Changling thrust the Soul-Reaping Blade into the floor tiles. Suddenly leaping upward, she blocked Yuan Kong’s Dragon Seizing Hand with one hand. Twisting her body in mid-air, she ascended even higher than before. Yuan Kong had no time to react at all. He watched as Changling bent her right arm and struck down hard with her elbow at the Dushu acupoint on his back.

In that instant, Yuan Kong’s body stiffened and plummeted downward. The blade handle stuck in the floor tiles was pointing straight at his Danzhong acupoint. His heart immediately became filled with despair. Just as he was about to die on the spot, he suddenly felt a heavy force support his body—Yuan Hai finally couldn’t hold back and intervened in time.

Yuan Hai’s heart filled with alarm. Which of the remaining people present wasn’t shocked by her?

Even though Mingyue Zhou had personally witnessed Changling make her move before, to see through the Four Great Elders’ weaknesses in mere moments and subdue them one by one—such skill could no longer be simply described with the two words “expert.”

Yet Ye Qi suddenly recalled the match she had with Daoist Xu in the desolate village on the day they first met.

It was also a match. At that time, Changling had advanced and retreated in order, with absolute certainty. But the Changling before his eyes seemed completely without method, yet within the chaos were hidden traps—then striking with one move.

It felt as if she was using all her mental effort to duel in the most effortless way possible.

Changling landed steadily on the ground: “Oh, why did the master interfere?”

Yuan Hai said: “Miss, your strikes were ruthless. Not only did you sever the hand tendons of my two junior brothers, but just now if this old monk hadn’t intervened, I’m afraid my junior brother Yuan Kong would already be dead.”

“Before the match, you only said we couldn’t kill, not that we couldn’t injure. As for this Master Yuan Kong…” Changling said innocently: “I was precisely afraid of striking too hard, which is why I placed the blade aside. If you hadn’t intervened, I also planned to save him…”

“You…” Yuan Hai was simply rendered speechless by Changling’s rebuttal. Just now she had been full of killing intent, saying things like “see blood” and “can’t afford to drag this out.” Looking at it now, this young woman had most likely calculated everything, which was why she set the rule that “interference means defeat.”

But on this martial arts field where circumstances changed suddenly, how could a mere young woman predict and be so certain?

Thinking of this, Yuan Hai felt some admiration for Changling and clasped his hands together: “Good. This old monk is willing to admit defeat.”

“Abbot, senior brother…”

Yuan Hai raised his hand, signaling Yuan Kong and the others not to try to persuade him further. “Since there was an agreement beforehand, how could there be reason to break it? However, miss, you said it yourself—you can only take Marquis He away.”

Changling said: “Don’t worry. Even if the master asked me to take the extra people away, I don’t have that leisure time.”

Hearing someone call them “extra,” the eight sect leaders’ expressions immediately changed. Although they originally hadn’t expected Changling to rescue them anyway, Lu Tianlan shouted: “I wouldn’t want it anyway!”

Changling pulled the Soul-Reaping Blade from the floor tiles, then turned her gaze to Ye Qi’s waist. Ye Qi understood, removed the scabbard, and handed it forward. Changling sheathed the blade and tossed it to Mingyue Zhou. “I’m not used to using this blade. Return it to its original owner for me.”

Mingyue Zhou caught the Soul-Reaping Blade and was stunned for a moment.

Changling asked: “Can we leave now?”

Things having come to this point, he knew he was powerless to stop them. Having just watched Changling fight desperately with the Four Great Elders, he was immensely glad she was unharmed. Strangely enough, his earlier full chest of resentment seemed to have faded somewhat with this fight. He lowered his head: “So be it. That day He Yu wanted to put me to death, and you saved me, thus ruining his plans. Today I wanted to kill him, and you saved him again. No matter how you put it, this account can be considered even.”

Finishing, he raised his head to look at Ye Qi and found Ye Qi looking at him with a faint smile but saying nothing, so he said: “Young Marquis He, next time we meet, don’t be in such a wretched state, lest people say this prince bullied someone with a sickly body.”

