Not a friend, then surely an enemy!

If not, how could he possibly keep drawing close to them, again and again, without cause?

That was what Jun Beiyue thought, and Ziqing thought so even more strongly—she had sensed Baili Weisheng’s deliberate closeness even more clearly than Jun Beiyue had.

Baili Weisheng was a merman, a Golden Jiao—yet he claimed to be the guardian of Yaoshun Island!

That, in itself, was a contradiction!

As a Golden Jiao, a member of the royal bloodline of the merfolk, there was no way he could have been sent as a mere guardian—the position of clan chief should rightfully have been his!

He had lied. He was not the guardian of Yaoshun Island, and the Nanzhao royal house didn’t even know a Golden Jiao like him existed at all!

And he wasn’t an orphaned survivor of the Lonely Isle either!

So then, just who was he, really?

Beyond the two powers of the Lonely Isle and Nanzhao—could there possibly be a third force at play? One also after Ziqing’s poison-immune body?

That was the very thing Jun Beiyue truly couldn’t puzzle out.

Which was why he’d sent Baili Weisheng ahead to Yaoshun Island alone, without following immediately with Ziqing—choosing instead to head personally to the battlefield, to secure a legitimate reason to set foot on the island himself.

Just as they were speaking, Yingzi suddenly burst in, brimming with excitement. The moment he pushed through the door and saw the princess consort seated on his lord’s lap, he froze in embarrassment—but he had no time to worry about that now.

Jun Beiyue was just about to angrily demand an explanation for his rudeness when Yingzi blurted out urgently, “Your Highness, there’s word—word from Guxi!”

Guxi!

Guxi, who had gone silent the moment he set foot on Yaoshun Island!

Ziqing certainly hadn’t forgotten that boy!

She leapt straight off Jun Beiyue’s lap in delight, asking urgently, “Is he safe?”

“Safe, safe—the letter’s arrived, my lord should read it himself!” Yingzi said, hurriedly holding out the letter.

It was a specially marked letter, unsigned, but one glance at the envelope told them it was from Guxi—just four characters written on it: “Safe, don’t worry.”

That boy really was thoughtful.

Ziqing let out a breath of relief and finally tore the letter open. Just a few short lines, yet they put her mind completely at ease.

She handed it to Jun Beiyue to read, laughing, “Baili Weisheng has arrived. This time, there’s no escaping for him.”

Sensing the matter was rather sensitive, Yingzi didn’t dare ask further and withdrew quietly.

As Jun Beiyue read the letter, the corner of his mouth slowly curled upward. “Heh. Indeed—this time there’s nowhere for him to run… Baili Weisheng.”

What exactly the letter said, probably only this married couple and Guxi knew.

Far away on Yaoshun Island, Baili Weisheng suddenly, inexplicably, shivered. Puzzled, he hunched his shoulders and continued sneaking his way toward the temple.

Ziqing put the letter away, exchanging a knowing smile with Jun Beiyue—it seemed the two of them had already settled on something in their minds.

“You need to be up early tomorrow. Better get some sleep,” Jun Beiyue said, adjusting the collar of her robe. Naturally, without even realizing when it had happened, Ziqing had grown far more at ease and intimate with him—no longer as shy or worried as before.

Still, it came as something of a surprise—this wolf of a man was uncharacteristically well-behaved tonight. She hesitated a moment, then said quietly, “Beiyue, let’s talk.”

Talk?

Hadn’t they just finished talking?

Looking at her expression, it seemed she meant something serious.

“Mm.”

Jun Beiyue looked at her, and unconsciously found himself growing serious as well.

“If… if the Lonely Isle…” Ziqing began, then hesitated, the words trailing off.

But Jun Beiyue understood. He too had long wanted to talk about “the Lonely Isle”—he simply hadn’t found the right moment.

“If it truly is a place that should never have resurfaced, then perhaps…”

Before Ziqing could finish, Jun Beiyue cut her off. “There are no ifs. Even if it truly shouldn’t exist, even if it’s truly dangerous, I will find a way to make it exist regardless.”

Rather than saying the Lonely Isle shouldn’t exist, it would be more accurate to say Han Ziqing herself shouldn’t exist.

