The snowy night was dark and mysterious, with no lights between the mountain curtains, only endless snow in all directions.

"Giddy up... clatter... giddy up..."

"Hurry, there are our people ahead. This Song Army detachment has killed so many of us, if we let them escape, the king will never forgive us."

The flying hooves kicked up the ground’s dirt and snow. Unlike Chen Mo and his companions, their horses hadn’t been running non-stop for dozens of miles, so they were able to maintain a relatively fast pace.

A general brandished a long knife, and under the torchlight, his breath was visible. The surrounding soldiers didn’t look around for an ambush but instead followed the hoofprints on the ground, constantly pursuing.

They weren’t concerned about believing the Song Army would dare ambush in the surrounding mountains and forests at such a time.

They chased for an unknown number of miles, and the sound of hooves in front gradually faded. The general with the long knife immediately struck the horse’s belly with the back of his sword to speed up.

Though he didn’t believe there was an ambush, the general remained extremely cautious, using his ears to carefully discern any subtle movements around him.

Under the torchlight, there were no forks or anything unusual in the hoofprints on the road ahead, which meant this Song Army had not split up but was running forward as one.

The general slightly relaxed his guard, and just as he was about to pass by a big tree, he suddenly heard a thunderous shout.

Like a lightning bolt exploding near his ear, the general only felt a buzz in his ears, and the next moment, intense pain struck his chest as a long spear pierced into it, dragging him off his warhorse, snow spray flying, scraping a long mark on the snow.

"Who?"

The nearby soldiers immediately attacked, only to see a spear light flashing before them, and in the blink of an eye, several fell from their horses, their lives extinguished.

"There’s an ambush."

"Who’s there?"

The commotion immediately drew all the Desolate Kingdom soldiers over, surrounding Chen Mo to kill him.

This squad, nearly a thousand strong, was tasked with pursuit, and their orders were only to delay and not engage directly.

Thus, these nearly a thousand were merely ordinary Loulan troops.

Given Chen Mo’s current strength, only an army of ten thousand arranged in a battle array could pose a threat to him.

A thousand ants are not enough to shake him.

In less than half an hour, this squad entirely perished under his spear.

But before Chen Mo could catch his breath, he saw a large area of firelight appearing from the distance, indicating more pursuers were approaching.

Although Chen Mo wasn’t afraid of some minor soldiers, dealing with them would still deplete his True Qi. If it continued this way, he’d ultimately suffer the loss.

Thinking of this, Chen Mo didn’t plan to hold out any longer; he had already bought some time for Gao Zheng and the others. Next, it was time for him to slip away.

Chen Mo didn’t ride a horse; riding would only expose his whereabouts. If he were alone with Zhao Qianyi, with his strength, finding a weak point in the enemy’s encirclement to escape wasn’t an issue.

Most importantly, with Zhao Qianyi, he could use his body technique to leave no trace on the snow, but with the Snow Dragon Steed, this wasn’t possible.

He couldn’t very well carry both Zhao Qianyi and the Snow Dragon Steed.

...

"You are a good horse, they won’t kill you. If you can escape, that would be even better."

Chen Mo approached the Snow Dragon Steed, gently stroked its head, then removed its saddle and reins, and lightly slapped its flank.

In pain, the Snow Dragon Steed immediately galloped away into the distance.

Turning to the tree behind, he looked at the unconscious Zhao Qianyi. Chen Mo knelt down to check her pulse and then frowned, noticing her chest was stained red with blood, and her face was pale.

Summoning the Ancient Heavy Pupils, Chen Mo glanced and discovered her wound on the left chest had reopened.

"This is bad." Chen Mo slung his long spear over his back, holding the Heaven’s Question, then picked up Zhao Qianyi. Gathering True Qi to his feet, he lightly tapped his toes, and his figure sprinted away, leaving no trace in the snow.

He needed to find a place to settle Zhao Qianyi down, stop her bleeding, and get her something to eat.

Chen Mo found a bear cave and drove out the hibernating bear.

To his surprise, the cave was stocked with plenty of food—fruits, honey, and whatnot—clearly the bear’s winter stash.

All of it fell to his benefit.

Chen Mo gently laid Zhao Qianyi down, scooped a spoonful of clean snow, melted it with True Qi, and fed it to her lips.

"Princess, wake up, wake up..." Chen Mo gently patted her face, trying to wake her.

No matter how Chen Mo called, she did not wake up.

Having no choice, Chen Mo had to take matters into his own hands.

Whether by coincidence or otherwise, just as Chen Mo opened her clothes to wipe her skin and prepare to apply medicine, Zhao Qianyi faintly opened her eyes only to see Chen Mo placing his hand on her...

Chen Mo: "..."

"P-Princess, your wound has reopened... I’m going to apply the medicine..." Chen Mo withdrew his hand, handed her the wound healing medicine, and awkwardly said, "Since the princess... you’re awake, you can do it yourself."

After saying that, Chen Mo turned away.

"You do it... please."

"What?" Zhao Qianyi’s voice was so soft that Chen Mo thought he misheard.

"I... have no strength now, you better do it." Zhao Qianyi tried to lift her hand but felt weak and quickly said, "I... trust you."

Zhao Qianyi’s words left Chen Mo feeling a bit embarrassed. He turned back, squatted down in front of Zhao Qianyi, and said, "Princess, then... I must offend."

"Mm." Zhao Qianyi softly responded, a blush appearing on her pale face.

Though she had long been in the troops, mingling with men, because of what happened in the Imperial Palace, she was somewhat repulsed by men emotionally, hence she had never been physically close to a man all these years.

At over thirty, she was still a maiden, which was truly uncommon for a woman of this era.

Yet, what surprised her was that she didn’t dislike this young man who saw her body and handled her intimately, contrary to her usual emotional repulsion towards men.

On the contrary, a curious and unusual feeling arose within her, one she’d never experienced before.

"Princess, is there something on my face?"

Seeing Zhao Qianyi neither turn away nor close her eyes but look straight at him, intending to apply medicine to her wound, made Chen Mo feel a bit self-conscious.

Zhao Qianyi also noticed this and turned her head on the dry grass.

Seeing the enticing scene before him, Chen Mo inhaled deeply, then poured the wound healing medicine on her wound and spread it with his fingers.

"Ouch..."

Zhao Qianyi winced in pain, her pale thin lips pinched together, her sword-like brows knitted, and her eyelashes fluttering slightly.