Chapter 7: Escape

To express her apology for locking Qin Yu up, Luo Shangyu granted her permission to move freely within the military camp.

After Luo Shangyu untied her restraints, she hurried out, saying she needed to perform a routine inspection of the camp, leaving Qin Yu alone in the Central Army tent.

Seeing that Luo Shangyu’s supervision had loosened significantly, Qin Yu’s thoughts of escape became active once more.

Although her relationship with Luo Shangyu had grown slightly closer, she was ultimately unwilling to remain her prisoner forever.

She didn’t know what Luo Shangyu and Zhu Xun had discussed earlier, but now, Qin Yu could see the military camp of the Chengji Empire still standing in the distance from outside the Central Army tent.

The goal of her escape was right before her eyes. 

Qin Yu began to survey the surroundings of the Central Army tent and started planning her escape route.

As a powerful mage, Luo Shangyu had no guards directly outside her tent; there were only a few camps of the Imperial Guards nearby.

At this moment, the Imperial Guards were slacking off and idling in their camp, and not a single person was looking toward the Central Army tent.

The security was lax, and the opportunity was rare!

Qin Yu retreated into the tent to check her escape equipment.

She was currently wearing a set of Luo Shangyu’s simple sportswear. 

The dark blue pants were slightly long for her, so Luo Shangyu had thoughtfully rolled the cuffs to a suitable height. 

The white short-sleeved shirt was so long it nearly covered the tops of Qin Yu’s thighs.

The long-sleeved jacket was the same dark blue, and even when Qin Yu stretched out her arms, her hands remained hidden within the sleeves.

Qin Yu pulled the jacket zipper all the way to the top, hiding the Magic Collar around her neck.

Qin Yu took off the thin, short socks she was wearing. 

This kind of short sock would get soaked with sweat when her feet perspired, slipping inside her shoes and becoming very uncomfortable. 

Therefore, she changed into a pair of slightly longer and thicker white cotton socks.

The shoes Qin Yu wore were a pair of brand-new, well-fitting women’s outdoor boots that Luo Shangyu had specifically found for her. 

Qin Yu carefully tied the laces to ensure they wouldn’t fail her halfway.

Once everything was ready, Qin Yu stood up and walked to the entrance of the Central Army tent.

She scanned the interior of the tent, wondering if there was anything else out of place.

Immediately, she retreated to the bedroom and stuffed Luo Shangyu’s clothes from the wardrobe haphazardly under the quilt, creating the illusion of someone lying inside.

After finishing, Qin Yu took two steps back, looked at her seamless masterpiece of a disguise, and nodded with satisfaction.

She left the bedroom and swiped a sharp ceremonial sword from the weapon rack in Luo Shangyu’s office to use for self-defense.

Then, she found a magically powered light stick in Luo Shangyu’s equipment box. 

Qin Yu didn’t know how long she would be walking, so to avoid being unable to see the road after dark, she stuffed the light stick into her pocket.

Having completed all this, she arrived at the tent entrance once again.

Qin Yu took a deep breath and felt the key-shaped pendant hanging on her chest through her clothes; it was the symbol of her status as the Crown Prince.

She pushed the door open and slipped out, hands in her pockets and the sword tucked under her arm, pretending to wander aimlessly.

In the distance, soldiers were training in the open space in front of their respective tents, with Luo Shangyu inspecting them.

To avoid being discovered, Qin Yu chose to bypass the crowd from a distance, moving through the empty tents and slipping toward the main camp gate.

***

“General, your prisoner…” the junior officer accompanying Luo Shangyu on her inspection whispered a reminder.

Luo Shangyu looked up and watched Qin Yu sneakily moving through the tents, a faint smile appearing at the corners of her mouth.

“General, aren’t you going to stop him?” The officer looked confused.

“It’s fine. Let all camp operations proceed as usual. Leave a small gap in the camp gate. If she insists on leaving, do not stop her. Just act as if nothing happened.”

“General!” The officer became even more puzzled.

“I will bring her back. I’ll let her experience the frustration of a failed escape first, and then she will give up on the idea of running away.”

“Who is she that you value her so much?”

“That is not for you to ask,” Luo Shangyu said, glaring coldly at the officer.

