AYM Chapter 104

Ming Zhang?!

Yan Yihuan froze in shock. Disappointment spread through his heart, and he even forgot to chew the pastry in his mouth.

“Lord Ming instructed me to protect Third Young Master’s safety. With the siege about to begin, the Qin heir cannot afford any further distractions. As long as you remain calm and do not anger him again, that will be enough.”

Thinking back carefully, ever since the night he met Li Xuanjing, whenever his safety had been threatened, this deputy general had always appeared “by coincidence” and quietly resolved the danger.

At this point, what did it matter whose man he was? Yan Yihuan nodded. “Then could you pass a message to my royal father and tell him that Li Xuanjing has imprisoned me here?”

“King Yan and the crown prince of Yan¹Reminder: Crown Prince of Yan refers to Yan Zheng have already departed for the capital. They are no longer in the camp.”

He had thought Li Xuanjing was lying to him, but it turned out to be true…

“Then in a few more days, we’ll have to leave as well, won’t we?”

“Mhm, in just a few days.” Tang Tong nodded. “Lord Ming once instructed me to find a way to rescue you after the map was delivered, but the crown prince of Qin is extremely vigilant. I was unable to succeed.”

Yan Yihuan was thoroughly confused and could not understand Ming Zhang’s intentions, but his heart was nevertheless filled with joy.

Tang Tong could not stay long. He tied Yan Yihuan’s hands again before quietly slipping out of the stable. His footsteps were feather-light as he moved through the camp. When he passed a grove of trees, his eyes suddenly widened. He immediately pressed himself behind a tree and scanned his surroundings warily.

There was no sound other than the wind. Just as he began to wonder if he had imagined it, something sharp and hard pressed against his back. It was clearly a sword.

“Who’s there?”

“Tang Tong.”

The voice of the person behind him sounded somewhat familiar. After a moment’s thought, Tang Tong froze in place and cried out softly,

“Commander Han?”

The sword was silently withdrawn. Tang Tong turned around in delight. As expected, it was Han Zhen.

“Where is Third Young Master?”

Tang Tong immediately perked up by the question and quickly pulled Han Zhen into the shadows of the trees.

“Has His Majesty made any moves?” he asked in a low voice. “I have lost contact with Lord Ming recently.”

“You only need to take me to Third Young Master. After that, stay close to Li Xuanjing tonight. You need not do anything else. Just wait for the right opportunity.”

Tang Tong’s eyes shone brightly as he nodded excitedly. “I will take you there.”

At this moment, Yan Yihuan was not only full and satisfied, but also much more at ease knowing that someone loyal to Ming Zhang was by his side. Even having his hands bound no longer felt as unbearable as before.

But why was there movement at the door again? Could Tang Tong have forgotten to say something?

Using his shoulder to brace himself against the wall, Yan Yihuan struggled to his feet and stared at the crude wooden door. He saw a man dressed in a black, narrow-sleeved short robe bending down as he pushed the door open.

It wasn’t Tang Tong?!

Yan Yihuan was startled. In the next instant, his shock turned to confusion, and then he stood rooted to the spot as if struck by lightning.

“Han…!”

Yan Yihuan had imagined this moment countless times. Now that Han Zhen had suddenly appeared before him, his mind went blank with a roar, unable to tell whether this was reality or a dream.

His Majesty must know that none of this had been by his own choice. That was why he had sent Han Zhen to risk his life and come rescue him from thousands of soldiers. Yan Yihuan was overjoyed yet filled with endless grievance. The tears he had stubbornly held back before Li Xuanjing, refusing to let them fall, now burst forth like a river released from its dam, instantly blurring his vision. He tried to raise a hand to wipe them away, only to remember that his hands were still bound behind his back.

Without another word, Han Zhen swiftly cut the ropes before lifting Yan Yihuan onto his back and supporting him securely.

“Hold on tight, Third Young Master.”

“Mm!” Yan Yihuan replied softly, wrapping both arms tightly around Han Zhen’s neck, his eyes still burning with unshed tears.

At last, he was no longer alone, living each day in fear and uncertainty. At last, there was someone he could rely on without reservation.

The wind howled past his ears. Even carrying him on his back, Han Zhen remained as light and swift as a swallow, skillfully avoiding the patrolling soldiers as he moved through the camp and the forest.

Perhaps it was because he was too nervous, but time had never before seemed to pass so slowly. Yan Yihuan had no idea how far they still had to go to escape. Yet after passing one tent, there was another, and another beyond that, stretching on without end. The initial joy of escaping had gradually faded, replaced by boundless fear.

A gust of wind swept by, and the steady sound of Han Zhen’s breathing beside his ear suddenly stopped. Before Yan Yihuan could react, he felt his body drop as Han Zhen pulled him from his back into his arms and rolled across the ground.

In the next instant, a sword was embedded directly in the spot where they had just stood moments before!

The breath was knocked from his lungs. Han Zhen’s body shielded him almost completely, but through the narrow gap between them, the cold gleam reflected from the still-quivering blade pierced into Yan Yihuan’s wide-eyed stare.

“Damn it.”

They were less than a hundred meters away from escaping the camp, yet they had still been discovered. The soldier who had thrown the sword was already shouting at the top of his lungs. Turning back to deal with him would change nothing now.

Han Zhen settled Yan Yihuan in the corner between a tent and a large tree before turning around and drawing his sword. Although more than a dozen soldiers had already emerged from the surrounding tents and closed in, the killing intent pouring from Han Zhen was enough to leave them frozen in place, not daring to advance.

It was also the first time Yan Yihuan had ever witnessed murder.

He watched in horror as Han Zhen, usually so steady, quiet, and gentle, stood drenched in blood, as terrifying as Yama himself. Before him, these ordinary soldiers, let alone fight him, were decapitated the moment they came within reach, without even having time to cry out in pain.

No one dared to attack him any more, but as time passed, more and more soldiers gathered around them. Torches throughout the camp were lit one after another. Yan Yihuan could clearly hear someone shouting that King Qin and the crown prince of Qin had already been alerted.

“Brother Han,” Yan Yihuan knew that with Han Zhen’s martial skill, escaping now would not be difficult for him. If he waited until Li Xuanjing arrived, however, that might no longer be the case. “They won’t kill me. You should leave!”

To have come so close to escaping only to lose hope at the last moment terrified Yan Yihuan. He longed desperately to leave this place, but he could not be so selfish as to let Han Zhen throw away his life for him.

Han Zhen’s face was streaked with blood, all of it splashed from the corpses at his feet. Without turning around, he kept his burning gaze fixed upon the ever-growing crowd before him.

Although it was one man facing thousands of soldiers, it was the soldiers whose eyes were filled with fear.

He could not wait any longer. Han Zhen clenched the fist hanging at his side before suddenly taking something from his robes and activating it before the astonished eyes of the surrounding soldiers.

A piercing whistle seemed to tear through everyone’s nerves as a streak of light shot into the sky. In an instant, this corner of the camp became as bright as day. The sight also startled Li Xuanjing, who was hurrying over to investigate from not far away, causing him to quicken his pace at once.

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  Reminder: Crown Prince of Yan refers to Yan Zheng