Tuoba Keyan was blocked by a punch from a crow. By the time he looked down again, there was no trace of that woman anywhere.

He refused to admit that his opponent was a woman — and not just any woman, but such a young, inexperienced little girl at that.

Yet her gaze just now had been razor-sharp, unmistakably marking her as the leader of this group.

A little girl!

“Find her!” Tuoba Keyan swung his sword and sent a crow that had swooped at him flying. He barked furiously, “Pass the order — seal the city gates! Not even a single fly is to be let out!”

“Search the city with the rest of the men! Dig three feet underground if you have to — find them for this Prince!”

They were carrying a gravely wounded person. Where could they possibly run?

As for where Feng Jiu’er and the others actually were right now — the answer was quite simple. They were still inside the courtyard house.

They had left some of their belongings there before. Although the place had already been searched and sealed, the guards at the time had watched Xiao Yingtao leave with the child, and assumed the courtyard was empty. No one had paid it further mind.

Consort Lian’s body had already been sent back to the palace. Something had to be brought back to give the Great King a report — otherwise, neither the child nor the fugitives had been found, and the Great King would surely lay blame.

Xing Zizhu set Xiao Yingtao down on the bed with the utmost care. At the sight of her terrible condition, his heart ached with both sorrow and urgency. “Jiu’er, save her — please, save her now!”

“I know. Step outside first.” Jiu’er turned and looked at Qiaomu. “Hot water. Lots of it.”

“Understood. I’ll go at once…”

“I’ll go boil the water!” Xing Zizhu immediately stepped out the door, desperate to do anything that would help Jiu’er treat Xiao Yingtao faster.

Xiao Yingtao’s state was truly dreadful — so heartbreaking to look at.

“Don’t make too much noise. The smoke from the fire—”

“Let me heat the water with my internal energy,” Xue Gu said, casting a pained glance at Xiao Yingtao. “Otherwise, if smoke rises from the cooking fire, it will draw the attention of those nearby.”

“Good. Xing Zizhu, go assist Xue Gu. Qiaomu, stay here with me and help remove Xiao Yingtao’s clothing. Yi’nan!”

“Here!” Feng Yinan had been keeping watch at the door the entire time. Hearing them say they needed to undress Xiao Yingtao, he immediately shifted further outside.

He was not like Xing Zizhu — anyone could see that Xing Zizhu and Xiao Yingtao shared something deeper than ordinary friendship. If Xiao Yingtao’s body were seen by him, she could simply marry him in the future.

But if he were the one to see her, it would be an insult and a desecration to her.

“Keep an eye on the movements around us and report back at once.” The most dangerous place was indeed the safest, but there was always the possibility of discovery.

Moreover, Tuoba Keyan was brilliant. What they could think of, he might very well figure out before long.

At the moment, their most tightly guarded points were the north and south city gates. With such a major incident having occurred, everyone would want to flee the capital as quickly as possible — only by leaving could one truly be safe.

Staying in the capital, such a large group of people would sooner or later be walking toward their deaths. So the city gates were absolutely under heavy watch.

But if time passed and no movement was detected at either gate, Tuoba Keyan would certainly launch a thorough, house-by-house search of the capital — it was only a matter of time before they were found here.

After everyone else had stepped out, Qiaomu helped Jiu’er carefully begin removing Xiao Yingtao’s garments.

“Ah—” The fabric and the bloodied, mangled flesh had nearly fused together. The slightest movement sent Xiao Yingtao crying out in agony.

Even in a half-conscious state, she could still feel the pain. One could only imagine just how excruciating it was.

“Jiu’er, this cannot go on — she… she’ll die from the pain alone!”

“Bring me the red bottle from my medicine pouch.” Feng Jiu’er said calmly.

Qiaomu startled. “That’s… Datura powder — that’s a poison!”

“But it numbs pain. Bring it quickly.” As long as the dosage was carefully controlled, it could be used to temporarily paralyze the nerves at the site of the pain.

Xiao Yingtao was no hardened warrior. Continuing like this, she truly could be driven to the brink of despair by the agony alone, and die from it.

Qiaomu had no choice. She retrieved the datura powder from the red bottle and, following Feng Jiu’er’s instructions, poured a cup of water.

Watching Jiu’er prepare to administer the powder to Xiao Yingtao, Qiaomu still felt deeply uneasy. “This medicine… can’t it be applied externally? Topically?”

Taken internally, it could cause someone to lose their mind in moments — even kill them!

Jiu’er said nothing. She measured out a small amount of the powder into the cup, stirred it into the water, and moved to feed it to Xiao Yingtao.

Though Qiaomu remained uneasy at heart, whatever Jiu’er decided, Qiaomu would ultimately comply.

She gently raised Xiao Yingtao upright so that Jiu’er could administer the medicine more easily.

The datura powder, refined to its purest form, had an extraordinarily potent effect. Not long after Xiao Yingtao took the medicine, her eyes suddenly opened wide — glazed and unfocused, as though her consciousness had already slipped away.

“It’s all right. Don’t panic. The medicine has taken hold and she has no strength left in her — she won’t struggle. We can remove her clothing now.”

Qiaomu took a deep breath and began to help undress Xiao Yingtao.

Though Xiao Yingtao had no strength to resist, she continued murmuring in her delirious state, on and on.

In the end, all her words collapsed into just two syllables: “Mu Mu… Mu Mu… Mu Mu…”

Jiu’er felt a pang in her chest. Qiaomu let out a helpless sigh.

So it turned out this girl had always carried Mu Mu in her heart all along — yet she had shown not a trace of it in her daily manner, even going so far as to tell Jiu’er that she had already given up on Mu Mu.

Datura could bring about a temporary confusion of the mind, somewhat like the delirium of someone in the throes of a powerful intoxicant. In such a state, the deepest, most guarded feelings of a person’s heart were most easily spoken aloud.

There were things, there were people, that Xiao Yingtao ordinarily dared not say and dared not name — but in a moment like this, she could no longer suppress the longing.

“Mu Mu… Mu Mu…”

Xing Zizhu, just arriving at the doorway, froze. The ten fingers gripping the basin of water instinctively tightened.

Yet he only paused for a brief, stunned moment before pushing the door open and stepping in, as though he had heard nothing at all.

“Jiu’er, the hot water is here. I’ll go fetch more.” He set the basin down, unable to bring himself to look at Xiao Yingtao’s current state, and turned to leave at once.

What it feels like to have the woman you love pining for another man — even without having lived it, one could easily imagine.

Qiaomu glanced at Jiu’er. Jiu’er seemed unaffected, still carefully working at Xiao Yingtao’s garments.

Qiaomu knew she could not match Jiu’er in this. Jiu’er was a remarkably fine physician — when the moment demanded it, she could be cold and detached.

Because only that way could she remain calm enough to handle things properly.

“Pass me those medicine bottles — the green one, the white one, and the yellow one.”

Jiu’er was indeed very composed. In a moment like this, calm was the only way to manage things well.

“Go outside and buy some light gauze for bandaging. A pharmacy will have it. Be extremely careful.”

“Understood. I’ll be careful.” Qiaomu nodded and turned to leave immediately.

“Pick up a couple of bottles of wine while you’re at it.” There was no alcohol available in this day and age — they would have to use the old-fashioned method of distilling it from wine.

Qiaomu asked no questions, and quickly stepped out the door.