Chapter 589: Tan'er's Mother
Chapter 589: Tan'er's Mother
Let her leave Tan'er behind?
Meng Qianqian gazed ahead, her voice calm, "Tan'er."
Tan'er, who had been hopping along, stopped and turned to Meng Qianqian, "Sister?"
Meng Qianqian said, "It's dangerous ahead."
"I know!"
Tan'er continued hopping forward.
Meng Qianqian's eyes narrowed.
Duan Mingyue, you want me to leave Tan'er alone here? And then what?
Are you going to protect her?
Unfortunately, I can't trust you.
As long as I have a breath left in me, I won't let Tan'er die in front of me.
You might not be able to do that.
"Madam, they're gone. Where do we go to find the Black Armor Army?"
Cui Hu looked around, puzzled.
Meng Qianqian observed the terrain and said, "Head southeast."
"Southeast! Southeast!"
Tan'er changed direction.
Yu Zichuan walked ahead of her.
Cui Hu walked beside Meng Qianqian, "Madam, do you know the way?"
Meng Qianqian replied calmly, "No, but if I were Han Qi, I would camp in that valley."
Cui Hu followed her gaze and saw only layer upon layer of mountains, "What valley?"
Tan'er, without turning back, said cheerfully, "If Sister says there is one, there must be one!"
Cui Hu was skeptical but didn't dare to argue.
He added, "Madam, in my opinion, the Black Armor Army is just ten thousand men, and they're leaderless. Is it really worth being so cautious?"
Meng Qianqian nodded, "It is."
Cui Hu opened his mouth to speak but then closed it, saying nothing more.
They walked from sunrise to dusk.
The green mountains and clear waters were enveloped in a rosy twilight.
Meng Qianqian suddenly stopped.
"Yu Zichuan, Tan'er."
She called to the two of them.
Yu Zichuan became immediately alert, while Tan'er turned around, "Sister, what's wrong?"
Meng Qianqian handed them each a pill, "Take the Toxin-Repelling Pill first."
She also gave one to Cui Hu.
Cui Hu asked, "Madam, aren't you taking one? Do you not have any left? Here, take this one!"
Meng Qianqian replied, "I have the Golden Silkworm Charm, I'm not afraid of toxins."
Cui Hu then took the pill.
After another fifteen minutes, they entered a quiet forest.
The tree canopy blocked out the sky, making it seem like dusk had fallen.
The forest was initially filled with a thin mist, which grew thicker the deeper they went.
Cui Hu was puzzled, "It's not even evening yet, but there's already mist?"
Meng Qianqian was on high alert, "It's miasma."
"Miasma!"
Cui Hu quickly covered his nose and mouth.
A moment later, he remembered he had taken the Toxin-Repelling Pill.
"Madam, have you been here before?"
"I haven't."
It was her Golden Silkworm Charm reacting.
"Don't get distracted."
She warned Cui Hu.
"Understood!"
Cui Hu quickly became vigilant.
Meng Qianqian held Tan'er's hand, keeping her from running ahead.
Yu Zichuan led the way, while Cui Hu brought up the rear.
Suddenly, a spear flew through the air, aiming straight for Meng Qianqian's head.
Yu Zichuan drew his sword and cut the spear in half with a single swing!
But the danger didn't stop there; more spears flew towards them in an instant.
This time, everyone was a target.
"Trivial tricks!"
Tan'er let go of Meng Qianqian's hand, leaped into the air, and kicked the spear away. She then did a backbend to avoid another spear.
"Sister, am I awesome?"
Meng Qianqian nodded, "But, they're gone."
"Wow!"
Tan'er was stunned, "There are ambushes in this forest?"
Meng Qianqian looked around, "The Miasma Forest is the perfect place for an ambush."
Tan'er placed her hands on her hips. "Aren't they afraid of being poisoned?"
Meng Qianqian thought for a moment. "In the Black Armor Army, there are people who can make Toxin-Repelling Pills."
Tan'er tilted her head. "The Goddess said that Toxin-Repelling Pills are very hard to make! How could they be so skilled?"
Meng Qianqian narrowed her eyes. "Mao Tu."
Tan'er looked disappointed. "Oh, I thought there would be a new member of the Twelve Guards."
"There is."
Meng Qianqian said.
Tan'er's arms waved behind her, her eyes wide open. "Who?"
Meng Qianqian pulled out a long spear embedded in a tree and stroked the crescent moon emblem on it. "Zi Shu."
Zi Shu was an extremely dangerous person.
She hadn't expected him to be with the Black Armor Army.
Mao Tu was there for the spectacle, but what was his reason?
"Tan'er, no matter what happens next, don't leave my side."
As soon as she finished speaking, she didn't hear Tan'er respond. Turning around, she saw a figure rushing into the thick fog.
She quickly threw away the spear and chased after her, grabbing Tan'er's hand. "Tan'er!"
Tan'er looked at her in a daze, then pointed ahead. "Sister, I just... saw Mother, she... she walked past..."
Meng Qianqian immediately checked Tan'er's pulse.
The pulse was temporarily normal, just a bit too fast due to her emotional agitation.
This was the Miasma Forest, where visibility was limited to just a few steps. If someone was too close, she would have noticed.
Meng Qianqian didn't deny Tan'er's claim right away but asked, "Your mother... is she acquainted with the Black Armor Army?"
"I don't know."
Tan'er seemed lost in a confused memory. "Mother... she... she... Sister... I want to find Mother..."
Meng Qianqian looked at her deeply. "Alright, I'll help you look."
Tan'er pointed forward. "There! I see her again! Mother!"
She pulled her hand away.
Meng Qianqian hurried to follow.
"Mother! Mother, wait for Tan'er!"
"Mother!"
