But who knew that Lu Feibo, upon hearing she intended to accompany him, disagreed.
"A'luan, don't worry about me. Go do your own thing."
He was so terminally ill, too unsightly; he didn't want her to witness his demise.
The person in her memory should remain at their best!
Ye Luan thought Lu Feibo was worried about implicating Hui Men, so she dared not press further. She could only retract her idea and fell silent.
"Do you need to rest for a while before leaving?"
His gentle, handsome features seemed to be imbued with light.
Ye Luan's lips twitched slightly. "No rest, I'll leave first."
Inside the room, silence ensued for a moment.
"Alright, travel slowly."
Ye Luan did not look at him again, turning to leave the room.
The shadow guards offered to escort her, but Ye Luan, after a moment's thought, refused, saying softly.
"Take good care of your young lord."
Qingyi brought her a swift horse, entirely white, capable of traveling a thousand li. It was a fine steed.
"Take care, young lady."
Ye Luan nodded with a smile and, as she rode away, glanced up at the second floor of the inn.
Half a window was open, and golden floral leaves hung down by the window frame. Through the dazzling golden light, she vaguely saw a hint of green.
She watched for a while, then with a "Giddy up," she spurred her horse and left.
She traveled west, passing through Xue Ling Mountain, exiting the Ancheng border fort of Mobei, and heading north towards the border of Northern Di.
Ye Luan left the city with a convoy of Goryeo ginseng merchants. The gate captain, after inspecting their travel documents, allowed them to pass.
She rode her horse northward, fearing exposure, deliberately taking the country paths. The sun in the frontier was harsh, and riding the dusty roads was naturally exhausting.
But she couldn't afford to be tired. As long as she reached Northern Di, even with Xie Beihan's immense power, sending pursuers to distant Northern Di would only cause an uproar among the Northern Di kingdoms, making them believe war was imminent.
Northern Qi was already plagued by continuous warfare; he would surely not dare to openly dispatch troops to Northern Di to apprehend her.
Xiao Chizhan, even more so, wouldn't dare to go to Northern Di. Great Liang and the Western Regions had long been at loggerheads. If he sent troops to chase her, it would be tantamount to declaring war.
What she didn't know was that Tantai Ye had already led hundreds of thousands of elite soldiers, bypassing Mount Kashgar and invading Yanmen Commandery of Northern Di.
The troops hidden in the Mayi mountain valley had already swept into Yancheng.
Northern Di, too, was in turmoil, its people suffering.
These were things she, a commoner who had lived in Mobei for so long, naturally wouldn't know.
She rode for a long time, passing through Hanbali, and as she was nearing the mountain pass, the sky suddenly began to rain.
The sky, which had been bright and sunny moments ago, was now pouring down with heavy rain.
Ye Luan frowned. Her entire young face was instantly cleansed, revealing a fair and delicate complexion.
What kind of weather was this? Such heavy rain in the frontier.
It was as if she had seen a ghost.
She quickly put on her veiled hat and rode faster.
As long as she passed the mountain pass, she would enter Northern Di. Even if she hid for a lifetime, she didn't want to see those two again.
But after riding for an unknown duration, she suddenly heard the sound of hooves behind her.
Yellow sand raged, and banners fluttered.
The splashing water churned up by the heavy rain was like shattered white jade. Countless arrows, wrapped in raindrops, shot through the sandy earth like arrows loosed from a bowstring, kicking up splashes of mud and sand.
Ye Luan looked back, her heart clenching.
The man at the forefront wore a snow-white robe, riding a spirited horse. The wind billowed his robes, making them rustle.
His aura seemed tempered into his very bones and blood, filled with world-destroying killing intent.
Xiao Chizhan!
She gasped in shock and, disregarding the ferocity in the man's eyes, immediately pulled back on the reins, leaped over the arrows, and sped towards the mountain pass.
Seeing this, Li Qiongyu immediately pulled out a smoke bomb, his untamed face filled with a wild grin.
"Stop her!"
A "boom" sounded as the smoke bomb flew into the sky.
Ye Luan looked at the man appearing on the city wall, shocked.
He was clad in battle armor, wielding a steel saber.
He stepped onto the battlements of the pass, his right arm resting on his knee, his eagle-like eyes looking down at her with a faint, lazy, and mocking smile.
"Ye Luan, we meet again."
Tantai Ye!
The mountain pass had been breached! Had Tantai Ye led his troops into the mountain pass?
Ye Luan's body turned cold. With a gasp, her horse neighed to the sky and halted.
The vast desert reflected the autumn light of the foreign lands. The heavy rain fell, a cold wind swept up, and the troops behind her relentlessly pursued. She felt her heart grow colder than the frontier rain.
"Ye Luan, you can't escape. Go back to Xiao Chizhan obediently."
Large numbers of troops were charging forward. Ye Luan narrowed her eyes as she looked at Xiao Chizhan leading them. His devilishly handsome face was calm, his arrogance utterly detestable to her.
She dismounted directly and ran up to the city wall, standing on the battlements.
"Ye Luan, what are you trying to do?" Tantai Ye narrowed his eyes slightly and walked towards her.
Ye Luan immediately took a step forward, her foot hanging in the air, startling Tantai Ye into stopping.
She lowered her gaze and looked down at the scene below.
The dark, imposing army had already reached the city.
The man with red eyes and white hair watched her figure quietly, his voice extremely calm, his expression unreadable.
"Why?"
Ye Luan smiled faintly.
Why?
Was he asking why she had faked her death and left?
Didn't he understand?
Of course, someone like him wouldn't understand.
"Xiao Chizhan, you've forced me to flee to Mobei and live a life of hardship. When will you finally let me go?!"
The sky was heavy, and the rain fell intermittently.
She stood high on the battlements, her face calm and indifferent. The cold wind whipped her clothes, exuding a chilling aura.
Xiao Chizhan, mounted on his horse, pursed his lips and looked at her. A flicker of distraction flashed in his alluring red eyes.
Did she prefer death to being his princess?
Just as resolute as when she had jumped off the cliff without hesitation, terrifyingly determined.
His gaze gradually turned cold. "Let you go? I will never let you go in this lifetime, not even in death!"
Ye Luan raised an eyebrow, looking at the pouring rain, and took another step forward.
Xiao Chizhan watched her movement, his eyes fierce. "If you dare to have any suicidal thoughts, I will slaughter your entire Bai family."
She ignored his words and chuckled lightly, "You despicable person, don't you dare come to my grave and cry. It will dirty my path to reincarnation."
Seeing her so casually speak of life and death, an boundless panic spread from the depths of his heart.
He roared, "Ye Luan, get down here!"
Ye Luan, seeing that he seemed to be listening, narrowed her eyes and continued, "Oh, or perhaps let my soul scatter completely, so I don't have to reincarnate and meet you again."
The maiden on the city wall exuded an aura of death.
Xiao Chizhan, unaware, felt his body tremble.
"I won't hold your faked death against you. As long as you return with me, I will act as if everything that has happened never occurred."
Never happened?
But she didn't want to be taken back like this, to be imprisoned again. She wanted to be herself! To live for herself.
Ye Luan squinted slightly, a faint smile on her lips. "Xiao Chizhan, will all of this truly end only when I am truly dead?"