The Fourth Prince ignored him completely and slashed down with his sword.
Hua Shao let out a cry of "Ao!" Simultaneously, a cry of "Ao!" echoed from within the Ziling Dynasty camp.
"This is the antidote, take it to save him quickly!" Mu Ming helped Chu Xiyin onto the carriage, and in just a short moment, he looked much older.
“Then you…” Chu Xiyin was a little worried about him.
"I'm going to take her wherever she wants to go," Mu Ming said gently, looking at Green Butterfly, who looked serene in the other carriage.
A white dove flew into the carriage, paused briefly beside the green butterfly, and then suddenly fluttered away...
"Xiyin, you must be happy!" Muming said, holding Chu Xiyin's hand.
Yes, she must be happy! When we are alive, we don't cherish the loved ones around us. Only when we are separated by death do we realize that there are many things and many words that we can no longer do or say.
Chu Xiyin nodded.
Before Hua Shao could dodge, the Fourth Prince cleaved down with his sword again, cutting off a large section of his hair, which he cared about most.
"Oh, Your Highness, you can't be so unkind. If you keep this up, I'll have to fight back!" Hua Shao clutched his chopped hair, on the verge of tears.
The Fourth Prince ignored him and, seizing the opportunity, swung his sword down again. Hua Shao no longer dodged and slashed several times, but he didn't even touch the Fourth Prince's armor.
"Qi Yu, come and help me! I can't hold on much longer!" Hua Shao said, looking at Qi Yu with teary eyes.
Before he could finish speaking, the Fourth Prince swung his sword down, and Hua Shao coughed up a mouthful of blood and fell from his horse. Several soldiers rushed forward and carried him away.
Upon seeing this, the soldiers of the Twilight Kingdom were greatly encouraged.
A chorus of gongs and drums sounded, and the two sides officially engaged in battle.
Qi Yu leaps on horseback to fight the Fourth Prince, while Mo Cong brandishes his sword to fight Mu Jing.
Lacking effective command, the soldiers of the Ziling Dynasty were in complete disarray, and within a short time, they had lost more than half of their troops. Some cowardly soldiers, seeing this, abandoned their armor and fled.
The war continued until sunset, and Mo Cong and Qi Yu were ultimately no match for Mu Jing and the Fourth Prince, and were both captured.
At the other end, inside the Cloud Mist Temple, a white dove landed in front of Mo Yun's window...
Chapter 48 The Enchanting Prince
In this bloody battle, the Ziling Dynasty suffered heavy losses, with only Liang Siqi leading a thousand soldiers to retreat to the border.
When Chu Xiyin arrived at the battlefield, she saw the corpses of Ziling Dynasty soldiers everywhere. She rushed into the pool of blood and searched carefully. Fortunately, there was no Fourth Prince, no Qi Yu, no Hua Shao...
Among the corpses scattered everywhere, Chu Xiyin discovered several severely wounded soldiers of the Ziling Dynasty lying in pools of blood, groaning in pain.
She helped them onto the carriage, and the soldiers looked at her with gratitude.
"Where are Lord Qi and Lord Hua?" Chu Xiyin asked.
"Lord Hua was slashed by the Fourth Prince and carried away by several soldiers. Lord Qi and Lord Mo were kidnapped by the people of Mu'ai Kingdom..." A soldier who was slightly less injured said pitifully with tears in his eyes.
Hua Shao was injured by the Fourth Prince?
Chu Xiyin lifted the carriage curtain and ordered the coachman to hurry up and drive to the border.
By the time they reached the border, night had fallen, and from the tents of all sizes came a series of wails.
Chu Xiyin jumped off the carriage, but was stopped by the soldiers guarding the camp. However, because the soldier knew the wounded soldier, he let Chu Xiyin in.
"Young Master Hua..." Chu Xiyin saw Young Master Hua lying on the bed covered in bandages, rushed over, threw herself on him, and burst into tears.
