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Kapitel 32

Crisis-ridden

Zhan Zhao was extremely sensitive. He could tell from Li Yuxuan's seemingly nonchalant demeanor that she was wary of him, so he simply took off his cloak and covered himself with it, without covering himself with a blanket.

Seeing his expression, Li Yuxuan understood his thoughts and took off his cloak, giving it to him. A strong, healthy man like him shouldn't be in any trouble, right? Besides, the kang (heated brick bed) is nice and warm…

A man wrapped himself in a quilt and lay down on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed). Before falling asleep, he tossed a piece of the quilt to Zhan Zhao. In his sleepy drowsiness, he thought, "If I had known earlier that Zhan Zhao didn't have a wife, wandering the world with him in the future would have been a wonderful thing."

Her heart, after all, was restless and unable to remain a proper young lady.

So, it's ultimately impossible for her to be with a gentleman like Xu Qingzhi, a paragon of virtue and morality.

Therefore, it's even less likely that she would be forced into Prince Xin's harem to fight for his favor and affections every day, right? What she hates most is scheming with other women.

Fortunately, she has always been an easygoing person, and she fell asleep again soon.

When I woke up the next morning, the bed was empty. I looked around and saw that Zhan Zhao had already gotten up and gone out.

She turned over and went back to sleep.

He said not to rush, so why get up so early?

She woke up to the chill on her face. She flailing her arms and screaming, only to find Zhan Zhao smiling and holding a handful of ice in front of her: "Aren't you getting up? If you don't get up, I'll stuff this into your bed."

She turned her head and glanced at the kang (a heated brick bed). Wow, she was the only one still sleeping. Had they all gotten up? "What time is it now?"

"It's almost lunchtime."

Oh no, I slept for so long.

She was still hoping to leave a good impression on him. Even if it meant just casually accompanying him on his adventures, it would be wonderful. To be able to stand beside Zhan Zhao and act as a minor character would be such a delightful thing.

She jumped up from the kang (a heated brick bed), and the little girl came to her side, pointed outside, pointed at Zhan Zhao, and made a gesture that looked like a person.

"A snowman? Did you build a snowman outside?" Li Yuxuan strode outside: "I want to make a snowman too!"

Happy days always fly by, and before they knew it, they had been staying there for five days. That morning, a pigeon landed in front of their tent. Zhan Zhao took the note the pigeon had brought and smiled at Li Yuxuan: "Your Highness and the others have safely passed Yumen Pass. According to intelligence, Xiao Hala's troops from the Khitan have withdrawn."

Li Yuxuan breathed a sigh of relief, in high spirits: "So when are we going back?"

Zhan Zhao secretly took a corner from the inside of his cloak, went to the stove, picked up a burnt wooden stick, drew a zero on it, tied it back to the pigeon's leg, and released the pigeon back before replying, "No rush, let's wait a few more days until they finish searching and give up before we leave."

What do you mean by this 0?

"Heavenly secrets must not be revealed."

"Tch!" Knowing that Prince Xin and Xu Qingzhi were alright, Li Yuxuan had no more demands on herself. She could leave any day she wanted, or even stay here for the rest of her life. She glanced at Zhan Zhao, of course, on the condition that he stay here with her.

She knew she would never meet a man like Prince Xin, Xu Qingzhi, or Zhan Zhao again in her life. However, Zhan Zhao didn't seem to have any special feelings for her, always maintaining a businesslike demeanor.

Prince Xin saved her life, and Xu Qingzhi also saved her life. Both of them were deeply devoted to her. And she, besides being grateful to them, must have also loved them, right? But life is not just about love, but also about reality. Reality is a sharp sword that can cut love to pieces, leaving it nothing but dust.

She was conflicted again; the thought of this problem gave her a headache. If only she were still a naive little girl, free from all worries, reckless, and willing to throw herself into the fire like a moth. She could have lived happily ever after with Cinderella and Prince Charming, and could have been battered and bruised by reality before looking at the world with a cold eye.

Unlike her, who viewed the world with detachment from the very beginning. In that vanished world, she too had her youthful days, her passionate love, and her unforgettable heartbreak. It was filled with the realities of marriage and relationships.

Although she has been here for five years, she still keeps her distance from relationships and is even somewhat worldly and calculating.

What is love? It's finding someone in this mortal world you want to marry, someone you can marry.

But if she loses Prince Xin, Xu Qingzhi, and Zhan Zhao, she might never find someone she wants to marry. Who else could be more outstanding than them?

She looked up at the sky.

Snowflakes immediately covered her face, feeling icy cold.

"Brother Zhan, why did Prince Xin tell me you have a wife?" She had to get to the bottom of this; she had been holding back for a long time.

Zhan Zhao was still tending to his snowman: "Your Highness is referring to my former fiancée, isn't he?"

Sure enough, he still has a wife.

"Having a fiancée means you have a wife, right?" That's all a lie.

"She's already married and can't stand the loneliness of waiting. I told her that I'd go back and marry her when Lord Bao no longer needs me." His voice was flat, devoid of emotion.

