Young Prime Minister, a Hermit

Chapter 183

There are actually many tree mounds in the Ziyun Mountains. Everyone knows how terrifying tree mounds are, but few people can distinguish which are ordinary forests and which are tree mounds. But I remember very clearly that when Yunyan was collecting a certain medicinal herb, she pointed to a forest that grew near the sea and told me that the terrifying tree was called a Zun.

The jar tree matures at three years old, and once mature, its trunk averages over thirty meters tall, with branches and leaves intertwined, making it impossible to see sunlight when looking up from under the tree. Therefore, if you get lost in a jar tree forest, you will definitely not be able to find your way.

However, the most terrifying aspect is that the leaves of the jar tree fall and grow back extremely quickly; old leaves don't even have time to decompose before new ones cover them. The decomposing jar tree leaves release a peculiar substance that softens the soil, eventually turning it into a swamp. In other words, deep within what appears to be simply a carpet of fallen leaves of jar trees lurks countless deadly swamps, waiting to devour human lives.

However, this devilish place, like a demon with its gaping maw waiting for its prey to fall in, is destined to be the key to turning the tide of this battle.

Whether a sharp knife becomes a weapon depends entirely on the wielder of it. Therefore, I firmly believe that the tree mounds, known as the forest of death, can, if used properly, pave a path to victory for us.

I pointed to that tiny corner of the map and slowly explained the detailed arrangements for the battle to Soku and Vimu, whose faces were filled with shock.

Soku slammed his fist on the table, startled, and almost angrily shouted at me, "I disagree! This is too risky!"

I turned my head and looked at him seriously, and said in a deep voice, "If my senior brother could do it back then, why can't I?" I paused, then softened my tone, almost pleading, "You just need to lend me troops. I can't guarantee their safety, but I'm confident that we can achieve success with fewer casualties than a direct assault."

"And what about yourself?!" Soku finally lost his temper and yelled at me, "Have you thought about the danger you're putting yourself in? What if you get hit by a stray arrow? What if you fall into a tree mound? Do you think war is just child's play?"

I stood there stunned, unable to distinguish whether the warmth in my heart was gratitude or emotion. I had always thought that Soku was worried about whether the plan would work or whether his army would suffer heavy losses, but I never expected that his first thought would be for my safety.

I composed myself, looked directly into Sokucha's golden eyes, and smiled slightly. "Don't worry, I still want to see him alive... so why would I risk my life? First, Yang Qian's army is located outside the Boundless Valley. Although the jungles there aren't as dense and tall as the Tree Mounds, they don't offer much of a clear view of the sky. Second, the Boundless Valley is vast, with soft grass covering the ground, making it the perfect place to land. Third, thousands of miles west of the Wuya coast, the wind direction is consistently southeast due to ocean currents, and it often blows strongly for several hours at a time. Therefore..."

I pursed my lips, withdrew my hand from the map, and said in a clear and firm voice, "Sokku, please believe me. Gliding into the Purple Cloud Mountains and then luring the Golden Radiance Army into the Tree Tomb, working together from the inside and outside, will definitely be the best strategy to rescue the Wind Emperor."

Soku still had anger in his eyes, but there was a hint of wavering in his gaze, and he was about to speak. I interrupted him with a casual smile: "Whether you agree or not, even if I'm alone, I will still do it."

Soku was taken aback, unable to utter any more words of dissuasion. He remained silent for a long while, his face grim, before coldly saying, "Is this all you're doing, just to see what kind of person the Wind Emperor is?"

After saying that, he angrily turned and left.

I looked at Vimu in surprise. Vimu smiled wryly and said, "In any case, the young master has agreed to the young lady's plan."

I exclaimed in surprise, "Really?"

Vimu gave me a deep look before nodding and putting away the map. As he was leaving, he murmured, "Such a wise woman exists in this world; it's just a pity she's not one of my kind..."

I closed the door, lay down on the bed, changed into modern clothes, turned the water chain, and forced myself to sleep. I had already stayed in the ancient world for seven days, and if I didn't return, it would surely cause panic among Xu's mother and the others. However, the thought of seeing Yihan again soon made my blood boil, and I couldn't fall asleep.

How will we meet? If I suddenly appear before him, will he be overjoyed, or will he not recognize me at all? Will his feelings for me still be as clear and sincere as they were back then? ...

Chapter 36 Silver-Purple Flowing Light

Compared to the seven days of ancient times, a modern day is so short that nothing can even happen. Yet when I woke up again, I felt an indescribable exhaustion. Just thinking of Xu Lie's cold smile and his eyes that seemed to hold both hatred and despair made me tremble.

When I woke up, I felt him touching my face, his palm burning hot, his fingers icy cold. Before I could even open my eyes, I heard his hoarse, sorrowful voice: "What do you want from me? Is it only when I'm dead that you'll turn around and look at me?"

I woke up with a start, a chill running down my spine, but I didn't dare move or open my eyes. He remained there until he silently closed the door and left.

However, when I saw him again in the afternoon, he was embracing another woman I had never seen before, beaming with joy and brimming with pride, as if the lonely and dejected man from that morning had never existed. When he looked at me, now that I was awake, he only gave me a cold smile, a look that seemed to hold both hatred and resentment, and those vicious words full of sarcasm and humiliation.

