In front of the cave, wisps of white smoke curled upward, flames still burning fiercely.

Yingzi tended to his own wounds nearby. For warriors like him and the other shadow guards — expendable fighters by trade — external injuries hardly counted for anything. Internal injuries were the real concern, though thankfully Yingzi’s constitution was strong, and he regained consciousness after only a brief spell.

Yelu Qianqian, however, remained unconscious even now.

Ziqing looked her over, somewhat troubled. There was no physician among the guards, and while she had some basic medical knowledge herself, she was hardly a trained doctor.

After confirming Yelu Qianqian’s breathing and heartbeat were both normal, Ziqing touched her forehead and found no fever, no sign of any internal infection. She figured the girl probably wasn’t in any real danger.

“Hey, wake up, it’s all over now!”

“Wake up! Situ Haonan’s here!”

……

Ziqing gave her a few nudges with her foot and pinched her cheek, but Yelu Qianqian still showed no response.

“Your Highness, let’s just leave it. Send her back first, and worry about the rest later — as long as she’s alive, that’s enough. She’s not like you, she’s a delicate one! She can’t take this kind of ordeal!” Yingzi said helplessly.

Meaning what, exactly — that she herself wasn’t precious?

Ziqing shot him a suspicious look. Yingzi immediately realized his misstep and hurried to explain. “I — I didn’t mean it that way! I misspoke, I deserve a beating for that, truly!”

Yingzi genuinely slapped himself. Who said his lady wasn’t precious? Cherished and doted upon by Prince Yao himself — who in this world could possibly compare to her in preciousness?

It wasn’t that she wasn’t precious — she simply wasn’t fragile.

Thinking back over these past several months, a woman traveling alone through the bitter cold of the northern steppe, searching for someone — even a woman with a naturally strong constitution would struggle to endure such hardship, let alone one whose body was as weak as hers to begin with.

Ziqing just smiled, not the least bit bothered. Delicate or precious — neither word had anything to do with her. She’d endured far harsher conditions, far more difficult environments than this before.

She simply couldn’t change the fact that her current body wasn’t the one she’d once had, strong and resilient as it used to be.

All she knew was that as long as her breath kept going, she’d keep living — everything else could go to hell.

Watching Yelu Qianqian, Ziqing wasn’t quite sure herself why she felt such fondness for this delicate, fragile girl. A mischievous glint flashed in her eyes, and without warning, she pinched hard at the philtrum above Yelu Qianqian’s lip — with considerable force.

That did it. Yelu Qianqian let out a startled cry, eyes flying open at once, and Ziqing immediately released her grip, saying impatiently, “Awake now?”

Yelu Qianqian looked at Ziqing, then glanced around at her surroundings, and suddenly burst into loud sobs, throwing herself straight at Ziqing. “Waaah… Han Ziqing, you finally came! I’ve been waiting for you this whole time! I thought I’d never see you again for the rest of my life!”

Aside from Jun Beiyue, Ziqing really wasn’t used to this kind of tight embrace — even from another woman, she found it uncomfortable.

“If you’re awake, that means you’re fine. Yingzi, report to the Emperor of Xijing at once — Princess Qianqian has been found,” Ziqing said flatly, trying to push Yelu Qianqian off, but the wretched girl clung on tight, sobbing her heart out. “You finally came, waaah… if you’d waited any longer, I would have died!”

“Alright, let go, cry all you want later — I still have things to do,” Ziqing said helplessly.

“Waaah! Han Ziqing, I just knew you wouldn’t abandon me, I just knew you were my true friend, I just knew you’d never harm me!”

“Han Ziqing, let me tell you — I know you and Jun Beiyue deliberately schemed to help me elope, but I don’t blame either of you one bit, I went willingly!”

Ziqing drew a deep breath and said, with strained patience, “I know. Let go.”

But Yelu Qianqian wouldn’t let go, continuing as if confessing something profound. “Han Ziqing, I also know you had your own reasons for finding me. That old woman kept badmouthing you two, saying you only came for Da Zhou’s sake — but I already knew all that, and I’m still willing. People using each other — who doesn’t do that? Waaah… even if you used me, I’d still give you my heart and soul!”

