Chunliu didn't get up, but cried out to Hua Wuduo, "Miss, I beg you, I beg you, please beg your young master to save my young lady quickly! It will be too late if we delay any longer. My young lady has been kidnapped by bandits outside the city, and her life is in danger. Only Young Master Tang has the ability to save her. I beg you, I beg you. Please beg Young Master Tang for me." The maid kowtowed to Hua Wuduo as she spoke.
No matter how Hua Wuduo tried to stop him, she couldn't. It wasn't that she was unwilling to help, but Tang Ye's tightly closed door clearly indicated his unwillingness to get involved. She thought of the murderous intent in Tang Ye's eyes when he sent Xu Qingcheng flying with a single blow; she thought of Song Zixing saying that the entire family of the Three Tigers of Luoyang, numbering in the dozens, had been wiped out overnight; she thought of Tang Ye telling her yesterday, "I can take your life at any time." Tang Ye wasn't someone she could beg for help with mere pleading. She knew it would be futile, and besides, she had never begged anyone before, let alone Tang Ye.
Seeing Chunliu kowtowing repeatedly until her forehead bled, Hua Wuduo was finally moved by her devotion to her master.
Hua Wuduo suddenly stood up, took a deep breath, clenched his fists, and was about to push open Tang Ye's door when he heard someone behind him say in a deep voice, "I'll help you rescue your young lady. Get up."
The voice was all too familiar. Hua Wuduo suddenly turned around and looked at Song Zixing, who had helped Chunliu up. He found Song Zixing to be more pleasing to the eye tonight.
Chunliu recognized Song Zixing and knew his background. Upon seeing that he was willing to help her, she was moved to tears and was about to kneel down and kowtow to him, but Song Zixing helped her up. Hua Wuduo was just starting to feel touched when Song Zixing shamelessly ordered her to pour him tea. Hua Wuduo pursed her lips but still poured tea for Chunliu and Song Zixing.
At that moment, Song Zixing inquired carefully about the ins and outs of the matter.
Chunliu began to speak sadly.
It turns out that Xu Qingcheng and Tang Ye grew up together since childhood, and could be considered childhood sweethearts. When Hua Wuduo heard the phrase "childhood sweethearts" used to describe Tang Ye, he got goosebumps. Someone actually dared to be "childhood sweethearts" with him! What a miserable life... But for a moment, he didn't remember that he and Tang Ye were betrothed since childhood, which made his life even more miserable.
Xu Qingcheng liked Tang Ye and traveled a long distance from Shu to the Central Plains with him.
Upon hearing this, Hua Wuduo shook his head and sighed repeatedly. Xu Qingcheng was not only unlucky to have grown up with Tang Ye, but she also fell in love with him. Hua Wuduo sighed for this, it was a pity that a beautiful flower was stuck in poison.
Chunliu continued, explaining that she, her mistress, and several of her fellow Qingcheng disciples had followed Tang Ye to Luoyang and finally met him. However, Tang Ye had ignored them for days, especially her mistress, Xu Qingcheng. Seeing Tang Ye's indifference, Xu Qingcheng was heartbroken and decided to return to Shu today. Unexpectedly, they were secretly targeted by bandits from Black Wind Stronghold as soon as they left the city this morning. Since the Qingcheng disciples were all skilled in martial arts and not to be trifled with, they didn't take the bandits seriously. Hearing this, Hua Wuduo recalled how the Qingcheng disciples had driven away two tables of guests as soon as they entered the teahouse outside Luoyang, displaying a rather arrogant and fearless attitude. She thought that Qingcheng must be quite domineering in Sichuan, so it wasn't surprising that they attracted the attention of bandits. She concluded that one should act more discreetly like them and gave herself a moment of self-congratulation. Chunliu spoke bitterly, explaining that they hadn't expected the bandits to be so despicable, seemingly having premeditated their actions. They had drugged a teahouse they passed by, and because they hadn't caught the culprits in time, all their fellow disciples were killed on the spot, their money stolen, and they themselves were defiled… As she spoke, Chunliu's eyes glazed over, causing Hua Wuduo to feel a pang of heartache. Those people, seeing Xu Qingcheng's beauty, wanted to take her back to the mountain stronghold to be the chief's wife. Chunliu, however, had feigned death after losing her chastity, and only after the bandits left did she cling to this place with her last breath, hoping Tang Ye would rescue her young mistress. And she… At this point, Chunliu knelt down before Song Zixing with a thud, kowtowing again and begging him to rescue her young mistress, Xu Qingcheng.
