Before dawn, two people in tattered clothing sat on the same horse and left the village.

Less than an hour later, a troop of soldiers surrounded the small village.

Just as daylight broke, a crowd of refugees and villagers knelt on the open ground, awaiting interrogation.

Several soldiers carried portraits of Jian Yi and Feng Jiu’er, comparing them against each refugee one by one.

“Miss Lingling, they are not here, and everyone says they have not seen the two people in the portraits.” A soldier returned to Lingling to report the situation.

Feng Jiu’er had not only disguised herself but had also disguised Jian Yi. Only when they rested at night did they remove the human-skin masks to let their faces breathe.

None of the refugees and villagers present had ever seen their true appearances.

“Truly, none of you have seen these two people?” Lingling swept a cold gaze over those kneeling on the ground.

Nearly everyone present shook their heads at the same moment.

Without warning, with a sharp ring, Lingling drew her longsword and aimed it directly at the person kneeling in front.

“What are you doing?” A guard dressed differently from the others strode forward with large steps. “His Highness the Crown Prince has said we cannot lay hands on unarmed refugees!”

Looking at the guard standing in her way, Lingling said coldly, “If they have been sheltering these two fugitives and allowed them to escape, who is to bear the blame?”

“Every inch of this place has been searched. I don’t see where anyone could still be hiding.” The guard refused to stand down.

“His Highness the Crown Prince is benevolent and loves his people like his own children. His reputation cannot be ruined by you.”

“Don’t forget what kind of people these two fugitives are. Their crimes are monstrous. Anyone who shelters them deserves to die!” Lingling’s voice grew even colder.

“Soldier, brother, I have something to say.” Suddenly, someone in the crowd raised his head.

“Speak.” The guard looked at him and said in a heavy voice.

“Yesterday, a man and a woman bought my horse.” A plainly dressed villager stood up.

“The man was tall in stature but was injured. The woman was somewhat petite, yet she had great strength.”

The villager glanced around and then returned his gaze to the guard.

“The appearance of this man and woman differed somewhat from the portraits, so I did not dare speak rashly.”

“But since they are no longer here now, after thinking it over, I felt I ought to say something.”

“It was them.” Lingling’s icy gaze swept over the villager who had spoken.

The villager was so frightened that he immediately lowered his head and knelt on the ground.

“This humble one does not know who they were. This humble one knows he was wrong. Please, soldier brother, spare my life!”

The villager trembled uncontrollably, kneeling there, not daring to rise.

The lead guard looked at him and asked in a heavy voice, “When did they leave? In which direction did they go?”

The villager glanced up at the guard captain, then immediately lowered his head again.

“This humble one does not know when they left either. But when I was bringing them food, I seemed to hear something about Yamu City. Truly, I know nothing beyond that.”

Lingling’s brow furrowed, and she stepped forward, pressing her longsword before the villager.

She had been chasing for three days and three nights, yet she still could not catch them. She was seething with frustration inside.

“Female hero, spare my life! Female hero, I truly do not know who they were.” The villager was so frightened that he prostrated himself on the ground, his words becoming somewhat incoherent.

“This humble one thought they were just refugees. Since they could afford the price, I sold the horse. I truly did not know they were fugitives. Female hero, please spare my life!”

“Soldier— soldier brother, I beg you to let us go. We are all poor and suffering people. Spare our lives! Female hero, spare us! Soldier brother!”

“Since you know it was them, why not give chase?” The guard captain fixed his gaze on Lingling and said in a heavy voice.

Lingling let out a cold snort, sheathed her longsword, gave her sleeve a sharp flick, and turned to leave.

“Pursue them! No matter how far they go, we must catch up to them!” The moment the words fell, Lingling leaped onto her horse.

The guard captain looked back once, gave a wave of his hand, and left with the guards.

The troop continued forward, traveling for three full hours before a fork appeared in the road ahead.

Those at the front came to a stop, and those behind followed suit.

The lead guard rode his horse back and came before Lingling and the guard captain.

“Guard Captain, ahead the road splits in two — one path leads to Yamu City, the other to Mo City. I do not know which direction we should pursue.”

“Have you uncovered anything?” the guard captain asked in a heavy voice.

“There are traces of a horse having passed along the road toward Mo City. If they are not far ahead, it would seem they chose this route.” The guard replied quietly.

“At a time like this, how could they possibly be heading to Mo City?” Lingling’s brow creased.

After a moment of thought, she withdrew her gaze and looked at the person before her.

“Pursue. Chase toward Yamu City for a stretch and see. Feng Jiu’er is full of cunning schemes. The tracks might have been deliberately left by her to mislead us.”

The guard glanced at the guard captain, and seeing no objection from him, gave a nod.

“Yes.”

The guard turned and headed forward.

The troop set out again and in no time vanished into a vast expanse of desert.

Feng Jiu’er and Jian Yi had been traveling continuously for a full day and night before stopping at a wild forest at the foot of a mountain.

“Jian Yi, this place is not bad — there are quite a few medicinal herbs here too. Let us rest our feet for a while. The horse can’t take much more either.”

At the foot of the mountain, Feng Jiu’er dismounted from the horse.

Jian Yi swung his long legs and easily set his feet on the ground.

Feng Jiu’er led the horse to a spot with green grass nearby and tied it to a tree, then turned to look at Jian Yi.

“Come rest for a while. I’ll go look for a suitable place to shelter.”

“Jiu’er.” Jian Yi stepped over and called out to her softly. “I want to go with you.”

“No!” Feng Jiu’er shook her head and began looking around. “Sit for a moment. I’ll be back quickly.”

She unhooked the two water pouches from the horse’s back, and in the blink of an eye, Feng Jiu’er’s figure disappeared.

Jian Yi sat down not far from the horse, lowered his head to glance at his own wound, and seemed momentarily lost in thought.

He did not know when days like these would end. Watching the little girl grow thinner day by day, he always felt a nagging guilt he could not shake.

Less than half an hour later, when Feng Jiu’er returned, she carried not only two full, heavy water pouches but also a freshly cleaned wild chicken and some mountain medicinal herbs.

“They haven’t caught up to us. There are plenty of herbs here. Today I can give you a treatment.”

“After roughly three treatments, we can proceed to surgery.” Feng Jiu’er came to Jian Yi’s side, set everything down, and without pausing a moment, immediately began searching the nearby area for firewood.

In no time, she returned with an armful of firewood and placed it on a patch of ground without grass. Feng Jiu’er sat down and let out a breath of relief.

She turned and met Jian Yi’s gaze, raising an eyebrow.

“You don’t need to feel guilty. When I do good things for others, I always have a purpose.”

“And what purpose is that?” Jian Yi asked in a low voice.

“Once you recover, it will be your turn to take care of me — you do everything, and I just eat. How does that sound?” Feng Jiu’er stood up and went to help Jian Yi to his feet.

Jian Yi looked down at the young woman before him, the faintest smile touching his lips, and nodded.

“All right. Once I recover, it will be my turn to take care of you. You just need to eat.”