[BL] After Being Abducted by the General

chapter 170

Yuan Li didn't know how he had come to the banks of the Huai River, but he remembered Crimson Feather running at a speed no one could match.

The cold wind blowing towards him made his blood flow backwards, gradually turning cold. His brain was throbbing from the cold wind, and Yuan Li thought Crimson Feather shouldn't have stayed with him; instead, he should have stayed with Chu Hechao. The horse was fast, and perhaps it could help Chu Hechao escape this danger.

As the scout had said, the signs of the battle were still present by the Huai River.

Bodies were strewn all over, and most of the five thousand soldiers sent to follow Chu Hechao had died. Yuan Li recognized many faces among the dead. He looked around, feeling a silence so deep that he couldn't hear the sound of wind or water, only his own breathing.

He stepped over the bodies and approached the riverbank.

The dried blood on the soil was almost erased by the dust, and Yuan Li lowered his head, looking at the turbulent Huai River in front of him.

The river surface was over a zhang high from where he stood, churning and carrying tree branches and debris below. The water was deep, and nothing could be seen beneath it.

The smell of fish hit him.

Suddenly, it smelled like blood.

Yuan Li felt lost and confused; his mind was slow to react.

It was nearly winter; why was the river flowing so rapidly?

Just looking at it made him feel cold. Yuan Li shivered several times without even touching the water, feeling the cold wind seeping into every crevice of his bones.

What had he come here for?

Oh, right, to find Chu Hechao.

Nonsense, why would Chu Hechao be here? He should have climbed ashore long ago.

Jia Qing and the scout hurried over from behind, looking at Yuan Li standing by the riverbank with shock, and immediately dismounted to hold him back, anxiously saying, "My lord, don't go any further!"

After a while, Yuan Li finally understood their concern and found it amusing. He forced a smile and said, "You think I'm going to jump into the water? Don't be ridiculous; why would I do that? The Grand General has already safely left. Even if I jump into the water, I won't find him."

Then, he pretended to be lighthearted and said, "Let's search for them. Inch by inch, along the river. If they haven't been captured by the enemy, they must have already escaped along the water flow. I taught them how to swim, and they've been practicing for years. This water is nothing to them; they must have climbed ashore already."

Jia Qing opened his mouth as if to say that a wounded person falling into such turbulent waters would have a hard time surviving, and that the coldness of the river during this season could claim lives, even if they knew how to swim, they could still be frozen and lose the strength to swim.

But looking at Yuan Li's pale face and forced smile, he didn't say anything, and whispered, "...Okay."

"Send people to search the villages on both sides of the river, and the county should also send people to look. Chu Hechao is injured, and his condition worsened after falling into the water. After others bring him ashore, they will find a place to treat him. You should carry medicine with you; he might need it. If you find him, don't rush back immediately. First, give him money to find a clean and safe place to rest, then find a skilled doctor for him, not a witch doctor who forces people to drink yellow talisman water. After settling him down, then come back and inform me – you personally go with them."