“Mu Mu!” Feng Jiu’er’s eyes lit up, and she immediately rose to her feet and walked toward the entrance of the cave.

A dark shadow flickered before her eyes, and the figure that appeared was clad entirely in black.

It was not Mu Mu! Mu Mu had been wearing a gray fitted outfit today, not a long robe.

The newcomer stretched out a long arm, and Feng Jiu’er was immediately pulled into his embrace.

He tapped lightly against the ground with his feet, and in the blink of an eye, he was already carrying her as he swept across the cliff face in flight.

Her head spun and her vision blurred. The wind rising from the bottom of the ravine cut like a blade, scraping painfully against her cheeks, as though even the scars on her face were about to be shaved away by the gale.

Feng Jiu’er had no choice but to hold tightly to the man in black, burying her face against his chest, using his body to shield herself from the wind.

The Ninth Imperial Uncle was not present today, was he? She felt as though she had once again confirmed this — Di Wu Ya was not the Ninth Imperial Uncle.

Otherwise, how could Di Wu Ya appear at a moment like this? And yet, the aura emanating from him was so achingly familiar…

When the wind finally ceased lashing at her, Feng Jiu’er opened her eyes and found that she had already landed at the summit of some distant peak, far from the cliff face.

“Could you not at least let me leave a message for my friend? What will he do when he comes looking for me?”

When Mu Mu returned, he would certainly come searching for her. What if he assumed she had fallen to the bottom of the ravine and went down there to look for her? What would she do then?

She could almost picture Mu Mu’s frantic search in her mind. If something were to happen to him because of this, she would never have peace of heart for the rest of her life.

Di Wu Ya, however, appeared to care not one whit. He simply took her hand and began walking down the mountain path.

“That won’t do — I need to leave him a message. I’ll just say… say that someone has rescued me and that I’ll come back to find him later.”

“How do you know,” Di Wu Ya said with a cold huff, “that this seat will let you return safe and unharmed?”

Listening to him, he seemed, if anything, a little displeased.

Feng Jiu’er was taken aback. This was a question she wanted answered herself — why was she so certain that Di Wu Ya would not harm her?

What a peculiar notion.

And yet, the feeling Di Wu Ya gave her… she could not quite put it into words. Why did he give her the same sense of safety and security as the Ninth Imperial Uncle?

“Regardless of anything else, will you at least let me leave a message? I’m afraid he might genuinely go down to the bottom of the cliff looking for my corpse.”

The word “corpse” caused Di Wu Ya’s eyes to go cold in an instant.

Though he was not looking directly at her, Feng Jiu’er still felt a faint prickling sensation at the back of her scalp.

“I’m not cursing myself. But he was dragged into this today because of me — I cannot simply abandon him.”

He said nothing, his expression dark, and merely gripped her hand and made to continue walking.

Feng Jiu’er panicked. She shook her hand free with force: “If you help me with this, I’ll do as you say. Even if you want to drink my blood, I won’t resist. Will that do?”

But this condition appeared to be, in Di Wu Ya’s estimation, still insufficient.

Come to think of it — if he truly wanted to drink her blood, could this girl even resist? A tap on her pressure point and she would be meek and compliant in an instant. What kind of a threat was that?

“Di Wu Ya, can you not have even a shred of compassion? He really will go somewhere dangerous to find me!”

“What is he to you?” His voice dropped to a sudden chill.

“Someone I dragged into harm’s way.” Feng Jiu’er did not understand what he was angry about, but she knew one thing for certain: she could not simply walk away and leave Mu Mu behind.

With a sharp exhale, she channeled her true energy and struck out at Di Wu Ya’s back with her palm.

He did not even bother to dodge, continuing to walk along the mountain path, letting her hit him as she pleased.

When Feng Jiu’er’s palm landed on him, she instinctively pulled back some of her true energy at the last moment.

“Why hold back?” The man raised an eyebrow.

Feng Jiu’er huffed. “I’m afraid I might beat you to death.”

“Kill me, then, if you’re capable.” A flash of teasing amusement passed through the depths of Di Wu Ya’s eyes. “This seat will not retaliate.”