Ji Cheng and Nan Gui set out immediately after receiving the antidote.
Ji Cheng handed the antidote to Nan Gui, saying, “You keep it.” Nan Gui knew martial arts, so it would be much safer with her. Ji Cheng had other concerns as well. “I think Huo De’s people are probably watching us constantly. I’m not sure if our disguises can fool him, so you need to be mentally prepared. If Huo De tries to use me to threaten you again, just escape, and don’t worry about me.”
Ji Cheng was planning ahead. She interrupted Nan Gui before she could speak, “When we didn’t have the antidote, there was no point in Huo De killing me. Now that we have it, if I were him, I’d try to force you. Remember, if we lose the Young Master, we lose everything. As for me, as long as the Young Master is alive, Huo De won’t kill me. He’ll just use me to threaten him a second time.”
Ji Cheng was absolutely right. She was only valuable to Huo De alive; dead, she would be meaningless.
But Nan Gui remained silent.
Ji Cheng didn’t press her further. This was just a hypothetical situation, after all.
After leaving Qu Man Mountain, Nan Gui asked Ji Cheng, “Young Mistress, even our people don’t know the Young Master’s whereabouts now. But although the Young Master hasn’t told us where he is, he must be constantly thinking of you. I believe if he knows we’ve got the antidote, he’ll definitely send people to help us. But right now, I really don’t know which direction to go.”
With the current tense situation, being early by a minute could be lucky, while being late by a minute could lead to disaster. It was no wonder Nan Gui was hesitant to make a decision.
Ji Cheng reined in her horse to a slow walk and pondered for a moment before saying, “If I were the Young Master, the safest place right now would be among the Great Qin’s Northern Expedition Army. But there must be Zhe Li’s spies in the Northern Expedition Army, so even if he entered it, he wouldn’t let anyone know. Let’s head south, and you leave markers along the way.”
Nan Gui nodded. Following a mistress like Ji Cheng had many downsides, but one undeniable advantage was that she always took responsibility and explained things in a way that was convincing to the core.
The first day of heading south went smoothly, but on the second night, as they were passing through a narrow mountain path, there was a disturbance.
This was the best place for enemies to ambush them, but it was also the shortest route south. Nan Gui had been on high alert since entering the narrow path, and now she was at her utmost vigilance, protecting Ji Cheng behind her.
“Why skulk around? If you’re here, just come out,” Nan Gui called out loudly.
A “giggling” laugh came on the wind. It should have been as pleasant as silver bells, but mixed with the howling night wind, it became quite eerie.
A figure in a red robe floated down from a tree in the darkness, carrying a sack.
Zai Na looked at the full moon in the sky, then at Ji Cheng behind Nan Gui. “Today is the fifteenth of the eighth month. I hear it’s your Great Qin’s Mid-Autumn Festival, isn’t it?”
Ji Cheng’s heart sank involuntarily when she saw the sack in Zai Na’s hand. She had a very bad feeling.
“What exactly do you want?” Nan Gui demanded sternly.
Zai Na smiled at Nan Gui, her smile twisted by hatred. She cared most about her face, and Nan Gui had scarred it. Now there were still faint scars on her face. That was even with Nan Gui showing mercy under Shen Che’s instruction.
Because Zai Na liked Shen Che, she didn’t think of blaming the real culprit, but instead focused all her resentment on Nan Gui.
However, Nan Gui wasn’t the main event tonight. Sooner or later, she would make Nan Gui wish she were dead. Zai Na swept her gaze over Nan Gui like she was looking at an ant, then said with an exaggerated smile, “I don’t want to do anything. I just heard that the Mid-Autumn Festival is a time for family reunions in Great Qin, so I specially brought an old acquaintance for the Second Young Mistress to reunite with.”
Zai Na looked at Ji Cheng with extreme satisfaction. “Second Young Mistress doesn’t need to thank me. In the future, we’ll all be one family.”
Ji Cheng looked at Zai Na expressionlessly. She knew that if she showed even a trace of timidity now, it would be exactly what Zai Na wanted.
“Tsk, tsk.” Zai Na shook her head. “Why doesn’t the Second Young Mistress say anything? Don’t you want to see this old acquaintance?” Zai Na pulled down the sack, revealing a person covered in blood.