Song Zixing was facing away from the moonlight, so his expression was not clear. However, Hua Wuduo saw him nod, and felt a sudden surge of warmth in his heart.
Seeing Song Zixing nod, Chunliu gave a bitter smile, then suddenly turned and smashed her head against the corner of the stone table. Blood streamed down her head. The faint smile of satisfaction on her lips before she died deeply shocked Hua Wuduo. She held Chunliu's body, her clenched fists cracking. If she weren't injured, she would have done anything to help Chunliu rescue Xu Qingcheng.
At this very moment, Tang Ye's door remained tightly shut.
The cold moonlight shone in the courtyard, reflecting on Chunliu's corpse, making it appear icy cold.
On the mountain where horses gallop freely.
Upon hearing this, the innkeeper immediately rushed over to complain, saying that someone had died at the inn, which would greatly harm their business. Before he could finish his complaint, Song Zixing pulled out several silver notes and stuffed them into the innkeeper's pocket, saying, "I know this inn is owned by the Li family. I am quite familiar with your third young master. I will personally visit him to apologize. Use these three hundred taels to report to the authorities and take care of things properly for the girl's funeral. The rest is my compensation for the inn's losses." Reporting to the authorities didn't require any money, and taking care of Chunliu's funeral would cost less than 20 taels. Song Zixing was essentially giving the innkeeper 280 taels of silver, which was no small sum. Hua Wuduo secretly calculated in her heart; she was always quite sensitive to money. In these chaotic times, and Chunliu had been robbed by bandits in the suburbs and then committed suicide, the government might not investigate thoroughly and would likely just let it go. The inn receiving such a large sum of money was like a windfall.
Upon seeing the silver note and hearing that it belonged to the Third Young Master's friend, the innkeeper said no more. He quickly put on a smiling face, called in a few waiters, and instructed one of them to report to the authorities, while the rest stayed to clean the west courtyard.
Now is not the time to worry about these things; rescuing Xu Qingcheng is the priority. Hua Wuduo looked at Song Zixing, who glanced at her and extended her hand, saying, "Would you be willing to come with me to wipe out the bandits?"
Hua Wuduo was taken aback. She suddenly recalled the scene of Song Zixing wiping out the bandits at Qionglong Mountain. In fact, she had been bored for a long time. Hearing this, she couldn't help but be moved and her eyes flickered. But then she thought about it and felt sad. She was injured and couldn't go. Just as she was about to ask to postpone, she heard Song Zixing say again: "I will take care of everything."
Under the moonlight, Song Zixing's expression was fully captured by Hua Wuduo's eyes. His gaze was clear and bright, and the smile on his lips was different from before, with a touch of gentleness yet an inexplicable allure. He never withdrew his outstretched hand. Hua Wuduo looked at his hands, calloused from years of holding a sword, and said slowly, "I can't even ride a horse now."
"What's so difficult about that?" With that, Song Zixing suddenly picked her up and flew out of the inn amidst Hua Wuduo's exclamation.
Should he struggle? Hua Wuduo was momentarily confused, but in the end he let Song Zixing put him in front of the horse, and together they rode out of the inn overnight, thinking to himself, let's just treat it as a trip.
