"The wind is a bit noisy today," Tiran struggled to lift his heavy eyelids, and as the deep azure sky became clear in his eyes, the rest of his senses gradually returned to his body.

Pain.

The most prominent sensation, even above all others, was the intense pain from his chest to his ribs. Tiran shifted his gaze slightly downward and saw the grim wound... Huh, bandaged?

The clothes that had been torn apart by Mang Qing's claw were naturally in tatters, but the wound underneath had been well bandaged, with white bandages wrapped around several times. Although there was still some blood seeping through, it was negligible compared to the large tear in his skin.

But it was a bit strange. Normally, lying flat, it shouldn't be possible to just roll his eyes and see his own chest, right?

Only now did Tiran, belatedly, realize what was supporting the back of his head. Hmm... it felt hard, but there was also some elasticity underneath, probably a layer of hard shell... Wait, what?

Within Princess's view, half a face suddenly appeared awkwardly from above.

"How do you feel, Silver War Maiden?"

"Uh, okay, I guess?"

Feeling around his body, other than the severe pain in his chest, everything else seemed fine.

Xiang Ling nodded, "The block you performed helped to reduce some of the damage, but it's still unclear if there's any internal injury. We can only do basic treatment with medicine for now. We'll have to check back at Yanmen Pass later."

"Speaking of that... why am I in this position now?" Tiran raised an eyebrow. Could it be that his current position and Xiang Ling's angle were what they call a knee pillow in legends? Is this the thigh of a beautiful maiden, separated by a layer of armor...?

Whether it was an illusion or not, Tiran seemed to notice a hint of redness on Xiang Ling's cheeks.

"Just for the convenience of treating your wound," Xiang Ling's gaze inexplicably avoided his, gently supporting Tiran's back with her hands, "Can you get up?"

"No problem."

After regaining control over his body, Tiran sat up. His physical condition was actually better than he had imagined. He had thought he was a goner after taking a hit earlier, along with the mental exhaustion caused by the concentration magic array.

As he got up, Tiran touched the bandages wrapped from his chest to his abdomen. The pain still sent waves of stimulation to his nerves, but it was within manageable limits. It was a bit embarrassing that his clothes were completely torn, but fortunately, Xiang Ling was also a girl, so it wasn't a big problem.

Why does this thing look a bit like... a chest wrapper? Tiran inexplicably thought in a strange direction. Yeah, it was something he really didn't need.

"Wait, if we're both fine here, then those two savage beasts..."

"I won," Xiang Ling informed succinctly, "I cut off a piece of each of their wings. Although they managed to escape, they won't come back in the short term."

The bamboo slips found in the warehouse of Yanmen Pass explained that the savage beasts of Duan Cang Mountain were mostly powerful individuals, each possessing a certain territory, like separatist princes. Once one of them died or weakened, it was easy to be attacked. If it weren't for the fact that the cubs were captured this time, those two female beasts probably wouldn't have come rushing over so recklessly.

Upon hearing that the two savage beasts had not been killed, Tiran subtly breathed a sigh of relief. Though they were fierce beasts engaged in a life-and-death battle, after all, they were lured there by that Yuan guy. The mother who had rushed from afar for the sake of her cubs had done nothing wrong.

"Amazing, winning against two opponents at once."

Tiran licked their lips and honestly envied true Holy Rank power. Being able to effortlessly take on two opponents and come out on top. If Tiran had reached the true Holy Rank level before the battle in the magitech city, they wouldn't have struggled and dropped levels, leading to the incidents with Milt and Aya being captured not happening.

Speaking of which, it was a bit strange that Tiran had been stuck at the Holy Rank threshold from the beginning. According to the deal made with the self-proclaimed divine being back then, Tiran's talent was supposed to be unparalleled, theoretically capable of crushing enemies at the same level or higher. But after stepping on the Holy Rank threshold at fifteen, their other foot just couldn't move forward.

At that time, without encountering any formidable opponents, it didn't matter. Looking back now, it's a pity not to have paid more attention to this issue earlier.

Having repelled Mang Qing's attack on the other side, the two finally achieved victory in this unnoticed battle. They could return in triumph.

Although not in mortal danger at the moment, Tiran's injuries were real. Whether it was from blood loss or the side effects of forcefully using magic, they felt weak. Riding a horse themselves was out of the question, so Xiang Ling called back the horses with a whistle and lifted Tiran onto one of them.

"Hey?!"

Tiran, caught off guard, let out a surprised cry.

"Hmm? Can't bear the wound?"

Xiang Ling's response was timely, but she completely missed the point.

"It's not about the wound..." Tiran pushed Xiang Ling's face back with one hand as she turned to look at her, the other hand covering her own face.