Stung by Luo Shangyu’s gaze, the officer stopped questioning, though his internal speculation did not cease.

***

‘It seems no one in the camp noticed me,’ Qin Yu thought with a secret surge of joy.

All along the way, the soldiers in the camp turned a blind eye to Qin Yu and did not react.

Upon reaching the camp gate, Qin Yu hid to one side and observed carefully.

The guards were currently changing shifts, and the camp gate was slightly ajar, not yet closed tight.

‘Heaven is helping me!’ Qin Yu was extremely excited. 

Everything seemed as if she were using a cheat code, moving forward without any obstacles.

She seized the opportunity to bolt out the door, running all the way out of the military camp.

The camps of the Chengji Empire and the Kingdom of Yiyong were situated on two opposing heights. 

Qin Yu rushed down the high ground, intending to take the small path between the heights from the side to return to the Chengji Empire’s camp.

***

“General, the prisoner has escaped!” the guard at the gate rushed to report to Luo Shangyu.

“Understood,” Luo Shangyu replied with a nod.

“Continue your inspection and keep an eye on the Chengji army’s movements at all times. I’m going out for a moment,” she said, turning to the junior officer beside her.

***

It was nearly noon as Qin Yu walked along the path in the valley.

The shade of the trees in the valley blotted out the sky, blocking the stinging sunlight. 

The small path actually felt a bit eerie.

Qin Yu was very familiar with this road; after all, she had followed this very path to launch a night raid on Luo Shangyu’s camp the previous night. 

At this moment, she was simply returning the way she came.

As she stepped on the soft mud, her boots had already become covered in dust, and the white short-sleeved shirt she wore underneath was soaked with sweat, sticking to her back.

Her inner garments felt somewhat burdensome now, and the pressure on her chest made it a bit difficult to breathe.

Qin Yu leaned against a tree, panting heavily.

She had been jogging for nearly one hour. 

Although her magic was restricted by the collar and her gender had also changed, her physical stamina was still superior to that of an ordinary person.

However, what surprised Qin Yu was that, even though she was wearing two layers of clothing and sweating, she didn’t actually feel that hot.

Although it was early autumn, the temperature was still quite high. 

Qin Yu couldn’t help but marvel that a girl’s perceived temperature was indeed much lower than a boy’s. 

Based on this point alone, she didn’t want to change back to her original gender.

Although she didn’t feel very hot, Qin Yu still took off her jacket and tied it around her waist to let the sweat on her clothes dry so she wouldn’t be so uncomfortable.

Qin Yu calculated on her fingers that she only needed to walk for about seven or eight hours to return to her army’s main camp.

After resting for a while, she continued to run forward.

Before long, a sense of hunger surged in her heart, and Qin Yu felt a pang of pain in her stomach. 

A long time had passed since she finished breakfast in the morning.

Qin Yu looked up at the sky. 

It was getting dark, and a few streaks of orange sunset glow were faintly visible through the gaps between the leaves.

‘It’s already evening…’ Qin Yu slowed her pace. 

She was not far from her destination.

A gust of wind swept through the forest, and Qin Yu felt a sudden chill.

In the wind, she smelled the scent of autumn rain.

Qin Yu put on her jacket, feeling an ill omen in her heart. 

The sky was already dark, and with the muddy roads after the rain, hee return journey would become even more difficult.

After spending half the day alone, a sense of loneliness spontaneously arose.

Amidst that loneliness, Qin Yu unexpectedly found himself wishing that Luo Shangyu could be by her side to keep her company and chat.

Thinking of this, Qin Yu suddenly froze. 

‘Why did I subconsciously hope that it would be Luo Shangyu accompanying me?’

‘Could it be that in less than a day, Luo Shangyu has left such a deep impression on my heart?’

Qin Yu’s mind began to wander, her nerves highly tense.

Suddenly, a strange noise disturbed the surrounding tranquility, startling Qin Yu.

She turned her head toward the source of the sound. 

It was on the slope of a small hill nearby, about fifteen meters higher than the path, obscured by leaves.

‘Is someone following me? Has my escape been discovered?’ Terrified, Qin Yu raised her sword and shouted toward the area, “Who is it? Come out!”

There was no response.

Qin Yu stared intently at the slightly trembling leaves for a good while before continuing forward…