In the fifteenth year of Yuan, Da Liang launched a surprise night attack on Bei Qi, sending flames soaring into the sky. Swords and blood painted the entire Mohe region, and the battle raged for three full days, leaving countless dead and wounded.
Coincidentally, Mo Nan suddenly dispatched troops to Mo Bei, throwing the entire desert into chaos.
Ababa of Mo Bei, still at the front lines, was shocked to hear of the turmoil. He ordered a retreat, pulling back to the Dog Tooth Mountains. Da Liang, seizing the advantage, pressed their offensive and stormed into Yuehan Pass of Bei Qi.
Meanwhile, General Fengyang of Xi Liang suddenly died, and Bei Qi took advantage of the situation to advance south, conquering Linzhou. War spread everywhere, and the populace suffered immensely.
Ye Luan, on her escape, witnessed too much cruelty and bloodshed.
The two factions stood opposed, their armies clashing. The common people endured unbearable hardship, with searches along the roads and extremely strict security in every city.
She wished to go to Mo Nan, but with the two factions at war, she was trapped at the Mo Bei border, unable to cross.
Mu Bei City.
Ye Luan had been here for several days, hiding in an inn, too afraid to step outside. Too many people were looking for her, and she felt surrounded by people from Xue Shi.
"Miss Ye, I've bought them."
Qing Yi pushed open the door, having followed her through dust and fatigue, growing thinner each day.
Ye Luan frowned, sighing. When would this life of running ever end?
"Sit down and eat quickly."
She was starving.
Recently, with the unrest in the surrounding areas, fewer people were selling food outside.
"Miss Ye, I've noticed many more people from the Central Plains outside. Your whereabouts here have likely been exposed."
Ye Luan bit into a nang bread, nearly choking on his words. She covered her throat and coughed a few times.
"--Really?"
"Yes, I suspect people from Xue Shi have found you. They never show their true faces, so those coming to capture you are likely assassins from some of the martial arts organizations under the command of the King of Ding Bei."
Hearing this, Ye Luan's eyes turned cold, and she bit her lip.
Damn it.
"But we can't get out of Mu Bei City now, and if we're trapped here, we'll be found soon."
Inns required registration, and if the authorities wanted to investigate, they would find her.
Power!
They had power and influence; she couldn't fight or escape.
Ye Luan closed her eyes in exhaustion, her mind replaying everything from the past.
She should have forgotten, forgotten the humiliating past, forgotten that devil of a man.
The mere thought of his cold heartlessness, his attitude towards the child she had lost, sent shivers down her spine and made her uncontrollably uncomfortable.
She should forget, forget everything about Da Liang, forget everything about Zhong Zhou, forget everything from the past.
No longer be controlled by others, live for herself.
But they clung to her like vengeful spirits.
If she were captured again, she would have to grovel and beg for survival.
But she no longer wanted to pretend in front of Xiao Chi Zhan.
She truly didn't want to pretend anymore.
She wanted to be herself!
What should she do?
What could she do to neither die nor be taken back and imprisoned?
Xiao Chi Zhan! Xie Bei Han!
What should she do to make these two fight each other?
And stop troubling her.
"Miss Ye, the food spilled."
A faint reminder came. Ye Luan quickly regained her senses, looking at the soup spilled across the table, and smiled apologetically, "I was spacing out."
Qing Yi looked at the woman before him, his heart stirred.
She could still smile.
The Young Master often paid attention to Miss Ye's affairs. As the Young Master's shadow guard, he naturally knew all about her.
If an ordinary woman experienced all that Miss Ye had, she would likely have gone mad long ago.
She was truly strong, possessing a very powerful heart.
During their escape, he had seen her fierce side, and also her compassion when she saw people suffering.
She treated him as she would a friend, not reserved or demanding.
However, he could tell that while Miss Ye seemed to have a good temper, she was stubborn at heart.
She was not someone who easily admitted defeat!
"Miss Ye, I'll go out and scout again later. If the security isn't too tight, we'll leave tonight."
Ye Luan nodded, "Okay."
Qing Yi was not widely recognized, and with his help in scouting, it made things much easier for her.
After eating, Ye Luan stood by the window, thinking about her predicament, and pursed her lips.
Those humiliating memories resurfaced again and again, being hunted like a stray dog, fleeing and fleeing. She truly wanted to torment those two men to death.
Ye Luan, Ye Luan, don't pity yourself, pull yourself together!
If you truly cannot escape, then don't let them off the hook; make them suffer with you.
Dump him fiercely, marry someone else, and watch the two of them fight to the death.
That was, provided they loved her.
Xiao Chi Zhan did have love for her, but this madman's love was too terrifying, it was imprisonment, torture, and she didn't know how much she could control.
As for Xie Bei Han, he was probably just playing around, wanting to use her against Xiao Chi Zhan?
How should she save herself?
What should she do to make them both suffer irreparable damage, so they would have no time to torment her?
Ye Luan held her forehead, frowning.
At night, Qing Yi returned, saying the city had been suddenly sealed and they couldn't leave.
She was alarmed, narrowing her eyes slightly.
Such a coincidence, the city was sealed?!
She instinctively gripped the table, preparing for the worst.
"If the sealing of the city is directed at me, then it was Xie Bei Han. Xiao Chi Zhan is locked in a life-or-death struggle with Mo Bei; he absolutely doesn't have such authority."
She couldn't help but suspect if Xie Bei Han had already arrived in Mu Bei City.
"Miss Ye, we can't leave now, but we can't stay in the inn anymore. Tomorrow morning I'll go find a farmhouse to rent."
Ye Luan grunted, then suddenly remembered something, stopped him, and whispered a few words.
Qing Yi was startled and looked at her with some surprise.
"Don't look at me like that, it's a last resort. You don't have to suffer with me."
Qing Yi cupped his hands, "Your subordinate is under the Young Master's orders to protect Miss's safety unto death."
Ye Luan smiled and patted his shoulder, "Nicely put, it's loyalty; crudely put, it's ignorance. Your true master is Jing Zhi; you don't need to be harmed because of me."
"Besides, don't worry, Xiao Chi Zhan won't harm me. If Xie Bei Han wants to use me, he won't kill me either. Remember what I said."
Upon hearing her arrangements, Qing Yi felt a pang of emotion in his heart. He lowered his gaze, "Yes."
After he left, Ye Luan sat on the couch, thinking for a long time before eventually falling into a deep sleep.
Outside, the moonlight was bright, and the occasional sound of the night watchman could be heard.
The inn window creaked and groaned.
A slightly cool night breeze, carrying a chilling and murderous intent, suddenly swept in.
On the couch.
Ye Luan's eyes snapped open, a knife instantly appearing in her hand. She thrust it towards the approaching person.
More than a dozen assassins stormed in.
Qing Yi heard the commotion and rushed over, seeing the fight in the room and quickly going to help.
"Help! There's a flower thief!"