Looking at Xuanyuan Lige, Situ Haonan slowly shook his head, murmuring to himself, “A year. Ziqing’s been gone a year.”

“She really fell in? How do you know there’s a world of poison beasts down there?” Yingzi cried out in shock.

“World of poison beasts?” Situ Haonan looked confused. Having just woken up, his mind still hadn’t fully cleared, and with so much thrown at him all at once, he truly hadn’t caught up yet.

Xuanyuan Lige’s brow furrowed, a flicker of impatience flashing in his eyes as he shoved the interfering Yingzi aside, sitting down calmly and saying flatly, “Situ Haonan, you’ve been unconscious for nearly a year now. By the time we managed to save you, Han Ziqing had already vanished, Jun Beiyue was gravely wounded and remains unconscious to this day. We’ve searched everywhere for Ziqing, and now we’re eighty percent certain she fell into the world of poison beasts beneath Mingsha Mountain. You were there — you must know where she went.”

The moment Xuanyuan Lige finished, Yingzi added quickly, “And also, and also — why was Prince Yao wounded? Why were you wounded too?”

At last, things were coming into focus.

Situ Haonan’s head cleared somewhat, the pain easing a little, and he hurriedly recounted everything that had happened, in full detail — including Ziqing’s confrontation with Nangong City, the duel between the Situ couple, the blade he’d taken to shield her, and the moment Jun Beiyue let go of him and Ziqing to turn back and grab Bai Mengmeng instead!

At this point, Yelu Qianqian couldn’t help but cut in, demanding almost frantically, “Why would he go grab Bai Mengmeng, why, why!”

“I don’t understand it either, and Ziqing understood it even less — that’s exactly what we saw happen. I only understood the truth later, but by then it was already too late. There was some mysterious force beneath the sand, pulling Ziqing down and down, and no matter how hard I tried to hold onto her, I couldn’t…”

Situ Haonan’s voice caught as he spoke. “I watched with my own eyes as Ziqing sank into the yellow sand… then the wind stopped, and I went to pull Jun Beiyue free… that’s when I learned the truth. It was Bai Mengmeng who stabbed Jun Beiyue — she was the one clinging to him, not the other way around, but… we’d all misunderstood everything.”

At this point, the whole room fell into silence, so complete that everyone’s breathing became clearly audible.

Xuanyuan Lige’s pale face seemed to darken as though shadowed by a thick layer of ash, his expression so grim no one dared approach him.

There was no need to say it — Ziqing must have been devastated, utterly devastated.

Everyone present understood Ziqing’s temperament well — she meant what she said, and drew clear lines between love and hatred.

She could give everything for Jun Beiyue, endure any hardship without complaint — but she could never tolerate betrayal!

Even Shiliang, whom she’d raised with her own hands, had betrayed her once, and she’d driven him away without mercy — let alone Jun Beiyue, the man to whom she’d entrusted her entire life!

Even if it had been a misunderstanding, it made no difference!

This wound cut too deep!

A full year — an entire year trapped in that misunderstanding — how devastated, how heartbroken must she have been?

Yelu Qianqian couldn’t even bear to imagine it, covering her mouth as she wept on Ziqing’s behalf. If she could, she wished she could weep in her place, tell her: don’t cry.

But to this day there was still no word of her at all — whether she lived or died, whether she was safe or in danger, no one knew!

In the silence, a sudden cracking sound rang out — the sound of Xuanyuan Lige’s fist clenching tight. No one dared look at him, yet everyone could feel the fury radiating off him.

Xuanyuan Lige’s silence was terrifying. Yelu Qianqian wanted to steal a glance at him but never quite dared to — yet this deadlock couldn’t go on any longer.

“Why didn’t Jun Beiyue just kill that person outright, instead of pulling her out? He’s not a fool, he’s supposed to be so clever!” Yelu Qianqian demanded urgently.

But Situ Haonan only shook his head helplessly. “Because both Ziqing and I assumed that person was the Gu-cultivator. Jun Beiyue probably had no intention of killing her at first. Only, none of us ever imagined it was actually Bai Mengmeng!”

