In the darkness of night, something flashed across the air and vanished in an instant.

That something fell into the bonfire, and suddenly — crack! — the fire snapped and popped…

“A thunderbolt grenade! Watch out!” Mu Mu’s expression darkened. He stretched out his long arm, pulled Feng Jiu’er and Xiao Yingtao toward him, and flung himself to the ground at the fastest speed possible.

The others were not nearly so quick to react. With a thunderous boom, the bonfire exploded violently. In that instant, cries of anguish shook the entire heavens and earth!

Huo Yan, Vice Commander Yan, and Qiao Mu had all been roasting meat together just a moment before, standing a short distance away from the bonfire.

Tonight there were so many people, everyone caught up in the lively atmosphere — no one had noticed that the scent of danger was drawing close!

Yet just like that, a thunderbolt grenade had been hurled into the bonfire, wounding so many of the students!

The deafening sound rang out as though it had erupted right beside their ears. Though Mu Mu had shielded them, Feng Jiu’er and Xiao Yingtao still felt a sharp, piercing pain in their ears — a pain that kept on ringing and ringing.

“An explosive…” Jiu’er tried to push Mu Mu aside, but he kept her pressed tightly beneath him, refusing to let her move even an inch.

She raised her head and looked around. Scattered across the ground were over a dozen students — all people who had been dancing around the bonfire moments ago.

Some had suffered light injuries, but a few were clearly hurt quite seriously. The people nearby were all scrambling away, while Huo Yan, Vice Commander Yan, and Qiao Mu were rushing over…

Time, because of that tremendous blast, seemed to have stopped entirely.

Her ears felt as though they had been shattered. The voices calling out around her, the cries of pain — Feng Jiu’er could hear none of it.

She shook her head forcefully. She didn’t know how much time passed before her senses finally cleared. She immediately shoved Mu Mu: “Mu Mu, save them!”

Mu Mu leapt to his feet, took her hand, and pulled her upright. Looking back, the students on the ground were still wailing without end, each one of them injured.

The bonfire had been blown apart; sparks were scattered everywhere across the ground, and many pieces of wood were still burning.

Qiao Mu followed along with Huo Yan and Vice Commander Yan, tossing the burning pieces of wood away one by one, but the students still stood dazed to the side — many of them had been so frightened that they had completely forgotten how to react.

Someone had actually thrown a thunderbolt grenade! This kind of weapon — many of them had only ever heard of it; they had never even seen one with their own eyes!

Feng Jiu’er wiped the sweat from her face, immediately pulled out her silver needles from her bag, and was about to go over.

But Mu Mu yanked her back with one arm. His cold, sharp gaze swept across every person in the vicinity: “That person is right among us!”

Mu Mu’s words made most of the people around them take several involuntary steps back — whether to show their innocence, or out of fear that the person concealed among them still had more thunderbolt grenades in hand!

The destructive power of a thunderbolt grenade was truly fearsome. With just that one small explosive, over a dozen of them had been wounded in a single instant.

What was most regrettable of all — Mu Mu had actually let his guard down earlier, all because it was the first time he had held Jiu’er’s hand while dancing together.

By the time the thunderbolt grenade appeared, it had already been too late. Aside from shielding Jiu’er and Xiao Yingtao beside him, he had not even managed to catch a clear look at who had thrown the thing.

It seemed to have been hurled from somewhere not far from where they were standing — and that angle had been perfectly blocked by Xiao Yingtao, which was why he had not seen it in time.

Xiao Yingtao picked herself up from the ground. Supported by a bolder student who helped her back, she turned to look at Mu Mu’s tall and imposing figure, and still felt a lingering trace of fear.

Yet when she thought about how Mu Mu had just shielded her with his own body, something ached deeply inside her chest.

Even though she knew full well that Mu Mu had only done it out of the goodness of his heart — unable to bear the thought of the girl beside him being hurt — the way he had protected her had made her fall for him utterly and completely.

“You watch the people — I have to go save them right now!” Feng Jiu’er broke free from Mu Mu’s large hand. She understood that he was worried the culprit might strike again, but she could not stand by in safety while others were left to die.

Mu Mu could only keep watch over those around them, staying vigilant in case the person made another move.

“Commander Huo, immediately have everyone here sealed off and searched one by one!”

“Yes!” Huo Yan, not quite knowing what had come over him, had a strange moment of illusion when Mu Mu spoke — as though he had just heard the Ninth Prince issue a command.

And so he had instinctively dipped his head and accepted the order.

A beat later, it dawned on him, and his face flushed red all at once. He quickly corrected himself: “Right — I’ll have them conduct a thorough search at once!”

It was simply unbelievable that Mu Mu, a mere new student, could carry the noble bearing and commanding authority of the Ninth Prince.

Feng Jiu’er had already taken out her needle case and begun attending to everyone’s wounds. Qiao Mu made the best possible helper at her side, and before long, even Xiao Yingtao had joined the rescue effort.

By the time the physicians from the medical hall arrived, Jiu’er had essentially managed to calm the injured students down.

What she had not anticipated, however, was that even Hong Ying had sustained an injury — and what was worse, the injury was not to some other part of her body, but to the one thing a young woman cares about most: her face.

Her face burned and stung. She raised her hand and wiped at it — and it came away smeared entirely with blood. Staring at the blood on the back of her hand, Hong Ying was struck completely dumb.

Why had this happened… why… why had her face been wounded? Her face was completely ruined!

“Don’t worry — it will heal!” Feng Jiu’er moved to apply her needles.

But Hong Ying shoved her away, clearly beside herself: “My face, my face…”

“Don’t be afraid — it will be all right. Trust me, it will slowly get better, I promise!”

Even so… once it healed, given the medical conditions available here, that face was likely… truly going to leave a scar.

This girl had followed the Seventh Princess here, and the Seventh Princess had left on her own — leaving her behind. Jiu’er had not expected that Hong Ying would end up joining in with everyone and having such a lively time.

But now, something like this…

“No — it won’t be all right. It can never be all right again!” Hong Ying shoved Feng Jiu’er aside, staggered to her feet, let out a sudden anguished cry, and lurched blindly out through the crowd.

“Vice Commander Yan, go after her, quickly!” Feng Jiu’er truly had no way to follow — there were still too many people here who needed her.

Vice Commander Yan startled, then immediately gave chase.

Hong Ying was the most trusted and favored female guard at the Seventh Princess’s side. Like the Seventh Princess herself, she had never participated in this sort of academy gathering before.

No one could have imagined that tonight, on a whim, she had accompanied the Seventh Princess here — only to end up like this. If the Seventh Princess were to lay blame, no one knew who would be able to bear the responsibility.

The news of what had happened at the back of the mountain quickly startled those over at the Martial Hall as well.

By the time Zhan Qingcheng arrived, Feng Jiu’er was working together with the people from the medical hall, still in the midst of treating the injured.

That figure in plain white appeared before Jiu’er in the blink of an eye, seizing the hand that was about to insert a needle.

His eyes were glacially cold, his face visibly displeased: “You’re injured!”

“Ninth Imperial Uncle, I’m saving people!” Feng Jiu’er’s brow furrowed, and she actually shoved him with force.

Zhan Qingcheng had not expected her to be so impertinent toward him. He was about to pull her up when, without intending to, he caught a glimpse of the deep resolve burning in Feng Jiu’er’s eyes.

Faced with the injured, her conviction ran so deep. She did not spare a thought for her own safety; her eyes held only those people waiting for her help. In that moment, the Ninth Prince — long accustomed to his own proud self-sufficiency — found himself utterly transfixed by her earnestness and resolve…