Empress Fu Yao [Volume 3]

The Great Sacrifice (Part 1)

Meng Fuyao's mouth twitched. She knew that Zhan Beiye wanted to drape his robe over her but was afraid that she would reject him. To omit the trouble of pushing back and forth, he wanted to do that after she was asleep. She contemplated for a moment before reaching out her hand. "Lend me your robe to cover myself." She nudged Zhan Beiye and said, "Go sleep, go sleep."

The two of them laid down one by one. Though they were tired, they did not dare to fall into a deep slumber. Meng Fuyao had her eyes shut, but she vaguely heard a soldier getting up and secretly walking away. The soldier was stopped by a friend, who asked, "Where are you off to?"

"Nature's call."

The friend laughed and asked, "Can't you do it anywhere? Where will you find a toilet in this thick forest?"

"Miss Meng is here..." The soldier whispered, "If the smell diffuses over, it'll be disrespectful."

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There was silence for a moment. The friend who stopped him gave a wave of his hand and chuckled. "You must have eaten too much of the hedgehog meat, resulting in indigestion. Go and come back quickly."

The sound of footsteps faded into the distance. With her eyes still closed, Meng Fuyao smiled to herself, and there was a warm fuzzy feeling in her heart. In her mind, the soldier's face appeared. Was it the one with the big eyes and a scar on his forehead? He was still young, but he had already experienced many battles. She did not know that these soldiers actually had such a meticulous side to them.

She slowly fell asleep.

Meng Fuyao woke up before dawn. The moment she opened her eyes, she happily thought, 'Fortunately, it was a peaceful night.'

Then, she heard Ji Yu commanding in a low voice, "Go and search for him again in teams of two. Do not fall behind the group!"

Meng Fuyao immediately sat up and asked, "What happened?"

"We're missing a brother," replied Zhan Beiye, who sat cross-legged as before, as though he did not sleep. "He never came back after relieving himself."

Startled, Meng Fuyao questioned, "The one who went out to relieve himself yesterday night? He disappeared right after that? Then why are we searching for him only now?"

"Last night, he had a stomachache, and it never subsided. The first few times he went out, nothing happened. The last time he went was before dawn, and he went missing after that."

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Frowning, Zhan Beiye looked at the white smog floating in the forest. In this endless forest, there were simply too many factors that could cause death. Any hidden danger could easily swallow up a healthy life.

The soldiers who went on the second search came back, yet there was still no sign of the missing one. Ji Yu thought for a moment and said, "Stop searching. We will continue on our way."

Zhan Beiye didn't speak a word. A few moments later, he stood up and left a marking on the floor. "Let's go," he said.

Meng Fuyao took a deep breath. She knew that Zhan Beiye would not easily give up on a subordinate. However, a leader must know how to give and take in times of emergency. The longer they stayed in this forest, the likelier it was that more would die.

Meng Fuyao looked at the departing figure. Zhan Beiye kept his back straightened, and as he moved, pieces of crimson red clothing appeared from the sides of his black robe, swaying in the wind like balls of fire burning into the forest. Such a man seemed to have never had a moment of weakness; it was as though the painful stories that faded into history had never undermined his innate pride and self-confidence.