In fact, Mu Mu did nothing at all. He simply went on as usual, taking part in the training just like always, still among the first group of so many people to make it back.
A’Jiu and the others weren’t far behind, either—she and Zhan Luori were both equally skilled in lightness skill, and although they had been delayed for quite a while in the middle, for the latter part of the journey they had basically traveled the whole way using their lightness skill.
In short, their results still counted as top-tier.
Xiao Yingtao and Xing Zizhou fell a little behind—Xing Zizhou was waiting for Xiao Yingtao, even though she had said it really wasn’t necessary.
A whole day of intensive training came to an end in the evening.
Night fell. A’Jiu paced back and forth in the courtyard of Mingyue Garden for a good while, and finally, unable to hold back any longer, lightly tapped her feet and leapt up onto the rooftop eaves.
…Mu Mu had chased after that dark shadow and followed it all the way out, not stopping until they reached the mountains behind. The figure ahead of him finally came to a halt.
He didn’t walk fast, nor did he show any intention of catching up to her. Once she stopped, Mu Mu also halted his steps, stopping some distance behind her.
Feng Jiu’er stood in front of him, and suddenly turned around—a flash of silver light, as the short blade cut through the night wind, thrusting straight toward his face.
Mu Mu didn’t dodge or evade at all. Whether it was because he was certain she wouldn’t dare to actually harm him, or because even if she did mean to hurt him, he simply didn’t care—who could say?
Not only did he not dodge, he didn’t even blink once.
The blade’s edge was sharp, and the chill of it struck straight at his face, until even his cheek began to ache.
But he still made no move to evade, and the edge of the blade truly landed on his face.
A’Jiu’s wrist twisted, and that faint sound pierced her heart, while the bright red blood by his ear pierced her eyes as well.
“Just who exactly are you? What is your purpose in coming to the imperial city? Is it to assassinate the Ninth Imperial Uncle?”
This wasn’t the first time she’d heard him bring up matters concerning the Ninth Prince with others. Earlier, when the Ruhe people had attempted to assassinate the Ninth Imperial Uncle—had he also taken part in that?
She had trusted him so much that even knowing he held another identity, she still couldn’t believe he was truly a bad person.
Now, with the Ninth Imperial Uncle shouldering heavy responsibilities and about to set off to war at any moment, to defend against foreign enemies—if he truly belonged to the Bei Mu nation, he shouldn’t lay so much as a finger on the Ninth Imperial Uncle.
Anyone with even a shred of patriotism shouldn’t be scheming against the Ninth Imperial Uncle at a time like this.
Could it be that, for the sake of profit, he didn’t even care about the safety of his own nation?
Or was it perhaps that he wasn’t even a person of Bei Mu at all?
Mu Mu’s gaze remained locked on her face, while at his ear blood seeped out little by little, gradually gathering into drops, slowly trickling down.
Yet he didn’t care about that in the slightest. In his eyes, it seemed as though from beginning to end, only she existed.
“Does it really matter so much who I am? Will my identity affect the relationship between us?”
“If you intend to harm the Ninth Imperial Uncle, then you are my enemy!” Although his head of silver hair always so easily pierced through her eyes, she could no longer trust someone so calculating, someone scheming to harm the Ninth Imperial Uncle!
“To you, is the Ninth Prince the only one worth giving your heart to?” Mu Mu’s words, though spoken low, didn’t seem to carry much in the way of reproach.
Had he already accepted it, or had he simply given up in despair?
A’Jiu gripped the short blade in her hand tighter, her knuckles turning a wordless white under the faint moonlight.
“The Ninth Imperial Uncle is a hero of this nation, shouldering heavy responsibilities. At a time like this, whoever wishes him ill is an enemy of all the people of Bei Mu.”
“Are you so certain that you yourself are a person of Bei Mu?” Mu Mu took a step forward.
Feng Jiu’er instinctively retreated two steps, her five fingers gripping the short blade even tighter. “What do you mean by that?”
Why did this look in his eyes suddenly make her feel so uneasy?
Mu Mu didn’t answer that question, as if he’d never even brought up such words at all.
He only stared at her face, this face so fair and lovely beneath the moonlight, the kind that could easily stir a man’s heart.
Yet the gaze with which he stared at her cheek seemed devoid of any soul, as if in this moment he had forgotten what a soul even was.
“Is it truly for the sake of Bei Mu, or is it simply that you cannot bear to see the Ninth Prince suffer any harm at all?”
A’Jiu didn’t answer this question—she didn’t feel any need to.
Mu Mu took another step forward, all his gaze gathering into a stream of heat—clearly burning hot, yet the moment it fell upon her, it suddenly turned just as cold.
“If one day, I and the Ninth Prince go to war against each other…”
“You don’t need to ask me that. I will undoubtedly stand with the Ninth Imperial Uncle. If you stand against the Ninth Imperial Uncle, then you are my enemy.”
Mu Mu stopped in his tracks, his heart turning cold beneath the blowing night wind.
An answer he’d long known—why ask again? Even he himself didn’t know why he kept asking.
Perhaps it was because the pain in his heart wasn’t deep enough yet, that he still wanted that blade lodged at the tip of his heart to be driven in deeper still—so that he, too, could finally give up, couldn’t he?
If the heart were thoroughly wounded, thoroughly destroyed, with no heart left at all, then it would no longer ache.
“Since that’s how it is, what do you intend to do now? How do you plan to deal with me?” He didn’t press any closer, and his gaze grew indifferent as well.
No longer burning, yet not cold either—just that flat, indifferent quality, like the wind blowing past the two of them in this very moment.
This question, Feng Jiu’er had absolutely no way to answer.
Before today, they had still been friends—very, very good friends.
Mu Mu had even saved her life once; this head of white hair of his was also the result of the toll he’d taken upon himself in saving her.
Feng Jiu’er was someone who always repaid a debt of gratitude, but if Mu Mu intended to harm the Ninth Imperial Uncle, how could she possibly stand idly by?
The wind blew past, silent and without a trace.
The two of them clearly had so much to say to each other, yet in the end, it seemed they could no longer find even a single word to speak.
After some unknown stretch of time had passed, Feng Jiu’er finally drew a deep breath and said calmly, “Whatever I owe you, I will surely repay one day. But I absolutely will not allow you to do anything that harms the Ninth Imperial Uncle.”
“Even if it costs my life, I will protect the Ninth Imperial Uncle’s safety!”
She turned to leave. Behind her, Mu Mu’s low voice carried over: “Do you really like him that much?”
Her footsteps paused slightly, her palm clenching tight once more. “Protecting the Ninth Imperial Uncle has nothing to do with liking him or not.”
“At a time like this, you still want to deceive even yourself?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. In any case, I will definitely keep my eye on you, and I will absolutely not allow you to do anything that harms the people of Bei Mu.”
She walked away, and the person behind her didn’t chase after her.
After walking quickly for some time, Feng Jiu’er finally stopped, her feelings deeply complicated.
He hadn’t argued back, hadn’t explained, hadn’t even said a single word of denial—was it because he simply had no way to deny it, because he had already admitted he meant to move against the Ninth Imperial Uncle?
Why did Mu Mu have to become an enemy of the Ninth Imperial Uncle? Someone as outstanding as him, if only he could serve Bei Mu, would surely achieve great things in the future.
But why, then, had things turned out this way?
Behind her, footsteps suddenly sounded again. A’Jiu didn’t turn around, her feelings deeply complicated. “If you explain… I might be able to try to believe you.”