The old woman finished cooking the meat soup and served a large bowl to each soldier. These rough men had seconds, finishing the entire pot of meat soup.

When Zhu Yanyu saw that Brother Lin gave half a bowl of meat soup to Zhu Xiangyu, she was anxious to the point of madness. She couldn’t find an excuse to stop her brother, but fortunately, Zhu Xiangyu remembered his sister. After taking a few sips and eating a piece of meat, he secretly brought the rest of the meat soup to her when no one was looking.

“Sister, you drink.”

“Xiangyu!” She grabbed her brother’s shoulders tightly. “Tell me honestly, how much of this soup have you drunk?”

Zhu Xiangyu was startled by her anxious expression and stammered, “Only a little, sister. I didn’t forget about you. I saved this soup for you, and there are still several pieces of chicken meat in it.”

Zhu Yanyu finally breathed a sigh of relief. She took the bowl and poured out all the meat soup.

Zhu Xiangyu was shocked. “Sister…”

“Shh.” Zhu Yanyu quickly covered his mouth. “Don’t make a sound.”

Zhu Xiangyu didn’t understand but immediately closed his mouth, looking at his sister with questioning eyes.

“This soup can’t be drunk.” Zhu Yanyu lowered her voice and slipped a sharp stone into her brother’s pocket. “Don’t sleep tonight. Stay alert. I’ll come find you later.”

Zhu Xiangyu guessed what his sister was planning and widened his eyes in surprise.

Zhu Yanyu gave him a warning look, squeezed his hand, and told him to take the empty bowl back. Then, she silently prayed in her heart.

Please, God, let those soldiers get poisoned! Please, please…

Perhaps God heard her plea. Half an hour later, the soldiers who had drunk the meat soup began to show symptoms, vomiting and having diarrhea.

They didn’t suspect poisoning, thinking they had eaten something unclean. They ran back and forth to the woods, purging until they were completely exhausted.

That night, they all slept deeply. Even the guards dozed off by the campfire.

After confirming that everyone was asleep, Zhu Yanyu took out the sharp stone she had hidden in her pocket. She struggled to cut the rope around her hands and then quietly got up, sneaking into her brother’s tent.

Zhu Xiangyu had already cut his own rope and was waiting for his sister. Seeing a slender figure outside the tent, he cautiously slipped out.

The siblings met up and fled together into the depths of the forest.

However, the forest was much larger than Zhu Yanyu had imagined. The siblings walked for half the night, and it was almost dawn, but they still hadn’t found their way out of the forest.

If they continued like this, they would likely be caught before they could escape.

Zhu Yanyu looked up at the brightening sky, gritted her teeth, and found a hidden tree hollow. She and her brother hid inside—

Near the northeastern border city, a military camp was permanently stationed. That day, dozens of horsemen rushed out of the camp. They were all dressed in black armor with silver cloud patterns on their chests. The leader was not only dressed entirely in black but also rode a black horse. As the horse galloped, its mane shimmered, and its posture was magnificent.

Suddenly, a scout reported from ahead, and the leading man raised his right hand, signaling everyone to stop.

“Forgive me for being late, Commander,” the scout, a young officer, said respectfully, half-kneeling before the man.

“Stand up and speak,” the man said coldly, his voice as cool as jade.

“Yes.” The young officer stood up, first glancing at his superior with admiration, then clearing his throat. “I have found out that the Prince of An’s eldest son left the city in a hurry last night and headed south. He should be on the official road about thirty miles ahead.” He paused and added, “The eldest son left in a hurry and secretly, with only about thirty people accompanying him.”

About thirty people.

The man sneered. With the strength of his personal guards, who could fight ten men each, eliminating those thirty-odd men would be as easy as taking candy from a baby. That eldest son of the Prince of An shouldn’t have been so arrogant as to smuggle ginseng while leading the envoy to Goryeo. Moreover, when the man’s trusted aide, who had been sent to accompany the envoy, discovered this, the eldest son killed him to silence him.

Everyone knew that the man was aloof and unsociable, but he was extremely protective of his subordinates. That eldest son of the Prince of An dared to harm his trusted aide, which was a death sentence.

“Go!” A single, concise word, yet it exuded a terrifying aura of slaughter.

The previously clear sky instantly darkened, foreshadowing the impending storm.

Zhu Yanyu was about to collapse.

That night, she escaped with her brother, and at dawn, they hid in a tree hollow in the forest. As expected, not long after, three or four soldiers came searching and scoured the area. They angrily blamed each other for their negligence and left in a huff.

At that time, Zhu Yanyu huddled in the tree hollow with her brother, both of them holding their breath, not daring to make a sound, afraid of being discovered.

After the soldiers left, they picked some wild fruits to fill their stomachs and continued to hide in the tree hollow for another day and night. Only when they were sure that the group had given up and left the camp did they cautiously emerge.

They walked for several hours, finally exiting the forest, only to find a vast wilderness ahead with no sign of any dwellings. All they saw was a dusty road stretching out, eerily silent.

It was then that Zhu Yanyu noticed something was wrong with her brother—he had a high fever. Previously, he had not been feeling well but had forced himself to keep up with his sister. Now, on the main road, he finally collapsed.

Zhu Yanyu panicked and took out the wild fruits she had saved to feed her brother, but he couldn’t swallow a single bite.

“Thirsty… water…” Zhu Xiangyu murmured in pain.

“Okay, okay, Xiangyu, wait patiently. Sister will find water for you.” She placed her brother under a tree, leaning him against the trunk to rest. She searched the area for half an hour but couldn’t find any water source.

When she returned to her brother’s side, she was exhausted and could barely walk. She held her brother in her arms and tried to squeeze out some juice from the wild fruits to feed him.

But how could a few drops of fruit juice alleviate his high fever? There was no one around, and even if she found a doctor, she had no money to pay for her brother’s treatment.

Were they, brother and sister, destined to die in this wilderness?

Was her fate, after traveling through time, to die again in this unknown time and space?

“Xiangyu, it’s all sister’s fault. If sister were smarter, we wouldn’t be stuck here… But don’t be afraid. Even if we die, sister will be with you. We’ll be together on the road to the afterlife, so we won’t be lonely, right?”