Xiao Du was unaware of the sudden upheaval within Pingdu Pass, his entire heart focused only on how to survive the crisis before him. After hesitating for just a moment, the ground beneath his feet began to shake, and tremendous rumbling sounds continuously echoed from outside. Xiao Du understood there was no more time to delay and could only grab A Yue’s sleeve: “Go!”
The two had just run out of the house when massive stones falling from the mountaintop crashed onto the roof, causing the entire wooden house to collapse with a thunderous crash. But Xiao Du had no time to feel relief – the landslide was still continuing. If they didn’t find a safe place to hide, sooner or later they would be crushed by the constantly falling rocks!
He quickly tore off two strips of cloth and handed them to A Yue, telling her to cover her nose and mouth like him, then led her dodging left and right among the flying sand and rolling boulders. But he was ultimately unfamiliar with the mountain terrain. After running just a few steps, he was caught by shrubs and vines, forcing him to continuously swing his blade to cut through those tendrils before he could proceed with difficulty.
After fleeing only a short distance, Xiao Du’s entire body was drenched in sweat, the veins on his hand gripping the short blade bulging. A Yue had long been stunned by this catastrophe and only followed behind Xiao Du in a daze. Listening to the entire mountain roaring and trembling like an angry giant, her legs felt weak, and she carelessly tripped over a shrub and fell to the ground.
Seeing a massive boulder about to crush her body, Xiao Du quickly exerted force to pull her up and away. A Yue watched that boulder narrowly roll past her feet, her face turning deathly pale with fright, but she finally recovered some rationality and looked up: “I remember now – I know of a safe place!”
Xiao Du’s heart leaped with joy as he quickly followed her toward the mountainside. A Yue was very familiar with the terrain here and swiftly led him to a hidden cave entrance, pointing inside: “Quick, get in! The landslide can’t reach here – it’s safe!” Without time to think further, Xiao Du quickly bent down and hid in the cave with her. Large and small stones continuously fell from the cave entrance, and the mountain shook violently for a while before the collapse finally gradually ceased. Xiao Du didn’t dare be careless and guarded the cave entrance tightly. Only when he saw the outside had completely returned to calm did he finally breathe a sigh of relief, preparing to hurry down the mountain while daylight remained.
But at this moment, A Yue suddenly wrapped her arms tightly around his waist and said softly: “Don’t go – I’m scared.” The girl’s body was soft and alluring. Xiao Du’s body stiffened as he turned to see that devastatingly beautiful face displaying delicate charm, her watery eyes seeming to bloom with enchanting peach blossoms.
Xiao Du snorted coldly and mercilessly pried away the hands clinging to his waist: “What tricks are you trying to play now, A Yue… or should I call you Divine Physician Cui?”
“A Yue” was startled upon hearing this, then all the weakness and terror on her face disappeared, replaced by a relaxed, coquettish smile. She simply let her black hair, disheveled by the wind, fall loose and casually played with the ends, saying with feigned anger: “How boring – you saw through it so quickly.”
Xiao Du snorted lightly and turned his head: “You said you were Cui Yuan’s female slave, but when you entered the house, he didn’t even dare look at you much, obviously somewhat afraid of you. That courtyard was full of flowers and medicinal herbs, clearly maintained by someone living there year-round. Plus you’re completely permeated with the scent of herbs from years of exposure. Since that ‘Divine Physician Cui’ was an imposter, the real person living there could only be you. I just didn’t expect that the legendary divine physician on Cloudy Peak Mountain would actually be a young lady.”
Cui Yuan narrowed her eyes and clapped her hands happily: “Not bad, not bad! Worthy of being the world-famous Marquis Xuanyuan – nothing can be hidden from you.”
But Xiao Du’s face showed a hint of coldness as his gaze cut into her like a blade: “What exactly is your relationship with that Wu person, and why did you help him harm me?”
Cui Yuan slowly brought her face closer, her fingers secretly hooking onto Xiao Du’s clothing ties, her eyes flowing with charm: “I helped them just because I found it amusing, but now I think you’re more interesting than them.” Seeing Xiao Du turn his head away and no longer look at her, she secretly crushed something in her right hand hidden behind her back, then leaned close to his ear with breath like orchids: “Anyway, there’s no one to disturb us in these deep mountains. With such beautiful scenery on this lovely night, why must you rush to leave? Why not stay here with me as dew-drop lovers – wouldn’t that be quite delightful?”
