Jun Buli — “The Prince Who Never Leaves.” A thousand unspoken words, all contained within these three characters.

If there had never been a solemn vow made before, then let this, this time, be the one and only vow of his entire life — a vow to be fulfilled with everything he had.

The name was given to their son, but its meaning was meant for Ziqing.

Jun — never leaving. Never leaving, forever.

How could Ziqing possibly fail to understand the meaning behind these three words?

She smiled warmly, looking at the toddler. “Do you agree?”

The toddler was overjoyed, nodding furiously — he was, after all, a greedy little thing — and immediately asked excitedly, “What about my nickname! I still need a nickname!”

“Do you agree to the proper name?” Jun Beiyue pressed, wanting a clear answer.

The toddler, completely absorbed in the joy of finally having a name, hadn’t even noticed that his parents were once again using him as a mouthpiece to speak to each other!

“Mm, I agree,” Ziqing had no choice but to answer with a smile, addressing it directly this time.

Satisfied at last, Jun Beiyue said, “As for the nickname… let your mommy choose.”

The toddler immediately turned to Ziqing with eager anticipation.

Something seemed to occur to Ziqing, and she suddenly burst out laughing. “Let’s call him Xiong Bao — Bear Treasure!”

The moment she said it, the four great poison beasts behind them all let out a unified cry of protest, “Arrrooo…”

Only the big dumb bear, its honest little black eyes fixed on the toddler, had no idea what was going on, unable to understand human speech. All it knew was that the little one seemed happy. Hearing the other four beasts cry out, it foolishly joined in with its own loud “Arrrooo…”

The toddler immediately perked up. “Bear Treasure! Hahaha, I have a proper name and a nickname now! From today on, I’m Xiong Bao!”

He had a grand father — Jun Beiyue — and so his proper name would be Jun Buli.

He had a bear-like father too — and so his nickname would be Xiong Bao!

Xiong Bao felt overwhelmed with happiness. He couldn’t help but preen a little, gazing up at the sky, wondering if even Heaven might be jealous of just how happy he was.

He’d acknowledged his father, and now he had a name too — he was so completely satisfied!

He was just turning back to say something to Jun Beiyue when, suddenly, a crowd of people came pouring in from outside the gate.

Leading the group were none other than Situ Haonan and Yingzi!

Jun Beiyue and the others had returned almost without a sound — if Situ Haonan hadn’t spotted Xuanyuan Lige on the rooftop, they might never have known something had happened here at all.

After Xuanlong Palace had collapsed, they had all nearly gone mad with worry. Situ Haonan had very nearly set off for the Meng Clan himself.

Yet who would have thought — everyone was here, all of them!

The moment they saw Jun Beiyue, Situ Haonan and Yingzi forgot all about Xuanyuan Lige on the rooftop. Both men froze in their tracks, as though flash-frozen on the spot, utterly motionless. Surely they weren’t dreaming, were they?

Heavens, what were they seeing — who were they seeing!

Ziqing had actually appeared, and she was holding a child in her arms! Jun Beiyue had actually woken up, and looked as though he’d fully recovered!

And where had all these beasts behind them come from!

What was going on with Second and Third Elder Meng lying on the ground? Why was Baili Weisheng here too? And who was that old man beside him?

Situ Haonan and Yingzi stood frozen. Just then, Yelu Qianqian came rushing up from behind. The moment she saw the scene in the courtyard, she stopped dead in her tracks, shrieking, “Ahh… ahh… ahhh…!” — unable to stop!

It really was a scream — the kind that pierced the sky, going on and on without end!

Xiong Bao clapped his hands over his ears. “Mommy, who is that terrifying woman?”

Ziqing was about to speak when suddenly guards came pouring in from every direction, drawn by Yelu Qianqian’s screams. Physician Gu’s voice soon followed, “What’s going on! What happened! Without Prince Baxian’s order, who gave you all permission to approach Xuanlong Palace so freely!”

Physician Gu abruptly shoved aside Yelu Qianqian, who was blocking the doorway, and stepped forward — only to suddenly find himself staring straight into Jun Beiyue’s scrutinizing eyes. In that instant, it was as if he’d been struck by lightning — every inch of his skin, every vein in his body froze solid. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out, and his jaw wouldn’t close either.

