Reminded by Jiang Qingxue, Mu Yunjin suddenly remembered what they had come to the palace to do. However, after being distracted by the Empress and Jingyang, darkness had already fallen, and for a moment, she was unsure where to begin.

“By the way, Qin Muyue and Qiuye have seen Madam Qing before. The incident that just happened will likely spread soon. They might target Madam Qing first,” Huang Yan reminded them. Although the Holy Maiden of South Ting Country was officially deceased, Bei Tang Wenfeng’s Madam Qing might still attract their attention.

“Yes, that’s indeed possible,” Jiang Qingxue wasn’t flustered, but when Huang Yan mentioned Qin Muyue, she frowned slightly. “That girl Qin Muyue, young and beautiful, with decent martial arts skills. It’s a pity her mindset is too extreme, willingly being used by a group of ambitious people. What a shame.”

“She’s just too arrogant, just like her stubborn old grandfather,” Mu Yunjin said with a cold sneer.

Jiang Qingxue slightly curled her lips, glancing around, “So do you plan to stay here or leave the palace?”

“Let’s leave. Who knows if the Empress will send someone to assassinate us?” Mu Yunjin pursed her lips. Although she felt somewhat sorry about today’s events regarding Yang Qingning, she didn’t have a good impression of her either.

“Then let’s go back,” Jiang Qingxue said.

Having decided to leave, they headed toward the north gate of the palace.

“Shouldn’t we inform the King of North Ming?” After walking a few steps, Huang Yan inquired.

“No need, he should know,” Jiang Qingxue replied. After today’s events, she wasn’t feeling particularly happy either.

Mu Yunjin glanced at Jiang Qingxue, knowing she wasn’t in a good mood. She pressed her lips together without saying much. The grievances and emotional entanglements of the previous generation were indeed troubling.

Perhaps due to the night, and because they were heading toward the secluded north gate, the surrounding light grew dimmer as they walked. Mu Yunjin walked with her hands behind her back, her steps leisurely, thinking of Chu Li.

During these days apart, she wondered how Chu Li was doing.

She very much wanted to run back to West Yuan Country to see Chu Li, but since Qiuye and his group hadn’t yet revealed their plans in North Ming Country, she probably couldn’t leave for ten days or half a month.

Ah, how troubling.

After walking a bit further, the usually silent and calm Hua Ying suddenly halted her steps. Her lips tightened as she held her breath, as if listening for something.

“What’s wrong?” Mu Yunjin asked softly.

“Something’s not right around here.” Hua Ying’s expression didn’t look good. “I hear the sound of blood bats flying.”

“Blood bats?” Mu Yunjin was surprised.

Hua Ying nodded, “Blood bats belong to the Witch Tribe. Those who raise blood bats usually summon them with the scent of blood. The Witch Tribe’s blood bats can both track and bite people to suck their blood.”

“So they’ve already started to act?” Mu Yunjin bit her lip. These blood bats gave her the same feeling as those eagles. If hundreds or thousands of them flew in groups, it wouldn’t be easy to deal with.

“Master, you and Madam Qing should go back. Huang Yan and I will investigate the situation,” Hua Ying said, concerned for Mu Yunjin.

Mu Yunjin met Hua Ying’s gaze, slightly startled, then shook her head and looked at Jiang Qingxue, “I’ll go with Hua Ying and Huang Yan to check the situation. You should return to the inner palace.”

After speaking, Mu Yunjin pressed her lips again. She still couldn’t bring herself to call them “Mother” and “Father Emperor.”

“I’ll go with you. My martial arts skills aren’t bad either. I won’t slow you down,” Jiang Qingxue, as Mu Yunjin’s mother, couldn’t bear to watch her daughter take risks.

“It’s fine. You stay here. Hua Ying and Huang Yan are helping us. I can’t just have them do everything while I do nothing,” Mu Yunjin curled her lips at Jiang Qingxue.

Jiang Qingxue slightly opened her mouth but didn’t insist further. Having finally broken the ice in her relationship with Mu Yunjin, she didn’t want to upset her.

So she nodded, “Be careful then.”

“Mm.”

“Oh, right, one for each of you,” Jiang Qingxue suddenly remembered something and took out three round woven grass bracelets from her sleeve.

“The city walls of North Ming Country and the walls around the imperial palace all secretly have formations set up. These bracelets are of the same origin as those formations. When you wear them, if someone breaches the city walls or the palace walls, the bracelets will give a signal. That’s how I received a signal the night you flew over the city walls using qinggong,” Jiang Qingxue explained at length.

After the three put on the bracelets, they said goodbye to Jiang Qingxue. Using qinggong, they quickly disappeared into the night.

Jiang Qingxue stood in place, sighed softly, and then turned back.

……

Using qinggong, the three quickly reached the north gate of the palace but didn’t rush out immediately, lingering inside the gate for a while.

“Can you sense where the blood bats are?” Huang Yan focused his gaze on Hua Ying.

Hua Ying nodded, “In the southern direction. But haven’t we forgotten something?”

“What?” Mu Yunjin and Huang Yan asked in unison.

“We’re still wearing the palace maid and guard uniforms,” Hua Ying reminded them.

Mu Yunjin looked down. She had almost forgotten about that. Running out dressed like this would make them more conspicuous.

“Meow…” A cat’s cry came from outside the palace gate.

