Not just her head, but all her limbs felt as heavy as if lead weights had been tied to them. She laboriously raised her hand to her forehead: “How long have I been asleep?”
“The Anluoya Gathering was five days ago.”
She was shocked: “I slept for five days!”
“You nearly lost your life,” Mo Ti Zhun sat down on the sandalwood chair outside the curtain. “After being struck by the giant shark, you suffered extremely severe internal injuries, with several meridians and tendons severed. I exerted great effort and used several elixir pills; otherwise, you would now be crippled, unable to stand upright for the rest of your life.”
She had nearly become disabled. Only now did Feng Miao Jun understand the gravity of the situation, murmuring: “What kind of shark could be so formidable?”
“It was a shark demon with over a hundred years of cultivation,” Mo Ti Zhun could make an accurate judgment based on the guards’ descriptions of the scene.
Her eyes widened: “So it truly was a demon?” She had thought the shark was unusually large and oddly present in freshwater—it turned out to be a demon that had gained power. At the time, someone had disappeared from the enemy boat, and immediately a large shark had leaped from the water—the connection was too obvious.
Since arriving in this world, she had only encountered two demons and had not directly faced a living ao-fish, so this was the first demon she had confronted head-on.
Indeed… it was terrifying. Feng Miao Jun shuddered. If she had to do it again, she wasn’t sure she would have the courage to lunge forward once more.
“I thought Jin Capital would be free of demons.” This was the heart of the Jin Kingdom—shouldn’t demons stay in remote places where humans rarely ventured?
“Some demons mingle in the mortal world. After developing consciousness, they also need to enter the mundane world to temper their true nature, especially if someone is harboring them.”
She drew in a soft breath: “How are Chen Da Chang’s injuries?”
“His lungs, kidneys, intestines, and stomach were all pierced and bleeding. His spine was perforated, ribs and thigh bones were broken. Fortunately, his head was spared, and his heart and vital organs were undamaged.” He paused. “I brought the best alchemists under me to save him and used growth-promoting medicines.”
Feng Miao Jun’s heart sank as she listened. Such injuries in another world would require major surgery: “Will he recover?” She had been too reckless, thinking that using Princess Han Yue as a shield would keep them safe, forgetting that the mysteries of this world exceeded her expectations.
This slight misjudgment had nearly cost a loyal guard his life.
She regretted her decision.
“Your guard is himself a trained fighter, with muscle and bone density far exceeding that of ordinary people, and his life force is very strong. As long as his condition doesn’t worsen, he should be able to walk within three months.”
Feng Miao Jun let out a long breath, her mind somewhat at ease. Mo Ti Zhun continued: “Now, about you. Princess Han Yue is certain that she saw you directly pierce the shark demon’s skull with your bare hand.”
She was also aware that her performance in that critical moment had been too unusual. Hearing this, she responded with an “Mm” and said: “I don’t know what happened either. I was terrified at the time and wanted to rescue Chen Da Chang, so I went to gouge out its eye…”
“Sharks have only cartilage throughout their bodies, with a hardness incomparable to other demons. But no matter how desperate, an ordinary person could never penetrate a shark’s skull barehanded.” Mo Ti Zhun gave a slight smile. “When I treated you, I examined your meridians and found them no different from those of ordinary people, with no trace of spiritual energy.” As expected, there was no sign of dan formation in her dantian, so where did her power come from?
Mo Ti Zhun had another strange thought that he didn’t mention to her, only because he found it laughable:
Could Jun’s internal injuries not be entirely from being struck by the shark demon? Could it be that her fragile body couldn’t withstand the recoil force, and she had… injured herself?
This idea was too absurd, and he dismissed it immediately.
After hearing Princess Han Yue’s account, he was also eager to see the fatal wound on the shark demon with his own eyes. Unfortunately, its body was too large for the guards to bring back. The river was so vast that once it drifted away, it couldn’t be found again.
It wasn’t until more than ten days later that fishermen discovered it dozens of miles downstream. But by then, the corpse had swollen and rotted from being submerged and had been gnawed beyond recognition by fish. The guards hadn’t noticed it at the time, and the fishermen certainly wouldn’t have discovered that after being killed by Feng Miao Jun, its size had shrunk significantly, with even its skin somewhat wrinkled.
This evidence had long been erased by the river.
Feng Miao Jun’s first thought, however, was of the ao-fish pearl she had swallowed, making her somewhat uneasy: “So, what’s wrong with me?”
Mo Ti Zhun remained silent for quite a while before saying softly: “It’s hard to say, it requires careful study.” As the esteemed Grand Minister, he absolutely could not utter the words “I don’t know.” Besides, given enough time, he might unravel the mystery.
These were precisely the words Feng Miao Jun feared most. As someone with secrets, she disliked drawing too much attention to herself.
The power that had risen from her dantian at that moment had been immense. Her strength compared to it was like a tiny ant beside an elephant. The source of the power could only be one of two things: either the ao pearl she had swallowed or…
She also had a wild and absurd speculation:
Could it have come from Yun Ya?
He had already shared his life with her, so what if the power of the ao-fish curse extended beyond that?
Unfortunately, no one could diagnose her condition.
She set aside her tangled thoughts for the moment and asked softly: “Did my adventure this time help you catch the Prime Minister’s manor in the act?”
So she had figured it out. Mo Ti Zhun chuckled: “We caught a live one who, after returning, couldn’t withstand torture and confessed to working for the Prime Minister’s manor.” How could there be organized bandits and thieves near Jin’s Capital? Everyone knew that those who were caught could only be subordinates of some powerful faction. “Even better, Princess Han Yue’s danger aroused the King’s great anger. He ordered the Court Investigator to personally interrogate them, and thus one thing led to another, exposing everything that had happened. Over the past two days, the King has summoned both Li Shi Long and me separately, wanting to get to the bottom of the matter. Now, Li Shi Long must be at his wit’s end.”
Feng Miao Jun couldn’t see his expression, but she could hear the satisfaction in his voice: “You’re involved in this too. Once you’ve recovered, the King will also summon you to the palace for questioning. As Princess Changle and a witness, your testimony now carries weight.”
Mo Ti Zhun had used her as a chess piece once again. She usually lived in seclusion, with her whereabouts strictly confidential. Even her daily trips to Small Lonely Mountain involved secretly changing vehicles in the marketplace to ensure she wasn’t followed. This time, by appearing publicly at the Anluoya Gathering, the Prime Minister’s manor had seized the opportunity to capture her if they wanted to force out Li Yuan Fa’s whereabouts.
Li Yuan Pei’s methods were also quite clever, using the vast river to trap her, leaving her nowhere to hide and no way to seek her master’s guidance. If Princess Han Yue hadn’t been in a hurry to leave, Feng Miao Jun would likely have suffered greatly this time.
[Military intelligence express line: A generous supporter has sponsored the upcoming days’ reward updates, so everyone can read with peace of mind.]