Li Yuxuan nearly fainted: "What if Judge Bao lived to be two hundred? You'd never get married?" This man's got a screw loose. What woman would waste her entire youth waiting for a vague promise? "You brought this on yourself!"

"Stop talking about me, tell me what you're going to do? What are you going to do when you get back to Bianliang?" His gaze swept over her body for a moment: "Your crime of deceiving the emperor is punishable by death."

Li Yuxuan slumped down and squatted down: "Let's just take it one step at a time. As long as we get out of the palace before they find out."

"That's good. There are no secrets in the world. You'd better be careful. I'm afraid you're so focused on revenge that you won't consider these things." Seeing Li Yuxuan waiting for him, he glared back: "Don't worry, I already knew you were a woman. If it weren't for the prince telling me, we wouldn't betray our friends for personal gain."

“I know!” The voice was low and almost inaudible: “You are all gentlemen, and I am a villain who has deceived you for so long.”

Seeing her dejected appearance, Zhan Zhao shook his head and squatted down beside her: "Don't think about anything else. After you go back, resign from your post immediately and leave Bianliang. Even if you want to come back in the future, come back under a different identity, understand?"

He sniffed: "I understand! But Brother Zhan, do you all know who my enemy is, but none of you dare to tell me?"

Zhan Zhao was taken aback: "How did you know that?" The answer was too quick...

"I knew you knew. Every time I mention revenge, your and Prince Xin's expressions turn strange. Why couldn't you tell me?" He continued to plead pitifully.

"Because your enemy is already dead, revenge is meaningless to you," the voice paused, "so it's better if you don't know. Trust us, we're doing this for your own good."

"Can't I even know the truth?"

You'll find out eventually.

"How long after that?"

"When you found out!" It's still a lie.

Li Yuxuan angrily squatted down, turning her back to him: "If you don't tell me, I'll keep looking myself." Whether she looked or not, the threat was still necessary. Otherwise, he would look down on her.

Hearing a soft sigh behind him, Zhan Zhao got up and left.

Sigh, Li Yuxuan touched her nose and stood up. Could it be that her father, who was a prefect, had really offended a great enemy? And he's dead? It seems like no imperial relatives have died in the court in the past five years.

I don't want to think about it anymore. The real issue is what I should do when I get back.

She stayed for another three days, drinking goat milk and eating mutton every day. Li Yuxuan could smell the muttony odor all over herself. Zhan Zhao's attitude towards her remained the same as always, neither too close nor too distant.

On the morning of the fourth day, the two thanked and bid farewell to the herdsman couple and the little girl, and began their journey. This time, they weren't in such a hurry to escape as before, and their mood was naturally different. Along the way, Li Yuxuan deliberately found topics to chat and laugh with Zhan Zhao, ate when they were hungry, and found places to sleep when it got dark. By the morning of the third day, the two could already see the walls of Yumen Pass.

Li Yuxuan was overwhelmed with emotion, feeling as if he were a wanderer returning home after a catastrophe, reborn from the ashes. It had been almost two months, hadn't it? Yumen Pass, I have finally returned alive!

She spurred her horse forward at full speed, arriving at the pass. Zhan Zhao took out his imperial gold token, and the two smoothly entered the pass. Once inside the pass and the city, the bustling city inside and the desolate city outside were two completely different worlds. Although Yumen Pass was isolated in the vast desert grassland, it was a vital passage for merchants traveling north and south. It was probably close to the New Year, and every household exuded a festive atmosphere.

Every tavern on the street was packed with people, clearly soldiers guarding the border. The saying "Fine wine in a luminous cup, drunk on the battlefield, do not laugh at my loneliness and longing" aptly describes this sentiment.

Li Yuxuan found himself becoming increasingly sentimental.

The two bought two sets of clothes at a clothing store, found an inn to stay in, and after ten days without showering, Li Yuxuan felt that his body was already moldy.

Zhan Zhao probably felt the same way, because the first thing the two of them did upon entering the inn was to call the waiter to bring water.

After taking a bath and changing into Hanfu, Li Yuxuan walked out feeling refreshed, wanting to go outside and see the legendary Yumen Pass. She had been captured by the Khitans and had skipped Yumen Pass to go directly to Western Xia, and she wanted to make up for that regret.

Stepping out of the inn, he strolled leisurely down the street. No one paid any attention to her in her attire, except for a Hu woman dancing in a tavern who caught a glimpse of her and casually gave her a flirtatious wink.

Heavy snow, taverns, soldiers, bustling activity, and erotic dances—these were the impressions Yumen Pass left on her after her visit.

The border region is free from war, and the town is as peaceful as a rural village.

Walking back to the inn, I found an old man curled up in the snow at the bottom of the inn steps, with a wine jar lying next to him. It was probably an old man who had fallen down after getting drunk.

Li Yuxuan, feeling kind-hearted, walked over and called out, "Sir?"

No response.

He touched his nose and found he was still breathing, so he tried to help him up: "Grandpa! You can't sleep here!"

"Where else would you sleep if not here?" Hearing him mutter something under his breath, she opened her eyes halfway and said, "Don't worry about me."

His gaze swept over Li Yuxuan's face, then he suddenly opened his eyes wide and stared at her: "Who are you?"