Prince Yao — awake?

Han Ziqing — back?

Not just Physician Gu — every guard converging from all directions, upon seeing Jun Beiyue after so long, went utterly slack-jawed with shock.

For a moment, dead silence fell over the entire scene — so quiet one could have heard a single falling leaf hit the ground.

“Everyone, withdraw!”

Jun Beiyue suddenly spoke, his voice cold. He wasn’t yet the true master of this palace, but with a single command, the guards converging from every direction vanished without a word, gone in the blink of an eye.

Physician Gu suddenly snapped back to his senses. Unsure exactly how much Jun Beiyue knew, he instinctively felt a wave of fear and turned to leave — but the moment his foot moved backward, Jun Beiyue’s cold voice rang out. “Physician Gu. Stop right there.”

The instant those icy words fell, Physician Gu’s legs gave out entirely. His cane clattered to the ground as he collapsed in a heap!

He didn’t even dare meet Jun Beiyue’s eyes, head bowed low, unable to imagine what he would have to face next. His heart pounded wildly, as if it might leap out of his chest at any moment.

“Yingzi, what are you standing around for? Take him to the dungeon — this prince will personally interrogate him about Bai Mengmeng’s whereabouts!”

Just a moment ago, Jun Beiyue had been a doting father with a ready smile. Now, in this instant, he seemed like an absolute demon, his cold, stern face darkening like a sky before a storm. Even Yingzi and Situ Haonan, who hadn’t even had time to feel their joy, were thoroughly frightened!

Only little Xiong Bao, comfortably nestled in Jun Beiyue’s arms, watched everything with curious eyes, sensing that a good show was about to begin.

“Yes!” Yingzi answered urgently, grabbing Physician Gu to drag him away — but just then, Prince Baxian came hurrying out from the side. “Beiyue!”

“Beiyue! You—!”

“Beiyue, you’ve finally woken up!”

“What in the world happened! Beiyue, you’re awake — that’s wonderful, that’s wonderful!”

…

Unable to contain his excitement, Prince Baxian strode quickly toward Jun Beiyue, reaching affectionately for his hand to get some answers. Before Jun Beiyue could even pull back, the toddler’s hand shot out with lightning speed, batting Prince Baxian’s hand away.

Daddy’s hand — only Mommy was allowed to touch it!

Faced with Prince Baxian’s excitement and delight, Jun Beiyue was like a block of ice on the verge of melting — but not quite there yet. He looked at him coldly, and without preamble demanded, “Was it you who ordered that Jun Beichen not be allowed to use the imperial forces to search for Ziqing?”

Prince Baxian froze, about to speak, but Jun Beiyue gave him no chance to explain, saying icily, “I never granted you that kind of authority, did I?”

“I… Beiyue, this matter… let me explain!” Prince Baxian scrambled to respond.

Jun Beiyue only scoffed coldly. “Just answer me — yes or no!”

“Beiyue, during the time you were unconscious, do you have any idea how dire the situation was? I was the one holding Da Zhou together, guarding the territory you fought so hard to win, and it wasn’t easy for me at all! He came to Xuanlong Palace every single day to check on you — where was I supposed to find the time to recruit people? Yingzi and Situ Haonan were already out searching, weren’t they?”

Prince Baxian’s answer was smoothly delivered — claiming credit for himself while deftly changing the subject.

Ziqing, listening off to the side, had already pieced together roughly what had happened. The coldness at the corners of her lips grew ever more pronounced.

Though she hadn’t come back seeking revenge, revenge was, nonetheless, the very first thing she intended to do now.

She had given so much for Da Zhou, and to this day had never received so much as a shred of recognition from these people!

Fine. If recognition wasn’t coming, then she simply wouldn’t bother asking for it anymore!

Prince Baxian was skilled at deflecting the topic, dancing around the real issue — but Jun Beiyue had no patience left for that, and Ziqing had even less!

In the past, with Jun Beiyue by her side, she’d grown used to staying silent. This time, she intended to do the exact opposite.

She would make a scene — she would flaunt her position, her favor — and let all these people see exactly what she was made of!

She took a step forward, positioning herself directly in front of Jun Beiyue!