On her wedding night, she went into exile with her pharmacy arsenal

Chapter 2099 All Captured

The masked man's Adam's apple bobbed as he took in his predicament.

His men have already lost more than half their number; if the fighting continues, they will only suffer an even worse fate.

His eyes darted around, his gaze sweeping over his scattered subordinates, and he already had a plan in mind.

He slowly straightened up, his hand gripping the scimitar seemingly preparing to strike again, but he quietly took a half step back, and taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention, he suddenly turned around and rushed into the woods.

The silver dart at Yan Ruyu's fingertip flew out with a sound.

The silver dart flew with a soft whistling sound, precisely aiming for the masked man's calf without the slightest deviation.

With a soft "plop," the dart pierced the fabric and embedded itself deep in his calf muscle.

The masked man's feet faltered, his body lost its balance, and he staggered forward a few steps before finally losing his footing and falling heavily to the ground with a thud.

He was covered in dry grass and mud, and he struggled to get up, but the sharp pain in his calves made him weak all over.

Several of Huo Changhe's men immediately stepped forward and, with swift movements, pinned the masked man down before he could struggle any further.

The rope quickly wrapped around his hands and feet, binding them tightly, leaving him no room to struggle.

Upon seeing this, the masked man's men's expressions changed drastically, and they dared not linger any longer.

The group exchanged glances and then scattered and fled.

But Huo Changhe's men were already waiting all around, and they were not going to be able to escape easily.

Several figures quickly gave chase, their movements swift and decisive. In no time, they had dragged the fleeing people back one by one, pinned them to the ground, and made them surrender.

Huo Changhe slowly walked up to the masked man who was bound and looked down at him.

She reached out and ripped off his mask.

The mask fell off, revealing an unfamiliar face.

Not ugly, but unremarkable nonetheless, with a faint scar at the corner of his eye, chapped lips, and eyes full of resentment and wariness.

Huo Changhe stared at the face for a long time, his brows furrowed. He had never seen this face before, and for a moment, he couldn't tell if this person was Liu Jiulang, whom they had been looking for.

"Take it back first." Huo Changhe withdrew his gaze and ordered in a calm tone.

"Yes." The subordinate responded, lifted the masked man from the ground, and led the other captured people away quickly.

After his men had all escorted the people away, only Huo Changhe, Yan Ruyu, Su Zhenhai, and Li Cheng, who had been standing to the side with an uneasy expression, remained.

Suddenly, Li Cheng took two steps forward and fell to his knees with a thud, his knees hitting the hard ground with a dull thud.

He lowered his head, his forehead almost touching the ground, his voice filled with undisguised guilt and fear: "Envoy Su, I know I was wrong!"

Seeing this, Su Zhenhai quickly stepped forward, looked at Huo Changhe with a hint of urgency on his face, wanting to plead for Li Cheng: "Li Cheng, he..."

"You didn't want Envoy Su to come in the first place, so you put a sleeping potion in his tea, right?" Yan Ruyu's voice interrupted Su Zhenhai.

She stood to the side, her expression calm, but her tone was firm, her gaze fixed on Li Cheng, who was kneeling on the ground.

Li Cheng was startled, raised his head, and his face was full of astonishment.

He opened his mouth, his lips moved, but in the end he lowered his head, a deep look of shame on his face. He nodded slightly, his voice hoarse: "Yes... I had no other choice but to resort to this."

Yan Ruyu nodded slightly. When they were in the study, she could tell that Li Cheng was restless and his eyes were darting around, as if he was hiding something.

She felt something was wrong when she heard that the person who delivered medicine to Liu Jiulang had actually committed suicide by poisoning himself. After Li Cheng left, she tried Su Zhenhai's tea and found that there was indeed something wrong with it.

Immediately afterwards, Su Zhenhai sent people to his house, only to learn that his daughter had been kidnapped.

Yan Ruyu and Huo Changhe immediately realized that Li Cheng was going to take a desperate gamble and rely on himself to save his daughter. He was in charge of setting up the ambush, and the people who captured his daughter must also be using this matter to blackmail him.

Therefore, they took a shortcut and arrived a step ahead of time.

Fortunately, it's not too late.

Li Cheng knelt on the ground, his back straight, his wounds still bleeding.

Su Zhenhai stood beside Li Cheng, bowing deeply to Huo Changhe on horseback: "This humble general dares to vouch for Li Cheng with his own head. He did not intentionally violate military discipline; he was simply desperate to save his daughter..."

He paused, his gaze falling on Li Cheng's trembling shoulders, and added, "Fortunately, he didn't cause any major disaster, so let's spare him this time for the sake of his young daughter."

Huo Changhe sat on his horse, his posture as upright as a pine tree. He did not speak immediately, but his gaze was fixed on Li Cheng. His gaze was like iron immersed in a cold pool, so heavy that it was hard to breathe.

Li Cheng's Adam's apple bobbed, as if he wanted to say something, but he swallowed it back.

He knew he was in the wrong. The military had strict rules, and regardless of the reason, he had committed a serious crime.

Just as Huo Changhe was about to speak, the sound of rapid hoofbeats came from afar, breaking the tense atmosphere.

The sound of horses' hooves mingled with a child's tender, tearful cry, clearly reaching everyone's ears: "Daddy! Daddy!"

Li Cheng was startled and looked up in the direction from which the sound came.

A soldier was seen riding up on horseback, carrying his daughter.

His daughter, only six years old, had a small face that looked even thinner due to her illness, and her big eyes were filled with tears as she looked at him longingly.

"Daughter!" Li Cheng's voice was hoarse and barely audible. He subconsciously tried to stand up, but his knees were numb from kneeling for so long. He stumbled as soon as he moved and fell heavily back to the ground.

Huo Changhe's gaze was also drawn to the small figure. When he saw that sickly little face and the look of dependence and fear in her eyes as she looked at Li Cheng, his heart suddenly softened.

Huo Changhe finally uttered only three words, his voice much softer than before: "Fine, just this once."

"Thank you! Thank you!" Li Cheng cried with joy and kowtowed three times to Huo Changhe.

Ignoring the soreness in his knees and the dull ache in his forehead, he struggled to his feet and staggered toward his daughter.

The little body lunged at Li Cheng and fell into his arms.

"Father..." The little girl's voice choked with sobs, her head buried in Li Cheng's clothes, her shoulders trembling slightly.

She already had a fever, and the bumpy journey and frightened her. Now that she finally saw her family, all her fear and discomfort turned into tears.

Li Cheng held his daughter tightly, feeling the warmth in her thin body, and felt an overwhelming pang of heartache.

He lowered his head and gently stroked his daughter's back with his rough hands, his movements as tender as if he were touching a fragile treasure.

Tears streamed down his cheeks and dripped onto his daughter's hair.

He choked back tears, repeating over and over, "Father's here, I'm not afraid..."