“I don’t have time to waste with you all.”

Mu Yunjin raised her wrist, activating the spirit signal of the Phoenix Feather Pavilion. Another flash of golden light appeared on her arm, startling the people in front of her once again.

“Quick, kill her now!” One of the monks, sensing something was wrong, lunged forward with raised palms, directly confronting Mu Yunjin.

Mu Yunjin drew out her Phoenix Tail Whip. The whip flashed brilliantly as she struck at the monk with full force. Her body had already returned to normal, and she put ten-tenths of her strength into this attack.

The monk, sensing the imposing aura of the Phoenix Tail Whip, felt his heart tighten. He dodged sideways, but as he did, a flash of pink light appeared in the darkness. Before he could react, someone had kicked him hard in the waist from behind, sending him flying.

“Hmph, daring to bully our mistress—do you have a death wish?” Qiqi stood with her hands on her hips, flanked by Lei Yan and Hua Ying.

Seeing them arrive so quickly, Mu Yunjin’s eyes curved into a smile as she raised the corner of her mouth. “I’ll leave these fellows to you…”

“If they’re willing to confess, consider keeping one alive. If none of them will reveal their behind-the-scenes master, then kill them all.” Mu Yunjin’s voice was icy, without a trace of warmth.

Sometimes, showing mercy to enemies was truly cruel to oneself.

…

…

“As you command.” Qiqi saluted Mu Yunjin with clasped fists, her two words particularly spirited.

Mu Yunjin raised an eyebrow and looked back at Wen Yuan and the others. “Masters, take care of yourselves!”

With that, Mu Yunjin walked out of the Dark Pavilion.

As she walked, the sounds of fighting and screams echoed throughout the entire Dark Pavilion behind her. Mu Yunjin’s expression grew colder as she realized just how many enemies she had made in this strange world.

When the two monks had appeared, she had tried to think of who might have sent them to kill her, and a long list of names had immediately sprung to mind…

She had failed at being a person…

…

Leaving the Dark Pavilion, Mu Yunjin ran into Huang Yan and the others, who had just finished their lunch with the Empress Dowager and were looking for her. When Huang Yan and Song Chun saw Mu Yunjin emerging from the Dark Pavilion with bloodstains on her, they were shocked, their eyes widening.

“Princess Consort, what happened to you?” Huang Yan exclaimed in surprise, pointing at the bloodstains on her sleeve.

“I was injured by someone,” Mu Yunjin replied nonchalantly.

Mu Yunjin’s casual statement sounded like the announcement of doomsday to Huang Yan and Song Chun. His Highness had sent them to protect the Princess Consort and the princesses, yet the Princess Consort had been injured…

They were finished. They might as well end their lives right here.

“Princess Consort, who injured you? Are they tired of living? Let me, your young master, beat them to death!” Huang Yan didn’t want to think about Chu Li’s reaction. Seeing Mu Yunjin walk out unharmed, he guessed that whoever had injured her hadn’t met a good end either.

“It was those four people just now. I’ve called Qiqi and the others; they’re dealing with them inside right now.” Mu Yunjin shrugged, looking completely unconcerned.

Song Chun and Huang Yan exchanged glances, feeling inexplicably relieved to hear that Qiqi and the others had arrived.

“But your injury…” Huang Yan looked suspiciously at the bloodstains on her body.

“I coughed up some blood earlier, but I’m fine now. I need to find someone now; don’t follow me.” As soon as Mu Yunjin finished speaking, she rose on her tiptoes and flew away from the spot.

Song Chun scratched his head, still confused after the entire conversation. “Huang Yan, is the Princess Consort injured or not?”

“She was injured,” Huang Yan replied, offering just three words.

…

Mu Yunjin searched for Master An and finally found a gray figure at the foot of the mountain behind Shuiyun Temple.

After landing steadily, Mu Yunjin walked toward the figure.

“So you’ve come.” Master An turned his head slightly to look at Mu Yunjin as she approached, his gaze sweeping over the bloodstains on her body.

“I’ve been looking for you for ages, and here you are leisurely enjoying the lake.” Mu Yunjin followed Master An’s line of sight and saw that he was staring at a barren lake.

“What did you want to find me for?” Master An asked.

Mu Yunjin pouted. “I wanted to ask about the Heaven God Token.”

“Go ahead.”

Yesterday, Chu Li mentioned that in Ghost Valley Cave, there’s a Crocodile Pearl that can counter evil spirits and might draw out the Heaven God Token. Do you know about this?” Mu Yunjin looked at Master An, scrutinizing his expression.

Master An looked at Mu Yunjin, raising an eyebrow. “Crocodile Pearl?”

“Yes.”

Master An turned his head back, pondering for a moment with a serious expression, and sighed slightly. “That thing is not easy to obtain.”

“Ghost Valley Cave is Black-Robed Feng Lan’s territory. Is the Crocodile Pearl Feng Lan’s possession?” Mu Yunjin asked further, feeling like she had opened a floodgate of ten thousand ‘whys,’ with countless questions bubbling up.

“The Crocodile Pearl exists only in Ghost Valley Cave, but strictly speaking, it doesn’t belong to Black-Robed Feng Lan,” Master An said.

Mu Yunjin gave him a puzzled look.

“In Ghost Valley Cave, there’s a place called Deep Abyss Lake. In that lake live two Ancient Temple Spirit Crocodiles, which are said to have survived in Deep Abyss Lake for a hundred years.”

