In the corridor, all was silent, everyone’s footsteps hurried.

In truth, Meng the Second and Meng the Third had not, in fact, given much thought at all to Jun Beiyue’s injury or to the constitution that Physician Gu had long suspected.

The Meng clan had no special constitution to speak of — the physical constitutions of Meng clan people were much the same as those of the various Nanzhao tribes, even the peoples of the Longyuan mainland’s central regions.

What truly shocked them was the identity of Jun Beiyue’s birth mother — the very woman Prince Baxian referred to as the Consort Meng!

Meng Wanyue — wasn’t that exactly the name of their still-missing fourth sister?

Back then, their fourth sister had fled an arranged marriage, running away to the Longyuan mainland. Their father had flown into a rage over it, disowning her as his daughter and refusing to search for her.

Yet, their father not searching didn’t mean he had truly given up on this daughter in his heart.

Back then, at only sixteen or seventeen years old, Fourth Sister’s barrier arts were already ranked top-tier within the Meng clan — unmatched by anyone else of her generation!

As for Fourth Sister’s departure, they themselves had been only too glad to see her go!

Since she had left, how could they possibly let her return?

All these years, not to mention Meng the Second and Meng the Third, even Meng the Eldest had stationed people at the entrance to the Meng clan’s territory, with the sole purpose of preventing Meng Wanyue from returning.

They not only intercepted at the docks of Mengjie Island, but also, every year, under the pretext of training, dispatched no small number of disciples to search the Longyuan mainland.

Unfortunately, all these years, they had found nothing at all!

This time, now that they finally had the chance to personally come to the Longyuan mainland, besides searching for the dead barrier, they naturally intended to also search for that gifted fourth sister of theirs on the side!

But who would have thought — just as they were about to leave Nanzhao, Prince Nanzhao assigned them another task entirely.

At first, they hadn’t thought much of it, but it was precisely the name “Meng Wanyue” that caught their attention — so they hadn’t reported Prince Nanzhao’s message back to the Meng clan, and had instead privately taken on the task themselves.

All the way to Xuanlong Palace, both Meng the Second and Meng the Third had been lost in their own thoughts.

But when they arrived at Xuanlong Palace and saw Jun Beiyue in the medicinal pool, they were instantly stunned, as if their souls had left their bodies!

How could this be!

Seeing Meng the Second and Meng the Third’s expressions, Prince Baxian and the others were frightened half to death — what did such an expression mean?

Situ Haonan couldn’t hold back any longer. “Elder Meng, say something!”

Only then did Meng the Second come back to himself. Jun Beiyue’s appearance alone had already been shocking enough to him, but the ceaselessly pulsing heart on his chest left him even more dumbfounded.

If, before, they hadn’t been entirely certain whether the “Meng Wanyue” Prince Baxian spoke of was truly their clan’s Fourth Miss from back then, now, at this very moment, Meng the Second and Meng the Third could say with complete certainty — she was!

Because Jun Beiyue’s features resembled Meng Wanyue’s so closely, so very closely — especially those thin lips, and that cold, proud air between his brows. Any elder of the Meng clan who had known her would swear on the spot that he was the son of Fourth Miss Meng Wanyue!

They had never imagined Meng Wanyue had given birth to such a capable son — of imperial bloodline, the War God Prince of Longyuan!

Yet beyond the matter of identity, what truly shocked Meng the Second and Meng the Third, men who had seen no small amount of the world, was the bizarre state of Jun Beiyue’s heart!

They simply could not fathom what they were seeing!

Just as Meng the Second was about to answer Situ Haonan, Meng the Third suddenly exclaimed, “So alike! So very alike!”

At this, Meng the Second’s face darkened. He had no intention of telling this group the truth. Since Consort Meng was already dead anyway, he had no intention of acknowledging this nephew — he only planned to fabricate a lie to fool them all.

But just as Meng the Second was growing displeased, Meng the Third continued, “Prince Yao resembles my old friend so very closely! It appears Consort Meng truly was from the Meng clan, and moreover, was a close friend of mine in my youth!”

Hearing this, Meng the Second secretly breathed a sigh of relief — Meng the Third was quite reliable after all. It seemed they had, without any prior discussion, arrived at the same idea.

“What a coincidence, truly quite the coincidence!” Prince Baxian exclaimed with delight. Though somewhat disappointed that Meng Wanyue wasn’t a direct-line member of the Meng clan, as long as these two elders could save Jun Beiyue, that was worth more than anything else!

“Elder Meng, might Prince Yao’s condition have something to do with the constitution of Meng clan people?” Sha Qiuzi asked carefully, not caring about matters of status now, only about the injury.

“Of course. Meng clan people’s constitutions are indeed somewhat different from ordinary people, especially after severe injury,” Meng the Second said, stroking his goatee thoughtfully, then quickly added, “Rest assured, all of you, Prince Yao’s life is not in danger. As for how to nurture his recovery, please allow the two of us some time to discuss it.”

To others listening, this might have seemed like nothing unusual.

But Sha Qiuzi immediately sensed something was off, and asked at once, “Do the two of you also understand medicine?”

This question came off rather rudely, and everyone present could hear the suspicion in Sha Qiuzi’s tone. The atmosphere grew somewhat tense, but Meng the Second didn’t seem embarrassed at all — instead, he smiled and said, “Prince Yao’s constitution belongs neither to Wood nor to Fire. The Meng clan’s constitution is a mixed constitution of the Five Elements — Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth — combined. And Meng clan people’s heart pulse carries a power that has been sealed within it. Once the body’s vital energy becomes exhausted, this sealed power grows stronger day by day, until it finally breaks through the seal and bursts forth.”

Even Sha Qiuzi furrowed his brow at this, listening with rapt attention.

Meng the Second’s explanation accounted, quite perfectly, for the strange phenomena occurring in Jun Beiyue’s body — that being, the power sealed within him!

And this was precisely what neither Sha Qiuzi nor Physician Gu had ever understood!

Not just Sha Qiuzi, but even Physician Gu listened, utterly absorbed — to them, this was undoubtedly brand-new knowledge.

“So in that case, we needn’t do anything at all — once that sealed power breaks free, Prince Yao will simply recover on his own?” Sha Qiuzi asked further.

But Meng the Third smiled and shook his head. “This kind of seal is innate, a true mark of identity for Meng clan people. Without external force, it’s not so easily broken through — some people spend their entire lives unable to break through it at all!”

At this, everyone grew anxious.

Undoubtedly, Meng the Second and Meng the Third were their only hope!

Prince Baxian stepped forward hastily, setting aside his rank entirely, and bowed formally to the two Meng elders. “Esteemed Elders, for the sake of Prince Nanzhao, I beg you to lend Prince Yao your aid!”

Meng the Second hurried to help him up. “Prince Baxian, you honor us too much. Since Prince Yao is the son of my third brother’s old friend, and Prince Nanzhao has also given his instructions, we shall naturally do everything in our power. It’s only that how to break this seal requires careful discussion between my brother and me — after all, this concerns the heart pulse, not some trivial matter!”

Hearing Meng the Second say this, everyone finally felt reassured. Prince Baxian said quickly, “If there’s anything at all the two of you need, please don’t hesitate to ask!”

“Prince Baxian is too kind, too kind!” Meng the Second said humbly, then glanced back at Meng the Third — clearly quite pleased with himself.

This matter, they truly needed to discuss carefully — the truth was only half of what they had just claimed!