Confirmed, this person was just as clueless as Zilan.

The journey back wasn't far, but in order to care for Tiran's injuries, Xiang Ling controlled the speed well, avoiding excessive bumps, which prolonged the journey a bit.

In situations like riding a horse, especially when two people shared one, the person in the back had nowhere to hold onto except the one in front to prevent falling off.

Coincidentally, Tiran was feeling weak and had to hold onto Xiang Ling's waist to steady themselves.

Being together on the open field like this had a somewhat awkward atmosphere. Pressed against Xiang Ling's armored body, the chilly sensation of metal seeping through the bandages directly onto the skin, along with the strange scent of blood and the teenage girl's body fragrance, made Tiran think silently.

No, this was too embarrassing!

Feeling the armor against their skin had already warmed the metal with their body heat, the princess couldn't hold back and decided to find a topic to discuss.

"After we return, do you plan to head straight back to Luojing?"

"Of course. That guy named Yuan, he seems to be planning...murder in Luojing."

"Huh?" Tiran was taken aback. Seeing that the attacks by the wild beasts were attracted by the Holy Spirit, she knew Yuan would definitely cause trouble again, and it wasn't going to be minor. But using the word "murder" was too specific and direct, right?

"He approached me, intending to help me launch a coup in Luojing."

So that's why he said murder. But indeed, a coup inevitably results in many deaths, especially in densely populated cities. Regardless of who wins in the end, the common people are bound to suffer.

"But isn't that in line with your goal? You didn't have any grudges with him before, right?"

That being said, Tiran was also somewhat relieved. If Xiang Ling had reached a cooperation agreement with Yuan first, he would have basically walked right into their trap.

"...You probably wouldn't understand, Silver War Maiden," Xiang Ling said quietly after a moment of silence. "I am not considered nobility, even though half of royal blood flows through my veins. I am still not acknowledged by those who consider themselves noble. I have rummaged through leftover meals in the back alleys of restaurants, been beaten for a piece of bread, and seen my mother sell herself to feed me... I have experienced life at the lowest rungs of this country, and there's no way I could disregard the lives of commoners like those born into privilege can."

"You might not believe it, but I actually understand quite well..." Tiran stuck out his tongue, made a face, but Xiang Ling didn't turn around and couldn't see it anyway.

"Standing firm on the side of the people to enhance the bond with the masses, mastering the ways and methods of doing grassroots work in the new situation, because serving the people is the foundation of governance and the fundamental guarantee of success in all endeavors... like this."

As Tiran finished speaking, he could feel through his touch that His Highness Xiang Ling's breathing hesitated for a moment, and his heartbeat quickened slightly.

"I didn't expect you to have these insights, I've learned something."

Haha, well, who knew, did you think I majored in party courses at college?

Tiran sneered inwardly but maintained a humble facade as he chuckled, "No, no, just offering a small opinion. Your Highness Xiang Ling, you're the one truly capable of understanding and rescuing the people from dire situations..."

...The infiltration plan of the imperial city begins now.

First, lay out a bunch of maps to make it seem like a lot of preparation has been done.

Suddenly feeling a bit helpless, Aya flopped on the ground, collecting a pile of tourist maps but what good are they now! Other than knowing the location of the imperial city, she knew nothing else!

After seeing Yuan's actions, Aya couldn't calm down anymore. She felt that if they continued at this slow pace, there would be trouble. It was better to take the initiative, quickly try to remove the seal on herself, then sneak off to find Tiran.

The only clue was the method of entering the imperial city. Earlier, she had bumped into a few palace servants carrying barrels of wine into the palace. The size of those oak barrels was enough for her to hide inside. As long as she found an opportunity to sneak in, blending into the palace should not be a problem.

As for the inspections, as the Imperial Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Empire, Qiao Sida might have the prestige to send gifts without being rigorously checked, after all, they couldn't possibly inspect all the barrels one by one. There was a chance to slip through... Okay, sorry, no more fantasy, Aya's intelligence truly did not think this far ahead.

For the same reason, Aya joyfully swept the maps off the table to the floor, marking the end of the meeting and revealing the result.

One word to sum up the core idea - adaptability.

So this plan was no different from not having one at all, as for its effectiveness... um, perhaps it helped Aya's mindset become a bit more composed?

In any case, Aya refused to admit that this futile meeting had no purpose at all.

It was precisely because of this sloppy meeting that Aya encountered an unexpected situation even before setting off.

Qiao Mansion, late at night, in the backyard.

"Hey, Aya, why are you sneaking around?" A pajama-clad girl with arms crossed leaned against the wall and waited for Aya to approach stealthily.