Nanzhao maintained extremely strict control over anyone entering its territory, as well as over their movements, to the point that even correspondence was tightly monitored.

Even messenger hawks and falcons could not escape the Beast Clan of Nanzhao’s watchful eye—no one would take such a risk unless it was absolutely unavoidable!

Forbidden correspondence would generally be delivered first to a Nanzhao official, who would then pass it along.

“Prince Yao, you’ve arrived at just the right time. This confidential military dispatch just arrived—this official was worried it might delay something important.”

Although the Jiao Clan Chief had suffered a loss at the hands of Jun Beiyue and Ziqing once before, he bore no grudge, respectfully presenting the sealed letter to Jun Beiyue.

According to those who had handed it over from Da Zhou, this was a confidential military dispatch that needed to reach Prince Yao as quickly as possible.

What surprised Ziqing and Jun Beiyue was not that this letter had ended up in the Jiao Clan Chief’s hands, but that it was not, in fact, a military dispatch at all!

Jun Beiyue’s confidential letters came in envelopes of different colors and specifications depending on their source—anyone familiar with the classification system could tell at a glance where a given letter had come from and roughly what it concerned.

And this letter before them—forget Jun Beiyue and Ziqing, even Xiong Xiaobao could recognize it at a glance!

This was a confidential letter from the Liuli Pavilion in the capital of Da Zhou—from the very team of masters working to decipher the code hidden in the musical notes!

Could it be that all fourteen codes had finally been fully deciphered?

What would the secret turn out to be?

What did those fourteen notes represent—what exactly had that Nanzhao musician of old left behind for future generations?

For a moment, the family of three all tensed up.

Jun Beiyue was, as always, the calmest of them all. Just as everyone assumed he would open the letter then and there, he casually tucked it away into his sleeve instead.

Seeing this, the Jiao Clan Chief thought nothing of it—after all, Jun Beiyue had come to visit the Prince of Nanzhao, and no matter how urgent a matter might be, it made sense to set it aside for the moment and go see the prince first, didn’t it?

That was simply the proper conduct expected of a ruler visiting a foreign land!

“Prince Yao, this way please. His Majesty awaits you in the main hall,” the Jiao Clan Chief said, admiring him inwardly, respectfully leading the way ahead.

Jun Beiyue nodded and followed at once.

He himself was quite composed, but everyone behind him was anything but!

That letter with the fourteen notes was something everyone had spent years and enormous effort trying to find. Now, with the truth right at hand, it had just been calmly tucked away into Jun Beiyue’s robes!

Ziqing pressed her lips together, hardly able to hide her excitement or her impatience, yet she also understood the bigger picture and knew how to prioritize—this was hardly the moment to open the letter!

Better to suppress the joy than the tension!

She wasn’t even sure she could contain her delight once she saw the secret written in that letter. In a setting like this, she needed to stay calm!

And walking beside her, Xiong Xiaobao had his teeth clenched tight, brimming with impatience and nerves!

He wished he could snatch that letter straight from his father’s hands and sneak off somewhere to read it all by himself!

The last time word had come from the capital, they’d said progress was going quickly and it seemed nearly certain all the code notes could be deciphered—and now, with this letter, surely it had already been done!

“Why did it have to come now, of all times, not sooner, not later!”

“I’m dying here!”

Xiong Xiaobao muttered to himself, head down, while beside him Jue Mingzi and Baili Xiaosheng were full of suspicion of their own—of course they knew this letter had nothing to do with military affairs, yet they hadn’t guessed it concerned the secret of the code.

As they climbed the mountain, Jun Beiyue made small talk with the Jiao Clan Chief while everyone behind them fell silent.

They soon reached the mountainside. The Prince of Nanzhao, showing Jun Beiyue great respect, personally came to greet him at the entrance of the main hall.

Seeing this, Xiong Xiaobao thought, this is bad.

