Right up until the moment she lost consciousness, Feng Jiu’er still could not understand why Yanu had drugged her.

But suddenly, many things that had seemed unclear before began to grow clearer, little by little.

Had Yanu really been watching over her for ten whole years?

Why, then, were her memories of him during those ten years always so hazy?

Had he, at some point in the middle of it, left for a time?

She had no chance to think further—the drug was so strong that even her constitution couldn’t withstand it.

Jiu’er’s eyes closed, and her body went limp, collapsing toward the floor.

Yanu stepped forward and caught her in his arms.

Looking down at the girl who had fallen into his embrace, her brow still tightly knit even unconscious, Yanu felt an indescribable ache in his heart.

Perhaps you resent me now, but one day, you will understand.

He swept his long sleeve aside, and a small bottle fell into his palm.

The gu worm that crawled out of the bottle was so familiar!

More than half a year ago, he had once released this very worm, but in the end couldn’t bring himself to use it on her.

And now, as if fated by some unseen hand, destiny had brought it full circle.

You… you came to the Feng Clan all on your own.

He flicked his long finger, and the black gu worm dropped onto the back of Feng Jiu’er’s hand.

The plump little body wriggled on the back of her hand for a moment, then suddenly bit into her flesh.

Soon, the inky black worm gradually vanished without a trace.

Only then did Yanu scoop her up into his arms, walk to the window, and push open the cabin’s only window.

He glanced back at the cabin where Jiu’er had stayed for several days, his eyes dark and heavy.

From this point on, he would have to bid farewell to all of this, completely…

Carrying Jiu’er, he climbed out over the windowsill. With a wave of his hand, a fire-striker dropped onto the bed where Jiu’er usually slept.

The bedding instantly caught fire.

Yanu glanced back once, then finally looked away, and carrying Jiu’er, leapt down into the dark depths below…

…The ship’s cabin was on fire!

Thick smoke billowed from one of Feng Jiu’er’s cabins, and soon the whole cabin was wreathed in flame!

“It’s Jiu’er’s cabin!” Qiao Mu cried out in alarm as she rushed in from outside.

Up ahead, a number of people were already fighting the fire.

Jiuqing and Mu Mu charged in at the same time; Jian Yi was only a step behind.

But amid the billowing smoke, where was Feng Jiu’er to be found?

“Jiu’er isn’t in the cabin—everyone, fight the fire first, the rest of you come with me to search!”

For something this serious to happen and for Feng Jiu’er to be nowhere in sight—it was simply too strange!

There were plenty of people aboard the ship, and with seawater all around, the fire wasn’t too severe; putting it out wasn’t difficult.

Soon, they had thoroughly extinguished the fire in Jiu’er’s cabin—but where was Jiu’er?

They searched the entire cabin area, yet could find no trace of Feng Jiu’er anywhere.

“Yanu is missing too!” Qiao Mu came hurrying back from the rear cabins.

She had gone cabin by cabin, checking each one in turn, even fearing that something might have happened to the two of them and that they might be lying unconscious in some corner.

So she had checked every cabin, under every bed, inside every wardrobe, leaving nothing unchecked.

But still there was no sign of Jiu’er, and now, even Yanu couldn’t be found.

“Did anyone see Yanu while we were putting out the fire just now?” Mu Mu asked at once.

Everyone shook their heads—no one had seen either of them.

What on earth was going on? Why had both of them vanished all at once?

Jiuqing suddenly strode forward with his long legs, heading toward Jiu’er’s cabin.

Qiao Mu hurried after him, calling out urgently, “There’s nothing in there—we’ve searched every inch inside and out, Jiu’er and Yanu can’t possibly be in there!”

The cabin was still smoking now; though the fire had been put out, everything was scorching hot.

Fortunately, only certain areas had burned, and the fire hadn’t reached the ship’s hull—otherwise they would have been in real danger.

At present, they were still roughly two hours’ sailing distance from the coastline.

If the ship were to sink now, everyone would be in serious trouble; surviving would come down to luck alone.

Jiuqing ignored Qiao Mu’s attempt to stop him and strode quickly into the still-smoking cabin.

Though it was smoking, the whole cabin was soaked through, with people still occasionally dousing it with water.

The chance of the fire reigniting here was essentially nonexistent.

The window was open!

Jiuqing walked over to the window—with the damage this severe, there was naturally no way to make out any clear traces.

But he distinctly remembered that Jiu’er was timid by nature, and with the sea waves so rough at night, she always liked to keep her window shut when she slept.

Jiuqing searched the room a while longer. Though no one knew exactly what he was looking for, no one tried to stop him any further.

Mu Mu, too, finally understood, and stepped in to help search.

At last, Jiuqing stopped beside the bed that had been burned the most severely.

He stared at the pile of ash on the bed, his thin lips pressed tight, his expression unusually grim.

“That’s…” Qiao Mu, not knowing what he was looking at, hurried over.

A moment later, she cried out, “It’s a fire-striker!”

This clearly meant someone had thrown a fire-striker onto the bed, setting the bedding alight, which had then caused this whole fire.

But why?

“Didn’t something happen before at the Hall of Heavenly Mechanism—some unsolved case?” Jiuqing asked in a low voice.

“Yes.” Granny Xue walked over, staring at the pile of ash from the fire-striker, her heart suddenly trembling violently.

“The night Feng Yinan’s leg recovered, everyone drank themselves into a stupor. But that very night, someone made an attempt on Yinan’s life and nearly cost him his life.”

“Why didn’t they simply kill him outright?” Jiuqing asked.

“This…” Granny Xue and Qiao Mu exchanged a glance, and for a moment, neither could answer the question.

“Perhaps Feng Yinan saw something he shouldn’t have, was discovered by that person—and perhaps that person had an accomplice as well.”

“The accomplice wanted Feng Yinan dead, but whoever was hiding within the Hall of Heavenly Mechanism, perhaps because of having spent too long among everyone there, had grown a measure of compassion for Feng Yinan.”

“So he poisoned Feng Yinan, letting the accomplice believe Yinan was certainly doomed, while secretly saving his life—though leaving him unable to speak, unable to write, and for the time being, unable to wake.”

Hearing this, everyone suddenly felt a chill sweep through their hearts.

Even Qiao Mu’s fingertips began to tremble: “You… you suspect that person… is Yanu?”

But why? Why would Yanu do such a thing? Yanu and Feng Yinan had no grudge between them at all!

Jiuqing said nothing, but everyone understood his meaning in their hearts.

If Feng Yinan really had been injured by Yanu, then it no longer seemed so strange that this time, it was Yanu who had taken Jiu’er away.

But why would Yanu do this? Who exactly was he?

Looking at the pile of ash on the bed, Qiao Mu’s mind flickered with the memory of Yanu’s gentle smile, and the pale, poisoned, unconscious face of Feng Yinan.

In an instant, her heart was stabbed once more, sharp and deep.

Yanu—is it really you?

But why? Why had everything that had once been so fine suddenly become like this?

Why did you take Jiu’er away?