Just as the Jiaoren clan head cried out “release them,” the Medicine Clan head couldn’t bear it either, shouting, “Elder Sheng, release them, quickly go seek the king’s permission to release them!”

Yet at these words, Ziqing said, “Who gave you permission to go seek Prince Nanzhao’s approval? This consort doesn’t like him.”

Uh…

Not allowed to seek permission?

“Consort Yao, I don’t have the authority to release them,” Elder Sheng said earnestly. Faced with this situation, there was nothing he could do—if he didn’t release them and something happened to the Medicine Clan head or the Jiaoren clan head, both the Medicine Clan and the Jiaoren would descend into chaos.

At a time like this, neither the Medicine Clan nor the Jiaoren could afford chaos of any kind.

Yet even though he knew that if he sought Prince Nanzhao’s permission, the king would simply have to accept Jun Beiyue and Han Ziqing’s threat and agree to release them, knowing this didn’t change the fact that he still had to go ask.

“I don’t care whether you have the authority or not—I want to see the Meng Clan head right now,” Ziqing said, then glanced at Jun Beiyue and, seeing the wound on his shoulder, immediately pulled out a short blade without hesitation and plunged it savagely into the Medicine Clan head’s shoulder.

“Ahh… ahh…!”

Of the three clans, the Medicine Clan head was easily the most cowardly and fearful of death—or perhaps “fearful of death” was putting it too strongly, but he was certainly the most afraid of pain among them.

He simply couldn’t endure it. “No need to ask permission—release them!”

But even as he screamed in agony, Jun Beiyue had already delivered a third stab, and cries of pain rose one after another in turn.

This couple’s methods were truly devilish. Whoever provoked them was bound to suffer for it.

What could Elder Sheng do but release them?

“Stop! I’ll release them!”

Only then did Ziqing and Jun Beiyue cease. They exchanged a glance, Jun Beiyue’s eyes brimming with amusement. He had never before fought a battle truly alongside Ziqing alone, and never had a battle been so perilous and yet so effortless.

Jun Beiyue’s smile was rare in its brilliance, yet in Ziqing’s eyes, there was still only tender ache—genuine heartache.

This foolish man, taking upon himself all the pain that should have been hers to bear.

In the chaos just moments ago, she’d clearly heard him say, “Hide behind me. Even if it’s the tortures of hell itself, this king will bear them in your place.” Foolish man, we’re not going to hell at all!

Ziqing’s heart ached, yet she found herself smiling faintly along with Jun Beiyue.

Seeing the couple both smiling, Elder Sheng felt a chill run down his spine and dared not delay any further, immediately ordering the Meng Clan’s people released.

He himself went out to disperse the surrounding troops.

Even at his fastest, Elder Sheng still needed time, and for the Medicine Clan head and the Jiaoren clan head, this stretch of time was undoubtedly the most agonizing wait of their lives.

Especially with Ziqing’s “concern” for Jun Beiyue’s wellbeing, they grew even more terrified, dreading that this woman might suddenly, without warning, take out all her frustration on them.

“Still hurts? Is it deep?”

Ziqing kept examining every wound on Jun Beiyue’s body. Even given Jun Beiyue’s constitution and pain tolerance, these wounds were nothing serious, but she still worried.

“Doesn’t hurt,” Jun Beiyue said with a smile.

At this, not only Ziqing but also the Jiaoren clan head and Medicine Clan head felt relieved. But just as they were beginning to breathe easier, Jun Beiyue added, “Has your anger settled, then?”

Has her anger settled? If it hadn’t, what more did he want!

The Jiaoren clan head’s heart skipped a beat, nearly passing out on the spot. Fortunately, the Medicine Clan head quickly thought to change the subject, saying, “Prince Yao, that dagger of yours is…”

After all, his relationship with Jun Beiyue had been reasonably decent before—at least enough to exchange a few words.

“Yes, yes, Prince Yao, that dagger of yours is quite extraordinary,” the Jiaoren clan head hastily chimed in as well.

“Forged from thousands of silver Jiaoren reverse scales, tempered and refined. What do you think?” Jun Beiyue answered without hiding a thing.

“Silver Jiaoren!” The Jiaoren clan head was suddenly shocked.

