Emperor Ji was attended to by Lengyue as she pushed him into the cave.

Ye Luosha and Feng Jiu’er remained outside, yielding that small space to them.

Jiu’er kept her eyes fixed on Ye Luosha’s face the entire time. Just as she had expected, Ye Luosha’s expression was distant and unfocused — she had not noticed at all that someone was watching her.

She stood to one side of the cave, paying no attention to anyone else. Elder Shi was the one handling the settlement of Yemingong’s brothers.

Ye Luosha looked utterly lost, as though her soul had slipped away from her. She had no idea what she was thinking — and to see Ye Luosha like this was itself a rare sight.

Once Ninth Imperial Uncle’s people and Yemingong’s brothers had been settled, Elder Shi came to stand before Ye Luosha.

“Palace Mistress, the brothers have the return route prepared. We can set out at any time.”

Ye Luosha did not respond. She stared fixedly at the cave entrance, her gaze carrying a faint, glassy quality.

Elder Shi followed her eyes toward the cave entrance, his own expression growing complicated: “Palace Mistress, perhaps… perhaps it is a case of mistaken identity…”

“There is no mistaking it! The way he looked at me just now — I saw it clearly. It was him. It must be him!”

Ye Luosha was visibly agitated, her palms clenched tight, her fingertips trembling noticeably.

She recognized Emperor Ji…

Feng Jiu’er’s gaze drifted toward the depths of the cave entrance as well.

Indeed — Emperor Ji was the former Sovereign of the Tianzunmen. This was something very few people knew. Even among the twelve riders of the Feilong Shi’er Qi, not all of them were aware of it.

Emperor Ji rarely showed himself within Tianzunmen either. Even among its members, only a handful knew his face.

And so, under the identity of Ninth Prince’s mentor, he and Lengyue could move freely in and out of Ninth Prince’s company at will.

Tianzunmen, Yemingong… and now, seeing Ye Luosha’s reaction upon laying eyes on Emperor Ji…

Feng Jiu’er had a growing sense that certain pieces were beginning to connect — yet the most crucial link remained unconfirmed.

She had to move quickly. She absolutely had to go and confirm it.

“Palace Mistress, Elder Shi!” A brother came rushing out of the dense forest at a quick step. “A large force has been spotted at the foot of the mountain, moving upward on a search sweep.”

“In all likelihood it’s still the Nanmen clan’s people.” Feng Jiu’er stepped forward. “Ye Luosha, I cannot speak for other places, but the base deep within the rear mountain range of the Imperial Academy — for now, it is absolutely secure.”

Ye Luosha knew what she was getting at. In truth, that base was indeed the safest option.

Even if enemies knew they were there, without knowing the path down, there was no way to mount an assault.

But it was one of their most important bases of operations. If they brought this many people there, those people would come to know the way down as well.

From that point on, the hidden base would no longer be hidden — it would effectively be finished.

“Would you rather preserve a base, or save Mu Mu? Is that still something you need to think over?” Feng Jiu’er’s expression grew serious.

Ye Luosha let out a breath and spoke with firm resolve: “Very well. We go there.”

This was the first time Feng Jiu’er had made the descent to this base with her eyes open. The path down turned out to be truly daunting — it was not a path at all, but rather a series of footholds spaced across a mountain gorge.

A collection of stepping points, strung together into a route descending to the cliff base. She did not know who had first discovered them. They were remarkable — extraordinary and coincidental — yet perfectly placed.

This was a location that had been traversed by people long before. The base below had simply been claimed afterward by Yemingong.

Neither Ye Luosha nor Elder Shi offered any explanation of the path or the base, but having made the descent, one understood at once that any pursuing force trying to follow would find it no easy task.

Even if Nanmen Ye’s people knew they were at the base of the cliff, they would likely be powerless to act on it. Unless they could hurl massive boulders from above — and in great quantities, enough to fill in the entire cliff face.

But that was a complete impossibility. And the rooms cut into the cliff walls below meant that even a rain of boulders from the heavens could not reach them.

This place had certainly not been discovered by Yemingong first, nor had it been developed by them. The rooms carved into the cliff walls at the base showed clearly the work of many years past.

In any case, whoever had developed it had been truly remarkable.

Having arrived here, everyone felt a wave of relief. Even Feng Jiu’er let out a long breath.

That evening, she applied another round of needles to Mu Mu. His color that night was noticeably better than before, though there was still no telling when he would wake.

Elder Shi and Ye Luosha took over from Zhan Qingcheng in channeling their inner energy into Mu Mu to heal him, and only then did Zhan Qingcheng have the chance to withdraw to another room and rest for a while.

Feng Jiu’er had gone to prepare a late-night meal. In the room, Emperor Ji still sat in his wheelchair, but the gaze he turned on Zhan Qingcheng was full of disagreement.

As for Lengyue — no matter what, the only way she could ever look at Ninth Prince was with absolute infatuation.

Though she too disapproved of the Prince’s actions this time, whatever he chose to do, she still did not dare speak against him.

Long Yi, on the other hand, could no longer hold back. He finally let out what had been weighing on him: “Your Highness, we should return. You understand better than anyone what the situation outside looks like right now. For you to remain here at a time like this places you at a severe disadvantage.”

Though he too was not a heartless man, the current circumstances were different.

For Long Yi, the Prince would always come first. As long as the Prince was safe, that was the full extent of his responsibility.

The imperial city inside and out was now crawling with Nanmen Ye’s people, and the Emperor was incompetent and feeble-minded, letting Nanmen Ye run roughshod over him without check.

What the Prince ought to do now was return directly to the border city — to the territory under his own command.

Once back among his army, what was there to fear from Nanmen Ye’s chaos in the imperial city?

Even if the imperial city fell into complete disorder, that would be no concern of the Prince. Once the Ruhe threat was crushed, if the Prince was so inclined, he could march right back into the imperial city — and who would dare show him disrespect then?

But at present, the Prince had to channel his inner energy into Mu Mu day and night just to keep him alive, and this had entirely delayed his own affairs. He was the war-god Prince of Bei Mu — how could he afford to be held up like this for someone who had nothing to do with him?

And this was not merely someone with nothing to do with him — this was the second-in-command of an underground organization that had opposed the court for years, the young Palace Master of Yemingong.

They stood on opposing sides. They should never have walked the same path together. Yet not only were they walking it together, even their fates seemed to have become bound as one.

He didn’t know why, but every time Long Yi watched the Prince channel his inner energy into Mu Mu, he had the unsettling feeling that these two men’s lives had been tied to each other.

Zhan Qingcheng said nothing. Emperor Ji’s expression grew stern. He was not in the habit of directing his temper at his cherished adoptive son, but this time, he was genuinely displeased.

“A’Jiu, look at the situation outside right now — your army is still waiting for you. They are leaderless. If you do not appear, Nanmen Ye and Emperor Qiwen may well join forces to slowly dismantle and devour your forces piece by piece!”

“If you do not go out, not only are you in danger — your brothers are in danger too!”