On her wedding night, she went into exile with her pharmacy arsenal

Chapter 2095 Difficult Choices

Li Cheng's face turned pale. The other party knew his background very well and was obviously well-prepared.

He gritted his teeth and said, "I am a soldier. It is my duty to protect the land and the people. The things the Liu family did should have been dealt with."

"Duty?" The masked man scoffed. "What's the point of talking about duty if you're dead?"

He paused, then softened his tone: "I won't make things difficult for you. As long as you lead me into the ambush and then trick Su Zhenhai into going there, I promise to send your daughter home and give you a sum of money, enough for you to live comfortably for the rest of your lives."

Li Cheng was tempted.

The rice jar at home is empty, and the daughter's illness is getting worse. If we had some money, at least the family would no longer go hungry.

But then he remembered Su Zhenhai's words. When setting up the ambush yesterday, General Su patted him on the shoulder and said, "Li Cheng, whether we can capture the Liu family this time depends on you. The people of Rongzhou are waiting."

He was caught in the middle, torn between his daughter's safety and his family's livelihood, and the duties of a soldier and the expectations of the people. Both pressures were suffocating him.

“How do I know you’ll keep your word?” He stared at the masked man, trying to find a flaw in his tone. “What if you change your mind after I take you in?”

“I never go back on my word.” The masked man took something out of his pocket and threw it to Li Cheng. “Consider this a deposit. Once it’s done, I will naturally send your daughter and the money to your home.”

Li Cheng caught the thing; it was very cold to the touch.

It is bright yellow and golden; it is a gold ingot.

It's definitely a good product.

He clutched the gold ingot, then touched the jujube paste cake in his inner pocket. His eyes stung a little, and he wiped them with his hand before gripping his sword tightly again—he was a deputy general and the father of his daughter; he had to choose one of these two paths.

……

Yan Ruyu's fingertip landed on the map. Huo Changhe was about to speak when the candlelight on the table flickered, and suddenly hurried footsteps came from outside the door.

Yin Ding rushed in, panting, and lifted the curtain, creating a gust of wind: "Your Highness, Your Highness! Yu Liang is awake!"

Yan Ruyu's fingertip paused on the map, then she looked up at the silver ingot: "How long have you been awake? Did you say anything?"

"I had just woken up, and Yu Fei was by my side with me, but he didn't say anything else."

Huo Changhe rolled up the map: "Let's go take a look."

The two followed the silver ingot toward Yu Liang's courtyard. Just as they reached the gate, they heard low voices coming from inside the house.

When the door was opened, Yu Fei was sitting on the edge of Yu Liang's bed, his head down, his red eyes barely concealed.

Yu Liang was covered with a thin blanket, his face was pale, and his lips were almost bloodless. When he saw them come in, he moved his body and tried to sit up.

“Talk while lying down.” Huo Changhe walked over first and placed his hand on his shoulder.

Yu Fei then raised his head, quickly stood up, his voice still a little hoarse: "Your Highness, Your Highness."

Yan Ruyu walked to the bedside, reached out and placed her hand on Yu Liang's wrist. She could feel that his pulse was weak, but more stable than before.

A moment later she withdrew her hand. Yu Liang looked at her and said softly, "Your Highness, I heard from Yu Fei that if it weren't for your timely rescue, I would probably be buried in that alley."

"Get your injuries healed first." Yan Ruyu waved her hand. "What happened? Who injured you?"

Yu Liang sighed, his gaze drifting to the window. Recalling the scene, his tone carried a hint of lingering fear: "I hadn't originally intended to go into the alley."

He paused, his Adam's apple bobbing, "I heard people talking inside when I was passing by. Their voices were low, and I couldn't hear much, but I did hear the words 'divine beast'."

"I thought that if there was any news about mythical beasts, it might be of some help, so I wanted to go forward and listen carefully."

"But I had only taken a few steps into the alley when I suddenly saw a flash of cold light, and then someone stabbed me with a sword."

The room fell silent, save for the crackling of the burning candlelight.

Yu Fei clenched his fists, said nothing, but his gaze deepened.

Yu Liang swallowed and continued, "I didn't react at the time. I just felt that the light was blinding. I took a half step back and reached out to touch a half-dried wooden stick. I quickly grabbed it and used it to block the light in front of me."

"The wooden stick struck the sword, making my hand numb. It was thanks to that that I was able to see the person in front of me clearly." He frowned, as if trying to recall the details. "The person was wearing a black mask, only revealing his eyes. The sword he was holding was very narrow, and the blade gleamed coldly, looking very sharp."

“After I blocked that blow, I caught a glimpse of a withered vine at the end of the alley. When the wind blew, the vine swayed quite a bit, not like it was being blown by the wind, but more like someone had just run away from there,” Yu Liang said. “At that time, I was thinking, maybe there were accomplices, but before I could think about it, the masked man stabbed me with his sword again.”

He raised his hand and gently placed it on his chest, his face paling even more: "I couldn't dodge it, the sword pierced my chest, the pain was so intense I couldn't breathe, and the wooden stick in my hand fell to the ground."

“When he saw me lying on the ground, he came over and bent down as if to check if I was dead.” Yu Liang paused, and a hint of ruthlessness appeared in his eyes. “I had a silver hairpin in my pocket. When he bent down and got close, I raised my hand and slashed his arm.”

“The hairpin wasn’t particularly sharp, but it still made a cut, and I could feel the blood on it,” he said. “After I cut him, he snorted, as if he was annoyed, and kicked the hairpin out of my hand.”

“He was standing next to me, his sword pointed at my chest, as if he was about to deliver another blow.” Yu Liang’s voice trembled slightly. “I thought I was definitely not going to make it this time, but then I heard Yu Fei call my name. I looked up and saw Yu Fei running this way, running very fast.”

Yu Fei then chimed in, his voice still a little hoarse: "I waited and waited but no one came, so I thought I'd go look for him. I had just reached the alley entrance when I saw him lying on the ground."

Yu Liang nodded and continued, "When the masked man heard Yu Fei's voice, he ignored me and turned to run towards the withered vines. He ran very fast, and by the time Yu Fei entered the alley, he was almost gone."

After saying all this, Yu Liang seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, leaned against the headboard, and closed his eyes to rest.

No one in the room spoke. After a while, Yan Ruyu finally spoke: "Think again, is there anything special about that masked person? For example, does he have any tattoos, birthmarks, or moles? Even if his hair color is different, it will be fine."

Yu Liang opened his eyes, frowning as he pondered: "I was so flustered at the time that I didn't pay much attention to the details of his appearance. He was wearing a gray, close-fitting outfit, and his hair was tied up. Other than that... I really can't remember."

He shook his head, a hint of apology in his voice: "The situation was too urgent at the time, and I didn't have time to look at everything."

Yan Ruyu nodded and then asked, "Can you tell if he's a man or a woman?"