Yun Ge was in high spirits after returning to the Central Plains from the Southern Borders. Never before in her life had she enjoyed such carefree travels. During this journey to the Southern Borders, she not only encountered many medicinal herbs unique to the region, but Xu Qingchen also took her to visit several renowned physicians. The medical techniques and philosophies, so different from those of the Central Plains, gave Yun Ge many new insights into her journey of studying medicine.

After the pair entered through Suixue Pass back into the Central Plains, they slowly made their way westward toward Xiling. Although there was no small amount of enmity between Xiling and the Prince Ding Manor, both sides had now agreed to cease hostilities and focus on recovery. The people of Xiling wouldn’t dare easily move against Young Master Qingchen.

However, no one expected that trouble would find them before they even reached An City, the current capital of Xiling.

That day, Yun Ge and Xu Qingchen were staying at an inn in a small town near An City. Their destination was indeed the current capital of Xiling. Although it might seem somewhat provocative for Xu Qingchen, the Right Minister of Prince Ding’s Manor, to enter Xiling’s capital without any formal announcement, An City was currently Xiling’s most prosperous and bustling location. It would be a shame not to visit while in Xiling. More importantly, the two planned to travel to the Western Regions through Xiling, which meant they had to pass through An City.

Feeling fatigued from the previous day’s journey, when Yun Ge woke early the next morning, she didn’t see Xu Qingchen, who usually rose earlier than her. Though strange, she didn’t think too much of it – Qingchen didn’t practice martial arts, so he was different from someone like her who trained in combat. Perhaps he was simply tired from these days of travel and was sleeping in for once. Yun Ge went downstairs to the inn’s main hall, ordered some simple breakfast items, and ate at a leisurely pace. However, after finishing her meal and waiting a while longer, she realized something was wrong. Not only had Xu Qingchen not appeared, but even the guards who usually protected them were nowhere to be seen. They couldn’t all be sleeping in, could they?

At this thought, Yun Ge’s heart skipped a beat. Without hesitation, she rushed upstairs. Pushing open Xu Qingchen’s door, she found the room spotlessly clean and tidy, as if no one had ever stayed there. Checking the guards’ rooms, she discovered all of them unconscious.

“Xu… Qingchen?!” Yun Ge became frantic. She quickly neutralized the poison affecting the guards and anxiously asked, “What happened? Where’s Xu Qingchen?”

The guards were initially dazed, but upon hearing Yun Ge’s words, they too were startled. They rushed into Xu Qingchen’s room and confirmed he was indeed missing.

“How could this happen? Young Master Qingchen has been taken…” one guard said gravely, looking at the half-open window. “Quick, notify all local secret agents to search for Young Master Qingchen!”

“Yes!” One of the secret guards responded, rushing out immediately.

Yun Ge felt completely lost. During their time together, Xu Qingchen handled everything, leaving her with no worries. Now that he had suddenly disappeared, she felt utterly helpless. “Xu Qingchen… why… how did this happen? Who… who would kidnap him? He doesn’t have any enemies.” Seeing the young girl begin to sob, the secret guards became flustered, quickly saying, “Miss Shen, don’t worry. Young Master Qingchen is blessed by heaven, he’ll be fine. Oh right… the Master of the King of Hell Manor in Xiling is Young Master Qingchen’s good friend. Perhaps we could ask him for information. As they say, even a mighty dragon can’t overcome a local snake. Although we have some manpower in Xiling, we can’t compare to the King of Hell Manor.”

Hearing the guard’s words, Yun Ge quickly wiped away her tears and headed for the door. “Let’s go quickly! Xu Qingchen can’t fight, what if someone bullies him?”

The secret guard following behind her sighed helplessly, his usually stern face showing an unusual flash of guilt.

Outside the King of Hell Manor

The Sickly Scholar looked at the yellow-robed young woman before him with a grim expression, frowning as he said, “Big Brother is in seclusion and isn’t seeing any visitors.”

