The trip to Dingzhou was confirmed, and Lan Yan wanted to pack her bags, but Xia Lian and Qin Momo had already done it.
With nothing to do, she chatted with Li Shi and the others. "Mother, I estimate I'll be back in two months. Please take care of yourself in the mansion, and if anything happens, find Qin Momo."
Li Shi nodded, tears welling up in her eyes. She placed a peace talisman in Lan Yan's hand. "This is what Mother got from the master yesterday. I hope it blesses you with a safe journey."
"You don't need to worry about me, your brother is here."
Lan Yue couldn't speak. He gave his written articles to Lan Yan, all of which urged his sister to take care.
Looking at the two items in her hands, Lan Yan almost cried. She hugged the two people in front of her, ignoring their shocked faces, and cried out, "Mother, little brother, thank you. I will come back."
Before, she had only focused on completing her mission, but now she had many more things to care about.
Jun Yelan watched from the corridor nearby and instructed Xia Lian, "Prepare everything. The road ahead will not be peaceful." Dingzhou was connected to many officials, and they would not allow him to investigate it.
If these people dared to harm Lan Yan, he would turn them into ashes!
Xia Lian went down to prepare the assassins.
The next morning, the prince's mansion carriage departed. Lan Yan sat inside, yawning; she had woken up too early.
Jun Yelan saw this and felt a pang of concern. "You can catch up on sleep. The journey is still long."
"Alright. Call me if anything happens." Lan Yan was truly exhausted and leaned her head on Jun Yelan's side, closing her eyes.
Jun Yelan's lips curved upwards slightly. He placed one hand on Lan Yan's back while flipping through a book with the other.
The curtains blew open, and sunlight streamed in, warm and beautiful, just like the two people inside the carriage.
Just then, there was movement outside the carriage. A group of men in black leaped from the treetops and attacked the carriage.
The assassins, led by Xia Lian, drew their swords and engaged the men in black.
The attackers split into two groups. One group intercepted Xia Lian, while the other advanced on the carriage. Their large sabers struck towards the carriage but were deflected.
Jun Yelan, holding a sword, severed the arm of an attacker, his eyes cold. He glanced at Lan Yan beside him before continuing to fight, his sleeves stained with blood.
He couldn't move his legs, or these people would be no match for him.
The attackers cut through the door curtain and saw Lan Yan, changing their direction to attack her.
Jun Yelan struck down a blade, catching sight of another blade approaching Lan Yan out of the corner of his eye. He had no choice but to block with his arm. He gritted his teeth, cast a cold glance at the gash on his arm, and twisted his sword, killing the person in front of him.
The fighting intensified, and Lan Yan was awakened. The first thing she saw was Jun Yelan's wound, still bleeding. She took out a handkerchief and bandaged it for him.
Jun Yelan said, "I'm fine. You hide inside." With that, he continued to fight the attackers.
Lan Yan was furious at Jun Yelan's injury. She pulled out the weapon she had prepared from a corner – a crossbow – and shot at the men in black approaching the carriage.
Watching the attackers fall one by one, she laughed, "Little brats, you thought I was a pushover." She had brought all eighteen types of weapons and threw them out one by one, making the attackers afraid to come closer.
Jun Yelan looked at the box next to Lan Yan. He had been wondering what it was, and now he knew it was a box of weapons. His Lan Yan was truly unique and very smart.
The two of them combined forces and repelled the attackers.
However, there were still stragglers who targeted the horses.
The horses went mad and charged forward, straight towards a cliff.
Jun Yelan pounded his leg, but there was still no response. His men were still fighting behind them. He said to Lan Yan, "You quickly jump off the carriage." He wanted Lan Yan to live!
Lan Yan was not foolish. If she left, Jun Yelan would have no chance of survival. She held Jun Yelan's hand and said, "Your Highness, I promise you, neither of us will die."
Jun Yelan was captivated by Lan Yan's eyes but didn't want her to get into danger. He reached out to push Lan Yan out of the carriage, but the carriage had already tilted, nearing the edge of the cliff.
There was nothing they could do.
The moment the carriage plunged over the cliff, Lan Yan threw a hooked rope, snagging a rock on the cliff face to cushion their fall.
The rope could not bear their weight and began to descend.
Jun Yelan held Lan Yan tightly, letting her lie in his arms, and they fell heavily to the bottom of the cliff. He snorted, swallowed the blood in his mouth, and anxiously checked on Lan Yan.
Lan Yan had fainted, but she only had some scratches and no serious injuries.
He felt relieved and closed his eyes slightly.
The system in Lan Yan's mind issued an alert, "The mission target is very weak. Host, please wake up quickly." It felt like beating the host.
Lan Yan heard the voice and groggily woke up. She felt pain all over her body, as if she had done a day's worth of manual labor. She felt a cushion underneath her and looked up. This cushion was Jun Yelan.
Oh my god, she completely panicked and quickly crawled down to check Jun Yelan's body.
Seeing that he had fainted, she wondered if she had crushed him! She reached out to feel Jun Yelan's wrist. His pulse was very weak. Moreover, Jun Yelan's clothes were covered in blood, indicating he was definitely wounded inside.
Her eyes welled up with tears, but she thought this was not the time to cry. She opened the bag at her waist, which contained some medicine. She had not only prepared weapons but also medicine.
She first fed Jun Yelan a pill to strengthen his body. Seeing that he wouldn't swallow, she lowered her head, bit his lips, and helped him swallow it.
Then, she pounded the herbs with a stone, applied them to Jun Yelan's wounds, and tore her skirt to bandage them. After finishing, she wiped the sweat from her forehead and muttered, "Jun Yelan, you must wake up."
Jun Yelan's eyelashes fluttered. In his consciousness, there was someone very important who was afraid of the dark. He had to wake up before nightfall, but his body felt so tired.
While Jun Yelan was unconscious, Lan Yan didn't stay idle. She went to investigate the surroundings. This was the bottom of a cliff, too far from the top to climb up.
There were no roads nearby, but there was a river not far away, which likely contained fish. She and Jun Yelan wouldn't starve, but they needed to find a place to shelter from the wind and rain.
However, she didn't see even half a cave.
She had to pick up branches and large leaves and build a rudimentary shed over Jun Yelan's head.
Jun Yelan, however, did not wake up.
As night fell, the surroundings gradually became indistinct, with only the moonlight overhead providing illumination. Lan Yan wanted to start a fire, but the wind here was too strong, and she couldn't get it lit. She felt a little scared and moved closer to Jun Yelan, holding his finger.
"Jun Yelan, wake up quickly." She could also hear wolf howls, and she wondered if they would be eaten.
Jun Yelan felt the warmth on his finger and struggled desperately. He couldn't leave Lan Yan alone!