Exile Queen is Beloved
Chapter 44 - Huo Tribe

Nemo and Su Mian were still waiting for the central system's decision for the end of their fate, now both of them were already connected to Qing' Er using inner contact aids. Thus, Su Mian was able to send her voice message to Qing 'Er. Amidst the search for the Prime Minister's family, of course Su Mian worried a lot about the thing that was troubling his mind.

Unfortunately, he was unable to help more. When viewed from history, almost the same thing ever happened. Not long after Qing Er's death, her family was slaughtered with nothing left of the Wu Clan. Su Mian was getting crazy with all the possibilities, Nemo was still faithfully accompanying Su Mian while waiting for the end of their story.

In another situation, Qing Er and Yuan Shi were in the forest heading for an obsolete prison that was no longer in use. They and Xiao's entourage were forced to choose a different path, in order to trick the enemy so as not to be easily exposed to the traps of the Queen Mother.

Inside Qing' Er's horse carriage, he was still trying to make sure a sudden sound appeared before. Su Mian's voice that he could not hear anymore, the voice was faint but soon disappeared. Qing Er leaned her body against the shoulder of the carriage. Opening the curtain of the barrier and seeing Yuan Shi wearing a disguise and a perfectly cloth-covered face was riding his horse in the company of Prince Beiming.

Not long after, Yuan Shi halted the journey that would indeed take quite that long. He rode in Qing' Er's carriage and offered the woman lunch together. "Sir, you are pregnant. It would be nice for me to keep an eye on you and what you should be eating. Let's have lunch first!" he said as he directed his hand to greet Qing Er.

Qing Er nodded slowly, she then got up and grabbed Yuan Shi's hand then got off her carriage. Apparently, not only those who were there, but the other soldiers in unfamiliar clothes were waiting for the arrival of the empress and her emperor. Yuan Shi knew Qing Er's curiosity, so he turned his head back towards the woman and explained it briefly and clearly.

"They are the Huo Tribe, which has always been considered a rebel by the Wu Clan" Yuan Shi said while assuring Qing Er that being with them was the safest thing. "I've known them for a long time, they're not dangerous and even very supportive of my decision to escape the entanglement of the Wu Clan and the Queen Mother" he continued.

Qing Er was still stunned, she tried to understand the meaning of the word Yuan Shi had conveyed. But her tongue was muddled and unable to take out a single word, so she decided to be friendly with a sweet smile and nod as she received the respect of everyone who saw her.

After several months of being Yuan Shi's wife, Qing Er felt that she did not understand anything about him. In fact, he had always regarded this man as his enemy from the very beginning of his entry into Qianqing Palace, he felt unworthy to be with Yuan Shi whom he could not even listen to his grievances all along.

In fact, as the emperor's childhood best friend he still felt unworthy for seeing Yuan Shi's struggle single-handedly composing and searching for the power behind him so difficult even he and Ji had never thought of. All they thought about was their happiness, without looking at how Yuan Shi's distress came out and was detached from the Empress Dowager's influence.

Qing Er looked at Yuan Shi with sadness, she began to feel compassion for the orphaned human that the Stepmother had made a puppet of. Living many years in the shadow of the Empress Dowager must have been difficult for Yuan Shi, Qing Er grasped Yuan Shi's hand tightly then walked together to the crowd of people who were burning their freshly-created fish.

"You don't need to feel sorry for me," Yuan Shi said with a grin.

"I just, feel guilty." Qing Er replied softly.

"Why should that be, I am the one who has the most faults in you. I promise, after this child is born I will give you freedom as well as everything you want in this world." Yuan Shi smiled sincerely looking at Qing Er.

"Greetings of the emperor and empress, dishes have been served please enjoy the cuisine of our preparations." said one member of the Tribe.

Yuan Shi smiled subtly, he stood up and caught up with Qing Er. They were sitting on a small rock around which there was also the chief and Yun Shan. They all ate food indistinguishably and indiscriminately, Yuan Shi was delighted that this was the first time he could feel this free from all imperial demands. However, on the other hand also his heart felt anxious regarding the baby conceived by Qing'Er. Moreover, his mind was still focused on Su Mian.

The Emperor tried several times to avoid his feelings so that later he could let Qing 'Er go happily, take care of and conceive her child and Su Mian was the thing that Yuan Shi cherished from Qing 'Er so the gift of freedom is worth what he's done for her all along.

Yuan Shi subconsciously lowered his head and just stared at his food flatly, Qing Er who realized that then tried to break Yuan Shi's daydream. "Did the emperor not like his food?" ask Qing Er.

"Of course, I like it. They've been struggling, there's no reason for me not to like it." Yuan Shi bitterly smiled then tried to bite the grilled fish a little.

Qing Er understood what Yuan Shi was thinking, her heart started to knock and wanted to see the happiness of her little friend. However, there was nothing he could do, let alone to bring Su Mian back.

Silence enumerators then sounded, Chieftain Huo chuckled and looked at the empress and emperor who seemed to be in a state of turmoil. "Does the emperor and empress want to listen to a story?"

Qing Er looked at Yuan Shi who was equally astonished by her. "Of course, I could."

"It's a strange story, and it happened a long time ago when everyone still believed in witchcraft and cultivating." Chieftain Huo then stood in front of the emperor and empress as well as Yun Shan and the others.

"This young man must have heard something like that, right?" asked Tribal Chief Huo suddenly to Yun Shan.

The man looked surprised and nervous, he did not answer at all but kept his eyes on Chief Huo.

"Where everyone still uses the science of immortality to become a god, on one night a couple breaks the rules of a sect that has existed for thousands of years. They fell in love with each other to the very end of their deaths, when the two were almost annihilated by the elders. A formation was formed from the strength they had, taking them away and not back.

Many say that the gods helped them and accelerated the process of immortality both managed to escape with the formation. This formation is called the heaven circle formation, a formation that will take you to where you should be destined for you."

The story conveyed by Chieftain Huo made Yuan Shi and Qing' Er several times blink their eyes in disbelief. They were half-confident, but the soul Su Mian heard, must have been very happy that he finally knew where the Heaven Circle Formation he was using came from.