After saying this, the group rushed away.

Ousi Lanya watched as the figures of that group gradually disappeared into the distance. She turned back and gave Qing Xia a cold look, then suddenly snorted coldly and said, “I really didn’t expect you to have such abilities. No wonder you could bewitch the Great Emperor of Southern Chu and Prince Xuan of Qin to such a degree of infatuation.”

Qing Xia didn’t even glance at her, only lowered her head, concealing the ever-changing expressions on her face.

At midnight, after the third watch drum sounded, Qing Xia immediately opened her eyes, listening alertly to all the sounds around her. Suddenly, she heard sharp cries of “Fire! Fire!” and the entire inn erupted in panicked screams. Ousi Lanya sat up abruptly, using eye signals to direct her subordinates to go out and investigate. Two burly men responded and walked out. This woman, as a precaution against any eventuality, even required everyone to sleep together, preparing for various emergencies to the utmost degree.

The commotion outside grew louder. Ousi Lanya glanced sideways at Qing Xia and said in a deep voice, “I advise you not to try any tricks with me.”

At this moment, the drug’s effects on Qing Xia had worn off. She smiled coldly and said indifferently, “Do you have so little confidence in yourself? Under your constant surveillance, what tricks could I possibly play?”

Ousi Lanya’s lips curved slightly as she said coldly, “That’s for the best.”

Just then, there was suddenly a commotion at the door, and with a bang, the room door was kicked open heavily. A completely naked man suddenly rushed into the room, shouting in panic with a face full of terror, “Fire! Fire! What should we do?”

Ousi Lanya frowned and shouted angrily, “Get out! Don’t you want to live?”

The man seemed to be frightened silly. Upon seeing Ousi Lanya, he actually moved closer to her, yelling, “There’s a fire! There’s no way to escape!”

Ousi Lanya became furious, jumped down from the bed, and kicked the man, shouting angrily, “Get out, or I’ll kill you!”

Just as Ousi Lanya’s gaze had turned away for that brief moment, a slight mechanical clicking sound suddenly rang out. The position where Qing Xia was lying trembled, and the bed board beneath her suddenly split open, revealing a hole large enough to hide a person. Qing Xia’s body naturally fell through, and before she hit bottom, there was another crisp sound as the bed board closed above her, leaving no trace of light.

At the same time, the window beside the bed was suddenly pushed open, and a black-clothed figure carrying a bundle of bedding quickly escaped through the window.

When Ousi Lanya turned back, this was the scene she witnessed. The woman frowned, seeing only an empty bed with no trace of Qing Xia anywhere.

“Seeking death!” Ousi Lanya shouted angrily, leaping onto the bed and nimbly slipping out the window in pursuit.

The room immediately fell quiet. Qing Xia turned her head and through the cracks in the bed board, could only see a pair of young, clear eyes. The other person made a shushing sound and lay down beside her with a smile, extremely pleased.

Indeed, Ousi Lanya only pursued for a short while before running back. Her subordinates gathered in the room, and one burly man said in a deep voice, “Master, they took the Seven Tree Demon Woman and went south.”

Ousi Lanya said with sinister coldness, “What about that bitch?”

“Didn’t see her,” the man replied, “but she must be with them. Thirteen and Seventeen went in pursuit.”

“Let’s go!”

Ousi Lanya shouted angrily, and everyone grabbed their luggage and left the inn. After a while, the sound of horse hooves outside gradually faded away.

“Let go.” Qing Xia’s voice was low and slightly hoarse, obviously having had her throat injured by Ousi Lanya’s drugs.

The young man chuckled, pushed open the bed board, and untied the ropes on Qing Xia’s hands and feet. Both of them stood up.

“How did you know I would stay in this room? How did you hide under the bed beforehand?” As soon as Qing Xia gained her freedom, she immediately asked in a deep voice.

The man’s expression fell, looking as if he had been gravely wounded. He said aggrievedly, “Hey, I waited under that bed board for most of the night to save you, my hands and feet are all numb, and instead of saying thank you, you immediately question me. You’re so heartless.”

After mumbling his complaints, seeing that Qing Xia still looked at him with an unchanged expression, he immediately smiled, rubbed his hands together, and said, “The reason is simple. I rented out all the other rooms, leaving only this one. If you didn’t want to sleep in the common dormitory, you could only stay here. And the people here, to avoid bandits, have hidden passages under the bed boards in every room. This isn’t unusual.”

Qing Xia nodded. She hadn’t expected that Ousi Lanya, despite being so alert, had been deceived by such a simple method. She relaxed and smiled gently, saying, “Longge, thank you for saving me.”

Longge chuckled, showing his white teeth with great pride.

It turned out this person was Longge A’shu, whom Qing Xia had met in the desert. She hadn’t expected that after a year of not seeing each other, they would reunite here.

“Don’t mention it. Didn’t you save me back then and lead me out of the Desert of Death, preserving my goods? My subordinates have already gone to rescue your friend. You’ll be able to see each other soon.”

Qing Xia smiled and thanked him, then suddenly thought of something wrong and hurriedly asked, “How many of your subordinates are there?”

Longge was startled and said, “Just the ones you saw during the day. Don’t worry, my subordinates are all the bravest warriors of the grasslands. They can shoot down eagles with their eyes closed. That group doesn’t know mounted archery well, and they have women among them. If I hadn’t been afraid they’d use you as a hostage, I would have acted during the day.”

