She Holds the World After Being Reborn-Chapter 577 - 576: Return Home, No One Can Be Left Behind
Hearing that she planned to poison Xiao Pingfeng, Yan Li’an pondered for a while and nodded. "This indeed is a method, but you must find Xiaoliu first."
"Xiaoliu isn’t home?" asked Yan Wanqing, furrowing her brows. "Has she gone out to gain experience?"
"Ever since our sister encountered trouble, she has always felt that it was her own fault, so she left with her medicine box. The last letter was from half a year ago, and despite our efforts, we found nothing," Yan Hongzhao said, worry written all over her face. "I don’t know where Xiaoliu is now."
"With Hong Wu accompanying her, she won’t run into trouble," Yan Li’an was relatively calm about it.
He held an inexplicable trust in his sixth sister, believing that even if everyone from the Yan Family were betrayed, Xiaoliu wouldn’t be.
Hearing that Hong Wu was with Yan Lingzhen, Yan Wanqing finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"When I return, I will personally go find Xiaoliu."
Upon hearing this, Yan Li’an immediately dismissed the idea without a second thought. "Forget it, please don’t. What if Xiaoliu comes back and you end up being abducted by some demon? Brother here only wants a few peaceful years. My life can’t withstand the turmoil you bring."
Yan Wanqing: "...shut up." It’s so unpleasant to hear.
Yan Li’an pursed his lips, a hint of disdainful smile appeared, and then he closed his eyes and pretended to sleep.
Seeing the atmosphere calmed down, Yan Hongzhao smiled and hugged her own sister’s arm again, resting her head gently: "Sister~"
The three siblings always had such great fun together.
However, Yan Li’an hadn’t really fallen asleep. This incident had made him acutely aware of how difficult it was to protect his family in these turbulent times.
Their Yan Family was considered powerful, but even such power could not resist against absolute authority.
As the legitimate eldest son, he must take on the mission of protecting his family.
Having been lazy for so many years, he felt it was improper that his sister had to take up the responsibility that was originally his.
Yan Li’an pondered deeply, his thoughts growing heavier with the jolting of the carriage.
Along the way, they inevitably encountered many hindrances, which were basically resolved by Ghost Face and others.
Yan Wanqing had not yet recovered from her cold and had been groggy, hardly ever leaving the carriage.
During this time, Su Bai had been in a deep sleep throughout.
She tried to communicate with Su Bai, but every attempt was futile.
After calling out several times with no reply, Yan Wanqing had no choice but to give up.
At this point, they were getting increasingly closer to Qin State.
"We’ll be reaching the border soon, knowing Xiao Pingfeng’s character, he will definitely set up checkpoints here. We must be extremely careful," said Yan Li’an in a deep voice.
Wu Bie, dressed in red, stood on a tree branch beside him, squinting at the distance. "I heard that the Chu Kingdom’s army greatly triumphed under Song Huaxu’s leadership this time, forcing Dawei to retreat from three cities, clearly indicating his grave injuries."
"What does being gravely injured matter, given what he owes our Yan family, his death is but a minor price to pay!" exclaimed Yan Hongzhao from behind, her voice chirpy as she arrived by Qinggong.
Remembering the hardships her sister endured, she wished she could tear Xiao Pingfeng into pieces!
"And that King of Chu Kingdom is no good either," Yan Hongzhao continued grumbling incessantly as soon as she started.
Having held back for days in front of her sister, Yan Hongzhao needed a good vent.
Wu Bie, accustomed to seeing Yan Hongzhao’s tender and soft demeanor in front of Yan Wanqing, was now rendered speechless upon witnessing her eloquence and sharp tongue.
"Cough, cough." Yan Li’an timely coughed, "Enough already."
Yan Hongzhao still felt unsatisfied, and after spouting a few more curses towards Xiao Pingfeng and Chu Qi, she finally stopped.
No one could blame her; she had spent years exterminating bandits, constantly surrounded by rough men, inadvertently absorbing some harsh culture. Venting through cursing when upset eased some of her frustration, thus she never deliberately corrected this bad habit.