She leaned extremely close, her fragrance entering Xiao Du’s nostrils as her beautiful eyes showed confidence and allure. Xiao Du turned his head, his gaze slightly hazy, then reached toward her waist. Cui Yuan’s face showed triumphant satisfaction, but before she could rejoice, her wrist was suddenly clamped tightly, causing her to cry out in pain. Then the aromatic herbs she had been crushing in her right hand were thrown to the ground as a cold voice sounded in her ear: “I told you not to play tricks with me. You’d better obediently follow me down the mountain and do everything possible to cure my wife. Otherwise, I will definitely settle accounts with you properly for colluding with Wu people to plot against court generals.”
Cui Yuan held her bruised wrist, feeling both jealous and resentful as she glared at him fiercely from the corner of her eyes. She had always been extremely confident in her appearance and never expected to repeatedly fail in front of this man today. The more she thought about it, the more unwilling she felt, gritting her teeth: “What a waste of your dignified appearance – you’re so unromantic! Don’t tell me you think I’m not beautiful enough.”
Xiao Du glanced at her indifferently: “You are indeed very beautiful, but unfortunately, you’re not her.”
Cui Yuan was immediately stunned. She had never heard such words before, nor had she ever imagined that this marquis, who had just been cold and unfeeling toward her, would show such tender affection on his face when mentioning his wife. Her heart grew even more unwilling as she stamped her foot: “If you have absolutely no interest in me, why did you risk bringing me out just now?”
Xiao Du looked at the increasingly dark sky outside the cave, already quite impatient: “If not for needing to take you to treat my wife, I wouldn’t bother with you. It’s getting late – hurry and follow me down the mountain.” He turned back, his tone already carrying威压: “If you really won’t comply, I don’t mind tying you up and taking you down.”
Cui Yuan was frightened into shivering by the coldness in those eyes, finally understanding that this person was as cold and hard as the stones in these mountains and could never be manipulated by her. She could only sigh and resignedly follow him down the mountain. But at this moment, Xiao Du didn’t know that in Pingdu Pass, an enormous crisis was still waiting for him.
++++++
“What! The Xiao family army has mutinied!” In the main tent of Pingdu Pass military camp, Yue Ke Wei stood up excitedly upon hearing the scout’s report, immediately losing his composure.
At this time, chaotic sounds and shouting continuously came from outside the camp. Points of firelight suddenly illuminated the night sky as Staff Officer Zou Wu hurriedly lifted the tent flap and entered, his face full of terror: “My lord, this is terrible! The Xiao family army has surrounded us completely, saying they must have an explanation!”
Yue Ke Wei couldn’t help but kick him to the ground, shouting: “This is all the trouble you caused! His Majesty said not to act too hastily – to wait until the situation was confirmed before moving against Xiao Du. But you insisted on saying that since Xiao Du had taken the main force out of the city, we should take advantage of him and the Black Cavalry being mutually defeated to frame Xiao Du with treason, then bind his wife to threaten Zheng Long and the others into submission. You swore this was an excellent plan – how has it come to this!”
Zou Wu covered his chest and didn’t dare argue, only kneeling and saying: “It was my oversight. I thought that with Xiao Du not in the city and his capable generals imprisoned, the Xiao family army definitely wouldn’t dare cause trouble. Who knew…”
“You thought, you thought…” Yue Ke Wei pointed at him, growing angrier: “This is just wonderful! Now such a huge mess has occurred – tell me how to clean it up.”
Zou Wu lowered his head, a flash of fierceness in his eyes: “Now the Black Cavalry’s fifty thousand main forces have been completely annihilated, so there shouldn’t be any major threat outside the city temporarily. The Xiao family army only has a few tens of thousands left. In my opinion, we should summon the Yan Province and You Province armies together to suppress them – we won’t be at a disadvantage in numbers. Those people only dare make noise with their mouths. When it really comes to fighting, that would be the great crime of rebelling against the court. Now Marquis Xuanyuan’s fate is unknown, and Zheng Long and the others are locked in prison – who would dare truly take such risks!”
Yue Ke Wei pondered with lowered eyes for a long time, finally sighing: “Given the current situation, this is the only way…”
So under cover of night, someone carrying military seals ran everywhere as generals of the Yan Province and You Province armies simultaneously received a secret order: “Marquis Xuanyuan Xiao Du has colluded with enemies and betrayed, the Xiao family army has mutinied – immediately deploy troops to suppress them. Anyone who disobeys shall be immediately beheaded.”
On the other side, countless Xiao family soldiers held torches, completely surrounding Yue Ke Wei’s main camp, loudly demanding the release of General Zheng and other Xiao family army officers, and seeking explanation for this unjust treatment.
