The night grew deeper and deeper.

An Youyou was tired from crying.

She thought Lin Zichan must have abandoned them.

"Youyou," called An Ning.

"Hmm," replied An Youyou with a heavy nasal tone.

"Let’s get off the carriage now; it looks like it’s going to rain."

"But Guard Lin..."

"No need to wait," An Ning’s tone was unusually calm.

She just, very serenely, accepted the fact that Lin Zichan had left.

He had been gone for an hour.

He had left long ago.

An Youyou felt a bit upset, but still obediently nodded.

Then, she came out of An Ning’s embrace and got off the carriage together.

Below the carriage, it was pitch dark.

They couldn’t see anything around them.

Outside the carriage, the wind was strong.

The night was cooling down, bone-chilling cold.

An Youyou couldn’t help it and sneezed.

Her body shivered from the cold.

An Ning hurriedly took off her outer garment and wrapped it around An Youyou. "Put this on first."

"Mother, aren’t you cold?"

"I’m not cold," An Ning said.

Then she held An Youyou’s hand, groping their way through the darkness.

Once it started to rain, the carriage would be soaked; they had to find shelter before the rain came.

The two of them walked very slowly.

In the middle of nowhere, the road was not easy to walk on.

"Ah!" An Youyou suddenly cried out.

Her foot got caught on a stone, and she fell to the side.

They were walking on a sloping hillside, and if Youyou fell, she would roll down.

"Youyou!"

An Ning grabbed An Youyou tightly.

Her hand grabbed the stone on the slope forcefully.

But the stone was unstable.

An Ning and An Youyou suddenly tumbled down the slope.

An Ning held An Youyou tightly in her arms.

An Youyou was too scared to even cry.

At that moment.

A figure suddenly rushed down from above, wrapping both of them in an embrace.

And together with them, quickly rolled down the hillside.

With a "bang,"

The three of them came to a stop. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

Blocked by a large stone.

An Ning didn’t feel any pain, and An Youyou, in An Ning’s arms, didn’t either, just scared out of her wits.

"Lin Zichan?" An Ning called out.

Lin Zichan, enduring the pain, replied slowly, "It’s my fault for being late."

"Guard Lin," An Youyou cried again upon hearing Lin Zichan’s voice, "I thought you abandoned me and Mother, sob sob, where did you go? Sob sob..."

Lin Zichan released them, barely managing to stand up, and knelt on one knee. "Princess, don’t be afraid, I won’t abandon you."

"Then why were you gone for so long?"

"This area is so desolate, it took a while to find an abandoned temple. Now I’ll take you there," Lin Zichan explained.

"Okay," An Youyou wiped her tears and nose and obediently nodded.

"Come, I’ll hold you," Lin Zichan said to An Youyou.

An Youyou left An Ning’s embrace and directly threw herself into Lin Zichan’s arms.

Lin Zichan picked up An Youyou.

He said to An Ning, "Your Majesty, please wait for me here; I’ll take the Princess up first, then come back for you."

"Alright," An Ning agreed.

Lin Zichan didn’t pause.

Using Qinggong, he leaped up, holding Youyou with one hand and stabilizing himself on the slope with the other, climbing up swiftly.

"Princess, wait for me here; I’ll go fetch Her Majesty."

"Wah..." An Youyou was very scared, her small hands grasping his clothes tightly.

"Your mother is still waiting for us below; stay here obediently and go nowhere, I’ll be right back," Lin Zichan’s voice was gentle.

"You won’t abandon me, will you?" An Youyou asked pitifully.

"I won’t. Never will," Lin Zichan promised.

Reluctantly, An Youyou let go of Lin Zichan’s clothes.

Lin Zichan patted An Youyou’s head and then turned back down the slope.

He quickly returned to An Ning’s side.

An Ning looked at Lin Zichan; in the darkness, she couldn’t see clearly, only feel.

"Your Majesty, I’ll take you up," Lin Zichan said respectfully.

"Mm."

"Forgive my rudeness," Lin Zichan said.

Without waiting for An Ning’s permission, he lifted her horizontally.

An Ning’s heart skipped a beat.

Her hands instinctively wrapped around his neck.

Their distance suddenly became very close.

Close enough to feel each other’s breath.

In the next moment.

Lin Zichan used Qinggong, carrying An Ning swiftly up the slope.

An Ning’s grip around Lin Zichan’s neck tightened...

"Mother!"

An Youyou, seeing them come up, shouted excitedly.

After bringing An Ning up, Lin Zichan put her down.