C4

Not to return to the mountain, River Ring Valley, Lake Heart Island.

Yu Tian Xiang picked up the sword and placed it aside. She sized up the youngster who called himself cousin Lu Que before speaking. You said you're Lu Que, what proof do you have? "

Yu Tian Xiang took the bamboo slip with a puzzled expression. She opened it and took a look. The bamboo slip was very rough, and a few of the bamboo slices were not completely dried yet. The characters on the bamboo block weren't written in ink, but in seal.

He could clearly feel the uneven surface of the characters. There seemed to be some unknown pigment smeared on the middle of the characters. The characters were dark red. However, when she saw the contents of the bamboo block, she suddenly froze. She felt a familiar feeling, as if she was recalling it in her heart.

"This is the trending text of 'On the Marquis'?" Yu Tian Xiang exclaimed as if she had found a treasure. She read the words written on it carefully.

It should be known that Marquis Wu Ping Lu Chun came from a civilian background, his hometown died during the war in his childhood, and he took his sister Lu Xin to roam the Jianghu. At the age of fourteen, he passed the test and entered the Phoenix's Cry School.

When he was studying in the academy, Lu Chun was hailed as the unparalleled talent of the founding father and daughter. At the age of twenty-two, he was ordered by the emperor to train his new army. He personally built Hong Xi's most powerful and most accomplished army, the Skyfire Legion. He became the Northern Frontier Marshal before he reached thirty years of age. The next year, he left to sweep the north, destroying the Azure Goat Empire that was fighting with Da Gan for a hundred years. He pushed the Great Gan Northern Frontier from Blue River to Black Rock Mountain all the way to Floating Snow Mountain, and built the Snowfall Pass and Cold Mountain Pass to resist the Northern Grassland.

At the age of thirty-two, he began to write "On the Marquis of Ping," but even after he disappeared, "On the Marquis of Ping," he did not finish his work. All that was left were military texts, military texts, military disputes, and a small part of his story. Even so, the incomplete "On the Marquis" was listed as a book in the Empire's universities, and only the academy's students had the right to borrow it. Emperor Yu Yuan Xu once praised the complete version of "On the Marquis of Ping," which was not inferior to the classics of the sages.

The bamboo scroll in Yu Tian Xiang's hand had the complete chapter of 'On the Marquis of Ping' written on it. It contained the power of the nation, the military, the power of battle, the power of food, the power of the heavens, the power of fire, and the power of water. Although it was slightly different from what she remembered, the meaning of the previous theory was the same.

If the person in front of him wasn't Marquis Wu's son, Lu Que, then he definitely wouldn't have the entire chapter. After all, Marquis Wu Ping was still in the capital and the story wasn't finished yet.

"Sure enough, you two are still alive. Aunt and Marquis of Martialism are still alive. Imperial Father and Mother both miss you two very much." Yu Tian Xiang was slightly agitated. She knew that her mother would come to the Marquis Mansion every month to hang out. He didn't know how many tears he had secretly shed over the years. If the Queen Mother knew that the two of them were still alive, how happy would she be? There was even less of a need to talk about royal father, he was raised by the Grand Princess in one hand, and after the late emperor passed away, she helped him to get on the throne.

That year, it was the Eldest Princess Yu Chu Qing who helped with the government and Marquis of Martialism Lu Chun was stationed in the north. That was how Da Gan managed to survive the difficult period due to the change in power. If it were not for the sudden disappearance of these two people, my royal father would not have given up on conquering the grasslands, and instead would have painstakingly maintained the balance of the kingdom.

"Aunt and Marquis Lu, where are they now? Little brother Lu Que, quickly lead me to meet them." After confirming Lu Que's identity, Yu Tian Xiang pulled Lu Que out of the cave. She couldn't wait to see her father's aunt, who was known as the one who held out a hand to support the country, and the marquis, who was known as Marquis of Martialism.

"Your Highness, it is already late at night. If we are to return, we still have to walk for more than an hour by the water route. Furthermore, the snow outside is very heavy. It's best if we go tomorrow after the snowstorm. "

"Uncle, aunt, isn't it near here?" Yu Tian Xiang found it strange that their family wasn't living together yet.

