Jingrong walked up to Bai Yin and looked down at him from above.

As his large shadow fell over him, Bai Yin suddenly moved, struggling to open his weak, weary eyes to look at the visitor. But he could only see those black high boots before him, bringing an overwhelming pressure bearing down on him.

“Your willpower is quite strong!” Jingrong said.

Hearing this, Bai Yin laughed once, extraordinarily desolate.

Jingrong lifted his robe and crouched down, his piercing gaze fixed on Bai Yin’s pale, peeling face. Then he unscrewed the water flask in his hand and slowly tilted it downward. Water dripped drop by drop onto Bai Yin’s parched, bleeding lips.

It was as if in a desert of death he had suddenly received a mouthful of life-saving water. Bai Yin quickly opened his mouth and stuck out his tongue to lick the water droplets falling on his lips. The cold sensation instantly traveled from the tip of his tongue to the root, then bit by bit to his throat. That refreshing feeling revived his spirits considerably.

But—

Jingrong suddenly righted the water flask.

“Want to drink?”

Bai Yin lay on the ground and swallowed. The cool sensation on his lips dissipated, and when the sun shone on them, they burned painfully!

Hearing no response from him, Jingrong extended his thumb and rubbed it across his parched lips. His fingertip used a bit of force, causing the cracked openings on his lips to split, blood seeping out, making his mouth look extremely horrifying. Bai Yin seemed to have lost the sense of pain and showed no reaction. Then Jingrong noticed that someone had applied medicinal powder to the wound on his arm, but after being tormented on this journey, the wound had split open, and fresh blood had dyed those white powder particles red, sticking them together!

His eyes narrowed slightly—he understood what had happened in his heart.

He raised the water flask in his hand.

“Without this mouthful of water, you probably can’t hold on much longer, can you?”

“…”

Bai Yin smiled, not a hint of submission in his eyes.

Jingrong reached out to pinch his cheeks, his gaze ice-cold. “Don’t worry, I won’t let you die. I’ll have you walk to Hou Liao step by step while alive.”

Having said that, he lifted the water flask and shoved it into Bai Yin’s mouth.

Bai Yin had no ability to resist. With his cheeks pinched, cold refreshing water was poured into his mouth, almost immediately reaching his throat, choking him as he drank and coughed.

And this scene was captured entirely by Ji Yunshu’s eyes.

She couldn’t describe what she felt inside!

Her delicate brows also furrowed involuntarily.

Qin Xi noticed and asked her softly, “Yunshu, what’s wrong?”

She immediately withdrew her gaze and shook her head. “Nothing.”

“I see you’ve been preoccupied all along the way.”

“You’re overthinking. I’m really fine.”

“That’s good then.”

Qin Xi pursed her lips.

She didn’t ask further.

Only after Jingrong had poured the entire flask of water into Bai Yin’s mouth did he release him.

He lay on the ground, coughing while gasping for breath.

In utter disarray!

Jingrong patted the water that had splashed on his robe, furrowed his sword-like brows, and looked at him. “Though I promised to let you reach Hou Liao alive, I didn’t say I wouldn’t kill you. Once you’ve lost your usefulness, I won’t be able to spare your life.”

Reminding him!

Bai Yin knew what he meant. He opened his mouth and said, “You want to use me… to threaten Huhehaote?”

“Yes!”

“Do you think… Huhehaote will care? If he cared, by now… by now he would have already sent troops to chase after you. Do you think you could still return safely and peacefully to Hou Liao?”

“Then you’d better pray your life can become our chess piece. Otherwise, your only fate is death.”

“Haha.” Bai Yin laughed weakly.

Jingrong’s expression was composed, but he suddenly caught sight of something showing at his chest.

It was a piece of paper!

He reached out to take it, but Bai Yin’s face changed drastically, and he pressed his hand against his chest in alarm.

But how could his strength match Jingrong’s?

That piece of paper still fell into Jingrong’s hand.

He unfolded it and looked—his pupils contracted slightly.

The portrait on this… was it Ji Yunshu?

The next moment, he grabbed the front of Bai Yin’s clothes and pulled him up, his gaze sharp, his voice lowered as he demanded, “Where did this portrait come from?”

“Does it matter?”

“Speak!”

Who knew Bai Yin would close his eyes, refusing to speak, looking as if he was ready to die.

Jingrong had no way with him. His fist clenched tight—he really wanted to punch him, but—

He released him!

Forcefully restraining the fury in his heart.

“Fine! You won’t speak, is that it? Then I want to see whether your mouth is harder or your life is harder.” He rose abruptly in anger, tucked that portrait into his sleeve, and ordered, “Depart!”

Those two words carried tremendous authority, shocking everyone greatly.

Had this prince eaten some kind of explosive?

Why such a temper?

Everyone also rose one after another, not daring to delay. Those mounting horses mounted horses, those boarding carriages boarded carriages.

Bai Yin on the ground was pulled up and continued dragging his barely surviving body forward.

Ji Yunshu sat in the carriage, looking at Jingrong ahead, wondering what on earth had happened.

Qin Xi also couldn’t figure it out.

But she didn’t dare ask.

She just felt the atmosphere was wrong and shrank back a bit.

Jingrong rode on his horse, his expression gloomy, not saying a word.

Muruo beside him reached out and touched him, asking, “What’s wrong?”

His expression was grave!

He didn’t speak.

This really bothered Muruo, who continued asking while guessing, “Related to Miss Ji?”

Besides matters concerning Ji Yunshu that could make him like this, who else could it be?

Jingrong’s “rib” had been poked. A cold fury burst forth in his eyes as he looked back at Bai Yin behind the carriage.

Then—

He tightened the reins and ordered, “Before nightfall, we must reach Hou Liao.”

He galloped off on his horse.

Muruo followed closely behind.

The guards and those Hou Liao people could only quicken their pace, whipping their horses to catch up.

Therefore, the rope pulling Bai Yin also sped up.

Bai Yin went from his original fast walk to being pulled until he had to jog, and finally his strength truly couldn’t keep up. His whole person fell down, turned around, his back hitting the ground, hands pulled over his head, his body dragged and scraped along the ground all the way.

Fortunately it was all dirt and grass!

Otherwise, being dragged like this, his back would definitely have been scraped raw.

He just let himself be dragged like this, his body almost completely numb!

Until gradually he lost all sensation.

In the carriage, Ji Yunshu didn’t know why the carriage had suddenly sped up, and faster and faster. One could tell with their toes that it must be Jingrong’s order, and one could also imagine that Bai Yin must be being dragged along the ground.

But what could she do?

Helpless!

The carriage and horse convoy traveled for nearly three shichen before finally reaching Hou Liao territory.

The sky had long since darkened!

At this time, Tang Si stood with several people on a small hill on the grassland. She calculated the time—by any account, they should have arrived by now!

But she had stared until her eyes hurt and still couldn’t see even a spark of fire or human figure in the distant darkness.

She held her protruding belly and glared fiercely at a burly man beside her.

“Didn’t you say they would arrive today?”

That person said, “Yes! Last night Brother Mo had me come back first to tell you.”

“But where are they? Where are they? Where? Did you eat them?”

“…”