After Ziqing left, Jiang Chen lingered a while longer before making an excuse and slipping away at once, heading straight for the mountaintop forest. The moment he found Gu Suying, who had been waiting there for some time, he spoke in a low, urgent voice. “Han Ziqing intends to bring Jun Beiyue to the gathering. Report this at once!”

But no sooner had the words left his mouth than Gu Suying, without warning, slapped him hard across the face, snapping furiously, “That one’s for your wife!”

Jiang Chen stiffened for a moment, one hand pressed to his stinging cheek, a dark, sinister look settling in his eyes. But in the end he held himself back, saying coldly, “The slap’s done, now hurry and report it. Don’t delay.”

“Where did you even get that medicine?!” Gu Suying demanded furiously.

“I got it from the young master. Ran into some bandits from the Yu Shi along the way, that’s what delayed me. What about you?” Jiang Chen asked.

“The young master of the Bai Shi wasn’t there, so I got it from one of his men. And how is it that you never run into bandits any other time, except today of all days?!” Gu Suying snapped.

“The Yu Shi bandits have always been unpredictable—you think I wanted this to happen? What are you so worked up about?” Jiang Chen shot back, then sneered coldly. “What, afraid to show your own face? Afraid that if this ever comes to light, it’ll all fall on you?”

“So what if it does? Jiang Chen, when the time comes, you can just wash your hands and walk away. I’m the one who has to stay here at the Gu residence, not you!” Gu Suying said coldly.

Jiang Chen couldn’t help but laugh. “Silly girl, what are you worried about? Once Liuxian Isle belongs to the Bai Shi, do you really think you’ll have any trouble holding your ground as the mere head of the Gu Shi?”

“The brothers of the Gu family’s various halls aren’t so easily commanded!” Gu Suying said coldly.

But Jiang Chen just patted her shoulder, smiling. “Don’t worry. Force can command anything. Now be good and get the message out—have the young master get ready. This is our chance.”

Gu Suying and Jiang Chen were clearly working together now—but what reason could the two of them possibly have for joining forces?

Unless there was some secret between the two of them that couldn’t be spoken of, there was no way Gu Suying would be foolish enough to help an outsider—let alone someone from the Bai Shi—in a scheme to harm her own family.

Ziqing pondered this the whole way back to the main residence. But the moment she stepped through the door, she found Jun Beiyue bare-chested, covered in wounds, applying medicine to himself. A torn and tattered black garment lay carelessly tossed on the edge of the bed.

Seeing her enter, he only glanced up at her briefly before lowering his head again, focused on tending to his own wounds.

This man—had he gone out earlier? What had he been doing to end up injured like this?

Saying nothing, Ziqing slowly approached. At a glance, she could immediately tell these were wounds from wind-blades. Though there were cuts all over his arms, back, and waist, most were only superficial—only a few were deeper.

“You…” Ziqing said, suspicious, then suddenly burst out laughing. “Was it you who stopped Jiang Chen?”

“Gu Suying certainly hid herself well,” Jun Beiyue said with a cold smile.

“How did you even find out? Yingzi wasn’t even there.” This man really did have one more trick up his sleeve than she did—if he hadn’t delayed Jiang Chen, Gu Suying might never have been exposed at all.

“Shiliang told me,” Jun Beiyue said flatly. There was a wound on his back he couldn’t reach, so he simply handed the medicine to Ziqing.

Shiliang?

That was her subordinate—and here he was, ordering him around directly.

Ziqing didn’t hesitate. She took the medicine at once, and as Jun Beiyue turned around, she carefully dabbed a bit of the ointment on her fingers and gently applied it to his back, rubbing in small circles until it was done.

Seeing two or three more wounds further along his back, Ziqing’s slender fingers moved on, tracing over his bronzed, well-built frame as she continued rubbing in the medicine.

She was so focused, so intent on the task, that in the course of those few passes, she never noticed Jun Beiyue’s body growing slightly tense.

“I heard the zither gathering doesn’t just invite families from Liuxian Isle—quite a few martial artists from the mainland of Longyuan will be attending as well,” Ziqing said flatly, withdrawing her hands.

“Mm,” Jun Beiyue turned around, leaning back lazily, his gaze growing somewhat deep as he looked at her.

“Then you’ll have to hide your identity—you can’t even bring the Wuzheng along, can you,” Ziqing asked seriously. If his identity were ever exposed and someone started investigating his background, that would be a disaster.

“Isn’t Prince Yao’s consort an honored guest of the Gu Shi? Why would I need to hide my identity?” Jun Beiyue asked with a smile in return. The family head understood perfectly well that once the Gu family had chosen to align themselves with him, everything belonging to the Gu family was now tied to his own fate by the same rope—his glory was their glory, his downfall would be their downfall.

The family head wouldn’t easily expose their identities. It was Gu Meiting and Jiang Chen he needed to guard against.

Rather than hiding his identity and giving them something to hold over him, it would be far better to simply reveal it openly, honestly, above board.

