That's right.
On the city wall were Ah Ba Huan, Chi Yan, and Xu Qing.
Li Qiongyu lazily raised his eyelids and smiled wantonly.
"Are you going back on your word?"
Chi Yan also smiled, a seductive smile, "How dare I? You all have such skilled maneuvers, playing a masterful game of feinting east and attacking west."
Li Qiongyu smiled faintly, "Just learned from the Crown Prince."
"Heh." Chi Yan let out a cold laugh, then stepped onto the rampart with one foot and said, "I hope Young Master Li will convey to His Highness that next time, we won't be so accommodating."
Hearing this, Li Qiongyu clicked his tongue, "If you have something to say, Ah Ba Huan can tell His Highness in person. Or perhaps, the Crown Prince can discuss it in detail when he comes to court?"
Chi Yan looked at his composed demeanor and gave a faint smile.
"Does Ah Ba Huan have anything else? If not, we'll be leaving. It's really too hot outside the pass, I can't stand it."
"Naturally, there is something." Chi Yan finished, took a dagger from the silent Xu Qing beside him, and shook it with a smile, "I'm here to deliver a dagger to Miss Ye."
Everyone, "------"
Ye Luan frowned, suddenly remembering something, and pursed her lips slightly.
Li Qiongyu sneered, "The Crown Prince is in Quzhou, but his heart is with another woman. This is truly a disgrace to the Northern Qi Dynasty."
Chi Yan laughed heartily.
"Young Master Li, one must be honest. What do you mean by another woman? Miss Ye is still unmarried. Don't speak nonsense."
"You've learned a few words of the Central Plains dialect and now you're showing off? Why not go back and relearn the basics?!"
He laughed boldly and unrestrainedly, his handsome face bearing a rebellious spirit.
Although Chi Yan didn't understand his words, she knew the general meaning, and he was definitely insulting her. She didn't get angry at all, and with a smile, handed the dagger to the guard behind her.
"Here, send this down to Miss Ye."
Ye Luan felt like she was sitting on pins and needles, her brows lowered, and she said not a word.
"Oh, right. The Crown Prince asked me to convey a message to Miss Ye: See you in Daliang!"
Xie Beihan is coming to Daliang?
Ye Luan frowned. The sealed border suddenly opened, allowing passage. What kind of deal did they make? Why would Xie Beihan come to Daliang?
Damn it, wherever she went, these people would follow.
Let them be, she was already tired.
"Miss!"
The guard presented the dagger.
It was a very sharp knife, thin as a cicada's wing, reflecting a cold light under the sun.
The hilt was inlaid with blood-red gems, and the blade was unique, engraved with exquisite phoenix patterns.
But what was chilling was that the red gems emitted a dazzling light, and upon closer inspection, it seemed to be a mechanism made of skulls.
"This knife is crafted from Xuan Tie and has a peculiar mechanism. Miss Ye, get acquainted with it. Be careful not to hurt your hands," Chi Yan on the city wall said with a playful smile.
Ye Luan could feel various eyes on her. She slightly lowered her gaze, took the knife, and smiled up at the city wall.
"The Crown Prince did not intend to destroy my knife, but rather returned such an exquisite dagger to me. Please thank the Crown Prince on my behalf, Ah Ba Huan."
She had no choice but to do this, to say this.
Getting stuck here was not an option.
Since Xie Beihan sent people to the border to deliver a dagger to her, he wouldn't give up easily. She just wanted to get out of the pass quickly and didn't want to cause any more trouble.
As for what Li Qiongyu thought, whether he would gossip, she couldn't control it. Xiao Chizhan also had no right to control her.
"It's nothing, I'll definitely pass on your message, Miss Ye."
The sun scorched the earth, and the air was filled with heat. There was not a breath of wind around.
Li Qiongyu casually glanced at the people behind him, then looked at the opened city gate. He raised his eyebrows and spoke to the people on the city wall, with an unrestrained air.
"We await your honored presence in Shangjing."
With that, he flicked his whip, forcefully urged his horse forward, and galloped away like a gust of wind.
His flamboyant red robe gleamed dazzlingly in the sun, fluttering in the wind.
Xu Qing, standing on the city wall, watched the departing group with a calm gaze.
Chi Yan walked over from behind, wrapped her arms around his waist, rested her cheek against his firm spine, and smiled slightly.
"The task is done. Can this humble monk return to Quzhou now?"
Chi Yan leaned up on her toes and kissed the back of his neck.
"What's the hurry? Xie Beihan asked you to accompany me, which means Quzhou doesn't need you."
Xu Qing remained silent and reached to pull her arms away.
But Chi Yan suddenly loosened her grip, and like a boneless enchantress, she slipped through his arms and into his embrace, holding him from the front.
"With so many people here, what kind of behavior is this?" he reprimanded in a low, sharp tone.
Chi Yan glanced at the soldiers on the city wall, then looked up and chuckled, her eyes bright and captivating.
"Does the Holy Monk mean that it's acceptable when no one is around?"
He ignored her teasing and said coldly, "Let go!"
"No. What, being here reminds you of how I used you to destroy Linzhou back then? You still won't forgive me?"
Xu Qing's expression remained unchanged, his gaze fixed on the vast desert with peace.
Chi Yan tugged at his kasaya, stood on her toes, and hugged his neck, her breath like orchids.
"Forgive me, won't you?"
Her voice was extremely low, as if chiding yet alluring, making people blush.
But Xu Qing's expression remained unchanged, as if he were a snow lotus on the Tianshan Mountains, untouched by the world.
"Past events have long since vanished. Don't bring them up again."
Upon hearing his words, Chi Yan smiled seductively.
Her slender fingers fiercely poked his heart.
Again and again.
As she poked, she raised her eyelids to look at his expression, her voice slow and deliberate.
"But your heart tells me that you haven't forgotten. You still hate me for betraying you."
He remained silent!
Chi Yan's eyes flickered, and she spread her hands and smiled, "I am Ah Ba Huan of the desert. Planning for the desert is my duty. I don't think I've done anything wrong."
As she spoke, she even maliciously bit his lip.
"Who told you that the God of War of Northern Qi would also be mesmerized by a beauty."
Her gaze was naked and undisguised in its sinfulness, and the smile on her lips was a mockery of his past foolishness.
Xu Qing closed his eyes, not looking at her, ignoring her words, as if no matter what she said, he would no longer react.
Chi Yan let out a cold laugh, leaning in his embrace. Listening to his faint heartbeat, after a long while, her expression calmed down, and her voice became serene.
"Only in your arms, listening to your heartbeat, do I feel like you're alive."
She paused, then suddenly withdrew from his embrace. Without looking, she leaped firmly onto the city wall behind.
"Xie Beihan sending you here is to remind you that I abandoned you without hesitation."
She then fiercely yanked the prayer beads around his neck, smiling maliciously and enchantingly.
"So, are you going to abandon me now too?"
Her body tilted backward, as if she would fall to her death if she let go.
"How much longer do you intend to work for him?"
Xu Qing let her pull him, lowered his eyebrows, and looked at her, speaking.
"This humble monk knows his sins are deep and will assist the Crown Prince for life."