The night was cool as water, and a few torches flickered with faint light, illuminating the plea in the fat merchant’s eyes and the arrogance in the bandits’ gaze.
A cold snort suddenly cut through the still air. Baili Xunzhou’s icy gaze swept across the bandits and hostages opposite him one by one, then he uttered words that chilled all who heard them to the bone: “Do you truly think this Heir cares for their lives?” Sacrificing a few commoners to slaughter you all here would still count as a meritorious deed.”
…
The thick, bloodthirsty murderous intent in his tone made Feng Mian shiver. She silently leaned her upper body back, putting distance between herself and the man before her.
How could he so casually and so naturally cast aside several innocent lives as if they meant nothing?
It seemed the rumors painting him as some kind of monster were not the least bit exaggerated!
The bandits across from them were equally stunned, gaping in disbelief: “Are you mad! These are your Great Yong citizens!”
Beneath the hood stirred by the wind, the flickering torchlight traced the sharp lines of Baili Xunzhou’s brow and eyes, and beneath them lurked a cruel smile.
These men were indeed spies of the Arna Tribe.
He slowly drew his bow, nocking an arrow, and narrowed his eyes as the arrowhead aimed at the fat merchant’s brow: “To give their lives repelling foreign invaders—they should consider it an honor.”
The words had barely left his mouth when he released the string with a flick of his wrist. The moment the arrow whistled through the air, the Swift Feather Camp soldiers lunged at the bandits like leopards lying in ambush.
At the same time, Feng Mian’s vision went dark as a cloak was thrown over her head, blocking her sight. The next instant, she was scooped up around the waist and tossed onto the back of another horse.
The person who caught her spoke quickly and softly: “I’ll take you away from here.”
The horse swiftly carried Feng Mian away from the cold, rust-tinged air thick with blood. Amid the jolting, through the fluttering hem of the cloak, she could still see blood splattering in the hazy night and bodies crumpling to the ground.
Screams of agony and the clang of weapons faded like a rapidly receding dream, soon left far behind.
Everything had happened in the blink of an eye. It wasn’t until the only sound left was the galloping of the steed that Feng Mian slowly came back to her senses, and she thanked the person before her in a hoarse voice: “Thank you…”
Her thin, raspy words scattered in the wind, but Qingyi, with his keen hearing, caught them and replied cheerfully: “No need. I’m just following the Crown Prince’s orders. Where would you like to go?”
“Could you take me to the nearest sentry post?”
“Understood.” Qingyi asked nothing more and rode on in silence.
The Swift Feather Camp was equipped with the finest warhorses, and soon the sentry post’s signal lights, bright as stars, came into view ahead. Qingyi reined the horse to a stop about a hundred paces from the post. “I’ll leave you here.”
“Thank you.” Feng Mian climbed down from the horse on her own, and the moment she stood, she nearly got a faceful of the horse’s swishing tail.
Qingyi wheeled his horse around without a moment’s pause and galloped off, his retreating figure radiating urgency. Feng Mian stared at his silhouette as it vanished into the night in an instant, momentarily stunned. These people truly came and went like the wind…
“Your Highness!” A delighted voice came from behind—Liu Ying. Feng Mian had barely turned around before she was caught in a tight embrace.
Liu Ying sobbed and laughed at once: “Your Highness, you nearly scared us to death!”
Heaven knows the panic that erupted when everyone gathered at the sentry post and realized the princess was missing! They had all been frantic with worry, and the Luan Yi Guards had scattered immediately to search for her, leaving only a few behind with Liu Ying and Wuliu at the post to wait for news.
Thank heavens, the princess had returned safe and sound!
“It’s cold outside—come in first before you cry.” Wuliu stepped forward and pulled both Liu Ying and Feng Mian into the room prepared for her inside the post. The moment she touched Feng Mian’s clothes, she felt how icy cold she was through the fabric, and her own eyes reddened as she hurried to fetch some ginger soup.
This sentry post served more than just a lookout function. Behind the tall watchtower, several large courtyard buildings had been roughly constructed, doubling as a relay station for travelers to rest.
A charcoal fire burned inside the room, and the warmth washing over her made Feng Mian shiver.
“Your Highness, warm yourself up!” Liu Ying was heartbroken. She hastily picked up two blazing copper hand warmers from the low table and carefully placed them before Feng Mian, gathering her fingers near the warmers to heat them while chattering on: “The carriage was abandoned on the road too, so we brought nothing with us. These copper hand warmers were borrowed from the guards at the post—they’ve been kept burning the whole time waiting for you to come back. They’re scalding hot, so don’t touch them directly, Your Highness. Just warm yourself gradually, little by little.”
