His highness's Allure - Chap 151
Even the soldiers who had entered the desert and made it out alive were still left with a deep sense of terror toward it.
Zhao Litang looked at Pei Zheng, visibly enraged.
“Lord Pei, you must have never been to the desert before, which is why you can say such irresponsible words.”
Pei Zheng’s tone was cold, “I’ll go with them, is that responsible enough for you?”
Zhao Litang was a bit shocked, but he still refused to concede.
“The answer’s still no! The desert’s topography is constantly changing, and sandstorms are frequent. There are packs of wolves lurking around there too. And who knows if that oasis actually exists, no one knows about it, everything is full of uncertainty, I won’t allow you all to go.”
Jiang Yubai said, “General Zhao, while the journey there is full of uncertainty, the outcome is decided if we don’t go. Are you still going to continue hesitating? The person in there can’t wait for that long.”
Zhao Litang’s lips pressed together, and he didn’t speak for a long while.
Pei Zheng gave Cheng Feng a look, and Cheng Feng nodded. He left to begin making preparations for their journey to the desert. Jiang Yubai followed him and left as well.
The crowd surrounding the tent dispersed. Pei Zheng ignored Zhao Litang; he simply lifted the curtain and walked into the tent.
This time, he didn’t need Jiang Yubai to shove him.
Shen Huan was still inside, sitting quietly beside the bed. Her face was full of exhaustion; she seemed to be completely drained of energy.
When Shen Huan saw Pei Zheng walk over, she merely glanced at him; she didn’t even have the strength to greet him.
“What do we do…” Shen Huan asked softly, “I’m so scared, scared that he’ll just stay like this, scared that I really won’t be able to hold on anymore…”
Her voice became choked by sobs.
Pei Zheng walked over. He lifted the bottom of his wide sleeve, gently stroking the small man’s pale face with his fingers.
“He’s just tired. After a while, he’ll have rested enough.”
“What if, what if that doesn’t happen?” Shen Huan wiped her tears, “Truthfully, even I don’t know if there’s actually an oasis or not, or whether that herb grows there or not. I just don’t want to helplessly wait here. I’m always thinking that I have to do something, I have to do something…”
Pei Zheng took a handkerchief out of his robe and handed it to Shen Huan.
Shen Huan covered her eyes, and began to cry unrestrainedly.
During these past few days, she had probably been under the most pressure, because everyone’s hope was resting on her shoulders; it was as though she were the last straw that was keeping the small man afloat. If even she were to break, Prince Qi Changyi really would be gone.
So she couldn’t break. Even if her mind was at the brink of collapse, she couldn’t break.
But now, as she looked into Pei Zheng’s firm, persistent gaze, she suddenly relaxed a bit, because she knew that Pei Zheng was the last person left who wouldn’t give up.
After crying for a while, Shen Huan felt a lot better, so she left and began to make preparations for the trip as well.
Once again, only two people were left inside the tent.
But right now, the small man was even more quiet than before; it seemed as though he wasn’t even dreaming.
Pei Zheng tucked the quilt over the little prince on the bed, and retrieved a washcloth soaked in hot water from the side. He carefully wiped the small man’s hands. After he was finished, he wiped his face. Those sunken, wilted cheeks looked even more lifeless than before.
Pei Zheng had seen the small man in this quiet state before. But at the time, it was at the Prime Minister’s Manor, and at that time, every wound that the small man was forced to bear… had been inflicted by him.
After he finished wiping his cheeks, Pei Zheng quietly sat at his bedside, accompanying the little prince, staring at his beautiful face as though he couldn’t get enough of it.
Footsteps sounded from outside the tent, and someone called out, “Lord Pei, Lord Pei!”
The curtain was lifted. Pei Zheng looked at the man in front of him, his gaze cool.
Frightened by his obviously impatient glare, Wu Quan stammered, “L-Lord Pei, the general, the general has allowed you all to enter the desert. However, th-this subordinate must bring reinforcements and accompany you.”
Behind Wu Quan was a group of soldiers. All of them knelt in front of Pei Zheng.
“We await Lord Pei’s orders.”
Unexpectedly, Pei Zheng merely looked at them expressionlessly, and finally said slowly, “Too many people would be troublesome.”
Then, he simply re-entered the tent.
Wu Quan hurriedly said, “My Lord! My Lord, this subordinate must accompany you to ensure your safety! Otherwise, the general won’t let this subordinate off-”
But the curtain was let down from the inside.
At this moment, Cheng Feng walked over, a line of shadow guards behind him. They were all dressed like him, clad in black, holding sharp swords, their faces emotionless.
The two groups sized each other up, before they each turned away expressionlessly.
Jiang Yubai and Shen Huan were both ready to go, while Qi Yirou also had a few attendants to take special care of her.
When the group arrived at the gate to the barracks, Cheng Feng’s shadow guards and Wu Quan’s soldiers were already waiting, having formed two columns.
Cheng Feng and a few others headed the convoy on horseback. Behind them was Pei Zheng, then the carriage Qi Changyi had been placed in. Shen Huan was in there as well, taking care of him.
After the people at the front exited the gate, Zhao Litang lifted his chin toward Wu Quan, “Follow them. If anything happens, I’m holding you responsible!”
Wu Quan and his soldiers hurriedly followed.