"I sneaked out to play. Father and Mother are still at home on the other side of the lake," Lu Que pointed out with a wry smile.

"Alright then!" Yu Tian Xiang thought for a moment and felt that Lu Que was right.

Then, he recalled that Lu Que had addressed him as "Your Highness" and said unhappily, "Your Highness, the Yu Lu and Yu Clan are like a family." My mother is your aunt, and your mother is also my aunt. In the future, you have to call me Elder Sister Tian Xiang, okay? " As she spoke, Yu Tian Xiang was about to smash Lu Que's head. Just as she was about to reach out her hand, she saw a claw sticking out from the side of Lu Que's head. She hurriedly retracted her hand in fright.

"Little White, stop messing around. This is Elder Sister Tian Xiang. She will be your elder sister in the future. You have to protect her and not hurt her." Lu Que hurriedly carried Lil 'White, who was on his shoulder, into his arms.

"Meow," Little White jumped out from Lu Que's embrace and let out an unhappy cry. After circling around Yu Tian Xiang twice, he shook his head, ran over to the animal skin beside the fire and laid down, looking like he didn't care for her words at all.

"Meow." Hearing Yu Tian Xiang address him as a cat, Little White once again yelled at her in dissatisfaction. Its body slightly moved as it turned its head towards the cave wall, ignoring the two.

"It seems to be angry." Seeing the extremely human-like expression on the cat's face, Yu Tian Xiang liked it, but she was also confused. Although there were many creatures in the Greenwood Continent that could understand their master's words after training, she had never seen such a clever little beast before. It seemed that it could understand human speech. Looking at the appearance of this small beast, it was obviously a leopard, but he did not know how he had provoked it.

"Lil 'White doesn't like strangers very much." Looking at Whitey's state, Lu Que shook his head helplessly. He naturally knew what was going on. However, it was not convenient to tell him now that Whitey was the legendary Spirit Beast. After all, this was the first time he had met this cousin of his who his mother had only told him about. The Spirit Beasts were naturally raised and rarely appeared in the world. Even if he said it himself, the other party might not believe him, so there was no need for him to say anything.

Lu Que quickly changed the topic, saying, "Sister Tian Xiang, as a princess of a nation, how did you get chased down and how did you get here?"

"I … I'm not too sure either." In truth, Yu Tian Xiang didn't really understand what was going on either. It made sense for Scarlet Deer to be chasing after him. After all, since the fifteenth year of Hong Xi, the Lei Meng Royal Courtyard established by Da Gan and the Scarlet Dies had been in constant conflict. Within a few years, outside the Snowfall Pass, there had been no less than a hundred battles.

There was a rumor among the people saying, 'Snowfall Mountain, Snowfall Pass, what floats is not snow, but blood'. There is a feud and a new feud between the two countries. It was not hard to understand why Chi Di would send people to assassinate him when he knew he was going out to the capital. What she could not understand was that she had disguised herself as an elite soldier of the Three Guards, as well as disguised as a master of concealment. Along the way, no one should have noticed that she had gone out of the capital and set up a murderous plan.

"I left the capital after New Year's Day. On the sixth day of the new year, I entered the Mountain Shadow County. That evening, I was intercepted by masked men wearing white robes. If it wasn't for the Three Guards risking their lives to protect us, I would have died long ago. " Yu Tian Xiang's face turned pale as she thought of the Three Guards who had died protecting her. It was as if he could see the figures that let her go first and then turned around to fight without any hesitation. That was the person who had been protecting her since she was five years old. Now, they had all died in that vast and white wilderness.

Looking at Yu Tian Xiang's tearful face, Lu Que pondered for a moment. He couldn't help but feel that things weren't that simple.

"Did Sister Tian Xiang offend anyone in the capital?" After pondering for a moment, Lu Que said.

"Nope." Yu Tian Xiang replied with absolute certainty. Even though she was a princess, her personality was very calm and she would never seek justice for anyone.

Lu Que thought about it and said, "Then why did you come to Mountain Shadow County in the middle of winter?"

