Chapter 194 - The Aftermath

If there was someone who tried to get close to Wei Liuying, he would bare his teeth. 

He didn't want to leave Wei Liuying. 

"The wolf looks like it's guarding its master," Prince Ji Sheng commented when they were finished. The wolf pack was surrounding their leader in a certain distance as they were too afraid to get too close to the wolf's leader in case they incurred his wrath. They didn't want such a thing to happen because they knew they would get in trouble.

Yang Xian blinked his eyes. For the first time in his life, he felt a teeny bit jealous of the wolves. He wanted to be the one to stay near Wei Liuying.

'I must be crazy to be jealous of animals.'

Pushing the thoughts to the back of his mind, Yang Xian glanced at Gao Ling. "Do you know how the wolves get so close with Liu Ying?"

Gao Ling shook her head. "It might have been a meeting before she came to the north. In any case, I have never thought that she'll be friends with the wolves like this."

"It's good that they come."

"You're late," Gao Ling said and looked at Prince Ji Sheng. "If not for the wolves, I'll never make it out alive."

Prince Ji Sheng could feel a pang in his heart when he saw the expression on Gao Ling's face. He had been pacing his horse along with Yang Xian and the others as fast as possible. However, they still came here late after they have received the warning given to them in the middle of the night.

If only the wolves hadn't come, he was sure that they would be greeted with the sight of their cold corpses instead of their healthy expression like this.

"I'm sorry," Prince Ji Sheng muttered.

"Don't do it again."

"I won't."

Even if he had to go against the entire world, Prince Ji Sheng would make sure that he could get to Gao Ling right in time. The thoughts that he might lose her sent fear to the bottom of his heart.

He knew that if he had truly lost Gao Ling, he would never be able to forgive himself.

Gao Ling looked at her fiancé and noticed the look within Prince Ji Sheng's eyes. The fear and worry that was not usually present in the confident and arrogant prince was now present. It was clear that this incident had left him with bitter memory. She was not the only one who suffered greatly from this incident, but he too.

Gao Ling sighed. It was truly a taxing battle even for her. "But I understand why you treasure Yang Xian so greatly, Prince Ji Sheng."

"Yes?"

"A loyal subject, a talented person, and a good friend," Gao Ling said unhurriedly. "Am I right?"

Prince Ji Sheng was startled by the sudden remark. He nodded and smiled. From the way Gao Ling said it, he could guess that she must have experienced Wei Liuying's talent with her own eyes. At the same time, Wei Liuying was unwilling to leave them no matter what happened.

This must be what had caused Gao Ling to understand the meaning of his words back then.

Yang Xian was looking at the wolf and slowly approached Wei Liuying and the large wolf. He crouched near them while keeping half a meter's distance from Wei Liuying. His dark eyes were staring to the suspicious wolf.

"Wolf's leader, I need to bring Liu Ying to a different place that's much warmer. This place will make her grow cold because of the temperature and if she were to get sick in this condition, it'll be really bad," Yang Xian said unhurriedly.

The wolf was looking at him with suspicion. He glanced at Wei Liuying's expression and noticed that she did look pale. With no other choice, he stood up and wagged his tail as if giving Yang Xian permission to bring her.

If only his size was not so big and had such scary face, people might think of him as a loyal dog and not a scary wolf. 

"Thank you."

Slowly, Yang Xian carried Wei Liuying in his arm. He had heard about what happened roughly but not the detail yet. Still, from the wounds that Wei Liuying sustained and the fact that she could barely breathe now, he knew that she was forcing herself to make sure that they were all save.

He lowered his face and whispered near her ear, "You did a great job, Liu Ying."

By carrying her, he could sense that she was still much lighter than ordinary girls at her age. He might need to ask her to eat much more again in the future so as to make sure that she would be able to stay healthy.

"And I'm sorry that I can't be with you this time."

The one who asked her to come here was him. Even though he knew that it was inevitable that Wei Liuying would put her own life at the stake to finish her mission, he still felt a pang within his heart. 

He didn't want to see her get hurt.

Not at all.

Slowly, Yang Xian turned his body around and looked at Prince Ji Sheng and Gao Ling. Upon seeing their expression, he had the feeling that they were thinking about something inappropriate again.

Prince Ji Sheng looked at the two with Gao Ling. Contrary to his indifferent expression, Gao Ling was grinning like crazy. It seemed like she was having fun seeing the two strategist like this.

"Ah, he's looking this way," Gao Ling said with a hint of regret. She was thinking of hiding her thoughts from him, but it didn't seem to be possible. Well, even if she did try, there was no doubt that he would be able to guess after a short period of time. 

"Are you trying to get them together?" Prince Ji Sheng asked while his hand gave code to his men to start cleaning up. They would do their interrogation when they have reached a suitable place to rest.

Gao Ling shrugged. "It's clear that they're almost always together, right? Besides, I'll agree to anything as long as the man is not you, Ji Sheng."

If the one that a woman wanted to get close was Prince Ji Sheng, Gao Ling would have no hesitation to kill that person and beat her black and blue. But if it was the others, especially her close friends, she would have no qualms. In fact, she would feel happy for them as she felt that they truly suited each other.

"You should think about the punishment that your father will give to you rather than that." Prince Ji Sheng poked Gao Ling's forehead.

"Ah?"

"I can smell wine from you."

Gao Ling's face instantly lose all colors. She had been trying to hide the fact that she drank from everyone, including Prince Ji Sheng. But since he came here at this point of time, there was still the lingering smell of wine on her body.

Prince Ji Sheng could guess that he was correct from Gao Ling's expression. "How many times have I told you not to drink so much?"

"I'm sorry."

"Hm?"

Usually, Gao Ling would evade his question and try to reason her way out. This was the first time Prince Ji Sheng heard Gao Ling admitted her wrongdoings regarding wine so openly and apologized. Did the sun truly rise from the west today?

Gao Ling noticed Prince Ji Sheng's gaze and pursed her lips. "I won't drink too much anymore and only what's needed. I promise."

"Can you hold your promise?" Prince Ji Sheng asked. From what he knew, Gao Ling liked to sneakily drank wine ever since a long time ago. Even though General Gao had already warned her from time to time, Gao Ling just liked the wine so much that she didn't care about anything else in the slightest bit. 

But this time, Gao Ling was determined to change this habit of hers.

"Yes. I'll not forget," Gao Ling replied solemnly.

She was sure that she would never be able to forget last night. The time when she was dizzy and still trying to fight back her hangover, there was someone who was fighting with her life on the line just to protect her. she didn't want it to happen again in the future, so she should never allow herself to be so vulnerable anymore,

That regret… she didn't want to repeat it in her entire life.

Prince Ji Sheng saw the gaze Gao Ling had and raised his hand. He lightly stroked her head. "It's not like you're not allowed to drink at all when you're of age, but you need to limit the amount you drink."

"En."

At this point of time, Gao Ling looked like a young child. Prince Ji Sheng continued to stroke her head tenderly, ignoring the blatant gazes from the people around them. Even though it was not proper based on the current custom, there wouldn't be anyone who dare to point it out to his face.

Instead, they would turn blind eyes to this.