Feng Jiu’er almost wanted to laugh. Was Yanu worried that her pride had been hurt?

But someone as seasoned as her — how could she possibly be hurt by something like that?

“He really doesn’t like me, but from the looks of it, tonight he’ll be forced to marry me too.”

That Young Patriarch wasn’t all that obedient toward his own father, but toward Elder Feng, he seemed unwilling to defy him at all.

Perhaps this Elder Feng held some position like the Young Patriarch’s martial teacher or something similar.

Clearly sensing the chill radiating from Jiuqing’s entire body, Jiu’er discreetly tugged at the corner of his robe, then pulled his hand over and opened his palm.

“This is…” Seeing the pill she had carefully placed in his palm, Jiuqing’s brow furrowed. “The antidote?”

“Yes. In a moment, go find some medicinal herbs for me.”

Jiu’er then looked at Qiaomu. “Go with him. Following our usual method, grind the herbs into powder, then distribute it among the brothers once you’re back.”

After Feng Jiu’er explained which herbs to use and how to portion them out, the pill in Jiuqing’s hand was passed over to Qiaomu.

“Why not send Xue Gu instead? Her martial arts are better than mine,” Qiaomu said, somewhat hesitant.

There was only one antidote pill — if Xue Gu went instead, the chances of success would surely be much higher.

“I’m afraid that won’t work. Xue Gu needs to stay with me tonight.”

Jiu’er looked at Xue Gu and said helplessly, “I just told them that marriage is such a big matter, I had to come back and discuss it with my mother.”

“So you told them I’m your mother?” Xue Gu understood at once and nodded.

She looked at Qiaomu and nodded. “You’ve worked in Tianji Hall for so long now, you must already be familiar enough with herbs.”

“Jiu—Jiuqing’s martial skill is exceptional. With him, you’ll be able to slip past the bandits’ watch. Once you’ve prepared the herbs and bring them back in time, everything should work out.”

Qiaomu glanced at Xue Gu, then at Jiu’er, and finally, with great care and no small amount of trepidation, stole a glance at Jiuqing.

Ever since hearing that Jiu’er was to marry that so-called Young Patriarch tonight, Jiuqing’s entire presence had turned terrifyingly oppressive.

Honestly, with Qiaomu having to stay by his side now, she felt as though she might lose her head at any moment.

Such a formidable presence was truly rare in this world.

She couldn’t help thinking of an extraordinarily formidable man, a man of peerless beauty… but how could that be possible?

Jiuqing was Jiuqing, and the Ninth Prince was the Ninth Prince — how could the two possibly be…

Right, it was impossible. The Ninth Prince was still in the imperial capital right now — Jiuqing absolutely could not be him.

After all, who could really give up everything, even an empire, just to stand guard over one girl and travel to such a distant place in search of something intangible that might not even exist?

They could follow Jiu’er without a second thought of hesitation, but the Ninth Prince could not.

Their positions in the world were simply not the same, and the burdens on their shoulders were not the same either.

“It’s decided then. Qiaomu, take the antidote right away, and make sure to prepare the brothers’ antidotes properly — there must be no mistakes.”

Aside from Xue Gu and Qiaomu, the only other person who could prepare the antidote was Tuoba Keyan.

None of the others had ever done any medicine-refining work at their Tianji Hall — how could Jiu’er feel at ease with them?

Ninth Imperial Uncle’s skills were formidable, and he had also studied unconventional arts and techniques to some degree. With him by Qiaomu’s side, she should be able to return safely.

In any case, this was their only chance.

Qiaomu, for her part, trusted Jiu’er’s antidote formula completely.

Any medicine Jiu’er had smelled, she could generally tell what ingredients were in it.

Jiuqing, however, kept his eyes fixed on Jiu’er, his expression icy and forbidding.

With so many people gathered in the same cave, there was a great deal Jiu’er simply had no way to say to him.

She could only look at him, hoping he would calm down.

Whatever this marriage was, it was nothing but a sham — how could she ever be willing to marry another man?

Jiuqing suddenly stood up. Since they had to go find the herbs, they needed to move quickly.

Otherwise, if they came back too late and Jiu’er was truly sent straight into the bridal chamber…

His large hand clenched tight, and Qiaomu, who had taken the antidote and was now carefully following close behind him, was so startled she nearly toppled back to the ground.

The antidote she’d just swallowed was only gradually taking effect, and her strength had not yet fully returned.

The icy, ruthless air around Jiuqing really was enough to frighten anyone half to death.

“Um… are we going out through the iron gate?”

There were guards posted outside. Even though Jiuqing’s martial skill was formidable, bringing her along still made it easy for them to be discovered.

Jiuqing said nothing and walked over to the iron gate.

If the lock on this iron gate were crushed, the bandits would know at once that someone among them had escaped.

He glanced outside — only two bandits were standing guard.

Probably because the bandits knew they’d been drugged and had no strength left, they weren’t worried about anyone slipping away.

Jiuqing curled his fingers slightly and began knocking on the iron gate.

The man standing closest frowned and came over cursing under his breath. “What’s all this racket for? Looking to die, are you?”

Seeing an unsightly-looking man standing inside the iron gate, the bandit said angrily, “Make any more noise and I’ll chop your head off, just watch!”

Jiuqing said nothing and kept banging on the iron gate.

The other bandit walked over as well, brandishing the broadsword in his hand. “Keep causing trouble and I’ll—”

Suddenly, something cut through the air and struck the bandit’s neck with a sharp crack.

He swayed for a moment, then dropped to the ground with a thud.

“Hey, what did you—you—mmph—” The other bandit felt a sharp pain in his own neck, his eyes rolled back, and he too collapsed.

Jiuqing’s fingers curled into a claw, and with a sweep of his large hand, he actually dragged the farther of the two bandits toward him across the empty air.

It turned out the key was on that man.

Qiaomu had already regained most of her strength. Seeing the key at the bandit’s waist, she quickly reached her hand through the gap in the iron bars and took the key off him.

With a click, the barred gate swung open, and Qiaomu strode out quickly.

Breathing the fresh air outside, her whole body felt thoroughly relieved.

Although the cave was quite large, with so many people trapped inside it, every breath was thick with the air everyone else had exhaled.

Honestly, the smell had been truly awful.

“But what do we do about these two men?” Qiaomu glanced at Jiu’er, who stood at the cave entrance.

Jiu’er waved a hand. “I’ll handle it. The two of you go, quickly.”

Jiuqing said no more, slipping along the cave’s stone wall and vanishing behind a strange rock formation not far away in the blink of an eye.

Qiaomu hardly dared go off alone — her strength had only just returned, and her skill was still less than half of what it used to be.

Since Jiu’er said she could handle it, Qiaomu stopped worrying about that.

She hurried after Jiuqing, swiftly disappearing into the Stone Forest as well.

Jiu’er glanced back at everyone, signaling them to stay calm and patient. She closed the barred gate again and hung the key back at the waist of that bandit.

Only then did she sit down beside the bandits, her slender fingers landing on the hollows of their necks, and suddenly pressed down hard.