Tang Er had never seen Ah Wu’s face before. In the past few days, Ling Rui had hidden Ah Wu well.
Struggling to calm his emotions, Tang Er wanted to send this dangerous person away as quickly as possible.
But Ah Wu, with one hand still gripping Tang Er’s throat, looked past him and spoke.
“Zai Zai, will you come with me?”
He was speaking to Ling Rui.
Bound and teary-eyed, Ling Rui nodded without hesitation.
In the next moment, Ah Wu slammed Tang Er to the ground and strode towards Ling Rui.
The thick ropes around Ling Rui were effortlessly torn apart by him.
Ah Wu also unsealed Ling Rui’s acupoints.
In truth, if Ling Rui hadn’t lost his memory, no one would have been able to trap him.
He could have transformed into his little cub form and escaped easily.
But this time, unfortunately, he had forgotten that he could do that.
Ah Wu comfortingly held him, gently patting his back. “Don’t be scared, we’re going home now.”
Tang Er, thrown to the ground, watched as Ah Wu and Ling Rui embraced, and he realized Ah Wu was planning to take Ling Rui away.
“Little Seven is a member of our clan! You can’t take him!”
Even at this point, Tang Er was still fighting for Ling Rui.
Ah Wu’s gaze was ice-cold, and his voice was equally chilling. “He’s a member of your clan? You actually dare say that out loud.”
Did he not know exactly where Ling Rui had lived all his life?
Tang Er wasn’t foolish. Seeing Ah Wu’s demeanor, he quickly realized that Ah Wu and Ling Rui knew each other well.
“You, you two—”
Even though Tang Er still wanted to resist, the murderous intent in Ah Wu’s eyes made him swallow his words.
He could be flexible when necessary, and he quickly made his decision: “I’ll take you both out.”
At this point, Tang Er saw Ah Wu as nothing less than a plague, eager to get rid of him as soon as possible.
Tang Er had made his choice, but another person in the hall was staring at them with hatred in their eyes.
Ling Rui held Ah Wu’s hand, softly comforting him.
After they had walked quite far, Nan Mu, who had been restrained by her companions, suddenly broke free.
She was dressed in a wedding gown and, clutching a dagger, chased after Ah Wu and Ling Rui in the direction where they had disappeared.
As she ran, she shouted sharply, “Little Seven is my husband! I won’t allow you to take him away!”
Nan Mu hadn’t even taken two steps before someone rushed forward and knocked her down.
The one who knocked her down was a middle-aged man. Though he was older, his features hinted that he must have been quite handsome in his youth.
“You people, how many more innocent lives will you ruin?!”
The man, as if his emotions had exploded all at once, roared, “You want to force people into marriage, no matter if they’re willing or not! You people are disgusting!”
“Yulang, have you lost your mind?”
The woman from the clan, who had been standing next to the man, was clearly shocked. She widened her eyes, looking at him in disbelief. “What’s wrong with you—”
“I remember now. I remember everything.”
The man clenched his fists tightly, glaring at the woman with hatred, his voice hoarse. “You destroyed me. You people destroyed me. You destroyed my family!”
“Your family is right here!”
The woman’s expression showed a brief moment of panic, but she quickly regained her composure. She pulled a young girl forward, forcing her to face the man.
“I’m your wife, and this is your daughter. Where the three of us are, that’s your home!”
“No, it’s not.”
The man didn’t hesitate for even a second. He looked at his former wife and daughter, his tone devoid of any warmth. “My home is not here, and my wife is not here!”
The deep disgust in his eyes was so unfamiliar to the woman that she froze.
Before she could say anything else, the man grabbed the dagger that Nan Mu had been holding earlier and stabbed the woman.
“You ruined the peaceful and happy life I once had. Now, I’ll make you pay with your life!”
Meanwhile, Ling Rui and Ah Wu, who had walked far away, were unaware of the commotion behind them.
They continued walking with Tang Er, along with a small horse that Ling Rui had brought along. After traveling for a long time, they finally stopped.
“Up ahead is the exit.”
Tang Er said, “Once you leave through that exit, you can go home.”
As Tang Er spoke, he began to turn back, but Ah Wu glanced at him and, in the next moment, grabbed him by the throat again.
“Did I say you could leave?”
“I’ve already brought you here! What more do you want?!”
Tang Er was both furious and frustrated, angry at being bullied like this but annoyed that he couldn’t fight back.
“From now on, just follow me quietly.”
Ah Wu said this in a simple tone, but Tang Er clearly understood the underlying threat—
If he didn’t behave, he would die.
Taking a deep breath, Tang Er forced himself to suppress all his emotions and continued walking with them.
However, once they passed the exit, Tang Er immediately tried to act out again, attempting to sneak back through the entrance when Ah Wu wasn’t paying attention.
He thought that since Ah Wu and Ling Rui had left, they might not be able to find their way back to the clan, and he could use this to his advantage to escape his predicament.
But trying to pull off such a trick right under Ah Wu’s nose was obviously not a smart move.
Sure enough, within a few minutes, Tang Er’s plan failed, and he was knocked out cold.