"You... crushed... me..." Hua Shao opened his eyes and said in pain.
"You scared me to death!" Chu Xiyin said, wiping away her tears while gently patting him a few times.
"Chu Xiyin, I might really be dying soon..." Hua Shao coughed for a while, his lips were dry and white, and the white bandage on his chest had several deep bloodstains seeping out from the violent tearing.
"Don't talk nonsense!" Chu Xiyin rolled her eyes at him.
"No, I'm really dying! Look at my hair, your man cut it off!" Hua Shao glanced at his severed hair and said, "When I was little, my mother had someone tell my fortune. The fortune teller said that my hair is the most important thing in my life. If my hair breaks one day, it means that I'm not going to live much longer!"
Chu Xiyin rolled her eyes at him again and said, "Aren't you doing just fine now? You actually believe all that nonsense from fortune tellers?"
"If I die, cut off this side of my hair and give it to Tongtong. Tell her that Hua Shao only ever loved her!" Hua Shao said, staring blankly at the top of the tent.
"Don't overthink it, get some rest!" Chu Xiyin squeezed his hand.
Hua Shao wasn't lying; the fortune teller's prediction was quite accurate. The next morning, when Chu Xiyin woke up, Hua Shao was already motionless and dead.
The Fourth Prince's final blow was fatal! If it weren't for Siqi's resurrection pill keeping him alive, he would have died long ago.
Chu Xiyin cut off the other side of Hua Shao's hair and carefully placed it in her bosom. This time, she didn't cry...
"Chu Xiyin! Where are you going?" Chu Xiyin was about to board the carriage when Siqi called out to her.
Chu Xiyin hesitated for a moment. She didn't know if she would come back alive after going. She couldn't drag others down with her.
"Are you planning to go rescue them alone?" Seeing that Chu Xiyin didn't answer, Liang Siqi jumped onto the carriageway. "I'll go with you, at least we can look out for each other!"
"No! You stay here!" Chu Xiyin's attitude was firm.
"I can't live without Qi Yu! Even if I die, I want to die with him!" Liang Siqi's attitude was even more resolute than hers.
Chu Xiyin shook her head helplessly and followed her into the carriage.
Fortunately, Mu Ming gave his token to Chu Xiyin, which allowed them to enter the Mu'ai Kingdom Palace smoothly.
That night, Siqi tied up two palace maids from Mujing's room and, together with Chu Xiyin, disguised themselves as the two maids and sneaked into Mujing's palace to gather information.
The two glanced around furtively and sneaked into Mujing Palace, where they saw several palace maids peeking into the Fourth Prince's room.
Unable to contain her curiosity, Chu Xiyin leaned closer. Through the crack in the door, she saw Mu Jing stripped down to only a bodice and underpants, seducing the prince with alluring poses.
Chu Xiyin gripped Siqi's hand tightly, causing Siqi to wince in pain. She held back her tears and dared not utter a sound.
"Are you even a man? Don't you have any attraction for me at all?" Mu Jing clung tightly to the Fourth Prince's neck.
The Fourth Prince pried her hands off, turned around, and said coldly, "Third Princess, please have some self-respect!"
Mu Jing watched his retreating figure, then suddenly wrapped her arms around his waist, pleading, "Please, don't treat me like this. You must know, from childhood to adulthood, no one has ever dared to be so cold to me. Except you!" She held him tightly around the waist, pressed her face against his back, and said with tears in her eyes, "In front of you, I can give up my dignity, I can put aside my pride, as long as you treat me with a little more tenderness!"
The Fourth Prince paused slightly, then his gaze softened.
He slowly turned around, and Chu Xiyin met his melancholy eyes, her heart sinking.
No! She didn't want to see him and her...
Chu Xiyin pulled Siqi away.
"What? You want to back down when you encounter a rival in love? You always run away from everything! If you hadn't chosen to leave the Fourth Prince back then, none of this would have happened!" Siqi shook off her hand and said.