Wasn’t it precisely because of people immune to all poisons, because of the human Gu, that the Lonely Isle had been destroyed and sealed away in the first place?

If it weren’t for Ziqing, Jun Beiyue would never have defied the whole world to dig up the secrets of the Lonely Isle, to uncover its location.

But it did concern her—it concerned her very life, even.

He had to find it.

Paper could never contain fire forever. No matter how many times the truth had been concealed, no one could guarantee that, somewhere down the road of the life he meant to walk hand in hand with this woman, her hidden origins wouldn’t suddenly be exposed.

That would be a direct threat to Ziqing—and even to any children they might have in the future.

He would never choose to simply hide from it.

He had to find the Lonely Isle. He had to find the truth.

Faced with the stubborn resolve in Jun Beiyue’s eyes, all the words Ziqing had meant to say dissolved into silence. She reached up gently and stroked the hair at his temple.

In truth, what she wanted to say was—if she truly turned out to be a calamity, if their future children could never escape the bloodline of the Lonely Isle, then… she would choose to let him go.

He was Da Zhou’s God of War, even the God of War of all Longyuan!

He was Da Zhou’s hope—a flourishing, powerful Longyuan Empire lay almost within reach, a future one could already foresee.

She didn’t want to ruin everything he had, ruin everything for Longyuan, and even less did she want him to bear the condemnation of history.

This man was destined to be the most dazzling, most radiant emperor in all of Longyuan’s history!

How could she bear to be the one who ruined that?

She could only hope—hope there would be no “if”…

Ziqing silently prayed in her heart.

“It’s been a long time since I heard Lishang. I’d like to hear it,” Jun Beiyue said quietly.

“Mm!” Ziqing hadn’t played in a long while either. She rose and went to fetch her zither.

The moment the sound of the strings reached him, Imperial Physician Gu, still lingering reluctantly outside, furrowed his brow even more deeply.

“Yingzi, we’ll pass through the capital, won’t we?” Imperial Physician Gu asked.

Yingzi, sitting on a rooftop not far off with his sword in his arms, was nearly dozing off. “Yeah. It’s been ages since my lord went back to the capital.”

“Good, good,” Imperial Physician Gu muttered to himself before finally leaving. Once in the capital, he thought, it would be necessary to have a talk with Prince Baxian…

At this moment, of all Longyuan, surely none was more prosperous than Da Zhou’s capital.

Situ Haonan and Yelu Qianqian had been hiding for a month in the Glazed Pavilion on the outskirts of the capital. Tonight, unable to bear it any longer, Yelu Qianqian slipped out while Situ Haonan slept.

But who would have guessed—the moment she came down the stairs, she found Situ Haonan sitting on the very last step, sword in his arms, leaning against a pillar, half his face asleep and the other half awake. Exhausted as he was, he still had one eye open, watching her, and asked listlessly, “Where do you think you’re going?”

“You! Weren’t you asleep?” Yelu Qianqian asked, baffled.

“I was asleep. I keep watch here every single night! What did you think?” Situ Haonan said, displeased, closing his left eye and opening his right, utterly worn out. Standing night watch was really not something he’d ever done before in his life.

“You’re just guarding against me!” Yelu Qianqian pouted, though secretly her heart warmed. She knew this man wasn’t guarding against her slipping away—he was guarding against a night raid!

Even though this was Jun Beiyue’s Glazed Pavilion, crawling with Shadow Guards everywhere, Situ Haonan still couldn’t rest easy.

“Where are you going?” Situ Haonan asked again.

“The privy!” Yelu Qianqian said, immediately grabbing at an excuse. Situ Haonan clearly didn’t believe her and was about to stand up when suddenly a hidden arrow shot through the air toward them!

Yelu Qianqian gasped in shock, but Situ Haonan wasn’t startled at all—this was a message from his own scout.

Hiding away in the Glazed Pavilion for so long, if he didn’t keep tabs on the outside world, how was he supposed to get by out there?

He caught the arrow and was just pulling off the note attached to it when Yelu Qianqian suddenly lunged forward and snatched it from him, teasing, “Well, well—secretly corresponding with other women? Aren’t you afraid of getting caught?”

As she spoke, she hurriedly unfolded the note—but the moment she saw what was written inside, her eyes instantly reddened…