The moment Jun Beiyue spoke, Meng Wanyue looked somewhat put out, while Xiong Xiaobao, still caught up in his excitement, stuck his tongue out at her and quietly gloated to himself.

“Alright, alright, all’s well that ends well — let’s get down to business,” Baili Weisheng said, pointing toward that oddly, eerily calm stretch of water in front of the gates, smoothly changing the subject.

“Right, what about that mother and son?” Meng Wanyue asked.

“They fled down below. Should we go down after them?” Baili Weisheng asked, glancing over at Jun Beiyue.

Whatever the reason the Helian mother and son were so determined to hunt them down to the death, they hadn’t come to the Innocent Abyss looking for trouble — they’d come searching for the ruins of the Isolated Isle, not to go looting.

Having lost his Golden Scale Armor and some of his special Jinjiao abilities, Baili Weisheng had to admit that facing such a mysterious stretch of water, he needed to proceed with caution.

This whole group included both the old and the young — a real dilemma. Naturally, the decision had to fall to Jun Beiyue.

“We’ve already searched the entire Shallow Sea Palace — why not look for this Deep Sea Palace first?” Jun Beiyue suggested. Underwater was certainly not his home ground, so recklessness wasn’t an option.

As for revenge, he had more than enough ways to make sure the Helian mother and son never made it back.

Ziqing nodded in agreement. As for this world that felt like an enormous barrier unto itself, she was naturally curious — this magnificent, golden Deep Sea Palace was far more mysterious and noble than the Shallow Sea Palace above.

She couldn’t shake the feeling that this palace was itself some kind of barrier construct, and that it had some connection to the Dream Clan — perhaps they’d find something here.

As the others made their way into the palace, Baili Weisheng remained leaning lazily against the great stone pillar, not moving. “I’ll keep watch here. Go on, search all you like, take your time.”

Indeed, someone needed to stand guard here.

Jun Beiyue didn’t turn back, only raising a hand to show he’d heard. Baili Xiaosheng had been about to follow along, but seeing her master stay behind, she immediately turned back and stood obediently at his side.

At that, Meng Wanyue paused in her tracks, turning to look back at Baili Xiaosheng — and saw that the girl, who had been leaning against the stone pillar, had immediately straightened her posture, her entire body tensed, as though she’d just been given some kind of warning.

A satisfied curve touched the corner of Meng Wanyue’s lips before she turned and walked away.

Soon, Ziqing and her family disappeared into the golden splendor of the palace. The gates of the Jinjiao Palace stood wide open; the massive waves from before had driven away every last school of small fish, leaving this stretch of ocean unusually quiet.

Baili Xiaosheng looked up at Baili Weisheng, seeming to want to say something, then hesitating, before finally lowering her head in silence.

As for Baili Weisheng, he treated this disciple of his as though she were invisible, leaning back against the pillar, head tilted up, and before long slowly closed his eyes.

He looked like he was lazing about resting, but in truth, his mind was already in tremendous turmoil.

Those creatures earlier — they’d been Silver Jiao. Silver Jiao with reverse scales! And so many of them, and yet he hadn’t caught even the faintest trace of their scent, only sensing something strange about them.

Utterly inexcusable. He truly felt he’d disgraced the name of Jinjiao.

He shut his eyes tight, trying to summon his golden scales, but no matter how many times he silently repeated the attempt, nothing happened at all.

Master and disciple sat in silence, as still and quiet as the sea before them.

And Madam Jinjiao, trapped within the pillar, was at this moment so close to Baili Weisheng — yet no matter how close, it made no difference; she would never know what this child was thinking in his heart right now.

She watched Baili Weisheng, warmth and a smile brimming in her eyes — what a lazy child he was.

She had no idea what this group was searching for — the Jinjiao Palace was enormous; they wouldn’t finish exploring it in a day or two.