Having just brushed past life and death, Feng Mian found Liu Ying’s endless chatter strangely comforting and warm.
Feeling Feng Mian’s ice-cold hands, Liu Ying’s tears fell in worry: “I hope you don’t get frostbite…”
Liu Ying’s hands moved up and touched Feng Mian’s freezing arms. She quickly stood and pulled out the crimson velvet crane-feather cloak trimmed with rabbit fur that the vice commander had brought back, wrapping it tightly around Feng Mian with trembling fingers. “We waited and waited, and when the vice commander only brought back a cloak, it nearly scared us to death!”
Remembering that moment, Liu Ying still felt a wave of lingering fear.
Warmth flowed through her like a spring stream, and a hint of color finally rose to Feng Mian’s pale cheeks. The skin on her hands, numbed by the cold, suddenly warmed, tingling with a prickly sensation. She wanted to scratch, but feared it would worry Liu Ying further, so she curled her fingers and held back.
“Drink this quickly to warm yourself.” Wuliu burst through the door carrying a bowl of ginger soup, hurrying over in small quick steps to place it before Feng Mian.
Two slices of ginger floated in the coarse ceramic bowl. Feng Mian lowered her head and sipped—the temperature was just right, so she drank it all in one go, warmth spreading through her entire body.
Only then did Feng Mian feel her drifting soul settle firmly back into her body, her nerves finally relaxing.
“See, I’m much warmer now. I’m fine—you two don’t need to wear such long faces.” Feng Mian set down the bowl, still taking the time to comfort them. Wuliu suddenly grabbed her hand, revealing the back of it, once fair and smooth, now flushed red.
“How can you say you’re fine? Your hands are frostbitten, Your Highness.” Wuliu pulled a small white porcelain jar from her bosom, filled with a blue-green frostbite salve. “Luckily, I had the physician prepare this salve in advance.”
Wuliu dipped her fingers into the salve and carefully spread it over the back of Feng Mian’s hands, then turned them over to check her palms, revealing several raw wounds rubbed raw by the reins.
Liu Ying drew in a sharp breath and dashed out the door. “Why hasn’t the physician arrived yet!”
As Liu Ying ran off to fetch the physician, Wuliu sighed and dipped a cloth in hot water, gently wiping the grime from Feng Mian’s face.
Feng Mian had practically rolled through the mountains, and she looked utterly disheveled. Wuliu picked the tiny twigs and leaves from her hair one by one, her tone restrained and even: “Once the physician has taken your pulse, we’ll heat water for you to wash up.”
Feng Mian could tell from her expression that Wuliu was quietly fuming. Now that the initial worry had subsided, it was time for a reckoning. Feng Mian quickly changed the subject: “I really am fine. By the way, have the Commander and the others been notified of my return? It’s late, and the mountains are full of dangers—nothing else should go wrong.”
“You know full well how dangerous it is, so how could you ride off alone without a word?” Wuliu’s face was set tight. She rarely lost her temper, but this time the Princess had truly gone too far. Acting first and reporting later, she hadn’t given Wuliu or Liu Ying any chance to argue or discuss—she’d simply mounted her horse and left, forcing them to follow the plan.
Wuliu had run to the watchtower without a moment’s pause, the cold wind nearly stealing all feeling from her limbs. If it had been that hard for her, how much harder must it have been for the Princess alone in the deep mountains?
Feng Mian obediently admitted her mistake and was about to soothe Wuliu when Liu Ying burst in dragging the physician, followed by the Commander, the Deputy Commander, and Lu Mingzhu.
The physician was pressed into a seat by Liu Ying to take Feng Mian’s pulse, while the others knelt at once to confess their fault: “We failed in our duty to protect you, Your Highness. Please punish us!”
Feng Mian waved her hand for them to rise. This wasn’t their fault. After calming down and thinking it over, she realized the second wave of bandits had come for her specifically—they must have anticipated she would take that narrow path. Which meant the first wave that attacked the merchant caravan was likely in league with the second, deliberately luring her guards away.
The person behind this might know her temperament well, predicting her choices. But why target her?
Just then, the Commander reported: “Your Highness, while suppressing the bandits, I encountered the heir of Prince Dingbei. Perhaps tomorrow we could ask him to help reassemble your entourage?”
Feng Mian hesitated for a moment but ultimately decided not to mention that she had been rescued by Baili Xunzhou. She had witnessed with her own eyes how he disregarded innocent lives for military merit—if he harbored resentment toward her because of that, it would make things difficult in the future.