Ye Qi smiled broadly and cupped his hands: “Many thanks for Little Prince’s concern. After you return to the Yan capital, you should also be more wary of those around you. Remember to bring bodyguards when going out, and don’t trust your own skills too much.”

The corner of Mingyue Zhou’s lips that had risen couldn’t hold steady and twitched.

Changling truly couldn’t stand these two brats’ boring behavior. She glanced coldly at Mingyue Zhou: “If I were you, I’d already be on the road rushing back to Shazhou Prefecture.”

Mingyue Zhou choked. Changling strode forward without turning her head: “And you, what are you still standing there for?”

Ye Qi hastily followed. Before taking two steps, Changling stopped again. She removed the golden ring from her fingertip and handed it to Mingyue Zhou: “Since we’re even, I’m returning the ring.”

But Mingyue Zhou wouldn’t accept it. “Things this prince gives away, there is absolutely no reason to take them back.”

Changling frowned. “This ring of yours has quite an origin. If I carelessly lose it or pawn it, I’m afraid it would cause trouble for you.”

“Why would you throw it away?” Mingyue Zhou became anxious upon hearing this. “Don’t you like it?”

Changling: “I never wear jewelry. Keeping it would be useless.”

Mingyue Zhou was speechless.

This golden ring had extraordinary significance. Throughout Great Yan, who knew how many women dreamed of obtaining it but couldn’t. Yet the woman before him only regarded it as an obstructive piece of jewelry… Mingyue Zhou inexplicably felt somewhat aggrieved. He opened his mouth as if wanting to say something, but couldn’t say anything at all.

Seeing his hands stubbornly clasped behind him, Changling found it utterly baffling, so she directly threw the golden ring into his chest. When Mingyue Zhou caught it and reacted, he stuffed the ring back into Changling’s palm. “To leave Yan territory, having this golden ring will make things more convenient.”

Changling was startled. Mingyue Zhou had already withdrawn his hand without showing emotion, his gaze unnaturally drifting aside. “However, if this ring falls into someone else’s hands it might be inconvenient, so please… please, miss, keep it for me temporarily…”

As a dignified prince, to say such awkward words in front of so many people—even monks who had renounced the four earthly attachments would hear something in it. But Changling was incredibly dull in this regard. Thinking that this golden ring would indeed help her leave Yan City, she nodded: “Alright then.”

Hearing this, Mingyue Zhou’s eyes couldn’t help but brighten. “Then, after I handle… matters at hand, I’ll personally go to the Central Plains to retrieve it from you…”

“Whatever.”

Changling stopped dallying and strode forward. The temple’s people all consciously made way for them. Ye Qi turned back and glimpsed Mingyue Zhou’s indescribable expression, and couldn’t help feeling a bit schadenfreude. He forcibly swallowed back the sweet metallic taste about to surge to his throat and quickened his pace to walk shoulder to shoulder with Changling.

The rising sun painted the distant and near mountains with a rosy hue.

They left the Daxiao Temple and headed south. When descending the mountain, they no longer saw any Yan Army. Mingyue Zhou had indeed kept his word—saying he’d withdraw troops, he withdrew troops; saying he’d release people, he didn’t send anyone to trip them up either.

However, bringing along a “disabled but strong-willed” Ye Qi, Changling’s pace simply couldn’t quicken. In this desolate wilderness, forget about a horse—they hadn’t even seen a donkey. After rushing less than five li, she was also somewhat exhausted. She sat down by a stream and drank a few mouthfuls of water. Seeing fish in the stream, she turned and asked Ye Qi: “There are fish here. Can you roast fish?”

As a dying person, Ye Qi couldn’t find a place to properly lie down before death, so be it. He had thought several times he would just expire like that. Now he could finally collapse on the ground like a corpse. Hearing Changling mention roasting fish, he immediately felt dizzy: “Miss… even if you placed a roasted fish right in front of me now, I wouldn’t have the fortune to enjoy it…”

Changling crouched down to check his pulse, then suddenly withdrew her hand: “Ah, you truly are about to die immediately.”