With the Prince of Nanzhao here himself, this would surely mean a formal state reception with all sorts of tedious ceremony—getting his hands on that letter would have to wait even longer!

The Prince of Nanzhao was, as ever, warmly hospitable, and Jun Beiyue matched him with easy conversation as they entered the hall for a grand welcoming banquet.

Neither the Medicine Clan Chief nor the Beast Clan Chief had come, both busy preparing for tomorrow’s ceremony.

The meeting between the two rulers was as tedious as could be. Dinner alone took a full four hours before it was finally over.

All evening, Ziqing and Xiong Xiaobao had barely touched their food, their eyes fixed on Jun Beiyue the whole time, mother and son each wearing an expression that left Jue Mingzi and Baili Xiaosheng ever more puzzled.

At long last, the banquet came to an end.

Ziqing and Xiong Xiaobao both let out a sigh of relief in unison, thinking that the moment they returned to their guest chambers, the very first thing they would do was open that letter.

But just as everyone was about to part ways, the Medicine Clan Chief came over.

“Prince Yao, please stay a moment. The Medicine Clan Chief has brought along the physician who guards the lake—why not let him take a look at that child’s injury while we’re at it?” the Prince of Nanzhao asked.

Since Jun Beiyue himself had come to ask for medicine, it would only be right to grant him this courtesy. Only, with tomorrow being the day of the Jade Water Nectar Lake gathering, the Medicine Clan Chief truly could not spare much time.

If they didn’t examine her tonight, it might well be several more days before there was another opportunity.

No sooner had this been said than, before Jun Beiyue could even respond, Xiong Xiaobao immediately pulled Baili Xiaosheng forward.

As much as he wanted to know the secret in that letter, Xiaosheng’s face was even more important!

Xiong Xiaobao had made up his mind to endure!

“The Medicine Clan Chief must be very busy—thank you for the trouble,” Jun Beiyue said flatly.

“Prince Yao, this way please,” the Jiao Clan Chief said, hurrying to lead the way.

Jun Beiyue turned back, however, and took Baili Xiaosheng’s hand. At that moment, Baili Weisheng—already anxious—grew even more nervous.

Goodness, Prince Yao had actually taken her hand! Prince Yao’s large hand was so warm.

Seeing Jun Beiyue holding Baili Xiaosheng’s hand, the Prince of Nanzhao finally took proper notice of the child.

An adopted son was naturally different from a birth son, yet seeing how deeply Jun Beiyue seemed to care for her, the Prince of Nanzhao’s attitude toward Baili Xiaosheng shifted as well.

“Young Prince, rest assured. There is no medicine under heaven that the physicians of the Jade Water Nectar Heavenly Lake cannot prepare,” the Prince of Nanzhao said kindly.

Baili Xiaosheng nodded instinctively, feeling an unexpected wave of happiness wash over her, hurrying to keep pace alongside Jun Beiyue, feeling strangely as though she were being led by a father—it felt truly wonderful.

When they reached the rear hall, the Medicine Clan Chief and the physician of the rear lake both came out to greet them. As Jun Beiyue led Baili Xiaosheng in with one hand, with the other he wordlessly passed the letter to Jue Mingzi.

Jue Mingzi startled, not quite understanding Jun Beiyue’s intent, but took it and followed them inside.

Just as everyone was gathered around Baili Xiaosheng, a flicker of suspicion crossed Jue Mingzi’s eyes. He stepped back to one side and carefully opened the letter.

The moment he saw the words inside, his whole body went rigid. His weathered, dignified face froze at once, even his eyes going utterly still.

This letter, it turned out to be… it turned out to be…

Jue Mingzi simply couldn’t believe his own eyes. He counted through the characters on the letter, one by one—fourteen characters, exactly right!

“This… this…”

For a moment, Jue Mingzi forgot entirely where he was, murmuring to himself over and over, shaking his head—the truth of the lost island!

So it turned out…