Mu Yunjin pondered for a moment, glancing at Taoist Wind Xuan from the corner of her eye, then at Chu Li standing nearby.

Though she was a hundred times unwilling to take this Taoist Wind Xuan as her master, his earlier words had conveyed many threats and important information.

The Black Lotus soul was now within her body, and if it wasn’t properly drawn out in time, it would likely pose a lethal threat to her.

Additionally, she had successfully activated the Black Lotus, which meant there was hope to rescue Imperial Consort Rong – something Chu Li had been desperately hoping for all along. If she refused now, it would be somewhat cruel.

After weighing everything, Mu Yunjin bit her lip and glared at Taoist Wind Xuan, “How do I become your disciple?”

Chu Li looked at Mu Yunjin with some surprise, his lips tightly pressed together, his brows revealing deeper meaning. Something in his heart seemed to be melting drop by drop…

Upon hearing Mu Yunjin’s words, Taoist Wind Xuan burst into wild laughter, feeling extremely gratified.

The impudent little girl who had just whipped him was now going to become his disciple! It was so satisfying, so very satisfying…

“Let me tell you, you’d better make sure that after teaching me your techniques, you can truly break that formation. Otherwise, I’ll tear down the sky itself!” Mu Yunjin glared at the wildly laughing old Taoist, her eyes concealing a hint of warning.

…

…

Taoist Wind Xuan stopped laughing, raised his eyebrows, straightened his back, and sat properly, “Come on then, three kowtows to take me as your master!”

Three kowtows…

Mu Yunjin’s expression stiffened. She was already reluctant to take him as her master, and now this old man wanted her to kneel and bow her head three times. He was truly challenging her bottom line.

Mu Yunjin glanced toward Chu Li with some difficulty.

When Chu Li met her pitiful gaze, he inexplicably felt heartache. In truth, the matter of her mother’s Imperial Consort had nothing to do with Mu Yunjin. During his time with her, how could he not know she was a person of high pride?

“Let’s go,” Chu Li said, lowering his eyes and speaking to Mu Yunjin.

Mu Yunjin was taken aback, doubting whether she had heard correctly. After confirming she hadn’t misheard, she bit her lip, “Are you sure?”

“Yes.” Chu Li nodded, his gaze resolute.

Mu Yunjin sighed softly, suddenly feeling that she was being too fussy. A great man should know when to yield and when to stand firm – surely a young woman could do the same!

Now there was a path to survival before her eyes, so why should she give it up?

So she turned around, knelt before Taoist Wind Xuan, and heavily kowtowed once, “Master, please accept your disciple’s bow…”

Chu Li was shocked by Mu Yunjin’s sudden action. His dark pupils filled with complexity and astonishment. His hands gradually clenched into fists, his eyes profound, his face cold and frosty, yet in the depths of his heart arose a warmth he hadn’t noticed.

Was knowing such a woman what one might call fortune?

After kowtowing three times, without waiting for Taoist Wind Xuan to speak, Mu Yunjin stood up directly, “Is that enough?”

“Barely acceptable. Starting tomorrow, you will follow your master and learn the art of breaking formations,” said Taoist Wind Xuan.

“How long will it take?” Mu Yunjin frowned.

Taoist Wind Xuan raised an eyebrow, “It depends on your comprehension. If your understanding is good, half a month. If poor, even half a year might not be enough!”

“…”

Mu Yunjin was left speechless. She didn’t want to stay in this grass hut any longer and tossed out a line, “I’ll come find you at this time tomorrow!”

…

After leaving the grass hut, Mu Yunjin jumped into the carriage. Chu Li followed behind her, looking at her with an indescribable meaning in his eyes.

“Is that Taoist Wind Xuan very powerful?” Mu Yunjin asked while dusting off her clothes that had gathered dirt.

“He is the senior martial brother of Taoist Autumn Leaf, once on par with Empty Liberation and Autumn Leaf, one of the three greatest masters in the world,” Chu Li explained.

Mu Yunjin’s mouth twitched. One of the three greatest masters in the world…

So, he had been going easy on her earlier?

But no matter how she looked at him, that old man didn’t seem like a martial arts master. Otherwise, how could he have fallen into such destitution?

“It seems I’ve gained something after all. Learning some skills from this old man isn’t bad.” Mu Yunjin consoled herself, feeling somewhat better in her heart.

Seeing her such an optimistic attitude, Chu Li couldn’t help but reach out to stroke the back of her head, intentionally keeping his touch gentle, “I’m sorry for your trouble.”

Huh?

Mu Yunjin’s pupils dilated slightly, and the gentle touch on the back of her head suddenly made her earlobes turn red. Usually, Chu Li’s words and actions were cold as ice. This seemed to be the first time she’d heard him speak so tenderly.

With Chu Li speaking like this, Mu Yunjin became embarrassed instead. She lowered her eyes, her cheeks inexplicably burning hot, “It’s nothing, as long as I can help you.”

Seeing Mu Yunjin’s awkward appearance, Chu Li’s lips curved into a smile, like clouds and mist.

“Your Highness, where shall we go first?” Ding Xian’s voice sounded from outside the carriage.

“Green Shade.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

After traveling for a while, the carriage stopped.

“We’ve arrived.” Chu Li lifted the curtain and looked outside.

Mu Yunjin nodded. After getting out of the carriage and finding her balance, she saw they had stopped in front of a tavern called ‘Green Shade.’ Looking around, she seemed to be at the center of Xingyao City’s market area. The streets were bustling with people coming and going, exuding liveliness everywhere.

As she withdrew her gaze, Mu Yunjin’s peripheral vision suddenly caught something to one side. Her gaze paused, and when she turned to look, the large characters ‘Flower Moon Tower’ entered her sight.