Tan'er, like a child who had been left behind, called out to her mother, her voice tinged with sobs.
"I won't run around anymore..."
"I won't eat without permission..."
"Come out..."
She cried, wiping away the tears that streamed down her face.
"Don't go... You said you'd wait until I grew up before you left..."
"I haven't grown up yet..."
Meng Qianqian followed Tan'er, but she saw no one.
It must be the toxins in the Miasma Forest causing Tan'er to hallucinate.
Since she had taken a Toxin-Repelling Pill, Tan'er wasn't in mortal danger, but the hallucination-induced longing would stab a deep wound into her young heart.
"Mother..."
Tan'er cried uncontrollably.
Meng Qianqian held her in her arms, gently stroking her face. "Shh, we'll find her, we'll find her..."
Tan'er shook her head, crying. "We can't find her... she's gone... she's gone..."
Meng Qianqian whispered, "Once we get out, tell me what your mother looks like, and I'll send people to look for her. Everyone from the Crown Prince's Mansion, the Duke's Mansion, the Imperial Guard, the Golden Armor Guard, and the Brocade Guard... they will all help find your mother, okay?"
Tan'er was a sobbing mess. "We can't find her..."
Meng Qianqian said, "As long as she is still alive, we will find her."
Hearing this, Tan'er seemed to think of something and cried even more desperately.
Meng Qianqian: Could it be that Tan'er's mother is no longer in this world?
Tan'er cried for a long time until she was exhausted and fell asleep in Meng Qianqian's arms.
Meng Qianqian carried Tan'er, planning to take her out of the Miasma Forest.
Suddenly, a jade pendant fell from Tan'er's neck.
Meng Qianqian knew that Tan'er carried a jade pendant that was very important to her, and she would often take it out to touch it.
Now that she thought about it, it was probably left to her by her mother.
Meng Qianqian gently placed Tan'er down and picked up the jade pendant, wiping it clean with her hand.
To her surprise, the pendant split into two halves.
To be precise, the pendant was actually two pieces, one for the front and one for the back, joined together.
A small portrait fell out from where the two pieces met.
It was of a young woman.
Her features were strikingly similar to Tan'er's.
Was this how Tan'er's mother looked when she was young?
Meng Qianqian had never seen such a lifelike portrait before.
"Which master painted this?"
She kept comparing the portrait to Tan'er's face, growing more and more certain that this was indeed Tan'er's mother.
Perhaps it was the lifelike quality of the portrait that made Meng Qianqian stare at it for a long time.
Suddenly, she frowned slightly and covered the lower half of the portrait with her hand, leaving only the eyes, which seemed to be filled with starlight.
...
"Madam!"
Cui Hu and Yu Zichuan had found them.
"Madam, are you both alright? What's wrong with Tan'er?"
Only when he got closer did he see Tan'er lying in Meng Qianqian's arms.
Meng Qianqian carefully put the portrait and the jade pendant back into her pouch.
"She's been poisoned by the miasma. Let's get out of here first."
As she spoke, she started to lift Tan'er onto her back.
Without a word, Yu Zichuan picked Tan'er up and slung her over his shoulder.
Meng Qianqian couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time: "I'm really fine."
Yu Zichuan: "You threw up yesterday."
Meng Qianqian: "That was yesterday."
Yu Zichuan: "No matter."
Meng Qianqian sighed: "Alright."
The group continued on their way.
Surprisingly, they encountered no more ambushes until they left the miasma forest.
"Madam, didn't you say the miasma forest was perfect for ambushes? It doesn't seem like much! The Black Armor Army's defenses are nothing special!"
The group gradually moved further away.
In the miasma forest, a man wearing a bamboo hat, a jade mask, and a black cloak emerged.
Even his hands were covered with thick gloves.
Behind him lay the incapacitated Black Armor Army and the silent ruins of the traps he had dismantled.
---
In the canyon.
There was only half an hour left before Chen Long triggered the trap.
Xu Zhongping had not been lying; this was a Dragon Trapping Array from which no one could escape.
Chen Long was covered in wounds, his internal energy depleted. The heavy sword that he could once wield with ease now felt as heavy as a mountain in his hands.
He could barely maintain his fighting stance.
But he couldn't fall.
The Shang family's great vengeance had yet to be avenged.
He could not die here!
He had to get out, he had to go!
"Ah—"
He swung his sword with all his might, shattering a stone wall.
But as expected, a thicker stone wall replaced it.
They seemed endless, constantly regenerating and collapsing.
Chen Long spat out a mouthful of blood.
"General, he can't hold on much longer."
On the mountaintop, Vice General Huang said to Xu Zhongping, "Aren't we going to save him?"
Xu Zhongping, hands behind his back, looked at the oil lamp that was about to run out for Chen Long, his gaze cold and stern: "This is his own choice."
Vice General Huang couldn't bear it: "But—"
Xu Zhongping said, "Moreover, I told you, this array was set by the Great Marshal. Do you know where it came from?"
Vice General Huang shook his head: "Please enlighten me, General."
Xu Zhongping said, "It was many years ago, when you were still young. General Shang of the Western City reclaimed Loulan, defeated the kings, and guarded the Western Regions. He compiled a military book, in which the Dragon Trapping Array is recorded."
Vice General Huang suddenly understood.
Shang Jue, the eldest son of the General's Mansion and the war god of the Western Regions, how could he not have heard of his name?
He was a general even the King of Chu admired.
If this array was created by him, then Chen Long might truly be beyond saving.
Xu Zhongping turned his gaze away: "Let's go, this place is about to fall."
"Yes, General."
Vice General Huang sighed deeply.
He took one last look at Chen Long, who kept falling and rising again within the array.
Huang An, farewell to Chen Long's guard.
(End of Chapter)
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