In the end, Mu Yunjin didn’t immediately agree to Yun Shuangleng’s request.

On the way out of the palace, Mu Yunjin held onto Chu Li’s arm, leaning against him lazily. “What do you think? Can we trust what Yun Shuangleng said?”

In her heart, Mu Yunjin believed her. That feeling of loving someone but being unable to be with them wasn’t something that could be faked.

Alas, another pitiful, lovesick woman.

“We’ll discuss this later. It’s getting late; let’s return to the residence first.” Chu Li embraced her. It was nearly midnight, and the cold outside was intense. Chu Li truly feared she would catch a chill again.

When they returned to the palace gates, only two carriages remained.

No one was waiting by one carriage, while in front of the other, Qu Xinyao sat outside, motionless in the cold wind.

“Sister Xinyao, aren’t you cold?” Mu Yunjin looked at Qu Xinyao with surprise.

Hearing the voice, Qu Xinyao lazily lifted her eyelids. Her head felt heavy, and her vision was blurry. It took her a while before she could see Mu Yunjin and Chu Li.

…

…

“I’m not cold,” Qu Xinyao replied, though her throat was already beginning to hurt as she spoke.

Hearing this, Mu Yunjin gave Qu Xinyao an admiring thumbs up before bending down to enter the carriage, wrapping her arms tightly around herself. Chu Li followed her inside.

Ding Xian sat outside, driving the carriage back to the prince’s residence.

…

The next day.

Mu Yunjin rarely got up at the same time as Chu Li. When they walked out of their room, Qingmeng and Huang Yan were talking outside Liquan Pavilion.

“Sister Qingmeng.” Seeing Qingmeng, Mu Yunjin was somewhat curious.

Qingmeng nodded to Mu Yunjin with a gentle smile. “Good morning, Princess Consort.”

“Morning.” Mu Yunjin smiled and walked closer to Qingmeng. “Sister Qingmeng, why are you here so early today?”

In her memory, Qingmeng rarely came to the prince’s residence.

“Yaoyao caught a cold last night. At the fourth watch this morning, that young Xu Heyu came knocking at my door, asking me to come quickly to treat her.” Qingmeng mentioned this with a helpless shake of her head.

Mu Yunjin raised an eyebrow. “The fourth watch? Xu Heyu came looking for you?”

“Princess Consort, don’t misunderstand. They’re staying in the empty pavilion next to yours, in adjacent rooms. He can notice any abnormality at any time,” Huang Yan explained.

“Fine. Then I’ll go see Sister Xinyao.” With these words, Mu Yunjin walked out of Liquan Pavilion.

“Perfect timing. I’ll also check if Yaoyao’s fever has subsided.” Qingmeng followed Mu Yunjin outside.

Behind them, Chu Li and Huang Yan remained in Liquan Pavilion, not following.

“Master, we checked this morning. When Yun Shuangleng was in South Court Nation, she was indeed close to a guard named Feng Che, and that guard was truly Black Robe’s disciple. Feng Che died in the first half of the year.”

“Understood.”

…

Outside Qu Xinyao’s room, Mu Yunjin could hear her scolding from a distance: “Xu Heyu, I don’t need your false kindness! This young lady is perfectly healthy and won’t die… cough cough cough! Cough cough cough…”

Hearing this fit of coughing, Mu Yunjin recalled the scene last night when Qu Xinyao had sat outside the carriage for a long time.

If you don’t do foolish things, you won’t die!

Just as she was about to enter, she heard Xu Heyu’s teasing voice: “Who was it last night, at the fourth watch, shouting at the top of her lungs that she was dying and needed me to save her?”

“Nonsense!” Qu Xinyao remained stubborn.

“Fine then, I’ll leave and won’t take care of you anymore,” said Xu Heyu.

“You dare leave, and I’ll die right here for you to see!”

Hearing this, Mu Yunjin looked over at Qingmeng and stretched her lips into a smile. “Sister Qingmeng, I think it’s better if we come back later. Let’s not disrupt this beautiful atmosphere.”

“I was thinking the same thing…”

“Then let’s go have breakfast first, and check on Sister Xinyao later.”

“Good idea.”

Changing direction, the two walked toward the dining hall. As they passed Liquan Pavilion, Chu Li and Huang Yan happened to walk out.

Chu Li approached Mu Yunjin and reminded her, “Don’t forget about your master in the city.”

“Oh right! If you hadn’t mentioned it, I would have completely forgotten!” Mu Yunjin smacked her forehead, remembering that yesterday she had said she would bring good wine to Daoist Feng Xuan, but she had slept all day and forgotten about it.

Seeing her absent-minded appearance, Chu Li found her increasingly endearing. He rubbed her face and said, “The wine has already been prepared for you. After breakfast, you can go deliver it.”

“Mm, I understand.” Mu Yunjin replied happily.

…

After quickly finishing breakfast, Mu Yunjin asked about the inn where Daoist Feng Xuan was staying, then left with Zixiang. Song Chun helped her carry several jars of wine, walking behind Mu Yunjin.

Along the way, Mu Yunjin deliberately stopped at a clothing shop first.

“Oh my, greetings to Princess Consort Ning! To what do we owe the honor of your visit? What can I help you with?” The shopkeeper recognized Mu Yunjin. Upon seeing her enter, he immediately put down what he was doing and came forward to greet her.

“I’d like to select a few winter garments and some cotton shoes.” Mu Yunjin looked around. Perhaps because her first impression of Daoist Feng Xuan had been so deep, she always wanted to buy him clothes and shoes, fearing that at his age, he might catch a cold.

Hearing this, the shopkeeper nodded in understanding. “Over there is a newly made batch of winter clothes, all crafted from the finest brocade. Princess Consort can take a look.”

