The more cowardly a person is, the more wild they are; I've driven the villainous minister craz

"what happened?"

"It's gunpowder! Someone detonated the gunpowder!"

"I just saw the light! We clearly saw the exit! Just a little bit more, just a little bit more, and we'd be out!"

The exit was just a stone's throw away, but the gunpowder that was about to explode shattered the boulder.

They watched helplessly as the exit was blocked in front of them.

Hope has vanished.

This feeling is worse than killing them.

Yu Wan couldn't help but tighten her grip on Yun Shang's hand, her eyes filled with unconcealed panic. She lowered her voice, "...It was those people who did it, why?"

She didn't know exactly how many people were trapped, but based on the information she gathered over the past day and night, she estimated that there were at least two hundred miners in the mine.

More than two hundred lives lost.

What do these people value human life?

Yun Shang's voice was low, his eyes filled with coldness: "It must be that the landslide was too loud, and those people were worried that this place had been exposed, so they simply decided to erase all traces."

Yu Wan gritted her teeth in anger, "This involves more than two hundred lives, how dare these people..."

"What wouldn't they dare to do?" Yun Shang's voice was cold and deep, sounding exceptionally calm in the chaotic, dusty cave.

He gripped Yu Wan's hand tightly. "Don't be afraid, there must be other ways to get out."

He pondered the route he had already discovered and pulled Yu Wan along, running in one direction.

The miners followed Yun Shang to the correct exit, and seeing him running in one direction, they all followed suit.

However, the boulder collapsed faster and faster, and countless fragments of rock fell on the crowd, so fewer and fewer people followed.

Yu Wan was held tightly in Yun Shang's arms.

She felt the muffled groan he couldn't control as the stone hit Yun Shang; smelling the increasingly strong stench of blood on him, her mind went blank.

She murmured in Yun Shang's arms, "...Yun Shang, why are you protecting me like this?"

She spoke very softly, and almost thought that Yun Shang wouldn't hear her, but to her surprise, he did.

"You are my wife. If I don't protect you, who will I protect?"

Yu Wan felt a sudden pang of sorrow, her voice hoarse, "But... what if I weren't?"

She felt Yun Shang's steps pause for a very short moment.

A deep male voice sounded in her ear, "Why not? The person I share a bed with is you."

"Trying to call yourself a spirit again? So be it. I'm not one to follow the rules. Even if you're a ghost that steals souls, I don't care."

After he said that, Yu Wan felt the hand around her waist tighten even more.

"As long as you are still you."

Yu Wan inexplicably felt that Yun Shang's words had a deeper meaning.

But last time she joked that she wasn't really 'Yu Wan', Yun Shang didn't believe her.

He was probably still joking.

Yu Wan did not respond to that.

Yun Shang didn't say anything more. He protected Yu Wan and followed her memory forward. The mountain had almost completely collapsed, and the passage that could originally accommodate two people walking side by side could now barely accommodate one person.

The screams and wails behind her grew louder, and Yu Wan also felt Yun Shang's pace gradually slow down.

She tried to break free from his embrace, "Are you alright?! Where are you hurt?"

Yun Shang's voice remained calm, "Don't worry, I'm fine."

How could it be okay!

Tears welled up in Yu Wan's eyes; she could clearly feel her clothes being soaked with Yun Shang's blood.

He's just the male lead, not a blood bank. Where would he get so much blood to bleed?

"Yun Shang," her voice choked with emotion, "you don't need to protect me like this."

Yun Shang did not answer, but responded to her words with his actions.

He protected Yu Wan in his arms even more tightly.

Yu Wan was both touched and at a loss.

She was surrounded by the man's cool, faint fragrance, and her mind went blank; for a moment, she didn't know what to do.

"It collapsed—"

"The cave is about to collapse—"

Just then, with a loud bang, Yu Wan felt everything go black before her eyes as she was pushed away by a great force!

Behind her was a mountain that instantly vanished into rubble!

Yu Wan froze, turned around abruptly, tears welling in her eyes, "No! No! Yun Shang—"

All her strength and thoughts were drained away in an instant. The huge shock of the landslide made her lose her balance and fall forward, rolling down the steep slope!

When Yu Wan finally stopped on flat ground, she felt dizzy and her vision went black. The next moment, she fainted.

……

"What?! There's been a landslide at Wushaoling! When did this happen?!"

At the Prince Chen's residence, Prince Chen stood up excitedly.

Knowing that Prince Chen had been paying close attention to the situation at Wushaoling, Magistrate Yang of Huicheng County immediately sent someone to Wushaoling, while he himself came to inform Prince Chen.

Magistrate Yang said, "Just half an hour ago, Your Highness, I sent people to investigate the situation. Why are you so concerned about Wushaoling?"

Prince Chen glanced at Magistrate Yang.

That indifferent and cold glance sent a chill down Magistrate Yang's spine.

He belatedly realized that he had asked too many questions, and quickly lowered his head, not daring to say another word.

"Mingwei," Prince Chen called out, striding towards the courtyard gate, "Gather your men and come with me to Wushaoling!"

Mingwei's stern voice rang out, "Yes!"

……

"Girl, wake up."

A slight pain shot through her cheek, and Yu Wan's thoughts snapped back to reality. Memories of her previous unconsciousness flooded back. She abruptly opened her eyes, grabbed the hand of the person in front of her, and cried out in a turbulent voice, "Where is he? Where is he?!"

"Ouch, ouch, ouch—" the girl whose hand she was holding cried out in pain.

Upon hearing this unfamiliar voice, Yu Wan's muddled mind cleared up somewhat, and she gradually saw the person in front of her clearly.

"You..." She quickly let go, her face full of remorse, and said, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to!"

The girl whose hand she grabbed was about fifteen or sixteen years old. She was neither fat nor thin, had dark skin, and her bright black eyes were even more dazzling than obsidian.

The girl waved her hand and said to Yu Wan, "It's nothing. You just woke up and you're so agitated. You must have had a nightmare, right?"

Yu Wan observed her surroundings and replied, "Yes, I had a nightmare. Miss, where is this place, and why am I here?"

What came into view was a low house built of bamboo. Not only the house, but all the furniture in the house was also made of bamboo. Yu Wan did not see any of the things that were popular in Huicheng County, such as rouge, face powder, teacups and other utensils.

Seeing her curiously looking around her house, the girl with two braids explained enthusiastically, "I am Atana, this is our tribe's land. My father found you hanging unconscious in a tree, so he carried you back."

Did he faint while hanging from a tree?

Didn't she faint while rolling down the steep slope? Did she then roll onto a tree?

Yu Wan had no recollection of why she ended up hanging in the tree.

She thanked Atana, saying, "Thank you for saving me."

She braced herself against the bed, preparing to get up. "I will definitely repay your kindness, but I have friends waiting for me to rescue, and I must leave immediately..."

Before she could finish speaking, she suddenly fell off the bed with a "thud"!

Atana quickly knelt down to help her up, her face full of disapproval. "Why were you so impulsive? Didn't you know you broke your leg?"

What? !

A broken leg?!

She broke her leg?!