Crowned by the Treacherous Big Shot
Chapter 75 Recognition

Chapter 75: Chapter 75 Recognition

Meng Qianqian had been hiding in the mountains for an entire day and night.

The Shadow Guards of Beiliang were relentless. If it weren’t for the fact that winter had blanketed the mountain with snow, Meng Qianqian strongly suspected they would have set the forest on fire to smoke her out.

Life in the mountains wasn’t too difficult—at least, not for her. When hungry, she would snack on wild fruits like firethorn berries and hawthorn, which were everywhere.

As for whether those Beiliang fellows could find some wild fruits to stave off hunger, she had no idea.

Meng Qianqian even caught a few wild chickens and rabbits, but since she couldn’t risk lighting a fire, she played with them for a while before ultimately setting them free.

At night, she slept in a snow pit she had dug out with her Brocade Spring Saber, using a leopard as her pillow to keep warm.

Meanwhile, the Beiliang Shadow Guards searching for her were losing their minds.

"Where the hell is that damned girl hiding?"

"In this snowy weather, her footprints just vanished into thin air. Even if she used Qinggong, there should at least be marks on the trees."

"And in this freezing cold, she at least needs to light a fire to stay warm, doesn’t she? Not that it matters to her during the day."

That said, they had lit a fire for themselves.

Sitting in a cave, they had kindled a bonfire and roasted some wild rabbit meat.

Another full day and night passed. Just when the guards began to suspect she might have frozen to death out there, the target finally emerged.

When bad luck hits, even drinking water can get stuck in your teeth.

Meng Qianqian had gotten a good rest in her snow pit and had just poked her head out when she came face to face with a Shadow Guard.

The guard looked down at the small head suddenly popping out from the snow, while Meng Qianqian tilted her head up to stare at the man’s shiny bald forehead.

The two locked eyes in an awkward moment of silence.

Innocently, Meng Qianqian blinked and then pulled out the leopard: "Bite him."

The leopard sank its teeth into the guard’s leg.

The guard: "...!!"

Damn it!

It’s her!

Without her mask on, he hadn’t recognized her at first!

"Found her!"

He shouted.

He kicked the leopard away, sending it tumbling across the snow. The feline tried to pounce back, ready to maul him, but froze upon noticing several more Shadow Guards charging toward them, their blades glinting with killing intent.

One of them even held a flaming torch.

The leopard immediately turned tail and fled in disgrace.

Meng Qianqian scowled sternly, "Hmph. What a coward."

The leopard, watching Meng Qianqian dart off even faster than itself, was left speechless: "..."

The pursuit dragged on until nightfall.

Sagging against a tree, Meng Qianqian panted heavily: "Can’t you guys... just stop chasing me?"

A Shadow Guard, equally breathless, retorted: "If you... stop running... we’ll stop chasing..."

The rest of the guards, exhausted and beaten, nodded in agreement.

Meng Qianqian, barely able to catch her breath, muttered, "If you... stop chasing... I’ll stop... running..."

The Shadow Guards: Damn it! We’re dead tired... truly at our limit! We can’t catch her, and we can’t hit her either!

Meng Qianqian wasn’t in much better shape, completely drained to the point where she couldn’t even unsheathe her Brocade Spring Saber.

Suddenly, one of the guards pulled out a small crossbow from the basket on his back.

His companion gaped in astonishment: "You’ve had that thing this whole time... Why didn’t you use it sooner?"

The guard wheezed, "Only just remembered."

He raised the crossbow and aimed it squarely at Meng Qianqian.

Meng Qianqian collapsed onto the ground in despair.

It was over. There was no way she could outrun a crossbow. This was really the end...

The guard fired. A bolt shot through the air like lightning, its speed cutting through the silence with a sharp whistle as it hurtled straight for Meng Qianqian’s heart.

But at that precise moment, a tall figure clad in purple descended from the heavens, stepping in front of her. With one sweeping stroke of his sword, the bolt was cleaved in two!

Meng Qianqian stared at the towering, regal figure before her. Her vision blurred, and she collapsed backward, arms and legs sprawled wide, before passing out.

When Meng Qianqian regained consciousness, she found that the sky had turned completely dark, and she was lying on a warm, broad back.

She wiggled her legs a little.

"Awake?"

Lu Yuan asked indifferently.

Meng Qianqian rested her chin on his shoulder. "Mm."

She thought he’d tell her to get off and walk on her own now that she was awake.

To her surprise, he merely said, "Yin Hu is waiting for you in a cave up ahead."

Meng Qianqian let out an "Oh" and made no move to insist on walking herself. After all, after fleeing for so long, her legs were sore beyond measure.

