Chapter 25: Survival Comes First
Le Qianxue saw that he wasn’t eating and sighed, “It’s nothing, this is quite good too. Now that we’ve fallen on hard times, you shouldn’t expect me to live up to those princely standards of yours.”
Zhan Lianjing frowned. “I’ve endured much worse before. It’s just that, for a moment, memories came back to me.”
Le Qianxue couldn’t help but smile, her curiosity piqued.
Zhan Lianjing’s origins were shrouded in mystery. He was neither the son of an official nor the heir of a merchant, and yet, eight years ago, by his own merit, he became one of the three great princes—the Prince of War! That year, he was only sixteen.
No one knew where Zhan Lianjing came from or why he suddenly wielded such formidable power—even the Tianlong Emperor had to show him some deference.
Moreover, the neighboring Mu Kingdom and Liangjin Kingdom both regarded this crippled prince with caution. The three nations had long maintained peace and friendly relations, and because of this, although the Tianlong Emperor had the intention to weaken Zhan Lianjing’s power, he never acted on it.
Le Qianxue looked at him, resting her chin in her hand, her dark eyes swirling. “Prince of War, I always thought you hailed from a distinguished lineage—that’s how you rose to such heights and became a prince at sixteen.”
Zhan Lianjing’s gaze was shadowed.
He slowly ate the rabbit meat, finding its crispy skin and tender flesh surprisingly good.
Le Qianxue, seeing his silence, pressed on, “Prince of War, where exactly are you from?”
“Le Qianxue.” Zhan Lianjing didn’t even lift his head, but his voice was icy. “Didn’t you say your grand wish was to marry your ideal man? Aren’t you afraid that prying into my past will get you killed here?”
Le Qianxue pursed her lips. “You’re right, Prince. I’ll keep quiet.”
She considered for a moment, recalling the matter of the ancestral scroll. Young Lord Mu had sent word that the scroll was kept in the Prince of War’s residence. If she truly wanted to investigate for Yin Susu’s sake, she would have to get close to Zhan Lianjing.
She inched closer to him. Zhan Lianjing glanced at her, then picked up a branch to block her, signaling her to stay back.
Le Qianxue looked at the branch, then up at Zhan Lianjing. “Prince, must you be so guarded?”
“Woman, have some restraint.” Zhan Lianjing turned away, as if wholly uninterested.
“Well, what if I say I’m interested in what you proposed earlier?” Le Qianxue asked.
“Too late. I no longer care to have you do it,” Zhan Lianjing replied.
Le Qianxue cursed him silently—this fake cripple! Truly, he cared for no one but himself.
She snorted, “Fine.”
She moved away, finished her meal, and, with her clothes nearly dry, hurried to put them on.
By now, afternoon had arrived. The sun barely touched the dense forest. Le Qianxue thought a moment, then asked, “Prince, will Haoyue and Chasing Star come to rescue you?”
“They will,” Zhan Lianjing said.
Le Qianxue breathed a sigh of relief. If so, they might just escape this place, for not a single soul had been seen, and she had no idea how to get out.
She paused. “Do you have any way to contact them? Or leave a signal?”
“No.”
“…”
Le Qianxue couldn’t understand Zhan Lianjing’s confidence.
She said, “I’ll go scout the way. We need to find an exit ourselves. Who knows how long it’ll take for someone else to come.”
In truth, both she and Zhan Lianjing hid their true abilities. Le Qianxue was adept at surviving in the wild but didn’t want to reveal too much before Zhan Lianjing.
Zhan Lianjing was the same. After all, playing a cripple required professional integrity.
He grunted and let her go.
In this sunless forest, Le Qianxue found it hard to orient herself. After some distance, the weeds stood as tall as a person.
“Such bad luck,” Le Qianxue muttered, tossing her dagger to cut through the undergrowth, forging a path.
After a long trek in similar terrain, Le Qianxue frowned. If it went on like this, who knew when she’d get out.
She paused, looking back. Was that the sound of weapons clashing?
She stopped, then realized—she’d forgotten Zhan Lianjing!
Le Qianxue hurried back. She’d wandered in circles coming, but now, taking a straight path, she moved much faster.
Though the sun hadn’t set, the forest was already dim. Le Qianxue ran faster, only to trip over exposed tree roots!
With nothing to hold onto, she fell hard to the ground, scraping her palms painfully.
Gritting her teeth, Le Qianxue stood and pressed on.
Meanwhile, Zhan Lianjing held several small stones in both hands, launching them with precision!
