Forced love, an inescapable fate

The two teams gathered in a dilapidated temple in the north of Dingzhou City. They were exhausted from traveling for days and now they could finally have a good rest, but now was not a good time to relax.

Li Feng arranged for the soldiers to rest. Although the spies sent out to explore the way ahead had not found any suspicious situations for the time being, he still did not dare to take it lightly.

He arranged for some soldiers to rest in place and some to patrol and guard.

For safety reasons, after a simple meal, no fire was lit, but only a fire was lit in the dilapidated temple where Jiang Ci was.

The two sat by the fire and discussed their future journey.

"Your Highness, we have now arrived in Dingzhou, less than a hundred miles from the capital. But now is not the time to relax. We will rest for a while tonight and enter the city early tomorrow morning. The prefect of Dingzhou is an old acquaintance of mine. I have sent someone to contact him, and he will send his own soldiers to escort us to the capital."

The firelight illuminated Jiang Ci's face. He looked calm and his smile was faint.

"Thank you, Captain. Jiang Ci will always remember this kindness."

Li Feng waved his hand. "Your Highness, you are too kind. I am a rough man with a straightforward personality. I won't say anything flattering. I have heard about your Highness's previous experiences in Qi State, but your performance in the past few days has really impressed me. I can probably guess about 70% of the open and secret struggles in the court. I know that your Highness's journey has been extremely dangerous, and it will be even more difficult after entering the capital. But your Highness's consideration for the lives of these ordinary soldiers is already very difficult. Your Highness, as long as you keep your original intention, you will succeed in the path you want to take. People's hearts are unpredictable. If we return to the capital safely, I hope your Highness will be careful in everything. I also wish your Highness a bright future and all your wishes will be fulfilled."

Jiang Ci could naturally feel the sincerity in Li Feng's words.

He could only smile bitterly in his heart. After all, he was just a calculator who wanted to achieve his own goals.

Whether it was Mu Qingli, Feng Zong, or Li Feng, they were all planned out in his plan, and every step he took was calculated.

People like him don't deserve others' sincere treatment.

For example, this time, he could have escaped unscathed, but in order to gain Feng Zong's support, he had to use Li Feng and these soldiers.

He must make Feng Zong recognize his strength, so some sacrifices are inevitable.

Li Feng didn't notice the smile in his eyes. After he finished speaking, he fiddled with the fire in front of him a few times. Seeing that the fire was burning, he got up. He still had to check outside, and the weather was not good tonight. The night was as dark as thick ink that could not be dissolved. It looked like it was going to rain.

"Your Highness, you've been traveling hard these past few days. You should rest quickly. I'll go guard outside."

"Well, Captain, be careful."

After everyone left, Jiang Ci stared at the crackling fire in front of him in a daze.

There will be no peace tonight. The secret guards who have been following him all the way have already brought the news.

Now, the killers, whose number is four times that of the previous few days, are slowly approaching them. According to the time, they should have met the spies sent by Li Feng.

This trip, he not only wanted to prove his strength to Feng Zong, but also had one most important purpose, which was that he must take this opportunity to weaken the power secretly cultivated by the princes in the capital.

This was also one of the reasons why he showed his strength that night, because he knew that as long as his true strength was known to his royal brothers, they would spare no effort to get rid of him. After all, he was the legitimate son of the Jing Kingdom royal family. For this reason alone, they would not allow him to return to Shangjing alive.

Time passed minute by minute. After a while, he stood up and looked at the sky outside. It was pitch black and pitch dark. Except for the patrolling soldiers, the rest were lying on the cold ground in their clothes. In order not to reveal their tracks, they didn't even dare to light a fire. They were exhausted to the extreme after days of traveling, but they still didn't dare to fall asleep.

Jiang Ci looked at them with complicated eyes, and thought of his days in the royal family of Qi.

A moment later, the special bird call that he used to contact the secret guards came from the ruined temple. In the end, he couldn't bear to let these soldiers die in vain, so he contacted the secret guards and asked them to delay some of the killers.

According to his original plan, he wanted to lure all the killers to the ruined temple.

But in the end, he was moved by compassion.

When the secret guard received the news, he naturally knew what to do. Just when the spy sent by Li Feng was about to meet the killer, the secret guard who was following Jiang Ci secretly took action to lure away some of the killers.

Half an hour later, the spies sent by Li Feng reported back that a large number of assassins were rushing towards them, but some of them were entangled by something unknown. However, there were still no less than twice as many assassins as in the previous few days approaching them rapidly.

Li Feng was shocked when he received the news. After waking up the resting soldiers, he hurried to find Jiang Ci.

"Your Highness, this is bad. The spies just reported that a large number of assassins are coming this way. We must leave quickly."

Jiang Ci was still sitting by the fire. After listening to Li Feng's words, he looked up and asked him.

"Captain, where do you think we can escape to? Instead of being chased by them, we might as well give it a try and fight them. They want my life, so let's give it a try."

"But Your Highness, now is not the time to take risks. I cannot..."

"Captain Li, if you were on the battlefield, would you desert?"

Jiang Ci interrupted him, stood up, and asked him calmly.

Li Feng was speechless when asked. On the battlefield, even if he died in battle, he would not be a deserter. But he was not on the battlefield now, and his mission was to protect people and return to Beijing safely, not to fight to the death with those killers.

"Your Highness, this is different. I understand your feelings, but now only by living can we have a future. If..."

"Captain Li, this journey back to the capital is my battleground. I didn't retreat that day, and I won't retreat today. And look at our soldiers. Given our current trajectory, where do you think we can escape to? Rather than running and being caught up by them halfway, why not prepare here and now? We have the ability to fight them. These soldiers have been baptized by the battlefield. For them, fighting is more meaningful than running away."

After Jiang Ci finished speaking, Li Feng was silent for a moment.

He understood the logic, but the fact was just as Jiang Ci had said just now. They had been traveling for days and the soldiers were physically and mentally exhausted. If they fled in a hurry, it might weaken their morale, which was indeed not a wise move.

If they prepare in advance, they might still be able to fight when the time comes.

Jiang Ci was waiting for his answer. The killer was approaching and there was no time to lose. He was also a little anxious.