Hearing this sound, the three were stunned for a moment. Huang Yan was the first to react, using qinggong to fly over the palace wall. He quickly returned with Qiqi beside him.

“Qiqi, why are you here? Weren’t you recovering from your injuries?” Mu Yunjin was surprised to see Qiqi.

“It was just a minor injury. It’s almost healed now. I was getting bored staying with Brother Lei Yan and the others. Earlier at the residence, I sensed the internal energy from Hua Ying’s direction and immediately ran out. I tracked you to this location, but since Madam Qing mentioned yesterday that the city walls have formations set up, I only dared to wait outside,” Qiqi explained.

As Qiqi finished speaking, her gaze fell on Mu Yunjin and the others’ faces, only now realizing that their appearances had changed.

“You’ve come at the right time. Go steal some clothes for us,” Hua Ying instructed Qiqi.

“Huh? Steal clothes?” Qiqi opened her mouth wide, muttering, “I’m a protector of the Phoenix Feather Pavilion, and you want me to steal clothes?”

Hua Ying folded her arms, “It’s not like you’ve never stolen before. Besides, it’s for the master’s needs.”

“Hmph, wait here,” Qiqi couldn’t resist Hua Ying, pouted, and flew back over the palace wall.

“This little kitten is impressive,” Mu Yunjin couldn’t help but marvel. She suddenly realized that each subordinate of the Phoenix Feather Pavilion was a treasure. When she returned this time, she would make time to visit the headquarters of the Phoenix Feather Pavilion.

They didn’t wait long before Qiqi returned, holding three sets of clothes, which she threw to Hua Ying. “Change into these.”

“Where did you get these?” Mu Yunjin took the clothes, examining them.

“I stole them, of course,” Qiqi pouted.

Mu Yunjin’s lips twitched, but she didn’t ask further. After changing, she found it was a gray robe, and it seemed to be men’s clothing.

But at this moment, she couldn’t care about other details. She took down her bun and redid it into a small knot, then inserted the black jade hairpin that Bei Tang Wenfeng had given her earlier that day into the bun, appearing completely like a fair-faced young gentleman.

……

After leaving the palace gate, Qiqi saw them heading south. She scratched her face, “What are you going there for?”

“There’s the sound of blood bats there,” Hua Ying answered Qiqi.

“Blood bats?” Qiqi raised an eyebrow. “Aren’t those from the Witch Tribe? Are those people in cahoots with the Witch Tribe?”

Hearing them mention the Witch Tribe again, Mu Yunjin frowned, “Where is the Witch Tribe located? I’ve never heard of them before.”

“The Witch Tribe usually resides in border barbarian lands. They’re skilled in witchcraft and voodoo, but they’ve been behaving themselves in recent years. I haven’t heard of the Witch Tribe causing any trouble. I didn’t expect them to collude with Qiuye and his group this time,” Qiqi said, finding it surprising herself.

After a pause, she added, “The Witch Tribe people are skilled in venom insects and spiritual witchcraft. We need to be extremely cautious.”

Huang Yan, listening to the conversation of the three women beside him, shrugged slightly, “You don’t need to worry too much. The way of the righteous is one foot higher than the way of evil. The Witch Tribe alone isn’t worth concerning ourselves with.”

“You’re so confident. Did Prince Ning give you some magical artifact again?” Qiqi winked at Huang Yan.

“Go away, this young master is already formidable. Don’t look down on me!” Huang Yan glanced at Qiqi, keeping a straight face.

After chatting for a while, Hua Ying stopped her steps again, her brow furrowing, “The sound of the blood bats is gone.”

“What? Did they vanish into thin air, or did they fly elsewhere?” Mu Yunjin asked.

“Vanished into thin air. I can’t sense them anymore,” Hua Ying bit her lip. She was of the snake spirit lineage, with the attributes of a five-pace snake, so she was naturally sensitive to poisonous species. As long as those venomous creatures appeared around her, she could detect them immediately.

But those blood bats had truly vanished into thin air.

“If even Hua Ying can’t detect them, then the person controlling these blood bats must be extraordinary,” Qiqi’s expression darkened.

Hearing Qiqi’s words, Mu Yunjin inexplicably thought of a person.

It was the black-robed man she had glimpsed while sitting in the carriage on the way to the palace in the afternoon. Perhaps because of briefly making eye contact with him, Mu Yunjin suddenly thought of him now.

“Huang Yan, take me to the inn where Qin Muyue and the others are staying. I want to stay there tonight as well,” Mu Yunjin decided. No matter what, she was determined to uncover some clues tonight. She couldn’t just wait for them to make the first move.

Huang Yan hesitated, “All of us have internal energy. If we rashly stay at the inn, they might detect our auras.”

“It’s fine. If we disguise ourselves well, they won’t discover us. They’re not supernatural beings. That Qin Muyue’s martial arts aren’t even as good as mine!” Mu Yunjin feigned nonchalance. As long as they weren’t discovered by old Qiuye, it would be fine. She couldn’t defeat that old man.

Ah, she should have invited her master, Feng Xuandaoren. That old fellow would certainly be able to handle Qiuye.

“Then let’s give it a try. Remember, if something goes wrong, don’t confront them directly. Run first, talk later,” Huang Yan reminded Mu Yunjin and Hua Ying.

“Yes, I know.”