Mu Yunjin sat motionless on the bed as if her acupoints had been sealed. After a long while, she collected her thoughts and carefully reviewed the twelve characters Chu Li had just mentioned.

The first three characters were “Ping Feng Cliff.”

Ping Feng Cliff…

Mu Yunjin was certainly familiar with that place. She had nearly lost her life there, fortunately saved by that old man.

Thinking of the old man at the bottom of Ping Feng Cliff, Mu Yunjin’s hand tightened on the blanket. “What place is Ghost Valley Cave?”

“Black Robe Fenlan’s territory,” Chu Li replied, his lips barely moving.

Upon hearing this name, Mu Yunjin felt her entire being grow uneasy. That old ghost was allied with Qiuye and his group!

She never would have imagined that what she desperately needed now would be in that old ghost’s territory.

“What about the Crocodile Pearl? What is that?” Organizing her thoughts, Mu Yunjin felt her head throbbing with pain. She rubbed her temples and continued asking.

…

…

This object seemed to be the key to solving the problem.

“Inside Ghost Valley Cave, there is a pearl called the Crocodile Pearl. It naturally counters evil spiritual objects and might be able to draw out the Divine Decree from your body.”

“But it’s only a possibility.”

Chu Li looked at Mu Yunjin. At this point, he was unwilling to hide anything from her. They had experienced many misunderstandings due to concealment before. Now, he would try his best to tell her everything that concerned her.

Though he worried that being honest might cause her heartache, after much consideration, he feared that concealing things would make her feel worse when she eventually found out.

“I understand. I’m a bit tired, so let me sleep for a while,” Mu Yunjin calmed her emotions and lay down, adding, “We’ll talk more after I wake up.”

“Mm.” Chu Li tucked in her blanket and sat on the edge of the bed, watching her.

Mu Yunjin closed her eyes, her mind in chaos.

Perhaps the Crocodile Pearl, as Chu Li said, could indeed ward off evil objects and draw out the Divine Decree from her body, but what about the process of obtaining the pearl?

The area below Ping Feng Cliff was already fraught with difficulties, not to mention that the Crocodile Pearl was hidden in Ghost Valley Cave.

Although she had never been to Ghost Valley Cave, she had encountered Black Robe Fenlan several times—once nearly losing her life to his eagle flock, and another time at the North Ming Country teahouse where she discovered his profound martial arts. Then there were his blood bat swarms, which were not to be underestimated…

These probably weren’t even the full extent of his abilities.

Huaying had mentioned that blood bats were a type of witchcraft, and if Black Robe Fenlan could control blood bats, he must be skilled in witchcraft.

For an outsider like her to easily penetrate and understand the ways of the witch tribe would be difficult…

Additionally, since Qiuye and the others were allied with Black Robe Fenlan, if they knew she was going to seek the Crocodile Pearl, they would likely cause her great trouble, perhaps even threatening her life.

Thinking this way, Mu Yunjin felt that obtaining the Crocodile Pearl was simply not feasible.

But knowing there was hope, she was unwilling to give up. At that moment, Mu Yunjin felt she was going crazy!

After thinking for a long time, perhaps because she knew there was still a glimmer of hope, Mu Yunjin closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

Chu Li stared at her for a long time, then reached out to hold her hand under the blanket, gently placing his fingertips on her pulse. His expression was calm, revealing nothing.

……

“Mother!”

“Mother…”

Chu Li had been accompanying Mu Yunjin in the room until it was completely dark. Suddenly, he heard the excited calls of the little Ninth Princess, Chu Qingyuan.

Mother?

Hearing this address, Chu Li shifted slightly and stood up. As he was about to step out the door, he worried that the noise outside might wake the deeply sleeping Mu Yunjin. With a wave of his hand, he set up a formation using his true energy, isolating the room from the outside world.

Following Chu Qingyuan’s calls, Chu Li walked to a secluded place in the mansion where he saw two indistinct figures. He suddenly stopped without approaching, watching the scene before him—

Chu Qingyuan was embracing Consort Rong with both arms. Consort Rong was trying hard to break free, but Chu Qingyuan was practically hanging on to her, making it impossible for her to move. Consort Rong considered using her true energy to push her away but feared hurting her.

“Mother, don’t you remember your little Ninth, Qingyuan? Little Ninth has missed you so much all these years, often dreaming of you. Why do you want to leave as soon as you see Little Ninth?”

Chu Qingyuan spoke with extreme grievance, blinking her already reddened eyes as she carefully looked at Consort Rong, afraid that if she blinked, the person before her would disappear.

Earlier, she had woken up in the side hall to find herself alone and decided to go look for Mu Yunjin and the others. Just as she left the side hall, she saw a figure stealthily jumping over the outer wall.

She hurriedly went to catch the person, who hadn’t expected her to suddenly appear. In that moment of shock, she had already pounced and firmly embraced the person.

After so many years, although she could no longer clearly remember Consort Rong’s appearance in her mind, that one glance now made the blurry outline suddenly become clear.

This was the mother she had thought about day and night!

……

Consort Rong had heard that State Preceptor An had visited Mu Yunjin that afternoon. Curious about what he had told her, she had impulsively snuck into Prince Ning’s mansion.