Ah Wu had held back a bit; otherwise, Tang Er wouldn’t have just fainted.
As Tang Er laid unconscious on the ground, Ling Rui looked at him, then at Ah Wu.
He hesitated and asked, “Should we take him with us?”
Tang Er was already passed out, and if they brought him along, it would be a hassle.
While Ling Rui was still debating, the little horse nudged him gently and neighed.
After nudging Ling Rui, the horse gave a little kick toward Tang Er.
Ling Rui understood what it meant. “Are you saying you can carry him?”
The horse snorted in response.
With the help of the horse, Tang Er was loaded up, and Ling Rui and Ah Wu, hand in hand, finally walked out of the secluded clan after so many days.
Behind them, the village was ablaze with fire.
“Ah Wu, tell me more about myself.”
Ling Rui shook Ah Wu’s hand, asking him to continue talking about his past.
Even though Ling Rui didn’t have any memory of the things Ah Wu spoke about, he still loved hearing them.
The two of them kept walking slowly, and from time to time, Ling Rui would ask for a kiss.
Their conversations occasionally drifted off-topic, and Ling Rui’s face radiated the joy of someone who had just fallen in love.
“If everything you say is true and I have a family that loves me, then once I introduce you to them, they’ll definitely like you too.”
“Ah Wu, do you think they’ll arrange a wedding for me?”
Ah Wu: “…”
Ah Wu fell silent for a moment, then slowly said, “Zai Zai, I don’t think you need to rush to tell them.”
Once they returned and those people saw that Ling Rui had lost his memory, they would probably already be shocked.
If Ling Rui started talking about marriage right after that, those people might lose their minds on the spot.
Ah Wu wasn’t someone who typically cared about others’ feelings.
The real reason he didn’t want Ling Rui to tell them was because he worried that once Ling Rui regained his memories, he might feel regret or embarrassment.
“Why shouldn’t I tell them right away?”
Ling Rui wasn’t happy. “I don’t want to keep it a secret.”
He had already promised to take responsibility for Ah Wu. Not telling his family would feel like he wasn’t being responsible.
“Zai Zai, if you tell them too soon, they might try to interfere.”
“We should take it slow, okay?”
Ah Wu had no better solution, so he used this excuse to buy some time.
Ling Rui frowned, thinking it over for a few seconds before reluctantly agreeing. “Alright, I’ll listen to you.”
Ah Wu was relieved to see he had convinced him and affectionately reached out to ruffle his hair.
After they came out, they found the way back easily. It didn’t take long before they ran into the people who had come out searching for them.
The moment they saw Ling Rui, someone couldn’t hold back their voice and shouted, “The Seventh Prince! The Seventh Prince has been found!”
Ling Rui: “!”
So, he really was a prince?!
As the news that the Seventh Prince had been found spread back to the camp, the entire camp was in an uproar.
Murong Xu was so emotional that his eyes filled with tears, unable to speak.
Murong Xue was a bit more composed. While he was still speechless, she had already arranged for hot water to be boiled, clothes to be prepared, and a feast to be made.
Everything was well arranged in the camp, but Ling Rui clung to Ah Wu so tightly that he even wanted Ah Wu to bathe with him.
Ah Wu couldn’t refuse after Ling Rui pleaded so earnestly, so he accompanied him.
“Ah Wu, give me a kiss,” Ling Rui, now in the bath, leaned over the edge, still asking for a kiss.
Ah Wu stood outside, not bathing.
Seeing Ah Wu staring intently at the screen in the room, Ling Rui splashed the water, protesting, “Look at me! I’m much better to look at!”
Ah Wu still didn’t look.
While they were talking inside the room, elsewhere, Ling Chen, dressed in his bright yellow robe, had just received the news and, putting down the report in his hand, rushed over.
“There’s no need to hurry. He’s still bathing right now,” Murong Xu, who had come to inform him, tried to calm him down.
Ling Chen shot a sharp look over and said in a harsh tone, “Little Seven has returned, and you didn’t inform me earlier?”
“He went straight to bathe when he came back. I haven’t even seen him yet,” Murong Xu explained helplessly. “It was my older sister’s arrangement. She had people boil water with mugwort, saying it would be good for him to wash up first.”
When Murong Xue was mentioned, Ling Chen’s expression softened a little.
Ling Chen always held deep respect and admiration for Murong Xue, the general who had protected the country.
Murong Xu noticed the change in his expression and huffed in dissatisfaction, “As soon as you hear about my sister, your face lights up, but when it’s me, you never give me a good look.”
Ling Chen glanced at him, clearly unimpressed.
He would have liked to treat Murong Xu better, but the things Murong Xu had done in front of him made that impossible.
After a brief exchange of glances, Murong Xu, feeling a bit guilty himself, scratched his nose and quickly changed the topic. “Let’s go, let’s go see Little Seven together.”
They had been separated from Little Seven for so long that, when Little Seven saw them, he would surely run over with tears in his eyes.
As Ling Chen imagined his younger brother’s familiar expression of grievance, with his little face scrunched up, his heart ached with affection even before seeing him.