Ye Qi heard her say “about to die” in the exact same tone as her earlier “there are fish here,” and felt he couldn’t even manage a bitter smile: “I said long ago… saving me was a big loss…”

“I saved you because I have questions to ask you.”

“Guessed as much.” Ye Qi took a breath. “As soon as we left the temple, didn’t I ask you why exactly you saved me… If you’d asked earlier, I’d have answered already. Asking now, I might answer halfway and pass away at any moment… cough cough cough…”

Changling: “I was worried that if they discovered the siege was just a trick you were playing, we wouldn’t be able to leave. The attack is real, it’s just that the city can’t actually be taken, right?”

Hearing this, Ye Qi was surprised enough to lift his eyelids. “How do you know?”

In fact, the Yue family army had also considered attacking Shazhou Prefecture. For Central Plains troops to avoid Yan Army scouts, they could take the treacherous path of Yunbai Mountain and ambush in Lu Valley. Though Lu Valley could hide from prying eyes, it could at most conceal thirty thousand men, and thirty thousand troops were far from enough to attack a city.

Therefore, twelve years ago, Fu Liujing had firmly opposed her using this method to attack the city.

Who would have thought that twelve years later, someone had thought of the same thing as her… and had gotten away with it.

Seeing she didn’t answer, Ye Qi stopped pressing. He could feel his consciousness beginning to drift. Forcing a smile, he said: “None of it matters anymore. Whatever questions you have, just ask…”

Changling glanced at him, pulled out that ring-shaped jade from her chest, and asked: “Where did the jade come from? Why did you want to give it to… that person called Changling?”

Hearing the two words “Changling,” Ye Qi’s eyes darkened slightly.

“Miss knows even about the Battle of Nanqiu from sixteen years ago, so you couldn’t not have heard of Yue Changling’s name… This jade of mine is to be given to her.”

Changling’s expression changed. Ye Qi said: “Eleven years ago in the Battle of Taixing, the two Yue brothers were killed by Yan Army—everyone under heaven knows this… Coincidentally, I was also in that area at the time and by chance rescued Yue Changsheng…”

“You rescued Yue Changsheng?” Changling was shocked, her voice trembling. “You’re saying—he didn’t die?”

Ye Qi’s consciousness was hazy. He didn’t notice Changling’s loss of composure and continued on his own: “He was poisoned severely, his heart meridians all shattered. He couldn’t survive… But he told me, as long as Fu Liujing was alive… Yue Changling might very well also be alive… He… cough cough, he gave me half a fan and a jade pendant, saying these two items concealed a secret behind them. If given to Fu Liujing, it might be solved, and only by solving it… could Yue Changling possibly be saved…”

Hearing this, Changling’s entire body shook violently.

So Elder Brother, even until his dying moment, was still thinking about saving her, and trusted without doubt to entrust the most important token to that person… that chief culprit who conspired with Shen Yao to kill the Yue family.

“…I went to great lengths and finally found Fu Liujing. He’s still alive, so she might also be alive… I was… very happy in my heart… But I, I had some selfish motives. I wanted to personally give the jade to Yue Changling, so I only gave that half fan to Fu Liujing… But, who would have thought…”

His voice suddenly caught. Ye Qi began gasping for breath, unable to connect his breaths. Changling anxiously grasped his hand and asked in a trembling voice: “What?!”

“…He never appeared again.”

Ye Qi blinked his unbearably heavy eyelids. Before his eyes was a vast white light—he didn’t know if it was the color of white clouds or his hallucination. He could feel a hot energy continuously pouring into his body. He was somewhat confused, somewhat lost. “From the first time I met miss, you were very concerned about Fu Liujing’s affairs… I think perhaps you know him… If you see him… could you… help me give him the jade…”

Ye Qi’s voice became increasingly unclear: “Without the jade pendant… can’t save…”

Can’t save her.

Seeing he was about to give out, Changling urgently removed her veil and blurted out: “Don’t you dare close your eyes! Open your eyes wide and look carefully—I didn’t die… I am Yue Changling!”

The wind made the trees rustle loudly, but didn’t drown out Changling’s voice.

Ye Qi’s closed lashes trembled, then, extremely slowly and with great effort, he opened them.