Hong Ling stood waiting outside the study, thinking the two would surely talk for quite a while. Unexpectedly, after just the time it took to drink a cup of tea, Mu Yunjin pushed open the door and walked out.

“Princess Ning,” Hong Ling stepped forward and called out to Mu Yunjin, but didn’t know what to ask. At this critical moment, it seemed that asking anything would be somewhat abrupt.

Mu Yunjin nodded at her with a smile. “I’ve returned the military order. I’m leaving the palace now.”

“You’re leaving just after arriving? Won’t you rest for a while and have a meal?” Hong Ling asked, glancing toward the study from the corner of her eye. The Emperor hadn’t made any movement—had his heart truly died?

“No need. Chu Li is still waiting for me outside the palace, so I must go find him first,” Mu Yunjin said with a smile.

Hearing this, Hong Ling didn’t know what else to say and secretly sighed. “Then let me escort you to the palace gate.”

“Alright.” Mu Yunjin didn’t refuse.

As they walked along the path, Hong Ling glanced at Mu Yunjin several times but didn’t speak. Mu Yunjin likewise remained silent, and they continued this way until they reached the palace gate.

Upon reaching the gate, Hong Ling stopped and smiled. “I’ll see you off from here.”

…

…

Mu Yunjin nodded. “I’m leaving. Take care of yourselves.”

“Yes, you too, Princess Ning,” Hong Ling smiled.

Mu Yunjin smiled back, then turned and walked toward the palace exit.

Hong Ling watched Mu Yunjin’s retreating figure, her heart full of emotion. Turning back, she saw a white figure standing on the Star-Gazing Platform in the distance, cold and aloof.

Hong Ling sighed. Having a connection but no destiny was truly a heartbreaking matter.

……

After leaving the palace gate, Mu Yunjin walked toward the teahouse Chu Li had mentioned.

The teahouse wasn’t far from the imperial palace, and she spotted it after walking a short distance. As Mu Yunjin approached the building, Ding Xian poked his head out from an open window upstairs. “We’re up here.”

Understanding, Mu Yunjin entered the teahouse and headed to the second floor.

Upon entering, Mu Yunjin walked to the table and sat down. A cup of half-cooled tea had already been placed at her seat. After sitting down, Mu Yunjin picked up the teacup and drank all the tea in one go.

Seeing this, Chu Li poured her another cup of water, his lips curving upward. “I originally thought we’d have to wait for you all morning, but I didn’t expect you to return so quickly.”

“If I had stayed there all morning, are you sure you would have spared me?” Mu Yunjin raised an eyebrow, her voice tinged with mockery.

“Hmm, smart of you,” Chu Li replied in a low voice.

Mu Yunjin laughed lightly, propping her head up lazily as she took a bite of the snacks on the table. “Now that I’ve returned the military order to Rong Jiu, it seems we no longer have any ties to the Eastern Lin Kingdom.”

Chu Li nodded. “Rest here for a while, and we’ll set off soon.”

Mu Yunjin made a sound of agreement, then looked over at little Mu’er. “This little fellow is asleep again. Is it that children this age just eat and sleep, then sleep and eat?”

“When you have a few more children in the future, you’ll understand,” Chu Li replied quietly.

“…” Mu Yunjin pouted, pretending she hadn’t asked.

……

Setting off again for the Southern Ting Kingdom would take about two more days. As soon as Mu Yunjin got into the carriage, she began to doze off, only hoping they would reach the Southern Ting Kingdom quickly.

Mu Yunjin leaned against the carriage wall, sleeping for an unknown period until the carriage came to a stop.

The moment the carriage stopped, the lightly sleeping Mu Yunjin opened her eyes and heard Ding Xian’s voice outside—

“Your Highness, the Ink Qilin has appeared.”

Hearing this, Chu Li inside the carriage slightly furrowed his brow, lifted the carriage curtain, and walked outside.

Mu Yunjin also sat up, pulling back the carriage curtain slightly to observe the situation outside.

The Ink Qilin was now blocking the path in front of the carriage, holding a document in its mouth. Upon seeing Chu Li, it presented the document to him.

Chu Li reached out to accept it, opened the document, and glanced at its contents.

Overcome with curiosity, Mu Yunjin also left the carriage and approached Chu Li. “Who sent the letter?”

“It’s from Huang Yan,” Chu Li said, handing the document to Mu Yunjin.

Mu Yunjin took it and looked at the contents. After reading everything, she frowned. “He wants to go to the Celestial Mountain Villa to soak in the hot spring—will this work?”

The letter stated that Hua Ying had been persuaded and had given Huang Yan the method to transform into a snake spirit. However, the cultivation technique for becoming a snake spirit was extremely bizarre. After the transformation, two types of energy—yin, cold and damp heat—would circulate within his body. He needed to use the hot spring water to force all the cold and damp energy out of his body.

But the hot spring water was scalding hot, and few people who entered such pools survived. Wasn’t Huang Yan taking too great a risk?

“It seems we need to have the Ink Qilin take us to the Southern Ting Kingdom first,” Chu Li said, frowning slightly, his thin lips parting.

“Your Highness, you and the Princess can go first. I’ll drive the carriage to the Southern Ting Kingdom, and we can meet up there,” Ding Xian suggested.

Chu Li nodded, then looked at Mu Yunjin. “I’ll get Mu’er first, and we’ll take him with us.”

“Mm,” Mu Yunjin agreed.

Soon, the two of them left with the Ink Qilin.

……

In just half an hour, the Ink Qilin appeared at the State Preceptor’s Mansion in the Southern Ting Kingdom.

