As dawn approached, the woman who had been nursing the child was sent away by Xue Gu.

When Xue Gu returned, the cave still held only three people: Qiao Mu and Xing Zizhou — and the infant, now fed and sleeping.

The moment Xing Zizhou opened his eyes, he shot to his feet and strode toward her: “Senior Xue Gu, my body has recovered. Should we now return to the courtyard residence, or go out to search for Jiu’er and the others?”

It was rare for even Xing Zizhou to have settled into composure. Xue Gu felt a small measure of relief in her heart, but as she looked out at the sky growing steadily lighter beyond the cave entrance, she could not shake her unease.

A full night had passed, and Jiu’er and Feng Yinan remained completely without word — not a single sign.

On their way down from the hilltop, they had left specific markers along the path. If Jiu’er and the others returned, they would certainly be able to find their way here.

But Jiu’er had still not appeared. What exactly had she and Feng Yinan encountered? They had agreed: return before dawn, no matter what was seen.

If they had not returned by now, something had gone wrong.

Xue Gu turned to look at Xing Zizhou: “Qiao Mu and I are the stronger fighters. If Xiao Yingtao has truly been captured, we can find a way to rescue her. As for you…”

“I can also…” But Xing Zizhou quickly swallowed his own words. He understood what Xue Gu meant — she wanted him to take people out to search for Jiu’er and the others.

That made sense. When it came to tracking and finding people, he was naturally better suited for it than either of them. And when it came to rescuing someone, it was genuinely the two of them who had the greater ability.

It was simply that it was Xiao Yingtao who was in trouble — how could he bring himself to let that go?

Qiao Mu lifted the child into her arms and looked at Xue Gu: “This child…”

“When I went down just now, I took a turn around the village entrance. Best to leave this child in that woman’s care.”

“Are you not worried she will betray us?” Qiao Mu was a little concerned.

“By now, the First Prince is likely without the energy to concern himself with Consort Lian’s child. The only person who wants Consort Lian’s child is the Muerhe Great King alone.”

The child was the Muerhe Great King’s own — even if the child fell into the Great King’s hands, nothing would happen. The child would simply be returning to his father.

So even if that woman betrayed them, there would be no loss on their side whatsoever.

The First Prince had returned under the cloud of accusations. For now, all he could do was find a way to prove his own innocence. Consort Lian’s child had already ceased to matter to him.

“Good. We proceed as Senior Xue Gu has said.” Qiao Mu looked at Xing Zizhou: “You need not worry. If Xiao Yingtao has truly met with misfortune and fallen into their hands, I would sooner give my own life than fail to rescue her.”

Xing Zizhou bit down, and finally gave a firm nod: “I’ll go find Jiu’er.”

He looked again at Xue Gu and added: “If… if Xiao Yingtao is truly in danger, if… it requires you to give your lives for her — please do not throw away your own lives for Xiao Yingtao’s sake. She… even if she lived, she could never find peace for the rest of her life.”

He could not bear the thought of Xiao Yingtao spending a lifetime drowning in guilt. If it came to that, it would surely make living worse than death for her.

Xue Gu looked at him and let out a quiet sigh.

This young man was genuinely devoted, through and through. He had given his heart truly to that girl Xiao Yingtao — though whether the girl would cherish it, and whether there would even be a chance to cherish it, was another matter.

“Let us move out. Everyone, be careful.” Xue Gu spoke, and took the lead walking out of the cave.

“Qiao Mu, take care of yourself.” Xing Zizhou said, looking at Qiao Mu.

Qiao Mu gave a nod: “We don’t know what Jiu’er is dealing with right now. If even Jiu’er has met with trouble, then whatever trap has been laid must be formidable. You be careful as well.”

“No matter what you see out there, do not act alone. Whatever happens, come back and find us first. We decide everything together after discussing it.”

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It was rare for Qiao Mu to say so many words in one breath. Xing Zizhou understood — everyone’s care for one another ran equally deep.

He gave a nod and said, gravely: “I know!”

……

Xue Gu and Qiao Mu handed the child to the Muerhe woman, gave her a small sum of silver, and then immediately set off in the direction of the courtyard residence.

But they had barely returned to the main thoroughfare of the capital city when they saw Xiao Yingtao.

She had been dragged out to be paraded through the streets. Her clothing was soaked through with blood, flesh and skin a mangled mess, her face covered entirely in bloodstains.

She had been bound to a wooden stake, mounted on a flatbed cart, escorted by a mounted procession.

On the surface it appeared to be only one contingent — but in truth, both Xue Gu and Qiao Mu could see it clearly: front and back, there were skilled fighters concealed among the common people, positioned precisely to lure out anyone who came to rescue her, so as to capture them all in one sweep.

Qiao Mu’s hands tightened into fists. She nearly could not stop herself from rushing out to save her.

Xiao Yingtao’s condition looked terrible. She appeared dazed and drowsy, already sinking into a half-conscious state. Her two legs had no strength left in them at all — only the ropes binding her arms were holding her upright, keeping her from collapsing.

She was gravely injured. A girl, wounded to such a degree — those people had gone too far.

A hand came down over the back of Qiao Mu’s hand — the hand that had been reaching for her short blade — and gripped it, forcing her to release the blade.

Xue Gu narrowed her eyes and surveyed the scene below. There were at least a hundred skilled fighters in the surrounding area. Even with her level of ability, there was no certainty she could escape unscathed — let alone bring Xiao Yingtao out with her.

Qiao Mu of course knew what the situation was. But the state Xiao Yingtao was in right now was simply too wretched. How could she bear it?

Yesterday, she should have been the one to draw away those pursuers, and let Xiao Yingtao take the child and leave first.

At that time, Xiao Yingtao had said that her martial skill was insufficient to escape safely while carrying the child, and with the stakes so high, Qiao Mu had had no choice but to take the child and go first.

She had never expected that Xiao Yingtao would truly fall into their hands — and be made to suffer so horribly.

Seeing her like this — if Xing Zizhou were to see her, she could not imagine how it would break his heart.

Xue Gu had been right to send Xing Zizhou off to search for Jiu’er. If Xing Zizhou had come with them, he would have charged out by now.

“Let us go down first and assess the situation.” Xue Gu pressed Qiao Mu’s hand gently.

Qiao Mu drew a deep breath, and with great effort pushed down the ache swelling in her chest. Only then did she give a nod: “Alright.”

The two of them had purchased a couple of plain old garments from a small village earlier, and with the medicated salve Jiu’er had left for them applied to their faces, both women now appeared somewhat swarthy-complexioned, with a few lines etched into their skin.

At a glance, they looked no different from the women of Muerhe, and blending into the crowd, they were not easy to pick out.

Once they descended and joined the crowd, they immediately caught snatches of conversation among the common people. Though the language was somewhat similar to Bei Mu’s tongue, it was a noisy mix of voices and not always easy to follow.

Ahead, soldiers were posting notices. Xue Gu and Qiao Mu pushed their way through to the front. Xue Gu could read the Muerhe script — the notice declared that at noon, the traitors were to be executed by beheading at the south end of the city for all to witness.

They intended to put Xiao Yingtao to death at noon.

This left them with no choice but to act. If they waited until noon, the south gate district would certainly be swarming with even more guards, even more skilled fighters.

Qiao Mu looked at Xue Gu. Her hand reached quietly to the short blade at her own waist.