In the small, broken wooden hut, Mu Sui had already returned early.

He sat in the same position as before, putting on a listless and weak, haggard appearance, completely unlike the decisive and ruthless demeanor he had shown when conversing with Cinnabar in the forest earlier.

Mu Sui had thought it through. Although he had fallen into the Nai River yesterday in a panic, he hadn’t choked on much Nai River water, but Meng Ruji didn’t know that.

Nai River water was highly toxic – this could be learned by simply asking around at the market. At the same time, Mu Sui was certain that Meng Ruji couldn’t find a way to resolve the Nai River water poisoning in this small, broken market.

So now he could pretend to be poisoned, then trick Meng Ruji into telling him the cultivation method for the Inner Core. As long as he remained this “foolish” Mu Sui, Meng Ruji wouldn’t be on guard against him.

After waiting for a while, Meng Ruji returned. Mu Sui looked at her listlessly, but noticed that this returning Meng Ruji was somewhat… different from what he had imagined.

She wasn’t as anxious or concerned.

Her eyes, looking at him, seemed to carry some assessment, and her footsteps were slower than when she had left.

If she had learned about the severe toxicity of the Nai River water at the market but couldn’t find an antidote, she shouldn’t have this kind of expression, right?

It seemed like something he didn’t know about had changed.

Mu Sui’s intuition told him this, but he still suppressed all emotions in his heart and devoted himself wholeheartedly to acting like a “fool.”

And Meng Ruji, who had entered the room, was indeed assessing Mu Sui.

Mu Sui was the same as when she had left with him – he hadn’t even changed his sitting position, his complexion was still that pale, and when he raised his eyes to look at her, his dark pupils were scattered with tiny points of light, making him appear even more pitiful.

But because Meng Ruji harbored some irrepressible suspicions in her heart, she felt that all his expressions and movements seemed somewhat suspicious.

However, Meng Ruji didn’t make any judgments about Mu Sui based on her subjective feelings.

She stood at the doorway, waiting.

She wasn’t waiting for anything else, but for the gray-black stone currently stuck in her waistband to make a decision.

She had deliberately left a small gap in her waistband for the stone, making it convenient for Yan Tianjun to make his judgment – if he was the Lord of Zhuliu City, the stone should jump twice.

But time passed bit by bit.

Meng Ruji felt that she had been standing at the doorway for quite a while. Under Mu Sui’s somewhat strange inquiring gaze, she had no choice but to walk toward him.

Mu Sui asked: “What’s wrong?”

Meng Ruji laughed dryly: “Nothing, seeing your pale complexion scared me.”

As she spoke, Meng Ruji walked to Mu Sui’s side, smoothed down her dress, and prepared to sit down. Just as she bent over, the stone in Meng Ruji’s waistband moved!

Once!

Meng Ruji’s movement to sit down froze.

Once.

Not twice.

She had previously told Mo Li that if Mu Sui was the Lord of Zhuliu City, he should jump twice.

But what did jumping once mean now?

Was the other jump too lazy to happen, or did he think Mu Sui wasn’t that city lord? Or could this Yan Tianjun not count?

What did jumping once mean? Was he making her guess?!

How unreliable!

“You…” Mu Sui looked at Meng Ruji, who was stuck in mid-squat with her bottom sticking out, tilting his head in confusion as he looked at her. “Are you uncomfortable somewhere?”

Meng Ruji glanced at Mu Sui and had to suppress the urge to rush out, throw Yan Tianjun on the ground for a good scolding, and make him explain clearly. She stiffly patted the hem of her dress behind her.

“I… there seems to be something on my clothes, let me pat it off.”

Without waiting for Mu Sui to crane his neck to look, she directly sat down firmly on the ground.

Mu Sui glanced at Meng Ruji, pondering what meaning these actions of hers held.

Meng Ruji also didn’t dare speak carelessly. Not being able to determine Mu Sui’s identity, she didn’t know what kind of opening to find.

In the wooden hut, two people with their thoughts fell into the same silence.

After a long while, it was still Meng Ruji who first broke the silence, choosing a sentence that couldn’t be wrong no matter how she said it now:

“How is your body feeling?”

And in Mu Sui’s view, this question was perfectly chosen, exactly what he wanted:

“It seems I drank some Nai River water; my chest hurts a bit.”

Mu Sui was thinking about how to naturally bring up the topic of the Inner Core next, when suddenly he heard Meng Ruji say, “Oh.”

Her “oh” was so ordinary that it made Mu Sui perceive a hint of the extraordinary.

“I bought the antidote.”

Meng Ruji took out the oil paper-wrapped pill from her bosom and immediately handed it to Mu Sui: “Here, eat it quickly.”

Mu Sui: “…”

Mu Sui looked at this pill with shock, amazement, and complete bewilderment.

After his gaze lingered on the pill for a long time, it moved to Meng Ruji’s face.

Did this market have medicine? She bought it? In the short few months since he left the Realm of No Retention, what strange changes had occurred here?

Or was she deceived? Nai River water antidotes were expensive, right? Did she have enough money? Was it fake medicine?

Most importantly, how was he supposed to bring up the Inner Core now?

Countless questions flashed through Mu Sui’s mind. He was so blocked by these doubts that his chest felt tight. He opened his mouth slightly, having just taken a breath, when Meng Ruji silently peeled the oil paper from the pill and raised her hand to directly stuff the pill into Mu Sui’s mouth, then shouted:

“It’s not bitter!”

She immediately lifted Mu Sui’s chin, making him swallow the pill before he could react at all.

He swallowed it…

Mu Sui felt the pill slide down his throat, swallowing it to the point where he could no longer spit it out. Meng Ruji released her hand and smiled: “I’ve adopted some children before. They didn’t like taking medicine because they were afraid of bitterness, so I did this to them. Doesn’t it just slide right down without any bitterness?”

Very experienced, indeed not bitter…

But!

Only then did Mu Sui lower his head. He looked at Meng Ruji with increasing silence.

This pill, its authenticity unknown…

For a moment, Mu Sui didn’t know whether it was better for him to have taken real medicine or fake medicine.

What made Mu Sui even more uncomfortable was that even at this point, his body was still trembling slightly, his heart wildly rejoicing and cheering, loudly shouting:

“Ah! When Meng Ruji lifted his chin just now, her fingers brushed across his throat! And gently swept over his Adam’s apple…”

Enough!

How pathetic!

Mu Sui!

Meng Ruji looked at Mu Sui, who had taken the medicine but closed his eyes and clenched his teeth, somewhat puzzled: “Is it bitter?”

Mu Sui didn’t respond.

Meng Ruji became anxious: “Is the medicine wrong? Did you take the wrong one? I’ll take you to see a doctor!”

Meng Ruji grabbed Mu Sui’s arm to pull him up, but unexpectedly, the moment she touched him, Mu Sui suddenly raised his hand and covered the back of Meng Ruji’s hand.

“No need.”

Mu Sui opened his eyes and looked at Meng Ruji. His ears were flushed red, but he was still trying hard to control his emotions. His lips trembled slightly as he spoke with apparent difficulty: “I’m just trembling with joy because you touched me.”

Meng Ruji was stunned, then her heart couldn’t help but skip a beat.

He… these words he said weren’t much different from before he fell into the Nai River.

Shameless…

She didn’t know where this Mu Sui had learned such words.

And in Mu Sui’s heart, where Meng Ruji couldn’t see, he was also frantically cursing himself – how disgusting, where did he learn such words!

Really!

Disgusting beyond measure!