Chapter 566

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Protagonist:

Yan Qianqian

Speaking to this point, Ouyang Chengren's voice suddenly grew somewhat choked. He paused for a moment, then continued, "We struggled to hold the front lines, waiting for his rescue, yet he gathered all the remaining soldiers early on solely to protect his own safety, completely disregarding our lives.

That day, I was struck by Li Jun's arrow, my consciousness blurred, utterly exhausted. In the end I could hold on no longer and collapsed. I truly believed I had already met my end in the Yellow Springs, but unexpectedly I was later awakened by a burst of severe pain.

When I slowly opened my eyes, I discovered a young woman standing by my bed, carefully pulling the arrows from my body.

But don't worry, the clothes on me weren't changed by her, but by her elder brother. The reason behind this, I'll explain to you slowly in a moment.

Just like that, I stayed in this unfamiliar place, recovering from my injuries in peace.

During this period, that young woman's elder brother took meticulous care of me, not only changing my medicine but also going to the market to purchase daily necessities.

Once, when he went to the market, he incidentally inquired about some news for me. When he returned and told me, I learned a shocking fact — both Xishang Kingdom and Beilin Kingdom had ceased to exist!

Hearing this news, I was struck as if by lightning, my heart filled with shock and grief. And right at that moment, I suddenly remembered the golden hairpin in my bosom.

It was something I had seen in a small city nearby before going to the battlefield, and finding it very beautiful, I thought to bring it back and give it to you after winning the battle. But now, all of this has become a bubble.

During these days of my injury, I have been entirely dependent on their care, and I truly felt too embarrassed to eat and lodge for free.

So, when my wounds were close to scabbing over, I decided to go to the market and sell that golden hairpin, exchange it for a banknote and hand it to them to express my gratitude. Then I used the remaining money to buy a horse."

Hearing his words, Qianqian couldn't help feeling a wave of lingering fear. She knew well that Ouyang Chengren spoke these words seemingly lightly, but in reality, whether collapsing in the snow on a heavy snow day or being stabbed by a sword and painfully waking alive, these were absolutely not sufferings an ordinary person could endure. However, despite this, Qianqian still had some unresolved doubts in her heart, so she decided to speak up and ask.

"Then, why did that pair of siblings appear on the battlefield back then?"

Qianqian asked, "At the time, the soldiers around suffered countless casualties; how could they, in such a tragic situation, discover and save you who still had a breath of life?"

Ouyang Chengren heard Qianqian's question and did not hesitate in the slightest. He answered directly, "As far as I know, at the time Beilin Kingdom was anxious to attack the city, and likely had no leisure to attend to us soldiers who died in battle.

After they left, nearby commoners came, wanting to feel over these corpses to see if there were still any valuable things. And that pair of siblings, they were originally prepared to go gather herbs to sell for money, and happened to pass by this place.

When they saw someone feeling over the corpses, adhering to the principle of 'better one less trouble than one more,' they originally did not want to meddle in idle affairs.

But just then, that young woman suddenly said she seemed to see my head move slightly. So she hesitated a little and had her elder brother step forward to examine carefully.

Her elder brother first felt my pulse. Although that pulse was weak to the point of being almost imperceptible, it was indeed still beating.

The two looked at each other, both seeing a trace of hope in the other's eyes. Thus, without the slightest hesitation, they decided to bring me back to their home.

As for the other people present, seeing this scene, they merely assumed the two of them were also like the others groping the corpses to see if there was anything valuable.

Yet they discovered I was someone the two of them knew, so they prepared to help bury me, and thus also did not attract others' attention. Just like that, I was picked up and brought home by them without my knowledge. And at the time, with war raging, staying there was actually safer.

Later, I happened to hear her elder brother say that it was Li Jun who, when attacking Chunding City, personally told Ouyang Chengqi that he had already killed Ouyang Chengren with one arrow.

Moreover, since Li Jun's soldiers had already attacked Chunding City, presumably all of us had already been annihilated. So everyone naturally assumed I was no longer among the living.

However, the fact was that at the time I was rescued. In the absence of finding my corpse, logically it should be impossible to confirm whether I was truly dead. So I feel the news you received here likely has a problem."

Qianqian listened to my words and nodded thoughtfully, saying, "Mm, I understand this. However, I still have a question……"

Ouyang Chengren seemed to know Qianqian's thoughts like the back of his hand; before she could even open her mouth, he had already spoken a step ahead: "You want to ask how I knew you were in Dachang Kingdom's Kyoto, right?"

Qianqian gave a slight nod, indicating tacit agreement. For Ouyang Chengren being able to guess her thoughts, she did not feel overly surprised. After all, they had gotten along for a period of time before, and understood each other to some extent.

Ouyang Chengren saw this, the corner of his mouth curling up slightly, and continued, "Back then you told me you were a person of Dongying, and I did indeed have the thought of going to Dongying Guo to search for you. However, your name aroused my suspicion. Bai Qianqian — this is obviously not your real name, right? Your true surname should be Yan Qianqian."

Hearing this, Qianqian lightly nodded once more, confirming Ouyang Chengren's guess.

Ouyang Chengren saw this, a flash of realization crossing his eyes, and continued, "Later, when my injuries were more or less healed, I prepared to secretly infiltrate the General's Mansion, wanting to see you once.

Unfortunately, when I went, the General's Mansion was already gone. So I had my Anqi go inquire about your whereabouts. I have a squad of Anqi under my command, ten people in total, all elites I painstakingly cultivated. If I met with misfortune, they would absolutely not hesitate to follow me in death."

Speaking to this point, Ouyang Chengren paused slightly, then continued, "Only, because my corpse was not found, they dispatched eight people out to search for my whereabouts, while the remaining two people stayed hidden in the General's Mansion as a precaution.

So when I returned and saw a ground full of ruins, you had already gone somewhere unknown. So I thought at the time, since Xishang Kingdom had already fallen, Dachang Kingdom would inevitably have to rebuild here after taking over, so the General's Mansion was gone, the Yatou and servants had all fled.

Afterwards I quietly came to a rarely visited place near the General's Mansion and attempted to blow a whistle. This whistle was a contact method agreed upon among the Anqi.

To my delight, my guess actually came true! This meant I still had manpower available. So I decided on the spot and dispatched Anqi to go investigate your news.