Your Highness, Please Love Me Tender

148. Prince Xian Is in a Mess (1)

Translator: Flying Lines

“Then let’s go find Jiale,” said Yue Wanzhi immediately after hearing Vice-general Yan’s words.

In contrast, Su Jie was a lot more rational and he considered the situation more thoughtfully. After all, Su Jie had narrowly escaped death many times when carrying out missions, so he was more experienced than Yue Wanzhi.

He asked, “If the elite soldiers go to the Mount Zangling, how many of them will survive?”

Vice-general Yan thought about it for a while and answered, “80%.”

“80%…” Su Jie pondered for a moment and ordered, “Pick out 20 elite soldiers who have gone to Mount Zangling. Tell them to take the powder that could drive away the poisonous snakes and the antidotes. I’ll go to Mount Zangling with them.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Vice-general Yan strode out to pick out 20 most excellent soldiers. The soldiers that Vice-general Yan remembered were all the best soldiers. However, even with them following Su Jie, Vice-general Yan was still a little worried. After all, the safety of the ruler of a country was the most important and he could never be too careful with it.

“The most important task of your mission today is to protect the plain-clothed young man and to obey his orders. Even if all of you die in Mount Zangling, you can’t let him get in any kind of danger. Do you all understand?” Vice-general Yan said loudly.

“Yes, sir!” The twenty elite soldiers all replied loudly and seriously.

After getting the powder and the antidotes ready, Vice-general Yan ordered nearly a thousand elite soldiers to set off immediately to surround Mount Zangling.

Only after all that was done did Vice-general Yan return to the military camp to report to Su Jie.

“Thank you,” Su Jie patted Vice-general Yan’s shoulder before leaving.

Vice-general Yan’s body trembled. He knew that it was a way of the Emperor to show his satisfaction with how he handled this matter. Though feeling great joy in his heart, he still remained respectful and cautious.

“Come back safely, Your Majesty.”

*

Mount Zangling.

From afar, the mountain looked like a giant.

The towering mountains with its wild profusion of vegetation seemed to be connected to the horizon, stretching out with majestic and magnificent scenery.

There were many herbs in Mount Zangling, so some physicians would bring their apprentices here to collect them, but they only dared to pick the herbs at the foot of Mount Zangling. Only the braver ones would go up the mountain.

There were many trees in Mount Zangling, so there would be woodmen coming here to cut wood. However, because there were also venomous serpents and wild beasts in the mountain, many woodmen lost their lives here.

There was a cliff in Mount Zangling, and many people fell off it, with their bodies buried under it for eternity.

Yesterday afternoon, Xiao ShengXian had fallen off the cliff.

When Xiao ShengXian saw a colorful flower growing in the crevice of the cliff, he was overjoyed. He thought that a flower that could survive in the crevice must be a rare flower which could be used as medicine. And perhaps it might be some special medicine.

At that thought, Xiao ShengXian rolled up his sleeves, carefully half-knelt on the cliff, and then extended his arm to pick the flower.

He shouldn’t have fallen, but there was a slight sound of wind blowing the grasses behind him.

Xiao ShengXian turned around and saw a starving wolf staring at him with fierce eyes. In horror, Xiao ShengXian’s body fell forward. And he fell off the cliff.

And, the second before he fell, he reached out and picked up the flower.

“Holy crap, I’m gonna die here just to pick up a flower.” In the blink of an eye, all sorts of thoughts crossed Xiao ShengXian’s mind. He wasn’t a very good martial artist, but at least he had been trained before, so his body was more sturdy and powerful than those who farmed all year round. When he fell down, his survival instinct was stimulated as his hands swept by the steep rocks. He didn’t stop his desperate attempt to catch something until his originally-white-jade-like hands started to bleed like hell.

Finally he grabbed a rock that stuck out and stopped falling.

His blood dyed the stone red and the soil rubbed against his hand. The sharp stone made his wounds hurt even more. All of this made Xiao ShengXian feel miserable.

The flower that he’d picked was also squeezed into a pile of mud while he fell off, but Xiao ShengXian could not care less about that.

“No, I can’t die here,” Xiao ShengXian’s hands gradually became weak. He looked down and saw a stone. Then he loosened his hands and landed on the stone.

However, he was now in a very awkward position. The distance between him and the bottom of the cliff was about the same as that between him and the top of the cliff. He would either climb up with his bare hands or fall down.

Xiao ShengXian looked at his bloody hands and looked up at the sun which was gradually setting in the west. He couldn’t help but cry out in sorrow.

He’d heard that there were many valuable herbs in Mount Zangling. Although he didn’t know much about herbs, he knew that his brother would be happy at the sight of those rare herbs. Therefore, he recognized a few precious herbs, took some powder to drive away the snakes and some antidotes, and came to Mount Zangling alone.

Xiao ShengXian didn’t know the way, so he deliberately tied some thin red threads to the trees at intervals.

Although Xiao ShengXian knew that Yue Wanzhi might come to find him, he didn’t have the habit of relying on others in terms of his own safety.

“If Yue Wanzhi finds out that I haven’t gone back, maybe he’ll bring someone to look for me tonight?” Xiao ShengXian thought for a moment and then shook his head. He decided to rely on himself. After all, he was still in an extremely dangerous position.

If he accidentally fell, he would be crushed.

“Damn it!” Xiao ShengXian gritted his teeth and moved a few steps parallel. He looked down at a tree growing below and loosened his hand, letting his body fall down.

All he heard was the sound of wind howling.

The strong current of the wind made it difficult for him to breathe. His originally enchanting eyes narrowed into a crack and his brain went blank for a moment. Fortunately, he was hung up by the tree growing out of the cliff.

Xiao ShengXian gasped heavily as his whole body lay on a branch, feeling that he had just had a brush with death.

But he hasn’t reached the bottom of the cliff yet, and the tree was just a stop for him to take a break.

It wasn’t until the sun had set that Xiao ShengXian let go of the tree and let his body fall again. His robes were stained with his blood, and his abdomen and knees were also scratched from his previous fallings. Xiao ShengXian’s body got numb from the burning pain.

He might’ve intended to get out of Mount Zangling on his own, but after he’d fallen at the bottom the cliff, he started to yearn for someone to save him.

His body was almost broken, and the feelings of pain and hunger were torturing him as each second went by.

Xiao ShengXian felt dizzy and he stared blankly at the sky.

Even though the sun had set, there was still gorgeous evening glow in the sky.

Xiao ShengXian’s eyes are a little blurred. He wanted to stand up. After all, the blood on his body would attract beasts, but he seemed to have lost his ability to move and he didn’t want to move at all.

“Yue Wanzhi, if you don’t come to find me again, I will be the food of the beasts here…” Xiao ShengXian murmured before he passed out.

By the time he woke up, the moon was already in the night sky and the stars were twinkling.

Xiao ShengXian pulled himself together. He knew that he had to figure out a way to survive the night in this mountain and find a way out the next day.

Otherwise, he would die here. The historical records of State YanHui might only mention his existence with a few words, or no words at all.

He must live and watch his brother reign in State YanHui.

He would be the strongest support for his brother. He couldn’t die here.

Xiao ShengXian had never been so determined his whole life. All he could think of right now was: stay alive.

He must live!

Xiao ShengXian looked ruthless and stubborn. He didn’t know how hard and yet how lucky it was for him to survive the night.

After that night, Yue Wanzhi found that Xiao ShengXian did not return to the camp.

Had Su Jie not come to see Yue Wanzhi, Yue Wanzhi alone might not be able to find Xiao ShengXian. However, with Su Jie and 20 elite soldiers, the probability of Xiao ShengNian being found was much higher.