“Those two Ancient Temple Spirit Crocodiles are extremely fierce and vicious. To this day, no one has been able to tame them, including Feng Lan himself. Even though he has occupied Ghost Valley Cave for many years, he still cannot approach these two Ancient Temple Spirit Crocodiles.”

“And the so-called Crocodile Pearl is formed by taking their eyes—one from the left and one from the right—and condensing them together with spiritual energy to form the Crocodile Pearl that can overcome evil!”

“Do you understand now?”

After listening to Master An’s explanation, Mu Yunjin hugged her arms tightly, feeling cold sweat breaking out on her back.

The Crocodile Pearl was something from a crocodile’s body.

And it was their eyes…

Master An had already said they were ferocious. Taking their eyes would be incredibly difficult…

“If you want to extend your life, you can try Chu Li’s method. Perhaps you can subdue the two Ancient Temple Spirit Crocodiles.” Master An softened his tone, worried that his previous words had frightened Mu Yunjin.

Mu Yunjin lowered her gaze and nodded gently. “Just now in the Dark Pavilion, I was injured by someone, and the Heaven God Token glowed with golden light again, helping to heal my wounds.”

“I told you, it has its unique soul. Since it has merged with your heart meridian, when you are injured, it also feels uncomfortable. So it uses its power to heal you.”

“However, this also means that it can already control some of its inherent secret techniques within your body. Mu’er, you must hurry to obtain the Crocodile Pearl!”

This was exactly what Mu Yunjin feared to hear. She had hoped that finding Master An would give her more time to research the Crocodile Pearl.

Now that he had said this, she felt that her time was truly running short.

Before the Heaven God Token could control her consciousness, she needed to move quickly.

“I understand. I’ll be going now.” Mu Yunjin’s enthusiasm waned as she turned to leave.

“By the way…” Master An called after Mu Yunjin.

Mu Yunjin stopped and looked back at Master An. “What is it?”

“How much of the Xuanling True Scripture’s techniques can you grasp?” Master An asked, furrowing his brow as he looked at Mu Yunjin.

“Only the first technique. I haven’t studied the others, and now that the scripture is gone, I have even less time to study it.” Mu Yunjin answered honestly.

Master An shook his head helplessly. “Such a good thing given to you, and it’s being wasted!”

But this, after all, is something that belongs to you…

Thinking this, he beckoned to Mu Yunjin. “Come here for a moment.”

Mu Yunjin walked back to him.

“Take this.”

“Don’t lose it again this time.”

Master An took out a booklet from his robe and handed it to Mu Yunjin, specifically reminding her with another sentence.

Mu Yunjin was stunned. She looked down and flipped through the booklet. Seeing the illustrations inside, she gasped in shock. “Isn’t there only one copy of the Xuanling True Scripture? Why do you have another?”

“If I hadn’t kept a backup, how would I have known that a careless person like you would burn the Xuanling True Scripture?” Master An sighed again. He had originally intended to keep this treasured copy for his practice, but these were fire-attribute techniques that conflicted with the techniques he practiced.

“I admire you. Who would have thought that you’d have a backup copy of this precious secret manual!” Mu Yunjin teased Master An as she flipped through several pages, confirming it was indeed the same as she remembered.

“Mu’er, this belongs to you. Take good care of it. The techniques and cultivation methods in here are incredibly powerful. If you master them, you’ll be able to protect yourself well in the future.”

Mu Yunjin nodded, tucking the Xuanling True Scripture into her robe. Imitating ancient etiquette, she bowed to Master An. “Thank you for your gift, Master.”

“Alright, off you go.” Master An waved her away.

Mu Yunjin smiled and left contentedly. On her way back from the rear mountain, she scratched her head, her footsteps slowing. She now lived with Chu Li, and if she brought the Xuanling True Scripture back, she definitely couldn’t hide it from Chu Li’s eyes.

But with her current skills, she would be exposed immediately when facing slightly stronger opponents. If she didn’t learn some ways to protect herself, she might become a burden to Chu Li in the future.

So, should she be honest with Chu Li about the scripture?

Mu Yunjin hesitated, and after thinking for a while, she decided to first probe Chu Li’s attitude when she returned.

…

On the way back, Mu Yunjin specifically asked Huang Yan to fetch her a pot of water before boarding the carriage. Now sitting in the carriage, she desperately tried to scrub the bloodstains from her sleeve.

If Chu Li saw these bloodstains when she returned, it would be disastrous—he would probably explode with anger!

She was under strict husband management now, with Chu Li controlling everything tightly…

Fortunately, the bloodstains were relatively easy to wash off, and they weren’t extensive. After scrubbing for a while, there was no sign of anything unusual on her clothes.

“Alright, when we get back, don’t say anything careless, understand?” Mu Yunjin looked at Chu Qingyuan and Jingyang, fearing the two young girls might speak carelessly when they returned.

Chu Qingyuan and Jingyang nodded.

By the time they returned to the prince’s mansion, darkness had fallen. Their outing had lasted an entire day.

“The Princess Consort and the others have returned.” Mamma Shen had been waiting at the entrance for a long time. Seeing them return, she hurried out.

Mu Yunjin clutched her sleeve, covering the still-damp fabric with her hand. “Where is Chu Li?”

“His Highness is in Liquan Pavilion.”

“Then I’ll go find him first…” After speaking, Mu Yunjin hurried toward Liquan Pavilion.