Though bumpy, the sturgeon beast’s speed was truly impressive, and it soon overtook the boat.

Jun Beiyue and Ziqing rode front and back, keeping everyone else safely in between.

With the receiving envoy present, everyone could relax without worrying about being late, yet they couldn’t really discuss anything either.

Xiong Xiaobao leaned against Ziqing, his gaze never leaving Baili Xiaosheng, who still looked dazed and thoroughly out of sorts.

Xiong Xiaobao simply couldn’t understand it—that Sheng Zimo wasn’t even a girl, so why was Sister Xiaosheng acting so listless and lovestruck?

At this moment, Baili Xiaosheng, head lowered, eyes downcast, was trying hard to recall that sound just now—the voice of the sheng.

She could say with absolute certainty that she had never heard such a sound before, yet why did she feel such familiarity with it, as though it were something she had been born knowing how to use?

How could that be?

Was the sheng sound her master had once heard the same as this?

What connection did this sound have to her?

“Master…”

Baili Xiaosheng murmured to herself, and only then gradually came back to her senses, realizing that Ziqing and Jun Beiyue were asking about the Sheng Clan.

“So you’re saying, it’s precisely because of the Xiao Clan that the Sheng Clan has come out of retirement to compete for the clan chief position?” Ziqing asked earnestly.

“For over a hundred years, the Sheng Clan has overseen Nanzhao’s rites and music. Though they are Beast Clan people, they have rarely involved themselves in Beast Clan affairs. Their sheng is a kind of summoning art, so in matters of ceremony and music, they have never used the sheng for that purpose. Ever since the Sheng Clan took charge of rites and music, few have ever heard the sound of a sheng.”

The receiving official was quite talkative—after all, once they reached the Jade Water Nectar Heavenly Lake, they would soon witness the clan chief election, and he felt it his duty to properly brief Prince Yao and his party.

“The Xiao Clan’s ambitions run extremely deep. Should the Xiao Clan ever seize the position of Beast Clan chief, the various factions within the clan would likely all be swallowed up.”

On this point, both Ziqing and Jun Beiyue believed it entirely—they had encountered people of the Xiao Clan before.

How a family conducted itself, the character of its head, could be seen clearly in how they raised their children.

The two Xiao Clan children who had blocked their path before had been so arrogant and unruly at such a young age—more than enough to show that whoever had raised them was no kind soul.

“Wasn’t it said that the clan chief position had long ago been promised to the Second Young Master of the Beast Clan?” Ziqing asked tentatively—this was, in fact, the real purpose of her question.

“The Second Young Master?” The receiving official started slightly, glancing at Ziqing with suspicion, then said timidly, “Princess Yao, the Second Young Master is still locked up in the heavenly prison!”

At those words, Ziqing froze. The matter of the Second Young Master being sent to Xuanyuan Lige’s side was, she estimated, known only to the Prince of Nanzhao, Qinji, and the Beast Clan Chief!

In Nanzhao, to say nothing of the lost island, even the matter of the Death Barrier was treated as a state secret!

Jun Beiyue gave Ziqing a meaningful look, clearly a reminder for her to watch her words.

“I’d forgotten all about that…” Ziqing laughed it off and asked no further questions.

Following the river downstream, they would soon reach their destination. Meanwhile, Baili Weisheng and Meng Duo’er were still out on the vast open sea.

The ship had sailed for several days; not only had they encountered no other vessels, they hadn’t even spotted a small island.

Though Meng Duo’er had grown up on an island in the sea, out here on the vast ocean she couldn’t determine direction at all, and could only follow Baili Weisheng dumbly, doing whatever he told her to do.

It was noon again, and everyone on board was napping, the surroundings dead silent.

Baili Weisheng stood on the deck, gazing far ahead, his expression growing more and more strange.

Meng Duo’er, after checking her surroundings for some time to make sure no one was around, dared to sneak over and ask in a low voice, “What’s wrong?”

