At the end of a bloody and tragic battle, the survivors looked at Ning Que's gaze, and their attitude towards him silently underwent some extremely subtle changes. During the journey away from Weicheng these days, they either respected Ning Que's ability to be a guide, and when they really encountered some big events and important decisions, Ning Que was just a bigger stone in the eyes of the guards, but now no matter what people do, they will subconsciously ask for his opinion.

Reporting to Her Royal Highness the princess for approval, the head of the guard listened to Ning Que's advice and did not immediately withdraw from the Beishan Pass, but decided to rest and recuperate on the spot and stand by, hoping that the receiving troops at the southern foot of the Beishan Road could arrive at dawn.

The frail old man Lu Qingchen quietly looked at the young man by the fire, a smile appeared on his face, and the thumb of his right hand gently rubbed on the belly of his index finger, but in the end he only shook his head.

Two fires were lit next to the carriage, and although the dense forest was windy, fortunately the night dew was carried on the rotten leaves, so I was not worried about the fire that would cause trouble. The leader of the guards and the wounded gathered around a fire, leaving another fire in a better position for His Highness, the old man and the little boy, and even in the present state of wolf bèi, they still did not forget the distinction between dignity and inferiority.

Binding medicine and eating, the barbarian on the grassland couldn't bear the hunger and thirst after the war, and drank the wine in small sips, and the people by the fire passed the wine bag, and when it was handed to Sangsang, the little maid shook her head gently, and then the barbarian named Dumu walked to Ning Que's side with an unusually respectful expression, and handed the wine bag over with both hands.

Someone looked at this scene, her delicate eyebrows frowned slightly, she knew very well that these steppe barbarians who were loyal to her, before they were subdued, were arrogant horse thieves across the grasslands, and rarely showed respect to others other than themselves, not to mention that at this time their respect was obviously fearful - even if the young man played a decisive role in the previous battle made them grateful, but where did the fear come from?

Ning Que took the wine bag and took a sip, his brows furrowed from the burning spirits. He looked at the old man by the fire, his heart moved slightly, he propped up his tired body with both hands, and walked over there, but before he could bow or bow or bow his hands, or even kneel on his knees to ask for advice, as he imagined when he was a child, he was intercepted by a faint voice.

"Sit down. ”

Ning Que turned his head to look at the maid beside the fire, looking at the more beautiful face on her face illuminated by the firelight, sighed lightly in his heart, saluted very respectfully, and then sat down not far from her.

Although he insisted that unlike the world's praise, she was an idiot. But even if he is an idiot, the difference in status between the two sides is like a star and a loach in a rice field, so he must pay attention to his etiquette and must be respectful.

Because she is not a maidservant, she is Li Yu, the fourth princess of the Tang Dynasty.

Li Yu quietly looked at the young man's side face, that childish face looked very ordinary, except for the small dimples that bloomed when he occasionally laughed and the freckles that were not ugly under the firelight, he couldn't find anything special.

However, it was such an ordinary young soldier, and her appearance in the battle made her think of the tiger on the grassland that jumped over the bushes indifferently more than once, and for some reason, she who had just experienced a thrilling assassination and the aftermath of her still lingered, as long as she looked at Ning Que, who was not far from her, she felt that her mood had become much more relaxed and calm.

Maybe it's because the boy is like a tiger by his side.

But the problem is that she doesn't like this teenager. From Weicheng to the waiter and then all the way, whether she is disguised as a maidservant or now reverts to the identity of a princess, she is extremely dislike the style of this border city soldier.

What made her even more unhappy was that she always felt that Ning Que's respect for her was just a sign of kung fu, and she couldn't see any sincerity, and even always felt that he should secretly laugh at herself in some dark corners - I have to say that a woman's intuition is always a terrible weapon, whether it is a peasant woman in the village or a resentful woman in the deep palace.

Her Royal Highness, the most noble princess of the Tang Empire, as long as she thinks that a low-level soldier is laughing at her, she should be angry, but now Her Royal Highness the princess feels that when she sits with the other party and sits by the fire, she will feel a sense of security and a sense of being protected.

She liked this feeling, but she didn't like this feeling because of Ning Que. So on the contrary, he was a little inexplicably embarrassed, squinting slightly at his side face, and his tone of voice deliberately became much colder.

"When the enemy attacked just now, it seemed that you wanted to go to the carriage to save Hongu?"

Anyway, the real palace was not in the carriage at that time, and now the palace says that you wanted to save the palace at that time, and it is sarcastic that you only think about meritorious service in your heart.

"Actually...... From the time I was in Weicheng, I knew that His Highness was His Highness. ”

Ning Que looked at her and explained seriously, His Royal Highness is His Royal Highness, and the palace in the car is naturally not a princess, and there may be some useful small means in luring the enemy, but in fact, in the eyes of really smart people, it can only be some low-level tricks.

Li Yu frowned slightly, she didn't ask Ning Que when and why she was able to see through her identity, probably because of the previous battle and the subsequent sense of security, which made her have some very good judgments about the young man's ability.

She suddenly asked coldly: "Earlier, you said that all the killing skills were learned in the army, but you are only fifteen or sixteen years old this year, and you were only afraid that you were still a child when Weicheng recruited the army, so why did the border army accept you into the camp?"

Ning Que thought to himself that you are a sixteen-year-old girl, and she is not married to the grassland, and when she was about to bluff a few words at will, Sang Sang came over quietly and sat down beside him.

Looking at the real little girl quietly by his side, he was in a slight mood, looked at the flames floating in front of him, and recalled: "Your Highness should know that Sangsang This girl was picked up by me on the side of the road when I was a child, at that time we were all very young, and we broke into the vast Minshan by mistake, and when we were about to die of hunger and thirst, we met an old hunter. ”

He raised his head, looked at the princess's beautiful face, and said: "Old Orion is not a master of the world, and he didn't necessarily have any good ideas to save the two of us, but in short, he taught me to hunt, and my archery skills were learned at that time, and later ...... When the old hunter died, I took Sangsang to hunt in the Minshan Mountains for a living. ”

It is very simple, but there is a very vivid picture in the eyes of Her Royal Highness the Princess, a teenage boy carrying a five or six-year-old girl on his back, struggling to move forward in the vast Minshan Mountains full of fierce beast cliffs and dense forests, he is holding a small boxwood hardwood bow in his hand, and the little girl is carrying a simple wooden arrow behind her.

Sometimes they can't shoot their prey for days, sometimes they fall down the hill after being chased by leopards, occasionally they shoot a gray rabbit and two children rejoice, and sometimes they look at the lighted cottage from afar but leave silently.

In Li Yu's eyes, Ning Que's face was no longer as hateful as before, and she frowned and asked, "The mountains are so dangerous, why don't you go to the government? ”

Ning Que lowered his head and picked up a piece of charred wood, and said in a low voice: "Living, in fact, it is easier in a place where there are few people. ”

A very simple sentence, but I don't know how many hardships and blood and tears are hidden, Li Yu looked at the master and servant by the fire in a daze, and suddenly frowned and asked, "That old hunter...... How did you die?"

Ning Que raised his head and replied calmly: "I killed it, I killed it with a knife." ”

As for why he killed the old hunter, he didn't explain, he wouldn't explain it to Her Royal Highness the princess, who had a noble status and didn't experience the darkest and filthy part of the world, and probably wouldn't explain it to anyone in the future, he just rubbed Sangsang's little head dotingly and took her into his arms.

......

......

(I have to admit that I feel happier when I write this kind of chapter.) ）