But even when he hit his targets, the men did not fall!
Zhan Lianjing sat unmoving, brow furrowed at the strange sight.
Le Qianxue had been gone an hour and hadn’t returned. She must have abandoned him.
Heh, women truly are heartless. When life is at stake, they only care for themselves.
Zhan Lianjing fired again, but the men in black seemed impossible to kill. Ordinarily, his stones, imbued with inner force, would fell even skilled fighters.
He narrowed his eyes. These men appeared mysteriously and carried a peculiar scent. What could it mean?
Just then, one man’s sword came down, aiming straight for Zhan Lianjing’s head!
Zhan Lianjing tried to dodge but suddenly grimaced—his legs wouldn’t move. Leaning his upper body back, he narrowly escaped.
He snatched the sword and cleaved the attacker in two!
Yet no blood flowed; instead, a strange odor wafted out!
Zhan Lianjing held his breath, wary, hacking at others’ arms and legs.
Oddly, even limbless, the men crawled forward, intent on killing him.
How strange.
“Your Highness! Look out!” a voice shouted from nearby. Zhan Lianjing sensed danger behind him, twisted to dodge, but his arm was slashed!
Le Qianxue, breathless, had decapitated the assailant with her dagger!
The severed head rolled beside Zhan Lianjing, who was taken aback—Le Qianxue could be this fierce?
Sweating, Le Qianxue glanced at Zhan Lianjing. “Prince, don’t move.”
She took out her medicine kit, thankful she’d waterproofed it and kept it from getting soaked.
She sprinkled powder on the assassin’s head. A wisp of white smoke rose, and the strange smell Zhan Lianjing had noticed vanished.
He watched her powder with suspicion. “What is that?”
“Poison powder, lethal to gu insects,” Le Qianxue replied.
“Gu insects?” Zhan Lianjing was curious. “They’re infected?”
“Exactly. They’re being controlled by gu,” Le Qianxue explained.
Seeing Zhan Lianjing’s puzzled look, she pursed her lips, unsure how to explain. Saving him was a dilemma—either way, trouble would follow.
“Did Yuan Tianci give you that?” Zhan Lianjing asked.
Le Qianxue smiled, “Yes, Brother Tianci gave me many medicines for self-defense.”
She saw Zhan Lianjing’s left hand stained red with blood and quickly knelt to treat him.
She’d seen that Zhan Lianjing had tried to dodge, but in that instant, his legs wouldn’t work.
But she’d seen him move nimbly at Drunken Painting House before—how odd. Clearly, his act as a cripple had its reasons.
She checked his hand—a near miss to the tendon.
She sighed, “Prince, thankfully it’s not serious.”
Otherwise, in these rough conditions with limited medicine, his hand would have been ruined.
Though the sword was poisoned, it was nothing Le Qianxue couldn’t handle.
Zhan Lianjing watched her apply the medicine and asked, “Did Yuan Tianci teach you this as well?”
Le Qianxue answered offhandedly, “Yes.”
“Few can learn medicine from Yuan Tianci. Many envy you.”
“It’s all about fate,” Le Qianxue said suddenly, frowning—she’d almost forgotten her own scraped hand.
She endured the pain, finished bandaging Zhan Lianjing, then went to wash her hands. The clear water stung her wounds, nearly making her cry out. She rarely got hurt, so even this small injury hurt acutely.
After drying her hands, she was about to apply medicine when Zhan Lianjing said, “Give me your hand.”
“Hm?”
“I’ll medicate you.”
“Your hand is injured, Prince. I can manage myself.”
“My left hand is out of use, but my right is hardly crippled,” Zhan Lianjing said coldly.
He took her hand firmly and carefully applied powder, gently tending to her wound.
His face remained stoic and cold, yet Le Qianxue hadn’t expected him to be so gentle—actually giving medicine to others with such care.
“Why did you come back?” Zhan Lianjing suddenly asked.
“What?”
Le Qianxue didn’t grasp his meaning.
“You’d left. Why return? Didn’t you say being near me brings bad luck?”
Le Qianxue smiled, “I was only scouting ahead. Why wouldn’t I return?”
Though she’d never planned to abandon Zhan Lianjing, his survival offered her no benefit. If he discovered her true identity, she’d be doomed.
The only reason she ran back was to lower Zhan Lianjing’s guard, get close, and find the ancestral scroll to avenge Yin Susu.
Zhan Lianjing pondered a moment, gazing at her scraped palm, his eyes icy. He murmured, “For a young woman, isn’t self-preservation most important?”