A few moments later, the Qinglin Inn was deserted, and all was quiet. Only the withered leaves that had never been swept in the courtyard swirled in the night wind. The moonlight shone down, casting a cold glow on the bloodstains on the corner of the stone table that could not be washed away, making it look somewhat gruesome.
In the stillness of midnight, the sound of a flute suddenly drifted from the room, before returning to silence a moment later.
Unbeknownst to Tang Ye, a dark figure was kneeling silently beneath his window, like a ghost. Inside the room, Tang Ye asked coldly, "How is Fang Yuan?"
The man said, "Everything went smoothly."
Tang Ye said, "In Black Wind Stronghold southeast of Luoyang, not a single person was spared except for Xu Qingcheng."
The man replied, "Yes."
After that, the west courtyard of Qinglin Inn returned to silence.
Song Zixing returned to the South Courtyard, wrote a letter, summoned his attendant Xu Qing, and ordered him to take the letter and go to the Li residence to find Li She. He then took Hua Wuduo and left the city first.
Now that night had fallen and the city gates were closed, Song Zixing led Hua Wuduo to a corner of the city wall. Looking up at the heavily guarded sentries every ten steps, Hua Wuduo glanced at Song Zixing. If he hadn't been injured, it would have been fine, but now that his injuries hadn't healed and he couldn't use his lightness skill at will, how could the two of them get out of the city? He had thought that Song Zixing had some way to get the guards to open the city gates and let them out, but he hadn't expected this.
Song Zixing had already tied his horse to the side of the road. He seemed to see what she was thinking, but he didn't care. He just smiled and said, "I'll carry you out of the city."
Hua Wuduo turned around and said disdainfully, "I'm not going."
Song Zixing smiled, then suddenly picked her up and said, "If you don't let me carry you, then you're letting me hug you."
Hua Wuduo was both angry and furious, and said, "If you don't put me down, I'll shout."
With a joking expression, Song Zixing said in a deep voice, "Don't forget we're going to rescue people; we can't afford to delay."
Hua Wuduo thought of Chunliu and stopped struggling. Seeing that Song Zixing had no intention of letting her go back, she realized that she was on a pirate ship with no way to escape, so she said, "Put me down, and I'll let you carry me."
Song Zixing put her down as promised, and the smile between his brows made Hua Wuduo grit his teeth.
Song Zixing's lightness skill was exceptional, even surpassing hers. Even carrying her on his back, he was incredibly agile. After using the stone-throwing feint, he easily carried her over the city wall and silently flew out of the city. The moment their feet touched the ground, they leaped several feet into the night, disappearing instantly. The two headed southeast.
This was the first time in her life she had been carried by a man. Back at the Southern Academy, she was always carrying Young Master Yi, but now, perched on Song Zixing's back, she found it quite amusing. It turned out being carried felt really good. Hua Wuduo looked up at the starry sky, the wind whistling past her ears, the scenery rushing past her eyes. She felt as if she were riding a flying horse, soaring through the clouds. On a whim, she gave Song Zixing a heavy pat on the shoulder and then shouted, "Giddy up!"
Song Zixing's body stiffened for a moment, and Hua Wuduo noticed it and couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Song Zixing was both amused and exasperated, but he didn't stop running and continued to rush southeast, only muttering a low scolding: "Naughty."
After leaving the city, Song Zixing and Hua Wuduo traveled about five miles before stopping outside a dilapidated four-cornered pavilion. Hua Wuduo dismounted from Song Zixing's back and, by the moonlight, looked up at the faded characters on the pavilion. Due to its age and neglect, they were now somewhat illegible, but the words "Passerby" were still faintly visible. Song Zixing was clearly waiting for Li She. Hua Wuduo asked him why he didn't sneak into the mountain stronghold at night to rescue Xu Qingcheng. Song Zixing told her that Black Wind Stronghold had at least fifty or sixty men, and he wasn't familiar with the terrain. Acting alone risked alerting them; he not only had to safely rescue Xu Qingcheng but also wipe out the bandits. Hua Wuduo thought his reasoning made sense, but she was also somewhat doubtful. Li She was, after all, a merchant; how could he possibly have the ability to eliminate bandits? Song Zixing replied that Li She was not as simple as she thought.
