"Help... help me up quickly, I can't hold on any longer." A weak voice suddenly came from below.
Upon hearing this voice, Han Xiwen trembled all over. He leaped down the cliff and, on a sheer cliff face, saw An Ning. She was standing on a spot no bigger than a palm, about to lose her balance.
He quickly stepped forward, put an arm around An Ning's waist, and using the spot she was standing on, he pushed off and flew upwards.
Landing safely on the ground, An Ning gasped for breath. Suddenly remembering something, she quickly took off her clothes. Wu Zhengdao was already asleep, and she breathed a sigh of relief.
Looking up and seeing Han Xiwen watching her, she said, "Thank you. If it weren't for you, I might have really died here."
Han Xiwen turned his face away and said, "How about I escort you back to Dongling Pass?"
An Ning's eyes lit up, "Really?"
Hearing this, Han Xiwen became a little displeased. "When has this prince ever gone back on his word?"
"Then thank you so much," An Ning said.
She wanted to send Wu Zhengdao back to General Wu's side. It was difficult for her to travel with a child, especially since she still had something important to do later.
Han Xiwen whistled, and a horse galloped towards them. He mounted the horse and then extended his hand to An Ning. An Ning was startled.
Han Xiwen said, "Do you expect to walk all the way to Dongling Pass on two legs?"
An Ning understood and didn't stand on ceremony. With a helping hand, she sat behind Han Xiwen.
"Hold on tight," Han Xiwen said, quickly spurring his horse forward.
An Ning instinctively hugged Han Xiwen's waist. At this moment, this was all she could do.
Han Xiwen's lips curved slightly. This warmth was something he had longed for a long time ago.
They galloped all the way until they reached the foot of Dongling Pass. When the horse stopped, Han Xiwen said, "Just go inside. I'll escort you this far."
An Ning nodded. She knew that if Han Xiwen entered Dongling Pass, he might not be able to come out alive. Although he had done many hateful things in the past, he had, after all, brought her back.
People are selfish. He had saved her life and brought her back, so her hatred for him didn't seem so deep anymore.
"Prince Xiwen, farewell for now!" An Ning cupped her hands.
Just as Han Xiwen was about to leave, a troop of soldiers suddenly surrounded them.
An Ning frowned. A general stood at the front, sneering, "You've walked right into a trap. How dare you come to Dongling Pass again? Seize them..."
"Wait a moment..." An Ning said.
The general looked at An Ning and said coldly, "Whatever you have to say, say it to the General. Prince Xiwen, please."
Han Xiwen sneered upon hearing this, "This is a victory without honor. I thought your generals in Huangze would invite battle openly, not resort to sneak attacks like this."
The general was enraged, his face filled with anger. "When it comes to shamelessness, I am nowhere near as shameless as you, Your Highness. Holding the General's wife and child hostage to coerce the General into surrendering."
An Ning trembled all over and quickly said, "Take me to see the General. I have something important..."
"Do you think you can see the General just because you want to? Take them away," the general said angrily.
An Ning was about to say more, but Han Xiwen grabbed her, shaking his head.
An Ning never expected things to develop this way.
They were pushed towards the detention area, but the general did not let them enter. He stared coldly at Han Xiwen and An Ning, "Since Prince Xiwen likes to strip people's clothes so much, why don't I strip the clothes off the woman beside you?"
Han Xiwen's gaze turned cold, and he said coldly, "How dare you!"
The general sneered, "How dare I not? Not only dare I, but I will also torment her severely to avenge the humiliation of the General's wife."
Han Xiwen stepped forward and shielded An Ning behind him, saying coldly, "If you have a grievance, direct it at me. Do not lay a hand on a woman who cannot even lift a chicken."
"A woman?" The general's eyes turned red. "Your woman is a woman, but is the General's wife not a woman? You let the General's wife suffer such humiliation in public?"
The general roared.
"I am very sorry for what happened before," Han Xiwen said, lowering his gaze.
"Sorry is useless, Your Highness Prince Xiwen," the general said, gritting his teeth, word by word.
"Then how can you let us see General Wu?" Han Xiwen asked.
The general sneered, "Two hundred strokes with the military cane. If Your Highness Xiwen can endure it, I will consider letting you see General Wu."
Han Xiwen frowned. Then the general continued, "If General Wu is unwilling, you can have the woman behind you come to serve me and my soldiers. If I am satisfied, I will let you see General Wu."
As he spoke, the soldiers behind the general clenched their fists, their eyes filled with wolf-like greed.
An Ning's gaze gradually turned cold.
Han Xiwen's gaze also turned cold upon hearing this. "Bullying a woman who can't even lift a chicken, are you sure you are General Wu's soldiers?"
The general sneered, "Whether we are or not, it's not for Your Highness Xiwen to decide."
Han Xiwen sneered, "I find it truly laughable. I am ashamed of what I did before, but seeing you like this now, I think if you heard that my wife was captured by you, you would do even worse."
"Don't compare us to you," the general said angrily.
Han Xiwen continued coldly, "Is that so? Do you know why I did what I did? Do you remember how you violated a young girl who was gathering herbs and accidentally trespassed into Dongling Pass?"
The general froze, "How... how did you know?"
Han Xiwen's gaze was as cold as frost. "That young girl was the daughter of my副将 (fù jiàng - second-in-command/deputy general). When it comes to beasts, none of us is more cruel than the other."
"Nonsense..." The general took a few steps back.
A soldier whispered a few words behind the general, and the general sneered, "Prince Xiwen, you are in our hands now. You cannot leave."
"I know I cannot leave, but it is wrong to harm innocent women. If you have a grievance, direct it at me," Han Xiwen said coldly.
"Two hundred strokes with the military cane," the general said triumphantly.
"Good," Han Xiwen agreed.
An Ning was startled, "Prince Xiwen, no..."
Han Xiwen shook his head, "An Ning, you don't understand. If we don't let them vent their anger, they won't let us see General Wu."
"But..."
"I am truly sorry for what I did before," Han Xiwen said.
An Ning watched as the rods fell on Han Xiwen's back. One stroke drew blood, showing that they were indeed using force.
Two hundred strokes would leave him dead or disabled. No, they couldn't let this happen. Otherwise, when would this endless war end?
"I want to see General Wu. I have something important to report to the General."
"You?" The general sneered. "An assassin dares to see the General?"
"Assassin? When did I become an assassin? I..."
"Guards, take this assassin away!" the general ordered angrily.
An Ning's gaze turned cold. She looked at Han Xiwen, who also realized he had been tricked and tried to break free. However, he was already being pinned to the ground, unable to move at all, not to mention that the blows from the rods had not stopped.
"You broke your word!" An Ning was furious.