Chapter 6: The Return

Although the arrow struck the leopard, the spooked mount caused the shot to veer off course, failing to deliver a fatal blow. Instead, it only served to incite the beast's ferocity.

The frenzied leopard lunged toward the Fourth Prince. At that moment, Xiao Zhen's guards were all being held back by the Fourth Prince's men, who were solely focused on preventing Xiao Zhen's people from giving chase. In the midst of the chaos, a gap unexpectedly opened up beside the Fourth Prince. By the time they reacted, the leopard had already clamped its jaws onto him and dragged him from his horse!

Xiao Zhen was completely unaware of all this. The wind howled in his ears, and the scenery on both sides blurred past him in a rapid retreat. That ordinary-looking horse was now running with the speed of a lightning bolt.

Xiao Zhen knew this was not normal!

The horse's sudden panic wasn't just because of the leopard; there might have been other reasons. But Xiao Zhen had no time to dwell on it. A cliff appeared ahead, and the horse charged down it without hesitation!

In a flash of lightning, it felt as if a firework had exploded in Xiao Zhen's mind. Amidst that ultimate brilliance, he saw another version of himself.

He was going to die!

No, he couldn't die yet!

Summoning every ounce of his strength, Xiao Zhen leaped from the saddle. He reached out his hands and finally managed to grab a tree branch protruding from the rock wall. However, the branch could not support his weight. Before his feet could find purchase, a loud *crack* echoed through the air. The branch snapped, and Xiao Zhen, like a sharp blade plunging into an abyss, fell straight down into the bottomless depths.

Xiao Zhen woke up three days later. Opening his eyes, he saw a room built of stone, with a few crude farming tools piled in the corner and a faint scent of medicinal herbs lingering in the air.

Xiao Zhen let out a long breath. Everything was exactly as it had been in his previous life; he had not died. He had been rescued by a herb gatherer and had cheated death.

Yes, Xiao Zhen remembered his past life. That dream that had haunted him for years was the final image of his previous life before he died.

In his past life, immediately after Xiao Yue died in his arms, he had triggered a mechanism, using hidden gunpowder to perish alongside his enemies!

A single tear slid from the corner of his eye as Xiao Zhen lay there quietly, motionless.

After a long while, Xiao Zhen called out softly, "Da Zhuang, Da Zhuang..."

A youth came running in. Seeing that Xiao Zhen had awakened, the boy was overjoyed and shouted loudly, "Grandpa, come quickly! He's awake!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, the boy's eyes widened. He looked at Xiao Zhen in amazement. "Huh? How did you know my name is Da Zhuang?"

Xiao Zhen smiled. *In my past life, you fought through life and death by my side; how could I not remember your original name?*

"I... when I was in a daze, I thought I heard someone calling for Da Zhuang. It must have been you," he replied.

Da Zhuang nodded with a grin. "It must have been Grandpa calling me, and you overheard it."

An old man walked in. Even across a lifetime, Xiao Zhen recognized him instantly. This was his savior from both lives, Yao Shanbo.

Yao Shanbo was skilled in medicine, but for some unknown reason, he had never become a physician. Since Da Zhuang's earliest memories, the grandfather and grandson had lived in seclusion deep within the mountains.

In his past life, shortly after Xiao Zhen and Da Zhuang had left, Yao Shanbo had met a violent end.

In his past life, Xiao Zhen had also fallen off a cliff like this and had been rescued by Yao Shanbo and Da Zhuang. The difference was that in his previous life, he recovered here for an entire month. After a month, he had sent Da Zhuang to the Grand Princess's manor in the capital with his token to request that someone come to fetch him.

However, Da Zhuang had not brought back anyone from the Grand Princess's manor. Instead, he had brought back Xiao Yue, who was disguised as a little beggar!

Only then did Xiao Zhen learn that Prince Liang was dead. The Prince Liang Manor had identified the killers as Grand Princess Jiayi and Consort Xiao, and had them executed at the Wisteria Villa!

Not only that, but the Prince Liang Manor had also sent assassins to kill the next head of the Xiao family, Xiao Su!

In a fit of rage, the Xiao family activated their hidden troops and fought a war of attrition against the Liang army. Ultimately, the Emperor executed the entire Xiao clan on charges of treason. Xiao Zhen had taken Xiao Yue and fled into the world under assumed names!