"What’s wrong with swearing? As long as I don’t do it in front of elder sister and mother, it’s fine."
Yan Hongzhao stuck out her tongue, reminding her elder brother, "Brother, don’t tell elder sister."
"You’re not afraid of me, but you’re afraid of your elder sister?" Yan Li’an’s lips twitched, did Xiaowu not realize that in the family, Yan Wanqing feared no one but herself?
Yan Hongzhao touched her nose, feeling somewhat guilty, "Elder sister is physically weak right now, and I don’t want to alter the image she has of me."
"It’s better if you still have an image left," Wu Bie couldn’t help but comment internally.
"Come down to eat!" Yan Wanqing’s voice came from beneath the tree, and everyone immediately responded, with Yan Hongzhao being the first to go down.
Though they had been weathering the elements, the thought of going home soon made everyone enjoy their meal immensely, radiating happiness.
Yan Wanqing’s complexion had also gotten healthier recently.
But the closer they got to the border, the more unsettled she felt.
She always felt that given Song Huaxu’s character, he wouldn’t let her off so easily.
But why?
Why until now had there been no abnormalities in her body, and Su Bai was still in deep sleep?
During dinner, Yan Li’an shared the news he had just gathered. When he mentioned Song Huaxu’s troops had suffered a massive defeat at Dawei, Yan Wanqing’s eyelids twitched.
"Something’s not right," she instinctively felt something was amiss.
"What’s not right, elder sister?" Anastasia, Yan Hongzhao was always the first to react whenever elder sister spoke.
"Knowing Xiao Pingfeng as I do, as long as he has a breath left in him, he would never allow Song Huaxu to retreat in such a continuous loss, especially across three cities," she looked to one side, "Hongzhao, go get the map."
Yan Hongzhao retrieved the map from the carriage.
Yan Wanqing spread the map out on a smoothly cut tree stump in front of everyone.
Her gaze suddenly turned cold.
"Retreating from three cities, the army heading south to Lakezone, and the Chu Kingdom advancing to Binzhou, that’s where the problem lies," Yan Wanqing picked up a small twig and circled it on the map, "Do you see where this is?"
"The capital of Qin State, Jinyang," Wu Bie spoke up.
At this, everyone suddenly realized.
Yan Hongzhao’s expression changed dramatically, "So Xiao Pingfeng deliberately retreated." Dawei and the Chu Kingdom were at war, yet their military was only four towns away from the capital of Qin State. Such actions would surely cause unrest among the Qin people.
Yan Wanqing sighed deeply, "Hongzhao, Qin Wu must have anticipated this scenario. Sending you out must have also been to prepare for the upcoming chaos. I just didn’t expect that Xiao Pingfeng would drag Qin State into the water this time," taking the initiative to attack and being dragged into the fray represented two different concepts.
Her expression solemn, she looked around at everyone, "Perhaps I shouldn’t return to Qin State with you."
"Elder sister must not!" Yan Hongzhao was the first to object.
"If I appear in Qin State, I would give Xiao Pingfeng and Chu Qi a legitimate reason to attack Qin State. What then would happen to the people of Qin?" Yan Wanqing did not want to cause more casualties among the innocent citizens due to her presence. The burden of her sins was already heavy.
Yan Hongzhao shook her head, tears in her eyes, "Elder sister must return! The Empress will not mind if elder sister returns. Qin State has already prepared for war. Trust me, Hongzhao, I can surely protect both elder sister and the citizens."
She raised her hand to swear to the heavens, "I, Yan Hongzhao, swear on my life to protect—," she was about to continue, but Yan Wanqing covered her mouth.
"Not at all," Yan Wanqing did not want her younger sister to make such a dire oath.
Finally, Yan Li’an, who had been silent the whole time, spoke up.
"We came out to find you, and now the letter has already reached our mother’s hands. Saying these things about the bigger picture now is somewhat deserving of a scolding, Yan Wanqing. You don’t need to stand out as a hero right now," his eyes were profound, "Let’s go home, not a single person less."