The Jiaoren clan head himself belonged to the black Jiaoren, already the highest-ranking branch clan among the Jiaoren people, yet he’d never imagined silver Jiaoren still existed!

After all, back when Nanzhao was first unified, the golden Jiaoren had already been wiped out!

And silver Jiaoren were the golden Jiaoren’s personal attendants—they should have vanished long ago along with the golden Jiaoren’s disappearance!

Where could silver Jiaoren possibly have come from?

“When the Jiaoren attack our Da Zhou coastline, you’ll encounter golden Jiaoren too,” Jun Beiyue said coldly.

At these words, the Jiaoren clan head was instantly stunned into silence.

Golden Jiaoren!

The Jiaoren’s natural-born king!

Among the Jiaoren, no matter who they were, an instinctive urge to submit before golden Jiaoren was born into their very blood!

Compared to the Jiaoren’s true king, the king of the seas, what did the Nanzhao royal house’s king even amount to?

Just as the Jiaoren clan head remained utterly unable to recover, Elder Sheng arrived with the Meng Clan’s people.

The moment the Meng Clan head saw Ziqing and Jun Beiyue, he rushed forward at once, arriving before them, so overcome with emotion he didn’t know what to say, holding his breath for a long, long moment before finally managing, “I knew it… I knew you’d come back!”

“Grandfather, don’t worry, everything’s fine,” Ziqing said earnestly. If she were to speak of family, this elderly man was truly the one she recognized in her heart—not Jue Mingzi.

The Meng Clan head nodded repeatedly, too overcome with emotion to say anything further.

Having someone to rely on in old age wasn’t about having many descendants around you—it was about having young people willing to protect you, to give you someone to lean on.

You didn’t need many. One was enough.

“Grandfather, the Meng Clan will have to trouble itself to return to Da Zhou with us first,” Jun Beiyue said respectfully.

The Meng Clan head nodded eagerly—of course that was fine!

“Elder Sheng, lead the way, please.”

Not until the Meng Clan’s people were delivered somewhere safe, not until they’d made it back to Da Zhou themselves, would they release their captives.

“This old man is not one to go back on his word!” Elder Sheng said, rather offended—Han Ziqing clearly didn’t trust him.

Of course he’d release them once he said he would. A promise made was a promise kept.

Yet Ziqing said, quite innocently, “I trust you. It’s Prince Nanzhao I don’t trust.”

At this, Elder Sheng found himself utterly speechless.

He could only lead the way while sending someone ahead to report to Prince Nanzhao.

Prince Nanzhao, busy deploying his troops, nearly coughed up blood in fury upon receiving the news—but even coughing up blood wouldn’t change the fact that he was being held hostage.

Unless he released the captives, this battle wasn’t going to happen for Prince Nanzhao at all.

With Elder Sheng leading the way, even though the Beast Clan, poison forces, and Jiaoren troops surrounding them were substantial in number, Ziqing and Jun Beiyue, along with the Meng Clan head, walked out openly and without concealment.

Elder Sheng, without any personal bias, dutifully—and rather helplessly—personally escorted Ziqing and her group safely out of Nanzhao.

Elder Sheng couldn’t help but suspect these two had deliberately arranged for him to be the one leading them out.

Even though Prince Nanzhao had agreed to release the captives, he hadn’t stopped deploying his troops. By the time Ziqing and Jun Beiyue reached the border, they could already smell the thick scent of gunpowder in the air.

They couldn’t see other regions, had no idea what the situation was elsewhere, but at Nanzhao’s northern gate alone, five hundred thousand troops had already been amassed.

More than half were Beast Clan forces—human soldiers and beast soldiers were simply incomparable, whether in combat strength or in sheer numbers.

The time and money it took to raise a single able-bodied soldier could raise ten beasts instead.

They had to admit, upon reaching the northern gate, both Jun Beiyue and Ziqing were genuinely stunned by the sheer scale of the force before them. They’d known that if fighting broke out, it would be terrifying, and they’d been trying to avoid it all along—yet they never imagined it would be even more terrifying than they’d expected.

They had no idea how preparations on Xiong Xiaobao’s end were coming along.

Both Ziqing and Jun Beiyue understood clearly: the moment the Beast Clan head allowed them through this great gate, war would break out immediately.