The moment they entered the passage, their feet touched solid ground, and they were free of the water.

Yet Jun Beiyue and Ziqing remained locked in that same retreating posture from underwater, Jun Beiyue holding her tightly from behind, Ziqing’s body pressed almost entirely against his.

That solid, real contact, that familiar warmth and scent, finally brought the thoroughly terrified Ziqing back to herself, made her realize—this was really happening.

It was over. They were safe.

“It’s over?” she murmured, almost to herself, though it sounded like a question directed at Jun Beiyue too. She tried to pull away, tried to turn and look at him.

But Jun Beiyue only held her tighter, as if trying to fold this woman entirely into his own body!

Seeing this, Baili Weisheng and the others fell silent, while the silver-clad guards grew furious instead.

These silver-clad guards, thoroughly cowed by the sword Jun Beiyue had left behind, hadn’t dared act recklessly, merely surrounding Baili Weisheng and the others, waiting for Jun Beiyue’s return.

Seeing Jun Beiyue holding a woman, his back turned to everyone, the guard captain finally lost his patience and roared, “Who exactly are you people, and if you dare act out of line again, don’t blame…”

But before he could finish, Jun Beiyue suddenly flicked his hand, sending a blade of wind flying with unerring precision straight across the captain’s cheek, carving out a long, bloody gash in an instant.

The guard captain froze in shock, mouth agape, as Jun Beiyue coldly tossed out three words: “Don’t make noise.”

By this point, Ziqing had fully come back to herself.

“Beiyue…”

She tried to turn her head, but Jun Beiyue’s arm remained domineeringly wrapped around her neck, pressing her head close against him.

“Is pushing me away that fun for you?” Jun Beiyue murmured, his earnest voice lingering right beside Ziqing’s ear, low and quiet—yet the fury threaded through it rang deafeningly loud in her heart!

For a long moment, she had no idea how to answer.

How could it possibly be fun? It wasn’t fun at all, not even a little!

She hadn’t thought that far ahead. She’d had only one thought—he couldn’t die!

Even in that moment, she had to admit her own selfishness—she hadn’t even considered everyone else present. As a wife, there had been only one thing on her mind.

She was immune to all poisons, her son too—only Jun Beiyue could be poisoned!

He absolutely could not die!

If he died, what would become of her? What would become of Xiong Bao?

“Answer me.” Jun Beiyue’s voice remained low, so very low, yet in the utterly silent passage, it rang perfectly clear. Everyone around them, whether Baili Weisheng and the others or the silver-clad guard captain, could feel just how overwhelming the fury radiating from this man’s turned back truly was.

“I…” Ziqing found herself momentarily at a loss. She was about to continue when she heard Jun Beiyue murmur softly, laced with faint self-mockery, “I’ve lost you twice already… this time, have I lost you to me?”

Only now did Ziqing—whose mind always seemed to be missing a crucial wire—finally grasp the true reason behind Jun Beiyue’s fury!

A great rumbling burst through her head, leaving her thoughts a complete blank.

“Why… why did you have to carry it all alone? Am I… not even worth trusting that much to you?”

The fury had suddenly drained from Jun Beiyue’s tone, replaced by helplessness, tenderness, and a faint trace of self-mockery.

He could have withstood those poisoned waves just as well!

And yet, this woman’s most instinctive response had been to push him away!

“This must be my greatest failure, then. If you carry everything on your own… then what use am I to you?”

Ziqing truly found herself at a loss for words, unsure how to respond. Hearing such helpless words, her heart ached as though something inside her were being torn apart. She couldn’t even imagine what expression this cold, domineering man might be wearing right now.

That shove of hers hadn’t just alarmed him—it had wounded his heart.

But she truly hadn’t meant it that way. She’d had only one thought—don’t let him die!

“Beiyue, I… I…”

Ziqing’s voice caught in her throat. It wasn’t that she wouldn’t explain—it was that she couldn’t. This man held her so tightly, so very tightly, and only growing tighter.

So tight it made her heart ache too, feeling so keenly, so vividly, his fear—the fear of losing her.

“Han Ziqing, I, Jun Beiyue… have already lost you twice already…”

Ziqing found she couldn’t speak at all. Though she had a thousand words of explanation waiting, in this moment she pressed her lips tightly shut instead, afraid she might lose control and burst into tears.

Beiyue, I’m sorry. Those two times, it was Qing’er who frightened you—you, who fears nothing under heaven or earth.

It wasn’t anger, wasn’t blame, wasn’t a matter of who bore the burden or who ran from it—it was simply that they were both afraid, afraid of losing each other.

For a long, long while, Jun Beiyue held Ziqing tight in his arms. If he could fold this woman entirely into his own body, would he ever again have to fear her slipping away from him once more?

Between them, silence—yet a thousand unspoken words, held close within each of their hearts.

Finally, it was a single sentence from Ziqing that made Jun Beiyue release her at once!

She said, “Beiyue, my hand… hurts so much, so much.”

She was nearly in tears—it really did hurt so badly. Now that she’d calmed down, the pain finally registered.

Jun Beiyue immediately let go of her, but in the very next instant, he snatched up her hand, only to find nothing unusual about it at all.

Jun Beiyue froze slightly, and Ziqing, aching so badly she was nearly crying, still managed a smile. “Silly, not this hand.”

As she spoke, she finally held out her right hand.

After hitting the water and swimming so swiftly, the rushing current had washed her fingers clean, but even now, the blood was still flowing!

There, before his eyes—her five fingers, tips and nails alike, looked as though they’d been sliced away by a blade, raw flesh exposed, blood flowing without pause!

Everyone around them gasped sharply in shock, too stunned to speak. A complicated look flickered through Meng Wanyue’s eyes as she immediately turned her gaze away.

Jun Beiyue stared at Ziqing’s fingers, his already pale face turning a deathly shade of purple. He gripped her wrist, and Ziqing could clearly feel his hand trembling!

Was it fury or fear? Perhaps even Jun Beiyue himself couldn’t tell the difference anymore.

All he knew was that in this instant, he wanted nothing more than to snap this woman’s hand and preserve it forever, so she could never, ever use it again!

More telling than the trembling was his breathing, ragged and unsteady, as though he were fighting to hold back deep, heaving breaths!

He tore a strip of cloth from his own sleeve and, without a word, carefully and gently bandaged Ziqing’s hand. Finally, he leaned in and murmured low beside her ear, a warning. “If there’s ever a next time, I will absolutely lock you away in the Prince Yao estate and never let you out again. The Solitary Island—I’ll find it myself for you.”

What was sharp wasn’t just the warning itself, but the look in his eyes as well.

This was the first time Ziqing had ever faced this man with such a piercing, severe gaze.

“Understand?” Jun Beiyue said coldly.

Ziqing looked at him timidly, saying nothing.

“Answer me!” Jun Beiyue’s temper flared.

In this whole world, she was truly the only one who didn’t fear this man’s fury at all. Ziqing pouted, her face full of wronged innocence, murmuring softly, “It really… really hurts.”

Faced with words like these, an expression like that, all of Jun Beiyue’s towering fury simply melted away at once. He looked at her, utterly at a loss for what to do with her, and gently took her hand, blowing softly on the wound before carefully tucking it against his chest, guarding it with the utmost care.

Only then did the two of them slowly turn to face everyone else…