Chapter 379

Xiao Yuanhang shot up, scooping his daughter into his arms.

His hands felt icy cold.

The little one had her eyes shut, her breath so faint it was barely perceptible; only the slight rise and fall of her tiny chest showed she was still alive.

"Tuan Tuan! Tuan Tuan?" Xiao Yuanhang's voice trembled uncontrollably.

Xiao Ningxun trembled as he felt his sister's wrist: "Tuan Tuan is still here, still here, Father."

Xiao Er fell to his knees with a thud, pounding the stone beach, shards flying: "Miss!"

Xiao Ran and Lu Qi rushed over: "Tuan Tuan!"

Zhang Wu'an, Fang Qing, Li Lao San... the old soldiers knelt all around: "Miss!"

"Back to camp!" Xiao Yuanhang seized his daughter, swung onto his horse, and led the people racing toward the main camp.

On a nearby hillside.

Wu Luo in black robes stood still, the earlier surge of golden light still reflected in the depths of his pupils, lingering long after.

He slowly exhaled: "What a child blessed by Heaven!"

His voice trembled with excitement: "Such vast, pure aura of fortune—if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes today, I would never believe it!"

Before him stood another person, his whole body swallowed by a huge cloak.

That person handed the crossbow case to the attendant behind him, lifted his hand, and slowly lowered the hood.

It was the Emperor of Da Xia, Gongsun Chi.

"Xiao Yuanhang, you spread rumors about the Crown Prince, sowing discord between my Xia's people and the imperial house."

"You also sent men to fake death and abduct Consort Yun, letting Gongsun Yue escape my control."

"You set fire to my palace and left a dagger in the sleeping quarters."

"Although today I failed to kill you myself, I have gravely wounded your precious daughter—consider it even."

He slowly turned his head to look at Wu Luo: "National Preceptor, in your view, will this Envoy of the Fiery State perish here?"

Wu Luo blinked: "I, I don't know."

"Your Majesty has seen with your own eyes that this fortune is not mortal, but nurtured by heaven and earth! As for her life or death, I cannot predict it."

"Heaven and earth nurture?"

"Exactly! If she happens to survive, I can refine her with secret arts and offer her to Your Majesty! That could grant you eternal life!"

"If she does not die, she must be gravely wounded—is this not the perfect moment to strike?"

Wu Luo's eyes gleamed with greed: "Your Majesty is wise! I will surely seize this chance to take her fortune, achieving twice the result with half the effort!"

Gongsun Chi fell silent for a moment: "What if we cannot take it?"

"If she lives but cannot be used by me."

Wu Luo's excitement halted abruptly.

Gongsun Chi gazed at the black-clad corpses on the riverbank: "Then she must not be allowed to leave this battlefield alive."

Inside the Fiery State's main tent, the atmosphere was so heavy you could wring water from it.

Xiao Yuanhang personally placed Tuan Tuan gently on his own bed, covered her with a thick blanket, leaving only her small face exposed.

Tuan Tuan kept her eyes shut, utterly still, her skin nearly translucent.

The physician was hastily summoned, examined her carefully for the time it takes to burn an incense stick, but his brow only furrowed tighter.

He repeatedly lifted Tuan Tuan's eyelids to check her pupil color, felt her palm and forehead, then rose, bowed deeply, his face full of confusion and unease.

"Your Lordship, the Little Princess's pulse is quite strange."

Xiao Yuanhang sat beside the bed, holding one of his daughter's small hands: "Explain clearly."

"The pulse is weak yet smooth and gentle, like a spring brook, neither hurried nor agitated."

"There is not a trace of symptom; this does not look like illness, but rather..."

"He hesitated again and again, then said: 'It seems she is asleep.'"

Xiao Yuanhang nodded: "You may go."

The physician turned and withdrew.

Xiao Ningxun recalled: "Father, when Tuan Tuan healed Second Brother's leg ailment, she also fell into a deep sleep for three whole days."

Xiao Er shot up: "Right! When we were in Jiangzhou, after the Miss healed Elder Luo, the gang leader, she also slept for a whole day!"