“This is bad!” Qing Xia said anxiously with regret, “Let’s go quickly! Something must have happened!”

Indeed, when they rode to catch up, Longge’s dozen or so subordinates had all been killed. Their bodies were covered with blue and red venomous insects, their deaths tragic and horrifying, while Lie Yun Ji had long since disappeared without a trace.

Qing Xia stood among the corpses, her brows tightly furrowed, her heart filled with irrepressible hatred. Ousi Lanya’s ruthless methods, sinister character, and cunning intelligence were unlike anything she had ever encountered in her life. She remembered that during the Qin family banquet, the current chief of the Wuxian tribe, Zhu Wuxian, had claimed with certainty that Ousi Lanya had been killed at Yunmeng Ridge, but it seemed she had cunningly escaped even then. She had faced off against this woman multiple times but had never managed to gain the upper hand. She truly could not be underestimated. With Lie Yun Ji in her hands, who knew what kind of torture she would suffer? And why had she gone to such great lengths to capture herself? What was her ultimate purpose?

Longge stood dumbfounded, staring straight-eyed at his grassland heroes who could shoot down eagles with their eyes closed, unable to come to his senses for a long time.

At this moment, the sound of hooves suddenly came from behind. Qing Xia cautiously turned around and saw three people on horseback. The leader was running while shouting loudly, “Young Master, terrible news! The old prince has passed away!”

Qing Xia should have realized long ago that this Longge A’shu was no ordinary person. A common grassland youth wouldn’t have had the financial resources to support his travels through the Western Regions.

Longge was considered a major surname on the grasslands, but there was only one branch of the Golden Family. The previous Great Khan of the Xiongnu had been the head of the Longge family. Although Guli A’shu had Shuoshang bloodline and was an outside son who couldn’t bear the Golden Family surname, he was still fundamentally the son of the previous Great Khan and essentially part of the Longge clan. Longge A’shu’s father was Guli A’shu’s younger uncle. When Guli A’shu returned from Xunlie Yuan years ago, he had helped him seize power, which was why he alone was spared when Guli A’shu massacred the entire Longge clan, becoming the sole remaining branch of the Longge family.

Now that the old prince Longge Shahan had died, the Longge clan had suddenly lost its pillar, and countless eyes were fixed on the position of clan head that Longge Shahan had left vacant.

According to Xiongnu custom, the eldest son would inherit his father’s grasslands and slaves to guard the territories and protect the family, while the youngest and most beloved son would inherit his father’s tent and royal position. Longge A’shu was the youngest son and had the protection of a name personally bestowed by Guli A’shu, so he naturally and smoothly inherited the title of Great Khan of Longge. The entire process took less than two days.

Qing Xia had been drugged by Ousi Lanya and was weak in her limbs. Even if she wanted to rescue Lie Yun Ji, she was willing but unable. She also didn’t dare ask Longge A’shu to help her contact Chu Li, since the Xiongnu and Southern Chu were bitter enemies, and she had led military campaigns against the Xiongnu multiple times. Not daring to reveal her identity, she could only ask Guli A’shu to help her gather some information from within the border.

On the day of the succession ceremony, Qing Xia rested in the Longge clan’s tribal camp. Hearing the thunderous drums outside, she leisurely recalled the battle at Loulan. Lifting the curtain of the tent to look outside, she saw white Mongolian yurts stretching as far as the eye could see. Qing Xia wore a white Mongolian woman’s riding dress with a bright red sash around her waist. The bottom of the skirt had small light pink floral patterns, paired with riding boots, which made her figure appear even more graceful and curvaceous.

She sat in the grass for a while. It was already nearly December, and the grasslands had already seen two snowfalls. The weather was cold, and even the wind felt hard. After a short time, she felt as if cold air was seeping out from her very bones. She stood up, estimating that Longge A’shu’s succession ceremony should be nearly finished, and wanted to return to the tent to wait for his return so she could bid him farewell. She didn’t have much time left, but there were still many things waiting for her to do.

“Jiema Agu?”

A clear voice suddenly rang out. Qing Xia’s whole body trembled, and she turned around in surprise to see a Mongolian girl of about ten years old standing in the center of a group of Mongolians, her eyes wide open. Upon seeing her turn around, the girl rushed over and threw herself into her arms, shouting, “Jiema Agu! It’s really you!”

Qing Xia was greatly startled. She saw the girl excitedly embracing her, tears streaming down her face, saying loudly, “Don’t you remember me? I’m A’Moye!”

“A’Moye?” Qing Xia held the girl’s hands and looked her up and down, saying excitedly, “You’ve grown so big! How are you here? Weren’t you with Mama in Mida Prefecture? Did Nakedo and Banbuer find you?”

“Jiema Agu.” A’Moye hugged Qing Xia’s waist and suddenly burst into tears.

Just as Qing Xia was at a loss, a deep voice suddenly rang out, carrying a trace of faint nostalgia and a hint of vicissitudes. The tone was very gentle as it slowly said, “Xia Qing.”

Qing Xia was startled and raised her head to see a face both familiar and strange. Xuda Lie wore a silver-white snow marten fur coat, standing among the crowd with sharp eyes and noble bearing, like a radiant deity possessing an awe-inspiring majesty that made it impossible to look directly at him.