"Yes, yes, it's all my fault! If it weren't for me, Chunhua wouldn't have been sent to the palace. If it weren't for me, Lüdie wouldn't have died, and Hua Shao wouldn't have died. If it weren't for me, Qi Yu and Mo Cong wouldn't have been arrested. If it weren't for me, the Fourth Prince wouldn't be like this now! I'm the one who deserves to die the most! It's me!" Chu Xiyin squatted down helplessly and sobbed softly.
Siqi patted her head and comforted her, "It's all in the past! I have a way to save the prince!" She glanced around, squatted down, and whispered something in her ear.
Just as Mu Jing's lips touched the Fourth Prince's, they heard someone outside shouting, "Assassin! Catch the assassin!"
The palace maids who were hiding outside watching the spectacle were terrified when they heard that there were assassins, and they all screamed and fled.
Mu Jing angrily put on her clothes, picked up her sword, and chased after him.
No sooner had Mu Jing left than Chu Xiyin rushed into the room. Without thinking twice, she grabbed the Fourth Prince's hand and said, "Quick! Come with me!"
The moment her hand covered his, a strange feeling washed over him. That feeling...it was so familiar, so very familiar...
He hesitated for a moment, then let her pull him along, running and running...
The two ran all the way to Muming's palace before stopping.
Chu Xiyin leaned against the wall, panting and unable to speak.
"Who are you?" the Fourth Prince asked, staring at the unfamiliar face.
Chu Xiyin calmed her breathing, stared intently at the Fourth Prince, and slowly peeled off the human skin mask from her face. "It's me, Chu Xiyin!"
She approached him, standing on tiptoe so he could gaze intently at her face.
"Look carefully, I am your concubine—Chu Xiyin!" she repeated slowly, word by word.
The Fourth Prince stared blankly at her. She grew anxious, then suddenly seemed to remember something, pulling a packet of antidote from her bosom. "That's right, take this, and you'll remember me!"
Chu Xiyin handed the antidote to him and looked at him nervously.
*Smack!* He knocked the antidote out of her hand and onto the ground.
He said coldly, "I don't need it!"
These days, the Third Princess keeps inexplicably forcing him to take medicine, and he's grown tired of being controlled.
“Xi Yin…” Si Qi rescued Hua Shao and Mo Cong from somewhere. The two had wounds all over their faces and necks, and their armor was tattered and stained with blood.
"We have to get out of here quickly! They're catching up!" Siqi said, glancing towards the door.
"Is His Highness alright?" Siqi asked, looking at the prince.
Chu Xiyin stared at the antidote on the ground and shook her head.
Siqi immediately understood. "The situation is urgent, Your Highness. I apologize for the intrusion!" With that, a blue light flew out from her sleeve.
The moment the prince collided with the blue light, he immediately fainted.
"Quick! Surround this place!" Mu Jing led a group of guards after them.
Qi Yu carried the Fourth Prince on his back, Mo Cong protected Chu Xiyin, and Si Qi brought up the rear. The four of them quickly got into the carriage and drove off!
Mu Jing mounted her horse and chased after them at full speed.
The other guards also rushed to the stables, jumped onto their horses, and chased after the carriage.
"Oh no! They're catching up!" Chu Xiyin exclaimed as she lifted the carriage curtain to look at the city gate.
“If this continues, none of us will escape. Here’s what we’ll do: I’ll go out and hold them off. If you can get out of the city gate, you’ll have a better chance of escaping!” Qi Yu said, frowning.
“No, I want to go with you!” Siqi said, placing her hand over his.
"Yes, we must live or die together! No one can be left behind." With that, Chu Xiyin lifted the carriage curtain, revealed her token, and shouted loudly to the city gate guards, "The Second Prince Muming's token is here! Open the city gate immediately!"
Upon seeing the character "明" (Ming) engraved on the gleaming golden token, the city guards hurriedly ran to open the city gate.