I started as a concubine, and I made the crown prince cry with my delicious food.

Southern Xinjiang.

The turbulent river, like an angry dragon, roared and crashed against the rocks on both banks.

On the riverbank, a man lay there, soaking wet, with a hideous wound on his forehead still oozing blood, staining half of his handsome face red.

His silver armor was tattered and covered with marks from sword cuts and axe strikes, mixed with mud and blood, making it unrecognizable.

After an unknown amount of time, his slender fingers twitched slightly.

Then, he slowly opened his eyes.

What a bewildered pair of eyes they were.

Like a newborn baby seeing the world for the first time, filled with confusion, unfamiliarity, and a hidden sense of wariness.

who am I?

where am I?

What happened?

Countless questions swirled in his mind, but his brain was like a jumbled mess of paste, completely blank.

He felt a splitting headache, as if his head was about to explode.

He struggled to sit up, only to find that all the bones in his body felt like they were falling apart, and the slightest movement brought excruciating pain.

He looked down at himself.

The armor was tattered, and the body was covered in wounds.

Clearly, he had been through a fierce battle.

But he couldn't remember.

I can't remember who the enemy is, nor can I remember who my comrades are.

He couldn't even remember his own name.

Just then, a thought, without warning yet with perfect clarity, emerged from the depths of his chaotic thoughts.

"Back to Beijing..."

Return to Beijing!

He didn't know where "Kyoto" was, nor did he know why he wanted to go back.

But this obsession was like a brand, deeply etched into his mind, becoming his only, overwhelming desire at this moment.

He has to go back.

He used all his strength to struggle up from the cold riverbank and leaned against a huge rock, panting.

He looked around.

Unfamiliar mountains and forests, unfamiliar rivers, everything is unfamiliar.

Where should he go?

He held his forehead, trying hard, desperately trying to find even the slightest clue from that blank memory.

But the more he thought about it, the more his head ached.

Fragmented, chaotic images flashed before his eyes like lightning.

Clashing swords and thunderous battle cries...

A gentle, tearful voice whispered in my ear, "Take care of yourself..."

A smiling face proudly showed him a red mark on the back of her hand...

"An An..."

He subconsciously murmured a name.

Who is An An?

Why does his heart feel a mix of soreness and pain, as if it's being gripped tightly by an invisible hand, just by uttering that name?

He couldn't remember.

All he knew was that the name was important to him.

Perhaps, "京" is where "黯黯" is.

He leaned on the rocks and stood up unsteadily.

He had to leave; he had to find his way back to the capital.

Just then, a clear bell sound and women's laughter came from the woods not far away.

He immediately became alert and instinctively tried to find a weapon, but only managed to touch a broken sword hilt.

He dragged his badly injured body behind a boulder and held his breath.

Soon, a group of women dressed in bright colors, completely different from the clothing of the Central Plains, walked out of the forest laughing and joking.

Their skin was a healthy wheat color, and they wore various silver ornaments on their heads, which jingled as they walked.

Leading the group was an extremely beautiful young girl, who looked no more than sixteen or seventeen years old. She wore a fiery red dress, and her head was adorned with magnificent feathers and a silver crown. Her eyes and brows exuded a wildness and charm unique to the children of the grasslands, untamed and delicate.

"Princess, look how clear the water in this river is! Shall we wash our faces here?" a maid suggested.

The girl, referred to as "princess," nodded and was about to walk towards the river when her gaze inadvertently swept over the marks on the ground.

Those were bloodstains from being dragged.

She raised an eyebrow and followed the direction of the bloodstains, finally fixing her gaze on the boulder where Xiao Jingshi was hiding.

"Who's there? Come out!" she shouted sharply, drawing a finely crafted scimitar from her waist.

The guards behind her immediately became alert and surrounded her.

Xiao Jingshi knew he could no longer hide it.

He's in such a state that he can barely walk, let alone resist.

He took a deep breath and stepped out from behind the boulder.

When his tall, disheveled figure appeared before the group of barbarian women, an eerie silence instantly fell over the scene.

Everyone was stunned.

They had never seen such a handsome man.

Even though he was covered in blood, pale, and had a terrible wound on his forehead, it could not conceal his perfectly sculpted features, as if carved by a god, or the innate noble air about him that could not be hidden by his disheveled appearance.

He was like a wounded lion who had strayed into the mortal world—dangerous, yet possessing a deadly allure.

The princess named Yue Zhuo's eyes lit up instantly.

When she looked at Xiao Jingshi, her eyes were like those of a hungry wolf eyeing its most delicious prey.

She sheathed her scimitar and walked towards him step by step, a blatantly aggressive smile on her face.

"Who are you? Where are you from?" Her Central Plains dialect was a little stiff, but very fluent.

Xiao Jingshi looked at her warily, without answering.

He couldn't remember.

Yue Zhuo didn't mind. She circled around him as if admiring a rare treasure.

"He's really handsome." She reached out her hand, wanting to touch his face.

Xiao Jingshi subconsciously turned his head to avoid it.

Instead of getting angry, Yue Zhuo laughed even more happily.

"He's got a temper." She turned to her men and ordered, "Take him back and find the best witch doctor to treat his wounds."

"Princess, this person's origins are unknown, and he is dressed as a Central Plains person. I'm afraid..." a guard captain warned worriedly.

"I don't care who he is." Yue Zhu waved her hand domineeringly, staring intently at Xiao Jingshi, and announced, "From today onwards, he is mine."

Several guards stepped forward, trying to restrain Xiao Jingshi.

Although Xiao Jingshi was weak, his inherent pride prevented him from being manipulated. He struggled, trying to resist.

But his severely injured body was no match for the strong and powerful barbarian warriors.

He was quickly subdued, his vision went black, and he fell into a coma again.

Before losing consciousness, his last thought was:

Back to Beijing...

Anh...