The mask that he thought would never be unlocked came off so abruptly that Mingyue Zhou had no psychological preparation whatsoever. It wasn’t until Changling urged him to let her see that he belatedly held the iron skull and slowly lifted it from his head. In the dim light, a slightly curled lock of hair fell down, revealing a face with profound features. Yet those deep, intense eyes carried a gentle warmth—by Northern Yan standards, this appearance could be considered refined and handsome.

Changling was taken aback.

It wasn’t that she hadn’t seen handsome men before. In the past, Yue Changsheng and Fu Liujing—which of them wasn’t a dashing and elegant figure?

It was just that she had always imagined Mingyue Zhou to be that kind of rough, wild Northern man’s face. Unexpectedly, beneath the mask was hidden such an outstanding and distinguished appearance. She couldn’t help but feel somewhat surprised.

He looked to be only about twenty-four or twenty-five years old. Changling mentally added the ten years she had slept to her own age, and as if greeting a younger brother, she smiled at him. “You’re actually quite good-looking.”

In the past, when recruiting soldiers at the military camp, Changling often phrased things this way—”Hey, you’re quite handsome” or “Young man, you look quite sturdy,” and so on. No one had ever found it improper because she was a man then, and when men joked with each other like this, aside from those with cut-sleeve inclinations, no one would think anything improper of it.

But right now, she was a woman.

Especially in Mingyue Zhou’s view, she was also a beautiful and delicate young maiden.

For such a woman to lean against his chest, look up at him, smile sweetly at him, and praise his appearance so directly… it practically knocked his soul out of his body.

Mingyue Zhou unnaturally turned his head away. His heart tied itself into hundreds of knots, yet he couldn’t manage to respond. The crevice in the mountain was dimly lit, and Changling couldn’t see his flushed face. She only saw him standing there in a daze, and frowned. “The mask is already off, what are you still standing there for?”

“Ah?”

Changling increasingly felt that being stuck with such a slow-witted teammate made survival prospects rather hopeless.

Fortunately, the soldiers of Mu Wangbao were even more brainless than they’d imagined. They closed their eyes, grabbed a lone small soldier, hit his pressure points, stripped his clothes, put the iron skull on him, and left him in the mountains. This attracted a large group of people who chased after him with shouts and cries, giving them an opportunity to escape.

The two didn’t dare to slack off. After leaving Luming Mountain, they continued rushing eastward. By nightfall, they had crossed two great mountains and reached a relatively safe area, where they finally sat down to rest.

After days of fleeing, neither had taken a single drop of water and were starving with their stomachs pressed against their backs. Changling lay down on her back among the grass. Every inch of her body was too exhausted to feel anything. Seeing that she would rather starve to death than move, Mingyue Zhou dragged his own sick and disabled body to find water. He also caught two wild rabbits along the way. When he returned, he found Changling asleep.

In this desolate wilderness where wild beasts roamed, she could actually fall asleep?

Mingyue Zhou hastily gathered some dry grass to cover her. As he roasted the wild rabbits, he stole glances at Changling’s sleeping face. The more he looked, the more the corners of his mouth inexplicably curved upward.

The cold night dew was heavy and their bodies were full of fatigue, yet somehow his heart felt warm as if melting.

Changling napped briefly. Smelling the fragrance of meat, she opened her eyes to see Mingyue Zhou gazing at the two rabbits with a secret smile.

“What are you laughing at?”

Mingyue Zhou turned his head and saw that Changling was awake. He suddenly coughed. “…Cough cough cough, do you want to eat rabbit?”

She unceremoniously took one of the sticks. Seeing that the meat wasn’t fully cooked, she continued roasting it with him. Mingyue Zhou picked up the broken wine flask beside him. “Water.”

Changling was truly thirsty and gulped it all down in one breath. “Did you pick this up?”

“Mm, right by the stream.”

“Then we probably aren’t far from a village or town.”

Changling focused intently on watching the rabbit, occasionally picking it up to taste a bite. When it burned her hand, she calmly blew on it. These small movements appeared extremely lively and spirited in Mingyue Zhou’s eyes. “You don’t seem like a convict. How did you end up in Mu Wangbao?”

“Fell into the water by accident,” Changling rotated the stick in her hand. “Drifted along the current into Mu Wangbao.”

Mingyue Zhou blinked in surprise. “Then your… where is your home?”

“I have no home.”

Seeing that she was unwilling to say more, Mingyue Zhou changed the topic, though his voice was muffled. “You… why did you save me?”

Changling took a bite of rabbit meat, chewed it, and found the taste quite good. “Your grandmother saved me. She asked me to take you away, and I naturally had no reason to refuse. So you needn’t worry about repaying the favor.”

Seeing that her words carried an implication that they could part ways at any moment, Mingyue Zhou felt rather uncomfortable. “Then why didn’t you leave in Luming Mountain?”

Changling seemed to pause for a moment. “That was because…”

She couldn’t really say why either.

Perhaps it was because in the prison cell, she had overheard his conversation with that person. Since she herself had died under conspiracy, she deeply detested such underhanded and dishonorable methods.

Changling was too lazy to answer his question. She glanced sideways at Mingyue Zhou and noticed an earring on his left earlobe, which made her smile.

This time it was Mingyue Zhou’s turn to be baffled. “What are you laughing at?”

Changling pointed with her fingertip. “You’re a grown man wearing an earring—am I not allowed to laugh?”

