There is a happy inn in the capital.

Chapter 410 The Good indifference

"Don't gossip about things in the martial arts world."

Li Shuchen forced a laugh, his heart bleeding. A thousand taels of silver! How many durians, strawberries, and cherries could that buy?

"Hahaha, Wanbai, Hongying, stop licking my palm, it's so itchy, hahaha," Zizhu laughed as she dodged.

Wanbai and Hongying seemed to know the medicine was valuable; they kept pestering the girls who were mixing the potion to feed the horses, licking the remaining potion from their hands, and affectionately nuzzling their heads against them.

“Those two clever little devils,” Gu Ziying laughed, “they must have smelled the poisonous fodder last night, so they didn’t eat it and ran away. Animals are sometimes smarter than people.”

"Wanbai is the smartest, even smarter than me," Li Shuchen patted Wanbai's bottom and laughed. "Hongying is also clever, knowing to follow Wanbai, otherwise it would have been troublesome to stay behind and defend."

“Hongying follows me, always shouldering some responsibility,” Liang Yuying stroked Hongying’s head and looked at Li Wanbai.

"Luckily, Wanbai is here."

The horses were rescued, but they clearly won't be able to walk today.

Liang Yuying decided to rest on the spot for a day to allow the horses to recover their strength, and at the same time, thoroughly check all supplies to ensure there were no other potential problems.

In the evening, Li Shuchen sat on a rock grooming Wanbai, while Hongying watched longingly from the side. She had no choice but to groom Wanbai as well.

"Thanks to you all today," she said softly. "If it weren't for you leading the way, we wouldn't have discovered that Wang Liu was the traitor."

"Hey~"

Wan Bai snorted, giving him a "no big deal" look.

"But how did you know there was something under the rock?" Li Shuchen asked curiously.

The red shadow pawed at the ground with its hooves, then made a sniffing motion.

"You really smelled it?" Li Shuchen exclaimed in shock. "Your noses are even more sensitive than dogs'!"

The two horses proudly raised their heads.

Not far away, the Tenth Prince was inspecting the camp.

He walked to Wang Liu's body (which had already been simply buried), remained silent for a while, and then suddenly said...

"After returning to the capital, I will request my father to issue an imperial decree to thoroughly investigate any officials in the court who have connections with the Boyu Kingdom."

"Does Your Highness believe this matter is related to the Kingdom of Boyu?" Liang Yuying asked.

"Otherwise what?" The tenth prince turned around with a cold laugh, his boyish face displaying a sternness beyond his years.

"Such elaborate efforts to prevent our mission can only mean that someone within the Kingdom of Boyu doesn't want peace talks, or rather, doesn't want us to reach Boyu alive."

Everyone fell into deep thought

If that's the case, then the road ahead will only become more dangerous.

Night fell again

This time, the number of people on watch doubled, and even Ye Bingli sat by the campfire with her zither.

She said this way she could keep watch at night and practice the piano at the same time, killing two birds with one stone.

The sound of the zither drifted through the desolate mountains and fields, clear and melodious.

Li Shuchen lay on his simple bedding, gazing at the starry sky, thinking to himself: These two mountains were already so exciting, and there's a third "Heavenly Threshold" to come. This mission is truly full of surprises!

However, with a clever horse, reliable companions, and... well, a system that, while painful to part with, is incredibly useful in crucial moments.

She rolled over and closed her eyes.

We still have to keep traveling tomorrow.

The next morning, although the horses were still a little weak in the legs, they were able to stand up with difficulty.

After taking stock of the supplies, Liang Yuying decided to streamline her packing and lighten her load to continue her journey.

"Don't bring anything you don't need," she said, pointing to several boxes of unnecessary documents and ceremonial items. "We need to cross this mountain in five days, otherwise we won't have enough food."

This time, the tenth prince didn't complain. He voluntarily combined his two large trunks into one and even contributed a thick blanket for the wounded.

Li Shuchen observed this and whispered to Gu Ziying, "The Tenth Prince has changed. He's become quite sensible since his trip out. His temper has mellowed considerably, and he's stopped killing indiscriminately."

“After all, she’s sixteen, not six,” Gu Ziying said with a smile as she packed a bag of millet into smaller bags. “Speaking of which, that young master Ruan also did a lot of work. He brought some good wound medicine and distributed a lot to the wounded, and he even helped with bandaging and taking care of them. He’s a very kind-hearted person.”

"She's very kind-hearted, asking me how I am every day, even though she's injured herself," Princess Changning replied, checking her water pouch, her tone somewhat subtle.

Li Shuchen blinked and exchanged a knowing look with Gu Ziying.

"I've cooked the porridge, come and have some!" Ruan Jingshang ran over to greet them, but his gaze remained fixed on Princess Changning.

Today he changed into a more streamlined dark blue riding outfit, and standing next to Princess Changning, who was dressed in a maroon riding outfit, they looked very well-matched.

Princess Changning was helping Ye Bingli re-tie the luggage on a horse when she heard this, and without even looking up, she said, "Thank you, but no need."

Ruan Jingshang wasn't annoyed. He smiled and leaned closer, saying, "Does the princess need any help? I have some excellent ropes here, much stronger than the ones you're using."

"No need," Princess Changning refused decisively, but the rope in her hand was indeed almost worn through.

Ruan Jingshang didn't insist. He took a roll of leather rope from his horse and placed it at her feet, then turned to help the other merchants bundle their luggage.

Princess Changning stared at the rolled-up rope for three seconds, and finally silently put it on.

Li Shuchen witnessed everything, suppressing his laughter until his stomach ached.

Finally, unable to hold it in, I burst out laughing, "Hahahahahaha!"

Princess Changning glared at Li Shuchen. "Li Shuchen, what are you laughing at?"

"Nothing, I just thought of something funny."

After breakfast, the group continued their journey.

The mountain path through the windbreak ridge was more difficult than expected; there were almost no established roads, and Liang Yuying and a few scouts had to find their way by trial and error.

Some sections of the road were so steep that people had to pull horses uphill, and all the loads on the horses had to be unloaded and carried by hand.

In the afternoon, an accident occurred while the group was climbing a scree slope with a gradient of nearly 60 degrees.

A horse lost its footing and slid down, carrying its rider and luggage, about to collide with the people behind it.

"catch"

Ruan Jingshang had rushed forward without anyone noticing, grabbing the reins with one hand and gripping a protruding rock tightly with the other, veins bulging on his arm.

Several guards rushed forward and dragged the horse to its feet.

Once the danger was over, Ruan Jingshang's right palm was covered in blood from being rubbed raw by the rough rocks.

"It's nothing, just a minor injury," he said dismissively, waving his hand and pulling out some wound medicine from his pocket to pour on the wound.

His movements were so practiced that he didn't look like a businessman at all.

Princess Changning walked over, glanced at his wound, then at the bottle of clearly military-grade wound medicine in his hand, and said nothing. She simply took out a more exquisite small porcelain bottle from her sleeve.

“Use this,” she said casually. “Your medicine is too strong; it’s not suitable for this kind of abrasion.”

After saying that, he got up and left.

Ruan Jingshang was stunned, then his eyes lit up. He took the porcelain bottle as if he had found a treasure and shouted loudly at Changning's retreating figure.

Thank you, Princess.

He grinned widely as he applied the medicine, looking nothing like an injured person.

Li Shuchen nudged Gu Ziying and Ye Bingli with his elbow, and all three of them couldn't help but chuckle.