Seeing Meng Duo’er dash forward, Fifth Elder Meng rushed back to pull her away, only to find that the girl had already hoisted the man in black onto her shoulder.

In the darkness it was hard to make out who it was, but from the build alone it was clearly a man, and a tall one at that.

Astonished at his daughter’s strength, Fifth Elder Meng had no time to think about anything else — he led her toward a corner, running straight into a nearby alley.

Whether soldiers were chasing them from behind, he had no idea. Fifth Elder Meng just kept running and running, until the sky began to lighten, and only then did father and daughter finally stop.

Gasping for breath, Fifth Elder Meng looked at his equally breathless daughter and pointed at the man on her shoulder. “You… you… isn’t he heavy?”

“Very… very light. This man is strange, he’s so light!”

As Meng Duo’er spoke, she set the man down, and the moment he touched the ground he collapsed completely, sprawled flat on his back, showing no sign of strength — not even the slightest breath.

Had she carried a corpse all this way? At the thought, Meng Duo’er clapped a hand over her mouth, her face draining of color.

“Father, he’s not dead, is he!”

Fifth Elder Meng shot her a disdainful look. “A man bold enough to be an assassin, and you’re afraid of a dead body?”

Fifth Elder Meng, being a man of experience, could tell at a glance that the man wasn’t dead — but he was certainly gravely ill.

He carefully pulled off the black hood covering the man’s head, and immediately drew a sharp breath of cold air.

“Silver hair!” Meng Duo’er blurted out.

Such beautiful silver hair — she had seen the silvery-white hair of long-lived elders before, but never hair this beautiful. That pure silver sheen gave off an untouchable, noble air.

Who was he?

Besides Xuanyuan Lige, the greatest zither master under heaven, who else could have such beautiful silver hair?

Unfortunately, this father and daughter had no idea who he was.

Looking at his face, pale as a spirit about to dissolve into ash, Meng Duo’er stared, unable to tear her eyes away.

Seeing his daughter’s smitten expression, Fifth Elder Meng rolled his eyes repeatedly — it seemed she’d worn a similar look when she’d run into that rude young man at the city gate.

They hadn’t been on the continent of Longyuan long, and instead of picking up anything useful, this little wretch had caught herself a case of infatuation!

Fifth Elder Meng checked Xuanyuan Lige’s breath and confirmed there was still life in him, though his brow remained tightly furrowed.

Though the young man still had breath left in him, it was terribly faint — from the look of it, he was gravely ill, perhaps not far from death.

“Father, let’s take him back to the inn and find him a doctor quickly!” Meng Duo’er had noticed the same thing.

“You little wretch, can’t you stop dragging me into trouble?” Fifth Elder Meng said irritably.

“Father, this man doesn’t seem like a bad person — let’s just save him, think of it as earning merit!” Meng Duo’er pleaded.

Fifth Elder Meng rolled his eyes again. “Didn’t you hear the people in the palace shouting ‘assassin’? Whatever he went in there to do, breaking into the forbidden grounds of the imperial palace is no small matter — how could he possibly be a good person?”

“So does that mean we’re not good people either?” Meng Duo’er asked very seriously.

At that, Fifth Elder Meng realized he’d just talked himself into a corner. He clicked his tongue, then said impatiently, “Fine, fine, we’ll save him, save him! Once he’s awake, he can lead us into the palace!”

But once Fifth Elder Meng and his daughter had brought Xuanyuan Lige back to the inn and had a doctor examine him, father and daughter both grew grim-faced.

This was a man on the brink of death — there was nothing to be done.

When it came to saving lives, nothing was more frightening than encountering someone beyond saving.

Xuanyuan Lige lay unconscious on the bed. He had originally been tailing the Meng Clan group together with the second young master of the Beast Clan, but now the initiative had passed into Situ Haonan and his group’s hands.

Ever since the two Meng Clan elders had entered the palace, he had lost all contact — these past several days, even Yingzi had sent no word.

It wasn’t that he didn’t care — it was eating at him terribly!