Situ Haonan said the name “Bai Mengmeng” through gritted teeth. If not for her, none of this would ever have happened.

But what concerned him more right now was Ziqing’s whereabouts. “This world of poison beasts you’re talking about — what is it exactly?”

Xuanyuan Lige remained silent throughout, so Yingzi recounted the whole story truthfully. But rather than easing his worry, Situ Haonan grew even more agitated. “In a full year’s time, wouldn’t Ziqing already be…”

He couldn’t even bring himself to finish. Nearly a year — surely enough time for her to have been fully cultivated into a human Gu!

In truth, this was a question Yelu Qianqian and Yingzi had already considered, but they’d never dared dwell on it, never dared even guess what Xuanyuan Lige’s true intentions might be!

If she really had become a human Gu, what then?

How desperately they wished Jun Beiyue would wake soon, to tell them what to do!

At that moment, Xuanyuan Lige, who had been standing silently in the shadows, suddenly raised his head, his handsome face showing nothing but grim darkness. He had interest in nothing but Ziqing herself, none whatsoever in anything else, and said flatly, “Princess Qianqian, the person’s been saved now. I should be heading back. The dig at Mingsha Mountain must be nearly finished.”

The meaning behind his words was unmistakable — he was telling Yelu Qianqian plainly that everything that followed — exposing the mastermind behind all this, waking Jun Beiyue, and so on — held no interest for him whatsoever, and he had no intention of getting involved. All he wanted was absolute certainty that Ziqing was beneath Mingsha Mountain. All he wanted was to save her.

With that, he turned and walked away, giving Yelu Qianqian no chance to recover, while Yingzi and Situ Haonan watched his retreating figure grow smaller, exchanging complicated glances.

Only once he’d vanished completely did Yelu Qianqian cry out, “Young Master Xuanyuan, wait, you—”

But Situ Haonan quickly covered her mouth. “It’s no use. Him saving me was already more than enough kindness on his part.”

Perhaps even Yingzi didn’t fully understand Xuanyuan Lige — but Situ Haonan did.

He’d retreated into seclusion in the northern desert because of Ziqing.

And he’d emerged from seclusion for the same reason, Ziqing. This time, he wouldn’t let go again.

They couldn’t even begin to guess what this man might do once the gate to the world of poison beasts finally opened, if Ziqing had indeed been cultivated into a human Gu.

“Why hasn’t Beiyue woken yet? What’s actually wrong with him?” Situ Haonan asked urgently. Right now, the most critical matter of all was Jun Beiyue!

That bastard — how could he still not be awake, after an entire year!

“Young Master Situ, the Prince’s injuries are extremely severe, and there’s something else too…” Yingzi hesitated for a moment, then quietly relayed their earlier suspicions about Imperial Physician Gu.

Situ Haonan grew more and more shocked as he listened. “He wouldn’t dare!”

“Haonan, Imperial Physician Beiqiu is still investigating. You should keep playing unconscious for now — I’m confident we’ll get results soon!” Yelu Qianqian said earnestly. In truth, she almost hoped it really was Imperial Physician Gu behind it — because then, at least, there’d be a way to wake Jun Beiyue.

Situ Haonan nodded, looking at Yingzi with a serious expression. “Yingzi, no matter how this turns out, I’m the one who failed Jun Beiyue and Ziqing. You needn’t—”

Before he could even finish, Yingzi cut him off with a wave of his hand. “This isn’t the time for that.”

“If it weren’t for me, Ziqing never would have gone to Mingsha Mountain. If it weren’t for my parents, she wouldn’t have been hurt so badly either — she’d have left long ago. I bear responsibility for all of this. Rest assured, whether Jun Beiyue wakes or not, whether Ziqing is… whatever she’s become in that world of poison beasts, I will carry this burden, no matter what!”

“Enough!” Yingzi said, displeased. “If we’re talking about responsibility, I bear the most of it. If I hadn’t been so careless, you wouldn’t have been able to control the shadow guards or send false reports to the Prince! It’s all because of me!”

Just as the two of them were on the verge of arguing, a knock sounded at the back door — Imperial Physician Beiqiu’s secret signal. Yelu Qianqian cried out in alarm, “Is there news?”