Love can make a person persevere.

Hatred can do the same!

In truth, love and hate are practically synonyms—it’s the absence of love, the absence of hate, that would be their true opposites.

At this moment, Bai Mengmeng burned with hatred, teeth gritted in fury.

She had heard the name Han Ziqing long ago, yet never before had she felt such an overwhelming urge to see her in person!

She wanted to see for herself exactly what was so remarkable about this woman, what made Jun Beiyue so utterly obsessed with her!

Watching the man she loved lose himself in madness over another woman, her heart ached as if pierced by knife after knife.

Han Ziqing!

Why could you have him, when I couldn’t!

What did you ever sacrifice for Jun Beiyue—do you have any idea how much I sacrificed for him?

Mere Xijing, with Situ Haonan’s help besides—what did winning even mean?

Do you know that I was the true hero behind this war’s victory, yet what did I gain besides my family’s ruin?

No one knows me, no one knows it was I who helped Jun Beiyue!

And Jun Beiyue wouldn’t even spare me a single glance—he simply handed me over to the Dongqin empress!

“I hate you, it’s all because of you!”

Bai Mengmeng roared in fury, and at that very instant, she unleashed the full force of her internal energy—BANG!—and finally snapped the ropes binding her entire body!

At this moment, if she had been thinking clearly, she should have chosen to flee, to escape southward as quickly as possible.

Because at this very moment, standing higher up and looking farther, one could see, in the far distance to the northwest of Mingsha Mountain, yet another tornado surging skyward!

Sweeping up from the ground into the heavens, into the cloud layer, sweeping up everything on the ground, as if even the dense clouds above were about to be swept down as well!

That was a super-tornado!

A tornado powerful enough to sweep away an entire mountain, standing like some colossal monster between heaven and earth, rushing rapidly toward Mingsha Mountain!

Gradually, everyone could feel its pull, as if everything were about to tilt and collapse toward the northwest.

But Bai Mengmeng, blinded by hatred and jealousy, had no attention to spare for any of that.

Unable to win Jun Beiyue’s love, unable even to earn a single glance from him, she’d rather die alongside Han Ziqing!

The moment she broke free of the ropes, she immediately clenched her fists, gathered every ounce of strength, and charged forward.

She had said it herself—as long as she didn’t die at the Dongqin empress’s hands, as long as she was free, she would absolutely make sure Jun Beiyue never had an easy moment again!

The gale howled. Heading toward Mingsha Mountain had originally meant fighting against the wind, but now, because of the super-tornado forming, moving northwest actually met with gradually less resistance—in fact, the tornado’s pull made it far easier, far less exhausting!

Bai Mengmeng charged forward madly, and at this very moment, Jun Beiyue was just about to reach Mingsha Cave!

But the situation at Mingsha Cave was far from promising!

Both Ziqing and Situ Haonan were utterly exhausted, with hardly any strength left to resist the wind’s force!

They didn’t even dare stand up, crouching in the sand, their hands clasped tightly together.

But they knew that continuing like this wasn’t a solution, because more and more sand was blowing down from Mingsha Mountain, piling onto them!

At this rate, sooner or later, the two of them would be buried beneath the sand!

Ziqing had seen such super-tornadoes before, and she understood them—this was a natural phenomenon formed by a combination of geographic location, climate conditions, and various other factors!

She wasn’t afraid of it, though she hadn’t yet realized this particular disaster was deeply entangled with the secret of Mingsha Mountain.

She lowered her head, sand filling her mouth, yet forced herself to speak. “Haonan, find a way to get to Mingsha Cave.”

In truth, Ziqing’s first thought had been to hide in an underground chamber, but at this moment there was simply no way to find the entrance to such a chamber, and with their strength completely spent, they had nowhere else to go—only Mingsha Cave offered any shelter.

“Mingsha Cave?” Situ Haonan didn’t understand. “We should just flee instead—I’ll carry you on my back. This wind is too terrifying, I keep feeling like the sky itself is about to collapse!”

Having grown up in the northern desert, Situ Haonan had witnessed desert tornadoes before, but never one this massive. He had to admit, even he was afraid.

Facing an unknown force of nature, no matter how powerful you were, you couldn’t fight it—how could anyone not be afraid?

“Who knows if that cave might collapse. Come on, I’ll carry you, don’t worry!”

Situ Haonan made his decision instantly and abruptly hauled Ziqing up, but the moment he stood, the wound near his chest flared with pain, shooting straight to his heart, the pain so sharp he could barely even breathe!

Yet he still gritted his teeth and forced himself to endure it, not letting Ziqing notice!

But did Ziqing lack even that much basic knowledge?

A wound near the chest was the worst possible place to exert force—overexertion could cost him his life instantly.

“Haonan, I’m not joking with you—we can’t make it. With our current condition, we won’t even reach Akbachu before the tornado behind us blows Mingsha Mountain apart, and it could bury Akbachu City too. We can only hide! Hide somewhere that won’t collapse, that won’t be blown away! Mingsha Cave is the best place!”

Ziqing’s pale, wound-covered face was utterly serious. She gripped Situ Haonan tightly, and without waiting for his response, she suddenly pulled him down and hauled him onto her own back, bending forward!

The moment she did, her hands screamed with pain, as if they’d shattered completely—but she endured it anyway.

“I’m carrying you—don’t move!”

She was deadly serious, even though she herself could barely stand steady. Yet she insisted on carrying Situ Haonan, because she knew his wound, though singular, was more severe than hers, more painful than hers.

In truth, no matter when he’d come back—right on time, too late, or too early—as long as he’d come back to find her, she would acknowledge him as her own.

A friend, and family too.

Han Ziqing didn’t hold many principles in this life, but one of them was: as long as she still drew breath, she would never allow harm to come to those close to her.

Situ Haonan nearly wept. He didn’t dare move, terrified that any movement would add to Ziqing’s burden, yet he cursed furiously, “Are you insane, put me down, I can walk myself!”

“It’s fine, just a few steps, hold onto my shoulders!”

Ziqing said it so casually. It really was just a few steps, but with the tornado closing in, she knew it wouldn’t be easy—not easy at all!

This tornado spun counterclockwise, continuously pulling them toward the right—yet Mingsha Cave lay to their left!

Reaching Mingsha Cave meant fighting directly against the wind!

The wind grew stronger and stronger, the tornado closing in at an almost unimaginable speed, resistance only growing greater by the moment.

Ziqing didn’t dare think about how much worse Situ Haonan’s chest wound might get once they reached Mingsha Cave, nor was she certain how long they’d have to hide there before they could get out, before they could receive proper treatment!

So all she could do was minimize the risk for Situ Haonan as much as possible!

Step by step, gritting her teeth, biting down on strands of her own blood-matted hair, she pressed forward toward Mingsha Cave.

And at this moment, within Mingsha Cave…