My elder sister forced me to become a concubine; I was reborn and remarried into the emperor's

The surroundings remained pitch black, and no miracle or the person Wei Nanxun wanted to see appeared before her eyes.

All the sounds just now were just illusions.

The cold rain continued to lash her face, and just as her gaze was about to dim again, a wet, warm tongue licked her face.

She felt a furry head bobbing against her neck.

It's the blazing sun.

Its fur was already jet black, and it was almost completely hidden in the night. Apart from the whites of its eyes and its heavy breathing, she almost forgot it was there.

Perhaps thinking she had fallen to her death, Lieyang became unusually agitated; this was the first time she had ever seen it so uneasy.

Its tongue licked her face repeatedly, as if trying to wake her up.

Yes, even a horse knows not to give up, so is she really going to die here like this?

As the blazing sun bit her shoulder and dragged her, she finally spat out the rainwater and sand in her mouth and weakly patted the heavy horse's head.

"Stop, stop biting, Lieyang. Pei Ji needs to brush your teeth."

Just brushing the bristles won't do; the smell is too strong.

Whether Lieyang understood her words or not, it kicked its front paws unhappily, bit her shoulder again, and dragged her a few steps away without any politeness.

Wei Nanxun's body was half-pressed to the ground, and he was grimacing as he bumped into the stones on the ground.

Fortunately, she finally got away from the dent where she fell. Although her whole body ached, she was so numb that she no longer felt the pain.

Now that night has fallen and there's no village or shop in sight, she has no choice but to stay. The only person she can trust is Lieyang.

She struggled to pull on the reins, wrapping them around her wrists several times, and used all her strength to climb onto the horse's back.

He leaned his upper body against the horse, gently stroking its mane, and said as if speaking to someone, "Blazing Sun."

"Take me to him."

It's unclear whether the blazing sun understood or not. It paced back and forth irritably, then suddenly raised its neck and let out a long howl before charging wildly into the rain.

Wei Nanxun held onto the horse's head to maintain her balance and prevent herself from being thrown off.

Before she knew it, her body was burning up, and her eyelids grew heavy again, slowly closing.

She woke up to constant jolting. The sky had already brightened, and the rain had stopped sometime earlier. The blazing sun had carried her all night.

Perhaps because he had taken a nap, even though he was still a little hot, he at least had some energy.

The place before us was completely unfamiliar; we had strayed from the main road and were now in the mountains.

At Lieyang's speed, he should be able to catch up to halfway through the race in a day and a night, right?

Her clothes were soaked through, her hands were a bloody mess, and the reins in her hands felt like they were embedded in her flesh; she could no longer feel the pain.

Wei Nanxun squeezed her thighs together with difficulty, thinking that the blazing sun wouldn't feel her movements, but it actually stopped slowly, as if it were perfectly in tune with her.

She took out the parchment from her bosom, trying to find out where she was.

But the drawings were rudimentary, and all the scenery looked similar, making it impossible to even distinguish directions, let alone recognize where one was.

She dejectedly put away the blueprints and muttered, "Lieyang, where have you led me?"

She shook her head with a wry smile as she spoke. She had actually asked a horse for directions; she must have been really delirious.

No matter what, wandering around in the mountains won't help. We need to find a place with people to ask for directions, so we can at least know if we're going the wrong way.

Fortunately, it rained yesterday, and there was a lot of rainwater on the mountain, leaving hoofprints on the ground.

Judging from the marks, they seem somewhat messy, suggesting that many people and groups passed through here. Were they merchants traveling by?

Wei Nanxun followed the direction of the hoofprints and rode for about fifteen minutes before discovering that the hoofprints had vanished into thin air.

She looked at the overgrown weeds and woods that were almost exactly the same as before and fell into deep thought. The road ahead was still there, so why had the marks disappeared?

Surely so many people can't all fly and disappear at the same time?

Wei Nanxun looked at the hoofprints on the way back, then at the tracks that abruptly ended, and suddenly seemed to have thought of something.

Could it be that those people were not far in front of her, and then they spotted her...?

Wei Nanxun's eyes widened suddenly, and she pulled on the reins, ready to turn back.

But just then, a giant net fell from the sky, instantly trapping her and Lieyang together.

Lieyang seemed to have been struck in the front hoof, and his whole body fell forward to his knees, and Wei Nanxun also fell down with him.

She clung tightly to Lieyang's neck, listening to the rustling sounds coming from the surrounding bushes as one after another, burly men dressed in black and tight-fitting clothes emerged from the woods.

"We were indeed being followed! Luckily, the second brother was alert, or something terrible would have happened."

"Let's go take a look; there are a few people there."

Upon hearing the title "Second Brother," Wei Nanxun felt a sense of unease. Was he a bandit? All sorts of bad thoughts popped into her head.

If she is misunderstood and followed, it's fine after explaining herself. But if she really falls into the hands of bandits and they find out she's a woman, it's probably not as simple as just losing her life.

Wei Nanxun clenched her fists, one hand reaching for the hairpin in her sleeve. It was the hairpin she had used to threaten Ji Feng before; its sharp tip was enough to slash the skin instantly.

If it really comes to that, she will never let anyone succeed.

"Gentlemen, it's a misunderstanding..."

She had a fever and stayed up all night, so her voice was already very hoarse and deep without her having to pinch it, and she really sounded a bit like a teenager going through puberty.

But her voice was so soft that those around her could barely hear what she was saying.

A long sword with its sheath pierced through the hole in the net and struck her head.

The first person to speak said in surprise, "Second brother, something's not right. Why is there only one person and one horse? Have they changed their tactics again?"

"Do not let your guard down; beware of poisoned darts and hidden weapons."

Wei Nanxun found their accents somewhat familiar, and they even seemed to have a Beijing accent. Could it be that she hadn't even made it out of the capital after running for a whole day and night?!

And this conversation is strange, why are they still afraid of her?

Wei Nanxun tried to look up to get a better look at the people, but the scabbard hit her on the head again.

"No, he's just a brat. He's barely grown up. These days, anyone can be a spy?"

"Then tie them up first and hand them over to Lao Wu for interrogation."

"Hey, this guy is nothing special. There's no need for Fifth Brother to lift a finger. I'll handle it myself. I guarantee he'll confess everything after two whacks."

Wei Nanxun: ...

Wait, there's a misunderstanding here!

The net was pulled off her body, and before Wei Nanxun could even see who it was, her arms were neatly bent behind her back. Even though she was numb with pain, the blow still made her hiss involuntarily.

"Haha, you can't even take that much? Looks like I won't even need two more blows. This time I've finally earned some credit with you, sir."

Master? To perform meritorious service?

For some reason, Wei Nanxun felt that he had heard these people's voices somewhere before.

She wanted to explain that she wasn't a spy, nor did she intend to follow them; she was simply asking for directions, and it was all a misunderstanding.

But her voice was too weak and was immediately drowned out by the people around her.

Just as she was about to be dragged away and flogged, a familiar voice suddenly rang out: "Wait, this horse looks familiar."

"Isn't this my blazing sun!"

"Oh no, untie them right away!"