Chapter 724: The Horns Stopped

Tuan Tuan blinked: "What about you and Uncle Seven?"

Lu Qi hummed: "The skills we both have aren't practiced in vain! Even if a thousand troops are outside, we can still protect ourselves."

Xiao Er nodded: "We'll just wait here; if anyone breaks in, we'll drive them out."

Tuan Tuan shook her head firmly: "I'm not going! I want to stay with you!"

Xiao Er and Lu Qi felt a pang in their hearts, just as they were about to speak again.

Tuan Tuan waved at the boy: "You go quickly! I'm the Lord Master, listen to me!"

At that moment, the horns outside grew even more urgent.

The boy glanced at Xiao Er and Lu Qi: "Yes!" He turned and ran out.

Xiao Er sighed and sat down: "Miss, don't you remember what the Second Young Master said?"

"He said that during the siege you must hide well and not go out."

"But," Tuan Tuan clutched his neck tightly, her two little hands gripping firmly, "I also promised Concubine Rong that I wouldn't let Little Eleven get into trouble!"

"Second Uncle, did you forget?"

Xiao Er: "......"

Lu Qi frowned: "Miss, if Prince Eleven is truly sent up to the wall later, you'll be here, unable even to see him—what can you do then?"

"Then just figure out a way to get up!"

Xiao Er and Lu Qi shook their heads in unison: "Impossible!"

Tuan Tuan looked at Xiao Er then at Lu Qi: "Why?"

Xiao Er patiently explained: "Right now the defending troops are almost all gathered on and under the walls; not to mention you, even a mouse couldn't get onto the wall."

"Oh," Tuan Tuan pouted, "the wall is full of bad people; they won't let me go up."

"Exactly! Miss, you're really clever!" Xiao Er cooed gently: "The fake-death medicine is already in Prince Eleven's hands."

"Whether he has the guts to take it is up to him."

Lu Qi replied: "Right, Miss, unless you are him."

"Otherwise, even if you stand beside him, he'll be terrified and refuse to eat it, and you can't do anything."

Tuan Tuan's little eyebrows knit, and the horns outside kept blaring: "Why does this sound never end!"

Xiao Er replied: "Outside Jingcheng everything's been burned; they sounded the horns because they must have seen the Prince's great army."

"When the army reaches the foot of the wall, the horns will naturally stop."

Lu Qi asked: "Approximately how long will it take?"

"The cavalry is fastest; thirty li is just a incense‑stick's worth of time to arrive. But for the whole ninety‑thousand troops, it takes at least an hour."

As soon as the words finished, the boy pushed the door open and rushed in, sweating profusely: "Lord Master! We've finished everything! The fresh water and food have been moved into the cellar; hurry and follow me!"

Xiao Er stood up: "Alright."

The boy turned, "Wait!" Tuan Tuan hurriedly called after him, "You go first; I still have something really important to do!"

The boy hesitated: "Oh, okay, then I'll wait outside."

Having said that, he walked out and closed the door behind him.

Xiao Er asked softly: "Miss, what is it?"

"That fire‑spitting thing! I haven't used my treasure yet!"

Xiao Er slapped his forehead: "Right! I can't believe I forgot such an important matter."

"I couldn't recall either," Lu Qi sighed, "my mind's only about hiding you first."

Tuan Tuan lowered her head, untied the Embroidered pouch at her waist, and pulled out a tea‑leaf stalk: "It will turn all the fierce fire‑oil in Jingcheng into water!"

After speaking, she released her little hand, and the tea‑leaf stalk fell to the ground.

A faint glimmer flashed, and the stalk vanished.

"All right!" Tuan Tuan clapped her hands, "It won't burn Dad and Little Eleven!"

Xiao Er brushed her hair: "Alright, let's go."

Having said that, he lifted his leg and walked toward the doorway.

"Wait!" Tuan Tuan called after him, "There's more! Second Uncle, I figured out how to help Little Eleven!"

Lu Qi's eyes widened: "Huh?"

Tuan Tuan fastened the Embroidered pouch, opened the Sachet, and produced a dragon‑eye‑sized pearl, crystal clear and strikingly beautiful.

"Miss, what's this?" Xiao Er asked, looking at the pearl with a puzzled expression: "Where did you pick it up?"

"This? My older brother and I found it in the former dynasty Emperor's tomb!"

"It originally had a beautiful golden glow, but after coming out of the golden well, it faded."

"Stuff from the Emperor's tomb?" Lu Qi leaned in, examining closely, "It's not big, much smaller than the night‑glowing pearls we brought back from the Western Regions."

"Miss, what do you intend to use it for?"

"Didn't Concubine Rong say the fake‑death medicine is inside the cloth tiger, and Little Eleven carries it wherever he goes?"

Xiao Er and Lu Qi looked bewildered.

"Remember."

"I remember too, but Miss, what's the use of a cloth tiger?"

Tuan Tuan clasped her tiny hands, holding the pearl in her palm: "Let me hide it inside Little Eleven's cloth tiger; it'll be ready soon, and when he takes the medicine I'll emerge."

She paused, then muttered: "I've never used my treasure on myself before! I don't know if it works."

"If it doesn't work, never mind, I'll think of another method."

Xiao Er and Lu Qi were shocked: "Tuan Tuan!"

But Tuan Tuan's little hand loosened, and the pearl fell to the ground.

Xiao Er and Lu Qi both reached out to grab it, but it was too late.

However, the bead did not flash and disappear as usual.

It hung in mid‑air, spinning round and round, and a golden light gradually emanated from the bead.

"Why are you still here!" Tuan Tuan looked at the bead, then lowered her gaze to herself, and reached out her little hand to touch her face.

I'm still here too.

She sighed, her small shoulders slumping: "Looks like it won't work."

Xiao Er and Lu Qi both let out a breath, and the cold sweat on their backs slid down.

Seeing that Tuan Tuan was unharmed, only then did their hearts settle back into their stomachs.

Xiao Er looked at his young miss, her head bowed and spirits low, and hurried to comfort her: "Miss, it's all right, the Eleventh Prince is older than you by…"

Before he could finish.

The bead hanging in mid‑air gave a soft "pop" and burst open, turning into countless tiny golden specks that scattered like fireworks.

Each speck dragged a fine tail of flame, looped once around the room, gathered together, and surged toward Tuan Tuan.

In an instant, Tuan Tuan's whole body was engulfed in a mass of golden light, which from her toes upward turned into fine golden specks and vanished.

Xiao Er kept holding her in the same pose, but his arms were now empty.

He stood frozen, eyes wide and speechless.

Lu Qi's mouth hung open, unable to utter a word.

After a moment, Xiao Er swallowed and said: "Lu, Brother Lu, did the miss really hide inside that cloth tiger?"

Lu Qi nodded blankly: "All right, it seems so."

Outside the window, the horn call ceased.