Zhao Litang thought he was dead because he could no longer feel any pain in his body.
When he opened his eyes, what he saw was not darkness, but blood red.
Maybe he killed too many people during his lifetime and his hands were stained with too much blood, so after death he was different from others and all he saw was blood.
He didn't know where he was, nor how long it had been since he last woke up. The surroundings were eerily quiet, as if he was the only one left in the world.
Then he closed his eyes again.
After waking up several times like this, the blood color in front of his eyes gradually faded away. Zhao Litang then realized that he was still in this prison.
There were two barbarian soldiers talking nearby.
"Well, it's good this time. Finally no one comes to disturb us anymore. We don't have to work so hard anymore."
"I don't think he will live much longer. Why didn't the leader just kill him? If he keeps a breath, what's the difference between him and being dead?"
"Hey, you don't know this," the soldier glanced at Zhao Litang, thinking he was still unconscious, "it was our little prince who refused to let the leader kill him and threatened to die, so he spared his life."
"The little prince is just soft-hearted. This guy is so hard-headed and his heart is so hard. I think there is no hope for the two of them..."
The two soldiers were still whispering something, but Zhao Litang couldn't hear the rest of the words clearly.
I don’t know how many days passed, but I still haven’t seen Alan Yue again.
Zhao Litang felt as if there was a sudden emptiness in his heart, but there were too many missing things in his heart, and he couldn't notice anything for a moment.
One day, when Zhao Litang woke up, he found that there was only one soldier left in the cell. Amul had sent many soldiers to guard the cell, and there were three layers of soldiers surrounding it, making it impossible to escape even if he had wings.
But today is weird.
Although the soldier was guarding here, he seemed uneasy and kept looking outside the tent.
After a while, footsteps were heard outside the tent. The soldier saw someone and walked out, never to return.
The next person to enter the tent was a figure who had not been seen for many days, Alan Yue.
A Lanyue walked quickly to Zhao Litang, took out a pill from her arms, and stuffed it into Zhao Litang's mouth without saying a word.
Zhao Litang seemed still a little shocked. His eyes were hidden behind his messy hair. He looked at the person in front of him coldly and sharply, yet with a bit of inquiry, and swallowed the pill in his mouth.
A Lanyue was very agile and directly opened the chains on Zhao Litang, then put one of his arms around her shoulders and supported him.
The body stood up.
After taking the pill, Zhao Litang felt that he suddenly regained some strength, but it was also accompanied by piercing pain from all parts of his body. He frowned, took a deep breath, and then put most of his body weight on that thin shoulder.
"What are you doing here..." Zhao Litang's voice was low and hoarse.
A Lanyue tried her best to support him and walked out, "Shh... General, don't say anything..."
The two of them walked to the door of the tent and stopped. Alan Yue carefully lifted the curtain and looked outside.
Zhao Litang's eyes darkened, and he held down Alanyue's hand, "What on earth are you doing!"
A Lan Yue turned around with a determined look in her eyes.
"General, in yesterday's battle, the barbarians were defeated for the first time, so all the military forces were transferred to the front line today. Now is the time when there are the fewest people in the barracks. The soldier who was guarding you just now has been knocked out by me, and my brother is not in the barracks now. This is the best opportunity to escape."
"Run away?" Zhao Litang was confused and stared at him in disbelief. "You want to let me go?"
Alan Yue's wrist was hurt by his grip, and when he tried to pull it back, he was held even tighter. Zhao Litang's face was so close to him, and his hot breath sprayed on his cheeks again and again.
"I'm not letting you go. I'm going with you." A Lanyue looked back at him and said firmly.
Zhao Litang felt burned by his dark eyes and suddenly shook off his wrist.
"Alan Yue, what tricks are you trying to play?"
Last time I came to secretly pass on information to him, it turned out to be a trap set by Amul, which made him almost believe the man in front of him who spoke so confidently.
This time, she suddenly appeared and said that she wanted to go with him. Who knows if this was another way to gain his trust.
There seemed to be a faint gleam of tears in Alan Yue's eyes again. He hadn't seen Zhao Litang for so many days because Amul had sent people to keep a close watch on him. He missed Zhao Litang so much that he was worried about him that he couldn't eat or sleep well. However, he didn't shed a single tear even though he was so sad.
It seemed that only Zhao Litang knew how to break his heart easily.
"General, I know you don't want to believe me, but... I can only say that I really want to save you. If you stay here alone, it will be difficult to find a chance to get out. You might as well try to escape with me again. Anyway, the worst result is just being caught again."
Alan Yue spoke sincerely, looking up and whispering, "General... is it okay..."
Zhao Litang pondered for a long time, then raised his hand and opened the curtain.
