Feng Miao Jun’s heart tightened as she asked in surprise, “How can that be?”

“You’ve seen my true face.” He lightly tapped his finger against his face. “As long as you return to the Jin Kingdom, back to Mo Ti Zhun, you become living proof. By then—”

He enunciated each word: “The Jin Kingdom will have reason to ally with the Yao Kingdom and wage war against Wei.”

Feng Miao Jun suddenly broke out in a cold sweat.

Damn it, had she grown too comfortable during these years in the Jin Kingdom that she’d forgotten to calculate the political situation between kingdoms?

During Yun Ya’s infiltration into the Jin Kingdom when he damaged Yanhai Tower and attempted to kill Feng Miao Jun, as well as his later ambush of Princess Han Yue’s wedding procession and breaking into the Cliff Mountain Underground Palace—throughout this series of lawless actions, he had consistently upheld one principle:

He had never shown his true face.

The King of Jin and Mo Ti Zhun certainly attributed these acts to him, but without solid evidence, they couldn’t even convince their subjects, let alone justify military action.

But Feng Miao Jun had seen Yun Ya’s face. If she returned to Jin Kingdom, she would be the most powerful witness to this series of events. Jin would have reason to become hostile toward Wei and justification to send troops to assist the Yao Kingdom in attacking Wei—these two kingdoms becoming in-laws had already troubled Wei Kingdom greatly.

Both publicly and privately, how could Yun Ya allow her to leave alive?

“I would certainly keep my mouth sealed…” Hearing these words, Yun Ya smiled, and her voice trailed off. This promise couldn’t even convince her, so how could Yun Ya trust it?

Finally, she sighed softly: “If you wanted to kill me, wouldn’t you have done so already? Tell me, what must I do to survive?” Even if injured, killing her shouldn’t be difficult for Yun Ya. If he hadn’t acted yet, he must have other considerations.

This consideration was now her only chance for survival, and she had to seize it.

“Indeed.” This young girl was quite perceptive. “You and I ventured into the Lava Sea to steal the Blood Tree together, sharing hardship in a way. This spiritual power sharing is so intriguing and worth careful study. Killing you would be somewhat regrettable.” He paused, seeing her nod vigorously, then continued languidly, “But I also don’t want to risk war with the Jin Kingdom. Hmm, this is quite troublesome.”

The chance for survival lay here! Feng Miao Jun quickly stated her position, fearing she might miss the opportunity: “I won’t return to Jin. Yanhai Tower is closed now and won’t reopen anytime soon, so my reason for staying in Jin has disappeared.”

Yun Ya asked curiously: “You stayed in Jin Kingdom for Yanhai Tower?”

“Yes.” She was quite frustrated. “I wanted to find a way to cut off our shared spiritual power, and I also wanted to cultivate, so I asked to enter Yanhai Tower to read books.”

The first time Yun Ya sent someone to probe her was on the mountain path of Xiaogu Mountain, the necessary route to and from Yanhai Tower. “You didn’t tell Mo Ti Zhun?” Otherwise, the State Preceptor would have researched this issue himself—would she need to explore it on her own?

“No.” She shook her head. “I feared he would use me against you.”

Yun Ya displayed a perfect smile: “Oh? You were so considerate of me?”

He smiled, certainly not because he was touched. Feng Miao Jun didn’t even blush: “I was afraid he would experiment with all sorts of strange mystical arts on me, making my life worse than death.” If Mo Ti Zhun knew she shared spiritual power with Yun Ya, he would likely find ways to extract Yun Ya’s spiritual power through her, thereby reducing the Wei Kingdom State Preceptor’s fighting capability.

At a critical moment, this move might have remarkable effects.

Yun Ya stared at her silently for quite some time, making the hair on the back of her neck stand on end before he softly said: “You and he truly have divergent hearts and minds.”

What she had thought of, he had considered as well.

Feng Miao Jun gave a bitter smile: “I must first consider my own life. Staying by his side offers no benefit, only risk. So rest assured, I won’t return to Mo Ti Zhun this time either.”

“Is that so?” He scrutinized her. “How will you earn my trust?”

The main point had arrived. Feng Miao Jun took a light breath: “I await the State Preceptor’s instructions.”

“You called it ‘instructions,’ so let’s do this—” He shrugged his shoulders. “I happen to need a maidservant.”

She was indeed a precious specimen—whether to kill or release her seemed wasteful; better to study her properly. A commoner could never pose a threat to him, no matter what.

“Maidservant…” Feng Miao Jun was stunned, never expecting this turn of events. Being his maidservant meant accompanying him back to Wei Kingdom?!

“What, unwilling?” He smiled gently, but Feng Miao Jun felt as if his smile concealed a knife—no, it concealed bone-dissolving powder that could leave no trace of one’s corpse with just a sprinkle.

She cautiously replied: “I’m clumsy and have never served anyone before. I fear I won’t satisfy you…”

“Then so be it.” Yun Ya sighed. “Rarely do I meet such a clever and likable young girl. A pity, what a pity.”

In his eyes, there was no trace of “pity”—only murderous intent!

If she dared refuse again, would blood splatter five steps away in the next moment? Feng Miao Jun shuddered, displaying a smile worse than crying: “No, no, I’m certainly willing! As long as you don’t mind.”

He glanced at her sideways: “I do mind.”

“You must satisfy me quickly.” The unspoken “or else” didn’t need to be said—she understood clearly.

Yun Ya changed the subject, pointing to the large pot over the campfire: “The meat is cooked. Bring me a bowl.”

After his intimidation, much time had passed unconsciously. The aroma of meat had long wafted from the pot, but only now did Feng Miao Jun feel her appetite stirring.

The heart-stopping moment she had just experienced was unprecedented in her life.

Yun Ya had truly contemplated killing her—she was clear about this point. Fortunately, this crisis had passed.

Temporarily.

This man’s moods were unpredictable, and she couldn’t deduce which reason had saved her life. Nevertheless, Feng Miao Jun immediately embraced her new role, taking a white porcelain bowl to serve the meat soup, and carefully presenting it to him with both hands, accompanied by jade chopsticks.

When under another’s roof, one must learn to bend and stretch as needed.

Seeing him pick up his chopsticks, she filled a bowl for herself and began eating quickly. Although the small house inside the Flask appeared like a farmhouse, none of its furnishings and tableware were of low quality. Just the translucent white porcelain bowl with gold inlay produced from Dawen Mouth in Yan State cost seven taels of silver each—a complete set was even more expensive.

How could one brocade pheasant be enough for two hearty eaters to share? Yun Ya’s direction was correct—including the hundred-year-old ginseng, the meat broth contained four or five kinds of flesh-regenerating and nourishing medicinal ingredients. One sip warmed the entire body, more effective than any pill for replenishing qi and blood on this bone-chilling night.

Before finishing one bowl, she already felt warm all over, her small face flushed with color. All the troubles of the past dozen or so hours could finally be set aside for a moment.

She waited for a while, and when she saw Yun Ya put down his bowl, she quickly refilled it for him before asking: “When did you replace… Tie Xin Ning?”

“Before leaving Wolf Tooth Fortress.” After saying this, he indicated that the soup in the bowl was too hot. Feng Miao Jun had no choice but to pout slightly while blowing gently, cursing inwardly: The Spider King had been deceived by him with a dozen blind eyes, and now he was pretending to be delicate!