His mind was consumed only with Ziqing’s safety, her whereabouts. He had never once cared whether Jun Beiyue lived or died — if anything, in the past he’d hoped the man would die; now he hoped he’d survive.

If the two Meng Clan elders lingered in the capital, it would surely delay the search for the death barrier.

It had been over a year now, and he never dared imagine what Ziqing might have gone through in the Poisonous Beast World — whether she was alive or dead, still human or turned into something else.

He dared not think about it at all. He held onto only one belief, the one conviction keeping him going — he had to save her!

Back when he was at Yanzi’s mercy, he had risked his very life to save her; at the time, he’d never expected to survive at all. Since he had lived this long, he was certain he could save her once more!

Talk of friendship, of being kindred spirits, of loyalty — it was all just an excuse. There was only one real reason: he was in love with Han Ziqing!

But despite all his martial skill, this illness had worn him down until he was weaker than an ordinary guard. If not for his familiarity with the layout of the Da Zhou palace, he would have been killed as an assassin long ago.

Fifth Elder Meng and his daughter sat leaning against either side of the bed, both eyeing the man lying there.

In the silence, Meng Duo’er spoke first. “Father, are we saving him or not?”

“Your father here is neither a physician nor an immortal — didn’t you just hear that doctor say only a god could save him, no one else could!”

Fifth Elder Meng went on, clicking his tongue and sighing repeatedly, “Such a shame, so young, what a waste!”

“Father!” Meng Duo’er glared and stamped her foot.

“There’s nothing to be done!” Fifth Elder Meng remained firm as iron.

“If you won’t save him, I’ll go back to the Meng Clan and expose you!” Meng Duo’er threatened with a fierce look.

The way she said it made it sound as though Fifth Elder Meng truly did have a way to save him, yet his attitude remained resolute — no meant no.

Meng Duo’er stamped her feet in frustration, though she knew she’d never actually dare go back to the clan.

With Xuanyuan Lige still unconscious, father and daughter had no choice but to leave him at the inn for the time being.

Three days passed. During those three days, father and daughter went to the palace gate every day, but could never get in.

The more they failed to get in, the more curious they grew about just who from the Meng Clan had come here.

So they returned once again to Xuanyuan Lige’s bedside, sitting across from each other in silence, neither one speaking.

And just then, Xuanyuan Lige stirred groggily awake. The moment his eyes focused on the people before him, he lurched upright — too forcefully — and a wave of dizziness immediately forced him back down.

“Who are you people!” he said coldly, well aware of how precarious his situation was; he’d made no shortage of enemies in the martial world before this.

“You’re the assassin?” Fifth Elder Meng chuckled.

“Who exactly are you, what do you want, why am I here?” Xuanyuan Lige demanded, straining to suppress the metallic taste of blood in his throat, trying not to appear weak.

But Fifth Elder Meng brushed it off with a laugh, “Assassin, it doesn’t matter who we are — all you need to know is that we’re the ones who saved your life. Now then…”

Fifth Elder Meng glanced at his daughter, signaling for her to speak.

Unfortunately, Meng Duo’er had already been utterly captivated by Xuanyuan Lige’s cold, aloof air — she’d never expected such a noble, handsome man to have such an icy side.

“Duo’er, say something!” Fifth Elder Meng said, displeased.

Meng Duo’er finally snapped out of it, a little embarrassed, and said timidly, “That is… assassin sir… you people from the Central Plains value repaying kindness, don’t you? Shouldn’t you repay us for saving your life?”

From these words, Xuanyuan Lige pieced together roughly what had happened — it seemed these weren’t enemies after all, but truly people who’d saved his life.

“What exactly do you want? Just say it plainly,” he said coldly.

“Good, this old man likes straight talkers! We want you to sneak us into the palace!”

Fifth Elder Meng got straight to the point. Xuanyuan Lige laughed at this. “Do you think, looking like this, I could even get in?”

Fifth Elder Meng looked him up and down and nodded. “As long as you’re willing, I guarantee you’ll get in!”