At this moment, at the entrance of Flower Moon Tower, courtesans soliciting customers were gathered. The one leading them was the one Chu Qingzang had referred to as Li Niang that day.

Mu Yunjin’s eyes lit up as she secretly exclaimed that this trip to Xingyao City was truly worthwhile!

“What’s wrong?” Chu Li noticed Mu Yunjin standing still and followed her gaze. After seeing what she was looking at, he slightly frowned, grabbed her arm, and led her into the Green Shade Tavern.

By the time Mu Yunjin came back to her senses, she was already inside the Green Shade Tavern.

“Young Master.” The waiter at the tavern entrance immediately greeted Chu Li upon seeing him, then added, “City Lord Qu has been waiting upstairs for a long time.”

“Mm.” Chu Li nodded indifferently and led Mu Yunjin upstairs.

As they walked, Mu Yunjin tugged at Chu Li’s arm, “City Lord Qu? Is Qu Xinyao here too?”

Chu Li lowered his gaze to look at the hand pulling his arm, showing no disgust at all. He allowed Mu Yunjin to pull him and nodded, confirming her question.

In the private room on the second floor.

When Mu Yunjin entered with Chu Li, she saw a woman dressed in red sitting there drinking tea. Her black hair was pinned up high, with a red jade ornament inserted. Her beautiful face exuded a charm and allure, splendid and luxurious.

This must be Qu Xinyao?

“I had only heard that the Sixth Prince would grace us with his presence, but didn’t know he would bring a fair companion,” Qu Xinyao lowered her eyes with a smile, glancing at Mu Yunjin behind Chu Li.

Chu Li looked indifferently at Qu Xinyao, walked a few steps closer, took out a brocade box from his sleeve, and placed it in front of Qu Xinyao, “This is from him.”

Qu Xinyao glanced at the brocade box. Her originally smiling face froze, and her eyes gradually darkened. She stared at the box for a long time without moving.

Mu Yunjin sat down nearby. Having traveled all morning, she was now both hungry and thirsty. Not bothering to greet Qu Xinyao, she poured herself a cup of water.

While drinking water, Mu Yunjin kept studying Qu Xinyao from the corner of her eye. This woman exuded a kind of… demonic aura from head to toe.

After a while, Qu Xinyao slowly reached out and opened the brocade box with a ‘click.’ After glimpsing what was inside, her expression remained indifferent.

Mu Yunjin looked over as well. Inside the box was an exquisite white jade hairpin in the shape of a plum blossom, simple and elegant yet fresh.

Qu Xinyao removed the red ornament from her hair and replaced it with the white jade plum blossom hairpin. After putting it on, she turned to look at Mu Yunjin, “Does it look good?”

Mu Yunjin was stunned, momentarily unable to react. Then she nodded somewhat woodenly, “It looks quite nice.”

Upon hearing this, Qu Xinyao gave a light scoff, seemingly somewhat self-mocking, “How strange, why doesn’t he come to give it to me himself…”

The private room fell silent for a moment.

Shortly after, Qu Xinyao removed the white jade plum blossom hairpin, casually tossed it into the brocade box, closed it, and threw the box directly out the window.

Mu Yunjin found this behavior rather bewildering.

“I’ve made quite a spectacle for you two,” Qu Xinyao said to Chu Li and Mu Yunjin with a slight curl of her lips, playing with the red ornament she had removed earlier. “He knows I prefer vibrant colors, yet he sends such a plain hairpin. He truly doesn’t hold me in his heart…”

“After all these years, you’re still quarreling with him?” Chu Li spoke softly.

Qu Xinyao laughed lightly, her eyes flashing with mockery, “I never wanted to quarrel with him, but he insists on provoking me…”

“Xu Heyu is truly a wooden block.”

With that, Qu Xinyao stood up and left the second-floor room without even saying goodbye.

After Qu Xinyao left, Mu Yunjin was lost in confusion, secretly sighing that Qu Xinyao was indeed an extraordinary woman, but extraordinary in a strange way…

…

Soon after, when the food was served.

Mu Yunjin bit into a piece of ribs, chewed a few times, then remembered something, “By the way, that old man said learning his formation-breaking technique would take at least half a month, possibly up to half a year. Does that mean I need to stay here during this time?”

“Stay for half a month first,” Chu Li said softly.

Mu Yunjin nodded. Thinking about seeing the Flower Moon Tower outside earlier, Princess Chu Qingzang’s face appeared in her mind. This Fifth Princess, tired of living, would see what Mu Yunjin had in store once she uncovered the secrets behind Flower Moon Tower!

After eating, Mu Yunjin and Chu Li remained at the Green Shade Tavern to rest.

Upon reaching her guest room, Mu Yunjin had just lain down when she immediately jumped up again, slapping her forehead, “I almost forgot, I bought a residence here recently!”

Thinking of the residence that had cost her quite a bit of money, Mu Yunjin felt excited and delighted. She immediately put on her shoes and went downstairs.

On the stairs, she happened to meet Ding Xian.

“Princess Consort, where are you going?”

Mu Yunjin made a ‘shh’ gesture and spoke softly, “I’m going out for a stroll. I’ll be back soon, don’t tell Chu Li.”

Ding Xian nodded.

After running downstairs, Mu Yunjin thought about the location of that residence and asked the waiter at the entrance, “Excuse me, is there a residence called ‘Qing Mansion’ in the western part of the city?”

The waiter thought for a moment and nodded, “Yes, the Qing Mansion has been vacant for a long time, but I heard it was recently purchased.”

“How do I get there?”

“Turn right outside, walk to the end, and you’ll see it…”