At last, Ziqing’s patience ran out entirely. She said coldly, “Yingzi, did Situ Haonan die on the battlefield?”

The words landed with the force of seventy percent of her inner energy. Ziqing didn’t even need to lift a finger — Yelu Qianqian practically launched herself off, whipping around toward Yingzi. “What? What happened to Situ Haonan?”

Not only did she whip around, she lunged straight at him. Yingzi froze for a moment, stunned — and by the time he recovered, Ziqing’s figure had already vanished.

Jun Beiyue was still locked in combat with the head of Nangong City. She had no time to indulge Yelu Qianqian’s tearful reunion.

Weaving through the forest, Ziqing couldn’t resist glancing back at Yelu Qianqian, still sobbing where she’d been left. She thought, Yingzi was right — she and Yelu Qianqian belonged to two entirely different worlds.

Sometimes she wondered — if she’d had a real family, if she’d had parents who doted on her and shielded her from harm since childhood, would she have turned out to be a crybaby too?

She wondered about it in passing, but never dwelt on the question. She simply wasn’t the crying type, and never would be.

After a few more leaps, Ziqing landed atop the cliff, finding herself momentarily unsteady on her feet — but she quickly brushed the feeling aside.

Atop the cliff, Jun Beiyue was still locked in fierce combat with the head of Nangong City, while Madam Situ lay unconscious off to the side.

The head of Nangong City was truly the martial world’s foremost master, his skill deeply hidden and rarely revealed. Yet judging by this battle, though the outcome remained undecided, Jun Beiyue had essentially already won — he’d successfully held the head of Nangong City at bay.

Ziqing watched their exchange of blows in silence, a mischievous curve rising at her lips, and suddenly spoke up. “Beiyue, target secured. You’ve won.”

At these words, the head of Nangong City was the first to halt. The moment he stopped, Jun Beiyue retreated back to Ziqing’s side, smiling. “Alive or dead?”

“Alive. Guaranteed to satisfy Situ Haonan,” Ziqing said, clearly baiting him on purpose.

Hearing this, the head of Nangong City’s already labored breathing grew heavier still. “Jun Beiyue, you’re not leaving this place today!”

Jun Beiyue gently pulled Ziqing into his arms with one hand, patting her head, letting her rest against his shoulder, while raising an eyebrow with a smile. “Such bold words from the head of Nangong City!”

The moment he spoke, hundreds of archers appeared in unison, bows drawn, arrows all trained squarely on the head of Nangong City.

With Yelu Qianqian’s location confirmed, did anyone really think he’d let them simply escape? He’d already mobilized his forces and prepared everything in advance.

He’d merely wanted to use this opportunity to test his own skill against a true master of the martial world, to gauge how far his own abilities had progressed.

Seeing this, a flash of resentment crossed the head of Nangong City’s eyes. He’d only meant to quietly spirit Yelu Qianqian away — not even his own Nangong clan knew he’d left the city. Mobilizing forces on this scale, on such short notice, was no easy feat.

Even a mighty dragon couldn’t overpower a local serpent on its home turf — outnumbered as he was, the head of Nangong City glared at Jun Beiyue with fury. “Young man, don’t let your arrogance run too high — you might just set yourself on fire.”

“Does the head of Nangong City mean to concede defeat?” Jun Beiyue said with a mocking smile, brazen and unbothered, hardly taking the man seriously at all.

“You!” The head of Nangong City choked with rage, hoisting up the still-unconscious Madam Situ and saying coldly, “Jun Beiyue, this old man originally had no intention of meddling in the court’s war. But let me tell you now — Nangong City will stand against Da Zhou forever, till the end of time!”

Was that supposed to be a threat?

Jun Beiyue gave a light scoff, and under the protection of his archers, turned and walked away with Ziqing in his arms, not even glancing back. “This prince has nothing but contempt for people who can’t accept losing.”