Muruo shared the same concerns as Ji Yinshu!

If this matter were to spread to the capital, it would certainly cause a tremendous uproar. As for the consequences, one could easily imagine them just by thinking with their toes!

Jingrong was deep in indecisive contemplation!

He couldn’t stay in Yufu County for the rest of his life!

He couldn’t let Jing Yi ascend to the throne, so he had to return to the capital.

Muruo continued, “Moreover, if you attack the mountain, those bandits might very well kill Miss Ji in a fit of rage. Can you bear the consequences of that?”

After analyzing so much, Jingrong gradually calmed down.

“You’re right. I can’t act rashly. Right now they hold the initiative, and Yinshu’s life and death are in their hands. Since that’s the case, I can only think of another way.”

“What do you plan to do?”

“Lead people to High Mountain Stronghold.”

Muruo was shocked and grabbed him, “How can you go in your condition?”

Jingrong’s eyes darkened slightly as he said, “After those people captured Yinshu, they could have shot me dead with a volley of arrows in the forest, but they didn’t do so. Therefore, as we discussed before, they must have another purpose. But if they have another purpose, why haven’t they sent any news or letters? Since that’s the case, I’ll go there myself.”

Resolute!

“But won’t you be walking to your death going like this? You clearly know that High Mountain Stronghold is surrounded by traps. If there’s another rain of arrows, you won’t have such good luck. If something happens to you then, what about Miss Ji?”

“I promised Yinshu that as long as I’m here, I won’t let her suffer even the slightest harm. This is a promise.”

Muruo reached out and pressed his hand, earnestly persuading him, “I promised Miss Ji that I wouldn’t let you go. What I promise, I will never go back on. I also assure you that she’ll be fine in High Mountain Stronghold. For now, you should recover from your injuries first, then make plans.”

Jingrong shook off his hand, but this pulled at his wound, causing his brows to furrow in pain as he broke out in a cold sweat.

Seeing this, Muruo immediately pressed him down to sit.

He took out an exquisite box from his sleeve, opened it, and took out a pill from inside.

He stuffed it into Jingrong’s mouth.

“Look at yourself now. Where do you have the ability to go to High Mountain Stronghold? Even if eight sedan bearers carried you up there, the mountaintop has heavy moisture and the ground is damp and unstable. You might die up there. What you should do now is trust Miss Ji.”

Trust her!

It seemed there was no other choice.

Jingrong gasped lightly for breath. After the pill went down his throat, he gradually felt better.

His weak gaze lifted, staring at a small willow branch swaying and drooping outside the window.

After a long while—

“Pass down my orders. Whether it’s the soldiers from Jingzhou or the people from the county magistrate’s office, hold off for now.”

Muruo nodded, “Alright.”

And at this very moment, outside the door!

Ji Wanxin had heard everything the two had just said, completely and clearly.

Her eyes were bloodshot with tears, but in her gaze, there was clearly unwillingness and displeasure.

Even—

A ruthless determination.

She backed up a few steps and quietly left.

Soon, Muruo sent word down to temporarily hold back the county office’s garrison.

And Lang Bo also sent a letter afterward.

When Marquis Kang heard that Jingrong would exchange the golden armor for his three thousand troops, he agreed without a second word, and even personally led the troops out of Jingzhou territory.

All along the way, he kept muttering about the golden armor, golden armor, golden armor…

That was something he had yearned for his entire life!

After receiving Jingrong’s orders, Lang Bo temporarily stationed those three thousand soldiers at the border of Shanhuai County, waiting for further notice.

In High Mountain Stronghold!

A day had already passed, and based on those bone fragments, Ji Yinshu had drawn out only the deceased’s mandible.

As for whether it was accurate or not, she would have to see the effect after combining the other bone fragments.

She twisted her sore neck and let out a soft breath.

She turned her head to glance at Wei Yi, who was sprawled out sleeping nearby.

That young fellow was sleeping quite soundly. He smacked his lips, perhaps having a food dream, as drool was actually trickling from the corner of his mouth.

Pfft—

Ji Yinshu couldn’t help but laugh.

She shook her head slightly.

Withdrawing her gaze and looking outside, she realized without noticing that it had already grown dark.

Perhaps because High Mountain Stronghold was located on a mountaintop, in the inky black sky, that round and luminous moon was positioned right opposite the house’s open doorway.

The light seemed to project in from behind rice paper, spilling onto the ground and glowing silvery white.

It truly felt like being in the Moon Goddess’s palace!

Ji Yinshu removed her gloves and walked to the center of the doorway, gazing at that solitary round moon.

Her plain robe and skirt seemed to spread out like creeping vines!

After some time, she turned and went back inside, sitting down to take a brief nap.

But when she woke up—

She was greatly shocked!

The skeleton that had originally been placed on the table had shattered.

She sprang up and examined it carefully.

The twenty-four ribs had been smashed to pieces.

The shoulder bones and entire hand bones had likewise been smashed beyond recognition.

The bone fragments that had originally been assembled together were now piled up like a jumbled mahjong game!

“This… what happened?”

Ji Yinshu quickly called in the people from outside, pointing at the pile of bones and asking, “Why is it like this?”

The two bandits’ eyes widened as they looked at each other and both shook their heads.

They were also frightened.

Flustered and stammering, they said, “This… how could this happen? We don’t know either.”

“Did anyone come in?”

“No! We’ve been guarding outside the whole time. It’s impossible for anyone to have come in. How…”

A supernatural event?

Ji Yinshu was somewhat panicked, but still maintained her composure.

With the skeleton shattered, restoring the facial features was completely impossible now.

Soon, Zhao Huai and Zhao Qing learned of this matter and immediately rushed over.

Zhao Huai was furious and summoned all the people.

He demanded, “Who did this?”

“Chief, it wasn’t us! We never touched those bones. At the time, only Master Ji and that fool were inside.”

“That’s right, we really don’t know.”

They all pointed toward Ji Yinshu.

Damn it!

These two words popped into Ji Yinshu’s mind. How could she possibly have destroyed these bones?

Exhausting!

Zhao Qing asked Ji Yinshu, “Weren’t you inside at the time?”

“I rested for a while. When I woke up, it was like this.”

“That’s strange then. No one came in, so the bones couldn’t have shattered on their own.”

Ji Yinshu was puzzled!

She surveyed the room. This room was rather peculiar—aside from one door, there wasn’t even a small window inside.

Like a sealed prison cell!

And the only thing that could count as an exit was—

Ji Yinshu turned to Zhao Huai and said, “Chief, could you have someone go up to the roof to take a look?”

Zhao Huai seemed thoughtful and gave his men a look.

Two of them leaped up to the roof beams.

In a short while, the roof tiles directly above the skeleton were removed by someone, and moonlight poured in, falling precisely on the bones.

The people above looked down through the small opening.

Ji Yinshu looked up and asked, “Look around the rooftop. Is there anything unusual?”

The two replied, “Nothing found.”

“What about footprints?”

“None.”

“Have the roof tiles been disturbed by anyone?”

“It seems… no.”

Could she have guessed wrong?

Ji Yinshu pondered for a moment. Unable to figure it out, she had the two people above come down.

After the two came down from above, they patted their patched clothes.

They complained disgustedly, “Really, it’s terribly dirty up there, all covered in moss. This is my only set of clothes.”

“Yes, there’s so much moss up there.”