“Whether she is innocent or not is not for you to say! Besides, we are merely here on orders to conduct a search. Please do not obstruct us.” An unfamiliar voice — and judging by the sounds, quite a number of people had come.

Feng Jiu’er glanced at the hidden compartment she had pulled open. She put it back in place as quickly as possible and slipped out through the window.

She meant to leave, but spotted another group of guards patrolling from the direction of the rear courtyard. With no route of retreat, she leaped upward and took cover on the rooftop.

A unit of guards pushed the door open and strode inside. Qiao Mu and Xiao Yingtao followed behind them.

Xiao Yingtao was still prattling on: “Haven’t you already come to search countless times? Doesn’t all this daily searching get tiresome?”

“Silence! The two of you were close with Feng Jiu’er, were you not?” The guard captain gave her a contemptuous sidelong glance and snorted. “Keep chattering, and see if I don’t haul you both back to face the same charges.”

“You—”

“Xiao Yingtao, let them search.” Qiao Mu drew Xiao Yingtao back and cast a brief, placid glance toward Feng Jiu’er’s wardrobe, then said nothing more.

Though fuming, Xiao Yingtao ultimately heeded Qiao Mu’s words and kept quiet.

Still, watching them turn Jiu’er’s things upside down left a hollow ache in her chest. Coming to root through everything every few days — did they never tire of it? Each time they left Jiu’er’s few sets of clothes — almost everything she owned — stained and in disarray. The sight of it hurt just to look at.

If Jiu’er came back and saw her belongings treated like this, she would not know how to bear it.

The group ransacked the room and turned up nothing, as before. Eventually they swept out, carrying their air of menace with them.

Xiao Yingtao glared fiercely at their retreating backs, then walked over and slammed the door shut with a resounding bang, making no attempt to conceal her displeasure.

“A different batch sent to search every day — what exactly are they trying to find? Even Huo Yan has been suspended from his duties because of Jiu’er and the Ninth Prince’s situation. There is no one here now who can protect anyone.”

She let out a quiet sigh, not without a measure of helplessness. It was not that she blamed the others for being caught up in Jiu’er and the Ninth Prince’s troubles — she simply did not know what to do.

Jiu’er’s clothes had been thrown everywhere, some scattered across the floor.

Xiao Yingtao walked over and carefully gathered Jiu’er’s garments from the ground one by one, checking each piece to see whether it had been dirtied, grumbling all the while.

“Jiu’er is a victim in all of this. She must have been taken by someone — otherwise, she would have come back long ago.”

“Did Xing Zizhou not say just last night that word came through his side — someone spotted Feng Jiu’er together with Mu Mu? She is likely still with him right now. With Mu Mu there, you need not worry.”

Qiao Mu offered a quiet reassurance, her attention still fixed on the movements outside.

Those who had come had not left immediately after stepping out the door — they were still searching the courtyard.

She added: “The Academy Head has been suspended from duties as well, and the same for Lieutenant Huo. The Academy Head has gone home early to retire in the countryside. Lieutenant Huo is still waiting quietly for word from the Ninth Prince.”

Wasn’t this all common knowledge? Xiao Yingtao could not quite understand why Qiao Mu felt the need to go over it again — as though she were deliberately saying it for someone else’s ears.

Xiao Yingtao herself had no such complicated thoughts, and simply muttered under her breath: “How could I not worry? If nothing were wrong, why has she still not come back? What makes it worst is that even the Ninth Prince is now in trouble.”

The Ninth Prince had somehow become a wanted man! What a topsy-turvy world — how had it ever come to this?

“The Ninth Prince has obviously been framed. Every major faction at court has had their eyes on him like hungry wolves — at the slightest wind or whisper, they all want nothing more than to drag him down.”

At last the sounds outside had grown distant. Qiao Mu let out a slow breath and spoke softly: “Now that you’re back, come out and see us. We…have truly missed you.”

“See who?” Xiao Yingtao was a bit confused — she had been here the whole time, hadn’t she? That line didn’t sound as though it was meant for her at all.

Then, from outside the window, a voice carried through: “A few days apart, and your cultivation has grown even stronger.”

Xiao Yingtao startled. A burst of pure joy flashed through her eyes, and she let out a low cry: “Ji—mmph—mmph mmph mmph!”

“Quiet!” Qiao Mu clamped a hand over her mouth and shot her a sharp glare.

Xiao Yingtao quickly nodded, suddenly realizing her recklessness. She blinked her eyes rapidly to let Qiao Mu know — she would not act so carelessly again.

Qiao Mu gave her a withering look, then turned to Feng Jiu’er, who was leaping in through the window: “It is not that my cultivation has advanced — it is that the hidden compartment was tidied by me.”

Jiu’er understood then. It was the disturbance she had caused to the hidden compartment that Qiao Mu had noticed.

Xiao Yingtao pulled free of Qiao Mu and immediately rushed over, grabbing Feng Jiu’er’s hand and squeezing it tight — moved, so moved that tears were nearly spilling from her eyes.

“You…you finally came back!” She dared not raise her voice, terrified it might draw someone’s attention and put Jiu’er in danger.

Yet she was truly overcome. She had waited so long, and Jiu’er had finally come back. Finally.

“Don’t get excited. I can only stay a little while before I have to leave again.” Feng Jiu’er clasped her hands warmly. After everything that had happened, having two friends as deeply loyal as these still waiting for her — how could that not move her?

Qiao Mu walked over as well, studying her carefully and at length before letting out a slow breath. “Good. You appear to be unharmed, at least.”

Only her complexion was slightly pale — but she had been running about day and night, so some exhaustion was understandable.

Xiao Yingtao, however, was still agitated: “Jiu’er, have you been with Mu Mu all this time? Where is Mu Mu? How is he?”

“Mu Mu…” Feng Jiu’er’s expression became troubled.

Xiao Yingtao’s anxiety immediately spiked. “What is it? Has something happened to Mu Mu?”

She had been having nightmares lately — dreams of Mu Mu gravely injured and in danger. And now Jiu’er was making that same expression, which only made her more uneasy.

Jiu’er pressed her lips together for a moment before speaking: “He was injured. But everyone is watching over him — he is all right for now.”

She could not tell Xiao Yingtao the specifics of Mu Mu’s condition. Knowing how much she cared about him, the girl might genuinely run off to find him, day and night, without rest.

Xiao Yingtao was not sure whether to believe her. Something felt like it was being kept from her.

But she did not dare press further. She was afraid that asking too much would become a burden for Jiu’er.

“He was hurt — then you have to heal him. You must.” Right now, she could not let herself think too much. All she could do was put her trust in Feng Jiu’er.

“I will heal him. I promise.” Jiu’er gave a nod, but her gaze had moved to Qiao Mu.

Those words Qiao Mu had spoken just now — Jiu’er understood that they were said for her ears deliberately.

She had not anticipated that once the Ninth Prince fell from power, even the Dragon Martial Academy would be caught up in it. And Huo Yan had been stripped of his post and was still waiting for the Ninth Prince’s instructions?

That piece of information from Qiao Mu carried enormous weight.

Within the Dragon Martial Academy, there were likely many people like Huo Yan. But among them, there would always be a few with divided loyalties — which meant that for now, large-scale action was not advisable.