The Northern Song Dynasty returned south, seeking the truth of the Dao.

Wang Huanzhen vaguely remembered that Song Dynasty soldiers weren't particularly good fighters. But he hadn't expected them to be this incompetent. The city fell with just one charge from the Jurchens.

Although he didn't know how long the battle had lasted before he arrived, only an hour had passed since he came down the mountain. Keep in mind, this was a defensive battle, not an assault.

Wang Zhenhuan, without a moment to reflect, hurriedly climbed down the eaves. Back in the woodshed, seeing Lin Qingyan resting with her eyes closed, he couldn't bear to wake her.

After thinking for a moment, he ran into the yard and found the two collapsed gates on the ground. He propped them up and leaned them against the gate frame, barely managing to close the gate.

By this time, the fire in the courtyard was almost extinguished. Wang Zhen originally wanted to take some wood from the fire to start a new one. However, after thinking about it, he gave up the idea and even ran back to the gate.

He then laid the two gates that had been propped up back down. He did this for no other reason than to prevent the Jurchens from discovering his presence. After the city fell, their first thought would undoubtedly be to take over the city.

After taking control of the city's defenses, they will clean up the battlefield. If the Jurchen soldiers cleaning up the battlefield notice anything unusual here, they will definitely come to search. Therefore, after careful consideration, Wang Huanzhen lowered the gate back down.

He stood in the courtyard, constantly thinking and observing, trying not to miss any detail that might expose them. Everything he did had only one purpose: to buy time for Lin Qingyan.

Yes, that's right. He decided to stay at the farm for the night. Lin Qingyan's health was one issue; although she had stopped the bleeding, half of the arrow was still lodged in her body.

In this situation, if she were to undertake a long journey that caused the wound to tear, there would be no other medicine to stop the bleeding. That's one point, and the second is what I just mentioned.

The Jurchens should be busy taking over the city's defenses now, and based on Wang Huanzhen's experience, the Jurchens have basically left no one alive in the places they've passed through during their southward march, so they most likely won't be out cleaning up the battlefield tonight.

After all, the Jurchens were human too; they fought all night and into the afternoon, and even the strongest men need rest. So, after much deliberation, Wang Zhen made this decision. He didn't know if his decision was right or wrong.

He knew that he could never accept Lin Qingyan dying in front of him. Moreover, Lin Qingyan had already agreed to be his wife, and he should protect her with his life.

This was something a man, a husband, should and must do. After considering all the details, Wang Huanzhen returned to the woodshed and looked at Lin Qingyan lying quietly on the ground.

Although her face was still pale, her lips had regained some color. This indicated that the yellow powder from before had worked. And that powder was none other than cattail pollen.

Cattail pollen is a traditional Chinese medicine, the dried pollen of the Typha orientalis plant (Typha latifolia). The Shennong's Classic of Materia Medica records that cattail pollen treats cold and heat in the heart, abdomen, and bladder; promotes urination; stops bleeding; and dissipates blood stasis.

Moreover, the place where cattail pollen is produced happens to be present-day Shandong Province, in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang area. This matches their current location perfectly. This is also why Wang Zhenhuan was happy to see this powder before.

Wang Zhenhuan lowered his head and gently kissed Lin Qingyan's forehead. Then, holding his curved sword, he quietly left the woodshed, closing the door behind him. He stepped out of the courtyard and glanced at the battlefield in the distance.

The battlefield was littered with corpses, and the autumn wind carried a thick stench of blood. After confirming that no one else was on the battlefield, Wang Zhenhuan headed into the mountains. The two had been walking for almost two days without eating.

Lin Qingyan suffered another external injury and lost a lot of blood. She would definitely need to eat when she woke up, so after much deliberation, Wang Zhenhuan decided to go into the mountains. Even if he couldn't catch any prey, he would at least bring back some fruit.

He walked shirtless towards the mountains he had come from, and soon saw the familiar river. As mentioned before, this river was the Wen River. Wang Huanzhen stood on the riverbank.

Looking at the crystal-clear river water, a sudden, inexplicable sadness welled up inside him. How wonderful it would be if people could live as carefree as these fish. Just as he was worrying about how to catch a few fish...

Suddenly, a corpse floated downstream. The body was whitish from being submerged and looked like a Jin dynasty soldier. Wang Huanzhen jumped into the river and pulled the body out.

He searched the man thoroughly and found only a few taels of silver. He spat lightly, marveling at how poor the golden man was. Then he stripped off the golden man's fur-lined outer garment.

The clothes were probably made of wool; they became incredibly heavy when wet, and Wang Zhen had almost failed to hold onto the floating corpse. He wrung out the coat and then put it on.

The icy feeling sent a shiver down his spine. But something was better than nothing, and this wasn't the time to be picky. He comforted himself with that thought.

Turning his head, he saw a wild rabbit standing in the grass not far away, tilting its head to look at him. Wang Zhenhuan was overjoyed, drew his curved sword, and hurled it at the rabbit.

Snapped--

The scimitar fell limply to the ground, startling the hare. It turned and disappeared into the bushes. Wang Zhen walked over and picked up the scimitar, his heart filled with self-reproach.

His action not only scared the rabbit away, but also potentially dashed Lin Qingyan's hopes of survival. This left him extremely frustrated, and he even considered giving up.

Although this thought is shallow, it cannot be ignored. He looked up at the sky, took a deep breath, and adjusted his mindset. Humans are easily emotional creatures.

Different environments lead to different states of mind. Like now, the continuous escapes and struggles on the brink of life and death have left him almost breathless.

Therefore, at this moment, he viewed everything he encountered with a pessimistic attitude. This attitude did not originate from within him, but was influenced by his surrounding environment and his circumstances.

He understood this himself, so he tried hard to adjust his mindset. Lin Qingyan was hurt entirely because of him. Therefore, he had no reason, nor the right, to give up.

Back in the Taoist temple, he had promised Lin Qingyan that he would take her south with him. As a man, once a promise is made, it must be kept. This is a man's most basic dignity.

After a moment of self-redemption, Wang Zhen got up from the ground, took his curved knife, and walked towards the direction where the rabbit had disappeared. As soon as he parted the bushes, he laughed happily.

Hidden among the withered yellow bushes was a round nest made of dry grass. Inside the nest, six white eggs could be vaguely seen; judging by their size, they must be duck eggs!