The two of them looked outside and saw that, as expected, there were fewer patrolling soldiers, and on this basis, another group of soldiers were called away.
Under Zhao Litang's command, Alan Yue took great pains to carry the soldier who had been knocked unconscious into the tent and tied him to the
Zhao Litang was covered in wounds and it was a bit difficult for him to take off his clothes. He turned his back to A Lanyue and said, "Come and help me."
A Lanyue walked over carefully and took off his torn robe, revealing his relatively smooth and clean back. The whip marks were all over his face.
Despite having fought on the battlefield for many years, wrapped in heavy robes and armor, Zhao Litang unexpectedly had a relatively fair complexion, broad shoulders and a narrow waist, with distinct muscle texture on his back. When Alanyue's thin arms and legs stretched out, the contrast was sharp.
He helped Zhao Litang put on his clothes. Fortunately, the soldier's body shape was almost the same as Zhao Litang's, so the clothes fit him well.
A Lanyue gathered Zhao Litang's hair again and tied it up, revealing his handsome face. Feeling it was too eye-catching, she picked up some ashes from the ground and tiptoed to rub it on his face.
Zhao Litang grabbed his wrist warily, glanced at his palm, and asked, "What?"
A Lanyue obediently opened her palm to show him, it was just a handful of dirt.
"General, if you go out like this, you will be too conspicuous and will be discovered..."
Zhao Litang looked at him again before letting go of his wrist and letting him smear the dirt on his face.
After packing up, the two left the tent.
A Lanyue was walking in front, and Zhao Litang was following behind with his head down.
The other soldiers in the barracks were all in a hurry. They had just suffered a defeat and suffered heavy losses. Everyone's mind was now focused on the front line.
The two of them walked all the way safely and arrived behind a remote tent where an extremely strong horse was tied. It was the tallest one that Alan Yue had picked out from the stable in advance.
But, there was only one.
Zhao Litang looked at her inquiringly. Alanyue was afraid that he might misunderstand her, so she hurriedly explained, "I... If I steal two horses, I'm afraid that they will be too conspicuous and easily discovered. Moreover, if two horses run away together, it will also be easy to expose our whereabouts... If, if the general feels that it is not appropriate... then give me some more time... I... I will find a chance to steal another one..."
Before he finished speaking, Zhao Litang had already climbed onto the horse swiftly, and then he stretched out his hand to him, "Get on."
Alan Yue stretched out her hand and was pulled onto the horse.
Just at this moment, there was a small commotion in the military camp, and it seemed that more people were being transferred to the front line.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, the two men rode away quietly. Instead of heading north to the Celestial Empire, they headed south and went around to the rear of the barbarian army.
The wind was roaring in his ears and Alan Yue's heart was beating wildly. He told himself to calm down, they were running for their lives, but how could he stay calm with a chest pressed so close to him from behind
Taking into consideration the injury on Zhao Litang's chest, A Lanyue leaned forward deliberately to avoid rubbing his wound.
After riding south for a whole day, a small town appeared in front of us.
Zhao Litang suddenly stopped his horse. Alanyue fell forward before she could react, but fortunately she was grabbed by an hand around the waist and her back hit a chest.
Hearing a painful groan from above, Alan Yue quickly moved away and turned back worriedly to ask, "General... are you okay... I'm sorry, I didn't mean it..."
Zhao Litang looked at him without answering. After riding a horse for a whole day, his energy was almost exhausted. His face was pale, but he was still trying hard to get off the horse.
A Lanyue was still sitting on the horse without moving, so Zhao Litang led the horse directly to the city gate.
The control of the barbarians was much more relaxed than that of the Celestial Empire. Even the city gates were usually not guarded, so the two men entered the city gate smoothly.
Because there was a war going on at the border, there were many officers and soldiers in this small city, and many wounded soldiers were recuperating here. It was easy for Zhao Litang to blend in with his military uniform. This was why he did not go south, but came to the barbarian city closest to the border.
Zhao Litang was walking on the street leading the horse. People on the street were used to it and didn't even pay any extra glances to the two of them.
Arriving outside an inn, Zhao Litang was about to go in.
Seeing this, Alan Yue quickly jumped off his horse, almost falling to his feet. He grabbed Zhao Litang and whispered, "General, we can't live here. It's too conspicuous and we will be easily discovered..."
As they were talking, two wounded soldiers walked out of the inn, one limping and the other walking out. Although they didn't recognize Zhao Litang, they saw the same military uniform on him and thought he was also a wounded soldier, so they nodded to him.
Zhao Litang lowered his eyes and nodded, and after the two men walked away, he grabbed Alanyue.
"See? Live here."