What was going through Feng Jiu’er’s mind, Mu Mu knew perfectly well.

She thought that if she dressed slowly enough, she could stall for time — and perhaps the Ninth Prince would manage to arrive.

But did she not realize that even if she hadn’t dressed at all, they would still be departing after half a stick of incense burned down? His master would not sit and wait simply because Feng Jiu’er had or hadn’t put on her clothes.

Feng Jiu’er herself probably knew her small scheme was far too naive, because she took up the clothes without the slightest hesitation and dressed herself at the fastest speed she could manage.

By the time he counted down to “one,” Mu Mu didn’t even bother asking — he simply turned around.

Feng Jiu’er let out a breath of relief. Fortunately, she still had a thin inner garment on underneath, or she never could have dressed herself that quickly.

She frantically tied the last ribbon into place, and as she watched Mu Mu approach, she tried to climb down from the bed herself — only to discover that while she could move her hands, both of her legs were completely sealed and couldn’t shift so much as an inch.

Her body had already leaned forward, and she was on the verge of tumbling off the side of the bed when Mu Mu reached out without ceremony and caught her, sweeping her up into his arms and walking straight out the door.

“Mu Mu, right now the people of Meihuo are threatening to attack Bei Mu Kingdom. The common people living in the border cities are already filled with dread. At a time like this, if something happens to the Ninth Imperial Uncle, it is the people of the whole realm who will suffer.”

“Mu Mu, you are not a hardhearted person. You care about the common people too, don’t you?”

Mu Mu’s steps paused ever so slightly — but only for the briefest moment before he pressed forward again.

“Mu Mu, you still have a shred of kindness left in you. When it comes to the lives of the common people, are personal grudges really that important? Mu—”

“What if it isn’t about personal grudges?” At the very moment he stepped out the door, he stopped and looked down at her. “There are things I have no choice in. If I could choose, I…”

But in the end he said nothing more, because Night Rasha and Elder Shi had arrived.

“Stop talking. Otherwise, even I won’t be able to protect you.” He dropped that final warning and carried her out through the door.

Feng Jiu’er’s hands could still move, but both of her legs had been sealed at the pressure points, and she had no knowledge of how to undo pressure point techniques — she had no idea how to break free. For now, there was nothing to do but be carried away.

The group set off without delay. Their efficiency was remarkable. The sky had still not brightened, but even as they departed, Mu Mu draped a veil over her head to cover her face. So the route they took as they left — Feng Jiu’er couldn’t make out any of it clearly.

She only knew they were traversing sheer cliffs and steep precipices. If one’s inner strength were not as deep as it was, carrying someone along such cliffsides would have been no easy feat at all. So this was the shortcut they had found? Hidden right within the sheer rock faces — there must have been some kind of path, and as long as you knew where to place your feet, you could ascend and descend it. But for anyone who didn’t know this shortcut, getting down would have been extraordinarily difficult.

Before long, the wind picked up and nearly blew the veil from her face. But Mu Mu seemed to have anticipated this, and just before it could be blown aside, he smoothed it back into place.

The wind was not particularly strong — nothing like the gales she had imagined, not by a hundred miles. So they truly had found a path sheltered from the fierce winds. How would she ever manage to memorize this route?

After an unknowable stretch of time, the group came to a halt.

The veil had yet to be removed from her head, and Feng Jiu’er heard Night Rasha issuing instructions: “Pack up anything useful and take it. Everyone else, fall back immediately.”

The sounds around her grew larger. There seemed to be quite a number of people. As for Feng Jiu’er herself, Mu Mu carried her into a room and set her down on a bed.

What infuriated her was that Mu Mu then simply lay down as well and wrapped his arms around her. Right now Feng Jiu’er couldn’t move so much as her hands. Whatever he wished to do to her, she had no means of resistance whatsoever.

She might as well save even the energy it would take to curse him — if he truly intended to do something to her, cursing him wouldn’t change his mind.

Mu Mu did not do anything to her. He merely held her and rolled about on the bed for a moment, then picked her up again.

The bedsheet beneath was torn away in one pull. This time he wrapped Feng Jiu’er directly in the sheet and hoisted her up.

A faint sting at the top of her head — several strands of her hair had been pulled out. Feng Jiu’er glared furiously at Mu Mu, but she was powerless. Mu Mu tossed her loose hairs onto the coverlet, then held her and strode out the door in long steps.

Outside, it seemed preparations were already complete. Whatever Night Rasha and Elder Shi had discussed, Elder Shi said: “Palace Mistress, let us go first. We need only leave a few people behind to withdraw in half a stick of incense’s time.”

“Very well.” Night Rasha looked at the few who had volunteered to remain. Her gaze was deep and heavy, as though she had something to say — yet didn’t know how to begin.

Among those who were staying, one person spoke: “Palace Mistress, please don’t worry. We will be careful and cautious. Even if we are unfortunate enough to fall into the Ninth Prince’s hands, we will not breathe a single word.”

The other few simultaneously intoned in low, solemn voices: “We will not utter a single word that could betray the Palace Mistress!”

“Good. I, Night Rasha, am grateful to all of you!” Night Rasha gave a deep bow to her brothers, then turned and walked away. Elder Shi followed close behind her. Mu Mu carried Feng Jiu’er and fell quickly into step.

Although Feng Jiu’er’s face was still covered by the veil, she could picture the expressions of those brothers — the looks of people going willingly to their deaths. They were… all already as good as dead. If they were to make the Ninth Prince believe they had been here all along, someone would need to draw his attention — and once these people drew the Ninth Imperial Uncle’s notice, how could they possibly escape? They likely would not escape at all.

Feng Jiu’er could even picture it: these men, one by one, biting down on their poison and taking their own lives to keep their silence.

Human lives — in an age like this — were regarded as so utterly cheap and worthless.

The Ninth Prince’s men found the location before much time had passed at all.

He personally led the search inside, leaving no corner unexamined — but there was no trace of Feng Jiu’er. They had long since gone.

At last he walked into one of the rooms. The bed inside was in complete disarray. The coverlet seemed to carry a faintly familiar scent, but it was very faint and very thin. The bedsheet was gone entirely — only a few strands of dark hair that belonged to her remained on the coverlet.

“Your Highness!” Yu Jingfeng entered carrying something, his expression profoundly strange.

Zhan Qingcheng simply stared at the bed, his eyes growing colder by the moment.

“Your Highness, they… they sent these things.”

What Yu Jingfeng held in his hands was that bedsheet, bearing its dark crimson stain, and a garment that had been torn to shreds.

Miss Feng Jiu’er’s garment.

Yu Jingfeng raised both hands to present them, not daring to draw so much as a breath. His entire being had gone cold.

He had expected the prince to erupt in thunderous fury, to go wild with rage — yet when the prince laid eyes on that garment and that bedsheet, he grew calm instead.

He only looked at the dark stain on the sheet, and the whole of him turned as cold as a glacier. The air around him seemed to freeze and thicken because of that cold, gradually congealing into something solid.

Yu Jingfeng felt as though even breathing had become difficult — as though he might suffocate on the spot.