"Have you been cured of your poison?"

"I have."

"I told you Yin Hu could solve it. But why didn’t he wait for me back at camp?"

Lu Yuan didn’t answer.

Soon enough, Meng Qianqian found out why Yin Hu had come all the way from the military camp to meet her personally.

In the cave, Yin Hu sat against the cold, hard stone wall. His face was ashen, his vitality draining, his breathing faint and weak, as if it might cease at any moment.

"Enough, there’s no time left. If you delay any longer, your friend won’t survive!"

Looking back, she recalled how Yin Hu had urged her in the forest to hurry back to the military camp. She’d assumed he’d been referring to Lu Yuan’s situation being urgent, but now she realized the one running out of time was Yin Hu himself.

A huge wave of sorrow surged through Meng Qianqian’s heart.

"Yin Hu."

She crouched before him and softly called out his name.

Yin Hu laboriously opened his heavy eyelids, forcing out a faint smile. "You’re here."

Meng Qianqian nodded.

Yin Hu solemnly studied her face for a long moment before speaking. "Tsk, a young girl’s face, frozen to such a state!"

Meng Qianqian’s nose stung with emotion. "I’ll apply some snow cream when I get back."

Yin Hu chuckled. "Put on extra."

Meng Qianqian obediently agreed. "Mm."

Yin Hu said, "I’ve saved the person for you. Now I’m going to ask you something. Think carefully before you answer. If you don’t want to respond, that’s fine, but don’t lie to me. I’ll know if you do."

Meng Qianqian nodded once more.

Yin Hu: "First question, who gave you the silver needles?"

Meng Qianqian replied, "I had them made based on my memories."

Yin Hu: "And who taught you the Needle Technique and Martial Arts?"

Meng Qianqian shook her head. "I don’t remember."

Yin Hu considered her words, then said, "Write a word for me."

Picking up a dry twig, Meng Qianqian wrote on the ground: Yin Hu.

The handwriting was entirely different from what she had used in Haitang Courtyard. She even added a haphazardly drawn tiger’s head.

A flicker of shock and excitement appeared momentarily on Yin Hu’s pallid face.

With his remaining strength, he picked up a twig and drew an Eight-sided Exquisite Lantern on the ground, inscribing words onto the lantern:

Meng Qianqian read each word aloud, "The solitary night lingers long; amidst the maple forest at dusk, frost and snow lie still..."

Yin Hu stopped writing there. He could go no further.

Meng Qianqian, almost instinctively, completed the words: "Flowers bloom, flowers wither, as jade remains."

Yin Hu straightened up, staring at her in a daze. "You... who are you?"

After a moment of silence, Meng Qianqian replied, "All I know is that my surname is now Meng."

Yin Hu gazed at her for a long while.

At last, he sighed softly, "So be it."

Yin Hu passed away.

His eyes remained open.

In his eyes, Meng Qianqian saw herself—or perhaps, what she glimpsed was a hazy shadow of another person.

She reached out to gently close his eyes.

Bowing her head, a single, scalding tear fell onto the earth. "Honor, the Yin Hu Guard."

...

Meng Qianqian and Lu Yuan buried Yin Hu in the mountains, in a spot overlooking the Chu Family’s land.

Lu Yuan handed her a bundle. "Yin Hu asked me to give this to you."

Meng Qianqian opened the bundle to find the Yin Hu Token and a handwritten journal, which contained records Yin Hu had meticulously gathered from all corners of the land on various poison formulas.

Meng Qianqian asked, "What else did Yin Hu tell you?"

Lu Yuan’s tone was calm. "No comment."

Meng Qianqian frowned and turned her face away, pouting.

Lu Yuan gazed down at Yumen Pass in the valley below. "It’s time to end this."

Meng Qianqian was taken aback. "The fight’s over?"

The Beiliang army wasn’t like those haphazardly assembled Rebel Armies. If they truly fought, it would be an all-out war. How could it possibly be over in three days? Three months would have been more believable.

Lu Yuan swished his wide sleeves with brazen flair. "Who said there must be a battle? The highest form of warfare is to outmaneuver the enemy. This Lord has his own ways of making Beiliang obediently retreat."

Meng Qianqian thought of something and asked, "Did you find the missing Beiliang diplomatic envoy? So quickly?"

Lu Yuan replied coolly, "Did you really think I stayed in Feng County just to wait for you to bring Yin Hu to cure me?"

If he had been desperate to detoxify, he would have accompanied her to Yumen Pass himself.

He had stayed to investigate the case.

And now, it was time to slap Beiliang in the face.

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