State Preceptor An was bored today and had invited Defense Minister Mo to his mansion to play chess. Just as the game was getting interesting, there was a sudden flash of white light followed by the roar of a qilin.

The roar startled both State Preceptor An and Defense Minister Mo, who were concentrating on their chess game.

Glancing to the side, they saw Chu Li and Mu Yunjin already standing beside them.

“You two, aren’t you afraid of frightening us old men?” State Preceptor An scolded, dropping the chess piece in his hand and sitting up straight to look at the pair.

Defense Minister Mo also smiled happily at Chu Li and Mu Yunjin.

“Weren’t you always highly alert? How did you get scared today?” Mu Yunjin said with mischief in her eyes, speaking impishly.

“Hmph, you scare people and still have the nerve to argue!” State Preceptor An snorted lightly.

Then he raised his eyebrows. “One doesn’t visit a temple without a reason. Why have you two suddenly appeared here? Has something urgent happened?”

“You could say that,” Mu Yunjin said, handing Huang Yan’s document to State Preceptor An.

State Preceptor An read the contents, his expression becoming somewhat strange. “Huang Yan wants to become a snake spirit?”

“Yes. The water from Biyue Spring didn’t work for Hua Ying and couldn’t remove her beast spirit form. So Huang Yan thought of this method—transforming himself into a snake spirit so he could be with Hua Ying,” Mu Yunjin said, sitting down and looking at State Preceptor An.

“He certainly acts on impulse. Leaving aside the dangers of becoming a snake spirit, soaking in the hot spring is also a great risk. He might lose his life in the process,” State Preceptor An said.

Mu Yunjin sighed. “What should we do then?”

“How would I know what to do? You young people are always talking about love affairs. It’s pointless!” State Preceptor An scoffed, shaking his head helplessly.

“Just say if you’re envious and jealous,” Mu Yunjin glared at State Preceptor An, turning her face away.

State Preceptor An snorted again. “This little girl speaks without any manners.”

Nearby, Defense Minister Mo was already chatting with Chu Li. The two had maintained some private friendship over the years, and upon meeting, they exchanged a few pleasantries.

Not long after, a guard ran in from outside and approached State Preceptor An. “State Preceptor, there’s a young master surnamed Huang asking to see you.”

“Let him in,” State Preceptor An said.

Someone surnamed Huang—it had to be Huang Yan.

……

Sure enough, it was Huang Yan and Hua Ying who entered.

After entering, Huang Yan first greeted everyone, finally resting his gaze on Chu Li. “We came via the formless space, but didn’t expect Your Highness to arrive earlier than us.”

“The Ink Qilin is quite fast too,” Chu Li smiled faintly.

Huang Yan nodded in understanding, glanced at Hua Ying beside him, and took her hand. “I’ve decided to become a snake spirit. No matter how long a male snake spirit’s lifespan is, at least I won’t have regrets in this life.”

Hua Ying pursed her lips, and upon hearing these words, her eyes filled with complex emotions. She held Huang Yan’s hand, unconsciously tightening her grip.

“When do you plan to begin?” State Preceptor An asked.

“The sooner the better—right now,” Huang Yan replied. Since learning the method to become a beast spirit, he had been unable to contain his impatience. Now that he had hurried to the Southern Ting Kingdom, he didn’t want to waste any more time.

Hearing this, State Preceptor An stood up. “Let’s go to the Celestial Mountain Villa first.”

With that, the group changed locations and headed for the Celestial Mountain Villa.

As they reached the gate of the State Preceptor’s Mansion, a golden carriage slowly stopped in front. The carriage was surrounded by a row of palace guards, with an elderly man in eunuch’s clothing standing outside.

Seeing State Preceptor An at the door, the old eunuch quickly approached. “Greetings, State Preceptor.”

“Has the Emperor arrived?” State Preceptor An looked at the golden carriage.

The old eunuch nodded. “His Majesty returned to the palace yesterday. Today he had nothing to do and wanted to chat with the State Preceptor. Is the State Preceptor going out?”

While the old eunuch was speaking with State Preceptor An, Yun Guangyao, on the carriage had already lifted a corner of the curtain to look outside.

When he saw Chu Li and Mu Yunjin, he was first startled, then his gaze shifted to little Mu’er in Mu Yunjin’s arms, and his eyes lit up.

His precious little grandson had also come…

At this moment, State Preceptor An walked toward the carriage and stood outside, addressing Yun Guangyao. “Your Majesty, I was just about to take some friends who have come from afar to the Celestial Mountain Villa.”

“Oh? Friends from afar?” Yun Guangyao asked, feigning ignorance.

“Prince Ning of the Western Yuan Kingdom, Princess Ning, and little Young Master Ning,” State Preceptor An said slowly.

Hearing this, Yun Guangyao lifted the curtain completely, his gaze falling on Chu Li and Mu Yunjin in the distance. He smiled faintly. “I didn’t expect that after just a few days, we would meet again.”

Chu Li and Mu Yunjin nodded slightly toward Yun Guangyao in acknowledgment.

“I had originally planned to visit the Celestial Mountain Villa after meeting with the State Preceptor. Since you’re all going there, why don’t we go together?” Yun Guangyao said.

After speaking, he again fixed his gaze on little Mu’er. “The weather is hot, and the child will likely be uncomfortable. Why don’t you ride in my carriage? I’ve placed ice blocks inside to keep it cool.”

“Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty,” Mu Yunjin said, knowing that Yun Guangyao was fond of little Mu’er and naturally wouldn’t refuse his goodwill.

So after speaking, she pulled Chu Li toward Yun Guangyao’s carriage.

The remaining people got into the carriage prepared by State Preceptor An, and together they set off for the Celestial Mountain Villa.