, she had two broken ribs, making it unsuitable for her to ride on someone’s back. So she either had to be carried on a stretcher into the mountains or held in someone’s arms.
Tong Shuxue chose to be carried.
Fortunately, robots never ran out of strength. Thus, Ling Yi carried her into the mountains. It was also the first time in her life that she had ever been carried in a princess carry.
At this hour, no villagers had yet entered the mountains, and the robots moved quickly. In only half a day, they crossed two mountain peaks. However, they still had not found a suitable place to temporarily serve as a hidden paradise.
Being carried the entire time also exhausted Tong Shuxue. She instructed Ling Yi to stop at a sheltered area to rest, while Ling Er, Ling San, and Ling Si headed deeper into different directions to search for a suitable temporary settlement.
An hour later, the three robots returned, bringing with them realistic simulated terrain maps created from their scans of the mountain range.
From the map, one location found by Ling Er appeared especially suitable, though they still needed to inspect it personally.
It was a small valley surrounded on four sides by cliffs. According to the scan data, there was even a pool inside the valley, making it especially suitable for living in seclusion.
The valley floor was at least fifty meters below the top of the cliff. There were only two ways to enter the valley: one could descend from the cliff top using ropes, or enter through an extremely hidden cave leading into the valley.
The only drawback was that approximately two hundred people were gathered about one kilometer away from the valley.
Ling Er had already investigated that location. The scans showed no signs of mining activity in the mountain, nor were there any houses or residences.
That area already counted as deep within the mountains. Since the robots’ speed was not limited by stamina and was at least three times faster than ordinary people, a normal person would need at least two days to reach that gathering point.
Therefore, such a large group operating deep in the mountains was highly suspicious.
However, that valley truly was the best hidden settlement among all the explored mountain ranges. In the end, Tong Shuxue still decided to go there.
Fortunately, the group of people remained one kilometer away from the valley. By the time Tong Shuxue reached the cave entrance leading into the valley, the sun had already set.
The cave entrance was concealed behind thick, flourishing vines. Without the robots’ scanning and imaging functions, such a cave would have been extremely difficult to discover.
The entrance was narrow enough that only one person could enter while bending over. Once inside, however, there was a passage wide enough for two people to walk side by side.
The passage twisted downward, and after about fifty meters, it opened into a large cavern hall. The entire cavern measured roughly three hundred square meters, with a ceiling five or six meters high, making it feel spacious rather than oppressive.
Beyond the cavern lay the small valley.
The valley truly was small; one glance was enough to see its entirety. The scan data showed that the whole valley measured only around twelve hundred square meters.
The near-range scan measurement from the valley floor to the cliff top showed a height of over seventy meters. The cliffs surrounding the valley were completely vertical, making it nearly impossible to climb down manually.
Humans could still descend using ropes from above, but animals lacked such capability.
Thus, the valley was relatively safe.
The pool in the center of the valley connected underground to a hidden river. Tong Shuxue filled a bottle with water from the pool and sent it into the dimensional space for Doctor Jian to analyze.
She planned to live here for at least two or three months, so under such conditions, it was best to verify the water quality.
The entire day had been spent traveling into the mountains. Fortunately, the place satisfied Tong Shuxue greatly. It truly was a hidden paradise secluded from the world.
That night, the test results for the pool water came out. The water quality was unexpectedly excellent; even drinking it raw would not pose much of a problem.
One kilometer away from the valley, beside a mountain wall, there was a large gentle slope.
Early in the morning, Zhao Jingyuan leaned against the mountain wall with his eyes closed, resting. His pale face carried an abnormal flush.
Mo Shen walked over carrying a pottery bowl and crouched beside him.
“Master, it is time to take your medicine.”
Zhao Jingyuan looked at the bowl, and a trace of loneliness flashed through his eyes. He gave a slight nod.
Mo Shen lifted the bowl to his lips.
Dark brown medicinal liquid slid from the corner of Zhao Jingyuan’s mouth. After swallowing the final mouthful, he said: “Mo Shen, if this prince cannot endure any longer, the Xuanjia Army will be entrusted to you.”
Mo Shen immediately knelt on one knee, his voice thick with emotion.
“Master, that will not happen. You must hold on. Men have already been sent down the mountain to fetch a physician.”
Zhao Jingyuan did not reply and simply closed his eyes again.
He also wanted to survive, but he understood his own condition clearly. He feared he did not have much time left.
How unwilling he felt.
His elder brother was still imprisoned, his mother consort remained under surveillance, and even the whereabouts of his nephew were unknown.
Suddenly, hurried footsteps approached, and a figure rapidly ran over.
“Master, the Feiyu Army is searching the mountain! Xiao Ba lured them toward the western side!”
The messenger was named Da Li. Mo Shen had sent him and Xiao Ba down the mountain together to find a physician, but halfway down they encountered the Feiyu Army conducting a mountain search.
Zhao Jingyuan straightened his body and asked: “Do you know how many there are?”
Da Li wiped the sweat from his face and replied: “Reporting to Master, I did not get a careful look. There are members of the Feiyu Army and also the Tieying Guard. There are many of them—at least over five hundred.”
Without much thought, Zhao Jingyuan ordered: “Retreat south immediately. Erase all traces here.”
Mo Shen hesitated slightly. “Master, perhaps we should retreat deeper instead. The brothers sent south to search for that place have not yet returned. We do not even know whether the location the villagers mentioned truly exists.”
“Move south first. Any deeper and we will enter the Miasma Forest. Without poison-repelling pills, the risk is too great.”
Mo Shen said no more. At present, time was the most important thing.
The search party was enormous. They spread outward in a fan-shaped formation, conducting a carpet-style search.
As long as people had moved through an area, traces would inevitably remain no matter how carefully they were cleaned up.
Not long after Zhao Jingyuan’s group departed, a signal flare rose into the sky above that location.
Tong Shuxue had slept inside the dimensional space the previous night. Early in the morning, she emerged together with Ling Yi and the other three robots, planning to have the robots construct a wooden cabin near the cavern hall inside the valley.
She did not like remaining inside the dimensional space constantly. The dimensional space existed because of the chip; if anything happened to the chip, there was no guarantee the dimensional space itself would not collapse.
The moment Ling Yi exited the dimensional space, it immediately began scanning the surroundings to eliminate potential danger.
“Major General, numerous people are approaching outside the valley.”
Tong Shuxue frowned. This was not good news. Whether the valley could still remain safe was uncertain, so construction of the wooden cabin had to be postponed for now.
“Ling Yi, how many people are within your detection range?”
Data rapidly processed through Ling Yi’s systems.
“Major General, there are thirty-two people outside the valley. The group of more than two hundred people located one kilometer from us yesterday is currently approaching our position. Around them, approximately two hundred people are surrounding them from all directions.”