Seemingly sensing Song Zixing's ridicule of his naiveté and lack of worldly wisdom, Hua Wuduo curled his lip and said dismissively, "I thought you were something special, but I didn't expect you to be so simple."
Song Zixing laughed, completely unfazed by Hua Wuduo's teasing, and said something that Hua Wuduo seemed to understand but didn't quite grasp: "This is not Jiangnan after all. Luoyang has its own rules of conduct."
Hua Wuduo asked, "What are the rules in Luoyang?"
Song Zixing smiled mysteriously: "You wouldn't understand even if I explained. Just follow me."
Hua Wuduo pouted again.
Sitting under the pavilion, the night wind of late autumn and early winter was slightly chilly. Even though her injuries had slightly healed, Hua Wuduo couldn't help but shiver after sitting for a while. Song Zixing sat down beside her, blocking the wind. The night wind blew past, and Hua Wuduo smelled a faint, cool fragrance of plum blossoms, emanating from Song Zixing. This scent wasn't unfamiliar; she used to find it repulsive, but today it made her feel somewhat dazed. Suddenly, she heard him speak calmly: "These are turbulent times. The Emperor has been ill for a long time and has not attended to state affairs. Power has fallen into the hands of Empress Liu and her family. The Liu family has been secretly suppressing the Wu royal family, which has long incurred the dissatisfaction of the Wu clan. Recently, both sides have been making frequent moves, and the situation in the court and among the people is chaotic and unclear." Seeing that the empire was on the verge of chaos due to the empress's relatives' monopolization of power, some powerful vassal kings were secretly amassing troops, either for self-preservation or hoping to one day gain the strength to purge the emperor's corrupt officials and seize power. Local powers were fragmented, and Luoyang was no exception. Although bandits roamed outside Luoyang, and the government ignored them, they would certainly not disrespect Li She, the third young master of the Li family in Luoyang. While Xu Qingcheng's family held some influence in Qingcheng, Shu, they were powerless in Luoyang. And I, too, could not act rashly in Luoyang.”
Hua Wuduo seemed to understand but not quite, and simply replied, "Then, since you sought help from the Third Young Master to save Xu Qingcheng, don't you owe him a favor?"
Upon hearing this, Song Zixing turned around, a fleeting glint in his eyes. Seeing an unusual emotion in Song Zixing's eyes, Hua Wuduo wasn't sure if his guess was correct. Then, Song Zixing slightly raised the corner of his mouth and smiled, "I do owe Li She a favor, but someone else owes me one." The implication was clear, and Hua Wuduo naturally knew that person was himself. He scoffed and replied, "So what if I owe you? I have no intention of repaying it anyway."
Song Zixing seemed to have expected this, but he couldn't help but smile and said, "I don't ask you to repay me, but there is something..." Before Song Zixing could say what it was, he suddenly said, "They're here."
Hua Wuduo was startled. He listened intently and, sure enough, faintly heard the sound of horses' hooves approaching from the distance in the dark night. He muttered to himself, "Song Zixing's senses are so sharp; I'm definitely not as good as him."
A moment later, a group of people indeed appeared in the woods. Li She was not among them; the leader was Li Zhanyong, the military commander of Luoyang, accompanied by more than a hundred officers and soldiers. Song Zixing's personal attendant, Xu Qing, also followed behind, leading a horse.
Li Zhanyong stepped forward first to pay his respects to General Song Zixing of Annam. He was quite respectful to Song Zixing and then said, "Leave the task of annihilating the Black Wind Stronghold bandits and rescuing Miss Xu to me."
Song Zixing didn't stand on ceremony and said, "Then I'll have to trouble Lieutenant General Li."
