The news of Jing Yi’s death in the prison quickly reached the imperial palace. After hearing it, Emperor Qizhen showed no reaction—he merely waved his hand and ordered the Ministry of Justice to collect the body.

In the end, the corpse was intercepted by Jingrong, who secretly sent people to transport it to Dongjiang.

At the same time, the Emperor also issued a decree, enfeoffing Kong Shengyi as Duke Jin’an and Kong Qu as General of Cavalry, entrusting him with two hundred thousand troops to continue guarding the borders of Great Lin. This storm finally ceased amidst one death after another.

Everything returned to the beginning.

…

Ji Yunshu didn’t remember how long she had been asleep. When she opened her eyes, she found herself standing on a battlefield filled with smoke and gunpowder. All around her were soldiers in armor lying in pools of blood, and countless flags on the ground being consumed by fire. White smoke filled the sky, nearly blurring her vision. She could only hear the sound of weapons clashing in the distance. She moved her steps forward with difficulty. When the white smoke before her eyes gradually cleared, she finally made out the two people ahead.

A man in armor, covered in blood, stood with his back to her, holding a long sword raised high. He thrust it viciously toward the man opposite him. The blade immediately pierced deep into flesh and bone. Blood dripped from the wound bit by bit onto the ground. That person finally fell into a pool of blood and died.

In that moment, Ji Yunshu’s eyes widened in extreme terror, and her body instinctively staggered back several steps.

Because the person killed by the sword… was Muruo!

He was covered in wounds, his eyes refusing to close in death.

Then, who was the person who killed him?

When the man standing before Muruo slowly turned around, white smoke rose up around them again, blocking Ji Yunshu’s view. She could only force her eyes wide open to see. That sense of curiosity and urgency drove her to walk forward involuntarily, until… that face gradually enlarged before her eyes.

That person…

“Ah?”

She suddenly sat up from the bed, drenched in sweat, gasping for breath through pale lips.

When the scene before her eyes became clearer and clearer, she suddenly realized it had been a dream. She was currently lying on a large bed. What met her eyes were gray-white bed curtains hanging down loosely. The window was probably not closed, and the wind was gently stirring the bed curtains, making them flutter softly.

She twisted her neck, but it hurt terribly. She reached up to touch it and discovered her neck was wrapped in thick bandages.

She remembered… hadn’t she already become a soul under Jing Yi’s sword?

She stretched out her ten fingers and gently curled them a few times. It felt so real.

Hm?

A faint breathing sound came from beside the bed.

She turned her head to look and saw Wei Yi sleeping with his head resting on the bedside. His clean face carried a gentle warmth, but his entire person seemed to have become much thinner. Probably because there was a warming stove in the room, his face was flushed red, somewhat overheated. Long, thick eyelashes faintly fluttered over his tightly closed eyes. Even though he was in slumber at this moment, his brow remained furrowed.

How many days had this foolish boy been keeping watch at her side?

Ji Yunshu couldn’t help but reach out to touch that clean face of his, tears welling up in her eyes.

Perhaps her hand was too cold—Wei Yi’s body shuddered, and he opened his eyes.

“Shu’er.”

His tone carried excitement, emotion, elation, sadness… a complex mixture of feelings.

He sat up, grasping her slender hand. The brow that had been furrowed finally relaxed. His gaze met Ji Yunshu’s gentle, ethereal eyes and he was unwilling to move it even a fraction. A smile gradually bloomed at the corners of his mouth.

Such a smile—as if in an instant it could make one forget all sorrow and worry. And such a man was so handsome, backlit like an angel.

Ji Yunshu examined him carefully, looking at that thin face of his. Tears involuntarily fell.

Wei Yi raised his hand to wipe away her tears, then stroked the stray hair scattered across her face, gently tucking it behind her ear. Those clearly defined fingers then lightly touched her forehead. His clean, clear eyes revealed tenderness.

He said nothing.

“Wei Yi, I’m sorry.”

“What wrong has Shu’er committed?”

“If I hadn’t insisted on keeping you in Jinjiang, you wouldn’t have been taken away.”

Wei Yi shook his head and said gently, “From the day Shu’er went to the Imperial Manor until the day I saw you—sixty-four days total, seven hundred sixty-eight hours—every day I thought that perhaps one day I would open my eyes and see you. You would tell me not to be afraid, just like before.” The smile at the corners of his mouth deepened. “And now, Shu’er is here, and I’m here. That’s enough, isn’t it?”

These words were spoken clearly and coherently.

Where was even half a trace of the fool from before!

Though Ji Yunshu was slightly shocked—shocked that he seemed to have changed greatly—tears still fell wildly. She cupped his face and said, “Do you know? I was so afraid, afraid that I would never see you again. If that had truly happened, I would never have forgiven myself for the rest of my life. Wei Yi, I swear, from now on, I will never let you leave me. No matter what happens, I will never abandon you.”

“Then from now on, let me protect Shu’er. I also swear I will never leave you again.” Though his voice still carried a trace of youthful naivety, his gaze was extraordinarily firm.

The distress in Ji Yunshu’s heart slowly dissipated in his smile.

She got out of bed and through the mirror saw herself—dressed in a white shirt, long hair hanging loose, her delicate face showing not half a trace of color, though not deathly pale either. Her neck was wrapped in bandages, but faint bloodstains showed through.

Wei Yi found a cloak and draped it over her.

“How long did I sleep?”

“Four days.”

So long.

Suddenly—

“Awake?”

Muruo stood in the doorway, holding a package of medicine. He walked in, patted Wei Yi on the head, gave him the medicine, and said, “Boy, take the medicine to the kitchen and brew it, then bring it here.”

Wei Yi held the medicine and saw characters written on the yellow paper wrapping it. He read aloud, “Three qian of kui, five qian of you…”

Hm?

“You recognize this character ‘you’?” Muruo was slightly shocked.

Wei Yi nodded. “I recognize it. It’s in ‘Responding to Famous Masters,’ so I remembered it.”

A moment later, Muruo and Ji Yunshu exchanged glances but ultimately said nothing.

Wei Yi then carried the medicine to the kitchen.

After he left—

“He’s indeed gradually getting better. I believe before long, he’ll be able to recover to normal mental capacity,” Muruo said.

Ji Yunshu nodded slightly, but her heart was worried. If Wei Yi recovered, it would certainly be a good thing, but his identity… was too sensitive!

Muruo took her pulse.

“Mm, you’re no longer in serious danger. As long as you rest well, you’ll recover completely.”

“What about Jingrong?” Ji Yunshu asked.

“You also know such a major incident occurred—naturally he’s been extremely busy. These past few days, he hasn’t rested much either. However, every night he’s kept watch at your bedside, worried beyond measure.”

That made sense!

Ji Yunshu took a deep breath, then carefully asked another question: “Then… what about Ji Siyin…”