The tunnel was too narrow. During the one hour Xiao Ying had crawled in it, her shoulder blades brushed against the uneven walls occasionally, so she had already gotten several injuries from it. Halfway through the journey, she was in so much pain that she even thought of giving up.
It was a good thing that she had persevered and crawled out of it.
Xiao Ying sat on the floor, staring at the rolling hills and the blue sky. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
It felt so good to be able to breathe freely.
However, because she hadn’t eaten for three days and had crawled out of a tunnel for one hour, she absolutely had no more energy to move.
Leaning against the tunnel entrance, she closed her eyes and rested.
…
Meanwhile in the cave, Long Ming sat there alone. He could no longer hear the sound of the woman crawling out of the tunnel. Everything was quiet around him, the only sound coming from his own breath.
Time slowly passed.
Every minute and second felt like a torture for him right now.
He was both nervous and in anticipation.
If she didn’t leave this time, he might treat her better in the future.
If she left…
He didn’t dare to imagine what he would do.
A long time had passed.
There was still no sound from outside. The skies slowly darkened.
She didn’t get anyone to come.
She had left him once again.
Long Ming looked up as he started laughing in self-ridicule. As he laughed, a tear slipped from his eye.
That day, he hadn’t even furrowed his brows when she used a completely red blade to dig the bullet out from his bloody wound. But right now, he shed a tear from being abandoned by her once more.
His heart seemed to be in so much pain that he couldn’t feel anything anymore.
Fool, he was really a fool! She had fooled him again and again, but he still wanted to believe in her every time! However, the consequence of believing in her would only add salt to his wounds. Like a fool he sat here, thinking that she would appear again…
Wiping away that useless tear, Long Ming clenched his hands into tight fists. He would absolutely never forgive her again. He would never make himself become a laughable fool again!
Taking a deep breath, he pressed a palm against his chest to make that intense pain slowly ebb away. After the terrible pain, all he was left with was a dark emptiness and numbness.
…
After Xiao Ying regained some energy, she went down the mountain. As she was still feeling somewhat weak, she fell a few times on her way down. By the time she arrived at the foot of the mountain, the sun had already set.
From afar, she saw a group of rescue members. The leader of the group was Long Ming’s aide, Mo Tian.
Xiao Ying limped towards Mo Tian.
Suddenly, she felt a pair of eyes watching her. Xiao Ying turned around.
But she couldn’t find anyone.
However, with her sensitive instincts, the person who was staring at her was probably the same group of people that tried to assassinate Long Ming.
Xiao Ying sped up towards Mo Tian.
Mo Tian heard someone shouting for him, so he hurriedly led his men towards Xiao Ying.
Xiao Ying whispered a few words to him.
“I will go to save the King. You, stand here. You’re not allowed to leave.” Before Mo Tian left with his men, he left two guards behind to guard Xiao Ying.
…
When Mo Tian found the cave, Long Ming instantly opened his eagle-like eyes at the sound. He held onto the sharp dagger as he stared intently at the cave entrance.
Seeing Mo Tian walk in, Long Ming’s expression changed a little.
She had informed Mo Tian?
Mo Tian had also seen Long Ming. He instantly rushed forward and knelt down with a knee. “Your Majesty, how are you?”
Long Ming stared at Mo Tian with sharp eyes as a cold voice seemed to seep out from his throat. “Where’s Number 21?”
“At the foot of the mountain. I’ve assigned some men to watch her.”
“She didn’t run?”
“She was the one who informed me to come and save you.”
With those words, Long Ming’s tightly clenched heart, so tight that he felt suffocated, seemed to start beating once again. In fact, it thumped so strongly that it almost seemed to jump out of his chest.
She didn’t run away.
…
Mo Tian and his men helped Long Ming leave the cave. When they arrived at the foot of the mountain, Mo Tian saw the two guards lying on the floor and he hurriedly approached them.
“What happened with you two?”
“Officer, after you led the team to go save the King, someone ambushed us suddenly. Number 21 seemed to know them, she left with them.”
“What?” Mo Tian furrowed his eyebrows tightly.
Hearing the guard’s report, Long Ming couldn’t feel anything in his heart. Perhaps after experiencing extreme pain, he wouldn’t be able to feel anything anymore.
If she stayed, it wouldn’t be her anymore!
Mo Tian approached Long Ming. “Your Majesty, do we go chase after Number 21?”
Long Ming raised a hand. “No need.”
If she wanted to leave and he forced her to stay beside him, the both of them would only end up hurt!
“Your Majesty, do you plan to let her go?”
“Stop talking about her. Let me recover first.” Once he was recovered, he would definitely break her legs if he saw her again, before he gave her freedom.
…
Back in the palace, the doctor took a look at Long Ming’s injuries.
Because Xiao Ying had taken out the bullets in time and found some herbs that were able to reduce inflammation and stop the bleeding, his wounds weren’t able to continue worsening and didn’t get infected.
Hearing the doctor’s nagging, Long Ming raised a hand as he said coldly, “Get out!”
After the doctor put up a bold front and gave Long Ming some instructions about caring for his wounds, he left hurriedly with a combination of respect and fear.
Long Ming called for Mo Tian to come in.
“How’s the investigation going for the assassination?”
“Your Majesty, we’ve discovered that it was instigated by the Southern people.”
After Long Ming became the Burmese King, he kept expanding his land and territory, putting immense pressure on the Myanmese Royal family as they began to feel more threatened by his presence.
Throughout the last few years, they had been finding ways to make Long Ming fall and were unscrupulous in all sorts of despicable methods.
Long Ming had never paid any attention to them, because Long Ming had researchers that managed to create the most advanced weapon worldwide.
If Myanmar kept provoking him, he wouldn’t mind settling the score with violence, though there would be many controversies and problems after. However, two weeks ago, the core classified blueprints and information of the weapon had been stolen. Although the stolen information was returned to him at the most important moment, he hadn’t been able to find the person who had stolen it.
There were a few hundred researchers. It would be impossible to investigate each and every one of them.
Recently, he had been planning to find that betrayer, but with him jumping down the cliff after Xiao Ying, the plan had been delayed for a few more days.
“Your Majesty, there is one more thing…”
Long Ming narrowed his dark eyes as he said coldly, “Spit it out.”
“The Southern Prince has sent an invitation for you to attend his father’s sixtieth birthday banquet in two weeks.”
Long Ming leaned back against the chair. “Really? He dares to invite me?”
Mo Tian handed Long Ming the invite.
Long Ming chuckled coldly. “Reply and advise him that I will go and greet his father personally.”
…
Two weeks passed in a flash.
With Long Ming’s strong condition, he was already able to get out of bed and walk. Over the past two weeks, he hadn’t gotten anyone to look for Xiao Ying in secret. Once he was done settling the issues with the traitor, he would personally find her.
Long Ming took a private plane to Myanmar with Mo Tian. When he arrived, the Southern Prince had come to welcome Long Ming personally.
After they arrived at the hotel, the Southern Prince told Long Ming and Mo Tian to rest for a while. Someone would fetch them before the banquet started.
Long Ming stood in front of the presidential suite’s floor-to-ceiling windows. As he stared at the southern territory as a gaze filled with determination appeared in his eyes.
One day, he would unify the north and the south and make it one complete country.
