Feng Jiu’er had originally planned to scatter another layer of medicinal powder while Mu Mu dodged the silver needles.

The powder carried no toxicity, but its medicinal potency was fierce — enough to leave him weakened and sluggish for at least a brief moment.

And in that brief moment, she could run.

The surrounding area was dense with forest, and tonight the moon was dark and the wind was high — escaping would not have been any great difficulty.

What she had not anticipated, however, was that Mu Mu made no move to dodge or deflect. He simply received her silver needles.

The needles landed on his chest — and in an instant, sank entirely into his body!

“You… where is your protective energy shield?” Her hand was already inside her bag, yet Feng Jiu’er found herself completely unable to follow through and scatter the powder.

He had a protective energy shield — how could the silver needles possibly have sunk into his body? It was impossible!

Why? Why would he do this?

“I do genuinely like you, no matter what my original reason for drawing close to you was.” Mu Mu stepped forward.

“Don’t move!” Feng Jiu’er immediately called out in a low, firm voice to stop him. The silver needles were inside his body — if he moved recklessly, they would tear into his muscle tissue, causing a wrenching, agonizing pain!

Could it be that he had no pain receptors whatsoever? A single movement would absolutely be enough to make any person wish for death!

“You care?” Beneath the bleak pale moonlight, his face was as ashen as the moon itself, yet the corners of his lips carried the faintest trace of a smile.

Something seized Feng Jiu’er’s heart and pulled at it with great force. She tightly clenched her fists, desperately wanting to go to him and channel her energy to push the silver needles out — yet…

That was right. He could channel his own energy to expel the needles himself, so long as he chose to.

“I am leaving.” With the silver needles still inside his body, if he wished to pursue her, he would truly have to be willing to throw his life away.

If he chose to expel the needles, he would need time — and that time would be enough for her to escape.

“I am sorry, but I cannot allow you to harm the Ninth Imperial Uncle.”

Feng Jiu’er looked at him once more. That head of silver hair stirred faintly in the wind, achingly, indescribably beautiful.

She clenched her fists tightly, and at last forced herself to stop looking at him. She turned and walked away.

A dark figure flashed before her eyes. Mu Mu’s tall, broad frame dropped into her path.

Feng Jiu’er knew that Mu Mu was not a person who gave up easily — yet for him to move like that, he would certainly hurt himself!

She held her breath and steadied herself, then pushed a palm outward. She did not wish to harm him; she only wanted to force him aside.

But this time, just as before, Mu Mu neither dodged nor deflected. The palm strike landed squarely on his body — with such force, fully and completely.

A thin thread of blood slid from the corner of his lip. The gaze he fixed upon her was so innocent it made one afraid to meet it directly.

“Jiu’er, this palm of yours — it caused me a great deal of pain.” His voice had taken on the faint rasp of something worn and roughened.

Feng Jiu’er’s heart gave a sharp, sour lurch. She cried out loudly: “You forced me to do this!”

He had forced her to! The silver needles were already inside his body, and the palm strike had landed precisely where the needles had entered — how could it not be agonizing?

Mu Mu suddenly reached out, and grasped her small hand, pressing it against his chest.

“Here it hurts — it hurts so much here. Jiu’er, since your medical skills are so remarkable, find a way to make me stop hurting — would you?”

The perpetually composed expression he wore, which never seemed to change across the span of years, at last showed the faintest trace of pain — real pain, pain so acute it nearly stopped his breath.

Yet in this moment, the place he pressed her hand to, the place covered by his palm — it was not where the silver needles had fallen. It was where his heart lay.

“Don’t do this!” Feng Jiu’er wrenched her hand back with all her strength. This version of Mu Mu — she could not face him.

“If you hate me for my deception and betrayal, then be ruthless toward me. Why do it this way? And if you cannot bring yourself to be ruthless, then do not blame me for striking at you!”

She shoved him hard. This time, Mu Mu actually failed to hold his footing, and was pushed down onto the ground.

Jiu’er looked back. His face was as pale as paper. With the silver needles inside his body, she feared a moment of carelessness had let them damage his heart meridian!

She had truly not anticipated that he would not dodge. Naturally, she had not thought carefully about where the needles would land — and now, if she did not remove them for him…

Yet the moment she saved him, any chance of returning to the Ninth Imperial Uncle’s side would be completely and utterly gone.

It was not that she absolutely had to be with the Ninth Imperial Uncle. After all, even she herself could not sort out how deep her feelings for him truly ran.

But if she did not go back — if she fell into the Night Demon’s hands — she would become the Ninth Imperial Uncle’s fatal weakness.

What if they used her life to demand the Ninth Imperial Uncle’s? Would the Ninth Imperial Uncle truly surrender his own life in exchange?

She could not afford to gamble on that.

“I am sorry. The Night Demon can save you. Return to her side, and you will come out of this unharmed.”

She could not take that risk. The moment she was caught by the Night Demon, the Ninth Imperial Uncle would be in danger.

“Are you truly going to abandon me and go back to him? Even when I, for your sake, could forsake everything?”

Mu Mu’s voice had never been this cold. Jiu’er knew she had wounded his heart — but she had no choice.

Feng Jiu’er’s thin lips trembled faintly. “I am sorry…”

Mu Mu said nothing more. He sat cross-legged on the ground and channeled his energy to expel the silver needles from within his body.

Since he was willing to channel his own energy, the needles would do him no further harm. If she did not leave now, it would soon be too late to leave at all.

Feng Jiu’er stepped away, moving at her greatest speed, racing back in the direction of the Imperial City.

Behind her, the wind blew in cold, cutting gusts — she did not know whether it carried some trace of Mu Mu’s presence.

The man seated on the ground watched the figure that had vanished in an instant. Those deep, fathomless eyes held not a single trace of warmth…

Jiu’er had taken only a few dozen steps before she came to an abrupt halt.

Something was wrong!

Without a moment’s thought, she turned and dove into the depths of the forest.

Yet she had barely taken two steps when a melody of flute music rang out. She clutched her head in her hands, her feet stumbling, and fell to the ground with a crash — she could not even crawl back up.

Her head — such terrible pain, truly terrible pain! The pain was so acute that she curled herself against the ground, her whole body shaking.

“Stop playing — stop, stop playing!” She wanted to scream, wanted to tear herself apart! This kind of pain — compared to the agony of a blade cutting flesh — it was ten times worse!

The flute music finally ceased. The entire world fell silent around her. Jiu’er lay collapsed on the ground, drenched in sweat, with nothing left but the strength to breathe. Even her fingers — she could not move a single one.

“Mu’er, I have, as you planned, lured the Ninth Prince out of the city.”

The Night Demon stepped forward two paces, gazing into the dark behind Feng Jiu’er, smiling with a composed and contented ease.

“Today you and Feng Jiu’er made an appearance outside the city. The guards carried the news back, and by the time evening fell, the Ninth Prince personally rode out of the city. By now, he is most likely somewhere in this general vicinity, and will trace his way here before long.”

“First, take this girl away. The Ninth Prince will likely arrive before dawn breaks — we must hurry and set the ambush in place.”

The Night Demon’s voice rang out with unmistakable excitement!

They had… been here in the vicinity all along?

Feng Jiu’er slowly opened her eyes. Within her field of vision, Mu Mu’s tall, imposing figure stood not far behind her. His lips were pressed tightly together. He said not a single word.

Today, she and Mu Mu had made themselves known — they had let the Ninth Imperial Uncle receive word — and so now the Ninth Imperial Uncle had already left the city and was heading this way…

Could it be that everything that had happened today — all of it — had been Mu Mu’s plan?