Ju Nanyi took a long ti to organize his thoughts, like piecing together a shattered porcelain vase, bit by bit. As long as one is ticulous and patient, it appears flawless.
When Ju Nanyi ca back, he discovered that Zheng Nianru had already lain down on the rocks and fallen asleep. Her breathing was not steady and even stopped all movents suddenly at the sound of his footsteps.
Even if Ju Nanyi wanted to ignore the feigned sleeping breaths, even the trembling of her eyelashes, the poor acting couldn’t fool a ghost.
The man carelessly tossed aside the few wild fruits he had carefully picked from a tree on the cliff’s edge, as carelessly as he cherished them before.
Ju Nanyi went back out, uprooted a dead tree he had found earlier at the entrance of the cave, and dragged it back. This should suffice for the night.
The temperature slowly rose, until steady breathing sounds ca from the rock behind him. Only then did Ju Nanyi stand up and move to the stone’s edge. The woman sleeping before him still had her eyebrows knit together in discontent, her leg exposed. Ju Nanyi’s gaze grew colder by a lot. As long as the focus was not on the woman in front of him, he had enough willpower to control his mind; he was not so foolish as to be ruled by desire.
Ju Nanyi picked up the bamboo tube the woman had tossed aside. The tube was light, clearly the water inside had been drunk up, and the steady breathing of the woman also indicated that the residual effects of the dicine were fading away slowly.
Ju Nanyi boiled water again, then took the ti to tend to himself. His dislocated arm had started to numb from pain and had begun to swell. Therefore, they needed to find an exit quickly.
As night fell, a layer of black mist seed to envelop Weixing Mountain, and one couldn’t see their hand before their face. However, the mbers of the Fire Order Squad moving through Weixing Mountain were not affected in the slightest.
Having lived in Weixing Mountain for a long ti, they knew its terrain like the back of their hand.
"Lord, let’s hurry—" They had searched the foot of the mountain without finding a single corpse, and were now trapped here for a shichen by the Fire Order Squad, which had already started to leave. It was a good opportunity for them to escape.
"Let’s go—" The leader of the black-clothed people spoke coldly. The mission had failed, and since the Fire Order Squad had found nothing and had stopped searching, it would be futile for the three of them to remain.
"Lord, we have searched this area thoroughly. The three trees that fell as well as the surrounding several miles have been searched without finding any trace."
Upon hearing this, Yu Yuan anxiously threw the whip from his hand.
"How could the person just disappear like that? Lord Ju clearly left a signal up to this point." While grumbling, Yu Yuan examined the edge of the cliff once more.
People had fallen from this spot, but why was nothing found below?
"Lord, could soone have taken them away before us?" His subordinate dared not continue. Those capable of taking away Lord Ju and the Commandery Princess must be the sa people who captured the princess.
"No, it doesn’t make sense for them to take away Lord Ju." If Lord Ju had really fallen, those people would surely have killed him if they wanted to take the princess. Now, no body of Lord Ju had been found either.
"Moreover, their horses were abandoned on the rear mountain, it’s unreasonable to carry two people back." Yu Yuan imdiately added, still smart at this mont.
"Has soone been sent to watch over the cliff? Are there any findings?" Yu Yuan imdiately asked another question.
"The Crown Prince has arrived." Yu Yuan didn’t wait for an answer, all the n quickly gathered in the direction of Zheng Congyuan.
Zheng Congyuan’s face was icy as he dismounted and ca straight over to look at place from where they had fallen.
Qi Ling and Qi Zhu also had grim expressions on their faces. There was no longer any need to guess who the person behind the scenes was; it was clear what the Emperor’s intentions were in keeping Zheng Congyuan in the palace until now.
"How many horses were found?" Zheng Congyuan asked imdiately.
"Two, on the back of the mountain. Soone had discarded them there. There were no clues to be found on the horses; even the saddles were ordinary and common," Yu Yuan replied promptly.
Zheng Congyuan turned to look at Yu Yuan. There had been three people who entered the palace, with Qi Yu personally guarding them. Apart from them, no one had entered the palace in a dusty and weary state, so it was very likely that they hadn’t captured Zheng Nianru, or perhaps, they had hidden her sowhere else first.
However, given Emperor Jingzhi’s impulsive nature, he naturally wouldn’t bother to exert such effort. Being on the brink of death, his actions were becoming increasingly reckless. Zheng Congyuan guessed that they had not succeeded in capturing her because of Ju Nanyi’s presence.
Under such scrutiny from Zheng Congyuan, Yu Yuan suddenly felt a wave of panic.
"Another horse fell at the bottom of the cliff. It probably belongs to the thieves as well. The trail left by Lord Ju ends here. I suspect that Lord Ju and the Commandery Princess fell down with the horse," Yu Yuan quickly added.
Zheng Congyuan’s face was stone-cold. One didn’t need to tell him all this; guards had already relayed all the details on the way here. What he needed was information he wasn’t already aware of.
"There’s a river at the bottom of the cliff. I’ve already sent n to search along the river," Yu Yuan said, as if sensing that his explanations hadn’t convinced the Crown Prince, he quickly offered additional information.
Zheng Congyuan couldn’t believe what the outco would be for anyone falling from here. Fortunately, there was still Ju Nanyi. He trusted that Ju Nanyi was well aware of how vital Princess Chao Ren was to his faction. He had subtly ntioned this nurous tis, so that at a crucial mont, Ju Nanyi would do everything in his power to protect Zheng Nianru.
"Are there any cave openings on the cliff?" Qi Ling suddenly asked. If there really were no clues found below, could it be possible?
"No, we’ve combed through this area countless tis," Yu Yuan responded imdiately. That left only one possibility: that the Commandery Princess and Lord Ju had been taken away by the bandits before they fell.
Zheng Congyuan was anxious and restless. He believed that they were still at Weixing Mountain, which was why he had rushed over without stopping. Ju Nanyi wouldn’t allow anyone to be captured so easily. But why couldn’t they find them?
Faint lights of fire were visible in the distance, accompanied by the sounds of wailing that were eerie on the ominous Weixing Mountain.
Yu Yuan, feeling awkward, nevertheless had to pluck up his courage to speak.
"Prince Duan took a team and is personally searching in the mountains," he said.
At this point, Zheng Congyuan couldn’t afford to worry about the details; he was grasping at straws to steady his mind. Everything in the palace was being monitored by others; unless the person was dead, they couldn’t enter the palace, and Emperor Jingzhi couldn’t leave, which gave him so peace of mind. His only fear was that Nian Ru had been injured and was lying sowhere unknown to them. With every minute they delayed, Nian Ru was one step closer to death.
"Search all paths again, lower ropes down here, and see if any clues can be found on the cliff walls," Zheng Congyuan ordered coldly. The cold wind cut through him as if it were slicing his flesh, and Zheng Congyuan would rather die by a thousand cuts than endure another mont of tornt.
"Your Highness—" The arrival was Qi Min, who glanced around before approaching.
"Your Highness, we’ve found so clues where the ambush took place and captured soone," Qi Min said.
Zheng Congyuan imdiately turned to Qi Min.
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