She hadn’t expected to encounter Chu Qingyuan here and didn’t know how to face her properly. Instinctively, she wanted to avoid her.

She did care about her daughter. Over the years, she had often secretly entered the Western Yuan Imperial Palace to see Little Ninth, but only when she was sound asleep or from a distance.

This close encounter today made her inexplicably flustered, but hearing Chu Qingyuan call her “Mother” repeatedly filled her heart with both sourness and sadness.

How had their good life turned out this way?

“Mother, Little Ninth has heard that you’ve already left Water Cloud Temple, but I never dared to confirm it. I’m so happy to see you now, and I’m truly happy for you.”

“Mother, have you come to see Sixth Brother? He should have returned already. Why don’t you wait here? Little Ninth will go call Sixth Brother so you can meet secretly. Is that alright?”

“After meeting us, Mother, you should leave. Leave Western Yuan Country and don’t let Father Emperor discover that you’ve left. Ten years at Water Cloud Temple must have been hard, right?”

“When you find a stable place, write to Little Ninth or Sixth Brother. We’ll secretly visit you. Please don’t come to Western Yuan Country, alright?”

Chu Qingyuan held onto her mother, not daring to let go for a moment. Since gaining hazy memories at the age of four, she had never seen her mother again. Over the years, although Emperor Ximing had loved her dearly, and several ladies in the palace had treated her well, who could compare to one’s mother?

Consort Rong had thought that these years had turned her heart to stone, that nothing in the world except Chu Li’s future could move her.

But those few caring words from Chu Qingyuan suddenly made her heart ache, causing her thoughts to drift back to the past, recalling the joy and thrill when she first became a mother.

Liʼer and Little Ninth were both her flesh and blood…

With this realization, Consort Rong’s hands, which had been pushing to break free from Chu Qingyuan, suddenly moved to gently embrace her daughter.

“Qingyuan, Mother is sorry.”

Chu Qingyuan’s face suddenly lit up with joy. She hugged Consort Rong even tighter and looked up with a smile. “Mother, look, which is prettier—Little Ninth grown up or when I was little?”

“Little Ninth has always been beautiful.” Consort Rong stroked her head.

Before her hand left Chu Qingyuan’s head, Consort Rong’s body suddenly stiffened slightly. She turned her head, caught sight of Chu Li standing in the night, and averted her eyes, feeling somewhat uncomfortable.

Chu Qingyuan also followed her gaze. Seeing Chu Li, she excitedly waved at him. “Sixth Brother, come quickly, it’s Mother…”

……

In the night, despite the surrounding light not being dim, Chu Li could only see them through a hazy vision.

He had heard almost all of the conversation between mother and daughter, including Consort Rong’s change in attitude toward Little Ninth, which he had witnessed.

Now, seeing Little Ninth wave to him, he slowly raised his foot and walked over.

Consort Rong felt somewhat guilty facing Chu Li now, especially since she had come to Prince Ning’s mansion tonight to find Mu Yunjin and inquire about the Divine Decree.

“Sixth Brother, look, it’s Mother!” Chu Qingyuan didn’t know that Chu Li and Consort Rong had already met. She excitedly held Consort Rong’s hand, looking at Chu Li.

Chu Li glanced at Consort Rong, nodded slightly, and said nothing else.

“Mother, Sixth Brother is like this now, taciturn. Don’t take it to heart; he must be very excited too.” Chu Qingyuan explained on behalf of Chu Li.

Consort Rong curled her lips at Chu Qingyuan. “Little Ninth, Mother can’t stay here for long. Since I’ve already seen you both, Mother should leave.”

“Huh? Really? So soon? Little Ninth still wanted to have dinner with Mother!” Chu Qingyuan’s face fell upon hearing she was leaving, and she cast a grieved look toward Chu Li.

Chu Li glanced at Consort Rong, his cold eyes welling up with a different meaning. Under Chu Qingyuan’s gaze, he somewhat uncomfortably said, “Stay for the meal.”

Consort Rong was startled, looking at Chu Li in disbelief.

Chu Li gave her a slight glance and started walking back.

“Come on, Mother, let’s find a quiet place to eat.” Chu Qingyuan excitedly pulled on Consort Rong’s arm, following behind Chu Li.

Consort Rong’s steps were heavy, and her head felt dizzy. Walking in front was her son, and standing beside her was her daughter…

How had she suddenly come to feel that some things she had persisted in for so long had become unimportant in an instant?

Then, a voice in her heart reminded her: “Rong Wanyue, for the sake of their better lives, you absolutely cannot soften your heart…”

……

Mu Yunjin woke up after a short sleep. Looking around, she felt her throat dry, so she got up, lifted the blanket, and stepped down from the bed.

Before she could reach the table, she was bounced back by a barrier, confusing her, who had just woken up. She stepped forward again and was similarly bounced back.

Was this a formation?

Mu Yunjin raised an eyebrow, her eyes showing surprise. She was perfectly fine sleeping in her room; why would Chu Li set up a formation?

Could it be that Chu Li had secretly gone to do something?