So Feng Mian simply nodded, signaling the Commander to handle it as he saw fit.
At that moment, a sudden flash of insight struck her. She remembered the bandit who had taken a hostage saying, “These are your Great Yong citizens,” and Baili Xunzhou’s reply about “repelling foreign invaders with one’s own life.” It was very possible that foreign barbarians had infiltrated the bandit ranks.
Foreign barbarians hated the line of Prince Dingbei more than anyone, wishing nothing more than to see them destroyed. And if a princess married to the northern frontier were to meet with misfortune on their territory, Prince Dingbei would certainly bear the blame. That might be the reason they came after her.
What’s more, there might even be Great Yong citizens colluding with them, deliberately framing Prince Dingbei.
Of course, all of this was mere speculation. Feng Mian had never even met Prince Dingbei himself, and the heir who had saved her yet disregarded civilian lives remained an enigma. Everything would have to be unraveled slowly in the days to come.
“How is Her Highness’s health?” Lu Mingzhu asked the physician, pulling Feng Mian back from her thoughts. Only then did she notice that Lu Mingzhu’s head was wrapped so thoroughly in bandages it was nearly airtight. Startled, she asked, “Lord Lu, what happened to you?”
Lu Mingzhu lowered his head in embarrassment. The Deputy Commander shot him a look that was equal parts sympathy and amusement, then explained: “When the bandits attacked, Lord Lu’s horse was struck in the leg by a stray arrow and threw him off. He hit his head on a rock and passed out on the spot. And with horses’ hooves everywhere in the chaos… well…”
Lord Lu really was unlucky…
Feng Mian winced at his words. “Lord Lu, please go rest. I am fine here.”
Lu Mingzhu said shamefully, “I failed to protect the Princess. I am truly ashamed.”
When he had first woken and heard that the Princess had broken the siege alone, he had nearly fainted again. A man of seven chi stature, yet less useful than a weak woman. It was truly mortifying.
“Everyone has their own strengths. Lord Lu need not blame himself. You have all worked hard today. Please go rest, gentlemen. The imperial physician is here, so there is no need to worry.”
Feng Mian signaled Liu Ying to see them out, and the imperial physician also rose, saying he would go prepare the medicine.
“The Princess has caught a chill. She appears fine now, but it is only through sheer will. Once she sleeps, her defensive qi will fail, and she may develop a fever. I will go brew the medicine at once. The Princess should take it before resting.” He then instructed Wuliu, “You must keep close watch over the Princess tonight. If she develops a fever, come fetch me immediately.”
Wuliu immediately asked, “May the Princess bathe first?”
The imperial physician thought for a moment. “A medicinal bath would also work. Be sure the bathing chamber is kept warm. Come with me to get the prescription for the bath.”
“Yes. Princess, please rest here in the room until I return.” Wuliu followed the physician out.
The room suddenly fell quiet. Feng Mian let out an exhausted breath and slowly slumped onto the table, letting her mind go blank. The matter of the Prince Dingbei’s heir and the bandits—both were giving her a headache.
On the other side, Baili Xunzhou sounded the retreat. Shan Yi came bounding over excitedly, clutching a bundle of treasures.
“Young Master! We’re rich! Those bandits of Wolf Bone Ridge lived in hiding, but they sure hoarded plenty of treasure! Now you can buy your freedom and never have to keep that young marquis company again!”
Baili Xunzhou gave him a disdainful look. “Do you even know how to choose your words?”
Shan Yi covered his mouth. “I absolutely did not mean to imply anything about you, Young Master!”
Qingyi walked over and, with an impartial expression, confiscated the treasures in his hands. “These go into the ledger.”
Shan Yi shot him an indignant glare.
“By the way, who was that girl you sent back?” Baili Xunzhou only now remembered the young woman who had inexplicably appeared at Wolf Bone Ridge.
“I don’t know. I didn’t ask.” When wiping out a bandit den, there was always loot to collect. He had only been thinking of hurrying back to settle the accounts and cared nothing for anything else.
The sky had been dark at the time, and Baili Xunzhou had not clearly seen the girl’s face. He only felt that her desperate struggle to survive had been especially full of vitality, and for some reason, it lingered in his mind.
Never mind. She was probably the daughter of some passing merchant caravan. As long as she was safely delivered home, that was enough.
Author’s note:
Just to prevent any misunderstanding, let me clarify: the young heir did not kill the hostage.