This person, covered in blood, hair disheveled—but Jun Beiyue immediately recognized the battle robes as belonging to none other than Xuanyuan Zhaoxi!

Situ Haonan wasted no courtesy, yanking her out at once, saying coldly, “Xuanyuan Zhaoxi, so your day has finally come!”

But at that very moment, the poisonous leopard, lurking nearby, seized its chance—extending its claws and lunging without warning straight at Jun Beiyue’s back, its claws sinking instantly into his shoulder!

Situ Haonan, shocked, abandoned all other concerns, instinctively releasing Xuanyuan Zhaoxi and seizing the poisonous leopard’s jaws just as they were about to snap shut!

Jun Beiyue had said the poisonous leopard’s fangs carried deadly venom!

The leopard clearly meant to kill Jun Beiyue outright—its claws had sunk seven inches deep into his flesh, leaving him completely unable to move. The slightest motion would tear away a huge swath of flesh from his back.

Situ Haonan pressed down on the leopard’s jaws with both hands, pouring every ounce of strength he had into holding it shut, leaving him no free hand to help Jun Beiyue at all!

“What do we do!” he shouted urgently, well aware that if this dragged on, his strength would eventually give out—after all, human strength and endurance could never truly match that of a wild beast.

Jun Beiyue, sweating profusely from the pain, brow furrowed tightly, nonetheless made a snap decision. “Hold steady—I’ll tear it off myself!”

“Are you out of your mind!” Situ Haonan refused immediately. Tear it off? Did this man have no fear at all of having the entire skin and flesh of his back ripped away?

“Wait for reinforcements—our people will be here soon! I can hold on!” Situ Haonan insisted earnestly.

But just as he spoke, Xuanyuan Zhaoxi suddenly clambered up from where she’d fallen, her face covered in blood, wearing a cold, malicious smile—the very image of a vengeful female demon.

“You won’t have time to wait!” She hastily drew out a dagger, her disheveled hair partially concealing a face lit with triumphant glee. “Jun Beiyue, my brother always said one thing—kill Jun Beiyue, and Da Zhou falls. Once Da Zhou falls, the Three Realms will be ours!”

“You wretch, just try it!”

Before Jun Beiyue could even respond, Situ Haonan was already shouting curses at her!

“See if I dare!” Xuanyuan Zhaoxi cried, immediately raising the dagger and thrusting it viciously toward Jun Beiyue’s abdomen!

“I’ll kill you!”

Situ Haonan roared, as if struck by some overwhelming shock, and in a frenzy, forced the poisonous leopard’s jaws apart with both hands, violently flinging the beast up and backward straight at Xuanyuan Zhaoxi!

Xuanyuan Zhaoxi was sent sprawling to the ground, the dagger clattering away as it fell. She stared at Jun Beiyue in utter disbelief, unable to comprehend what had just happened.

That blade—she had clearly driven it home. How could he possibly… could he truly be impervious to blade and steel?

Jun Beiyue wasn’t impervious to weapons at all—it was simply that Ziqing had once sewn Black Jiao scales into the lining of his undergarments, though only the front half had been completed before she was taken. He had worn it against his skin ever since.

Only once Situ Haonan saw that Jun Beiyue was unharmed did he suddenly calm down, and at the very same moment, his arms went completely slack, releasing their grip entirely!

The poisonous leopard immediately struggled back to its feet, but fortunately Jun Beiyue’s sword was faster—a single strike sealed its throat shut for good!

Seeing the leopard fall, Situ Haonan finally let out a breath of relief. Jun Beiyue glanced at the unconscious Xuanyuan Zhaoxi, now knocked out from the impact, and said flatly, “Have you got a death wish?”

Situ Haonan froze for a moment—to be precise, he was so moved he nearly wept. This was the first time since New Year’s Eve that Jun Beiyue had spoken to him voluntarily, beyond cold commands and clipped instructions!

“The venom of that beast acts extraordinarily fast. Had things gone even slightly wrong just now, you’d be dead,” Jun Beiyue said, clearly displeased, still not entirely sure what had possessed Situ Haonan to summon such tremendous strength just now.

