As Mu Yunjin fell toward the cliff, the Phoenix Tail Whip on his wrist was already uncoiled, quickly wrapping around a rocky outcrop to secure his falling body.

During this commotion, the lantern he had been holding dropped from the mountaintop, along with some small rocks that tumbled down the mountain.

Chu Li had been closely watching the situation on the mountaintop from below. When he saw the suddenly falling lantern and heard the sound of broken rocks hitting the ground, his eyes darkened. He took out the jade pendant he carried with him and leaped toward the mountain.

After steadying herself, Mu Yunjin used the Phoenix Tail Whip to gather her energy, flipped her body, and stood back at the edge of the cliff.

Imperial Physician Yang and the others, who had witnessed the incident, were so frightened that they all rushed to the cliff’s edge, thinking that if anything happened to Mu Yunjin, they would not survive—Prince Ning would surely flay them alive.

Now, seeing Mu Yunjin gracefully fly back up from the cliff’s edge, they were all astonished and immediately knelt.

“This humble servant has failed in his duty. Please forgive us, Princess Consort Ning…”

Before they could finish speaking, Mu Yunjin flew away like a gust of wind, rapidly moving toward the right.

Imperial Physician Yang looked in that direction, and suddenly cold sweat broke out on his back. He felt that the events of tonight were truly bizarre…

Mu Yunjin chased in the direction from which the palm force had come. She was surprised that the person was still hiding on the mountain, apparently not having had time to leave.

If she could catch that person now, she might be able to find a significant amount of Hexian Lotus on them.

However, the fact that the person had suddenly struck at her to kill her—did they recognize her?

Or perhaps they feared she would discover their hiding place, making escape impossible…

Mu Yunjin’s thoughts were chaotic as she flew toward the right side of the mountain in the darkness. Along the way, apart from the rustling of leaves brushed by her clothes, there was no sign of anyone else.

Seeing that she had reached the rightmost edge of the cliff, Mu Yunjin stopped, her face tense, fingers clenched, quietly listening to the gusts of wind blowing across the mountaintop.

Here, there was no trace of anyone’s presence…

After standing in place for quite some time, she heard subtle sounds behind her. Mu Yunjin was startled and turned to look. She saw Chu Li hurrying toward her, his eyes deep and brows tightly furrowed, his expression cold.

“Chu Li…” Mu Yunjin called out.

Hearing Mu Yunjin’s voice, Chu Li looked in her direction. “Damn it, how are you? Are you hurt?”

“I’m fine,” Mu Yunjin said softly, feeling somewhat uncertain now that she faced Chu Li.

She hadn’t felt it when she first returned to the cliff, but now that she had calmed down, she realized her left arm had been inadvertently injured by sharp rocks. Her left arm was now burning with pain.

As Chu Li approached, Mu Yunjin instinctively hid her left hand in her sleeve and looked up at him. “Didn’t I tell you to wait for me at the foot of the mountain? Why did you come up?”

After speaking, Mu Yunjin noticed Chu Li’s purple brocade robe had several tears in it, likely also damaged by the tree branches.

“What happened to you just now?” Chu Li grabbed Mu Yunjin’s shoulders and examined her.

Finding that he couldn’t see clearly, he took out the jade pendant again.

“Did you climb the mountain in the dark?” Mu Yunjin raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised.

Chu Li shook his head. “Not exactly. I only put away the jade pendant when I was near the top.”

“Look at you, rushing so urgently that your clothes are torn, and you’re sweating so much.” Mu Yunjin took out a handkerchief she carried and wiped the sweat from Chu Li’s forehead.

Chu Li seized her hand, his dark eyes full of concern. “Huan’er, what happened just now?”

“Just now…”

Mu Yunjin briefly told Chu Li everything that had happened. After listening, Chu Li’s thin lips pressed tightly together, and he remained silent for a while.

By this time, Imperial Physician Yang and the others had finally found where Mu Yunjin and Chu Li were. Upon seeing the two, they immediately knelt without a word.

“This humble official has failed in his duty. Please punish me, Prince Ning!” Imperial Physician Yang bowed his head to the ground. Having just seen Chu Li’s dark face filled with murderous intent, he no longer dared to beg for mercy.

However, while he was pleading here, the two beside him were completely focused on each other.

“It’s already dark, and we’re unfamiliar with the terrain of this mountain. It won’t be easy to catch that person,” Mu Yunjin said to Chu Li, her voice carrying a hint of resignation.

“Let’s go back first.” Chu Li took Mu Yunjin’s hand and walked toward the path down the mountain. It was almost midnight now, and lingering here would serve no purpose.

Mu Yunjin nodded, agreeing with Chu Li, and together they headed down the mountain.

On the way down, Chu Li continuously held Mu Yunjin’s left hand. Her arm was stinging with pain, but fearing that Chu Li would discover her injury, she gritted her teeth and endured the discomfort.

She realized that when facing Chu Li, she was truly timid…

Once they reached the bottom of the mountain, Chu Li glanced at Mu Yunjin and said gently, “It’s late. Let’s return to the prince’s residence and rest for the night.”

Mu Yunjin nodded and followed Chu Li as they left.

After they departed, a black figure emerged from behind a rock on the level ground…

“Mu! Yun! Jin!”

As soon as they entered the Liquan Pavilion, Mu Yunjin heard a thunderous shout from behind, startling her so much that she jumped. “Chu Li, you scared me!”

