When the overall direction is wrong, those below naturally struggle to execute tasks.

His confidant naturally couldn’t comment on such a statement, and could only respond: “Perhaps His Highness has other considerations?”

Zhao Yun shook his head but refrained from criticizing his royal father. His confidant followed him through the half-moon gate, across the swaying bamboo grove, quickly leaving the garden.

Once certain he had departed, Feng Miaojun shoved Yun Ya away, along with a few dagger glares.

That scoundrel, taking advantage of her so shamelessly!

Yun Ya licked his lips, lamenting: “An’an is truly heartless after getting what she wants.”

Feng Miaojun decided to ignore him, turning to pass through the half-moon gate and slipping into Zhao Yun’s study. This was the lodging arranged by the Kingdom of New Xia for the Yan Kingdom’s prince, the structure similar to other mansions in Wuser City.

The most prominent object in the study was the sandalwood desk.

Zhao Yun’s desk work was meticulous, everything was arranged in perfect order. Feng Miaojun immediately spotted the “information” he had mentioned.

This was thanks to how dreams often replay fragments of reality, giving her the opportunity to glimpse Zhao Yun’s secrets.

Her luck was truly good.

The words “Ying Shui City” and “Demon Realm” captured her full attention.

Feng Miaojun opened the document, and her gaze froze upon seeing the first page.

There were no words, only a pattern drawn on it.

Most importantly, she had seen this pattern before, and quite frequently.

Feng Miaojun pulled back her sleeve. Yun Ya, who had followed her in, saw a string of jade beads around her wrist, of excellent quality.

The central bead was carved into a shape identical to the pattern in the document:

It resembled a plant with branches, though quite abstract in appearance.

She gently stroked the jade bead, murmuring: “What is this?”

“The Celestial God’s emblem,” Yun Ya spoke at the right moment. “Originally, temples could be seen throughout the Haoli Empire, with this emblem carved on the main temple lintels or window lattices. But in the later period, the Haoli Empire erased divine traces, and demolished temples, and these marks disappeared with them… Where did you get these jade beads?”

“My mother bought them, saying they came from an ancient ruin.” Feng Miaojun was equally puzzled. This string of jade beads had been given to her by her adoptive mother, Madam Xu, who claimed they originated from “ancient ruins.” Xu was an ordinary person without a trace of spiritual power; this was an indisputable fact.

Yun Ya seemed to know what she was thinking: “It’s not unusual for people today to explore ruins, causing such items to resurface.”

Feng Miaojun made a sound of acknowledgment and turned to the next page.

The more she examined it, the more astonishing it became.

What Zhao Yun had sent to the King of Yan was actually a confidential report, detailing the excavation and search work he had secretly conducted in Ying Shui City. Based on what the Nineteenth Prince had just said, this was already the fifth survey, showing the Yan King’s emphasis on this operation.

What was Ying Shui City? The once-glorious capital of the Haoli Empire, the most prosperous human city since the beginning of the era. In terms of wealth and development, even today’s Yan capital, Taiping City, couldn’t compare.

But Ying Shui City’s fate was tightly bound to the Haoli Empire. As the latter declined and collapsed, the former couldn’t escape its doom.

The rise and fall of the Haoli Empire had always been a focus of study for later generations. Feng Miaojun had read extensive historical materials in the Smoke Sea Tower, knowing that Ying Shui City had already begun declining ten years before the Haoli Empire’s disintegration—industries failing, population migrating out. Most critically, after the Haoli Empire’s demise, Ying Shui City was occupied by four different powers. Each understood they could not maintain long-term rule, so they only thought of plundering and ransacking the city extensively.

After being pillaged four times, even a city as prosperous as Ying Shui would be left impoverished. Eventually, no one considered it a capital, and because the place had experienced too much warfare and too many tragic stories, humans were unwilling to continue residing there.

Over time, the once-flourishing Ying Shui City became a deserted capital, gradually buried among tall grasses and wild forests, unvisited.

“Ying Shui City’s location isn’t far from here, just over three hundred li away,” Feng Miaojun mused. “This place has been abandoned for over three hundred years, yet the King of Yan has sent people to excavate multiple times. Is there truly a connection between Ying Shui City and the Demon Realm?”

The last question was directed at Yun Ya.

His gaze also scanned the confidential report: “That depends on how much you know about the past events between the Haoli Empire and the demons.”

Knowing the dream’s owner might return at any moment, Feng Miaojun suppressed her myriad questions and quickly read through the confidential report, committing it to memory. This task came easily to her; she had already committed large volumes of material from the Smoke Sea Tower to memory.

“Let’s go.”

Just as the two returned to the bamboo grove, Zhao Yun’s confidant came back, taking away the confidential report from the desk.

Yun Ya led her through the small door of the bamboo garden, vanishing without a trace.

The next moment, the two stood in a peach blossom forest with scattered petals.

“Is this my dream?” The peach forest was serene and peaceful under the moonlight, with occasional insects chirping.

Yun Ya nodded.

Feng Miaojun blinked, and suddenly many prayer lanterns floated out from the peach forest, riding thermal currents toward the sky.

The peach forest was pink, the prayer lanterns golden yellow. Looking up, it was as if the heavenly river of stars had descended to earth.

Yun Ya gently applauded: “Breathtaking.” This girl had only realized she was in a dream yesterday, yet today she could already attempt to control the dreamscape. The concentration of her spirit truly impressed him. Most cultivators, even knowing they were in a dream, couldn’t alter it, because dreams were true projections and distortions, dominated by the subconscious of the physical body.

Her performance in the dream realm could no longer be described merely as genius.

Feng Miaojun hadn’t noticed Yun Ya’s flickering gaze; her attention was focused elsewhere: “Can you freely enter others’ dreams?” If he nodded, this ability would be truly terrifying. As long as someone was in the same place as him, who could claim any privacy?

Yun Ya discerned her concern and smiled particularly slyly: “That’s my secret. If An’an truly wants to know—” He dragged out his tone, his gaze falling on her red lips.

That look was almost tangible, and Feng Miaojun understood its implications all too well. She immediately put on a stern face: “Forget it if you won’t tell me.”

She blushed, her coldness tinged with a hint of coquettish anger, making her even more bewitchingly beautiful. The slowly rising prayer lanterns behind her added a touch of mortal charm, truly like an immortal who had mistakenly entered the mortal realm.

Girls of this age changed daily. Compared to a year ago, she was more mature and enchanting, not needing to deliberately act seductively to display her ability to captivate everyone.

Yun Ya’s gaze never left her face as he replied: “Don’t worry, I need a medium to enter another’s dream.”

A medium? Feng Miaojun’s eyes darted: “Can you take me into Princess Meiji’s dream?”

This request was abrupt, causing even Yun Ya to slightly furrow his brow: “Why?”

“I want to see what kind of dreams she usually has.”