Since that incident where she’d torn his clothes, he hadn’t tried to give her a hard time about it. He hadn’t brought it up, so naturally she hadn’t either—she’d been embarrassed for a few days on her own, then quietly pretended nothing had happened.

“This route is a roundabout way to reach Dream Clan Island!” Baili Weisheng said, his tone deadly serious, making Meng Duo’er feel a sudden sense of distance, as if he were suddenly very far away from her.

“Could it be they’re on Dream Clan Island? But I already went there to look…”

Before Meng Duo’er could finish speaking, Baili Weisheng cut her off. “The destination is Dream Clan Island, but her real goal… she wants to lure us away!”

At these words, Meng Duo’er still couldn’t quite grasp what he meant.

“I always thought she’d led us to Nanzhao first, deliberately leaving behind that clue about the deaf girl, but I never expected… she wanted to lure you away!” Baili Weisheng said coldly.

Meng Wanyue, oh Meng Wanyue—he really had underestimated her!

The only one who could match her in the instant sealing technique was Meng Duo’er, so she had, in fact, deliberately set up this decoy, drawing Meng Duo’er out here, running her in circles on the open sea!

Once he put it that way, Meng Duo’er finally understood, and she drew in a sharp breath. “You mean, Meng Wanyue deliberately lured me away, while she herself… never actually fled at all, but went looking for Ziqing and the others!”

Baili Weisheng nodded heavily—exactly that!

Meng Wanyue wouldn’t avoid Ziqing and the others at all; instead, she would seek them out herself!

“The Jade Water Nectar Heavenly Lake…” Meng Duo’er murmured.

Baili Weisheng cried out in alarm and was about to leap straight into the sea, but luckily Meng Duo’er grabbed his hand just in time!

Yes! His hand!

Having learned her lesson, she no longer dared pull at his clothes—she grabbed his large hand directly instead. “Take me with you! My swimming isn’t that good!”

This was the open sea, after all—even with excellent swimming skills, one couldn’t swim all the way to Nanzhao, unless one were a mermaid.

Baili Weisheng had no time to worry about any of that; he gripped Meng Duo’er’s hand tightly in return and leapt with her into the sea!

Jumping into the sea was, in truth, a terrifying thing to do.

Even though Meng Duo’er had braced herself, the instant they plunged in, she was still startled, instinctively clinging tightly around Baili Weisheng’s waist, holding on for dear life.

Baili Weisheng was startled, feeling his lean waist suddenly bound tight—as uncomfortable as it could possibly be.

He instinctively tried to pry Meng Duo’er’s hands loose, but the moment he touched them, she clung even tighter, warning him, “Stinking scholar, I’m telling you now, no jokes of any kind while we’re underwater!”

At those words, Baili Weisheng suddenly remembered something—this girl’s swimming wasn’t just “not that good,” it was terrible.

The image of her flailing about in the vast deep sea, sometimes moving her arms and legs in unison, sometimes doing a clumsy dog-paddle, rose unbidden in his mind, and Baili Weisheng couldn’t help but chuckle.

Looking at Meng Duo’er clinging to him for dear life, a sly glint flashed in his eyes. Suddenly, a flash of golden light shot out, causing Meng Duo’er’s grip to release!

Meng Duo’er was stunned, staring blankly at him.

“Swim over yourself!” Baili Weisheng said, turning and swimming off.

“You bastard!” Meng Duo’er howled in fright. But it turned out Baili Weisheng had only been teasing her verbally—a warm ribbon of golden light wrapped around her and quickly carried her forward, catching up with Baili Weisheng, who was already shooting ahead like an arrow!

It took Meng Duo’er a good while to calm down, only to hear hearty laughter coming from ahead. “Stinking girl, if we manage to take down Meng Wanyue this time, I’ll teach you how to swim!”

Would they make it in time to support Jun Beiyue’s group?

And where were Meng Wanyue and Xuanyuan Lige right now?