Nanmeng Rong! One of the helmsmen on the boat was actually Nanmeng Rong!

He had kept his hat on all this time, making it completely impossible for anyone to recognize him. And since there was not the slightest threatening air about him, no one had given him a second thought.

The boat had already traveled a good stretch. Though they were headed to the opposite bank, it was not a direct crossing — they first had to go downstream, then come ashore from the far bank below.

Had Jiu’er not grown increasingly certain she recognized that silhouette, she might never have noticed Nanmeng Rong’s presence at all.

“Why… did you not come out to meet us?” The words on Jiu’er’s lips softened the moment she saw the color of Nanmeng Rong’s face clearly.

His complexion was terrible — white as a sheet of paper.

She reached out at once to take hold of his wrist, but Nanmeng Rong quickly evaded her grip. The effort seemed too forceful, and it set him coughing.

“You…”

“I’m fine — just a slight chill.” Nanmeng Rong coughed twice more. His voice was a little hoarse, and he did indeed sound weak.

Yet he offered Jiu’er a faint smile. “I really am fine.”

“Let me take a look.” Jiu’er stubbornly took his large hand again, this time allowing no refusal. Her slender fingers settled on the pulse point at his wrist.

Moments later, her expression fell, and urgency filled her voice. “You have sustained severe internal injuries!”

“Once I return home and rest properly, I will recover quickly.”

“Is it truly what they did, General Nanmeng?” He had not replied — because he could not bring himself to deceive her, yet he also did not wish to speak of his hardships in her presence.

Feng Jiu’er felt her nose sting with emotion — for this wretched, foolishly devoted man.

“They actually went so far as to… against you…” This ruthlessly! No matter how one looked at it, he was their own flesh and blood. How could they raise their hand so heavily against him?

Previously, Jiu’er had only assumed he held no standing within the Nanmen clan and was simply not favored. She had never imagined his life was this harsh.

His own biological father — because of anger — had beaten him into a state of severe internal injury. What kind of vicious and brutal father existed under heaven?

“Grandfather was angry, my aunt was angry, and Father only struck this heavily in order to appease their wrath.”

Not wanting her to worry, Nanmeng Rong coughed twice more, then immediately offered reassurance. “Father is not normally like this. You need not worry — I truly am fine. It is only a minor injury.”

Feng Jiu’er said nothing. Her heart was heavy, and a tidal wave of guilt surged over her. Yet in this moment, she did not know what she could possibly do for him.

Nanmeng Rong continued, “I truly am fine. Your own situation is precarious right now, so there is no need to concern yourself with me. Attend to your own affairs first.”

“Why didn’t you reveal yourself from the start? If I hadn’t been sharp-eyed, you had no intention of letting anyone know you were on this boat, did you?”

Jiu’er fixed him with a look, her voice carrying a note of reproach. “We are friends. You wouldn’t even see me off in farewell?”

“I did not want to take up your time, yet I also wanted to see with my own eyes that you all made it safely to the other bank.” Nanmeng Rong smiled gently.

It was then that Jiu’er noticed — when this fellow smiled, he was actually quite handsome.

She let out a long breath, resignation in her tone. “Nanmeng Rong, I am grateful for everything you have done. But there are some things I still want to make clear to you.”

It was precisely because she knew he was a fine and handsome man that she did not want some nonexistent tie between them to delay the rest of his life.

“Nanmeng Rong, we are friends. You… you will meet many good young women in the future. I hope you…”

“Did I put pressure on you?” The smile in Nanmeng Rong’s eyes faded gradually, though his voice remained gentle throughout.

“It does not matter. Is the betrothal not already dissolved? You and I are both free now. Whatever you wish to do, I will neither stop you nor mind.”

With parting close at hand, he had no wish to add even the smallest burden to her heart. The situation now was uncertain, and the road ahead would be difficult.

He said, “As you yourself said — we are friends. Should friends not help one another? If something happened to me, you would help me as well, would you not?”

“Of course!” He had treated her with such genuine warmth; in the future, no matter what trouble he faced, she would help him to the very end.

“Then there is no need for thanks. In the future, when you return in defeat, I will still be counting on your help.”

Nanmeng Rong turned his face toward the river’s surface. Though he was speaking with Jiu’er, the hands holding the helm did not slacken.

He gazed out at the water, and the solitary line of his profile gave an impression of loneliness that defied easy description.

Jiu’er was not unaware — those words were nothing more than his way of putting her at ease, hoping she would not feel too guilty.

The truth was, she was departing with the Ninth Imperial Uncle under the status of a fugitive sought by the imperial court. When she might return was entirely unknown, and whether she could even make it back to the imperial realm in one piece was something no one could say.

Who could help whom in the future was truly uncertain, and Nanmeng Rong surely did not truly expect her help — he was not that sort of man.

“That day…” Some words had found no opportunity to be spoken before. Jiu’er carried the guilt in her heart all this while.

“That day, circumstances forced my hand — I only wanted to…”

“You only wanted to use that method to tell your people there was no need to worry, that you were safe and unharmed — isn’t that right?”

Nanmeng Rong was not someone who had failed to understand. Had he not understood, all that followed afterward would not have happened.

The previous day, when he had gone of his own accord to help her switch identities, time had been too pressing. On top of that, outside the palanquin, all around them had been Nanmen Rong’s people — not an extra word could be spoken.

Now, at last, there was a chance to exchange a few words. Nanmeng Rong fixed his gaze on her delicate profile. Even if it was only a few words to be shared, it was enough.

Yet he took only the briefest of glances at her before turning his eyes back to the river, not wishing to let whatever feeling stirred in his gaze show too plainly.

With the parting drawing near, this separation — with no knowing when they might meet again — set his heart adrift, suddenly, uncontrollably. And it hurt. It hurt deeply.

Was it truly only because of an imperial decree that he had come to hold this woman in his heart as his future wife? Before, it certainly had been. But now — he was no longer sure.

He only knew that with each thought of how far away the day of their next meeting might be, his whole heart and entire being felt wretched — uneasy in every part of himself.

Not even his internal injuries brought him suffering as great as this. This particular pain — only he himself knew of it.

He did not think this kind of feeling needed to be known by anyone else.

“The road to Phoenix City is long. Take care of yourself, and do not be as reckless as before — do not treat your life as if it means nothing.”

That girl was sometimes truly reckless. For certain people, for certain things, she could disregard her own life entirely.

He had once thought her the sort who bullied the weak — yet it turned out she was a person of such fierce and burning spirit.

He admitted that he had once been led astray by the world’s shallow gaze, and had misjudged her.

Looking at Feng Jiu’er now, what he saw was no longer that striking, peerless, city-toppling face — but rather, the heart within her that blazed and beat with unfailing passion.

A Feng Jiu’er like this was as though she carried her own radiance — so brilliant it dazzled the eyes and would not let them look directly at her.