“What is this?” Chu Li stepped forward, grabbing Mu Yunjin’s left arm, his gaze falling on the bloodstains that had seeped through her sleeve.

Mu Yunjin looked down, her heart skipping a beat. She had thought it was just a small cut, but it was bleeding and had soaked through her clothes…

“This…” Mu Yunjin opened her mouth, “I don’t know either…”

At this point, playing dumb was her only option.

Chu Li frowned and gently pulled up her sleeve, revealing a red gash. The wound was quite deep and had bled considerably. Even after so much time, blood droplets were still forming.

“Does it hurt?” Although Chu Li was angry that she had been reckless and gotten herself injured again, what angered him more was himself for failing to protect her, causing her to be wounded once more.

“It doesn’t hurt,” Mu Yunjin looked at her wound, then quickly glanced up at Chu Li. Seeing his furrowed brow, she suddenly felt that it didn’t hurt at all.

Chu Li nodded slightly. “Go sit over there first.”

With that, he left the room.

Mu Yunjin sat in the chair, removed her outer garment, exposing her arm, and stared at the wound, her gaze slightly unfocused.

Soon, Chu Li returned with a medicine box.

He placed the box on a nearby table, opened it, took out several bottles, and approached Mu Yunjin.

“I’m going to apply medicine to your wound. It might hurt a bit, so bear with it.” Chu Li’s tone was gentle, and as he spoke, he caressed Mu Yunjin’s face.

Mu Yunjin made a sound of acknowledgment, allowing Chu Li to treat her.

This was Chu Li’s first time treating someone, especially since it was Mu Yunjin, his movements were exceptionally gentle when applying the medicine, afraid of causing her discomfort.

Mu Yunjin had been injured many times and was almost immune to such situations. She rested her right hand on her chin, staring directly at Chu Li, a smile gradually appearing on her lips.

Chu Li happened to look up and, seeing the smile on Mu Yunjin’s lips, raised an eyebrow. “What are you looking at?”

“Looking at you,” Mu Yunjin blinked, staring at Chu Li.

Chu Li paused, sighing with slight resignation. “This prince doesn’t know what to do with you.”

By the time he finished speaking, Chu Li had finished bandaging Mu Yunjin’s wound.

“Rest early. We need to get up at dawn tomorrow. You only have a little over three hours to rest.” Chu Li glanced at the time on the water clock and reminded Mu Yunjin.

Mu Yunjin nodded. After a busy day, she was indeed tired.

“I’ll soak in the hot spring pool first, then sleep.” After yawning, Mu Yunjin chose clean clothes and walked toward the hot spring pool.

Less than half an hour later, Chu Li accompanied Mu Yunjin to bed.

After Mu Yunjin was sound asleep, Chu Li got up from the bed, put on his outer clothes, and left.

More than an hour later, Chu Li and the Ink Qilin appeared at State Master An’s residence in the Southern Court Kingdom.

Even though it was the dead of night, candles were still lit in the main hall of the State Master’s residence.

“You’re here.” Upon seeing Chu Li, State Master An, who had been dozing in his seat, immediately awoke and called out to Hua Ying and Huang Yan sitting to the side.

“Your Highness, did you purchase any Hexian Lotus?” Huang Yan asked.

Chu Li shook his head and took out the three Hexian Lotus plants he had obtained from the Western Yuan Kingdom’s palace. “All the Hexian Lotus in the pharmacies was bought in advance, and even the Hexian Lotus on Fengxiu Mountain in the Western Yuan Kingdom has been destroyed.”

“What about you?” Chu Li asked.

Upon hearing this, the others sighed, their faces showing defeat.

“Now it seems the epidemic in Gushan City is man-made,” State Master An said, then added, “However, I don’t understand the opponent’s intention. Gushan City is just a small city. Why target it?”

“And then to expend so much effort to buy up all the Hexian Lotus in four kingdoms, and even destroy many Hexian Lotus cultivation sites—what is that person trying to achieve by doing all this?”

State Master An couldn’t understand the purpose behind it, no matter how he thought about it.

“Not just you, I’m puzzled too. Who has nothing better to do than this?” Huang Yan was somewhat exasperated, having run around all night with nothing to show for it.

“Tonight on Fengxiu Mountain, Yunjin was also attacked…” Chu Li revealed the incident of Mu Yunjin being ambushed.

Hearing this, the other three were briefly stunned.

“This matter has become difficult. So many people in Gushan City are waiting for Hexian Lotus to save their lives. Now all the Hexian Lotus that could be bought has been destroyed. If the epidemic spreads beyond the city, we’ll be in trouble…” State Master An frowned deeply, feeling powerless for the first time.

“Why don’t I go to Zhangzhou City to find my little brother Bai Cha and ask if he has any way to save people?” State Master An suggested after a while, unable to think of any other solution.

Chu Li nodded slightly, then looked at Huang Yan. “This prince will now go to the Northern Ming Kingdom, and you will go to the Eastern Lin Kingdom. We’ll use the Thousand Faces to disguise ourselves, claiming that we have Hexian Lotus for sale, to see if we can lure those people out.”

“But Your Highness, aren’t you worried that they have already bought Hexian Lotus in the Eastern Lin Kingdom and Northern Ming Kingdom?” Huang Yan asked.

“Since they’ve done this, they must have dispatched many people to gather Hexian Lotus. The epidemic in Gushan City hasn’t broken out yet, so they wouldn’t dare to be careless.”