Yet, twenty years later, the two brothers had still met a violent end.

Thinking of this, Xiao Zhen no longer had the heart to focus on healing. He struggled to sit up, but Yao Shanbo pressed him down. "No. With your injuries, you must remain lying down for at least another five or six days."

Xiao Zhen was pleasantly surprised, looking at Yao Shanbo with a face full of hope. "Five or six days... I... I can... recover by then?"

In his past life, he had rested here for a full month!

Yao Shanbo shook his head. "Recover? How could you recover so soon? I mean that in five or six days, you will finally be able to sit up!"

"Not that long... Is there... is there any way to let me... leave here sooner?"

Yao Shanbo looked at him, pondered for a moment, and then turned to leave.

Seeing that Grandpa had left without a word, Da Zhuang was bewildered. He rubbed his head and comforted Xiao Zhen, "Don't worry. My Grandpa's medical skills are amazing. Last time, a monkey broke its leg, and Grandpa set the bone. The next day, that monkey was climbing trees again!"

Just as Da Zhuang finished speaking, Yao Shanbo's dry cough drifted in from outside the window. Startled, Da Zhuang stuck out his tongue and winked at Xiao Zhen.

Hope rose in Xiao Zhen's heart. In his past life, he had heard Da Zhuang mention Yao Shanbo's medical skills more than once. Da Zhuang had said that Grandpa possessed an ancestral prescription; even if a bone was shattered to pieces, it could be mended using that formula. Unfortunately, Yao Shanbo had died without ever passing the prescription down to Da Zhuang.

"Da Zhuang, my good brother, could you do me a favor?" Xiao Zhen said in a low voice.

Da Zhuang hurriedly replied, "Yes, of course! You see, I've got nothing better to do anyway, right? Hehe."

Xiao Zhen gazed at Da Zhuang, his eyes welling with moisture.

In his past life, Da Zhuang had followed him through life and death, eventually dying alongside him.

Compared to the "Shan Xiao" in his memory—a man as steady as a mountain and decisive in battle—the current Da Zhuang was still just a blunt, outspoken country boy.

Da Zhuang grinned, revealing a row of bright white teeth, his eyes sparkling like a clear mountain spring—pure and sweet.

Looking at the young Da Zhuang, Xiao Zhen had a moment of trance. A cold, fierce figure flickered before his eyes, holding a blood-dripping sword with a gaze of ruthless determination.

The figure from his memory gradually merged with the person before him, then abruptly pulled away and vanished. Xiao Zhen's gaze cleared once more. The person before him was Da Zhuang—sixteen-year-old Da Zhuang, clean and innocent.

He was not that cold-blooded killer, Shan Xiao; he was just Da Zhuang.

"Da Zhuang, what is the date today?" Xiao Zhen asked.

Da Zhuang thought for a moment. "If it's not the second of the fourth month, it's the third."

The tension in Xiao Zhen's nerves suddenly relaxed, and a smile played on his lips.

"Young master, what's wrong? Does your body hurt?" Da Zhuang asked with concern.

Hurt? Of course it hurt. Any slight movement sent a bone-deep ache through him. However, compared to the agony of his past life—watching his loved ones die helplessly—what was this mere physical pain?

Everything before him was real. It wasn't a dream; it was reality.

Xiao Zhen's smile became even more genuine. He looked at Da Zhuang and said, word by word, "You are still Da Zhuang, and I am still Xiao Zhen. Da Zhuang, help me do something..."

In the capital, noble youths like Xiao Zhen did not carry money on them. Whether it was silver coins or banknotes, they wouldn't carry them personally; they would either have a servant carry them or keep a running tab. Being able to charge purchases at any shop was considered a mark of status.

But Xiao Zhen was different. For a child who had made running away from home a common habit since he was small, he would carry several hundred taels of silver on his person regardless of whether he had a servant or not.

For instance, when Yao Shanbo rescued Xiao Zhen, he had found a pouch on him. Yao Shanbo had not opened it, and that pouch was now tucked under Xiao Zhen's pillow.

Inside the pouch were several pieces of broken silver and a few gold beans. Besides that, inside the arrow-sleeve robe that had been shredded by the tree branches, there was a hidden pocket sewn into the lining, containing five neatly folded hundred-tael silver notes.

At this moment, Xiao Zhen felt fortunate for his habit of always carrying money.