Zai Na grabbed the person’s hair and lifted, revealing a face covered in blood scabs, making it impossible to see their features. “Oh, how pitiful,” Zai Na said, then forcefully wiped the person’s face with the rough sack cloth, finally revealing half of their face.
“Second Young Mistress, do you recognize this old acquaintance of yours?” Zai Na smiled triumphantly at Ji Cheng.
Ji Cheng’s nails had already dug into her palms, but a smile appeared on her face. “I don’t have time to chat with the Holy Maiden. We’ll meet again.” Ji Cheng gave Nan Gui a look, and Nan Gui immediately squeezed her horse’s belly, ready to leave.
Zai Na wasn’t in a hurry. She took something out from her bosom and stuffed it into Ling Ziyun’s mouth, then pinched his jaw to force him to swallow it.
“Second Young Mistress, don’t be in such a hurry to leave. Didn’t you come all this way to the grasslands to see your childhood sweetheart? Who was it that waited pitifully for two days just to catch a glimpse of his back?” Zai Na called out to Ji Cheng, who had already walked past her several steps.
“Let’s go,” Ji Cheng said to Nan Gui without looking back.
“What he just ate was also the Half-Day Scatter,” Zai Na called out loudly to Ji Cheng, who had walked several more steps away. “Second Young Mistress has experienced it. When poisoned with this, in the end, all internal organs will melt, the intestines will rupture, and death will follow. It’s truly agonizing before death, finally turning into a pool of pus and blood. Are you really going to watch your little sweetheart die like this?”
Ji Cheng closed her eyes, then slowly opened them. She gave Nan Gui a look, and Nan Gui shook her head almost imperceptibly. Although Zai Na’s martial arts were nothing in front of Shen Che, Nan Gui might not be able to subdue her, because Nan Gui had been badly injured internally by Huo De last time. Although she had taken the healing medicine, she hadn’t fully recovered.
Ji Cheng reined in her horse and turned back, smiling at Zai Na, “What is the Holy Maiden doing? Hatred born of love? If something happens to my husband, what will the Holy Maiden gain? You said it yourself, we’ll be family in the future. Do you want to be a widow?”
Zai Na said, “Yes, I’m willing to die on the same day as the Young Master. What about you? Are you willing to give up your little childhood sweetheart?” Zai Na raised her hand and slapped Ling Ziyun, who was hanging his head without response, knocking him to the ground.
Although the moonlight was hazy, Ji Cheng could still see the fresh blood flowing from the corner of Ling Ziyun’s mouth.
“How crude. The Young Master doesn’t like such crude women,” Ji Cheng said.
Zai Na replied, “That’s none of your concern.” She then stepped on Ling Ziyun’s back and twisted her ankle forcefully. Even from that distance, Ji Cheng could hear Ling Ziyun’s bones cracking.
But Ling Ziyun, either unconscious or enduring, didn’t make a sound.
In this situation, even if the person lying under Zai Na’s foot wasn’t Ji Cheng’s beloved Brother Ziyun, but a stranger, seeing him in such a miserable state would make anyone’s heart ache.
But Ji Cheng still smiled, looking at Zai Na and saying, “How naive must you be to think I want to save him? It’s true that we grew up together, but one is my husband, my sky, while the other is just a minor official. How stupid would I have to be to abandon my husband to save him?”
At this point, Ji Cheng giggled, “They say big breasts, no brain. I think the Holy Maiden fits that saying quite well.”
Zai Na narrowed her eyes, and suddenly a sharp blade sprang from her toe. She started kicking Ling Ziyun wildly, and Ji Cheng finally understood where the blood on Ling Ziyun’s body came from.
The blade didn’t stab deep, less than half an inch into Ling Ziyun’s body. It wasn’t meant to kill, only to cause pain.
Ling Ziyun could no longer hold back his voice. His mouth opened, and he spat out a large mouthful of black blood.
“Oh my,” Zai Na exaggeratedly withdrew her foot. “The poison is taking effect so quickly?”
Ji Cheng’s palms were already a bloody mess from her own nails, but she couldn’t show any reaction. If Zai Na saw any hint, she would not let Ling Ziyun go, but continue to torture him like a cat playing with a mouse.
