“Chief, the people are gone?” someone exclaimed in alarm.

His Huhe Hao wasn’t blind yet!

“Useless! Every single one of you is useless!”

He cursed heaven, earth, and ancestors!

The people had actually been lost right under his nose. Not only that, even Bai Yin had vanished.

“Chief, should we pursue them?” someone asked.

From the time the fog rose to when it dispersed, roughly the time it takes to burn a stick of incense had passed. That was enough time for people to run until they were completely out of sight.

What was the point of pursuing now!

“No need!”

No one dared speak. Huhe Hao looked at that circle of arrows embedded in the ground. He stepped forward and pulled one out, holding it in his hand to examine it carefully, wanting to know what material it was made of, where it came from, who made it. But he couldn’t tell at all. These arrows seemed newly made, from ordinary wood, also quite crudely crafted, with thin string binding a packet of white substance on top.

Opening it to look, it was all white powder.

What was this?

He had never seen it before!

Why could it emit white fog without using fire as an igniter?

Huhe Hao snorted and broke the arrow into two pieces.

He threw it on the ground!

…

The ones who rescued Jingrong and the others were none other than Muruo!

He led a team of people he had brought from Houliao, secretly releasing arrows and taking advantage of the chaos to rescue them.

And when leaving, Jingrong had also grabbed Bai Yin along the way.

The group walked into the forest all the way, only stopping after they were safe.

The forest was too cold at night, so they quickly built a fire!

Bai Yin was tied to a large tree some distance away.

His mouth was stuffed with a wad of cloth.

He didn’t struggle either!

He closed his eyes and remained motionless.

The wounds on his arm where Jingrong had stabbed him twice with his sword were still bleeding.

Ji Yunshu sat by the fire, glancing at him from afar, recalling that portrait from before!

Suspicion filled her heart.

When she found an opportunity, she would definitely ask clearly!

From the moment he sat down, Jingrong had been staring intently at Muruo, as if trying to find some of his former glory in him. But this kid… after not seeing him for just over half a year, not only had his glory completely vanished, how had he also become so coarse? His entire person had grown stocky, and he had darkened by at least several shades.

He had completely become a native local!

No longer the peach-blossom-faced, elegant and graceful playboy from before.

Muruo was stared at until half his face went numb.

“What, haven’t seen me for half a year and you miss me so much you can’t take your eyes off me?”

“My eyes have gone blind.”

“You…”

Such a vicious tongue!

“I really didn’t expect that after more than half a year, we’d meet again in this manner. How thrilling.” Muruo complained further, “Look at you—you just had someone bring me a letter saying Miss Ji had disappeared. If I hadn’t arrived in time, I would have come to collect your corpse just now.”

Equally vicious-tongued!

These two bickering wasn’t just a matter of a day or two.

“Thanks!” Jingrong raised his hand and patted his arm, surprised. “You kid, you’ve become much sturdier! Looking at you now, tall and broad, you’re much more spirited. I imagine being the son-in-law of Houliao has been treating you pretty well!”

“Why do you always like mocking people!”

“That’s not right—when did I mock you?”

“Jingrong, you and I have been together since we wore split-pants. Whether your words are criticism or praise, I can tell with one sniff of my nose.”

After these words, the Houliao people following Muruo burst into cheerful laughter.

Someone teased: “Brother Muruo, didn’t know you had this skill. Next time we go up the mountain, we won’t need to bring dogs—we’ll just bring you.”

“Yeah, your nose is so keen anyway, you can be used as a dog!”

Wait!

Why did these words sound so awkward?

He raised his foot and kicked one of them in the leg, saying, “Go, go, go. You lot usually follow me around, but now you’re joining outsiders to mock me.”

That person laughed heartily: “How can Young Master Jing be considered an outsider? Didn’t you just say you two grew up wearing split-pants together since childhood?”

“…”

Speechless!

This provoked laughter from everyone.

Ji Yunshu asked him: “By the way, how is Miss Tang?”

Muruo waved his hand dismissively, a worried character practically carved on his forehead. He said: “Don’t ask—still the same old way.” After a slight pause, he continued urgently, “Oh right, since you’ve come to Houliao this time, you must stay for a while longer. You absolutely must wait until my child is born. Tang Si nags about this every day, warning me that if I can’t make you stay, she’ll kill me. That girl is troublesome, and this is her territory—I don’t dare provoke her. So listen well, you absolutely cannot leave until my child is born.”

A threatening tone!

Jingrong looked at him with disdain: “That’s the extent of your capabilities.”

“Then I’ll take that as your agreement.”

Ji Yunshu really couldn’t interject. Finally, she just asked: “By the way, where is Elder Brother Lang? Why haven’t we seen him yet?”

Yes!

Where was Lang Bo?

Muruo said: “He should be arriving soon.”

Hm?

Just as he finished speaking—

Rustling sounds came from not far away in the forest.

Everyone became alert.

Several figures gradually emerged from the darkness, with Lang Bo in the lead.

Behind him followed several guards and several young women.

Those young women were the ones from the military tent.

Qin Xi and another woman could be seen supporting the injured Chen Yun as they slowly approached.

“Qin Xi?” Ji Yunshu stood up.

Qin Xi saw her too. Her eyes immediately reddened. As she walked over, she said excitedly: “Jing Yun, so you’re all right. I was so worried about you.”

“How are you?”

“I’m fine.” She quickly pointed at Lang Bo. “Oh right, it was this heroic gentleman who rescued us by taking advantage of the chaos.”

Heroic gentleman!

Being called that made Lang Bo feel quite embarrassed.

He scratched his head and smiled bashfully.

Ji Yunshu asked: “Elder Brother Lang, what exactly happened?”

Lang Bo explained: “It was all Young Master Muruo. He told me to rescue people by taking advantage of the chaos. Unexpectedly, it went quite smoothly. Moreover, the Yuedan military camp is now in complete chaos.”

Qin Xi was astonished. “Jing Yun, so… you all know each other?”

She nodded but didn’t elaborate.

Jingrong had people build another fire.

The young women sat nearby but still huddled together. Having experienced this ordeal, they didn’t dare fully let down their guard.

Chen Yun had whip wounds on her body. Combined with the heavy night chill and all the commotion, her entire face was as pale as paper.

Seeing this, Muruo immediately came over to check her pulse.

He frowned slightly.

Then he took out a medicine bottle from his sleeve, extracted a pill, and gave it to her to take.

He said: “It’s nothing serious. As long as she rests well for one night.”

Qin Xi, who was caring for Chen Yun, nodded.

Muruo glanced at her. This young woman still had ash smeared on her face, so he fetched a pot of water for her. “Wash your face.”

“Thank you, young master.”

Very gentle.

Muruo had Lang Bo look after those young women, then returned to sit by his own fire.

As soon as he sat down, he asked Ji Yunshu: “Was it you who applied the medicine on that young woman’s back?”

She answered: “I used white feather grass from the forest, the most common kind, to dress her wound.”

“If it weren’t for you, she might already be dead.” Muruo was indignant. “Those Yuedan people are not only wildly ambitious but also ruthless and merciless, completely inhumane.”