Stepping through the stone door into Mingsha Grotto, they saw Yelu Qianqian standing there anxiously, dressed in loose white robes in the Xijing style. The moment she saw them arrive, she froze for a second, then burst into cheerful laughter. “Ha, Yanzi, you really came through—you actually got him here for me!”

Situ Haonan pursed his lips and shot Yelu Qianqian a look, meaning for the maid to leave. To his surprise, Yelu Qianqian said, “Don’t worry, she’s my own person, it’s fine.”

Situ Haonan nearly lost his temper on the spot. Heaven only knew how the Xijing royal family had raised such a scatterbrained princess!

He glared at her fiercely, and only then did Yelu Qianqian relent. “Yanzi, go keep watch outside. Let us know right away if anything happens.”

“Yes, Princess.” Yanzi, every bit the dutiful maid, was about to leave when she added a conscientious reminder. “Princess, you only have half an hour. You still need to go back and change and get dressed—don’t take too long, or if the crown prince can’t find you, it’ll be a disaster.”

“I know, I know, go on,” Yelu Qianqian urged.

Once Yanzi had left, only Jun Beiyue, Situ Haonan, and Yelu Qianqian remained in the grotto. In the silence, Jun Beiyue merely glanced at Yelu Qianqian once before beginning to survey the cave.

The grotto was formed entirely of massive stone, deeply strange—there was nothing about it that looked man-made, and yet, the desert itself had precious little large stone to begin with. That such a formation should exist within a mountain otherwise built entirely of sand was baffling.

Jun Beiyue’s long, slender fingers traced lightly over the stone wall, as if searching for something. His hands were beautifully shaped, though the frostbite hadn’t fully healed—cracks still marred them in several places. Seeing such handsome hands so frostbitten was enough to make one’s heart ache.

Situ Haonan and Yelu Qianqian had nothing to say to each other for the moment—or rather, in Jun Beiyue’s presence, there was much Yelu Qianqian couldn’t bring herself to say, and Situ Haonan had no answer to give either. The two simply stood in silence, watching Jun Beiyue.

Whether or not Jun Beiyue noticed their attention, he seemed utterly indifferent to it, methodically examining every part of the grotto—the walls, the ceiling, the floor, one by one.

At last, he turned and asked Yelu Qianqian, “What was it you wanted me to give Ziqing?”

In truth, Yelu Qianqian had wanted to ask this all along, but she—who feared nothing and no one, not her father the emperor, not her brother, not even Situ Haonan—was uniquely afraid of Jun Beiyue.

If he didn’t ask, she hardly dared speak to him first.

Did she really have anything to give Ziqing? It was only ever a pretext.

“I just wanted to ask…” she said timidly, “why didn’t Ziqing come?”

“She’s ill.” Only then did a hint of a smile appear on Jun Beiyue’s face. Sha Qiuzi had said the corpse poison had finally been fully driven out—Ziqing would wake soon.

If only, by the time Ziqing woke, he could have the cure for her disfigurement in hand!

At that thought, a flash of sinister intent crossed Jun Beiyue’s deep eyes. Without waiting for Yelu Qianqian to say anything more, he said flatly, “Talk amongst yourselves. I’ll keep watch for you.”

With that, ignoring Situ Haonan’s face, which had flushed red then gone pale, he turned and walked out.

“There’s no need… Yanzi… can keep watch…” Yelu Qianqian said timidly, in a low voice.

“You really do have quite the skill, getting Prince Yao himself to stand guard for you,” Situ Haonan said with a cold smile.

The moment Jun Beiyue left, Yelu Qianqian relaxed completely, at ease in every way. She immediately shot him a cold look and retorted sharply, “That’s only because of your standing, not mine.”

Situ Haonan had no patience for bickering with her and got straight to the point. “Does your brother have a woman by his side named Yanzi?”

“Yanzi? A woman?” Yelu Qianqian only knew of Yanzi—or rather, the entire Xijing royal household only knew her as Yanzi; no one knew the name “Yanzi” as anything else.

“That can’t be right—my brother has a woman on the outside? That doesn’t seem like him at all, that blockhead…” Yelu Qianqian muttered to herself, utterly baffled.

“When your brother came back this time, did he come alone, or with someone?” Situ Haonan asked again.

Yelu Qianqian was about to answer, but then paused—something felt off. Why was he asking so many questions?

“How do you even know my brother left the palace? Did something happen?”

“Just asking out of curiosity,” Situ Haonan said evasively.

This girl was fine for asking questions, but hopeless for keeping information to herself, let alone sharing anything useful.

Time was limited, and Yelu Qianqian had no wish to keep discussing Yelu Chenyi. She lowered her eyes, and suddenly turned serious. “The thing I had Yanzi bring you—did you accept it?”

“What thing?” Situ Haonan couldn’t place it for a moment.

Yelu Qianqian grew anxious at once. “The wolf fang!”

“Oh.” Situ Haonan reached into his sleeve to give it back to her.

Yelu Qianqian immediately pushed it back into his hands, saying earnestly, “There’s nothing else I wanted—just this. Keep it safe, carry it with you always…”

Before she could finish, Situ Haonan pulled the item back out. “I don’t want it!”

The moment he said it, Yelu Qianqian’s grip on his hand suddenly tightened. She tilted her head up, her eyes gleaming—the light in the grotto was dim, and Situ Haonan couldn’t quite tell whether her glistening eyes meant she was crying, or if they simply shone that way naturally.

The two of them stared at each other, and then Yelu Qianqian suddenly turned fierce, roaring at him like a lioness. “I didn’t say I was giving it to you! Can’t you just hold onto it for me?”

Situ Haonan was completely stunned—he had never seen this girl so ferocious before. His mind went blank for a moment, and he said timidly, “Holding onto it… doesn’t mean carrying it around all the time, does it?”

“What if you lose it?” Yelu Qianqian was still fierce.

“Carrying it around all the time actually makes it easier to… lose.”

“Don’t you dare lose it!”

“How long do I have to carry it?”

Yelu Qianqian didn’t answer. She took out the wolf fang pendant and rose on her tiptoes to put it around Situ Haonan’s neck herself.

“Wear it until you meet the one you love. Then give this pendant to her.”

Situ Haonan froze, an unfamiliar, bittersweet ache surging up in his chest all at once. It was such an unpleasant feeling that he didn’t know what was happening to him—his chest suddenly felt tight, suddenly hurt, and even the palms of his hands ached inexplicably.

“That… why would I give it to the one I love?” The words slipped out on their own, as if from habit, used to bantering with this girl.

“It’s mine to give, not yours! Why do you care why?” Yelu Qianqian was still fierce.

“A gift like this, given this way… shouldn’t it come from my mother?” Situ Haonan said, timid again.

“I don’t care whether your mother gives it or not, you just deliver it for me, put it on her yourself!” Yelu Qianqian said angrily.

Situ Haonan had no choice but to give up. He had wanted to ask her something—about her house arrest, about whether she was being forced into this marriage—but now, what would be the point of asking?

It didn’t seem necessary anymore.

In three days, she would be married off far away.

And even if she weren’t, he could never marry her anyway.

When a decision must be made, why prolong the sorrow, why add to the parting grief?

He touched the pendant hanging on his chest and said flatly, “Alright then. On her behalf, thank you. Nothing else to discuss—I’ll be going.”

With that, he truly turned and walked away. And in that very instant, Yelu Qianqian’s tears, which she could no longer hold back, burst forth all at once. She didn’t make a sound, not the slightest sound, yet she wept so bitterly, so miserably, that even Situ Haonan’s back—so very close to her still—blurred before her eyes.