Without further ado, Li Zhanyong mounted his horse and led his men towards Black Wind Stronghold. Song Zixing, Hua Wuduo, and the others followed at the rear.
Hua Wuduo sat in front of Song Zixing's horse, while Song Zixing rode at the back of the procession at a leisurely pace. Song Zixing's confident demeanor gradually relaxed Hua Wuduo, making her feel like she was watching a play. She imagined this "play" would not only be realistic but also incredibly exciting, and she couldn't help but feel secretly excited. Song Zixing seemed to sense her thoughts and teased her in her ear, "Don't open your eyes so wide and bright, they're almost like lanterns illuminating the way." Hua Wuduo bent her arm and punched him hard in the chest. He dodged backward and, in doing so, pulled her into his embrace. Although Hua Wuduo had always sat in front of him, sharing a horse, she had always maintained a distance from him, never getting too close. Now, with this embrace, there was no space between them; his breath was clearly on her ear. Hua Wuduo's face suddenly burned. She was about to struggle when she realized Song Zixing had already released her. In the moonlight, she clearly saw the teasing smile on his lips, and she almost couldn't resist using silver needles and gold thread to wrap around his neck and strangle him.
The group rode swiftly on horseback, traveling at a rapid pace without torches. Just as Song Zixing had predicted, Li Zhanyong and his men were very familiar with the terrain. About an hour later, they reached a point fifty paces from the foot of Black Wind Mountain. The group abandoned their horses, and Li Zhanyong reorganized the ranks before leading his men up the mountain.
Hua Wuduo followed behind, secretly thinking that compared to Song Zixing's grand attack on Qionglong Mountain, this was the real bandit suppression, a night raid—how exciting! Thinking of this, her eyes sparkled, forgetting the unpleasantness of riding earlier, and she excitedly followed behind. After walking a few steps, she heard Song Zixing whisper in her ear, "The mountain path is difficult to walk on. Do you want me to carry you up?" Having already been carried earlier, Hua Wuduo no longer had many concerns. Besides, her injuries had not yet healed, and it was not suitable for her to exert herself climbing a mountain. Now that there was a ready-made horse to ride, she immediately agreed.
Xu Qing, the attendant who had been following the two, noticed that the general had suddenly stopped, so he stopped as well. He saw their general squat down and wondered what was wrong with him. Then he saw the seemingly unremarkable woman calmly climb onto their general's back...
Xu Qing could hardly believe his eyes, but after rubbing them several times until the general stood up carrying the woman, he finally came to his senses. Startled, he quickly stepped forward and whispered, "General, let me help you carry her." As soon as he finished speaking, he saw the general glance at him. Xu Qing recognized that look all too well, and his heart pounded with fear. He realized he had said something terribly wrong, lowered his head, and dared not utter another sound.
Xu Qing silently followed the general up the mountain. Suddenly, he slapped his forehead hard, cursing himself inwardly: "The general must have a deeper meaning behind this! And I dared to talk back to him!" He wanted to bite his tongue off. But then he thought, "It's not my fault. I've been with the general for over eight years, and I've never seen him treat a woman so well. Besides, this is just about suppressing bandits; why would the general be carrying a woman?" He muttered to himself, unable to resist stealing glances at the girl. He noticed she was perched on the general's back, so comfortable and natural, even a little smug. He couldn't help but guess that the girl seemed quite familiar with the general, perhaps a wealthy heiress. But her clothes and appearance seemed rather ordinary; compared to their handsome general, she was far inferior. Yet, the general seemed quite fond of her, so there must be some other reason. Xu Qing tried to comfort herself, but a sense of unease lingered in her heart.
Black Wind Mountain stronghold was not large, not nearly as large as Qionglong Mountain had been. A hundred soldiers rushed up and surrounded the stronghold. What puzzled them was that, although it was a night raid and they had moved quickly, they had not encountered a single sentry. The stronghold gate was tightly closed, and although there seemed to be flickering firelight inside, there was no movement. The silence was strange and eerily unsettling.
