Jun Beiyue and Xuanyuan Lige were absolute, sworn enemies — layers upon layers of grievances, national feuds, family hatreds, built up over so many years. By rights, sworn enemies meeting face to face should have been especially fraught.

But they weren’t. The two of them simply clasped their fists in mutual respect, and neither said another word.

Nothing beyond mutual respect, and a certain coldness — nothing more.

The respect was the respect owed to a worthy opponent; the coldness was the coldness reserved for an enemy. Nothing more than that.

This encounter might have been like friends meeting again, or old acquaintances crossing paths once more — but it was absolutely not an occasion for settling old scores.

There was no telling how the two men truly felt inside. But Ziqing, at least, felt happy, felt relieved.

Men — they could lack anything else in the world, but they absolutely needed to have grace. And not just any grace, but true, generous grace!

She smiled and said, “Lige, I came here looking for Wuzheng.”

At this, Xuanyuan Lige was startled. “Wuzheng?”

Losing the demonic zither was one thing, but Wuzheng could not be lost!

“Yes. I still had Wuzheng with me when Yu Xiaomeng saved me! Could it have been left with her? Where is she?” Ziqing assumed this as a matter of course.

“I didn’t see Wuzheng when I found you either.” Xuanyuan Lige’s brow furrowed slightly. After thinking it over for a moment, he said, “Go sit inside. I’ll go look for it.”

Hearing this, Ziqing grew uneasy. “I’ll come with you.”

By rights, if she’d left something behind, Yu Xiaomeng should have mentioned it to Xuanyuan Lige already — and even someone who knew nothing about zithers would recognize at a glance that Wuzheng was something precious.

There was no reason for such silence!

“It’s fine, you rest here. I’ll be back soon.” Xuanyuan Lige still refused.

Ziqing was clever enough to know — if she happened to run into Yu Xiaomeng or Madam Yu again, the whole marriage matter would surely unravel.

Ziqing was about to speak up when, to her surprise, Jun Beiyue said, “I’ll go. It’s warm inside — go rest for a while.”

Had Jun Beiyue sensed something was off about this too?

The importance of Wuzheng wasn’t just about what the zither meant to Ziqing — it mattered because of Lishang itself. An ordinary zither simply couldn’t capture the true essence of Lishang. Only Wuzheng and the demonic zither could do that.

Ziqing was still uneasy and wanted to go along, but Jun Beiyue gently patted her shoulder, giving her a reassuring look, and said softly, “Be good, listen to me. It’ll be found.”

Ziqing gave in, helpless — she simply couldn’t resist that man’s gentle, tender gaze. She had no choice but to obediently head inside.

Xuanyuan Lige watched all of this unfold, a flicker of bitterness crossing his eyes, though his expression gave nothing away as he quietly stepped out first.

Yelu Qianqian followed Ziqing inside, murmuring words of comfort. “Don’t worry, the two of them are going to look for it — they’re sure to find it!”

Ziqing nodded, watching the two distant figures walk off together, and only then did she suddenly realize how strangely harmonious this scene was. This was probably the first time these two men had ever walked side by side.

One black, one purple — two figures. The black one, steady, mysterious, and cold; the purple one, noble and aloof, holding the world at arm’s length.

This, surely, was the true pairing of Longyuan’s twin champions.

If the two of them ever stood on a real battlefield together — one commanding strategy from behind the lines, the other sweeping through the field like a storm — what an earth-shaking, world-upending sight that would be!

If only…

Xuanyuan Lige was Da Zhou’s enemy. And yet, even Ziqing couldn’t help but feel a pang of regret on his behalf, couldn’t help but sincerely wish he could take his place on a real battlefield.

“Han Ziqing… that old nanny said…”

At that moment, Yelu Qianqian finally spoke up, hesitant, though she trailed off, unable to get the words out.

“Who?” Ziqing asked, puzzled, her attention still fixed on the two figures ahead.

