If Ziqing had never met Jun Beiyue, perhaps, even galloping alone through the icy, snow-covered mountains for half a year, she wouldn’t have felt tired, wouldn’t have felt like a lonely island!
But once even the strongest heart found a shoulder to lean on, everything was different.
At the very least, she would miss that warm embrace. At the very least, she would miss that man. When the longing ran deep, an uncontrollable urge would rise—she’d want desperately to write and ask after him, to send someone to inquire, to go back and see for herself what that man was doing right now!
At the very least, she would feel lonely.
Amid the ice and snow, in the pitch-black desolate mountains, with the roaring wind and the howling of wild beasts drifting by now and then, she kept watch alone over a bundle of firewood. She had clearly already risen to leave, yet without realizing it she sat back down, lost in thought.
She had clearly told herself not to miss him—better to resolve things swiftly and find Yelu Qianqian so she could rush to his side!
And yet, without meaning to, she sat back down and thought of him.
Now, this late at night, he must be asleep. The innermost chamber of the central command tent, the warm tiger-skin bedroom—he must be sleeping there.
But just as Ziqing sank into her thoughts, a burst of wolf howls suddenly rang out from the mountain. Ziqing snapped awake at once, and by instinct, immediately raised her torch!
This was the distinctive howl of the wild wolves of Xi Jing. It was the very sound she and Jun Beiyue had heard when they’d been surrounded by wild wolves at the capital’s hunting grounds!
This was the call of the alpha wolf summoning its pack. If she wasn’t mistaken, before long every wild wolf in this stretch of forest would converge on the mountain ahead!
Something must have happened there!
But what could it possibly be, to make the wild wolves stir up such a commotion and rally the pack?
Ziqing seemed to recall something, and her heart leapt with joy. She sprang onto her horse and galloped into the forest!
The moment she left, Baili Weisheng—who had been hidden in a tree nearby all along—leapt down at once. His usual cynical, devil-may-care expression was now, for once, utterly grave.
He, of course, understood perfectly well what the howling of Xi Jing’s wild wolves meant!
Soon, there was stirring throughout the surrounding forest. He glanced around, then leapt up into a tall tree and chased after the distant glow of Ziqing’s torch!
Very quickly, the disturbance spread—not just nearby, but through the entire forest. Wild wolves hidden in their dens poured out, racing like the wind from every direction toward the sound of the howling.
At that moment, Yu Xiaomeng, who was deep in the mountains searching for red sandalwood, was also startled by the commotion. She didn’t know what had happened, but she knew these were the wild wolves of Xi Jing—wolves that could tear a person in two in an instant—and they were on the move, in a pack!
She went pale with fright. She had already been walking through these mountains for five or six days, gradually making her way southeast without realizing it, yet she still hadn’t found the red sandalwood she remembered.
She knew there were quite a few wild wolves in this forest, but she’d thought that in winter they wouldn’t come out, so she hadn’t worried too much and had boldly continued deeper into the woods. She never expected to run into something like this.
There were far, far too many wolves on this mountain. Now the underbrush all around her was stirring with movement. She didn’t dare move a muscle, afraid the wolves would notice her, yet she didn’t dare put out her torch either, because wolves feared fire—it was the only thing keeping her alive!
She knew—wild wolves in winter were starving, half-mad wolves!
Soon, she caught sight of a wolf’s shadow, darting past right beside her, terrifyingly close, and she was so frightened she fell straight down onto the ground.
But just as she collapsed, another wolf leapt right over her head!
For a moment, Yu Xiaomeng felt she’d reached the end—she thought she must be standing right at the entrance to a wolf den. Wolves kept darting past on either side of her.
Strangely, though her torch was so conspicuous, the wolves seemed not to notice her at all, all rushing headlong, racing each other toward the mountain ahead!
After a long, long while, once the area around her finally fell quiet, the heart she’d been clutching so tightly could finally relax. That had been close, so close!
In all her years, Yu Xiaomeng had never once seen such a frenzied wolf pack in the dead of winter. Her first thought was to flee at once!
But she’d only run a few steps before she stopped again!
She couldn’t help looking back up toward the mountain—what on earth had happened up there, to send the wolf pack rushing forward so madly?
After all, in the depths of winter, wild wolves didn’t easily leave their dens!
Was there someone up there?
Yu Xiaomeng was a timid girl, but she was also intensely curious. After much hesitation, as if possessed, she turned and headed up the mountain.
Meanwhile, more than twenty wild wolves had already reached the mountainside. In a stretch of forest there, it was none other than Nanny Qin and her group, surrounded by the wolf pack.
Nanny Qin gripped Yelu Qianqian’s throat with her own hands, demanding she disperse the wolves, but Yelu Qianqian refused to obey even at the cost of her life, a faint, vicious smile playing at the corners of her mouth.
She was the princess of Xi Jing. Though she didn’t have her brother’s innate gift—the ability to commune with spirits and command wild wolves into battle—she still knew how to send them a distress signal.
Ever since she’d learned of Nanny Qin’s scheme, she had been waiting—waiting for them to reach this forest, this wolf territory.
Though these wild wolves hadn’t been tamed, they were spiritually attuned. If she, as a princess of Xi Jing, sent them a call for help, they would still honor it!
Past this mountain, Nanny Qin didn’t intend to go to Mobei Town, but planned instead to bypass it and head straight through the Mobei forest into Xiliang!
Situ Haonan was already on the battlefield—how could she possibly let this woman go to Xiliang?
Today, even if it cost her life, she absolutely would not let Nanny Qin succeed!
“Yelu Qianqian, do you think a mere handful of wild wolves can frighten me?” Nanny Qin snapped harshly, though watching the growing number of wolves, panic had already begun to set in.
She knew perfectly well that before long, there would be even more wolves, and by then, even if she released Yelu Qianqian, she would find it hard to escape disaster.
Yelu Qianqian stared at Nanny Qin—never in her life had she loathed anyone so much, never had she encountered someone so ruthless and cold-blooded.
She said, word by word, “Old woman, in just a little while, I will make sure you die without even a grave to your name! They’ll crush your bones to pieces!”
“You! Do you think I won’t kill you right now, so you’ll never see Situ Haonan again!” Nanny Qin snarled.
“Kill me, then, go ahead! I’m not afraid! I have no face to see them again anyway!” Yelu Qianqian’s voice rose even louder than Nanny Qin’s. She had no face to return to Xi Jing to see her father the emperor, nor to see Situ Haonan!
She knew—if not for her own recklessness, her own letting emotion rule her judgment, things would never have come to this.
“Very well, then I’ll send you to the afterlife right now!” As Nanny Qin spoke, the hand gripping Yelu Qianqian’s throat suddenly tightened. The wild wolves around them surged forward at once, and the guards drew their swords and stepped up.
But just then, a dagger suddenly shot out of the darkness, plunging straight into the back of Nanny Qin’s hand. In an instant, the guards froze, and the wolf pack froze too. There, on the back of Nanny Qin’s hand, was a dagger that shimmered brilliantly, dazzlingly, under the reflected moonlight!
“Flowing Light… Han… Han… Han Ziqing!” Yelu Qianqian gasped in shock.
…