After being thoroughly violated, he ran away with the enemy emperor's child.

"Xiao Qing, take this letter to the usual place."

Xiao Qing is his attendant, who has been with him for almost ten years, running errands and doing odd jobs for him on a daily basis.

After giving Xiaoqing her instructions, Xue Wu went to the Imperial Hospital, completely unaware that Xiaoqing had sent out both letters.

By the time he realized it, almost two hours had passed.

"...Never mind."

The die is cast; since both letters have already been sent, there's nothing he can do about it.

I just hope everything goes smoothly, so my junior brother won't get excited for nothing.

The letter was delivered to Zhao Kingdom by fast horse. The two countries traded with each other, and people often went back and forth at the border to deliver letters or some novelties.

A month ago, the Zhao Kingdom soldiers withdrew, and trade, which had been suspended for half a month, resumed. Everything seemed to have returned to normal.

But in the hearts of the people, war remains a sharp blade hanging over their minds, ready to stab them at any moment.

Meanwhile, in the territory of Zhao Kingdom, Mo Yan was riding his snow-covered horse on his way. He had only rested for an hour the night before, and was now rushing to Yong Kingdom.

He was traveling alone, lightly equipped, and his route was unpredictable; in other words, no one could find him now.

Of course, he was unaware that someone was looking for him; his entire attention was drawn to the figure in the distance, leaving him no room for anything else.

After another day of travel, he stopped to rest.

Ta Xue was grazing nearby, while he sat on a rock and tilted his head back to drink a large gulp of water.

Ahead lay the border between the two countries. He gazed at the mountain peaks and saw the miasma-filled mountain.

The words "Mo Yan, go back" rang in Mo Yan's ears again. He clenched the water bag tightly and remained silent.

A feeling of "being apprehensive as one approaches home" arose within him. He looked at the miasma mountain again and couldn't help but wonder: how did Aci lead people through it back then?

What the world saw as a dead end was, at that time, Aci's only way to survive.

Perhaps he shouldn't have sent troops to block the other intersections...

In that case, Aci wouldn't take any risks.

A deep sense of regret filled Mo Yan's heart. He touched the brocade pouch in his arms, took out a strand of hair from inside, and sniffed it.

He suddenly dared not go any further.

He sat there, lost in thought for a long time, until his legs started to go numb before he stood up.

His reflection was mirrored in the river. Mo Yan looked down and saw his "disheveled" appearance.

His hair was a mess, he had dark circles under his eyes, and his eyes were bloodshot...

If Aci saw this, she would definitely be disgusted.

He washed his face, tidied his hair, and then mounted his horse.

Ta Xue headed towards the border line again. Mo Yan remained calm, thinking to himself: No matter the outcome, he had to see him.

As for the rest, we'll talk about it when we meet Aci.

"drive!"

Running through the snow on the path, Mo Yan arrived at the border between the two countries, but did not easily move forward.

The soldiers guarding the city of Yong had seen him before; if he were to approach them easily, his true identity would surely be discovered.

At that time... not to mention infiltrating Yong Kingdom to find Aci, he'll probably be riddled with bullets.

Thinking of this, he patted Taxue's head: "Go find a place and wait for me to come back for you."

"..."

Ta Xue glanced at him sideways, then slowly turned and walked away.

After it left, Mo Yan took out the medicinal herbs he carried with him, mixed them according to the proportions, and finally applied them to his face.

Soon, his appearance changed so much that even if Wu Xu and Wu Jue were there, they would not recognize him.

After packing the remaining medicinal herbs into his bag, Mo Yan changed into ordinary robes and headed towards the city gate.

Walking down the street, he couldn't help but recall an incident that happened when he was eight years old—

That day, he encountered a disheveled old man outside the palace. Upon seeing him, the old man's eyes lit up: "Little boy."

"I see that you have excellent aptitude. If you become my disciple, you will surely achieve all your wishes."

"..."

Mo Yan ignored him and walked past him. Today was his first day back in Zhao from Yong, but he had forgotten everything in Yong yesterday.

The toxins in his body were still there. Before he left, his father had said that if the Yong Kingdom did not want war, it would do everything it could to save him, but now it seemed...

It was just wishful thinking on the part of the Emperor.

He knew that his father did not truly want to save him; these words were merely a ploy to persuade him to go to Yong Kingdom. After all, a prince suffering from severe poisoning was no longer of any use to him.

The world is so vast, it seems there is no place for Mo Yan to hide.

Suddenly, a small figure flashed through his mind, but he couldn't grasp it.

In a daze, he felt as if he had forgotten a very important promise.

"Little baby."

The old man followed behind him: "I never lie. As long as you become my disciple, I will definitely find a way to remove the poison from your body."

"..."

Mo Yan stopped, his gaze towards the old man now filled with wariness: "Who are you?"

"I am the master of Medicine King Valley, have you heard of it?" He stroked his beard, exuding the air of an immortal.

"Never heard of it," Mo Yan said coldly.

"..."

The old man choked for a moment, then said, "Anyway, I can find a way to cure the poison in your body."

"The poison you've been afflicted with is extremely rare, and only the snow lotus can cure it. But I have a few methods; do you dare to try them?"

"Can you really cure the poison in my body?"

"To be honest, I'm not sure."

"..."

Mo Yan turned to leave, but was stopped again: "Uncertainty contains two possibilities. How will you know if you can do it if you don't try?"

"Trying it at least offers a chance of antidote; not trying just means waiting to die, right?"

Mo Yan was silent for a few seconds, then said, "I'll go with you."

He ran away secretly, but even if he disappeared, his father wouldn't send anyone to look for him.

"That's right!"

The old man smiled broadly and led him to a courtyard. "Sit here for a while, I'll prepare some medicinal herbs."

"Um."

Sitting on a stone bench in the courtyard, Mo Yan heard the gate behind him being pushed open, followed by a helpless voice: "Master, why did you bring another child back?"

"Ah Wu, this is different!"

"...You say that every time."

"This is really different, you'll see in a moment."

With her master acting all mysterious, Xue Wu had no choice but to approach Mo Yan and ask, "Whose child are you?"

"..."

Mo Yan glanced at him, then lowered his eyes and remained silent.

"So indifferent?"

Xue Wu raised an eyebrow, looking at his blackened lips: "He was poisoned, yet he's still alive."

"Kid, you're very lucky to be alive."

He stroked his chin. "A poison that could interest Master so much... could it be..."

Suddenly realizing something, he exclaimed in surprise, "Could it be the Ashes of Life?!"

Floating Life Ash is a deadly poison that he had only seen in medical books. It is said that only the sacred Snow Lotus can cure those who are poisoned by Floating Life Ash.

"No wonder, no wonder..."

He had a guess, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw his master preparing a tub of medicinal bath. He then called out, "Little one, come here."

The medicinal bath was dark and smelled foul. Mo Yan could even see black and green snakes swimming in it.

"The poison you have been afflicted with is too stubborn; it must be treated with poison to be effective."

Xue Wu explained from the side, "If it were an ordinary poison, a medicinal bath would be enough to cure it, but you've been poisoned by the Floating Life Ash, so..."

"Even my master and I don't know if we can solve it."

"It's alright."

Mo Yan calmly said, "Anyway, there can't be any worse outcome."