Chapter 29 -True Identity (Part 1)

*Flashback*

The sky was pitch black. The woods that were usually teemed with life and lush greeneries were now covered with a thick blanket of snow. There was no sign of the snowstorm slowing down at all as the wind continued to rage on.

"Kill!"

Amidst the howling wind were the unforgettable sound of battle cries, accompanied by the sound of clashing steels and galloping horses. Red crimson blood was spilt upon the seemingly soft fluffy snow.

"Protect Her Highness!" Someone shouted in the thick of the battle.

An incredibly young and agile lad suddenly rushed over and held onto Meng Yu's wrist tightly. Without warning, he dragged her forcefully with him away from the opponents. Meng Yu struggled, but he was extraordinarily strong.

"Let me go! I said let me go, Guo Jian!" Meng Yu growled at him.

The handsome lad turned to look at her. He was about seventeen years old, but his gaze was fiery and determined as he replied, "No! Your Highness, you must go now! We cannot hold them back any longer!"

Holding back her tears, the still teenager thirteen years old Meng Yu snapped back angrily, "No! I am not leaving without Lie Yun! I must go back to save him!"

The young lad refused to let her go, so she swung her arm away forcefully and shouted at him, "Guo Jian, this is an order!"

Guo Jian whirled around abruptly and held firmly onto her petite shoulder. He stared straight into her eyes. The struggle and pain in his eyes were palpable, but he remained resolute. His words echoed clearly in her ears.

"This is a trap! If I let you go now, you will not make it out alive! I have never disobeyed you, but I have also sworn an oath on my life. You can punish me later, but my sole duty is to protect you, and this is my main priority."

Young Meng Yu could barely hold herself together. Her heart thumped loudly, and her body shivered involuntarily. Before she could say anything, Guo Jian continued to drag her along with him. Behind them, cries of agony tore across the starless night sky.

"She is right there! Chase!"

Arrows kept flying at them, missing them by inches and the sounds of horses galloping toward them were getting louder. Knowing that both of them would not be able to outrun the enemy, Guo Jian slow down decisively.

"Keep running! Don't look back!" Guo Jian shouted, as he pushed her away. Unsheathing the sword from the scabbard, he turned back and ran toward their pursuers instead. Meng Yu opened her mouth, but no sound came out, as she watched the silhouette of the young lad disappeared into the battlefield. She knew Guo Jian was trying to buy her more time to escape. Amidst the chaos, his voice continued to echo in her ears, telling her to keep going.

God damn it!

She cursed in her heart as she tore her eyes away and stumbled forward, blinded by tears.

Move! Don't look back!

The sounds of heavy metal clashing rang loudly behind her. Instinctively, Meng Yu turned to looked over her shoulder. She saw the boy battling against more than five opponents at once. Guo Jian was undeniably one of the best swordmen in Mo Empire, but the situation was not promising. He was completely overwhelmed by the numbers of opponents, but he kept going, putting his life on the line for her. Feeling extremely helpless, tears began pouring out uncontrollably, but she knew there was nothing she could do other than keep running forward.

Deep in her heart, she knew she must not stop. She must not die! Not tonight!

"Argh!" Meng Yu let out a muffled scream as one of the arrows whooshed past her, grazing past her right thigh. She lost her footing and rolled down the slope before slamming onto the cold hard ground with a loud thud.

When she regained her consciousness a few moments later, the first thing she noticed was the beautiful silvery crisscross line in front of her. Then to her confusion, the line continued to elongate accompanied by a sharp cracking sound. Alarmed, she raised her head to find herself lying on top of a thin ice covering the frozen lake.

Then it happened.

Before she could get up, she felt the entire ground beneath her disappeared as she fell straight into the icy lake. The dreadfully freezing water swallowed her, and her mind went completely blank. It was unimaginably cold that her whole body felt like being stabbed by thousands of needles. The pain was excruciating. Dressed in thick fur cloak in the winter night, her body became extremely heavy, and she was sinking down quickly.

