Pei Yuan nodded, then slid down the stone wall at another corner, using the moonlight to find a foothold before reaching out to help Qiu Su down. Qiu Su didn't dare to hug him too closely, afraid that she might lose her footing and drag him down. She groped her way down a short distance and suddenly discovered a recessed stone cave not far away.
Qiu Su nudged Pei Yuan's arm, pointed to the dent, and carefully and quickly moved over it.
The cave was located below the narrow path above. The two of them stood close to the stone wall, ensuring that they could not see above and that those above would not be able to find their hiding place.
As footsteps approached, Pei Yuan tightened his grip on Qiu Su's hand.
"Damn it, where did it go?"
"They were quick enough."
"Quickly chase after them! If they get away again this time, how will we explain it when we get back!"
As the footsteps faded into the distance, Qiu Su opened her mouth to speak, but Pei Yuan's lips pressed tightly against hers, silencing her.
"Don't speak." Pei Yuan said in a barely audible voice, his arms tightly around Qiu Su, remaining motionless.
The two waited for a long time with their cheeks pressed together, and sure enough, they heard the group of people retreat again.
"There was no way forward. Damn, I almost fell down."
"Well, what are you going to say when you get back?"
"What should we say? Just say he ran away in the middle of the night and fell into a ravine. Anyway, we don't know if he's dead or not. If he's lucky enough to survive, we won't show him any mercy."
"Why did you have to take his life?"
"Whoever says...must be eliminated..."
As the sound faded into the distance, Pei Yuan breathed a sigh of relief and chuckled softly, saying, "Why is my wife back again?"
"No, the mountain lord insisted on coming, and I'm afraid something might happen to it," Qiu Su said, feeling frustrated.
"Oh, my wife truly loves the mountain lord; she will surely love her husband even more in the future."
Qiu Su responded softly. Only after relaxing did she realize that her whole body ached. One arm was burning with pain, and the most unbearable pain was in her ten fingers. The wounds from being pierced by rocks on the mountain and the scratches from wild grass on her palms all seemed to have agreed to ache.
The mountain night was still chilly and still. A mountain breeze blew by, making Qiu Su shiver involuntarily.
Pei Yuan held Qiu Su on his lap, wrapped his arms around her, and gently blew on her hand.
Qiu Su recalled the warm breath that had reached her ears in her dream, and her face flushed involuntarily.
"It's okay, it doesn't hurt too much."
"Oh, I'm not blowing on your wound, I just have too much air and nowhere to blow it."
Qiu Su rolled her eyes, but couldn't help but smile. Looking up at the gradually brightening moonlight, she whispered, "Who did you offend?"
Pei Yuan continued moving, pointing one finger at the sky.
The Jade Emperor? Qiu Su frowned, hesitated for a moment, then realized and said, "The one above?"
"Um."
"It would be easy for him to punish you, why would he do it this way?"
Pei Yuan shrugged. "They thought I was the third prince."
Qiu Su had a general understanding of the current political situation. The current regent held immense power, and the eighteen-year-old emperor was nothing more than a puppet. The regent had orchestrated the entire affair, killing General Ji, forcing the late emperor to abdicate in favor of the young fifth prince, and then committing regicide. These were all open secrets, and the regent didn't care if these matters were leaked; as long as the court officials believed the official version, that was enough.
The regent's principle was simple: he announced that several princes had died of incurable diseases, that General Ji had been executed for colluding with foreign enemies, and that the late emperor had suffered a stroke due to the shock and died soon after. Whether others believed it or not, he believed it.
Qiu Su closed her eyes briefly. "Then are you?"
Pei Yuan didn't answer for a long time before saying, "I wish I were the one who wiped out this group of troublemakers."
Qiu Su chuckled softly, nestled quietly in his arms, thinking of the Ji family, the imperial power, and those innocent people who had disappeared, and sighed heavily in her heart.
Is Qingyuan Mountain still safe?
"It's safe; they wouldn't dare to do it openly."
"Don't you dare?" Qiu Su pouted.
Everything quieted down. Although it was a bit cold, she couldn't resist the drowsiness and closed her eyes.
"By the way, what did you dream about?" Pei Yuan loosened his belt and put Qiu Su's hand inside to warm it against his body.
Qiu Su drowsily lifted her eyelids and mumbled, "I dreamt about..."
"What?"
"Flowers everywhere."
The answer was brilliant, leaving much to the imagination. Pei Yuan imagined himself walking hand-in-hand with her through a sea of flowers in her dream, and his heart unconsciously soared.
I slept soundly through the night, but it was a bit cold.
Even the summer night couldn't withstand the constant mountain wind. When Qiu Su woke up, her lips were so cold they had changed color. Pei Yuan hadn't been sleeping deeply. He woke up as soon as Qiu Su opened her eyes and turned her head slightly. He frowned and stared at Qiu Su's confused expression for a moment. He raised his hand and rubbed her cheek for a long time until it felt warm to the touch before withdrawing his hand. He then pulled Qiu Su, who had woken up but hadn't spoken, to get up.
Only after standing up did the two realize the recklessness and danger of their decision the day before. Stepping from one side into this stone cave, the half-step distance was almost suspended in mid-air. If they lost their balance and fell, while they might not be completely destroyed, they would at least lose half their lives.
Pei Yuan clicked his tongue, "My wife has a blessed appearance; she's still perfectly fine after all this."
Qiu Su pursed her lips. How could that be considered perfectly fine? Her pair of delicate, white hands had become the hands of a fire-starting maid overnight.
Pei Yuan looked around, then retreated to the platform where he had jumped onto the stone cave yesterday. He led Qiu Su over there, and then slowly retreated back along the same route.
Going up the mountain is easy, but going down is hard; nighttime is easy, but daytime is hard. Now that they could see the treacherous path they had run along, the two dared not run any faster, nor did they dare to walk on wide open areas. They could only move forward little by little along the hillside.
Having circled most of the mountain, Qiu Su was utterly exhausted. Her clothes were stuck to her back, feeling sticky and uncomfortable.
The two descended the mountain but did not see He Zhuo and the others. Qiu Su untied her hair tie and tied it to a small tree. She then arranged pebbles under the tree to form an arrow pointing forward before she and Pei Yuan walked briskly forward hand in hand.