“That Nanny Qin. She’s been searching for Xuanyuan Lige this whole time, right? He’s the crown prince of Dongqin, isn’t he?” Yelu Qianqian said quietly. She’d seemed rather naive before, but after talking with Nanny Qin so much, she’d actually learned quite a bit.

“Mm.” Ziqing nodded.

“That Nanny Qin seemed to say she had something extremely important to discuss with Xuanyuan Lige…” Yelu Qianqian added, still speaking softly.

Ziqing didn’t think much of it — with Dongqin having suffered such a defeat, of course Nanny Qin would have urgent business to discuss with Xuanyuan Lige.

Yelu Qianqian, watching Ziqing’s reaction, had thought about saying more, but decided against it on second thought.

She recalled Nanny Qin mentioning that the matter had something to do with a place called Yaoshun Island, and something about a secret connected to a totem — something about what the totem represented, she thought.

Of course, Nanny Qin hadn’t told her all of this directly — she’d overheard bits and pieces while feverish and half-conscious, listening to Nanny Qin talking with the guards nearby.

Yelu Qianqian couldn’t quite understand it — why was Nanny Qin an enemy, yet Xuanyuan Lige had somehow become a friend? If Nanny Qin had something urgent and important to discuss with Xuanyuan Lige, shouldn’t she, as his friend, tell him about it?

Yelu Qianqian turned the matter over and over in her mind, growing more and more confused the more she thought about it, until finally she simply gave up thinking about it altogether…

Meanwhile, Xuanyuan Lige and Jun Beiyue had already arrived at the Yu family’s front gate, only to find it firmly shut.

Ever since Yu Xiaomeng had run off and Madam Yu had been warned by him, neither mother nor daughter had shown themselves again. Xuanyuan Lige hadn’t paid the matter much mind.

He knew this much, at least — if anything had actually happened to Yu Xiaomeng, the small Mobei town would have long since been thrown into turmoil. It certainly wouldn’t have remained this peaceful.

“Is this the place? They must have left a while ago.” Jun Beiyue said flatly, looking at the snow piled up in front of the gate.

“Yes. If Wuzheng was still with Ziqing at the time she was rescued, it must be here.” Xuanyuan Lige said with certainty. He knew Yu Xiaomeng understood something about zithers — she wouldn’t have failed to notice something so exquisitely crafted.

He trusted Yu Xiaomeng’s character. The zither must simply have been forgotten here.

Without another word, Jun Beiyue vaulted straight over the wall, with Xuanyuan Lige following close behind. But after a thorough search, they found neither person nor object.

The two met back up in the courtyard, exchanging a glance, both equally puzzled.

Just then, a sharp voice suddenly rang out from behind them, “What are you two doing? Thieves, is that it?”

Xuanyuan Lige recognized the voice at once and turned to look — sure enough, it was Madam Yu!

She stood outside the courtyard, disheveled, her hair a mess, her whole frame noticeably thinner, hands planted firmly on her hips.

“Yu Xiaomeng — is that her name?” Jun Beiyue asked coldly. He had no idea what any of this was about.

“Her mother.” Xuanyuan Lige’s tone turned even colder as he walked out to meet her.

The moment Madam Yu spotted Xuanyuan Lige, her breathing turned ragged, clearly suppressing a surge of fury — but with the poisoning incident hanging over her head, courtesy of Xuanyuan Lige, she didn’t dare act out against him too openly.

She shot a cold glance at Jun Beiyue, standing behind Xuanyuan Lige, but the moment her eyes met his, she flinched back as if she’d touched a live wire, an inexplicable dread washing over her — this man seemed even harder to deal with than Xuanyuan Shang!

What was Xuanyuan Lige up to now? Bringing someone else along?

“Where’s Miss Yu?” Xuanyuan Lige asked flatly, hoping to avoid any conflict with this old woman in front of Jun Beiyue.

To his surprise, Madam Yu’s face crumpled, and she burst into loud sobbing, howling furiously, “You still have the nerve to ask me that! It’s all because of you, all your fault, she’s already… she’s already… wuu wuu wuu…”