Dressed in black combat attire, Ziqing stood on the deck with her hands clasped behind her back, flanked by Shiliang, Guxi, and the other six mercenaries standing tall behind her. Though none of them were particularly old, the sight of them together carried an unspoken air of pressure.

Ziqing gazed ahead, watching the harbor draw closer and closer. After nearly a month adrift at sea, today they had finally arrived.

Exactly as Physician Gu’s letter had described, this harbor was guarded by the forces of various great families — without a token of identification, one couldn’t get far.

The moment the ship came to a stop, a guard approached to question them. “Who are you? What business do you have on Liuxian Island?”

“Guests of the Gu family, here at their invitation,” Ziqing answered coldly.

The guard’s eyes widened with newfound respect, and he quickly led Ziqing and her companions toward the Gu family’s harbor waystation.

The waystation gate was shut tight, with only a small window left open. Inside, several guards could be seen rolling dice, completely ignoring whoever might be outside.

“How can they be so slack about this!” Shiliang couldn’t help muttering, well aware of how anxious their master was.

Ziqing’s expression remained blank, though heaven only knew how anxious she truly felt inside. She raised her hand and knocked. “Bang bang bang!” — hard enough to nearly shatter the window!

At last, several guards turned to look over. Their leader, a toothpick between his teeth, spat and strolled over. “What’s all this racket! Who are you?”

Whether Jun Beiyue’s arrival on Liuxian Island was still a secret, these men clearly had no idea — otherwise, she would have simply announced her identity outright. She said coldly, “I’m here for Gu Jun.”

At those words, even the guards seated in back stood up at once, exchanging glances — who was this woman, so bold as to address the family head by name?

The leader eyed Ziqing suspiciously. “Who exactly are you?”

“A guest of the Gu family, here at their invitation. Kindly show us the way,” Ziqing answered coldly.

The leader glanced back at his fellow guards, then turned back and quickly put on a welcoming smile, throwing the window wide open and bowing respectfully. “Forgive us for failing to recognize such a distinguished guest, forgive us.”

He then led several guards out to greet them, though his very first words were, “If I may trouble the young lady to show us your token of identification — that’s the rule on Liuxian Island, and the rule of the Gu family as well. I’m only following orders, I hope you’ll understand.”

A token?

Liuxian Island’s Gu family token was the dagger “Flowing Light” — but that was already in Jun Beiyue’s group’s possession. Ziqing had no such token on her.

“I was in a hurry and forgot to bring it. Go announce that Han Ziqing wishes to see him,” Ziqing said.

The guards at the harbor waystation had certainly seen their share of visitors — countless martial artists came each year seeking an audience with the family head, with all sorts of excuses meant to bluff their way in. The guard, well accustomed to such tricks, went pale with anger the moment he heard this and snorted coldly. “Miss, our family head’s name is not one you’re free to invoke so casually. Leave at once, or if we look into this further, you won’t be able to handle the consequences!”

“You don’t believe me?” Ziqing said coldly.

“Miss, every day someone like you comes claiming to have forgotten their token… imposters, more than I can count. If we believed every one of you, wouldn’t the Gu family have become the biggest inn on all of Liuxian Island?” the leader said, snorting again before turning to walk away with a flourish of his sleeve.

Ziqing quickly caught up, discreetly slipping a heavy pouch of silver into the leader’s hand. She understood very well — the harbor was a place of great importance, not somewhere one could act rashly. Never mind how many other family waystations lined the harbor, how many watchful eyes were on them — even just this one Gu family waystation alone, how many troops must be stationed behind it?

How could she possibly force her way in?

Money could move even ghosts, as the saying went — there was no ghost that didn’t crave riches, only people unwilling to part with their coin.

Ziqing never did things by half measures — this was no small sum.

Feeling the weight of the pouch in his hand, the leader didn’t hesitate for even a moment before pocketing it.

Ziqing stepped back and said politely, “Elder brother, I truly haven’t deceived you. Whether this is true or false, just take me to see the family head, and you’ll know.”

The leader coughed a few times, furrowing his brow as though deep in thought, then said after a moment, “Fine, I’ll make an exception for you today. But if this turns out to be a lie, don’t blame me for being harsh.”

Ziqing forced a polite smile. “Of course, of course.”

“This way, please.” The leader continued playing the part of the big shot, gesturing Ziqing toward a waiting carriage.

But just as they took a few steps, a cold, low voice suddenly called out from behind. “Commander Xu, what’s keeping you busy?”

Commander Xu froze in his tracks. Ziqing could clearly feel the man beside her begin to tremble.

A moment later, the voice behind them turned sharp and severe. “Get over here now!”

This commander, having dared to accept the silver and lead her along so readily, must have been the top authority at this waystation — what kind of person could frighten him this badly?

Curious, Ziqing turned around and saw a man of about twenty-five or twenty-six, plain-featured, with dark, weathered skin, tall and imposing, with small single-lidded eyes set into a sharp, severe face — nothing about him looked remotely likable, however you looked at him.

Clearly, this was the classic unexpected complication showing up midway.

Commander Xu, who had been playing the big shot just a moment ago, instantly turned meek, hurrying over to offer a deep, respectful bow. The man paid him no mind at all, his small eyes coldly sizing up Ziqing instead.

“Who is she? Where were you taking her?” the small-eyed man demanded.

“She’s a guest invited by the family head,” Commander Xu answered, trembling.

“Where’s her token?” the small-eyed man pressed further.

“She… she… she said she forgot it, and that once she sees the family, they’ll know if she’s genuine or not,” Commander Xu stammered, not even daring to lie.

“You dared to take her along without a token? Who gave you that authority!” the small-eyed man snapped furiously.