I shook my head with a bitter smile, got up to wash, and felt the ancient toothpaste on my tongue, tasting as salty and bitter as tears. I forcefully shook off the mournful voice in my ears, ordering myself to carefully consider whether there were any oversights in the battle of the Boundless Valley. Only when the bittersweet joy of reuniting with Yihan filled my heart did I slowly recover from the excruciating pain.

Three days later, we finally arrived at Wuya Coast on the northwestern border of the Ziyun Mountains. Looking at the vast forests, we had a strange feeling that time had turned back.

Here once, I bled profusely, watching helplessly as I lost my life and drifted away from Yihan. Today, here as well, I will leap over those intertwined, towering trees and return to Yihan's side.

Soku had already sent a message by carrier pigeon instructing his men to prepare the gliding equipment. In fact, paragliders and hang gliders are quite common in modern times. My brother had ridden them before. They are extremely simple in construction yet can fly for one to five hours, so they wouldn't have been difficult to make even in ancient times.

The paraglider's wings are made from cut-up tents, partially supported by thin, strong wires, with a harness hanging underneath for the rider. Each harness contains parachute lines for directional control and landing, as well as a safety parachute made of the same material as the wings for emergency self-rescue.

While it would be impossible to perform complex maneuvers like spiral descent, ascent, and reversal without modern, sophisticated technology, it should be no problem to fly in a straight line into the boundless valley within five minutes.

Three young soldiers were about to take off with me. As the vanguard, we bore the most important mission, but also the greatest danger. Perhaps it was the fearlessness of youth, or perhaps they simply possessed excellent mental fortitude, but the three young soldiers stood as straight as darts in front of their paragliders, their eyes fixed intently on Soku and me, awaiting our command.

However, at this moment, I had a bit of a headache and kept saying, "Sokku, four people are enough, you can't go."

Soku, with an unwavering determination that not even dozens of oxen could sway, said, "If I'm not going, you can forget about going either."

I pointed to the rows of simpler gliders behind me and patiently said, "If you really want to try flying, you can follow me. But these five paragliders are not easy to operate, and you'll be hovering over the tree mound for a while. You should know how dangerous that is..."

Soku's face turned cold, and he turned his head away from me: "Since you know it's dangerous, why did you still go?"

“That’s different.” I continued to patiently explain to him, “My operational skills are already superior to yours, and I have experience. Besides, if I don’t go, who will command them to lure the enemy? But you are different. You are the crown prince of Izumo. King Kamupite only has you as his son. If you risk your life here so easily, how heartbroken will your father be? And how will the generals here explain it when they return?”

I exhaled a breath of stale air, interlaced my fingers in front of my chest, and felt that my palms were sticky and cold. Actually, I wasn't entirely without fear, but I knew that some things had to be done.

Soku frowned deeply, looking at the general who was watching him with concern, and then at the rows of tea-gold ships representing Izumo in the distance. Finally, he sighed and nodded helplessly.

I turned around to go downhill and prepare for takeoff when Soku suddenly grabbed my shoulder, forcing me to meet his amber eyes. He said, word by word, "You must live."

I smiled slightly, a warm feeling welling up inside me, and nodded firmly.

A paraglider needs a slope of about ten meters and a gradient of fifteen degrees to take off, and then it needs to be inflated against the wind. When I was the first one slowly lifted off the ground, I looked down and saw the shocked and respectful eyes of nearly a thousand soldiers below.

I jumped into the gondola, turned around and waved to Soku, whose brows were furrowed in worry. Before I could even put on a reassuring smile, the paraglider had already soared higher and higher, and I could no longer see their faces.

I took a deep breath, loosely gripping the parachute lines without actually operating them, feeling only the increasingly clear wind brushing against my skin. My hair was blown loose, so I tied it back up. For easier takeoff, I was wearing a modern, thin, low-cut blouse and jeans, with the cloak Soku had given me draped over my shoulders.

The black cloak draped over me was so thick it could almost swirl twice. Lin Jialan was an incredibly petite woman. Unlike Lin Yu, she didn't have delicate features, a curvaceous figure after being unbound, or an unparalleled refined air.

How would Yihan view me now, so ordinary? Would he really recognize me, believe me? I opened my hands and stared blankly at them. Although these hands were also fair and delicate, my right index finger was somewhat deformed from years of holding a pen, unlike Lin Yu's flawless hand.

Everything is different now. Different time, different feelings, different bodies, the only thing that remains unchanged is our unwavering devotion to that difficult love. But is that enough? Is it enough for us to love and stay together for a lifetime?

The paraglider finally reached a sufficient altitude, and I pulled the canopy to stop ascending, steering it southeast. More paragliders followed behind, maintaining the same altitude as me. They all maneuvered very well, controlling the height, direction, and distance of their canopies with ease. After the initial tension subsided, their faces were filled with excitement and anticipation, and their eyes shone brightly as they looked at me.

I smiled slightly and gestured for them to prepare all the gunpowder. The gunpowder technology of the Ishu Continent was only at the stage of setting off fireworks and making a slight booming sound; it was unlikely to be used for large-scale casualties, but it was more than sufficient for harassing the enemy and transmitting signals. And I had no intention of improving them or increasing their power.

The paraglider finally reached the top of the tree mound, and seeing that magnificent sea of dark green trees, I was almost overwhelmed with awe. The jungle, like a green magic carpet woven under the blue sky above the forest, was full of fantastical colors. The magic carpet hovered in the air, seemingly undulating slightly with the wind, its fine, soft down trembling, outlining a vibrant sense of life.