She wanted to ask?

Yes — the moment Ziqing had opened her mouth, Jun Beiyue already knew what she wanted to ask.

During his time unconscious, he hadn’t learned everything, but he certainly hadn’t learned nothing either.

He knew that Jun Beichen had been driven off by Prince Baxian more than once, believing all along that Jun Beichen had kept begging Prince Baxian to send the imperial search-and-arrest forces after her.

He knew that Physician Gu had drugged Situ Haonan, that Situ Haonan had fallen unconscious as a result, and that it was Xuanyuan Lige who had uncovered Physician Gu’s scheme.

He knew exactly what Physician Gu’s fears were!

He also knew about the misunderstanding Ziqing and Situ Haonan had witnessed from behind his back, back during the tornado.

In truth, he’d only been unconscious for a few months — his awareness had remained clear the entire time.

He’d heard the conversation between Prince Baxian and Physician Gu; he’d heard Situ Haonan and the others’ secret exchanges with Sha Qiuzi.

He was fully aware of every single thing!

In truth, he had been struggling this whole time, fighting to break through the shackles on his chest — he’d even pushed himself to the point of coughing up blood.

No one knew how deeply he’d worried for Ziqing’s safety, no one knew how much he resented himself — not until Situ Haonan told Sha Qiuzi about the season of death did he finally feel some measure of relief!

At least — whether or not Ziqing had turned into a human gu in the Poison Beast World, at least she was still there for the time being, still somewhere no one else could find!

And yet, he never stopped fighting, never stopped pushing to break free — and in the end, he finally broke through, only to find himself falling straight into the Poison Beast World.

It was as though some force had been guiding him the whole way here, and there he’d found Ziqing!

What a relief — this woman looked well, her complexion even better than before.

She hadn’t turned into a human gu. And he’d already made up his mind long ago — even if she had, he would still take her out of there, even if it meant facing the entire world as an enemy the moment he did. He wouldn’t have hesitated for a second.

And now, looking at the person before him, he felt such joy, such relief — and yet, such guilt as well.

“Go ahead and ask…” He waited, utterly sincere, ready to answer every question she had, ready to accept every reproach she might throw at him.

“You…”

Ziqing found herself taking an unconscious deep breath. This question had been buried inside her for so long, waited on for so long.

Not for one month, or two — but for nearly two years! Day and night she’d wanted to ask it, day and night she’d actually been asking herself, answering herself over and over.

But now that the one person who could truly answer this question stood right in front of her, she found she couldn’t quite bring herself to ask it, especially looking at this man.

Once, she had trusted him so completely, so utterly — or rather, trusted in the two of them, in a relationship that had never been easy, that had always been fraught with hardship. And now, was she really supposed to be the one to ask such a cruel question, out loud, to his face?

Looking at Jun Beiyue, Ziqing kept biting her lip, sniffling, staring directly into his eyes — and for a long, long while, she said nothing at all.

Everyone around them had no idea what was going on, and yet they found themselves drawn in despite themselves, watching with baffled curiosity, waiting.

What on earth could it be, that would leave the Great Zhou’s Prince Yao, ruler of Longyuan, that iron-blooded, domineering man, waiting so earnestly, so humbly?

What sort of question could leave the ever-decisive, ever-efficient Han Ziqing hesitating like this?

Xuanyuan Lige, kicked to his knees on the ground, one fist clenched tight, palm badly wounded, watched just as silently, waiting as well.

He knew exactly what Ziqing wanted to ask.

The little one’s initially excited heart gradually grew tense. The Silly Bear’s head had been plucked bald on both sides by now, revealing two patches of dark, exposed skin.

He’d stopped plucking fur now, instead lying flat against the Silly Bear’s head, nervously hugging one of its large ears.

He remembered now — he could confirm it, be absolutely certain of it — that overbearing man was his father!

Mommy had said, once she finally saw Daddy, she was going to ask him one question first, and then let him ask all the questions he wanted afterward.

What on earth was Mommy trying to ask?

Seeing Ziqing’s hesitation, Jun Beiyue didn’t rush her. He slowly eased back a little distance, a warm, doting smile curving at his lips, warm enough to melt anyone who saw it.

He couldn’t care less how many people were watching, couldn’t care less why the shimmering dagger kept striking that cliff.

Let it all be tossed aside for now. If this world belonged to him, then at this moment, his world contained nothing but Ziqing.

He waited. He waited patiently.

His warm, large hand gently tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, his fingertips lightly brushing her cheek, and he said softly, “So long apart, and now you’ve gotten all soft and hesitant?”

He was about to face the woman he loved and trusted most, about to be interrogated over another woman.

One could say that his devotion to her, his trust in her, was, at its core, being fundamentally called into question.

No one could say what bitterness, what feelings churned within him — and yet he really was smiling, smiling so beautifully, brimming with doting affection. Perhaps he felt he deserved this, felt he simply hadn’t been good enough.

“Silly girl, ask whatever you want to ask.”

Ziqing looked at him, her eyes clear and bright, almost hollow. Before seeing him, she had been so stubbornly furious, even resentful, determined to confront him the moment they met — but now that he was here, she…

If she had a choice, how could she bear to question, to doubt, the loyalty he’d shown her all this time, the way he’d never once left her side?

“Silly girl, ask. I’ll answer everything, I won’t lie to you,” Jun Beiyue said with a smile, doting as he ruffled her bangs.

At that, Ziqing finally spoke, her voice hoarse and choked with emotion. “Jun Beiyue, you… you… Jun Beiyue, what happened to your heart?”

In an instant, her eyes brimmed with hot tears, her small hand reaching carefully to touch the still-pounding pulse over his heart. “Jun Beiyue, does your heart… does it hurt?”

At those words, Jun Beiyue felt his own relentlessly pounding heart seem to skip a beat entirely.

Looking at the woman before him, her eyes brimming with tears that never quite fell, clearly meaning to interrogate him and yet asking this instead—

His heart truly did hurt.

It hurt a hundred times, a thousand times more than it had while he lay unconscious, thinking of her.

“It doesn’t hurt, I’m fine…” Even as his eyes reddened, he still laughed lightly. “Anything else you want to ask?”

Ziqing instinctively wanted to shake her head. In this world, since ancient times, was there any woman quite like her?

Having clearly seen the misunderstanding with her own eyes, and yet now that he stood before her, she found she had no more questions left to ask at all.

Not only did she not ask — she didn’t even make a fuss, simply standing there obediently, staring at his wounded heart.

If loving someone this deeply, falling this hard, meant anything, surely this was it!

Fortunately, loving this deeply, falling this hard — it hadn’t been the wrong choice after all.

Her not asking didn’t mean Jun Beiyue wouldn’t speak, wouldn’t explain.

In front of everyone present, this man who was normally so sparing with words, this proud, imperious ruler of his generation, no longer cared about face, status, dignity, or humility.

He took Ziqing’s small hand and pressed it against his chest. He had to explain.

This was his fault!

“Ziqing, I’m sorry… I lost you again. Bai Mengmeng ended up in Akbachu because I used her to trade with Nanny Qin for the secret of the Yaoshun Island totem. I thought the person buried in the sand was the gu master…”

In truth, Ziqing and Situ Haonan had also said it was the gu master — in such a dangerous situation, he’d wanted to eliminate the threat while keeping the person alive for questioning, so he’d pulled the person out first, mistakenly believing Ziqing had deliberately buried herself in the sand to escape the storm.