Hearing Jun Beiyue explain it this way, Ziqing finally understood, and nodded at once. “That’s true.”

“The zither gathering at Qinse Valley is held once every fifteen years. The Qu family of Qinse Valley is, in truth, the true dominant power on Liuxian Isle—it’s simply that this family has always kept itself apart from worldly affairs, devoting itself entirely to music and medicine. The gathering is the only chance the outside world ever gets to catch a glimpse of the Qu family,” Jun Beiyue explained.

“Are the Wuzheng and the Bloodzheng really both from the Qu family?” Ziqing asked earnestly—this was what concerned her most. Xuanyuan Lige had said he would wait for her at the gathering. What exactly did he intend to do there?

“Mm, they’re both Qu family possessions. Xuanyuan Lige must have studied under the Qu family. As for how he came to have that item, we’ll find out once we get there,” Jun Beiyue said flatly.

If it weren’t for that, would a man as domineering as him ever have accepted, on her behalf, something she herself had once refused?

After a moment’s hesitation, he spoke up anyway. “Whether it’s the Lishang piece or that particular finger technique—playing it too long is bound to have lasting consequences. Once we’re back, we need to get to the bottom of this.”

Hearing this, Ziqing’s heart skipped, inexplicably. Without meaning to, she looked down at her own hands. The finger technique Xuanyuan Lige had taught her caused her fingers to ache the longer she played, and that piece, Lishang, when played long enough, seemed to draw her very soul away with it. Several times, even when her fingers ached unbearably, she’d found herself unable to stop—an irresistible urge would take hold, her body and mind sinking entirely into that sorrow, as if she were destined to play for that grief for the rest of her life, until her very last breath.

If she hadn’t been unfamiliar with the latter part of the piece, she genuinely might not have been able to stop at all.

The thought sent a chill through her, though she didn’t dare tell Jun Beiyue. She knew full well she could no longer part with that zither, with that piece of music. If he ever found out, knowing his temperament, he might well destroy the Wuzheng entirely.

Jun Beiyue’s attention remained fixed on Ziqing’s hands, not noticing the strange shift in her expression. He took her hand and gently massaged each finger, one by one.

“Does it still hurt now, after playing for a while?”

Ziqing shook her head at once. “It doesn’t hurt. It wasn’t the playing that hurt back then—it was because my hand was still injured.”

This man—there was truly nothing he missed, nothing he didn’t remember.

He’d caught her once before, and truthfully, even she hadn’t been able to tell at the time whether the pain came from the zither or from the iron-shackle punishment.

But the finger pain really had started after that injury—and it was around that same time that Xuanyuan Lige had given her medicine, telling her that prolonged practice would make her hands ache.

Ziqing felt instinctively that something was off, though—well, playing the zither too much causing sore fingers was perfectly normal too.

Jun Beiyue didn’t press further, patting his chest to signal her to lean in. Ziqing shook her head instinctively—she hadn’t even really thought about it, it was pure reflex.

Jun Beiyue raised an eyebrow at her, saying nothing, still gesturing for her to come closer.

They were discussing serious matters—what was this man trying to do?

Ziqing eyed him warily, suspiciously, her gaze slowly drifting downward—only to land, without warning, on his sturdy, honey-toned chest… two firm peaks standing out, so… so indescribably tempting!

Worst of all, for a moment she simply couldn’t react at all—she just stared, utterly unable to look away.

Whether it was curiosity, or being drawn in against her will, or something else entirely, she truly didn’t know. Her face flushed red all at once, and she finally forced her gaze away.

He seemed to notice, glancing down at himself, then back at her, before breaking into a wicked, unrestrained grin, his laughter clear and hearty. “Woman, come here!”

“Gu Suying has no reason to conspire with Jiang Chen while pledging loyalty to the Bai Shi. There must be something suspicious tying these three parties together!” Ziqing immediately changed the subject.

“Speculation is useless. Once the snake is drawn out of its hole, the truth will reveal itself,” Jun Beiyue said with a smile, and before Ziqing could react, he suddenly pulled her close against his chest.

“Let go, what are you doing?!” Finally, her attempt to change the subject having failed, she struggled.

“I just wanted to hold you,” Jun Beiyue said with a smile.

“I… I still have things to do!” Ziqing explained hurriedly.

“What things?” Jun Beiyue asked, his arm still wrapped around her—there was no way she had the strength to break free if he didn’t let go.

“We depart first thing tomorrow morning, and there’s still so much to prepare. Guxi and the others haven’t even been called back yet!” Ziqing said, her expression perfectly serious.

Jun Beiyue hesitated a moment, then actually let her go. He was just about to speak when Ziqing quickly got to her feet and fled the scene at once.

Jun Beiyue couldn’t help but laugh heartily, both amused and helpless, utterly enchanted by how nervous and bashful she looked.

This woman—she seemed less like his wife sometimes, and more like a girl in love…