Lu Qi and Xiao Ran exchanged a glance; they were unclear about Xiao Ningchen's affair, but the Jiangzhou incident remained fresh in their memory.

Xiao Yuanhang lowered his gaze to his daughter's tiny face, his fingers lightly rubbing her cold hand back: "This time... I hope she wakes soon."

"Xiao Er, reinforce the guard with personal troops, secure this tent; before Tuan Tuan awakens, no one but you may enter without permission."

"Yes!"

Xiao Ningxun hesitated a moment, then spoke: "Father, Tuan Tuan has faced danger several times, each resolved by the National Preceptor's intervention."

"If..." he gritted his teeth, "if she remains unconscious after three days, I think we should summon the National Preceptor at once—that would be best."

"National Preceptor! Yes, the National Preceptor might be the only one in this world who can understand all the strange phenomena on Tuan Tuan's body."

Xiao Yuanhang nodded: "Send someone immediately, an eight-hundred-li express to Jingcheng, to summon the National Preceptor!"

Xiao Ran hurried: "No need, let Meiwei and Jiayao deliver it—they'll surely be faster."

Xiao Yuanhang wondered: "Meiwei and Jiayao? What are those?"

Xiao Ran replied: "They are the two Lingxiao Sparrows His Majesty gave Tuan Tuan before we left Jingcheng; quite spiritual, capable of flying a thousand miles a day."

Xiao Yuanhang realized: "Oh, right, those are the two little birds that deliver letters! When I saw the note back then, I even burst out laughing."

But now he has not a trace of amusement, only saying flatly: "Very well, Your Highness, arrange it."

Xiao Ningxun stepped forward, gently removing the little gold bell from Tuan Tuan's wrist.

Then he quickly wrote two identical notes, shook the gold bell to summon Meiwei and Jiayao, and slipped them into the tubes on their legs.

He gently touched the two little birds: "Go, return to Jingcheng, go to Guoshi Residence. Hurry!"

Cheep—

Meiwei flapped her wings and rose, Jiayao followed closely behind.

Two black shadows swept across the banners above the camp, and soon vanished into the sky.

Xiao Ningxun stared toward the direction where they disappeared: "National Preceptor, you must come quickly!"

At night, the candlelight flickered lightly.

Xiao Yuanhang gently cradled Tuan Tuan in his arms, lowered his head, his forehead lightly touching his daughter's small head, and closed his eyes.

"Good little lady, Daddy is here; when you've slept enough, wake up quickly, Daddy is getting terribly anxious."

A full three days passed.

For Xiao Yuanhang, who had been keeping vigil by his daughter's bedside, those three days felt as long as a lifetime.

Tuan Tuan still slept peacefully, and the physician examined her pulse three times a day; the pulse remained steady, yet there was no sign of awakening.

"Prince, this situation with the Little Princess truly exceeds my knowledge."

The veterans came daily to inquire about Tuan Tuan, the military dispatches outside the camp came and went, and the generals' petitions rose and fell.

He listened and responded, yet his gaze never left the tiny child on the couch.

On the third night, Xiao Yuanhang extremely slowly, inch by inch, released his daughter's hand, carefully tucked that little hand under the blanket, and leaned down to kiss her forehead.

Then he straightened up, turned, and walked to the desk.

In an instant, a soaring killing aura radiated from this war god of the fierce nation.

"Ninth Prince," Xiao Yuanhang began, "you stay here and guard her."

Xiao Ran suddenly raised his head and looked at him, bewildered, his face blank as he turned toward Xiao Ningxun, what does it mean?

"Father," Xiao Ningxun's Adam's apple rolled, "where are you going?"

Xiao Yuanhang stared at the map on the desk, his gaze landing on several black Small Flags placed at the Da Xia camp, and he gazed at them intently for a long while.

Then he abruptly raised his hand, grabbed those black flags, and clenched them tightly in his palm.

The wooden Flagpole shattered into pieces in his hand, falling rustily through his fingers.

"Summon the troops at once!" he raised his eyes, his irises crimson, "Tonight at midnight, I, the King, will burn Da Xia's supplies!"