Not only had Yanzi had Xuanyuan Zhaoxi send Ziqing aboard the ship ahead of schedule—she’d even had Xuanyuan Zhaoxi prepare venomous beasts for the voyage!

What exactly was she planning?

Weren’t they heading to Yaoshun Island specifically to search for the remaining secrets of Lishang?

Xuanyuan Lige couldn’t understand it—could Yanzi possibly intend to begin cultivating the human gu right there aboard the ship?

The sea was nothing like land—while it lacked the various distractions and interference present on land, resupplying would prove extraordinarily difficult, and encountering a storm would be even more dangerous!

“What, is that a problem?” Yanzi asked with a smile, turning the question back on him. Throughout their time together, her way of doing things had always been exactly like this—changing course on a whim, utterly unpredictable, impossible to anticipate!

“It’s ready. We’ve specially prepared a sealed cabin, exactly as you instructed!” Xuanyuan Zhaoxi answered promptly, her obsequious expression filling Xuanyuan Lige with deep contempt from the bottom of his heart!

Just how much had Yanzi offered Xuanyuan Zhaoxi to make her—the dignified princess of Dongqin, the future heir to the Dongqin throne—grovel so shamelessly to please her?

“Is that so? Then I really must come take a good look!” Yanzi said, delighted, ordering the driver to whip the horses into a faster gallop!

The man in black rested with his eyes closed nearby. Yanzi glanced at him, then at Xuanyuan Lige and Xuanyuan Zhaoxi, a flicker of smug satisfaction passing through her eyes as she too closed her eyes to rest.

The journey continued in silence. Xuanyuan Zhaoxi had expected her brother to say something to her, but Xuanyuan Lige remained silent the entire way.

“You’ve got some nerve, deceiving Mother Empress this whole time.” She finally couldn’t hold back any longer.

“Working with a partner of unknown identity hardly compares to you and I joining forces instead.” Xuanyuan Lige said flatly.

“Join forces with you? You’d dare deceive Mother Empress even while working with me—spare me, please!” Xuanyuan Zhaoxi couldn’t help but laugh out loud. Her brother, normally so composed and indifferent, had grown this desperate over Han Ziqing—if it had been the old him, caught in such circumstances, he probably wouldn’t have bothered answering her at all, and here he was now, actually attempting to deceive her, to win her over!

Was this still the same Xuanyuan Lige as before?

If it had been someone else taken captive today, perhaps Xuanyuan Lige could have remained coldly indifferent, asking nothing, caring nothing. But this was Ziqing.

She was the one who, back when he’d been at his most wretched, had saved his life from beneath Jun Beiyue’s arrow-loosed tiger army, the friend who’d told him to value his own life.

Perhaps, for others, a lifetime was long, long enough to encounter countless friends along the way!

But his own life had been far, far too short—she was the only one.

She alone had ever told him to value his own life!

He knew perfectly well that, gravely wounded as he was, even if he hadn’t fallen into the hands of masters like Yanzi and the man in black today, but into Xuanyuan Zhaoxi’s hands instead, he would still be utterly powerless!

Yet still, he refused to give up even the smallest sliver of hope, of opportunity!

He knew all too well—once Ziqing was locked away within that gu-cultivation chamber, there would be no turning back for her, ever!

Unless he died, he would never give up!

“You should know full well what consequences await if Mother Empress discovers you’ve secretly deployed the royal fleet without her knowledge!” Xuanyuan Lige said, word by word, cold and deliberate.

“Heh, don’t worry. Mother Empress has already handed over everything concerning Yaoshun Island to me entirely—including the secret of that totem, which I’ll be personally investigating myself!” Xuanyuan Zhaoxi said with a smile, then added, “Brother, I wasn’t originally going to gain command of the navy this quickly, you know. I actually owe it all to your scheming in Nanzhao, which utterly ruined Mother Empress’s face.”

Ever since the Dongqin Empress had returned from Nanzhao, the poison on her face had never been fully cured, and it had only continued growing worse, threatening genuine disfigurement. Yet she couldn’t bring herself to lower her dignity and beg Jun Beiyue for the antidote, and so she remained secluded in a separate palace, recuperating while searching desperately for physicians and remedies everywhere—leaving no small amount of Dongqin’s court affairs in Xuanyuan Zhaoxi’s hands instead!

