Ji Yunshu pressed her lips together.

Looking at Jingrong’s serious yet worried gaze.

She said, “That jade token!”

“Jade token?”

He didn’t understand!

Ji Yunshu asked, “Do you still remember when we were traveling from Jinjiang to the capital, we once encountered a Huyi merchant in a ruined temple?”

Jingrong felt confused for a moment, thought about it, then nodded. “I remember!”

“I performed a cesarean section to deliver the child of his deceased wife. At that time, he gave me a jade token as thanks, saying that if I ever went to Huyi in the future, I could use the jade token to find him.”

“That token with a carved peacock and the character ‘Nan’ engraved on it?”

“Yes!” Ji Yunshu’s expression grew grave. Recalling the scene in the ruined temple just now, she said, “Just now, a man in black had his sword pointed directly at me. He was just a hair’s breadth away from taking my life, but at that moment, that jade token happened to fall from my sleeve. After the man in black saw it, his eyes were filled with shock, and then he picked up the jade token and ordered the retreat.”

Deep down, her heart was full of doubts!

Jingrong said, “You mean the man in black didn’t kill you because of that jade token?”

“I think… yes.”

Though her words were halting.

Ji Yunshu was certain—it was!

Jingrong also recalled that time from about two years ago and said, “That Huyi man, I remember he seemed to be called Kecha! At the time, the lapel shoulder of his robe was embroidered with five peacock tail feathers. The peacock is the sacred bird of the Huyi people. Those with five feathers represent the Huyi nobility, which shows that if Kecha wasn’t imperial royalty, he was certainly no ordinary person! Therefore, the jade token he gave you is most likely related to his identity. If that’s truly the case, then the group of men in black in the ruined temple just now must recognize Kecha, which is why they mistook us for Kecha’s people and ordered the retreat!”

“Perhaps there’s another possibility,” Ji Yunshu said.

Looking at her eyes, Jingrong understood what she wanted to say in her heart.

He finished her thought, “You want to say that perhaps those men in black were actually Kecha’s people all along!”

Those men in black were actually Kecha’s people all along!

This statement immediately plunged the entire matter into a massive vortex.

Deeper and deeper.

Ji Yunshu said, “If that’s really the case, then this matter… becomes much more complicated.”

What were the origins of those people in the ruined temple?

Who was inside those sacks at the time?

And why did those men in black come to rescue them?

What is Kecha’s true identity?

Ji Yunshu was filled with doubts.

Jingrong held her hand and comforted her, “Don’t think too much about it.”

She took a deep breath.

Nodded.

The next moment, she realized that Jingrong still hadn’t changed out of his wet clothes, so she urged, “You should change your clothes first.”

Jingrong obediently complied.

He stripped off his upper body right in front of her.

Ji Yunshu clearly saw those old scars on his body.

On his arms, back, and chest—they were everywhere!

Before, she had never paid such close attention.

It turned out Jingrong had so many wounds on his body.

Her eyes couldn’t help but redden.

Jingrong’s body paused. He lowered his gaze, quietly watching her.

Ji Yunshu unconsciously reached out, her fingertips gently touching a scar on his arm, saying, “This scar was from two years ago when we were at Yi Zhuang. You blocked a sword for me. The sword was poisoned with spotted stone venom. I remember when I held you, your entire body was pressing down on me, but even though you were severely injured, you still acted tough, telling me you were fine.”

After speaking, her fingertips slowly slid to a scar on Jingrong’s left chest.

That scar was very deep!

Branded on his chest muscle.

“This was when I was investigating the capital’s missing persons case and went to Liang Mountain to find clues. You got injured saving me. If I hadn’t noticed the blood on your clothes, you definitely would have endured it without telling me.”

She touched another arrow wound on his chest and said, “I remember this was on our way from the capital to the Imperial Manor. I was taken to Gaoshan Stronghold, and you were shot by an arrow while saving me. You nearly lost your life at that time…”

Every single one—she remembered them clearly!

When her trembling fingers moved bit by bit to the wounds on Jingrong’s back—

Jingrong had already pulled her into his embrace.

Holding her tightly!

“Don’t say anymore,” Jingrong buried his face deeply into the crook of her neck.

Her eyes were red, crystalline tears rolling freely in her eye sockets.

Finally, they fell!

The scalding tears dripped onto Jingrong’s solid shoulder.

It turned out she remembered every single scar on his body!

And every scar branded on his body represented his love for her.

The two embraced each other tightly!

Outside.

The great fire from the distant ruined temple illuminated the pitch-black sky in a sheet of fiery red.

Flickering through the misty rain.

…

Before long, the heavy rain stopped.

The mountains were refreshingly clear.

The sky was about to brighten.

In a bamboo forest path, a group of men in black were standing. They held torches, positioned front and back. In front of them were two sacks containing people.

The leading man in black ordered, “Open them!”

Two men in black at his side immediately untied the sacks.

Inside were indeed people.

Two men.

One was around forty-five years old.

The other was about twelve years old.

Both had their hands and feet bound with rope, unable to move. Their eyes were covered with black cloth, and their mouths were stuffed with fabric.

“Mmph mmph mmph…”

They didn’t know where they were now.

Even less did they know who they were facing.

And that feeling of fear without any light made the twelve-year-old child begin to struggle desperately.

“Mmph mmph mmph…” Making frightened sounds from his mouth.

The men in black pulled off the cloth from their eyes and the cloth wads from their mouths.

Facing the torches lit all around, when the light first struck them, both instinctively turned away.

It took them a while to adjust.

When the boy saw the men in black around him, his eyes widened in fear. He shrank back, both hands grabbing the clothes of the man beside him, crying out in terror, “Father!”

That voice seemed to startle the birds in the bamboo forest.

But the middle-aged man the boy called “Father” showed no trace of fear in his face or eyes.

Though currently in a disheveled state, one could still faintly see the unyielding spirit in this man’s bones.

Most likely, he was no ordinary commoner!

The middle-aged man slowly stood up, also pulling his son to his feet.

The boy cowered behind him.

“Father, I’m scared.”

His whole body was trembling.

“Don’t be afraid!” The middle-aged man grasped the boy’s hand, then asked the surrounding men in black, “Who exactly are you people?”

His voice was steady!

The leading man in black stepped forward and made it clear, “Minister Chen, it’s me.”

Eh!

The middle-aged man was shocked.

His gaze swept over those men in black one by one.

He asked with furrowed brows, “You?”

The man in black pulled down the black cloth covering his face.

Revealing a cold, stern, serious face.

The middle-aged man was stunned on the spot.

“Lian Que?”