In the early morning, the mist in the valley gradually dissipated. After yesterday's narrow escape, Zhongli Mingye and Song Jinyu had taken a two - day rest in the valley, gathering some fruits. Then they planned to follow the upstream of the valley stream.
"The upstream of this stream should be the back mountain of Tianmen Mountain," she said, standing up and stretching her numb body.
"You seem quite familiar with it," Zhongli Mingye remarked, noticing her high - spirited look and feeling somewhat influenced.
"The back mountain is my territory!" Song Jinyu said with a hint of pride.
It was autumn, and there were plenty of wild fruits in the mountain stream. As they walked and ate along the way, they had covered more than ten miles.
However, on the way, Zhongli Mingye noticed that Song Jinyu's skirt had become much shorter. His eyes fell on his arm, which was wrapped with a cloth of the same color as her skirt.
His heart skipped a beat, but he remained calm on the surface. He gently stroked the wound on his arm with his slender hand.
Song Jinyu saw his little gesture and thought his wound was itching.
"Let me change the dressing for your wound!" Jinyu reminded him, but Zhongli Mingye had his own little plan.
"It's okay. Let's keep going!"
Jinyu thought this Prince Yu was a bit fussy. She continued walking, and the treasures in her satchel jingled.
Zhongli Mingye followed behind. The young girl in front of him was bright and charming. The sunlight shone on her, making her delicate features glow. She was like a mountain spirit, so elegant and lovely.
The more he watched, the more distracted he became. He felt his heart gradually sinking.
Song Jinyu turned around and called him to catch up quickly.
The two walked north along the valley and finally entered a bamboo forest. According to Jinyu's memory, once they got out of the bamboo forest, they would reach the back mountain of Tianmen Mountain.
She was a bit tired from walking, so she stopped to take a rest. Her shoes were worn out after so much walking. She sat down and rubbed her numb legs and feet. Watching the bamboo forest getting darker and darker, she couldn't help feeling anxious.
Zhongli Mingye half - squatted down and reached out to hold Song Jinyu's foot. The sudden action startled her, and she quickly dodged.
"What are you doing?" Song Jinyu, although growing up on Tianmen Mountain, was still a young lady from the prefect's mansion. Her pretty face instantly flushed red.
"I'll rub your feet for you!" Zhongli Mingye said seriously, without any hint of indecency.
Song Jinyu even suspected she had misheard.
"If your legs and feet are so sore, when will you be able to get out of the forest?" Zhongli Mingye looked at her blushing face and didn't give her a chance to refuse. He continued to squat down and massage her legs and feet.
Song Jinyu had never been treated like this by a man before. For a moment, she didn't know how to react.
That hand with distinct knuckles gently kneaded on Jinyu's feet, relieving her soreness. His phoenix eyes gently stared at the large piece missing from Jinyu's skirt.
"Okay, okay! No... "
Jinyu turned her face away. "It doesn't hurt anymore!"
Zhongli Mingye let go of her and helped her put on her shoes. He knew that if he continued massaging, this little girl would surely blush uncontrollably.
With a hint of pride, he strode into the depths of the bamboo forest. Jinyu rolled her eyes at him.
What was he so proud of?
Outside the Jinshui Palace, more than a hundred white - clothed attendants surrounded it. Du Zhouli was only besieging the Jinshui Palace at the moment and didn't rush in. He Yan led another team to patrol at the foot of the mountain, putting pressure on the Jinshui Palace.
He was an experienced person and understood the rules. After all, there was no solid evidence that Tianmen Mountain could prove this matter was done by the Jinshui Palace.
Madam Jinhua was so angry that the Tianmen Mountain dared to slap her in the face like this. She was about to rush to Tianmen Mountain to question Miao Yunshen.
She completely forgot that she had sent ten experts to hunt down Song Jinyu.
Ouyang Jinse had been drunk for two whole days. Now seeing the Tianmen Mountain coming to humiliate the Jinshui Palace, he showed a mocking smile.
Mother probably didn't know Song Jinyu's status on Tianmen Mountain.
Thinking of Song Jinyu, he was in great pain. The scene of that girl falling off the cliff miserably had become an indelible mark in his heart.
In the Eastern Palace, drums and gongs were booming. The Crown Prince Zhongli Chengze was watching a play. A servant came forward and whispered some important news to him.
Zhongli Mingye was missing! This was really good news.
He tidied up his sleeves, and a maid came forward to help him put on his boots.
He was the Crown Prince of the Daxia Dynasty and had been established as the Crown Prince since his birth. For a full thirty years, looking at the more than two - hundred - year history of the Daxia Dynasty, he was the Crown Prince who had held the position for the longest time. Ironically, his father was still in good health. Moreover, those younger brothers who were much younger than him had already grown up, and each of them was outstanding. This made Zhongli Chengze feel extremely uneasy day and night.
Among these younger brothers, Zhongli Mingye was the most outstanding one. He had made military achievements earlier and was granted the title of Prince Yu. He had quite a high prestige in the court.
"Yu" meant standing side by side with the sun. This younger brother had a very special status in his father's heart.
Zhongli Chengze came to the inner room of the Eastern Palace. At this moment, shadow guards were waiting for orders.
The last assassination of Zhongli Mingye had failed. This time, they must bring his head! "I want to see him alive or his body dead!"
"Has there been any news from Ouyang Jinse?" Zhongli Chengze was extremely covetous of the martial arts forces. He knew that if he could get the support of the martial arts sects, his chance of ascending to the throne would be greater.
What was thirty years as a Crown Prince? Was he just a laughingstock in others' eyes? He wanted to kill these outstanding younger brothers one by one. After all, the Daxia Dynasty didn't need more princes and lords who were more outstanding than him.
The second elder of Tianmen Mountain and the young master of the Jinshui Palace were both his people. When they got the real power of the sects, then the martial arts world would be in his hands.
As the sun set, the mist in the bamboo forest became thicker and thicker. Mixed with a faint fragrance, it made people feel more and more listless.
Now Song Jinyu and Zhongli Mingye had been walking in the bamboo forest for two hours. They simply ate some fruits and sat on the grass by the stream to rest.
The fragrant smell was very strange, wafting towards them in waves.
Song Jinyu didn't notice anything unusual, but Zhongli Mingye had lost his senses at the moment. His whole body was restless.
He tried his best to suppress the growing desire in his heart. Smelling the fragrance and looking at the young girl in front of him, the girl he had been longing for.
The girl was very close to him, and the faint medicinal fragrance on her body made him even more out of control. At this moment, his eyes were blurred, and cold sweat was pouring down.
Suddenly, he grabbed Song Jinyu. Before she could react, he domineeringly kissed her.
Song Jinyu opened her eyes wide and tried hard to push him away.
Unexpectedly, Zhongli Mingye hugged her tighter and tighter. Song Jinyu watched Zhongli Mingye's long eyelashes so close to her, and for a moment, her mind went blank.
She struggled with difficulty. Suddenly, she thought of the strange miasma in the bamboo forest and realized that the smell contained aphrodisiac, which could make ordinary people lose their normal consciousness. She was immune to it because she had been walking through these poisonous gases all year round.
Song Jinyu suddenly wanted to cry. God was really torturing her.
First, she fell off a cliff, and now she was facing a man who had lost his normal consciousness.
She couldn't scold him because he was also a victim.