“Just a passerby.” Li Yuxuan had already helped him up. “Why don’t you go inside and rest for a while, sir? Where are your children? I’ll go and call them over.”

"Children?" The old man's eyes drooped again, but only for a moment before they shone brightly. Li Yuxuan was startled and knew something was wrong. Before she could react, the old man had already grabbed her vital point and leaped onto the roof of the inn, quickly heading towards the outskirts of the city.

In the blink of an eye, with a grab and a leap, Li Yuxuan only had time to call out "Brother Zhan" before the oncoming wind choked him, rendering him speechless.

Twists and turns

The old man didn't go far with her when he lost his balance and fell off a roof. Li Yuxuan, who was caught by him, naturally fell down with him and landed hard on the snow.

The fall actually shook off the old woman's hand. She fell straight down, but the old woman was thrown outside the yard. Li Yuxuan rubbed her bottom, which was now bruised and battered, and stood up. She looked at her hand; there was nothing wrong with it. Her body felt warm and cozy, as if every part of her body was filled with warmth. The comfort was indescribable, almost like a blissful, ecstasy.

Old man, I really didn't mean to absorb your internal energy.

Li Yuxuan let out a mournful cry, but it couldn't change the fact that she had absorbed the old man's internal energy. The Northern Darkness Divine Art had an automatic protective function; the moment the old man's hand touched her pulse points, her brainwaves automatically switched to a fully automatic receiving state. Who told her she hadn't yet mastered the art of controlling her internal energy?

She sat on the ground and, following the method Xu Zhu had taught her, returned the chaotic internal energy within her body to her dantian. Then she stood up to find the old man she had finally repelled with her internal force. Stepping out of the courtyard, she discovered that the old man was lying on the other side of the road, at least two hundred meters away from her. He was slowly preparing to get up.

Li Yuxuan jogged over and took his arm: "Are you alright?"

The old man stood up, his already muddy clothes now a pitiful sight. He probably never imagined that a moment of carelessness while drunk would cause him to lose the martial arts he had cultivated for over sixty years. He looked at Li Yuxuan with surprise and doubt, but not with the unbearable pain and madness Li Yuxuan had imagined. His eyes were very strange...

Feeling guilty, Li Yuxuan helped him into the courtyard to borrow a stool from the owner so he could sit down. The owner of the courtyard was already stunned by the two of them who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Seeing that Li Yuxuan's tone was kind and he seemed to have no ill intentions, he stood on the steps to watch.

The old man was helped to sit on a stool by Li Yuxuan. He closed his eyes and began to regulate his breathing. Once his breathing had stabilized, he asked, "Star Absorbing Technique?" His tone was calm and unperturbed.

She rubbed her nose, wondering if there was something wrong with her ears, or if the old man had been so shocked by the fact that he had gone insane. People who drink too much alcohol often have some mental fog; according to past scientific evidence, this is called alcoholic hepatic encephalopathy.

It's very likely that this old man also has hepatic encephalopathy, which is why he inexplicably grabbed her and then inexplicably suffered misfortune. The Star-Absorbing Technique? "No!" This is the authentic highest-level internal energy cultivation method of the Free and Unfettered Sect, the Northern Darkness Divine Art. You wouldn't understand even if I explained it. "Old man, why did you grab me for no reason? Look, it's not my fault that things have turned out this way. You're a senior martial artist; you must be able to tell I'm a novice, right? I only know how to absorb internal energy, and I haven't even mastered it yet."

I'm telling the truth: "Please don't send your disciples or grand-disciples to seek revenge on me. If I absorb all their internal energy to save my own life, then everyone will be in trouble!"

"Hahahaha!" The old man burst into laughter without warning, his laughter mournful and desolate: "I only had two disciples in my entire life, both of whom have died tragically. What disciples or grand-disciples do I have left?! It's fate, it's fate!" After laughing, his expression turned serious, and he stared intently at Li Yuxuan: "Who are you? Why are you here?"

"This humble one is Li Yuxuan. I was ordered by the Emperor to deliver the annual tribute to Western Xia, and I am now on my way back to the capital to report back."

"Li Yuxuan, is your father named Li De?"

"Huh??" Li Yuxuan suppressed his shock and shook his head. "No!" He couldn't say such things without distinguishing between friend and foe.

The old man, seeing Li Yuxuan's denial, did not press the matter. "I don't care who your father is. It's a fact that you absorbed two-thirds of my power. It's also fate. I won't cause you any trouble. Today, I'll accept you as my last disciple. So, kowtow and become my master!"

Becoming an apprentice?

"In officialdom, one is often powerless to control one's own destiny, sir. I accidentally absorbed your power. I'll acknowledge you as my grandfather, but becoming your disciple... that's a bit difficult, isn't it? Since both of your disciples are gone, if you have no relatives around, why don't you come back to the capital with me to live out your remaining years in peace!" She was already kind enough, but the old man's mention of Li De's name meant she couldn't underestimate him. Before figuring out his identity, she absolutely refused to become his disciple. If she were to become the disciple of an enemy, her life would be ruined.