In the crude prison cells of the Prefecture Governor’s office, Yuanxi was imprisoned together with Xiao Yunjing and Prince Xiao Qing’s wife Shi Qin, anxiously awaiting news from outside. But Yuanxi sat restlessly with her knees drawn up, going through the entire incident in her mind before slowly sorting out some clues. After lunch today, a team of soldiers had suddenly rushed into the residence, claiming Marquis Xuanyuan Xiao Du had colluded with enemies and betrayed the nation, and that all his family members must be detained and sent back to the capital for interrogation. Then, ignoring several people’s protests, they directly sent Xiao Yunjing and others to prison cells, but brought Yuanxi to Yue Ke Wei’s military tent, where Zheng Long and other generals were angrily preparing to fight their way out. Who knew they would see their lord’s most beloved wife had fallen into enemy hands? Fearing their resistance would harm their lord’s family, they had no choice but to temporarily suppress their anger and allow Yue Ke Wei to order their capture and imprisonment together, awaiting transport back to the capital.
Yuanxi had personally seen Yue Ke Wei produce that imperial edict stating that if anything happened at Pingdu Pass, all military authority would be taken over by Yue Ke Wei. The purpose of this edict was all too obvious – although Zhao Yan had been forced to hand military power to Xiao Du and let him leave the capital, he had still secretly kept a backup plan, instructing Yue Ke Wei to secretly arrange things from behind. Once the Black Cavalry army retreated, he would find ways to reclaim military authority, trap Xiao Du outside the city, and preferably get him killed.
But they were really too hasty. Now the Black Cavalry army was still eyeing them hungrily from outside. If internal strife broke out in the city, as soon as enemy troops attacked, the entire Pingdu Pass would be in grave danger. Why was Yue Ke Wei so impatient? For some reason, she always felt this matter wasn’t so simple. And where was that critically important person now! Yuanxi couldn’t help but clench her clothing, silently praying: A’Du, you must return quickly – when you come back, you’ll surely have a solution!
Just then, she suddenly heard commotion from outside. Yuanxi’s heart stirred, and just as she was about to stand up, she saw a familiar figure rush in with Zheng Long and others. Yuanxi stood up joyfully and rushed to the door, calling out: “Young Master!”
While using keys taken from the jailer to unlock the prison door, Luo Yuan said: “There’s no time to explain now. Old Marquis, Second Young Master, Madam – a carriage has been arranged for you. Leave the city immediately and go hide in Qing Province. General Zheng and the others will lead the Xiao family army to withdraw together shortly. We’ll wait for his lordship’s return in Qing Province.”
It turned out that Luo Yuan had noticed something wrong a few days earlier – there were many unfamiliar faces around the Prefecture Governor’s office, so he had secretly remained alert. Fortunately, Yue Ke Wei hadn’t taken this minor character seriously and had only placed heavy forces on Zheng Long and others when taking action, allowing Luo Yuan to successfully escape by disguising himself as an ordinary soldier.
Seeing that in just one day Yuanxi and Xiao Yunjing had been thrown into prison, Luo Yuan understood that something extremely serious had happened. But before he could devise a strategy, the Xiao family army suddenly mutinied. Watching the city’s situation about to become uncontrollable, Luo Yuan was frantic with worry, but being alone, he truly didn’t know how to act.
At this time, he remembered that the Xiao family army had been stationed at Pingdu Pass for many years, earning much gratitude and trust from the city’s people, who especially revered Marquis Xuanyuan as a hero defending the city. So he secretly gathered the city’s civilians to form a volunteer army, using their familiarity with the Prefecture Governor’s office layout to infiltrate the prison and rescue the imprisoned Zheng Long and others, then rushed non-stop to rescue Yuanxi and the others.
After sending Yuanxi and the Old Marquis onto the carriage, Luo Yuan immediately turned to Zheng Long: “General Zheng, please hurry to the camp area. You absolutely cannot let the Xiao family army fight with the Yan Province army and others. There must be no internal strife in the pass right now, or it will only give the Black Cavalry an opportunity. If Pingdu Pass falls, Qing Province, Hong Province and other places will all be in danger.”
Zheng Long also knew the situation was urgent and hurriedly led the others toward the military camp. But they had only run a few steps when fires suddenly blazed throughout the city, thundering hoofbeats shattered the night, and in the chaos, someone screamed desperately: “The city is breached! The city is breached! The Black Cavalry has broken in!”