Yun Ge bit her lip but stood stubbornly before the Sickly Scholar, refusing to back down. “Isn’t Master Ling good friends with Xu Qingchen? Xu Qingchen has disappeared, and I wanted to ask Master Ling if he had any news.” She knew it was quite rude to show up uninvited and demand to see their Master, but for news of Xu Qingchen, she had no choice. He had been missing for almost two days now, and neither Prince Ding Manor’s secret agents nor the Garrison South Prince Manor had any information, which made Yun Ge increasingly frightened.

The Sickly Scholar gave a cold laugh, saying indifferently, “The King of Hell Manor has long since disbanded. Even if Big Brother came out to see you, he wouldn’t tell you anything. Moreover… isn’t Xu Qingchen from Prince Ding Manor? With Prince Ding Manor’s spies and agents spread throughout the world, why would you need the King of Hell Manor’s help?” Back then, when the King of Hell Manor agreed to help Lei Zhenting intercept Ye Li, they lost most of their top fighters. After returning, Ling Tiehan ordered the disbanding of the King of Hell Manor. Though Ling Tiehan claimed he was tired of the jianghu life and wanted to focus on martial arts research, how could the Sickly Scholar, as his sworn brother, not know that Ling Tiehan did this to prevent Prince Ding’s revenge and protect the remaining members of the King of Hell Manor? For a master like Ling Tiehan, unless Mo Xiuyao personally led an attack, few in this world could harm him. But the other members of the King of Hell Manor were different – some of their second and third-rate fighters would be like lambs to the slaughter against Prince Ding’s Iron Cavalry.

Although the King of Hell Manor had struck first, now that the once-mighty manor had ceased to exist, it was impossible not to harbor some resentment. Moreover, the Sickly Scholar was never a magnanimous person – he was pleased that Xu Qingchen had disappeared.

“Go away, I want to see Master Ling. I’m not talking to you.” Having been blocked here for so long, even someone as unworldly as Yun Ge could see this person was deliberately making things difficult. Already upset about Xu Qingchen’s safety, she now had even less patience, glaring at the Sickly Scholar with puffed cheeks.

The Sickly Scholar’s expression changed as he sneered, “Want to see Big Brother? Fine, defeat me and I’ll let you in.”

Yun Ge didn’t waste words. She drew a short sword and thrust it toward the Sickly Scholar. The Sickly Scholar’s preferred weapon was a short knife, and the two immediately engaged in close combat. The Sickly Scholar was skilled in poison techniques, making most jianghu fighters wary of crossing blades with him. But Yun Ge was different – she was skilled in medicine, and as the ancient saying goes, medicine and poison are two sides of the same coin. After returning from the Southern Borders, her understanding of poisons had reached new heights. Therefore, the Sickly Scholar’s poisons had little effect on her. They had to rely purely on their martial skills.

Though the Sickly Scholar was over ten years older than Yun Ge, his martial arts truly weren’t her match. Among the three leaders of the King of Hell Manor, his talent and martial arts were the weakest, and years of illness had plagued him. If not for his poison techniques, his martial arts would barely rank second-rate. But Yun Ge was a martial arts prodigy whom even Mo Xiuyao had to praise. In less than half a quarter-hour, Yun Ge had completely dominated the fight.

“Third Brother, stop.” A deep male voice came from inside as a man in blue cloth garments walked out. Upon hearing his voice, the Sickly Scholar immediately withdrew to the side, and Yun Ge simultaneously ceased her attack. As soon as the man appeared, she felt an overwhelming presence of martial might, just like when facing Prince Ding. Yun Ge understood very well that with her martial arts, she absolutely could not defeat this man.

“Are… are you Master Ling?” Though facing an opponent she couldn’t defeat, Yun Ge didn’t back down.

Ling Tiehan looked with interest at the young girl before him. At his age, this little girl was young enough to be his daughter. Even Ling Tiehan showed tolerance toward such an adorable young girl, “I am Ling Tiehan. Little miss, your kung fu is not bad. What’s your name?”

Yun Ge gently bit her lip and said softly, “My name is Shen Yun Ge. I… I came to ask Master Ling to help me find news of Xu Qingchen.”

