Chapter 249 - Countdown Start

When the sky was turning dark, there were several people coming from the gate. The sound horseshoe hitting the ground entered Yang Xian's ear.

"Your Highness!"

Yang Xian's body tensed up as he tried to lower his presence even more. When facing someone who had higher martial arts, he had to be extra careful because he didn't want to get found.

"How's the preparation?"

"It's all complete, Your Highness. We're ready to depart tomorrow."

"Good."

Prince Lian's voice was low and his reply was only a short one word answer. From his tone, it was clear that he was satisfied with the result.

"Where's my imperial older brother?"

"Replying to Your Highness, His Highness the Crown Prince left this morning with Crown Princess Ji Xiaoli."

"He's with that princess again? My imperial brother had turned soft," Prince Lian said with a laugh. "How about his people?"

"They're staying still at the back."

"Suppress any kind of news tomorrow."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Yang Xian listened carefully as he thought of what Prince Lian said. It seemed that the prince was still being careful when dealing with anything that was related to Prince Kou. The balance between their power was not too clear to Yang Xian, but he knew that they were not allowed to kill each other.

Even if people knew that the princes might have a battle of blood between each other for the throne, it was never good to have it revealed to the public. As long as they could hide it, it was all that matters.

As the sky continued to darken, the temperature dropped once more.

Yang Xian was still staying on his hiding position as he watched the goat entered the place again. They looked satisfied after eating their fill on the dry grass as they began to rest in the place. The dog or that wolf hybrid was kept in other place to warn them if there was intruder.

For someone like Yang Xian, he didn't have to worry alarming them as long as he was not that close.

Even if the animals have sharp senses, there was a limit to how far they could detect proficiently.

'I need to rest too.'

Yang Xian forced himself to sleep, yet his hand was holding onto his sword. He knew that if someone found him here, that person would be an enemy. Even though he was worried for his life, he still rest to make sure that he could wake up early.

The next day.

Just before dawn, Yang Xian opened his eyes and began to move. There were no one around him. Only the goats were speaking in their language lightly when they felt uncomfortable as Yang Xian passed by their body. 

'Just a bit more.'

Awoooooo!

The sound of wolves howling disturbed the quiet night. Yang Xian's heart dropped as he stopped near the gate of the pen. His eyes were watching the surroundings carefully as a man walked out of the house with his body completely wrapped with thick clothing. This place was simply too cold.

"Where's the wolves?"

"It should be still far away, General."

The man called General didn't answer immediately. He was looking into a distance before turning his body and entered the tent again. If it was unnecessary, no one would want to stay outside when the wind was still freezing cold like this.

"Keep watch."

"Yes, General!"

Yang Xian stayed still in his place. He was thinking that his luck must be really bad because he didn't only need to face the soldiers but also wolves out there. However, he had to leave as soon as possible and inform Prince Ji Sheng along with others about the impeding war that would happen soon.

He didn't want to be late and possibly lost his comrades.

After waiting for a bit, Yang Xian got out sneakily while evading the location where the dogs were located. He got into the gate and got out. The cold wind came crashing down to his body, chilling him to the bone.

'The North is so cold.'

Yang Xian tried his best to hold on. It would be dawn soon, so he had to reach the place where he tied his horse and returned back to where Wei Liuying was supposed to be. Despite the cold, Yang Xian began to run towards the river.

His eyes lit up when he saw the horse. The sky had started to light up, but the temperature was still freezing cold. Yang Xian could feel his body already partially froze because he stayed outside for too long.

He might have been going out a bit too early.

However, there was no other choice. If he got out any longer, he knew that there wouldn't be any chance for him to get out of the place and leave. They would find out the existence of an intruder. 

"Let's go."

Yang Xian released the horse and pulled it to the side. Since the area near the river was damp, the horse was fine. It was freezing a bit, but because it was one of the few breeds who survived in this area, he knew that it would be just fine. Though, it was inevitable that it wouldn't be able to run as fast as before.

Tightening his grip on the rein, Yang Xian began to rush through the plain dry lands.

Drap drap!

There was only sound of his horse galloping as he went further and further. Sweat formed on his forehead when he noticed that there was no sign of the soldiers from the second prince. If they have reached the location where the first prince and Princess Ji Xiaoli was located, Yang Xian knew that it would be disaster.

'I hope I'm not too late.'

The only thing Yang Xian could do was to pace his horse as fast as possible. It was nearly evening when he finally saw the sign of other people. However, the sight nearly caused his heart to fall to the abyss.