Mu Yunjin went over and selected several particularly thick garments, then also picked out a few pairs of cotton shoes, asking the shopkeeper to wrap them up.

Seeing Mu Yunjin’s decisiveness, the shopkeeper’s face lit up with joy. After quoting the price, he immediately had an attendant package everything quickly.

…

Arriving at Yuntian Inn, Mu Yunjin went directly to the second floor. When she reached the door of the room at the end of the corridor, she knocked.

No one answered.

Mu Yunjin knocked again, but still no response.

Seeing this, Mu Yunjin looked around, confirming she hadn’t come to the wrong place. She moved closer, putting her ear against the door to listen for any movement inside.

After a while, she finally heard snoring.

This old man was still sleeping!

On second thought, Mu Yunjin realized it was still early, so she decided not to continue knocking to avoid waking Daoist Feng Xuan. She gave Zixiang a look, intending to go downstairs to order some tea and wait.

After taking just a few steps, a lazy voice came from the room behind her: “You naughty girl, stand at the door and wait for your master. No slacking off!”

Mu Yunjin stopped in her tracks, her lips twitching. Just as she was about to speak, she heard Daoist Feng Xuan continue—

Yesterday, your master waited for you all day without seeing even your shadow. Look at yourself—what kind of disciple are you? Today, your master punishes you to stand at the door. If you dare disobey your master’s words, your master will expel you from discipleship!”

Mu Yunjin widened her eyes, knowing she was in the wrong and unable to find words to defend herself. However, she wasn’t content to just stand there silently.

With a thought, Mu Yunjin smiled mischievously and moved closer to the door. “Master, you keep calling yourself ‘master,’ but when will you teach me some real skills?”

“You are one of the three great masters in the world, so you must have many special techniques, right? Why not take some time to pass them on to me? That way, someone will inherit your legacy, don’t you think?”

“Hmph, wishful thinking!” Daoist Feng Xuan snorted lightly, then stopped responding to Mu Yunjin.

Mu Yunjin folded her arms and leaned against the wall, happily imagining that with the Xuanling True Scripture, plus some of Daoist Feng Xuan’s unique secret techniques, she might be able to defeat that villain Qiuye!

With this thought, standing at the door no longer seemed tedious to Mu Yunjin.

…

She stood there for the entire morning.

Zixiang accompanied Mu Yunjin, but perhaps because she hadn’t stood for so long in a while, she gradually found it difficult to endure. Mu Yunjin took the package from her hands. “You and Song Chun go downstairs and wait for me.”

“Miss…” Zixiang shook her head, reluctant to sit and wait by herself.

“It’s fine. That old man is already up. You can go downstairs and wait for me.” As she spoke, Mu Yunjin gave Song Chun a look.

Compared to the young maid, the male subordinate Song Chun was more obedient. Hearing Mu Yunjin’s words, he stepped forward and said to Zixiang, “Let’s go downstairs and wait for the Princess Consort.”

Zixiang didn’t dare say more and followed Song Chun downstairs.

After they left, Mu Yunjin waited alone for a while longer before Daoist Feng Xuan finally opened the door. He came out, glanced at Mu Yunjin, and deliberately glared at her.

Mu Yunjin gave him a bright smile, picked up the jars of wine and the package from the ground, and walked in.

“These are to show respect to you, elder. Please accept them!” Mu Yunjin spoke in a completely flattering manner, while opening the package of clothes and spreading out the winter garments, holding them up.

“Hmph, trying to appease me with a few ragged clothes!” Daoist Feng Xuan’s tone was disdainful, but he had already reached out to take the winter clothes, his heart feeling warm.

…

“Master, I heard you’ve been to Ghost Valley Cave several times?” After sitting down, Mu Yunjin stated her purpose.

Daoist Feng Xuan took a sip of wine, then used his chopsticks to take a bite of the food that had been sent in by the waiter. Only after finishing did he casually nod.

“Grand Master Kong Shi said that the Ancient Temple Spiritual Crocodiles in that Deep Gloomy Lake are very dangerous, and the Crocodile Pearl is not easy to obtain.” Mu Yunjin folded her arms and quietly watched Daoist Feng Xuan.

Hearing this, Daoist Feng Xuan snorted lightly and put down his chopsticks. “Do you know what other name Ghost Valley Cave has?”

Mu Yunjin shook her head.

“The Gate of Hell!” Daoist Feng Xuan said.

“Ghost Valley Cave has complex and treacherous terrain. Not to mention the fierce Deep Gloomy Lake area—even the several barriers before it, you may not be able to easily break through and enter.” Daoist Feng Xuan lowered his eyes, his expression serious.

Mu Yunjin listened with growing alarm, furrowing her brow deeply. “There are other barriers?”

“Of course! Based on your master’s findings from previous explorations, if we were to classify the levels of Ghost Valley Cave according to the ranks of the Gate of Hell, then Deep Gloomy Lake would be the eighteenth level of hell in the Gate of Hell!”

“Is that true, or are you just trying to scare me?” Mu Yunjin’s scalp tingled. Originally, she had only thought they needed to avoid Feng Lan and go directly to Deep Gloomy Lake, but she hadn’t expected there would be other barriers.

What was even more terrifying was that Daoist Feng Xuan had used the eighteenth level of hell to describe Deep Gloomy Lake.

If that was the case, how ferocious must those two Ancient Temple Spiritual Crocodiles be!

Daoist Feng Xuan looked up and saw Mu Yunjin’s pale face, then he suddenly burst into laughter. “Look at you being such a coward! How did I end up taking such a stinking girl as my disciple? You truly embarrass me!”

“Who’s a coward! You’re the one who described that place as the eighteenth level of hell. Can’t a person be a little afraid?”