The cruel little princess

Only at night, when tired and in need of rest, would Shen Zijin crawl into the beast's cave. Lying on a pile of hay, he would slowly reflect on the events of the past few years. In his nearly twenty years of life, he had never suffered such a defeat, nor such a severe wound. How could he bear this?! At first, he had thought that upon his return, he would muster his troops and utterly destroy the enemy! But as time passed, and his brothers showed no sign of rescuing him, his will slowly waned, his initial hatred fading, and he began to reflect on the recent battles. There are some things you can't imagine until you stop thinking about them. But once you begin to suspect something, you gradually add bricks and tiles to the structure, unraveling the mystery, searching for the slightest clue. Gradually, he figured something out. There was a spy in the army! He had led a surprise attack that day, and only a few people in the barracks knew about it. But the enemy had left a loophole, and after he rushed in, they surrounded him again. It was obvious that they were deliberately luring him in, like fishing, and they were well prepared! There was no other reason for this except that there was a spy in the army. But who this spy was, he would have to wait until he returned to the barracks and slowly investigate. He couldn't wrongly accuse a good person, nor could he let any bad guy go!

Except for the nights when he crawled into the cave to sleep, he would squat quietly two or three meters away from the cave entrance the rest of the time. One reason was to be able to hear any movement outside at any time so that he could react as quickly as possible, and the other was to receive supplies from Erni or Erni's father from time to time. If it weren't for the care of Erni and her father, he would definitely not have survived based on his current physical condition! I don't know whether to say that he, Shen Zijin, was lucky or unlucky. Anyway, from that day on, no enemy troops came to search near the cave, but they kept a close eye on the people in the village, so that Erni's father's information could not be transmitted out. Over the past ten days, his injuries had been delayed again and again, and the environment here was not suitable for healing. His wounds had worsened and festered, and the air was filled with the rotten smell of his body.

Shen Zijin thought, perhaps this was fate. Although he didn't die on the battlefield, he had to die quietly in this desolate mountain, just like the giant insect. The light in his eyes flickered until it was almost gone.

But he didn't expect to receive the news that the enemy had already left! He was afraid that the enemy was cunning and seemed to have left but was actually hiding and waiting. But he didn't want to die quietly like this. He still had many things to do, his revenge had not been avenged, and he hadn't seen his little sister for several years. He didn't know if the little girl who was always pretty and softly called him brother had grown up? Was she still so innocent?! If his father got old, who would take care of his sister? So he wanted to live! He wanted to live well! For the safety of the father and daughter, he asked Erni to wait for another day. If nothing unusual happened tomorrow, he would go to the military camp to find reinforcements to rescue him. Knowing that the enemies might not go up the mountain to look for him again, he let himself pass out without worry. But he didn't know that the outside world was in chaos because of him!

Shen Youyou and Prince Jin's entourage initially arrived at the site of the fierce battle. Guard Wu explained the battle details to his young lady. "Scouts reported that the young general and the remaining brothers might have headed in that direction!" Guard Wu pointed in the direction of Willow Village in the north. "That's the northernmost village of our Jinlong Kingdom. Further north is the Qinglong Kingdom, separated by deep mountains and steep cliffs. However, when the scouts tracked the young general deep into the mountains, they lost track of him. I don't know if someone erased his tracks or what, but after chasing him, they found some clues near the Qinglong Kingdom and even recovered the young general's armor. So we all believed that the Qinglong Kingdom had captured our young general, and most people searched for him in the villages there." Guard Wu recounted the details of the search to Shen Youyou.

Shen Youyou remained silent upon hearing this. Instead, she stretched out her fingers and gently tapped on the low table in the middle of the carriage, making a crisp "ta-da" sound. His Royal Highness Prince Jin stared at her slender, jade-white fingers, which seemed to strike at his heart like scallion jade, repeatedly stirring his heartbeat and his thoughts.

Before His Royal Highness Prince Jin could speak, Shen Youyou suddenly said, "Let's go to Willow Village."

Hearing this, Guard Wu was stunned and asked in confusion: "Aren't we going to Qinglong Country to find someone?"

Shen Youyou smiled slightly and explained, "Uncle Wu, have you ever heard of the phrase 'darkness under the lamp'?"

Guard Wu looked bewildered and shook his head, saying, "The light is dark? What does that mean? I don't quite understand."

Shen Youyou patiently explained, "The so-called 'darkness under the lamp' means that we can't just look at things superficially. Perhaps these are just illusions deliberately created by the enemy to confuse us. Moreover, my eldest brother is seriously injured, so it is impossible for him to escape to the vicinity of Qinglong Country where he is unfamiliar with the place. He will only choose a place he thinks is safer. In my opinion, if my guess is correct, this trip to Willow Village may yield unexpected gains. On the other hand, if there is nothing found in Willow Village, then it means that perhaps my brother has really been abducted to Qinglong Country. Let's go without delay. We will know what is going on when we go there!"

Guard Wu only half understood what he heard, but obeying orders is a soldier's nature, so he directly ordered to go to Liushu Village.

After more than half of the hundred or so people had left, Shen Youyou suddenly said to Guard Wu, "Uncle Wu, find a few brothers with good martial arts skills and quietly go ahead to investigate to see if there are any other people ambushing near Liushu Village."

"Yes!" Guard Wu responded, but before he could move, he saw a man running up ahead. With a tap of his toes, he flew five meters away. He flew over at full speed, stopping steadily in front of the carriage. He knelt on one knee, clasping his hands in a salute. "Your Highness, I've discovered an ambush near Liushu Village. There are about fifty or sixty of them. They don't dress like our Golden Dragon people; they must be from the Azure Dragon Kingdom. They're hiding in the woods at the entrance of the village. They seem to be waiting for something. I dare not disturb them, so I've come to report!"

Shen Youyou smiled faintly, as if confirming what he was thinking. "Uncle Wu, my eldest brother must still be in our Golden Dragon Nation. Let's go meet those people who are 'waiting for the rabbit' and ask them for their news."

Shen Youyou looked directly at His Royal Highness Prince Jin with a frank look, "Your Highness, please lend me a hand. Be sure to leave a few of them alive so we can get some information out of them!"

Prince Jin smiled and said, "I will definitely live up to Miss Shen's trust." He turned around and said in a cold voice, "An Yi, except for the leader, all others will be killed without mercy!"

"Yes!" An Yi took his brothers and left.

By the time His Royal Highness Prince Jin and Shen Youyou's carriage arrived at Willow Village at a moderate pace, the secret guards had already completed their mission.

"Your Highness," An Yi reported. "They are all from the Qinglong Kingdom army, and this time, they're here to search for General Shen, following the orders of their Great Tiger Guard General. According to them, they had originally intended to set a trap to capture General Shen alive, but General Shen and his men fought their way out. They chased him to the mountains near this village, but lost sight of the young general. They suspect he must have gone deep into the mountains. However, there are large insects and other ferocious beasts there, so they dared not venture in. Since the only way back to the barracks was through the village entrance, they sent men to search the outer mountains while they waited in this village for General Shen to emerge. They also deliberately sent men to drop General Shen's armor near Qinglong Kingdom, creating the illusion that he had been captured and luring the barracks' search there. But so far, they haven't found him." An Yi methodically recounted all the information he had learned from the torture and interrogation, reporting it in every detail.