Mingyue Zhou’s face flushed red. “This is a coming-of-age ritual of Yan Kingdom. Many people have them. Haven’t you heard?”

“I’m not a Yan person,” Changling chewed her meat. “But your earring is quite nice-looking.”

Feeling uncomfortable under her stare, Mingyue Zhou simply removed the earring. “If you like it, just take it.”

She gave a mirthless laugh. “I don’t even have pierced ears; it would be useless to me.”

“This item can serve as both an earring and be worn on the hand as a ring.” Mingyue Zhou’s gaze drifted away as he pressed the earring into her palm. “Consider it repayment for the favor. You keep it.”

Just this simple action made his palms break out in a fine sweat.

Changling lowered her lashes to examine it. This small ornament was carved with dragons and phoenixes, with the dragon’s eye inlaid with a red gemstone. At a glance, it was clearly valuable. If she pawned it, it should be enough for travel expenses back to the Central Plains.

She raised an eyebrow and slipped the earring onto her finger. Curling her index finger, she found the fit was just right. Without even a single word of false refusal, she said, “Then many thanks.”

After speaking, she continued to eat the rabbit meat with relish.

Mingyue Zhou hadn’t expected her to accept it so readily. A barely perceptible smile rose at the corners of his mouth, which he then pressed back down. “…What are your plans next? Would you like to come with me to Yan Capital?”

Changling’s motion of pulling the meat paused. “Return to the Central Plains.”

Mingyue Zhou’s expression tensed. “If Cang Yun isn’t eliminated for a single day, I worry you’ll be implicated. You can first return with me, and after matters are settled, it won’t be too late to go to the Central Plains…”

“I don’t know your identity, but presumably once you return to Yan Capital, eliminating Cang Yun shouldn’t be difficult.” Changling said, “He’ll be too busy protecting himself—how would he have the leisure to find trouble with me?”

He had thought Changling wouldn’t inquire into matters, so he’d wanted to gloss over things first. He hadn’t expected her to see through it with a single sentence. Thus, even though he still had many questions in his heart, having witnessed her sharp wit and decisiveness, he knew she wouldn’t say more.

If they truly parted ways here, in this vast world, where would he find her again in the future?

Mingyue Zhou lowered his head and said, “I still wanted to ask you to stay, but unfortunately… I don’t even know the young lady’s name.”

Changling looked at him with a half-smile. “We’re just chance encounters who teamed up during an escape. Why know so much?”

Mingyue Zhou smiled helplessly. “If by chance we meet again someday, I should at least be able to call out your name.”

“What if you can call it out?” Changling said, “How would you know whether we’ll be enemies or friends the next time we meet?”

Mingyue Zhou was startled. “The young lady saved my life several times—how could I become your enemy?”

Changling turned her head away. Though she didn’t respond aloud, she answered silently in her heart: In worldly matters, what remains forever unchanged?

She looked up at the star-filled sky and slowly spoke. “My name is Changling. The ‘ling’ of hills and mounds.”

Mingyue Zhou stared at her in shock, not coming back to his senses for a long while.

“What is it?”

“Oh… no, it’s just…” Mingyue Zhou faltered. “Many years ago, I once heard of someone with this name…”

Changling feigned confusion and raised her eyebrows.

“That person was a man who died over ten years ago.” Mingyue Zhou said, “I never imagined someone would share the same name.”

Long lashes lowered, concealing her eyes. “What kind of person?”

“He was the chief general of the Yue Family Army from the Central Plains, a legendary figure whose name made even Yan people tremble with fear.” Mingyue Zhou’s eyes couldn’t hide his reverence. “When he became famous throughout the world, I was only ten years old. I remember several times when the Yan Army marched out to invade the Central Plains—they went with high morale but returned in defeat. Every one of those soldiers feared Yue Changling, and every one respected Yue Changling.”

“Oh? Since you were defeated several times, why respect rather than hate him?”

Mingyue Zhou smiled. “We great Yan men respect the strong above all. My older brother said that Yue Changling conducted himself honorably and openly, never stooping to use those underhanded methods of Southerners. He was a battlefield enemy but absolutely not a bitter foe. Though I was still young then, I aspired to one day face him in battle… Who knew that within two years he would die, and I never had the chance to meet him.”

The fire crackled. A spark of firelight brightened in Changling’s eyes, then dimmed again. A trace of mockery curved at her lips. “If he was as formidable as you say, how did he die?”

Mingyue Zhou shook his head. “People in the Central Plains all say he died in battle, surrounded by our Yan Army. But our Yan Army’s main force was completely annihilated after that battle. The soldiers who made it back alive were all deeply reluctant to discuss that battle. How exactly he died remains unknown…”

“Unknown?”

She had died before thousands of eyes, in front of thousands of troops—how could it be “unknown”?

Mingyue Zhou’s thoughts were still lingering on that “legend,” not noticing Changling’s changed expression. He sighed. “If not for that battle eleven years ago, the Central Plains might well not bear the surname Shen today.”

Changling’s entire body trembled.

A thought she dared not even think suddenly arose in her heart. She stared at Mingyue Zhou in disbelief. “You’re saying… the current Emperor of the Central Plains is surnamed Shen?”

Mingyue Zhou furrowed his brow, surprised. “You… aren’t you from the Central Plains? Don’t you know that the Emperor of Eastern Xia is surnamed Shen and named Yao?”