Baili Weisheng’s injuries couldn’t wait. That very night, once Jun Beiyue had settled everything, they were to set out!

The peace conference had only just concluded — no one would have expected Jun Beiyue to leave Da Zhou so soon. And Jun Beiyue chose to travel discreetly; after all, this matter shouldn’t be made public. Their destination, the Dream Clan, lay in waters far south of Nanzhao, and Nanzhao was a necessary route through.

Nanzhao had always been a source of trouble — no one would dare provoke it out of overconfidence.

Jun Beiyue found an excuse to have Old Meng Five personally escort Old Meng Three and Old Meng Two ahead of the group.

Ever since Ziqing had left the poison beast world, one crisis had followed another without pause. She hoped the journey itself might give everyone a few days to rest.

The road ahead was no short distance — if Old Meng Five traveled with them, there was no telling what trouble might arise. With an elder like that, the best strategy was simply to keep one’s distance.

Before leaving, Ziqing went to see Hongyi, who was still unconscious. Sha Qiuzi had taken over from Imperial Physician Gu. Though there was hope she might wake, her condition had dragged on too long, and Sha Qiuzi couldn’t promise Ziqing a fully recovered person anytime soon.

Seeing Ziqing remain silent for so long, Sha Qiuzi felt for her.

“Your Highness, go attend to your affairs with an easy mind. This old man guarantees he’ll watch over her for you.”

Only then did Ziqing come back to herself, smiling faintly. “I’m in your debt.”

“Your Highness is too courteous…” Sha Qiuzi paused, then added, “Your Highness, your constitution is unusual — please take good care of yourself.”

Ziqing nodded repeatedly. This was perhaps the only warmth she’d ever received from an elder — even just this one sentence was enough to move her deeply.

“Elder Sha, please take care of yourself as well,” Ziqing said earnestly.

The single honorific caught Sha Qiuzi off guard with unexpected favor; he hurriedly bowed in return — given Ziqing’s status as mother of the nation, he felt he couldn’t bear such courtesy.

After bidding Sha Qiuzi farewell, Ziqing hurried to the palace gate to join the others, and from a distance she spotted the massive frame of the big foolish bear.

Since this journey called for discretion, the big foolish bear couldn’t come along. Little Xiong Bao was so upset he was nearly in tears, wishing he could feed the bear his own blood just to help it become a top-tier poison beast faster.

Unfortunately, Ziqing and Jun Beiyue would absolutely never allow that, and besides, given the bear’s natural talent, it wouldn’t happen that quickly anyway.

Reluctantly, the big foolish bear had to be left behind in the capital.

Everyone was ready to depart, but Xiong Bao still clung tightly to the big bear’s ears, his eyes brimming with tears, ready to cry at any moment.

After all, since the day he was born, he had never once been apart from the big bear.

The big bear lay flat on the ground, its round black eyes filled with sorrow. In this moment, how it envied the four elite poison beasts who could freely change size at will — hating itself for being too lazy to cultivate diligently all this time!

Watching the child and the bear cling silently to each other, no one had the heart to rush them. Baili Xiaosheng sat on the Zizhu Beast’s back, glancing between little Xiong Bao and Jun Beiyue, unable to imagine what this affectionate little bear cub would grow up to become.

Truly impossible to say — the saying went that a child’s character at three shows their nature at thirty, but this little one wasn’t even two years old yet, three years younger than herself.

No one had the heart to hurry them along. In the end it was Ziqing, his mother, who finally spoke up. She stepped forward and embraced Xiong Bao, coaxing him gently. “Be good now. We need to get going — we can’t keep everyone waiting just for you.”

Little Xiong Bao looked at everyone, then at Ziqing, saying nothing, clearly unwilling to let go. The big bear, sensing the moment, let out a low whine, as though urging Xiong Bao along.

“Be a good boy. We’re going to the Dream Clan to open the Qiankun Poison Pouch and rescue your grandmother. Once that’s done, the big bear can hide inside the Qiankun Poison Pouch, and you can bring it with you wherever you go!”

As Ziqing spoke, she wasn’t just comforting little Xiong Bao — she also gently stroked the big bear’s head. Her feelings for the big bear were no less than Xiong Bao’s own.

