The lie — she had to say it!

“When I left Akbachu, I saw him at my brother’s place. He seemed to be discussing… discussing something about music scores with my brother. I wasn’t paying much attention, I only know he’s the greatest qin player under heaven.”

Finally, she said it. Beyond her nervousness, her eyes remained fixed on Nanny Qin the entire time.

Compared to Yelu Qianqian’s tension, as if facing a great enemy, Nanny Qin seemed unbothered.

She merely furrowed her brow slightly, somewhat taken aback. This naive little girl’s complete lack of guardedness, combined with her own worry over Crown Prince Li, caused the normally sharp-witted Nanny Qin to overlook the subtle strangeness in Yelu Qianqian’s demeanor.

“When did you see him?” she asked quickly.

“Not long ago, during the Mingsha Festival,” Yelu Qianqian said, then, fearing Nanny Qin might grow suspicious, hastily added, “He seemed to have come for the Mingsha Festival too.”

Hearing this, the heart Nanny Qin had been holding in suspense finally settled. She had been so afraid Crown Prince Li had died at sea, but now it seemed there might be some scheme behind all this after all!

She had known all along he couldn’t have left so easily. Mount Mingsha, Lishang, and the isolated island were all tangled together in ways too complex to unravel.

It wasn’t strange at all that Crown Prince Li would come here, nor strange that he might be working with Yelu Chenyi.

Something like Xuanyuan Zhaoxi’s life — not even worth mourning.

Back then, she had fiercely opposed the Empress giving birth again. If there was only ever Xuanyuan Lige, then everything the Xuanyuan imperial house had would surely be poured entirely into him!

Even with only thirty years to live, he could still live a magnificent life, still have children, still raise an heir to the throne!

Why should the brevity of a life strip him of the chance to live like an ordinary person?

The thought brought a wave of bitterness surging up in Nanny Qin’s chest. Her face, sharp and intimidating just moments before, now betrayed an unmistakable sorrow that she couldn’t hide.

She sniffed, lowered the curtain again, as if unwilling to let Yelu Qianqian see her emotions. But from behind the curtain, she continued questioning.

“Did your brother invite him there?”

Akbachu’s Mingsha Festival wasn’t something one could simply attend on a whim — even Jun Beiyue had needed an invitation to participate.

For that very reason, Jun Beiyue had once served as a mediator in negotiations between Xijing and Xichu, winning the favor of Xijing’s king in order to obtain that invitation.

“Probably. I don’t really know much about my brother’s affairs, but without an invitation, he wouldn’t have been able to go,” Yelu Qianqian said timidly. Without Nanny Qin’s scrutinizing gaze on her, she felt much more at ease, less guilty.

She didn’t care what relationship Xuanyuan Lige actually had with Dong Qin, or whether Crown Prince Li truly was Xuanyuan Lige, or what this old nanny wanted with Xuanyuan Lige at all!

Right now she had only one goal — to trick this old nanny into taking her to Akbachu!

“And afterward, when was the last time you saw him, did he leave?” Nanny Qin pressed further, seeming almost impatient.

“Just that one time. I was taken away by Situ Haonan afterward, I don’t know if he left or not — only my royal father and brother would know that,” Yelu Qianqian answered.

Nanny Qin’s brow furrowed tightly. If Crown Prince Li hadn’t perished at sea, then what exactly had happened that no messenger could reach him at all — that he wouldn’t even respond when Dong Qin was in crisis?

Back on the warship, how had he even survived?

But there were witnesses who saw him board the ship. Could it really be that he had joined forces with Yelu Chenyi and left the warship together?

But if he had joined forces with someone, then Han Ziqing raising the Gu — that seemed impossible too!

What exactly had happened aboard that warship?

Too many unanswered questions left Nanny Qin utterly unable to make sense of things. Now, she faced two choices!

Either use Yelu Qianqian as leverage against Han Ziqing — since Han Ziqing was the only survivor from the warship, she alone knew exactly what had happened.

Or take Yelu Qianqian back to Xijing and inquire with the King of Xijing for information!

Without question, going to Han Ziqing was Nanny Qin’s last resort out of desperation — Han Ziqing wasn’t someone easily threatened, and if handled poorly, everything could be lost.

Nanny Qin hesitated for a moment, then lifted the curtain once more and asked seriously, “Girl, are you certain it was Xuanyuan Lige you saw?”

Yelu Qianqian hadn’t expected her to lift the curtain again, and her heart nearly stopped from fright, but she still managed to force out two words. “I’m certain.”

“How are you certain!” Nanny Qin pressed further, her eyes cold and piercing.

“I… I had never seen anyone so beautiful… so striking, before. Purple robes, silver hair, like a prince from the elf race, I just… I just asked my brother who he was, and my brother said he was the greatest qin player under heaven… Xuanyuan… Xuanyuan Lige.”

Qianqian had no idea how she managed to get those words out — this was probably the most difficult lie she had ever told in her entire life.

She did know of Xuanyuan Lige, knew about his purple robes and silver hair, knew he was most famous for the piece “Lishang” — that was all. She truly had never seen the man himself.

And yet, this lie was, without question, exactly the reassurance Nanny Qin needed.

How could this sharp, cunning old nanny have imagined she would lose out to a naive, timid little girl who knew nothing of the world?

She chose to believe it!

Without another word, she dropped the curtain and gave the order. “Change course — cross through the desolate mountains on the northwest side, head to Akbachu!”

Hearing this, Yelu Qianqian’s tightly wound body finally relaxed completely. She slumped back heavily, unable to help herself from gasping for breath. That had been close — so close!

With this group’s protection, she would soon reach Akbachu, no longer needing to fear being hunted down by anyone!

But then, why couldn’t she feel happy?

She knew she shouldn’t think about it, yet couldn’t stop herself. She knew she was thoroughly disappointed, yet couldn’t bring herself to truly hate him.

She missed Situ Haonan so much.

She wanted so badly to know where he was now, what he was doing. Was he still grieving over her?

Nanny Qin personally escorted the carriage, her previously sharp expression softened, and after so many days, finally a smile crossed her face — though it was a smile brimming with tears.

No matter what, at least she could now confirm Crown Prince Li was still alive!

She carried the secret of the Totem, the greatest secret of the isolated island — Crown Prince Li absolutely had to be safe!

The convoy continued heading northwest. Little did Nanny Qin know that following this path all the way to its end would lead straight to Mobei — exactly where Xuanyuan Lige was!

At this moment, the bonfire festival in Mobei was only days away!

The Mobei tribe was bustling with festive excitement everywhere. Yu Xiaomeng and Aunt Yu were both busy preparing for the celebration, while Xuanyuan Lige had nothing to do. He had already changed into Mobei tribal clothing, his three thousand strands of silver hair tied up with a bone hairpin, walking among the crowd. Though he had grown somewhat familiar with everyone over these past days, he still drew plenty of curious stares.

Today, the young master of the Nangong family, a prominent martial-world clan, had come to deliver festival gifts to the Mobei tribe, and Xuanyuan Lige decided to go take a look.