Seeing the anxiety poorly hidden in Yun Ge’s clear eyes, Ling Tiehan shook his head. Watching Yun Ge’s pretty smile slowly fade, Ling Tiehan smiled and said, “Don’t worry, Xu Qingchen will be fine.”

“How do you know?” Yun Ge asked.

Ling Tiehan smiled, “Given Xu Qingchen’s status, there aren’t many people in the world who both want to and are capable of kidnapping him, and among these, almost none bear him grudges. If you’re worried about him… you could return to Li City to check.”

“Li City?” Yun Ge bit her lip. Li City was too far from here – what if something happened to Xu Qingchen while she was traveling to Li City to ask Sister Li for help? Seeing tears welling up in the young girl’s eyes, Ling Tiehan sighed helplessly and said, “Miss Shen, if you trust me, go back to Li City to look. Perhaps Xu Qingchen will already be in Li City by the time you return? If he truly has been kidnapped, and neither the King of Hell Manor nor the Garrison South Prince Manor can find any trace, staying here won’t help. You might as well go back first.”

Yun Ge nodded, quickly wiping away the tears from the corner of her eyes, “I understand. I’m sorry for disturbing you, Master Ling. Thank you.” With that, Yun Ge gave Ling Tiehan a cupped-hand salute and turned to leave.

“Big Brother, you’re just letting this girl leave like this?” Watching Yun Ge’s figure gradually disappear, the Sickly Scholar said somewhat discontentedly.

Ling Tiehan laughed heartily, raising his hand to pat his sworn brother’s shoulder, “She’s just a fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl, and you’re not ashamed of bullying her? Moreover… Third Brother, I’m not looking down on you, but in a one-on-one fight, you absolutely wouldn’t be her match. Though I never expected… Xu Qingchen would find such a pure-hearted young girl.”

“Who kidnapped Xu Qingchen?” The Sickly Scholar frowned and asked. His earlier refusal of Yun Ge wasn’t entirely out of spite – the King of Hell Manor truly had no information about Xu Qingchen.

Ling Tiehan smiled and said, “In this world today, besides Mo Xiuyao, who else could both kidnap Xu Qingchen and have the ability to help him?”

“…”

Not far from where Yun Ge had been, in a secluded corner sat an unremarkable carriage. Inside sat a man of unparalleled handsomeness, dressed in snow-white robes like an immortal from the heavens. However, his current expression was far from celestial – rather, it made the person facing him feel a chill down their spine.

Across from him, Xu Qingfeng, the Third Young Master of the Xu family who had only been married for two months, looked helplessly at the person opposite him. “Big Brother, don’t look at me like that, I’m just following orders. If you’re angry, go find the person who gave the order.” He had just married his beautiful bride – wouldn’t he rather be at home enjoying newlywed life than running to this forsaken place and earning his big brother’s resentment?

“Mo Xiuyao.” Young Master Qingchen lowered his eyes, knowing without thinking who had come up with this terrible idea. Upon waking to find himself kidnapped, Young Master Qingchen didn’t feel alarmed. Sure enough, he soon saw his third brother appear before him with a timid expression, apologetically smiling with guilt written all over his face. Without saying more, only someone from Li City could have come up with such an outrageous plan – at least Xu Qingfeng wouldn’t have dared to act on his initiative.

Xu Qingfeng nodded repeatedly. Being sent to carry out such an absurd task, he too was full of complaints. But as a subordinate, he could only follow orders, though he secretly hoped his big brother would give that certain someone plenty of trouble upon returning.

“Tsk tsk… Big Brother, it seems Miss Shen cares deeply for you.” Peering through the carriage curtains at Young Miss Yun Ge who had just left the King of Hell Manor with tears streaming down her face as she walked forward without stopping, Xu Qingfeng remarked with a click of his tongue. They had been secretly following Yun Ge these past two days, so they had seen everything she had done. Unfortunately, though Yun Ge’s martial arts were strong, her jianghu experience was practically zero, so she naturally couldn’t detect someone with professional training like Xu Qingfeng.

Watching the lonely figure of the young girl disappear into the distance, Xu Qingchen’s eyes flashed with pity and heartache. He said in a deep voice, “Have you had enough fun? Let me out.”