Commander Xu dropped to his knees at once. “This lowly one was wrong, this lowly one was careless, this lowly one deserves death!”

The small-eyed man kicked him aside without a second thought, then turned to size Ziqing up again, glancing at Shiliang and the others behind her, a flicker of suspicion in his eyes, though he asked no further questions, simply saying coldly, “Get lost.”

Ziqing’s eyes narrowed sharply. “If I leave, and it delays the family head’s important business, will you be able to bear that responsibility?”

The small-eyed man snorted. “Don’t talk big in front of me. The family head’s name isn’t yours to call out so freely. Push your luck any further and don’t blame me for being unkind.”

The moment those words left his mouth, several guards suddenly emerged from both sides of the waystation — every one of them clearly a skilled fighter!

Ziqing, however, remained perfectly composed, asking coldly, “Who exactly are you within the Gu family?”

“You have no right to know!” the small-eyed man said dismissively, turning to leave.

“Stand right there!” Ziqing suddenly said sharply.

But the small-eyed man didn’t stop, and the surrounding guards instead began closing in on her. A wicked smile curved at the corner of Ziqing’s lips as she flicked her fingers, and a folded letter shot out from seemingly nowhere, silent yet forceful, striking the small-eyed man squarely in the shoulder, piercing straight through his clothing and nearly grazing his flesh!

The small-eyed man froze in his tracks, a jolt of shock running through him. This woman wasn’t cultivating the Gu family’s internal energy — and yet she could still unleash such a fierce blade of wind!

He spun around abruptly, yanking the letter from his shoulder without so much as glancing at it. “You insolent girl, how dare you make a move here!”

Ziqing, unbothered, said with a smile, “Oh, I hope that didn’t frighten you. I didn’t make a move — I was simply presenting my token. My apologies, I thought I’d forgotten it, but it turns out I had it with me all along.”

“Token?” Only then did the small-eyed man take a proper look at the letter in his hand, and the moment he did, his face changed drastically — this was one of the Gu family’s dedicated letters, a first-class letter at that. No matter how urgent any other correspondence might be, it had to yield right of way to a letter like this.

A first-class letter — only the family head and Madam Gu were entitled to use one!

Not just the small-eyed man, but every guard around who had caught sight of the letter went pale with shock as well — this woman’s standing was clearly no small matter!

Ziqing hadn’t planned on revealing her identity here, but this small-eyed man was simply too disagreeable.

The small-eyed man stood stunned for a long moment before saying, in disbelief, “You’re… Han Ziqing!”

“Correct. So, does this token carry enough weight for me to see the family head?” Ziqing asked, raising an eyebrow.

With so many people watching, the small-eyed man had no way to refuse. Never mind the weight of that letter — the very name “Han Ziqing” alone, if word of this reached the Gu family, would be more than he could bear responsibility for.

Who was Han Ziqing? She was Jun Beiyue’s official princess consort. Jun Beiyue was the Gu family’s only son — which made Han Ziqing the Gu family’s rightful daughter-in-law, the future mistress of the entire household!

His face darkened, and he said coldly, “Commander Xu, take her up.”

With that, he made to leave.

“You there, stop!” Ziqing wasn’t about to let him off so easily. A grown man like this, with not a shred of composure to his name — surely he knew her identity by now, and yet he offered no apology, not even a word of welcome, just turning to walk away like that. What kind of attitude was this?

Who, exactly, was this man within the Gu family?

The small-eyed man stopped, clearly displeased, and said coldly, “What is it?”

“You never told me who you are!” Ziqing said.

“Why should I tell you?” the small-eyed man shot back. Han Ziqing or not, he wasn’t about to be intimidated.

“So that when I see the family head later, I can report you properly,” Ziqing said with perfect seriousness.

“You—!” The small-eyed man choked with anger.

“Are you afraid?” Ziqing pressed.

For a man — especially a man — there was nothing he could afford to lose, yet dignity was not among them. This man was being petty and small-minded, and Ziqing was determined to get a proper word of welcome out of him, no matter what!

The small-eyed man sneered coldly, lifting his chin so high his nostrils practically pointed at the sky. “Me, afraid? Go ahead and report me if you like! Listen well — this young master’s name is Jiang Chen, husband to the eldest young lady of the Gu family, son-in-law to the Gu family!”

Han Ziqing being the Gu family’s daughter-in-law meant nothing to him — Jun Beiyue hadn’t even woken yet, let alone become family head. Even once he did, Han Ziqing had only been named princess consort; there had been no formal wedding ceremony in Da Zhou, and within the Gu family, she hadn’t properly entered the household at all!

He himself had married Gu Meiting in a proper, formal ceremony, a true son-in-law through and through — while her standing was still very much up for debate!

He wasn’t afraid of her in the least. If she had any sense, she’d do well to try to get on his good side instead!

“Jiang Chen!” Ziqing was visibly startled.

“Correct, this young master.” Jiang Chen’s tone turned cold, quite pleased to see the shock on Ziqing’s face.

Ziqing looked utterly disbelieving, as though momentarily at a loss for words.

Jiang Chen grew even more smug, saying coldly, “It seems you do know this young master.”

“I do, of course I do.” Ziqing nodded at once, then asked loudly, sounding perplexed, “But I have to wonder — you’re merely a son-in-law, not even a member of the Gu family’s own bloodline. What gives you the right to throw your weight around at the Gu family’s waystation like this? Where’s your own Jiang family waystation?”

Her voice rang out loud and clear, her words sharp and cutting, instantly drawing the attention of everyone around — not just the Gu family’s own guards, but the guards from neighboring family waystations gathered to watch as well!