Countless arrows mixed with the darkness, and besides seeing some by the firelight, she could only judge by the sound of them cutting through the air. She nearly got shot several times, and even so, her arm was scraped by an arrow that shot past!

Wu Laosan couldn’t block those sharp arrows, so he could only keep picking up stones from the ground and throwing them at the pursuing soldiers to prevent them from catching up immediately.

However, the situation wasn’t entirely unfavorable to them. By now, they had completely retreated into the mountain forest, with more and more trees around them. As long as Li Shimin’s offensive slowed down slightly, Wu Laosan could use his familiarity with the terrain to shake off the pursuers.

Wu Laosan exerted all his strength to lift a stone about half a person’s height and smashed it hard at those soldiers, then pulled Yunyi and shouted, “Go!”

The two ran between the trees, using those trees to block the incoming arrows and the pursuers behind them. Suddenly, Wu Laosan let out a muffled groan and suddenly stopped. Yunyi hurriedly asked, “Father, what’s wrong?”

Wu Laosan shook his head, “Nothing, just twisted my foot a bit. It’s not serious. Let’s go quickly. If they catch up, it’ll be too late!”

Yunyi nodded and followed Wu Laosan as he ran forward quickly. The latter was indeed very familiar with this area and soon widened the distance from the soldiers behind. After another incense stick’s worth of time, they could no longer see the pursuers. Yunyi caught her breath and said, “They should have been led elsewhere. Father, you’ve been running for so long, rest a bit and let me look at your foot!”

Wu Laosan shook his head, breathing rapidly, “I’m fine, keep running… run!”

Seeing his face frighteningly pale, Yunyi grabbed him and said, “They won’t be able to catch up for a while. Father, your complexion looks bad. Sit down and rest!”

This time, Wu Laosan didn’t say anything more and let her help him sit on a rock. When she was about to examine his ankle, he waved his hand, “Father is fine. Come, let father take a good look at you!”

He supported Yunyi’s shoulders and looked her over carefully, as if wanting to engrave her appearance in his heart. After a long while, he smiled, “Exactly the same, more alike than even twins. It’s a pity that when Meixue was alive, she didn’t see what you looked like. Otherwise, she would have been very happy. When she was still very, very young, I once took her to the market, and she saw a pair of twin sisters. She told me she also wanted to have such a sister.”

Yunyi didn’t know why he suddenly brought this up and said gently, “Meixue was very fortunate to have a father who loved her so much.”

Wu Laosan shook his head. Although he had sat for a while, his complexion seemed even more ashen, like someone at death’s door, “Yunyi, do you remember what you promised father?”

Yunyi was silent for a moment, then said, “I remember. After this time, I will no longer assassinate Li Yuan!”

“Good!” Wu Laosan nodded with relief, “If you have the chance, go back home once and dig up the things father buried in the back yard to take with you. Father isn’t much use, and that’s all he can leave you.” His dim eyes showed indescribable love, “Speaking of which, the Second Young Master is really a very good person. Father has always been thinking, how wonderful it would be if you could marry the Second Young Master, but this… is ultimately father’s wishful thinking. You and the Second Young Master can’t be together. Father only hopes that in the future, you can meet someone even better than the Second Young Master, and also… when you get married in the future, remember to tell father. This is father’s last wish.”

Yunyi was full of confusion at Wu Laosan’s strange words, feeling like Wu Laosan was giving his final testament. Just as she was about to speak, she suddenly saw blood trickling down from the rock, and her face immediately changed drastically. She hurriedly stood up to look at Wu Laosan’s back, only to see an arrow stuck in Wu Laosan’s back, with blood slowly flowing down from there. The clothes below the arrow wound were already soaked with blood.

For a moment, Yunyi felt her head buzz, her mind went completely blank, and she stood there in a daze. After coming to her senses, she said out of control, “When did this happen? Why didn’t you tell me?”

Wu Laosan said hoarsely, “If I had told you, how could you have been willing to continue fleeing?”

Yunyi remembered when Wu Laosan had suddenly stopped earlier. She understood now – at that time, Wu Laosan hadn’t twisted his foot but had been hit by an arrow. He was afraid that if she knew, she wouldn’t be willing to continue fleeing, so he lied and said he had twisted his foot. Looking back, by the moonlight and firelight, she could clearly see that all along that path were drops of Wu Laosan’s blood.

How could this be… it shouldn’t be like this. No, Wu Laosan cannot die!

Thinking this, she supported her exhausted body and tried to help Wu Laosan up, “Father, hold on. I’ll take you to see a doctor right now!”

Wu Laosan smiled bitterly and said weakly, “No need to go. I know my own body. My time has come!”

Yunyi shook her head vigorously, “No, father, you have such a good heart, you will definitely… definitely live to be a hundred years old. Don’t worry, I will find the best doctor to save you. If they… if they can’t save you, I’ll have them all executed!” As she spoke, tears had already fallen uncontrollably, leaving one sorrowful mark after another on her cheeks.

Wu Laosan laboriously raised his hand to wipe away the tears on her face, “You silly child, you’re talking nonsense again. Only emperors and princesses have the right to execute others. Father has lived for fifty years, that’s enough.”

“Not enough!” Yunyi said excitedly, “I want father to live to be a hundred years old. Before that, father is not allowed to die, not allowed!”

“Silly girl.” Saying this, Wu Laosan swallowed the bloody sweetness in his throat and said, “Listen carefully to father’s words now. Although… the city walls are too high to climb, and the Governor’s soldiers are guarding all the city gates, there’s still a way to leave the city.” He raised his hand, pointing to the continuous mountain range, “The mountain forest here isn’t large, but it connects to the mountain range outside. As long as you keep walking along the mountain range, you can leave the city, but you must…” Having said so much in one breath, his strength was somewhat unable to continue. Yunyi didn’t dare to pull out the arrow for him and could only say, “Father, don’t talk anymore. When you’re better, you can lead me out of the city.”

Wu Laosan struggled to take a few breaths and continued, “You must be careful. Along this route, the mountain terrain is steep, and one careless step could cost your life. So hunters like father would rather walk a longer route and go around through the city gates than pass through this mountain. However, this route is indeed passable. Remember, go east, never get the… direction wrong.” His voice gradually became weaker, clearly his life’s flame had burned to its last.

“I remember, daughter remembers.” Yunyi struggled to help him stand up, choking back tears, “Father, don’t talk anymore. I’ll take you out. It’ll be fine, you’ll definitely get better.”