"It's like this. Three years ago, little sister Piao Xiang suffered from a strange disease: minced meat and grains, none of them can be eaten. As long as you eat it, you can only eat some fruits and porridge. A few days ago, I found an ancient scroll in the royal family's library. It said that it could only be cured by adding Nine Petals Red Deer Flower. I checked through the ancient records and found that the Nine-Petal Red Deer Flower was produced in the Wu Hui Mountain. It has appeared three times in the past. The most recent one was during the previous dynasty. Furthermore, according to the book, the three times he appeared were all lucky gains made by the herb gatherers who had entered the outer region of the mountain. "That's why I came to the Mountain Yin County to see if the herb gatherer had this item. If they didn't have it, then I would try my luck at the outer border. I didn't expect to be intercepted in the wilderness as soon as I entered the mountain Yin Territory."

Lu Que paced two steps, thought for a while and said, "In that case, the other party will need to send out a message and set up an ambush. It's impossible to ride a horse. Even if there is a mutated beast, it would be too eye-catching." Then you can only send a message through the air. It was currently snowing heavily in the middle of winter, so the carrier pigeon definitely couldn't do it. The messenger eagle was the only one here, which meant that the messenger person had a very deep background. According to what little brother knows, the Great Gan Army's messenger eagle technique has never been transmitted to outsiders. It has always been trained by the dark guards and then given to the Twelfth Army to use. As he spoke, Lu Que suddenly walked to the entrance of the cave. Through the hole that was already half buried by the snow, he looked out into the snowy night and kept his mouth shut.

"What's wrong?" Yu Tian Xiang listened to Lu Que's analysis and secretly praised her cousin's meticulous thoughts. Suddenly, she saw him standing at the entrance of the cave. He looked out into the dark night and thought that something dangerous was going to happen outside.

"I'm thinking, who is the person behind this, and what is his motive? and why. "

"Whoever it is, is his motive not to kill me? Little brother, do you know that the Three Kingdoms of the Northern Frontier view the Great Gan as an enemy, and the other nations of the Western Territory only act respectfully to intercept me in the Northern Lands, using my disorderly father's heart as an enemy? They all have sufficient reasons for doing so, not to mention the jade pendant as evidence. " As he spoke, Yu Tian Xiang took out the moth-shaped jade pendant.

"On the surface, this seems to be the case. However, this matter is well planned. Logically speaking …" Lu Que turned around to look at Yu Tian Xiang, wanting to say something but hesitating.

"Little brother, you can speak freely."

"If it is as little brother has expected, the person behind you is someone who is very meticulous. From Princess Fragrance getting sick to Sister Tian Xiang seeing the ancient scrolls, to the time you left the capital and the route you took to travel. How could someone with one ring be able to intercept someone in the end? Instead, he didn't hold back anything and told him to escape. Although sister has three bodyguards at her side, Great Gan Emperor has three elite bodyguards following him. This should be considered a semi-public secret, how could the person behind this not be included in the calculations? So, if the target of the person behind us is truly you, Big Sister Tian Xiang, you should be dead without a doubt. However, even though you have entered the Unreturning Mountain, you are still alive.

Hearing this, Yu Tian Xiang seemed to have thought of something as she looked at the moth-shaped jade pendant in her hands. At that time, her long sword had already been knocked to the ground by that burly man. As long as she added another cut, it would be impossible for her to dodge, even if she had some strength left. But at that moment, the big man suddenly took an arrow in his throat. In her panic, she thought that the guard had used an arrow to save her. She quickly picked up her sword and saw that the jade pendant was in her hand.

Now that she thought about it, the arrow that had pierced the man's throat was not an arrow, but an arrow that had broken into pieces. Although it was only a glance, it seemed that the broken arrow had a silver ornament on it.

"If that's the case, then why is the target of the person behind me not trying to kill me?" Yu Tian Xiang felt a little dizzy. She didn't know whether it was because she was too tired, or because the problem before her was too complicated.

"This is also something that I find strange. I even suspect that this group of Scarlet Dis is only a chess piece." Lu Que's eyes were still fixed on the blizzard outside the cave, his fingers unconsciously moving.

"Is Scarlet Deer also a chess piece?" Yu Tian Xiang took in a deep breath. Who on earth could use those savage Scarlet Dans as pawns?

