“Snap—”
A crisp, clean sound rang out as the two thick ropes supporting the long bridge broke at once!
This single-lane bridge was a suspension bridge, held up by just four iron cables on either side, with wooden planks laid across the frame. It wasn’t hard to imagine what would happen once one side gave way!
Everything happened in an instant. Most of the bridge structure sprang loose as if launched, then plunged downward — and the carriage stranded right in the middle, horses and all, had no time to flee, nowhere to run. As the bridge collapsed, it plummeted straight into the water below.
It all happened so fast that not even the people inside the carriage — let alone the arrogant boy driving it — had time to react before they and the carriage plunged into the water together!
The river beneath the bridge ran fierce and swift. Even a carriage that massive was immediately swept some distance downstream before finally catching and stopping — but the driver, the boy, and whoever had been tossed from inside the carriage weren’t nearly so fortunate!
Once thrown into water like that, unless one’s skills were excellent, even a strong swimmer would have their life hanging by a thread for a moment, entirely at the mercy of the current, with no chance to struggle free.
Ziqing and Jun Beiyue exchanged a glance, perfectly in sync. Ziqing immediately leapt onto Baili Weisheng’s carriage behind them, temporarily taking over as driver.
“Everyone hold on tight — we’re crossing the river!”
Jun Beiyue laughed and immediately cracked the whip. Behind him, Ziqing fell into perfect coordination, pulling back a distance to prepare.
Jun Beiyue’s carriage leapt into motion first, and she launched into her own sprint right after!
Jun Beiyue drove the carriage in a soaring leap straight over the river, using the sunken carriage below as a springboard to launch himself once more, and in one smooth motion sailed all the way to the opposite bank, landing safely.
Ziqing followed close behind. But just as her horses used the sunken carriage as a springboard, the push must have landed a bit too hard — the wrecked carriage suddenly gave way completely, and in that instant, a flash of white shot up into the air from within it!
Ziqing’s attention was entirely on controlling the carriage’s direction, and thankfully she landed safely as well. But little Xiong Bao beside her reached out and caught the white object in midair!
It was a white jade flute!
Once they’d landed, little Xiong Bao asked honestly, “Mommy, what’s this thing?”
“Where did it come from?” Ziqing asked, puzzled.
“It flew out of that carriage just now,” Xiong Bao answered. Jun Beiyue and Baili Xiaosheng both looked over as well — Baili Weisheng, meanwhile, truly was in deep hibernation; even all this commotion hadn’t woken him.
This flute wasn’t like an ordinary one. Regular flutes were long, with six finger-holes, but this small white jade flute had only four holes and wasn’t very long at all — delicate and dainty, only slightly longer than a dagger. Made of top-grade white jade, pure white as mutton fat throughout, without a single seam or flaw — clearly carved from a single solid piece of jade in one continuous process.
Though no one could tell exactly what it was for, both Ziqing and Jun Beiyue could tell instantly that it was undoubtedly a treasure.
Ziqing asked Baili Xiaosheng, “Do you know what this is?”
Baili Xiaosheng shook her head — she had no idea either, though she suspected her master would know. They’d have to ask him once he woke up. For now, they should hurry and get moving.
“Prince Yao, that carriage back there belonged to the Xiao family of the Beast Clan. We’re not far from Xiao territory — we’d best leave quickly!” Baili Xiaosheng reminded them.
Though the people had already been swept away by the current and wouldn’t cause immediate trouble, lingering here too long still carried risk.
Ziqing smiled. They really couldn’t afford to provoke Nanzhao’s people right now.
But if you can’t afford to provoke them, you can at least afford to hide from them, right? Well — provoke first, hide second, apparently.
Jun Beiyue nodded, and he and Ziqing each drove a carriage, racing off swiftly.
No one knew how far Jun Beiyue’s group had traveled by the time — much later — the two who’d fallen into the water finally managed to climb ashore, having been swept from upstream all the way down to the lower reaches. Fortunately, both were skilled swimmers, or they would have lost their lives long ago.
“Sister, are you all right?”
“I’m fine! How outrageous — did you get a good look at who they were? How dare they act so recklessly on our Xiao family’s territory!”
The boy who’d been driving and the person inside the carriage were none other than the Xiao siblings — Xiao Xue and Xiao Yu.
“Don’t worry, sister — we have the jade flute. You think they can really get away?” Xiao Yu snorted coldly. Xiao Xue nodded in agreement, then reached for her waist — only then realizing something was wrong. She cried out in alarm, “Where’s my jade flute?”
Xiao Yu was startled too, immediately searching all around — but sure enough, aside from soaked ground everywhere, there was nothing to be found.
“Could it have been swept away by the water?” Xiao Xue cried out in alarm.
Xiao Yu, who moments ago had been so composed while provoking Xiong Bao, now looked utterly panicked, completely at a loss.
That jade flute was the Xiao family’s most treasured possession — the very foundation of the Xiao family’s standing within the Beast Clan!
If it were truly lost, the consequences would be unthinkable!
The siblings had long since forgotten all about Ziqing’s group, and heedless of being soaked head to toe, immediately plunged back into the water, searching along the direction of the current.
Had Ziqing witnessed this scene, she would certainly have used it to teach little Xiong Bao a lesson — that keeping your composure isn’t the only thing that matters; discretion matters just as much. Never provoke others carelessly, especially children and seemingly harmless people — because you never know how many devils might be hiding right beside them.
The siblings, of course, never found the jade flute. Once little Xiong Bao learned that the flute was a treasure, he tucked it away on his person just as securely as his money-storing poison pouch. Within a few days, Ziqing’s group arrived at the harbor.
Though Jun Beiyue was away from the court and the military, he kept close watch over every stir and movement across the Longyuan continent. Every few days, Shadow would deliver a stack of secret reports.
In the aftermath of the peace conference, aside from keeping an eye on Dongqin, the other matter requiring attention was Nanzhao.
Old Meng Two and Old Meng Three had been tasked by the Nanzhao king with searching for the death seal. With Jun Beiyue now controlling both Old Meng Two and Old Meng Three, keeping the Nanzhao king in the dark was easy enough — the real key concern remained Xuanyuan Lige.
Jun Beiyue had been waiting, watching for whatever move Xuanyuan Lige and the Second Young Master of the Beast Clan would make next. If they wanted to contest the realm with him, he’d see it through to the end. But if they truly sank low enough to use Ziqing’s origins against her, to drag the Nanzhao royal family into it, then he wouldn’t hold back on principle either — even allying with devils, he’d have no hesitation.
No matter what it took, he would never allow Ziqing and their son to be harmed. No matter what it took, he would never allow Nanzhao’s beast-clan army to cross so much as a step into Da Zhou’s southern border.
As for Ziqing — she had long since made her feelings clear, and from the very start her stance had never wavered: if Xuanyuan Lige let go of his grudge between Dongqin and Da Zhou, they could remain friends, and she would repay kindness with kindness. But if he couldn’t let it go, then they would be enemies, and on the battlefield, she would show no mercy.
As the great ship bound for the Dream Clan drew near, Jun Beiyue tucked away the secret dispatch and took Xiong Bao from Ziqing’s arms. Baili Weisheng was still asleep, carried on Shadow’s back, looking peaceful and serene — every bit the elegant, gentle scholar, as though he might start quoting classical texts the moment he opened his mouth.
The ship, exclusively used by the Dream Clan, had naturally been arranged by Old Meng Five. Ziqing and Jun Beiyue gazed out at the vast, boundless sea, with no idea what this journey to the Dream Clan would bring them.
And just as the ship pulled away from the harbor, two figures — one in purple, one in black — appeared at the dock. They were…