Situ Haonan smiled and punched Jun Beiyue lightly on the shoulder. “That’s what brothers are for!”

Indeed—brothers, bound together through life and death alike.

He shared not a drop of blood with Jun Beiyue; in some sense, Situ Xin’er should have been his closest kin by rights.

But brothers—those were family one chose for oneself.

He couldn’t stop Jun Beiyue from killing Situ Xin’er, but he could die in his place.

Jun Beiyue looked at Situ Haonan in silence for a long moment, and finally smiled. “Before this prince has laid eyes on Ziqing, I’ll forgive you for now.”

With that, he turned and walked away!

Situ Haonan smiled helplessly, hauling Xuanyuan Zhaoxi along as he followed. He, too, had seen Ziqing’s condition on New Year’s Eve—he suspected that once Jun Beiyue saw her wounds now, there would likely be no forgiveness left in him for anyone at all.

Yet Situ Haonan had no idea—and Jun Beiyue even less so—that Ziqing’s condition at this moment was, in fact, far worse than it had been that New Year’s Eve.

Jun Beiyue rushed back to his ship like an arrow, heading straight for the cabin. Just as he was about to enter, Physician Gu suddenly pushed the door open and blocked his way.

Jun Beiyue looked at the grave expression on Physician Gu’s face, then at Jiao Cha’s furious countenance beside him, and his own face darkened at once. “Get out of my way.”

Physician Gu dropped to his knees at once. “This humble servant begs Your Highness—please, do not see the consort right now!”

“Get out of my way!” Jun Beiyue roared furiously, raising a foot as though he might kick Physician Gu’s head clean off.

Jiao Cha immediately fell to his knees as well. “Prince Yao, I beg you too—please, don’t see her just yet!”

When Jiao Cha had rescued her, he’d found the sight horrifying enough, though still within the bounds of what he could accept. But once he’d brought her aboard and looked at her properly, he realized the truth was a hundred times more horrific than what he’d glimpsed underwater.

Let alone a man having to accept his own woman transformed into such a state—let alone a woman having to accept herself transformed into such a state—even any ordinary person, anyone at all, could never accept becoming something like this.

Was that still even human?

Truthfully, if given the choice, neither Jiao Cha nor Physician Gu ever wanted to lay eyes on such a sight again.

Jun Beiyue’s foot froze in midair. He couldn’t begin to imagine what could possibly have happened to make Physician Gu defy him so openly.

Could it be that, beyond the disfigurement, his Qing’er had suffered some other harm as well?

What exactly had they done to Ziqing?

“Get out of my way…”

The low, hollow voice that escaped Jun Beiyue’s lips sounded as though it had risen from the very depths of hell.

Jiao Cha took a deep breath and said earnestly, “Prince Yao, I beg you—let me plead on Qing’s behalf. If she wakes and sees you now, you’ll be the very last person she wants to see.”

Pleading on her behalf?

These words struck Jun Beiyue’s heart like a hundred silver needles all at once, the pain so sharp it stole the very breath from his lungs.

“Step aside. I want to see her so badly…” Jun Beiyue’s voice was faint, barely more than a whisper, so quiet he could barely hear it himself. He lowered his foot and gently patted Physician Gu, who still blocked the doorway, signaling for him to step aside.

Physician Gu turned his head away, his clouded old eyes glistening with tears. “Your Highness…”

He seemed on the verge of saying something more, but in the end, he rose and stepped aside.

The moment Jun Beiyue entered, he immediately shut the door behind him. Inside, a folding screen divided the room, and beyond it, one could faintly make out a figure lying on the bed.

Jun Beiyue had expected himself to rush forward without hesitation—yet, to his own surprise, even he found himself hesitating at the threshold.

He had seen it before, after all—her ruined face, he’d already seen it. What difference did it make? Ziqing was still Ziqing, no matter what.

What he truly resented was himself—a grown man, and yet unable even to protect his own woman!

He had meant to give her a proper wedding, using the Flower Queen Gathering as the occasion—only to see her humiliated on his own home ground instead.

Every wound upon her body was a constant reminder of his own failure…