The boy's name was Yue Qin. At the age of fifteen, the Battle of Qiujiang was his first experience in war after joining the army, and he had no idea that he would end up captured so easily.
Nan Yue, a small and remote vassal state to the southwest of Yan, was a land where the practice of witchcraft was highly revered. However, the land was impoverished, covered in dense forests and marshes, and plagued by venomous insects. Even during its peak, the people barely had enough to eat, let alone thrive. Such a place offered little benefit to Yan, even if it were annexed, so it had been left in peace for many years. But this generation had produced a "holy child," a figure of "unparalleled beauty" who could control beasts and serpents, summon wind and rain. When the Yan Emperor attempted to summon him to the capital and failed, his fury led to a massacre, leaving corpses strewn across the land and rivers of blood flowing for miles. Since then, Nan Yue had known no peace.
"He is the Third Prince of Yan," Mei Lin said, pointing to Murong Jing He on Yue Qin's back. As she watched the long trail they left behind, she couldn't help but feel irritated.
"Oh, is that so?" Yue Qin didn't show any surprise or hatred. Panting heavily, he continued to trudge forward, struggling under the weight of the man on his back, sweat pouring into his eyes.
Mei Lin couldn't bear to watch any longer. She felt a strong urge to leave them both behind. She couldn't understand why this boy was so determined to save the son of the man who had destroyed his home and family, and she couldn't stand the pitiful look in his eyes. If it weren't for that, she would have left as soon as she realized how slow they were moving—no better than a tortoise.
"Enough, enough. Put him down," she finally said, unable to take it any longer.
"Big sister..." Just as the boy was about to give her those puppy-dog eyes again, Mei Lin quickly raised her hand to block his gaze.
"Stop whining and hurry up. Don't drag me down with you," she said sternly, her tone impatient, making it clear that if he didn't comply, she would leave.
Hearing her words, Yue Qin reluctantly swallowed his protest and slowly lowered Murong Jing He onto a relatively dry patch of soft fallen leaves. They were in a red pine forest. The red pines stood tall, their trunks reaching into the sky, interspersed with purple elms and fir trees. Under the trees, old vines twisted, moss and ferns grew thickly, and pheasants hid in the underbrush. The dense canopy above provided shelter from the rain, leaving the ground only slightly damp.
"Go find something to eat," Mei Lin ordered as she moved forward to carefully examine Murong Jing He. Whatever injuries he had sustained, he should have woken up by now after all that movement. It was strange that he showed no signs of awakening.
Yue Qin, already dizzy from hunger, was relieved to see that she wasn't planning to abandon Murong Jing He. He immediately began searching the area for food. The forest offered wild mushrooms, wood ears, wild grapes, and dogwood berries hanging from the vines, along with fallen pine nuts on the ground. It wasn't hard to gather a decent meal, and it certainly tasted better than raw snake meat.
Apart from some minor scrapes, Murong Jing He had no serious injuries, but his complexion was frighteningly pale. Mei Lin felt a strange sensation in her heart as she pressed her fingers to his pulse.
"You've saved him, but one day he might be the one to destroy your homeland," she said to the boy who was busy picking wild grapes.
Yue Qin collected the grapes in his clothes, and although he was starving, he didn't eat any as he picked them. Hearing her words, he paused and smiled. "Big sister, if we left him behind, he would surely die."
It was a nonsensical answer, but Mei Lin turned away and decided to ignore him. However, she had to admit that his words touched something deep inside her. She couldn't agree with his perspective, but she couldn't dismiss it either.
Murong Jing He's pulse was erratic but not weak. Mei Lin couldn't tell if he had internal injuries or if something else was wrong. She had no medical knowledge and could only confirm that there was indeed something wrong with his body. Beyond that, she was helpless. She withdrew her hand and, after some thought, pressed her thumb to his philtrum, hoping to rouse him. But despite applying enough pressure to leave a mark, he didn't wake.
"What a huge hassle..." she muttered, adjusting his inner garments before pulling out her knife to cut some vines.
"Big sister, eat some grapes," Yue Qin said cheerfully as he returned, carrying a shirt full of black wild grapes. "These wild grapes are really tasty. I used to go into the mountains to pick them with my friends when I was at home."
Mei Lin glanced at his innocent black eyes, untouched by the filth of war, and said nothing. She picked up a bunch of grapes and started eating them. Seeing her eat, the boy was pleased and sat down beside her, happily munching on the grapes.
"If we leave him here, the Yan soldiers will find him. If we take him with us, we'll both be dragged down," Mei Lin said after eating two bunches of grapes, trying to suppress the lingering taste of blood in her mouth. She then resumed cutting the vines.
"But he might die before they find him," Yue Qin replied earnestly, swallowing grapes as he spoke. He was right—leaving an unconscious man in the cold autumn forest, especially in the rain, could easily lead to his death from exposure.
Knowing he was right, Mei Lin pursed her lips and said no more. A large pile of flexible vines lay on the ground. She scanned the area, then walked over to a red pine tree about the thickness of an adult's arm and about ten feet tall. She squatted down and began cutting at its base. Though she lacked strength, the knife was sharp, and it didn't take long for her to fell the tree.
"Big sister, let me help you," Yue Qin offered, unsure of what she was doing. After quickly finishing the grapes, he hurried over to help strip the branches from the tree.
Mei Lin, still injured, was already feeling exhausted after this effort, so she handed the knife to him and instructed him on what to do.
Yue Qin, used to manual labor, worked quickly and efficiently, soon constructing a simple frame from the tree trunk and vines. Mei Lin then had him cut the extra trunk into four three-inch-thick round logs, hollowing out the centers to create holes. These were then threaded onto the vines at the bottom of the frame.
Before long, Yue Qin realized what Mei Lin was trying to do, and his enthusiasm grew. When they had securely tied Murong Jing He to the frame and tested it by pulling it along, both he and Mei Lin were satisfied. For Yue Qin, it meant less effort and faster progress, while Mei Lin was reassured that even if Murong Jing He woke up suddenly, he wouldn't pose a threat to them. Whatever the reason, they were both pleased with the outcome.
After burying the leftover materials from the frame, covering them with fallen leaves and pine needles, and removing any traces of their presence, the two set off again.
"Big sister, you can ride too. I can pull both of you," Yue Qin called out after they had been walking for a while, his eyes shining with the excitement of a child with a new toy.
Mei Lin waved him off, signaling for him to continue while she stayed behind, carefully covering their tracks or clearing any evidence of their passage. Occasionally, she would walk in another direction for a short distance before retracing her steps to avoid leaving a trail.
Since they were moving slowly, Mei Lin gathered edible items along the way, using Murong Jing He's wet clothes to bundle them up. Once she had gathered enough, she tied the bundle with a belt and placed it on the vine frame for Yue Qin to pull along.
After more than an hour of walking, no one caught up to them, and they both began to relax a little.
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