She was sweating profusely and felt that, if it continued this way, she might just die of dehydration. This place was a desert where water was already scarce. Before entering the desert, the water she brought had been nearly consumed all up. She recalled a night back in Purple Garden when, just like now, she had intended to tough it out, but ended up falling seriously ill instead. It was lucky that Yun Ge had been by her side then, otherwise... Now, with Haoming no longer having the strength and with her in this state, her mood grew increasingly pessimistic. Hong Xiangjun stayed by her side, watching her condition worsen, so she decided to wake Liang Haoming who was sleeping soundly beside them, despite Dong Huiying’s wishes. "Don’t—" Dong Huiying tried to stop her, but Hong Xiangjun didn’t listen to her, and Haoming eventually woke up anyway. He was somewhat groggy upon waking but realized something was wrong with his wife and almost tumbled over to her. He lifted her upper body, allowing her to lean against him. "I’m here," he said, gripping her hand as he looked over at Hong Xiangjun. Hong Xiangjun let out a sigh of relief, then walked over to Tu Ya and Hulan and dragged them away. The sand dune provided good shelter from the wind, but even so, it was still very cold. He shivered, then pulled over a blanket, wrapping it around both of them. Afterward, there was rustling from under the blanket, as clothes were thrown out one by one. "I’m okay, don’t push yourself!" He was now positioned between her legs when she suddenly pushed against his shoulders, not allowing him to proceed. But in the dim and dull of the night, his eyes shone with determination. "Don’t push yourself!" He silenced her with her own words, then covered her body with his, forcefully, yet tenderly, making her accept him. When Hong Xiangjun and Tu Ya Hulan returned, they found the young girl sitting bewildered on the ground, cradling her husband, the corners of her eyes red. Hong Xiangjun wanted to ask, "Are you alright?" But before she could say it, she saw the young girl mount a camel with her husband: "We need to set off as soon as possible, hopefully reaching the Kechar tribe before dark." Suddenly, Tu Ya asked, "How is he doing?" The young girl was stunned, "He’s fine, just tired." But if this happened a few more times, perhaps he really would be... For several days straight, all that could be seen was the barren desert, but this evening, there were signs of life. The ancestors of the Kechar tribe were originally from the grasslands on the other side of the desert. In fact, many of the people who now live in The Outside of the desert also came from there. They called themselves the Nomadic Tribe because their ancestors had once lived on the grasslands, subsisting on livestock. Tu Ya had endured much hardship these days. She dismounted from the camel and rushed into the tribe. Inside the tribe, there were tents made of felt. Their lifestyle was akin to staking out their own territory, usually relocating every few months. "Tu Ya, why have you returned so early this time?" "Eh? Why did you bring back some new faces?" "Hulan, weren’t you with Tu Ya to make purchases? Where are the others? You left with over ten people, why aren’t they here?" "Who are those new faces? I’ve never seen them before; are they from Dajin or Dayuan?" "The war situation is serious lately, and yet people from Dajin dare to come to Dayuan; they must be very bold!" Surrounded by people, Tu Ya and Hulan were bombarded with questions, causing them both to feel overwhelmed.