They passed the foreign tribe’s border; the old chief knew that they were going to the desert, so he found them a guide that was familiar with the topography of the desert.
The guide appeared to be a nice, down-to-earth young man. When he saw Pei Zheng, it seemed that he was a bit frightened by him. He said respectfully, “G-greetings to Lord Pei.”
Pei Zheng gave him a slight nod, “We’re in your care.”
The guide asked, “Lord Pei, there are so many people, are all of you going in?”
There were over a hundred people in this convoy, as well as two carriages and numerous horses. This shocked the guide; he had never led so many people into the desert at one time, so he really couldn’t guarantee every single person’s safety.
Pei Zheng eyed Wu Quan coldly, and Wu Quan hurriedly averted his gaze, the words I don’t know, don’t ask me written all over his face.
“You just need to ensure their safety. As for the rest of them, just do your best.” Pei Zheng pointed at the two carriages.
The guide nodded, “Lord Pei, there’s one more thing. It’s about that oasis you mentioned, I’ve actually heard of it before, but I’ve never seen it. I don’t dare to say that we’ll be able to find it immediately, I’m afraid it will take some effort.”
The old chief said, “You don’t need to tell him that. Lord Pei already knows. Your task is to try your best and search. I believe that you’ll definitely find it.”
Even the chief was saying something like this; that meant that they had to find it. If they didn’t, that guide wouldn’t even need to return with his life intact.
With the guide leading the group, they set off, travelling toward the desert at the border.
They hadn’t even left foreign territory yet; the guide had been jabbering away the whole time, but Pei Zheng, who was riding beside him, was as cold as an ice cube, and didn’t make a sound.
After the guide accidentally met his eyes, he became even more terrified of him. He didn’t even dare to continue speaking to Pei Zheng, and slowly shifted toward Wu Quan.
“Sir,” The guide whispered, “Does that Lord Pei have some kind of problem with me?”
Wu Quan consoled him good-naturedly, “He doesn’t.”
“Lord Pei has a problem with everyone. There isn’t a person in this world he approves of.”
Wu Quan recalled something, “Oh, wait, besides one person.”
The guide asked, mystified, “Who?”
Wu Quan glanced up at the carriage ahead of them, “The one who’s unconscious in there.”
The guide said, “I almost forgot, there’s one more thing: carriages cannot enter the desert. In a bit, we’ll have to swap the horses out for camels.”
All the horses were replaced by camels. They had almost reached the end of the foreign tribe’s territory. If they continued forward, they would reach the dusty desert. And behind this desert was barbarian territory.
The guide reminded everyone of a few things to be careful of, before the convoy walked into the desert.
Right now, the sun was high in the sky, and the desert was rather hot; roasted by the heat, everyone began to sweat after just a few moments.
Fortunately, the convoy was composed of experienced soldiers and shadow guards who had undergone various drills, so no one was showing any adverse reactions.
They walked for quite a while; the borderlands through which they had entered the desert was already out of sight. The guide was afraid that they weren’t accustomed to the conditions, so he tried to call for everyone to stop and rest for a moment. However, he was cut off by Pei Zheng.
“Those who can’t keep up can return now, since we still haven’t gone too far. If there’s no one, let us continue onward.”
The guide was about to say something else, when Shen Huan also piped up, “We’re extremely tight on time, we can’t waste a single moment. Let’s hurry up and continue, we’re all fine.”
The guide was helpless in trying to convince them otherwise, so he could only lead everyone to hurry onward.
But as they ventured deeper and deeper into the desert, the vegetation gradually became sparse. After a while, there wasn’t a shred of green in front of them; it was all just an endless expanse of sand.
This kind of environment made it extremely easy for people to lose their way. If it weren’t for them having someone to lead them, it was likely that no one would be able to tell what direction they were going in.
It was winter, but the desert was blazing hot; such a phenomenon was just too difficult to accept.
After walking for a while longer, Shen Huan anxiously called for the convoy to stop.
Qi Changyi had already been moved from the carriage into a cart pulled by camels. Although there was a gauze cover to block the sun, his lips were still dry and cracked, and his cheeks were abnormally red.
Pei Zheng walked over to see what was going on. He reached out to touch the small man’s face but was scalded.
Shen Huan pulled Qi Changyi’s cuff open, lifting his arm to show Pei Zheng. The wound was already beginning to fester; it seemed to be inflamed and showed signs of rotting.
Shen Huan’s gaze was full of worry, “His temperature has gone up again, and his wound hasn’t gotten any better. In fact, it’s gotten worse.”
Pei Zheng took the bowl of medicine from Shen Huan. Before they entered the desert, Shen Huan had already prepared enough medicine for the day. If the small man needed to drink more later, they could only prepare it as they traveled.
Pei Zheng carefully helped the small man sit up, before he dipped his finger into the medicinal soup and dabbed it onto his lips, moistening his cracked mouth.
The small man didn’t show any reaction. The black medicinal soup rolled down his mouth and onto his collar.
His lips had been wetted a bit, but it looked like there was no way for him to drink the medicine by himself.
It wasn’t like Pei Zheng had never fed the small man medicine before; he had used all sorts of methods. But right now, there were so many people around them, and there was nowhere for them to hide, so how could he get the medicine into the little prince’s mouth?
Notes
Thanks for reading~