In truth, it was the big bear that had given her back her life. That debt of gratitude, she could never repay in this lifetime. Of course she wished she could bring it along.

But this bear — forget going to Nanzhao, even leaving the imperial palace would immediately draw a crowd.

Hearing Ziqing’s words, Xiong Bao finally softened a little. “Then how long will we be gone?”

“That… it’s hard to say,” Ziqing said. She didn’t like lying to her child.

Xiong Bao looked toward Jun Beiyue, but he didn’t know either, and merely shrugged helplessly.

“Then… once we open the Qiankun Poison Pouch, we’ll come straight back for the big bear, right?” Xiong Bao asked again. Not to mention they’d never been apart before — even if he could bear the separation, leaving the big bear alone here left him deeply uneasy.

He couldn’t just make more friends, widen his social circle, enrich his life, and toss aside the bear-father who’d shared hardship with him.

As Xiong Bao spoke these words, all four elite poison beasts turned to look at him, feeling that their affection for this child had truly not been wasted.

“All right!” Ziqing agreed immediately, scooping Xiong Bao up in one arm while stroking the big bear’s head with the other, saying earnestly, “You be good too, and wait for Xiong Bao to come back for you!”

The big bear seemed to understand, nodding repeatedly and letting out joyful whimpers, its honest, simple manner making everyone laugh with affection.

Depart!

At last, they could finally set off!

That night, they slipped quietly out of the palace and headed south without a trace.

The journey was swift, with Shadow Guards clearing and guiding the way discreetly ahead of them, making the road to Nanzhao smooth and untroubled. Though the two carriages looked plain from the outside, inside they were furnished to the highest imperial standard.

Ziqing spent most of the trip catching up on sleep, curled up in Jun Beiyue’s arms with Xiong Bao nestled against her. The three of them in one carriage, enjoying imperial treatment, yet feeling as warm and cozy as an ordinary family.

Most of the time, Jun Beiyue stayed alert and watchful — after all, no matter how discreetly they traveled, there would still be plenty of eyes on them: Xuanyuan Lige and the Second Young Master of the Beast Clan, Consort Qin of Nanzhao, and of course, the many enemies Baili Weisheng had made along the way.

Of course, he occasionally dozed off too, the three of them sleeping in a tangled heap. Whenever Ziqing shifted, little Xiong Bao would roll off like a ball. Half-asleep, Ziqing would instinctively reach out to catch him, but Jun Beiyue was always faster, scooping Xiong Bao back and tucking him safely behind himself before continuing to sleep.

Baili Weisheng’s carriage was far quieter by comparison. Once he decided to sleep, he went straight into full hibernation. The little medicine girl, however, dutifully kept watch beside him, always staring at him, and would drift into a daze while doing so, an unguarded look of anxiety occasionally slipping across her face.

“Master, you have to be okay!” she murmured to herself. In truth she was barely three years older than Xiong Bao, but when it came to maturity, she was far more grown up than him. To her — a girl without parents — her master was her entire world.

The carriages raced on, having long since crossed out of Nanzhao’s territory. With Baili Weisheng as their local guide, the road remained smooth throughout. Jun Beiyue’s carriage led the way, with Baili Weisheng’s behind. Bored with nothing to do, Xiong Bao moved up front to learn carriage-driving from Shadow — it was exactly the age for eager curiosity, wanting to try everything. Young as he was, small hands and all, when it came down to actual strength, he was genuinely stronger than Shadow.

At this moment, Xiong Bao was in control of the carriage, with Shadow seated beside him. Before long, they reached a single-lane bridge, extremely narrow, the wheels skimming dangerously close to the edge, in constant risk of tipping over.

Xiong Bao, quite bold, didn’t ask Shadow to take over, driving carefully but confidently across. But just as the two carriages had crossed more than half the bridge, an extravagant carriage suddenly came charging from the opposite direction, barreling straight onto the bridge!

Shadow panicked and moved to help, but Jun Beiyue, who had already lifted the carriage curtain at some point, gestured for him to hold back.

As the oncoming carriage drew closer and closer, showing no sign of slowing at all — could Xiong Bao possibly hold steady in this situation?