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The night was long.
The deserted mountains were silent.
Outside Qingyuan City, there was an unnamed barren mountain. Due to its remote location, it was rarely visited by people, and even when hunters passed by, they usually did not stay long, coming and going in a hurry.
But today, it finally had guests—three unfamiliar visitors were hiding in an inconspicuous cave.
It was Shen Xiling and her companions.
She had been hit by two arrows, sustaining severe injuries. When Qingzhu carried her into the cave, blood had already soaked through her clothes, making the sight horrifying.
He was now the only one who was fully conscious—Qi Ying was still unconscious with a high fever, and Shen Xiling, gravely injured, had also lost consciousness. Both lay on the cold ground of the cave, their lives gradually fading.
Upon reflection, it seemed that their fates were always intertwined—living together, dying together, joys and fears always bound together, like two plants whose roots and stems were entangled, inseparable from each other.
Qingzhu felt a heavy yet intangible sense of emotion. He first tended to Shen Xiling’s wounds.
He chose to save her first, partly because he was helpless against Qi Ying’s illness, and partly out of gratitude towards Shen Xiling—today, she had unhesitatingly shielded Master and him from the arrows. More importantly, she had brought reinforcements, saving all their lives.
Just as the assassins were about to catch up with them tonight, reinforcements suddenly descended from the heavens. Qingzhu didn’t have time to look closely, but he vaguely recognized them as skilled martial artists, perhaps escorts. Their proficiency and sharpness were astonishing as they fought the assassins without falling behind.
One man went to rescue Shen Xiling. She had already been hit by an arrow and collapsed on her horse. Her horse was spooked and almost uncontrollable, but the man quickly subdued it, then exchanged his horse for hers and handed her over to Qingzhu.
He said, “Take Miss Shen to hide in the mountains; we will follow shortly!”
As soon as he finished speaking, the assassins closed in again. The man, unable to spare any more time, thrust the reins into Qingzhu’s hands and immediately turned back to fight, soon disappearing from sight.
At that moment, Qingzhu didn’t have time to think deeply. Protecting Master and leading Shen Xiling’s horse, he hurriedly took both to the mountains. After finding this hidden cave and settling them in, he finally had time to ponder the origins of those people.
The man had called Shen Xiling “Miss Shen,” indicating he knew her identity. Perhaps they were her people.
Where had she summoned these reinforcements?
Qingzhu carefully recalled that before they checked into the inn, Shen Xiling had specifically gone to a bank. At that time, Qingzhu wondered why she needed to withdraw banknotes, as she didn’t need money while with Master. Now he understood that she had used that opportunity to seek help.
Indeed, Shen Xiling had summoned reinforcements at that moment.
Her business was extensive, spanning both north and south. Over time, she realized that banks were the most unique among all businesses.
In any town or city, there might be no tea or salt merchants, no mines, ports, or even taverns or gold shops, but there would always be a bank. Wherever money circulated, this business naturally arose—it was a node for goods circulation and also a channel for information transmission.
Many years ago, Shen Xiling began using banks to build channels for communication of wealth and manpower, preparing for contingencies. The first time she followed Gu Juhán to find Qi Ying in the mountain retreat, she had given him a token—a jade plaque with a lotus pattern. It was her token; with it, he could go to any bank in any prefecture of Wei and obtain anything he wanted, as long as it was tradable in commerce.
Unfortunately, at that time, Shen Xiling had forgotten to give it to him after discovering Qi Ying’s addiction to the Five-Stone Powder. Later, since they were always together, she never mentioned it again. Besides, she knew he wouldn’t accept her things.
Thus, the jade plaque remained with her. Tonight, entering Qingyuan City, Shen Xiling had a foreboding feeling—Qi Ying was indeed prescient, having arranged everything meticulously. However, he hadn’t anticipated falling ill himself, and this small change was enough to ruin his entire plan, possibly costing him his life.
And she absolutely would not let that happen.
Therefore, before checking into the inn, she specifically went to the bank to arrange for reinforcements. Coincidentally, the bank personnel had just completed her request when the Liang assassins arrived. Had her reinforcements come any later, they all would have perished in that ambush.
