With Tianji Zi saying such words, what else could Mu Jinghu do?

Originally, when his grand master had taken him as a disciple and taught him all martial arts, it was for the purpose of having him protect Tianji Zi’s safety. If Tianji Zi weren’t so headstrong and independent, Mu Jinghu would have to address her as Master.

But even now that Tianji Zi was only his martial uncle, and he was still waiting for his master who didn’t know when they would appear, Tianji Zi’s safety remained a responsibility he couldn’t shirk, unless he betrayed his sect.

“Martial Uncle, have you calculated what time this tribulation of yours will occur?”

Tianji Zi glanced at Mu Jinghu sideways. “I can divine and calculate, but I’m not an immortal. Do you really expect me to be omniscient and omnipotent? If I could truly calculate when I’d encounter trouble, would I still need your protection?”

Mu Jinghu was left speechless by Tianji Zi’s retort for quite a while, completely unable to think of anything to say in response.

But the situation on Qin Yining’s side was so urgent. She trusted him so completely, sending away all the people who could protect her safety separately, precisely because she feared encountering dangers along the way that would cause these innocent people to perish. She had even told him privately that if there was real danger, he should take her and flee first—all possessions could be abandoned, and he shouldn’t put himself in danger for the sake of retrieving some material belongings.

Pang Xiao trusted him, and Qin Yining trusted him too, but at this critical moment, he was being called away by his martial uncle!

If something happened to Qin Yining, how could he explain to his friend?

Moreover, with Qiu Feishan’s family situation being what it was, they had now firmly decided to choose Pang Xiao for cooperation. If he offended Pang Xiao here, wouldn’t he not only fail to help but also drag Qiu Feishan down?

Mu Jinghu painfully clutched his hair. “Martial Uncle…”

“Forget it, forget it. You needn’t be troubled. Actually, you can leave immediately and not concern yourself with my life or death.” Tianji Zi said with a beaming smile, “After all, I’ve had this crisis for a long time already. It’s just that these recent days have reached the most dangerous time. I’ve never been afraid of death—if someone kills me, I might even reach bliss sooner. You don’t need to worry too much. If you want to go protect Miss Qin, you can leave right now.”

Tianji Zi’s words were all spoken ironically—how could Mu Jinghu not hear this?

Mu Jinghu hadn’t forgotten his original purpose when he first entered the sect.

Fine, fine, fine!

If something really happened to Qin Yining this time, his only option would be to apologize with his death.

Mu Jinghu closed his eyes, then asked with a wooden expression, “When will this tribulation of Martial Uncle’s approximately end?”

“Sigh, how would I know? Even if you want me to observe the stars at night, I’d have to wait until dark, right?” Tianji Zi pointed at the gradually rising sun and walked ahead with her hands behind her back, humming a little tune.

Mu Jinghu could only purse his lips and follow.

Just one street away from where Tianji Zi and Mu Jinghu were located, the crowd of onlookers gradually dispersed.

Yuchi Yan wore a sapphire blue long robe, his graying hair bound up high, dressed like a down-and-out scholar. He gazed blankly at the Qin family’s funeral procession departing, and after a long while, heaved a long sigh.

Gu Shixiong frowned. After months of hardship and travel, this elder statesman of three dynasties had become even more gaunt, and his spirits weren’t very good either. Seeing Yuchi Yan’s deeply furrowed brow, Gu Shixiong felt stifled anger with no outlet.

“Your Highness, do you still have feelings for the Qin family?”

“Minister Qin was, after all, once my teacher.” Yuchi Yan frowned and sighed. “Moreover, the Qin family’s decline to such a state is ultimately because Minister Qin was once a citizen of Great Yan and never gained complete trust.”

Gu Shixiong’s brow furrowed tightly. “Is this truly what Your Highness thinks?”

Yuchi Yan frowned as he looked at Gu Shixiong. “What thoughts does Elder Gu have?”

Gu Shixiong had always known that Yuchi Yan wasn’t someone who could see clearly through court affairs. He couldn’t make decisions on many matters, couldn’t see through them clearly, and needed to wait for his judgment.

In the past, Gu Shixiong would have felt pleased by Yuchi Yan’s dependence on him.

But after being depended upon for so long, especially during this trip to Southern Yan, when Yuchi Yan killed Yuchi Xujie and then pushed all the blame onto him in front of Pang Xiao—

This wasn’t the first time Gu Shixiong knew that Yuchi Yan lacked political acumen. But for someone to not only lack political sense but also lack responsibility—this had made Gu Shixiong’s dissatisfaction with Yuchi Yan reach its peak.

When one person becomes dissatisfied with another, then whatever that person does becomes displeasing to the eye.

Gu Shixiong lowered his eyes, concealing his emotions, and patiently instructed, “The Qin family’s fall to this state isn’t because Qin Meng was once a citizen of Great Yan—otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to serve as Minister of Rites before. The reason he was targeted is because of the Emperor’s growing wariness of Prince Zhongshun.”

Yuchi Yan’s steps halted. “Are you saying that Miss Qin is now in danger?”

This person’s mind had suddenly become sharp, but Gu Shixiong felt no joy about it.

“Miss Qin’s safety no longer has anything to do with Your Highness. Even if Pang Zhixi dies, Miss Qin’s lifelong fate won’t fall to Your Highness. This time, Your Highness traveled all the way back to the capital from Southern Yan—whether the Emperor will reuse you is still unknown, but the great southern territories are certainly lost. The popular foundation we worked so hard to build before—now we should be grateful just not to be cursed at…”

Gu Shixiong took another deep breath, feeling his chest grow tight with stuffiness, forcibly suppressing his endless stream of complaints.

He was finding it increasingly difficult to control his emotions, unable to stop himself from wanting to lose his temper with Yuchi Yan.

Yuchi Yan also noticed Gu Shixiong’s dissatisfaction and sighed helplessly.

He felt grateful to Gu Shixiong in his heart, but Gu Shixiong’s increasingly domineering attitude toward him was also becoming harder for him to bear.

“Let’s go meet His Majesty.” Now that they had arrived in the capital, they were already within the sights of spies. Yuchi Yan put aside his thoughts about Qin Yining and headed toward the palace gates first.

The Qin family’s procession continued leaving the capital. Once they exited the city gates, the clamorous sounds gradually quieted down.

This group of bandits was conducting business that gave people a dignified send-off. With no onlookers remaining, they naturally became too lazy to cry.

Qin Yining sat upright in the carriage, closing her eyes to listen to the sounds outside.

Hearing the surroundings grow quiet, Qin Yining began calculating the current speed of the carriage and their distance from the capital.

Fortunately, she wasn’t a woman who merely stayed home all the time—she had left the capital quite a few times. Otherwise, she probably couldn’t even estimate the time.

Leaning back with her head against the carriage wall, she peered through the gaps in the carriage window, only able to see the retreating trees. Having left the city with no reference buildings, she could only judge their general direction of travel from the sunlight and tree crowns.

The procession was still relatively stable for now. Having just left the capital, this group probably wouldn’t take immediate action.

Qin Yining pondered and closed her eyes again.

The procession moved forward. Bao Hu rode a yellow horse, staying to the left side of Qin Yining’s carriage, his eyes almost unblinking as he stared at the tightly closed carriage window.

“Boss, why don’t you open the window? In this blazing June weather, don’t you feel stuffy? When the sun gets stronger later, you might suffocate in that carriage.”

Hearing Bao Hu speak this way, all the young men around started laughing: “Oh my, Second Master really knows how to be considerate!”