Xu Qingfeng shook his head repeatedly, “That won’t do. My orders are to bring you back. Besides, Big Brother… don’t you want to see just how much Miss Shen cares about you?”

Xu Qingchen fell silent. Young Master Qingchen had always been a perfectionist. But Young Miss Yun Ge was rather slow when it came to emotions. Although she had now fully accepted the fact of being his fiancée, even he didn’t know how much of it was due to genuine feelings for him. But… thinking of those crystal-clear eyes filled with tears, Young Master Qingchen felt his heart constrict painfully. “Let me out of the carriage!”

In the end, his concern for Yun Ge outweighed his desire to know the answer. Young Master Qingchen unhesitatingly gave up this opportunity.

Xu Qingfeng rolled his eyes helplessly and gave Young Master Qingchen a fawning smile, “In that case… Big Brother, please forgive your younger brother.” With a raise of his hand, Xu Qingfeng knocked Young Master Qingchen unconscious with a chop to the neck. Given Young Master Qingchen’s intelligence, it would be safest to knock him out and take him directly back to Li City. Otherwise, even if restrained, he might still cause trouble along the way. Recalling Prince Ding’s earnest instructions before departure, though Xu Qingfeng found it quite beneath him, he had to admit… it made sense.

Yun Ge traveled day and night toward Li City, but after being delayed by two groups of people blocking her path, she arrived two days later than planned. Just thinking that Xu Qingchen’s fate was still unknown made Yun Ge hate herself for being useless. If she were as capable as Sister Li, she would be able to find Xu Qingchen, instead of sheepishly returning to ask for Sister Li’s help.

However, the scene that greeted her upon entering Li City left Yun Ge completely bewildered. Prince Ding’s Manor was peaceful and calm as if nothing had happened. She had sent the secret guards who had been with Xu Qingchen back to Li City to report. When she grabbed a servant from Prince Ding’s Manor to ask, they replied that both the Prince and Princess were not in the manor but had gone to the Xu family residence, because Young Master Qingchen, the eldest young master of the Xu family, was getting married today.

Yun Ge was stunned, unable to make sense of what was happening. She could only stammer, “So… so… Xu Qingchen is all right?”

The servant gave her a strange look and replied, “What could happen to Young Master Qingchen? Young Master Qingchen is very capable.”

“Then… when did Xu Qingchen return?”

“Young Master Qingchen returned yesterday. Fortunately, Miss Shen has also returned, just in time for the Young Master’s wedding.” The servant smiled and said this before bowing and taking their leave.

Yun Ge sat dazed at Prince Ding Manor’s main gate, lost in thought. The guards at the gate all knew this young lady and left her be. Thinking of how she had rushed back through the wind and rain these past days, even being robbed along the way, Yun Ge couldn’t help but tear up with a grievance. Even if Xu Qingchen didn’t want her anymore, he didn’t need to secretly return to get married. At least he could have left her a message – this was really… too much!

Just thinking about how Xu Qingchen had secretly returned to marry without telling her made Yun Ge feel even worse. Liar! Big liar… he had promised to accompany her everywhere to practice medicine and travel. All that talk about being betrothed… Xu Qingchen was a big liar!

The young girl’s aggrieved expression was too much even for the guard brothers at the gate to bear, and finally, one couldn’t help but ask, “Miss Shen, what’s wrong? Who bullied you?” Perhaps the young lady had been bullied – should they quickly report to the Princess? The Princess seemed quite fond of this young lady.

Yun Ge blinked her eyes and nodded silently, “What should you do if someone deceives you?”

“Beat him up!” said Guard A.

“Punch him!” said Guard B.

“Kick him!” said Guard D.

“Destroy him!” said Guard C.

Yun Ge’s pretty face showed hesitation as she said uncertainly, “That won’t work… he’s not sturdy enough. What if he gets hurt?”

The guards looked at each other – to be this upset yet still worried about hurting him, it must be trouble with a lover.

“Miss Shen, perhaps he didn’t mean to deceive you. If you have any doubts, it’s better to ask him directly. Otherwise, you might regret missing out on your true love for the rest of your life.”