It was truly a matter of life and death.
However, from Qingzhu’s perspective, her reinforcements hadn’t arrived particularly timely.
—She was still injured, and severely so.
She had already fallen unconscious. Qingzhu muttered an apology and then propped Shen Xiling up. He carefully removed one arrow and tore his own clothes to hastily bandage her. The other arrow had pierced too deeply. Under the faint moonlight in the cave, Qingzhu examined the wound and felt that removing the arrow might cause uncontrollable bleeding, potentially killing her. Thus, he cautiously broke off the arrow’s tail, leaving the arrowhead deep inside her body, causing immense pain.
Sweat covered Shen Xiling’s forehead, and her complexion was even paler than Qi Ying’s, who was severely ill. Fortunately, she gradually regained consciousness, likely awakened by the pain.
When she opened her eyes and saw Qingzhu, her gaze was vacant, as if she hadn’t fully regained awareness. After a while, she became conscious and immediately looked around anxiously. Seeing Qi Ying lying beside her, she sighed in relief.
She didn’t even check her own injuries, only inspecting him to see if he was hurt. How could he be hurt? She had protected him with all her strength, leaving him unscathed, though he still had a high fever.
Qingzhu stayed by her side, repeatedly comforting her, saying, “Master is fine. Please take care of yourself—don’t move, or the bleeding won’t stop…”
Qingzhu kept advising, but Shen Xiling couldn’t calm down.
Qi Ying’s unresolved illness made her restless, this anxiety surpassing even the real pain of her own body, occupying all her thoughts. She gasped weakly, her beautiful eyes tinged with blood, staring unwaveringly at the unconscious man, fearing he would leave her at any moment.
Qingzhu sighed, about to say something, but was abruptly interrupted by a rustling sound outside the cave.
…Someone was coming!
Shen Xiling and Qingzhu realized this simultaneously. They exchanged glances, seeing fear and worry in each other’s eyes.
In such a desolate mountain, in such a deep night, who could the visitors be?
Were they rescuers?
Or… killers?
They couldn’t determine. At that moment, they heard faint voices outside the cave.
A man gruffly said, “Search for me! Carefully search! Turn the earth upside down if you must to find them! If you don’t deliver Qi Jingchen’s head, General Han wants our lives! Do you hear me?”
The voice wasn’t loud, but to Shen Xiling and the others, it was like thunder in a clear sky.
Their luck was truly bad… the evil star had arrived before the savior.
The cave they were in was quite concealed. When Qingzhu entered, he intentionally used weeds and branches to camouflage it, making it difficult to spot in the darkness. However, if they searched thoroughly, they would inevitably discover the entrance. At this moment, Shen Xiling was severely injured, and Qi Ying was still unconscious from his illness. Once found, it would be a dead end!
No other possibilities.
At that time, Shen Xiling didn’t even think about General Han or consider any political conspiracies. She only had one wish: not to be discovered, not to be found.
No, no, no.
The footsteps were very close, perhaps only seven or eight steps away. Lying on the ground, Shen Xiling could even feel the vibrations from their steps. She and Qingzhu held their breath, silently and hopelessly waiting in the darkness. After what seemed like an eternity, they finally heard the footsteps recede.
They had just breathed a sigh of relief when, not long after, they heard them return, over and over again, repeating endlessly.
Closer and closer… Qingzhu knew they would soon discover the cave entrance.
Shen Xiling lay rigid on the spot, her heart almost leaping out of her chest. She was extremely frightened and helpless, the only thing she could do was tightly hold Qi Ying’s hand.
His hand was scorching hot. She placed one of her hands in his palm and tightly gripped him with the other, as if drawing strength from him—while clearly knowing this time she wouldn’t receive any response.
She kept praying, making wishes, while constantly calculating how to maneuver and negotiate to protect Qi Ying’s life if captured. Amidst these thoughts, the assassins’ footsteps receded again, and she once more relaxed, drenched in cold sweat, her heart still tightly clenched.
Life hung by a thread.
Just as the assassins walked away, Qingzhu stood up from the ground.