"Right, as long as this jade pendant appears, anyone who knows would know that the one who attacked is Scarlet Dis. However, if the people behind him were in cahoots with those Scarlet Dis and had such a meticulous plan, then they definitely wouldn't have missed out on such an obvious piece of evidence. This could only mean that the person behind her was in a cooperative relationship with the Scarlet Dwellers. It could even be possible that the person behind her was only unilaterally using the Scarlet Dwellers. Although Scarlet Deer wanted to kill you, the target of the mastermind was not to kill you, so although this plan was a killing one, it was not a dead end. Only by doing this can I leave a sliver of life for Elder Sister Tian Xiang, and the Scarlet Dwellers who made a move were only a part of the plan and a pawn that shifted our attention afterwards. Or, it could be said that there is nothing wrong with abandoning you. " Speaking up to this point, Lu Que seemed to have understood a little about this matter. His two hands struck each other.

"Then what is the purpose of the person behind all this?" Yu Tian Xiang asked upon seeing Lu Que.

"That's right, what does the person behind this want?" Who could this person be? " Lu Que was at a loss. This was the crux of the whole thing. However, due to the lack of information, it was difficult for Lu Que to determine the other party's identity and purpose.

After pondering for a while, Lu Que continued, "Firstly, this person is able to enter the royal library. Secondly, this person has a messenger eagle. Thirdly, this person has an expert following him. His cultivation should be at least in the Qi Resisting Realm. Fourth, this person should be familiar with Elder Sister Tian Xiang's personality, knowing that after you heard that the Nine Petal Red Deer Flower could cure Princess Tian Xiang's illness, you wouldn't pretend to be someone else, but instead personally make a trip. Elder sister Tian Xiang, who did you think of first to fulfill these four conditions? "

Yu Tian Xiang thought for a while and shook her head. There were only a few people who could fulfill these conditions, but those people definitely wouldn't harm her.

"What if this person could cause Princess Fragrance to fall ill without making a sound? What if his cultivation is also very high?" Lu Que added. He could only analyze things to this point because he had lived in this valley since he could remember. He only occasionally heard his parents mention people and things, but he couldn't specifically pinpoint the person behind the scenes.

"Little brother Lu, even if it's me, I need royal father's token to enter the royal library. Furthermore, the imperial palace is tightly guarded, and there is also the formation left behind by the Great Ancestor. It would be almost impossible for someone to enter the library without being noticed. "

"Sister Tian Xiang, first tell me, how many people do you have in your heart that can fulfill the above conditions?"

"Yes, there are three of them." Yu Tian Xiang hesitated for a moment before she said, "But these three people are definitely impossible."

"Who are these three?" Lu Que saw the happiness on Yu Tian Xiang's face and quickly asked.

"Imperial Father, Imperial Mother, and Uncle Zhongyang." Yu Tian Xiang said hesitantly.

"Eh ~" Lu Que scratched his head awkwardly after hearing Yu Tian Xiang mention the three of them. The Emperor and Queen would never set such a trap.

As for Prince Zhongyang, Lu Que had also heard his mother talk about his youngest uncle. He was an upright and resolute man, and his heart was straightforward. Ever since he was young, he had been very naughty, and when he grew up, he had only specialized in martial arts. He didn't seem like someone who could scheme such a thing.

"Elder sister Tian Xiang, do you have any other candidates?"

"No more." Yu Tian Xiang thought for a moment before shaking her head.

"Then there's nothing I can do." Lu Que said dejectedly. When we go back tomorrow and meet father and mother, let's listen to their thoughts. "

"That's fine too, I've heard that uncle and aunt are all peerless talents, I want to hear their views." Yu Tian Xiang also knew that it was impossible for the two of them to analyze the mastermind based on their current information, so she had no choice but to give up.

She knew that this year's winter weather was extremely cold. The number of merchants on the prairie in the imperial city of Qianyuan increased exponentially. The East and West cities were packed with people every day. There must have been a lot of scouts from the three countries of the North hiding inside the city. That way, too many clues would be pointing to them. As for Lu Que, he was still young and what he said made sense. However, it was a one-sided story after all. Even though there was such a possibility, it might not necessarily be the truth.