“Yesterday with that blade, I did not know it carried poison. Otherwise, I would never have let it wound me.”

He had thought such a minor blade wound was inconsequential, truly unbothered.

“Even if I conceal my martial prowess, I have sufficient ability to be selected for the Longqi Army. When a tree grows tall, it attracts the wind. Excessive prominence is never a good thing.”

Mu Mu stared at Feng Jiu’er’s blade, his eyes darkening: “It was you who saved me yesterday. Even if this blade falls, I would not resent you.”

“But Jiu’er, I am willing to reveal everything before you because I trust you. I have said—I will never harm you.”

“Your words, I cannot best!” Feng Jiu’er bit her lip. Finally, she did retract her short blade.

“If in the future I discover you have wronged the Longqi Army, I will be the first to not let you off.”

In truth, she could not have pressed the matter anyway. She simply could not defeat him!

Mu Mu gazed at her, his eyes gentle: “Help me put the false face back on. Would you want your future husband being pestered by other maidens?”

“What future husband?”

“Mm.” He acknowledged it.

“You beast! I was not calling for you!”

“Of course I know you were not calling me a beast.”

“You…” Feng Jiu’er glared at him fiercely. How had she not known he could speak with such facility?

“Alright, help me put the face back on.” He became serious again.

Feng Jiu’er hesitated, then ultimately helped him put the false face back on.

To be honest, such an eye-pleasing super handsome man—after putting the false face back on, though still handsome, he was considerably more subdued.

If one scored on a scale of one hundred, the Ninth Imperial Uncle would be one hundred, and Mu Mu without the false face would be ninety-nine… well, she still preferred the Ninth Imperial Uncle’s glacial coldness by one point.

As for Mu Mu with the false face, he could only be rated at eighty, showing how much he had uglified himself.

If comparison were still unclear, one could compare him with Crown Prince Zhan Yuheng.

Zhan Yuheng would probably merit eighty-two or eighty-three, Xing Zizhou seventy-eight. Well, thus it was!

Compared to the Ninth Imperial Uncle and Mu Mu without the false face, all others fell far short.

She finally did put the false face back on for him. Mu Mu said: “Now we are only half a mountain away from our destination. We may proceed slowly; there is no hurry.”

Feng Jiu’er, however, suddenly grabbed his wrist, her fingertips falling upon his pulse point.

Seeing his pulse was steady and powerful, she felt reassured and stepped forward: “Mu Mu, are you really not a spy?”

Mu Mu said nothing, likely finding such a question utterly superfluous.

“Is Mu Mu truly your real name?”

He still did not speak. In the forest, only Feng Jiu’er’s voice remained, chattering away…

…

As expected, Mu Mu and Feng Jiu’er returned early. Shan Yi Dao, Xing Zizhou, and Xiao Yingtao, however, were nowhere to be seen.

Gradually, teams began returning, yet those three remained absent.

“They started slowly. I wonder if they encountered further obstacles along the way.”

Feng Jiu’er was becoming anxious. Had they not agreed to wait here, they would have gone back to search.

Yet now, if they went back to search, and those three returned by another path, everyone would miss each other, wasting even more time.

The paths through this forest were dense and intricate. One truly could not know which way they would return.

And in ancient times, there were no mobile communication devices. It was impossible to contact them.

“Feng Jiu’er.” Suddenly, someone ahead called out to her. Jiu’er turned around and saw Huo Yan striding toward her: “Feng Jiu’er, there is a noble guest here to see you!”