“True… love?” Yun Ge’s little face turned red.

“Yes, he’s upset you this much yet you still can’t bring yourself to hit him – isn’t he your beloved?”

“That… that…” Yun Ge’s small face turned red and then pale again. “Then… what if he doesn’t want me anymore and goes to be with someone else?”

“Take him back, make him change his mind,” said Guard A.

“Take him back, and if he won’t change his mind, beat him to death!” said Guard B.

“Take him back, and if he won’t change his mind, poison him to death!” said Guard C.

“Take…” Before Guard C could finish, Yun Ge had already turned around with a sweet smile, “I understand, first take him back, then we’ll see!”

Instead of entering through the Xu family’s main gate, Yun Ge used her lightness skill to jump over the wall and headed straight for Xu Qingchen’s courtyard. The Xu residence was indeed extraordinarily lively, decorated with lanterns and colored banners everywhere, with people coming and going in the outer courtyard creating a bustling scene. In comparison, the inner courtyard was much quieter.

Just as she reached Xu Qingchen’s room, faintly hearing his voice from inside, Young Miss Yun Ge became angry and raised her foot to kick his door.

“Oh my, Yun Ge, what are you doing here? Quick, come with me!” Murong Ting’s voice suddenly came from behind. Before Yun Ge could react, she was grabbed by both Murong Ting and Hua Tianxiang and dragged away.

“Mmph… Sister Ting, Sister Tianxiang, what are you doing? I want to find Xu Qingchen!” Yun Ge said angrily. Qin Zheng followed beside them, covering her mouth as she laughed, “What silly things are you saying? Today is the big day – how can you see the groom now? Quick, come with us, everyone’s been looking for you.”

“Looking for me?” Still completely unable to understand what was happening, Yun Ge was confusedly dragged away by Murong Ting and Hua Tianxiang from Xu Qingchen’s courtyard into another courtyard. Then many people, both familiar and unfamiliar, surrounded her to change her clothes, apply makeup, and arrange her hair. Finally, she was covered with a red bridal veil and dazedly escorted out for the wedding ceremony.

From beginning to end, Yun Ge was completely bewildered, not knowing what was happening.

By the time Yun Ge came to her senses, she had already completed the ceremonial bows and been sent to the bridal chamber. Under the red veil decorated with mandarin ducks playing in the water, Yun Ge blinked in confusion, raising her hand to lift the veil covering her head. She heard a creaking sound from the door as it was pushed open and then closed, and light footsteps approached her direction.

Somehow, Yun Ge suddenly felt nervous, her palms gripping her red wedding dress now damp with sweat.

There was a flash of brightness as the red veil was gently lifted. Yun Ge looked up to see the man before her wearing bright red ceremonial robes, his immortally handsome face bearing a gentle smile, his whole being made even more noble and joyful by the festive red.

“Xu… Xu Qingchen?”

Xu Qingchen smiled faintly, bending down to place a light kiss on her lips, and said with a smile, “It’s me. Yun Ge, we’re married today – are you happy?”

“Ha… ha-happy?” Yun Ge couldn’t help wanting to glare at him fiercely, but under his gentle gaze, her cheeks felt like they were on fire. Her heart couldn’t help but fill with joy and sweetness. So Xu Qingchen hadn’t rejected her, hadn’t secretly wanted to marry someone else?

“I’m glad you’re happy.” Young Master Qingchen smiled gently, “From today on, Yun Ge is my wife. Come, let’s first drink the wedding wine.” Young Master Qingchen handed her a wine cup, smiling as he watched Yun Ge.

Meeting his smiling, handsome face, Yun Ge felt her head spinning. In a daze, she raised the wine cup, their arms crossing as they drank together.

One cup of wedding wine, from now on they would be like paired wings and connected branches, growing old together…

Under the bright wedding candles, the beautiful couple raised their cups together, their eyes carrying gentle smiles and tenderness. From afar came the sound of firecrackers, pleasant music, and bustling voices, making this moment seem even more peaceful…

At this time,

The flowers carried their pure fragrance as the moon cast its shade…