Chapter 303: Come Up
Having not slept all night, Murong Qinjian was in low spirits.
“Those wounded soldiers won’t die yet. Let me take a nap to restore my energy, then I’ll go to Fourth Sister Peak to gather six-leaf lotus.”
He thought Yan Xiaosi didn’t know four-leaf lotus and was preparing to personally lead a team to Fourth Sister Peak.
Unexpectedly, Yan Xiaosi said, “Young Master Murong, you should rest well in your tent. Leave the matter of gathering six-leaf lotus to me.”
“Xiao Yan, you know six-leaf lotus?”
After all, Black Wing Poison Bats only existed in Rongdi territory, and six-leaf lotus was only used to neutralize Black Wing Poison Bat toxin. Very few physicians in Great Chu paid attention to this type of herb.
Yan Xiaosi nodded, “Six-leaf lotus looks similar to four-leaf clover, doesn’t it?”
“That’s right.”
“Then I know it. Rest well, I’ll handle this matter.”
Though he hadn’t been in this area long, Murong Qinjian had also heard that Fourth Sister Peak and Third Sister Peak had many fierce beasts and were quite dangerous. The two times he and Long Yu had gone, they encountered leopards. For such a dangerous matter, he didn’t dare easily agree to let Yan Xiaosi go, so he shifted his gaze to look at Long Yu.
Yan Xiaosi also looked at Long Yu.
Before Long Yu could refuse, she spoke first, “Let me go. You can select a dozen or so soldiers with good martial skills to accompany me. There shouldn’t be any trouble. We’ll return once we’ve gathered the six-leaf lotus.”
She was thinking that while gathering six-leaf lotus, she could also collect some other medicinal materials to put in her Portable Space for cultivation.
Long Yu lightly glanced at Murong Qinjian, seeing his completely exhausted appearance, then seeing Yan Xiaosi’s expectant expression, he considered for a moment and said, “You can go, but I’ll accompany you.”
Having Long Yu accompany her would naturally be good.
Yan Xiaosi hesitated for a moment and asked, “You’re the commander. If you leave the military camp with me to go to Fourth Sister Peak to gather medicine, aren’t you worried that Rongdi might take the opportunity to launch a surprise attack?”
Long Yu wasn’t worried about this at all.
“In last night’s battle, more than half of Rongdi’s eighty thousand troops were killed or wounded, and Tantai Yi was shot and injured by me. Chunyu Hanfeng is probably too heartbroken to do anything else right now.”
He was completely right.
The scene shifted to the Rongdi military camp.
From last night until now, Chunyu Hanfeng hadn’t closed his eyes once. His eyes were bloodshot.
The military camp was in chaos, with even more wounded soldiers than in the Great Chu camp. All night, military doctors and medical assistants had been running around frantically.
“Useless! What use is it for this king to support you worthless fools!”
In the commander’s tent, the atmosphere was suffocatingly oppressive.
Chunyu Hanfeng had a dark expression, his eyes were blood-red, and his entire body radiated coldness as he angrily berated several military doctors kneeling on the ground.
The military doctors were in agony, kneeling on the ground, not daring to breathe heavily.
“Have you all become mute? If you can’t cure the Military Advisor, this king will take your heads.”
All the military doctors trembled in unison. Thinking of having to die alongside Military Advisor Tantai Yi, one of them felt unwilling and steeled himself to speak, “Your Majesty, we have already done our best. The Great Chu War King’s arrow struck the Military Advisor’s vital point. Even if you take our heads, it won’t help matters. Now, I’m afraid only one person has the ability to save the Military Advisor. Before that person arrives, we can only do our best to preserve the Military Advisor’s life.”
Chunyu Hanfeng saw a glimmer of hope. His eyes moved slightly, and he raised an eyebrow to look at the military doctor who had just spoken.
“Who? Who can save the Military Advisor?”
The Military Advisor hesitated for a moment, then continued to steel himself and answer, “That person is the Bright King, Chunyu Mingyue.”