Song Zixing smelled the blood and felt suspicious. Just then, he heard Hua Wuduo on his back say, "Something's not right. Let's go in and take a look." Song Zixing nodded, gathered his breath, and carried Hua Wuduo over the heads of the crowd, intending to leap into the mountain stronghold first. When the two of them flew over the stronghold gate, which was about three zhang high, Hua Wuduo looked down and saw hundreds of pairs of eyes below, including Li Zhanyong's, wide open and filled with disbelief.
Xu Qing watched in astonishment as their general carried a woman on his back and leaped into the mountain stronghold in full view of everyone. Sweat beaded on his forehead without him even realizing it.
Just then, a soldier in front said, "Everyone says that Song Zixing of Jiangnan is a once-in-a-century military genius. He leads his troops in battle with unpredictable movements and defends Jiangnan as if it were an impregnable fortress. But now it seems that he is nothing special."
Another soldier said, "It is said that Song Zixing once stole a □’s bellyband and flew it as a kite in Jiangling, hehe..." The soldier chuckled, which drew laughter from the surrounding crowd.
One of the soldiers said, "Look at this playboy, he's carrying a woman on his back while he's fighting bandits. He's so lustful, he probably doesn't have any real ability."
Another soldier chimed in, "Yeah, he's being ridden on by a woman and he's as happy as an idiot."
Hehe, haha... They all chuckled softly to themselves.
Xu Qing, standing at the very back, trembled with rage upon hearing this, but he managed to suppress his anger. Xu Qing was always a composed man. Fortunately, it was he who had come with the general this time; if it had been Wu Zheng, it was hard to guarantee that these people wouldn't be splattered with blood.
When Song Zixing and Hua Wuduo entered the mountain stronghold, they discovered that all the bandits were dead, lying haphazardly in various parts of the stronghold.
Song Zixing frowned thoughtfully, while Hua Wuduo also frowned but remained silent. Hua Wuduo had been trying to climb down from Song Zixing's back since they entered, but Song Zixing stopped him, saying, "This place is fraught with danger, don't get down." Hua Wuduo hesitated for a moment, then, realizing the eeriness of the place and his current inability to protect himself, he obediently stayed on.
Song Zixing opened the gate of the village, allowing Li Zhanyong and the others to enter and search.
Xu Qingyi entered the village and walked to Song Zixing's side. Suddenly, he knelt on one knee in front of Song Zixing and said heavily, "General, you must be tired. Let me carry this girl for you!" His resolute and persistent gaze made Hua Wuduo suddenly realize something.
The Luoyang soldiers who were searching the village also looked towards where they were upon hearing the noise.
The firelight flickered, casting shadows on Song Zixing's face as he looked at Xu Qing kneeling on the ground and slowly replied, word by word, "My wife, I will protect her."
Who touched the heartstrings?
Upon hearing this, Xu Qing's dark and stubborn eyes suddenly lit up with a lot of light. He straightened his back even more and said loudly, "This subordinate was reckless and did not know that she was the future general's wife. This subordinate has overstepped his bounds and begs the general to punish him!"
Song Zixing's eyes were as black as night. He said, "Make a note of it first. Get up."
"Yes." Xu Qing accepted the punishment willingly.
Upon hearing the sound, the Luoyang soldiers searching the mountain stronghold exchanged bewildered glances, all showing a hint of shame. It turned out to be the future wife of the Annan General; no wonder they had been carrying her so carefully. Although they didn't know why the General's wife would come to such a dangerous place, it wasn't what they had initially thought, and their opinion of Song Zixing changed.