“Ah!” This time, the cry came from Nan Gui.
Ji Cheng had already leapt from her horse and rushed over. Everything happened in an instant. Somehow, Ling Ziyun had broken free from Zai Na’s control. Perhaps he had been pretending to be unconscious all along, waiting for an opportunity.
Just as Zai Na, seeing Ji Cheng still unmoved, was about to raise her foot to torture Ling Ziyun again, Ling Ziyun seized the moment and lunged towards the blade on Zai Na’s foot.
Zai Na’s raised foot, Nan Gui’s cry, and Ji Cheng’s leap from her horse all happened almost simultaneously.
After Ji Cheng rushed over, Nan Gui also lunged at Zai Na, fearing she might harm Ji Cheng.
But Zai Na didn’t engage with Nan Gui. She floated back and disappeared into the darkness. Nan Gui didn’t dare to chase after her.
“Stop his bleeding, Nan Gui, stop his bleeding!” Ji Cheng’s voice was hoarse and sharp with extreme fear, like pebbles scraping against the ground.
Blood kept pouring from Ling Ziyun’s mouth. Nan Gui quickly ran over and sealed several major acupoints around his chest, temporarily stopping the bleeding. But this was not a long-term solution.
Ji Cheng turned her head and stared at Nan Gui, her eyes full of red blood vessels. “Give me the antidote.”
Nan Gui didn’t move.
Ji Cheng repeated, word by word, “Give me the antidote.”
Ling Ziyun shook his head desperately in Ji Cheng’s arms, but his strength was completely gone. His desperate head-shaking was barely more than a slight movement. He opened his mouth, gasping for a long time, and finally managed to whisper “Xiao Tu” (Little Rabbit), not even having the strength for the “zi” sound.
Ji Cheng hugged Ling Ziyun and shook her head violently, crying, “I know, I know it all, don’t be so foolish, don’t be so foolish…” Ji Cheng was already incoherent. She suddenly turned back to look at Nan Gui and shouted fiercely, “Quickly give me the antidote!”
Nan Gui, with great reluctance, handed the antidote to Ji Cheng. Ji Cheng, trembling, brought the antidote to Ling Ziyun’s lips, but he turned his head away forcefully. “Don’t waste it.”
Ji Cheng shook her head desperately. Her tears had already blurred her vision. She had no choice but to turn Ling Ziyun’s head and force the antidote into his mouth.
Ling Ziyun tried to spit it out with his tongue, but Ji Cheng quickly covered his mouth, not allowing him to spit it out. Ling Ziyun was too weak to resist Ji Cheng’s strength and had to swallow the antidote.
Ji Cheng asked Nan Gui to help her lift Ling Ziyun onto the horse. There was no time to worry about the bumpy ride now. Although there was an antidote, Ling Ziyun’s injuries were too severe. That last stab had pierced his chest; he had been prepared to die.
Ling Ziyun didn’t want to burden Ji Cheng. Even when Zai Na repeatedly questioned him about his relationship with Ji Cheng, he didn’t say a word. He had been pretending to be unconscious the whole time, gathering from snippets of conversation that Zai Na wanted to force Ji Cheng to use the only antidote to save him, while Ji Cheng’s husband, Shen Che, was also waiting for this antidote to save his life.
Ling Ziyun knew that if Ji Cheng saved him, she would either become a widow if Shen Che died, or be cast aside for life if Shen Che survived. Neither of these outcomes was what Ling Ziyun wanted to see. He would rather die than see Ji Cheng unhappy.
Ji Cheng, on the other hand, felt immensely guilty. Her Brother Ziyun had always considered her first, willing to die for her. And what about her? Between saving Ling Ziyun and Shen Che, Ji Cheng had shamefully hesitated, shamefully thought of walking away. When had she already betrayed her Brother Ziyun in her heart?
This guilt overwhelmed Ji Cheng like a tidal wave, making her disregard everything else. She only knew that Ling Ziyun couldn’t die. This was the only thought in her mind now.
Ji Cheng led Nan Gui back towards Qu Man Mountain. She had to find Ma Yuantong to save Ling Ziyun’s life.