Zhan Ri Fei seemed to read his doubt. Smiling faintly, he said, “You have your unmatched light-footed technique, and I have my own methods. But if you reach the capital before me, could I ask you for a favor?”
Huo Xiao Di, still half-skeptical, hesitated before replying, “Tell me.”
Zhan Ri Fei said, “I’d like you to take something to the capital for me.”
Huo Xiao Di asked, “The favor you want me to do is this?”
Zhan Ri Fei nodded. “That’s right.”
With a soft sigh, he continued, “Although this matter is of great importance, I originally never intended to involve you. But now, I have no choice but to ask for your help.”
His smile had grown faint and weak. “In any case, it seems I’ve already owed you so many favors that I’ve lost count.”
For some reason, tears began to well up in Huo Xiao Di’s large eyes, shimmering and rolling back and forth. His throat felt constricted, as though something was stuck there, and he couldn’t find the words to respond.
Zhan Ri Fei said with a faint smile, “I never thought someone from the renowned Ling Long Manor would cry like a little girl at the drop of a hat.”
Huo Xiao Di hesitated and stammered, “Brother Zhan, I—I’ve actually been lying to you. My name really isn’t Huo Xiao Di. Actually, I am—”
Zhan Ri Fei interrupted him gently, his gaze steady. “Brother Huo, you haven’t deceived me. Didn’t you already say when we first met that Huo Xiao Di wasn’t your real name? Whether it’s your true name or not doesn’t matter. What matters is that I trust the person I’ve entrusted this to.”
Huo Xiao Di’s tears began to fall uncontrollably, rolling down his cheeks as he sobbed, “You must have already guessed—”
Zhan Ri Fei smiled faintly. “All I know is that I’ve had the privilege of meeting a young hero of unparalleled valor from Ling Long Manor. Since you like the name Huo Xiao Di, I’ll continue to call you Xiao Di.”
Huo Xiao Di looked at him, his vision blurred with tears. They streamed down his face and dripped onto Zhan Ri Fei.
“Brother Zhan, tell me—no matter what it is, I’ll do it for you!”
Zhan Ri Fei reached into his robes and took out a piece of yellow silk, handing it to Huo Xiao Di.
“Then, Brother Huo, please deliver this to the Southern Qing Palace in Dong Jing Bian Liang. You must hand it directly to the Eighth Prince in person.”
The yellow silk was densely covered with countless names, and its surface was soaked in blood, stained with a dark, reddish-black hue.
It was Zhan Ri Fei’s blood.
Huo Xiao Di found that this seemingly light piece of yellow silk felt unbearably heavy in his hands.
—How much blood had he shed for this silk? How many hardships had he endured?
Huo Xiao Di murmured, “The thing they’ve been chasing and trying to take back along the way… it’s this yellow silk?”
Zhan Ri Fei gave a faint nod, his strength fading with every moment. “That’s right.”
As he spoke, a wave of sharp pain shot through his chest, and cold sweat broke out across his body.
“Brother Huo, this item concerns whether the people of Song can be spared the suffering of war. You must deliver it personally to the Eighth Prince. Even Prince Zhao must not know about it.”
Huo Xiao Di was surprised by Zhan Ri Fei’s words. “Even he can’t be told? But he’s the Eighth Prince’s own flesh and blood. Do you really not trust him?”
Zhan Ri Fei shook his head weakly. “It’s not that I don’t trust him. You know what Little Prince Zhao’s temperament is like. I don’t want him to know because I don’t want him to recklessly put himself in danger.”
As he spoke, a fit of coughing overtook him, leaving him struggling to catch his breath.
Huo Xiao Di, clearly distressed, said, “This is my fault. I shouldn’t have asked you such trivial questions.”
Zhan Ri Fei forced a faint smile and said, “If you didn’t ask, I imagine you’d have burst from holding it in. How could someone from Ling Long Manor let something so small stifle them?”
Even in the face of life and death, Zhan Ri Fei still had the humor to make light of the situation. Seeing this, Huo Xiao Di couldn’t help but laugh through his tears. But his smile was tinged with deep sorrow and bitterness.
Then, suddenly, a thought struck him.
“If you don’t want Little Prince Zhao to know, what should I do if the Eighth Prince doesn’t believe me when I meet him?”
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