Chapter 174: Going to Xi Zhou to Find Him (1)
A fast horse traveled towards the west!
Thinking of that child she raised herself, a flash of determination crossed Gong Yi Mo’s eyes: Wait for me!
The Desolate Valley was a very strange place.
There weren’t a lot of trees in this place… As for beasts, the only ones that appeared here were ferocious and rarely seen. There were no other colors other than the yellow grass that covered the ground. A few plants were scattered here and there, and some may contain poison.
The sky was covered in fog so dense that daylight rarely shone in that place. The haze is white in color during the daytime, but once nightfall comes, it would have a tinge of green. Other than times of rain or snow, the fog would remain in place. Anyone who enters this place will experience fainting, dizziness and hallucinations, which is why no eagles could be seen flying around this place.
Gong Jue carefully rummaged through a corpse. For the past ten days, his army would block Lou Ye’s movements while occasionally sending out patrols in search. However, behind them, the snowy mountains blocked his army’s retreat towards the border of Great Yu. The only way Gong Jue could escape with his men is by going through the country of Lou Ye.
At present, the dozen or so men who accompanied him were subordinates he was familiar with. Due to the special characteristics of the Desolate Valley, they had not eaten for two or three days. Finally, he found half a bottle of wine and some dry food at this dead man’s waist. It seems these people, like them, were unable to find food for a long time.
Gong Jue slowly savored the food, one small bite at a time. The experiences from when he was young and in the Cold Palace told him that this way of eating could increase the feelings of fullness and also wouldn’t cause stomach pain from eating too fast.
He had been on the edge of the Desolate Valley for a long time already. Since the Lou Ye armies were blocking him, he had no chance to escape. They were also enraged, intent on capturing him!
But Gong Jue knew that they didn’t have a lot of supplies remaining, especially now that there had been one or two snowfalls. The animals had vanished without a trace. In a few days at most, the 200,000 strong army of Lou Ye would brave the dangers and attack the Great Yu or withdraw. Luckily, his grandfather’s side had long prepared so the enemy’s motivation to attack wasn’t high. Therefore, at most ten days later, they would withdraw their troops. Perhaps, they may already be in the middle of preparing to retreat.
Except, these ten days would not be easy for Gong Jue.
There was almost no food or water here. Even if you dug a hole to collect water, there would barely be any supply per day. Much less food, even grass doesn’t have enough nutrients here! The only animals that appeared here were packs of wolves who wanted to get a midnight snack.
How was he going to pass through these ten days?
His cold eyes couldn’t help but sweep past those ten corpses, revealing a deep expression.
…
The Crown Prince was in critical condition. Even the Emperor’s countless herbs and medicine proved to no avail. He vomited out everything he ate, rendering medicine useless. Gong Che himself didn’t know what to do, but he couldn’t control his body. The food he ate wouldn’t stay in his stomach. In a mere few days, he thinned at a frightening rate.
When Shen Shi Ye requested to see the Crown Prince, Empress Liu had already shed all pretenses and refused anyone who came like they were beasts.
Shen Shi Ye had no choice but to say he had a way to save the Crown Prince.
He thus entered this way. They cleared the room and gave him a private meeting.
At this time, the Crown Prince was even paler than when he first returned to the capital. His entire person was so thin it was scary. He lay still on the bed as if he were dead.