Hua Wuduo was taken aback by what she heard. Before she could react, her lips twitched slightly. Thinking of Song Zixing's earlier words, "my wife," she suddenly broke out in a rash. She shook it, then shook it again… still nothing. Her fingers unconsciously reached forward and touched Song Zixing's forehead: "Huh, not hot." She then touched behind his ear: "No mask? It's him. Is he stupid?!" Or… does Turtle Star have some ulterior motive…?" Just as she was wondering, she heard Xu Qing respond loudly and excitedly, "Yes!" Her gaze fell on Xu Qing, Song Zixing's attendant, who was kneeling on the ground, receiving his punishment with a radiant expression. She clearly saw the respectful, even stubborn and determined look in Xu Qing's eyes as she looked at Song Zixing. Suddenly realizing something, her eyes flickered, but she didn't object. She still got off Song Zixing's back, and Song Zixing didn't stop her, only standing beside her in silence for a long time.
In the firelight… she seemed to sense a faint gaze beside her, but when she looked over, she couldn't catch a trace of it. Hua Wuduo thought to herself: There's definitely something strange about Turtle Star. Considering his intention to save Xu Qingcheng today and the fact that he carried her all the way, she decided not to expose him and to show him some consideration.
After a thorough search, the group found only Xu Qingcheng, unconscious and bound, still alive in a wooden house locked in the woodshed. All but one of the sixty-odd people in the entire stronghold had perished overnight. Even the two guard dogs at the gate were killed with a single blow. Judging from the scene, the attack was extremely ruthless and swift, causing minimal disturbance. The stronghold gate remained unbreached, and many bandits died in their sleep inside the houses. It must have been the work of a highly skilled martial artist; they must have just left when the group arrived. It was unclear who sent them, given their clean and ruthless methods.
The rescue of Xu Qingcheng went surprisingly smoothly. Hua Wuduo untied the ropes and revived her. Xu Qingcheng didn't recognize Hua Wuduo in disguise, but she recognized Song Zixing. She was very grateful to him for coming to her rescue. When she learned that it was her maid Chunliu who had run back to Luoyang for help but then committed suicide, her grief was heartbreaking. Hesitantly, with a trembling yet hopeful expression, she asked Tang Ye about him. Although Hua Wuduo couldn't bear it, she told him the truth. When she learned that Tang Ye was ignoring her, she just stared blankly into the distance, her eyes unfocused. Hua Wuduo suddenly thought of a saying: "Nothing is more sorrowful than a dead heart."
Hua Wuduo didn't understand what love was, and seeing her pitiful appearance, he didn't know how to comfort her. He also didn't know what kind of suffering she had endured in the mountain stronghold. Although he had never had a good impression of Xu Qingcheng, seeing her like this now, he felt a little sorry for her.
They couldn't inquire about what Xu Qingcheng had encountered after entering the mountain stronghold. Song Zixing only asked her what her plans were for the future, and she said she only wanted to go home. Song Zixing nodded and first advised her to return to Luoyang to rest for the time being, and that he would send someone to take her back to Qingcheng in Shu the next morning. Xu Qingcheng's expression was indifferent, and she only said thank you softly, then remained silent. In the flickering firelight, her expression was quite pitiful and heartbreaking, so Song Zixing entrusted her to Xu Qing's care.
Li Zhanyong left several soldiers behind to handle the aftermath of the mountain stronghold, and then led Xu Qingcheng and others back to Luoyang.
Song Zixing rode at the very back, gradually moving away from Li Zhanyong and the others. Xu Qing, who had been following closely, also disappeared without a trace.
At this moment, dawn was breaking. Hua Wuduo, bouncing along on his horse, was somewhat exhausted. Song Zixing remained silent the entire journey, which greatly surprised Hua Wuduo. As the horse continued to bounce, Hua Wuduo closed his eyes, tilted his head, and rested it on Song Zixing's chest.
Song Zixing's body stiffened slightly, almost imperceptibly, but only for a moment before relaxing. The horse walked slowly, and after a long while, he said softly, "This is the first time you've been so unguarded around me."