"Xing Yu! Xing Yu!" a faint voice kept calling her name out of nowhere.

Meng Yu struggled to lift her head. In the inky darkness, she saw lights coming from the surface of water. Seems like a group of people had arrived out of nowhere, holding fire torches as they searched around for her. She tried to scream for help. But as soon as she opened her mouth, the cold water gushed in, and she began choking. She could not breath. Her whole body began convulsing. Her head started spinning and she gradually lost consciousness.

***

"How is she?"

Mu Yin turned around and saw Zheng Qing Yao walking into the room. She shook her head helplessly, as she changed the wet towel on Meng Yu's forehead.

"Not good… The fever is not going down. She seems to be slipping in and out of consciousness and been mumbling things that I could not make sense of."

Zheng Qing Yao sat down next to the bed and checked Meng Yu's pulse. He frowned and reached out to touch her forehead. It was burning. The person lying on the bed was shivering in cold despite the thick blanket covering her. Her breathing was shallow, and she appeared to be in great pain. Occasionally, she would whimper, but he could not make a word out of it.

Mu Yin saw the anxiety on Zheng Qing Yao's face and asked worriedly, "You seemed very troubled. What is it?"

Zheng Qing Yao lowered his gaze, deep in thought. There was a long moment of pause, and he finally replied, "This time, I really do not know what I should do."

Mu Yin was taken aback with his reply. She had followed Zheng Qing Yao for so many years, and this was the first time she had seen him being so uncertain of himself.

"It seems that Meng Yu past is much more complicated than I thought." He muttered as he scrutinized the person sleeping on the bed. There were a lot of questions running through his mind, but she would not be able to answer any of it now.

Who exactly are you?

The person on the bed suddenly convulsed, startling him out of his reverie. Zheng Qing Yao quickly held her firmly onto the bed, as he shouted urgently to Mu Yin, "Bring me my needles! Quick!"

Mu Yin immediately ran to the nearest drawer and took out a pouch. Seeing the person in his arm struggling in pain, Zheng Qing Yao felt a twinge of pain in his heart. It was that moment that he realized her life was in his hand now. If he gave up on her, she would die for sure.

"Hold her tight!" Zheng Qing Yao instructed, as he performed acupuncture on Meng Yu meticulously. It took quite a while before the acupuncture treatment started showing its effect. Finally, she began to calm down and stopped convulsing. Wiping the sweats on his forehead with his sleeves, Zheng Qing Yao passed back his needles to Mu Yin who helped him to pack it up carefully. The exhaustion on his face was obvious.

"This will only help to relieve her pain temporarily… I do not know how long she can last." Zheng Qing Yao said as he carefully tucked Meng Yu in.

Mu Yin let out a sigh as she comforted, "Master, you have tried your best. This is not your fault."

Zheng Qing Yao did not reply. There was an indescribable sadness in his heart as he observed Meng Yu's sleeping visage. It was completely different from a moment ago when she was struggling between life and death. However, he knew deep in his heart that she already had one foot in the gate of death.

Fate was unfathomable indeed. As if everything had been destined, Heaven brought him to her every time she was fighting for her life. It was not the first time he had to make this decision, and each time it was not easy for him. This time too, there were many things at stake – too many consequences, but Zheng Qing Yao knew very well what the answer in his heart was. The moment he decided to help her from the first time they met - their lives had already been intertwined without him realizing.

Zheng Qing Yao finally spoke regretfully, "I promised not to ask, but I don't think I can keep that promise anymore. If I want to help you, I will need answers."

He stood up and look at Mu Yin before asking decisively, "Do you still remember the first time I brought her back? You said you saw a small unique marking on her back when you are changing the bandages. Do you think you can draw it out for me?"

Seeing him turning back to his usual self again, Mu Yin let out a small smile as she answered confidently, "Most definitely."

Nodding, Zheng Qing Yao continued as his black eyes flashed with steely determination. "Good. In the meantime, I will have a talk with Gu Sheng. Please ask him to come to the study."

"This time… I will find out the truth."