Shen Xiling was startled and immediately grabbed him, whispering, “…What are you doing?”
There was almost no light in the cave, only faint moonlight barely illuminating the area, vaguely outlining Qingzhu’s silhouette. Shen Xiling couldn’t see his expression, only sensing his presence.
Unlike his usual awkwardness or coldness, he appeared extraordinarily gentle.
“This can’t go on. They will find us sooner or later,” his voice as low and shallow as hers, “I’ll lead them away.”
Contrary to his faint voice, the weight of his words was almost unbearable for Shen Xiling.
He… he was planning to…
“No!” Shen Xiling firmly refused, gripping Qingzhu’s hand even tighter, refusing to let go. “Don’t do anything foolish. They definitely won’t find us. We just need to wait a little longer; reinforcements will arrive soon…”
Qingzhu chuckled softly, almost inaudibly.
“Why deceive ourselves? You and I both know the truth. Are you willing to risk Master’s life?” he cruelly revealed everything. “This is gambling. If we lose, he will die.”
Die.
He will die.
Qingzhu knew Shen Xiling too well. He was aware of everything between her and Qi Ying, understanding their bond. He knew her too well—she would rather die herself, sacrificing everything she had, to ensure Master’s safety for even a moment.
Deep affection bordering on madness.
At this moment, Shen Xiling was as if someone had choked her neck and pressed her vital points, leaving her speechless.
She knew… Qingzhu was right.
Her mind was in chaos, but fortunately, she quickly regained her composure and thoughtfully said, “Alright, then I’ll go. You stay here and take care of him.”
She spoke earnestly, but Qingzhu smiled, his voice still gentle—he used to harbor hostility towards her, but after so many years, only gentleness and endless kindness remained.
“You once asked me what true loyalty to Master means. I’ve thought about it for a long time,” he softly spoke, seemingly unrelated. “I don’t know the best answer, but I know that at least now, I’m willing to die for him—does that count as loyalty?”
“I actually don’t care about these anymore,” he self-deprecatingly smiled, then gently sighed. “I just… want to protect him once.”
Like many years ago, when he saved me from the tooth broker.
I know I am far inferior to Master. Saving me only required a casual word from him, and I am nowhere near as powerful. But I am willing to use my life to save him—isn’t this sincerity too?
I know I was wrong. I should have stopped him from taking the drugs, but I got used to obeying and forgot what was truly good for him… Maybe it wasn’t that I didn’t dare to defy him, but simply because I knew he lived in too much pain. My heart softened, so I watched him gain false comfort from those powders without stopping him.
I was too weak.
Now I am willing to use my life to make up for this mistake. I wonder… if it can even begin to compensate?
Shen Xiling never expected that her earlier outburst had left such a heavy burden on Qingzhu. She felt overwhelming guilt, unsure how to make amends or dissuade him. She could only desperately block him, urgently pleading, “Qingzhu, listen to me. I didn’t mean it like that. At that time…”
But Qingzhu didn’t want to talk about it anymore—he had made his decision.
Slowly yet resolutely, he pried Shen Xiling’s tightly gripping hand off. In the darkness, his voice was faint yet resolute, each word falling into Shen Xiling’s ears.
“I’m going now. I’ll try to run far away and lead them off,” he said. “You stay here and guard Master. Don’t come out.”
Tears had already streamed down Shen Xiling’s face. She kept shaking her head, but Qingzhu ignored her. His voice even faintly contained laughter, with a relaxed tease, saying, “This time, running far, I might get lost, maybe it will take a long time to come back… or perhaps, I won’t come back.”
Shen Xiling was already sobbing uncontrollably.
“If I really don’t come back,” his voice grew softer and softer, “I want to ask you for two favors.”
He had already stood up, disregarding Shen Xiling’s stubborn resistance, walking step by step towards the narrow cave entrance. His voice was as faint as the moonlight that had seeped into the cave at that time.
“Take good care of Master for me.”
He walked further and further away.
“And tell Bai Song for me… that I went ahead. If he has time, he can come see me.”
He had nothing else to say.
His figure had merged with the moonlight.
Into nothingness.
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