Bright King Chunyu Mingyue and Rongdi King Chunyu Hanfeng were half-brothers with the same father but different mothers. However, Chunyu Mingyue’s birth mother wasn’t from Rongdi, but rather an ordinary woman from the Great Chu border. Because of her outstanding beauty, she caught the eye of the old Chunyu King Chunyu Jingde, who captured her. After giving birth to Chunyu Mingyue, she was killed by Rongdi’s former queen.
Rongdi’s former queen was Chunyu Hanfeng’s birth mother. Chunyu Hanfeng also greatly disliked this half-brother, and even the old Rongdi King Chunyu Jingde disliked this son who had half Great Chu blood. Chunyu Mingyue lived on thin ice in Rongdi. After Chunyu Hanfeng succeeded as Rongdi King, he quietly left Rongdi, his whereabouts unknown.
If this military doctor hadn’t mentioned this person, after all these years, Chunyu Hanfeng would have almost forgotten he had a younger brother.
Right, that brother of his had been obsessed with studying medicine since childhood and was quite skilled in medical arts.
He frowned and asked the military doctor, “The Bright King’s medical skills are indeed excellent. Do you know where he is now?”
The military doctor didn’t dare conceal anything.
“This subject knows a Great Chu medicine merchant. That merchant said there’s a physician named Bai Mingyue at Jiren Hall in Daxing Town, Xize County, whose medical skills are exceptional. This subject suspects that person might be the Bright King.”
Chunyu Hanfeng’s cold eyes narrowed slightly.
“Chunyu Mingyue, Bai Mingyue—it’s quite possible they’re the same person.”
Now that the Military Advisor’s life was hanging by a thread, there was no other way to save him. They could only go to Daxing Town to try their luck. Fortunately, Daxing Town was just across the Yunluo River, not far from the military camp. With a disguise, infiltrating Daxing Town wouldn’t waste much time.
Having just suffered a defeat, disguising themselves to infiltrate Great Chu territory was something Long Yu probably wouldn’t expect, making the trip to Daxing Town to find someone even more foolproof.
One hour later, at Fourth Sister Peak of Four Sisters Mountain.
A group of people slowly advanced through the dense forest of Fourth Sister Peak.
Yan Xiaosi followed at the back of the group, slowly moving forward while observing the scenery of Fourth Sister Peak.
Fourth Sister Peak was indeed as dangerous as Brother Dazhuang had told her. The jungle was deep and dense, with tall tree canopies blocking out the sky. Even the morning sunlight could barely penetrate the forest. The light inside was dim and somewhat eerie and terrifying.
From entering Fourth Sister Peak until now, in less than half an hour, they had already encountered two leopards and three jackals.
Leopards and jackals were extremely fierce wild beasts. If Yan Xiaosi had entered this jungle alone, dealing with these creatures would have required considerable effort.
At this moment, she deliberately slowed her pace, falling to the back of the group, wanting to take advantage of when others weren’t paying attention to put the herbs she gathered into her Portable Space. However, Long Yu had been closely following beside her, making it somewhat difficult for her to operate.
“Are you tired?”
She was just pondering how to shake off Long Yu, this persistent follower, when a gentle, pleasant voice sounded in her ear.
Long Yu stopped walking and frowned, looking at her with a face full of concern.
“If you’re tired, don’t force yourself.”
Knowing that Yan Xiaosi always liked to act tough, he reached out to stop her.
Yan Xiaosi’s ears were tickled by that gentle, magnetic voice, making her ear canals itch. She scratched her ear with her hand and stopped walking.
“Your Highness, I’m not tired. So many wounded soldiers in the military camp are waiting for six-leaf lotus to save their lives. You don’t need to worry about me. I can follow behind the group myself. You should go to the front to lead the way.”
She spoke rather diplomatically. Long Yu thought she was extremely tired but too embarrassed to say so, so he simply withdrew his hand and crouched in front of her.
“Come up.”
“What?”
Yan Xiaosi took a moment to react before realizing that His Highness wanted to carry her on his back.