Hearing Xuanyuan Zhaoxi say this, Xuanyuan Lige quietly let out a breath of relief—Nanny Qin’s intelligence had proven accurate after all. The matter of Mother Empress dispatching people to Yaoshun Island in search of the antidote was indeed under Xuanyuan Zhaoxi’s management, and precisely because of this, Nanny Qin had found it remarkably easy to manipulate matters behind the scenes. Even now, the forces stationed on Yaoshun Island still respected him as Crown Prince, and all deferred to Nanny Qin’s authority!

This was his greatest hope. No matter what, he had to hold out until they reached Yaoshun Island—and before arriving there, he absolutely had to find some way to stop Yanzi from beginning the gu cultivation.

That woman clearly intended to raise the gu somewhere within Yaoshun Island’s waters, to minimize any interference!

Facing Xuanyuan Zhaoxi’s smugness, Xuanyuan Lige merely glanced at her once, then turned his head away, asking nothing further…

After a few more days of travel, they finally arrived at the port!

Just as Xuanyuan Lige had anticipated, Xuanyuan Zhaoxi had brought the royal family’s largest warship!

The gangplank slowly descended, and Xuanyuan Zhaoxi gestured warmly toward Yanzi, inviting her aboard. “Please, board!”

“Heh heh, a Dongqin royal warship truly is something else!” Yanzi said, thoroughly satisfied, striding aboard without a trace of hesitation.

“Brother, please!” Xuanyuan Zhaoxi said with a smile, her manner remarkably gracious and warm.

From a distance, Xuanyuan Lige had already spotted a large water vat sitting on the deck, and his heart sank straight to the depths of the sea. His face darkened as he too boarded the ship.

Xuanyuan Zhaoxi shot the man in black a meaningful glance, as though she recognized him already. “Please, this way.”

The man in black paid her no mind at all, leaping past Yanzi in a single motion to land beside the water vat first, lifting the massive stone lid to peer inside, and only relaxed once he’d confirmed it was indeed Han Ziqing.

Yet even with everyone aboard, the gangplank still hadn’t been raised—it seemed there was no intention of departing just yet!

Yanzi circled around the great vat, her hand trailing lightly along its rim, thoroughly satisfied with everything inside. She couldn’t help but laugh, curling a finger toward Xuanyuan Lige. “Haven’t you always wanted to see her? Come here!”

Before Xuanyuan Lige could even move, Xuanyuan Zhaoxi rushed over first, equal parts curious and anxious. Yanzi had ordered her to transport this vat containing Han Ziqing, yet had forbidden her from opening it!

Yet the moment Xuanyuan Zhaoxi leaned in to look, she was scared half out of her wits, screaming and stumbling backward!

It was too horrifying. She had never in her life seen anyone so hideous, so monstrous!

Could this thing even still be called human?

This was nothing short of a monster!

“Getting this hysterical over such a small thing—how can I possibly entrust you with important matters?” Yanzi scoffed disdainfully.

Xuanyuan Zhaoxi steadied herself, yet still couldn’t bring herself to approach any closer. Had Yanzi not told her this was Han Ziqing, she would never in a thousand years have recognized this woman.

“Xuanyuan Lige, still not coming over? Look—can we begin the gu cultivation now?” Yanzi finally grew impatient.

“The poison test hasn’t run its full ten days yet—we can’t be entirely certain how the corpse-poison will react within her body. If you’re already completely confident she’s poison-immune, there’s no need for me to look at all—you might as well begin the poison test right now.” Xuanyuan Lige reminded her.

This wasn’t a lie—it was, indeed, one of the established rules of gu cultivation.

“Of course I’m confident. Still, caution serves best in the long run. Since we’ve already begun the poison test, we might as well wait it out.” Yanzi said, resealing the stone lid. “Let’s go, let’s take a look at the sealed chamber.”

Xuanyuan Zhaoxi immediately led the way forward. Xuanyuan Lige glanced once more at the gangplank, still not raised, then reached out with icy fingers to gently touch the equally icy wall of the water vat before following after them…