A full moon hung high in the sky. The fragrance of unknown flowers rode the wind into people’s nostrils. In the distance were myriad household lights. In the night, some late-returning families were just beginning to light fires for cooking. Wisps of cooking smoke drifted in the air with the wind, clearly visible in the moonlight.

Not far away were crisscrossing paths through fields. Looking into the distance, it was an extremely beautiful rural landscape.

But no one had the mind to appreciate it. Wave after wave of galloping hoofbeats swept rapidly past on the main road, as if carrying the force of thunder, pounding on people’s hearts until their faces turned pale and their hearts grew anxious.

Everyone lay prostrate in the waist-high wild grass. Hearing the hoofbeats gradually recede, they finally set down their anxious hearts and simultaneously breathed sighs of relief. The continuous days of fleeing and hiding were unbearably bitter. The Chief Administrator closed his eyes to ease his dizziness, untied a water pouch from his waist and handed it to Prince Gong who lay face-up using his hands as a pillow. Seeing Prince Gong take it and drink in large gulps, he sat beside Prince Gong. “Your Highness, the Imperial Guards we shook off before have caught up again, like lingering ghosts. We’ve already lost several brothers…”

Prince Gong’s face showed all the vicissitudes and haggardness of their flight. Even his artificially darkened eyebrows appeared disheveled from long lack of grooming. Supporting himself on the grass beneath him, he sat up and laughed coldly.

“That old bastard must have betrayed me!” He gritted his teeth as if wanting to bite someone’s flesh. “Before, though the Imperial Guard also set up layers of checkpoints, they were all groping blindly. Not like now—it’s as if they know where we’ll go.”

The wind gradually grew stronger. The deep autumn night wind raised fine goosebumps all over people’s bodies. Even the Chief Administrator couldn’t help pulling his clothes tighter and yawning. Hearing Prince Gong say this, he couldn’t help sighing. “With your flight like this, His Majesty will certainly be furious. Elder Du, who was once closely associated with you, naturally cannot escape involvement. To protect himself, it’s not surprising that old bastard would reveal some things. But logically speaking, he should know that if he even dares speak about Xibei, then even if he truly helps His Majesty capture you, he’s certainly dead…”

He quickly figured out the reason. “If this subordinate hasn’t guessed wrong, he probably told the Grand Prince privately, selling this favor to the Grand Prince, wanting to leave a way out for his whole family, large and small.”

This was also human nature. Regardless of whether Elder Du had actually turned to the Grand Prince before, now that Prince Gong had pulled this move, if he wanted to live, he had only to rely on Zhou Weizhao and betray Prince Gong to gain this favor.

The handful of wild grass in Prince Gong’s hand was torn to shreds as if in revenge. Fleeing for over a month, living in constant hiding had nearly driven him mad. He had never experienced such an undignified life like a petty thief unable to see daylight—worrying about checkpoint after checkpoint ahead, dealing with pursuers sent by his biological father behind. Even if he were made of iron, this much time would be enough to wear him rusty.

The change happened in an instant. The Chief Administrator was about to step forward to advise Prince Gong again when he felt a fierce wind approaching and his neck suddenly grew cold.

But faster than reaching his neck was Prince Gong’s leg—in this critical moment, Prince Gong kicked him far away, narrowly avoiding the cold-gleaming blade just now.

The Chief Administrator’s mouth gaped wide in terror as he rolled twice on the ground. Looking up, he was shocked to discover movement on all four sides of the mountain hollow where they were hiding.

“Protect His Highness!” Unable to care about his heart nearly leaping from his chest, he shouted hoarsely again, “Quickly protect His Highness!”

This mountain hollow was chosen by Wu Feng—an excellent hiding place, easy to defend and hard to attack, with people stationed on all four sides. At the first sign of movement, someone had already shouted out, just slightly too slow, otherwise the Chief Administrator’s head would have nearly separated from his neck.

At this moment, except for the north side, people from all three other sides converged to block in front of Prince Gong and the others, desperately fighting with the attackers. The smell of blood soon rode the wind into people’s nostrils.

Wu Feng had already led people to protect Prince Gong tightly. Fighting and retreating, they finally reached the northernmost side. By moonlight, behind them was a large river reflecting the full moon. From time to time, frog croaking could be heard. Without needing to speak, Prince Gong had already taken the lead, leaping fiercely into the water. Then several more splashing sounds of heavy objects falling into water followed.

When the Chief Administrator regained consciousness, the sky had already brightened considerably. The sun without much warmth hung in the sky. He coughed several times, choking up several mouthfuls of water before looking toward Prince Gong in a bedraggled state.

Prince Gong wasn’t in much better shape. The purple-gold crown he’d always worn on his head had disappeared. His hair was now held with an ordinary common crown. His lips were pale white and his complexion greenish, completely different from his previously pampered appearance.

The water in deep autumn was already bone-chillingly cold. Even though Prince Gong had always had martial arts foundation, he was still frozen by this river water until all his blood vessels ran cold. Adding a night of desperate flight, he now lacked even the strength to move a finger.

The Chief Administrator sat up. After the spinning dizziness passed, just as he was about to speak, he felt a fishy sweetness surge in his throat. He hurriedly turned away and coughed violently for a while. After recovering, he frowned with extreme worry. “We had already detected that the Imperial Guard knew our whereabouts, which is why we abandoned the residence overnight to flee the city and hide, yet we still didn’t escape.” He looked toward Prince Gong. “Elder Du must have told the Grand Prince about all the properties along this route to Xibei. Your Highness, our itinerary probably needs to change…”

Without the Chief Administrator’s reminder, Prince Gong also knew how urgent the current situation was. His fist clenched with crackling sounds. “All along the way we’ve dared not use our people or our forces. We’ve struggled so hard to nearly reach Taiyuan. After Taiyuan we can practically see Datong. If we can just hold on to Taiyuan…”

If he could just hold on to Taiyuan, with his fifty-nine thousand-plus guards in hand, no matter what demons or monsters, none would be his match!

The Chief Administrator shook his head. Seeing Prince Gong’s ugly expression, he couldn’t help advising, “Along this route we haven’t failed to hear the rumors—the court has sent the Prince of Zhennan to recover the gold mines. Actually, who among us doesn’t know the Prince of Zhennan is coming for these guards… Your Highness must endure momentary anger. Right now the priority is preserving your life. While the green mountains remain, there’s no fear of lacking firewood…”

Prince Gong’s eyes were bloodshot. He snorted coldly and said decisively, “Precisely because I know he’s coming to take back my guard army, I cannot let him succeed! I’ll let them open their eyes and see—after over ten years of my management, this fiefdom ultimately listens to whom!”

Want his life?! Go ahead and try—see who ultimately cannot return to the capital alive!