By the time Bai Luochu finished her briefing, night had already fallen. Originally, Ying Lan wanted her to stay in the Remote Paddy Inn for a farewell dinner, but she refused.
“The Desolate Region isn’t like the capital city. I need to make full use of my time to pack for the expedition. As a military physician, I have to bring some treatment tools and elixirs just in case. With how urgently the old emperor is treating this, I might have to leave the day after tomorrow.”
Ying Lan naturally understood what Bai Luochu said and no longer tried to keep her. Bai Luochu merely waved her hand before heading to the First Prince’s residence.
“Say, do you think Divine Physician Bai will return safely?” Meng Luoping was a complete businessman and he hated to take risks. He wasn’t able to understand the meaning behind Bai Luochu’s actions.
“Of course she will. Heaven helps the worthy. Divine Physician Bai will surely return safely. Perhaps, when she returns, a completely different Divine Physician Bai will appear before us.” Guan Yue answered.
Ying Lan preferred Guan Yue’s statement, ‘Heaven helps the worthy’. This was the most suitable statement to describe Bai Luochu. After a miserable death, his mistress was able to reincarnate into her current body. If this wasn’t Heaven helping the worthy, what was?
Bai Luochu went over to the First Prince’s residence to confirm her attendance for the expedition before returning to the general’s residence.
The moment she returned, she made a list of everything she needed and passed it to Cai Ling. “Pack everything on this list.”
Cai Ling glanced at the list and immediately went to work. Bai Luochu was shocked that this little chatterbox would start working so quickly as she was prepared to give her a lengthy explanation behind her acceptance of the imperial decree. Bai Luochu was even more amazed when Cai Ling reappeared in just a short while.
Cai Ling placed the items on the table and said to Bai Luochu, “When Mistress said you were going to look for Commander Ying at the Remote Paddy Inn, this servant already understood Mistress’ intentions. I knew you were determined to head over to the Desolate Region and I packed everything in advance.”
“Aren’t you afraid that all your efforts would be in vain when I came back and rejected the imperial decree?” Bai Luochu was very surprised at Cai Ling’s attentiveness.
Cai Ling replied casually, “It’s even better if Mistress decides not to go. This servant will be happy to unpack the items. If Mistress decides to go anyway, the items will already be packed. No matter what, this servant can’t go wrong.”
Cai Ling lowered her head and in response and started to sob, “Mistress, can you promise this servant one thing?”
Bai Luochu naturally detected Cai Ling’s abnormal response and immediately said, “Of course, as long as I can do it, I will promise you anything.”
Cai Ling raised her head and Bai Luochu could see tears swirling around the rims of her eyes. “This servant begs Mistress to return safely! This servant still has many things that I cannot do well and I definitely require Mistress’ help!”
Bai Luochu let out a long sigh. She is still a young girl and doesn’t wish to part with me… I’m sure she is afraid that something will happen to me and is only putting up a strong front so as not to burst into tears.
“Alright, I promise you.” Bai Luochu replied and rubbed Cai Ling’s head.
“Really?” Bai Luochu was truly worried about Bai Luochu. She was going to the Desolate Region and it was a place where no humans came back alive. Cai Ling wasn’t able to accept the fact that her mistress was going to enter such a dangerous place.
“When have I ever lied to you? I will definitely fulfill my promise to you.” Bai Luochu promised Cai Ling.
Cai Ling finally dropped the subject.
At the Second Prince’s residence, Pei Qingfeng had rummaged through the entire residence and he nearly turned it inside out. After looking in a locked storage room, he managed to find the flexible hedgehog armor that was covered in a layer of dust. He held it like a kid holding candy. He almost jumped for joy as he called for his personal guard, “Hurry up and prepare the carriage to head for the general’s residence.”
When Pei Qingfeng carried the dusty hedgehog armor and entered the gates of the general’s residence, Bai Luochu thought that Pei Qingfeng had gone crazy. She even thought that he had snatched a piece of clothing off a beggar on the street before coming to look for her.
After all, Pei Qingfeng looked extremely haggard after tearing through half his residence. The usual elegance was nowhere to be found. His face was filled with black patches from all the dust and there were even white patches of god-knows-what covering his face. His hair was dishevelled and he looked like he hadn’t bathed in days.
Before coming to the general’s residence, Pei Qingfeng’s personal guard persuaded him to wash up before heading over. However, he was shot down by Pei Qingfeng, “Impossible! What if I’m too late?! What if Luoluo is already gone?! If something happens to her because I failed to deliver the armor on time, are you going to take responsibility?!”