After a long while, Madam Jinjiao’s gaze slowly drifted toward that calm stretch of water by the palace gates. Beneath that stillness, there was certainly some secret — she wondered whether these young people would dare venture down.

Only she, having grown up here since childhood, knew that the boundless deep sea held no treasures worth an outsider’s search.

Indeed, the boundless deep sea held no treasure at all. But the ones scheming after it were not Jun Beiyue and his group — it was Xuanyuan Lige, who had long known of the deep sea’s existence.

Under the June sky, the grasslands lush with water and grass, the afternoon sun fading, hawks soaring low, the wind bending the grass low enough to reveal the cattle and sheep beneath.

The Xiongnu kingdom had no custom of mourning — after the old Xiongnu king passed away, Minhan Mudeer ascended to the throne, and the whole capital was alive with celebration.

Inside the vast command tent, Xuanyuan Lige and Minhan Mudeer sat facing one another. Minhan Mudeer hadn’t kept a single guard present, while Xuanyuan Lige had brought only Mi’er.

Minhan Mudeer looked Mi’er over and bluntly assumed she was simply Xuanyuan Lige’s woman. “Women… cannot be trusted.”

Had Xuanyuan Lige not threatened the life of the Gu Nanny, Minhan Mudeer would never have agreed to meet with him at all. Even though it galled him deeply, under the current dominance of Longyuan, if the Xiongnu were discovered colluding with East Qin, and Jun Beiyue found out, the consequences would be more than the Xiongnu could bear.

Besides, East Qin now held nothing but a meager stretch of the northern frontier highlands — hardly worth partnering with the Xiongnu at all.

“Don’t worry, she’s deaf,” Xuanyuan Lige said flatly, as though remarking on the most ordinary thing in the world, lifting his teacup for a sip, utterly at ease. Yet beside him, Mi’er’s heart was bleeding.

She had followed this man all the way north to the grasslands, and just as her heart was filling with joy at the sight of the stunning grassland scenery, two burly men had dragged her away and struck her hard across the face several times. Unable to bear the pain and terror, she’d fainted on the spot.

When she woke, she was in the tent — and found the world utterly silent, a silence so complete it terrified her.

She never saw those two men again. All she found was that the young master had written two characters on the low table — a name he’d bestowed upon her: “Mute Slave!”

Tears poured down her face instantly.

This man wanted to keep her by his side, yet wanted her to hear nothing at all about him, wanted her to never speak again.

Her savior!

The man she couldn’t help but love, helplessly, against her will!

Why was he so ruthless, so cold and merciless? She couldn’t help but wonder — was there anyone in this world who could ever find their way into this man’s frozen heart?

The pain, she kept locked within.

Even so, though she followed, she held no resentment, no anger, silently trailing along with him to this place.

Young master, you saved my life, protected my honor — this life of mine belongs to you, for as long as I live.

“Deaf?” Minhan Mudeer finally nodded. “Xuanyuan Lige, we’re both men who understand each other — why don’t we speak plainly. You’ve come to me because you want West Chu, haven’t you?”

“Your Majesty is indeed sharp,” Xuanyuan Lige said flatly.

Flattered, Minhan Mudeer rolled his neck, feigning indifference, though in truth he was insufferably smug. “Xuanyuan Lige, are you planning to fly over the Innocent Abyss and strike from the east while I strike from the west? Or are you planning to go beg Jun Beiyue to lend you the Three Realms Territory, so we can strike from north and south together?”

The words dripped with sarcasm — whether east-west or north-south, neither scenario was remotely possible!

Everyone knew it perfectly well!

Having said his piece, Minhan Mudeer burst into laughter, amused by his own joke.

Xuanyuan Lige, however, remained expressionless, slowly unrolling a map across the low table, tapping it three times with deliberate calm, drawing Minhan Mudeer’s attention.

Minhan Mudeer frowned, lowering his gaze to look — and the instant he saw what was drawn on the map, his expression changed drastically. “This is…!”