Feng Jiu’er had been unconscious for three full days and three full nights. When she awoke on the fourth day, the very first thing she said was that she wanted to find Qiao Mu.

Half a day later, Xue Gu brought Qiao Mu to her, and Xiao Yingtao came along as well.

“Mu Mu is doing well right now. Though things between him and the Ninth Prince are not exactly pleasant, with a great army bearing down on them, the two are united in their devotion to the country — there have been no visible conflicts to speak of.”

“A great army bearing down?” Feng Jiu’er, who had rested for half a day, looked considerably better in complexion now. Her voice was still quite hoarse, but at least there appeared to be no serious lasting harm done.

“The Ruhe forces have invaded?”

“Mm.” Xiao Yingtao gave a nod. “Because you went missing, Mu Mu was desperate to go to Phoenix City to find you — except you were not in Phoenix City at all.”

“Originally, Mu Mu had intended to leave on his own to search for you. But somehow — after having a fight with the Ninth Prince — the two of them actually managed to coexist peacefully.”

“Then the Ruhe army launched a sudden invasion. With that bearing down on them, neither had the spare energy to go on antagonizing the other, so they joined forces to resist the enemy.”

“How is Mu Mu’s condition?” The fact that they could join forces was precisely what Feng Jiu’er was glad to see.

“Naturally not as good as before he was injured — but he appears to be doing all right now, completely unlike the feeble state he was in those few days before.”

Jiu’er gave a nod and let out a measured breath without saying more. The feebleness Mu Mu had displayed those few days before had been nothing but an act put on to deceive Ye Luosha — yet who could have anticipated that Ye Luosha would still make her move against Feng Jiu’er regardless.

Now that the Ruhe army had invaded, what did personal grievances amount to? If the enemy forces were not repelled as swiftly as possible, all of Phoenix City would inevitably become a city of the dead.

The Ruhe First Prince was ferocious by nature — everywhere he had conquered in the past, every single place had seen mass slaughter without exception.

Mu Mu and the Ninth Imperial Uncle had naturally heard of this as well. So even though they were frantic with worry, at this moment all they could do was send people to search for her.

As for themselves — they had to drive the enemy forces back first. This was a matter of national duty; the people’s trust could not be forsaken!

Jiu’er looked at Qiao Mu. Before she could even speak, Qiao Mu said of her own accord: “Xing Zizhou has sent a letter. The Second Prince is suspected of having an illicit affair with one of the Ruhe King’s consorts, and he has now been placed under house arrest by the Ruhe King.”

“At a time like this, no matter how dissolute a man may be, he would not possibly get entangled with his own father the king’s consort.” Jiu’er’s brow furrowed lightly, and she said with indignation: “This must be a scheme devised by the First Prince to frame him!”

No wonder the Ruhe army had launched such a sudden invasion. With the Second Prince’s faction — the one that advocated for peace — brought down, the First Prince naturally had nothing left to fear.

On top of that, the Ruhe King was surely in a towering fury right now. The Second Prince had championed peace, and because the king was furious at the Second Prince, he would inevitably be disinclined toward everything the Second Prince had stood for.

At this juncture, as long as the First Prince whispered a few words of persuasion in his ear, the Ruhe King would take his side entirely.

“What of Xing Zizhou? What is he doing? Does he have a plan?” Jiu’er asked further.

“Xing Zizhou is also waiting on news of you. I have told him to remain in Ruhe for the time being and observe how things unfold.”

These past several days, there had been no trace of Jiu’er to be found anywhere. It was not only their own people who were searching — the Ninth Imperial Uncle had dispatched Long Eleven and Long Twelve, along with a large contingent of personnel, to search as well.

And from the Night Underworld Palace — Mu Mu had directly taken over all of the Night Underworld Palace’s affairs, even stripping Ye Luosha of her authority, and had also sent a large number of people out searching for Feng Jiu’er.

As for Ye Luosha — she was trying to curry favor with Mu Mu. How would she dare raise even half an objection? She was terrified that Mu Mu might suddenly leave and go out searching himself.

In any case, the situation on that side had stabilized to a relative degree for now. Everything yielded to the larger picture — drive back the Ruhe forces first, then deal with the rest.

“It is unclear whether anyone on the Ruhe side has already joined hands with certain people in the imperial court. In this engagement, the Ninth Prince faces battle on all sides — apart from the areas directly under the Ninth Prince’s own domain, every surrounding city has refused to supply his army with so much as a single measure of grain or a single weapon.”

Qiao Mu clenched her fist and said in fury: “This must be Emperor Qiwen and the Nanmen clan working together, scheming to destroy the Ninth Prince utterly!”

“Exactly!” Xiao Yingtao was equally incensed, bristling with righteous anger: “They have even issued an imperial edict calling for the Ninth Prince’s capture, and large numbers of troops are stationed in the surrounding cities, ready at any moment to strike at the Ninth Prince’s forces!”

“Detestable! With enemy forces bearing down from the outside, and they are still stirring up internal strife!” Jiu’er’s breathing grew erratic; she could not catch her breath, and she could not help but cough several times in succession.

Xue Gu, who had been sitting quietly at her side without a word, took hold of her hand and used her own inner strength to calm Jiu’er’s disordered breath.

Jiu’er seemed already accustomed to having Xue Gu at her side. As soon as her breathing had settled somewhat, she said at once: “The Ninth Imperial Uncle is beset by threats both within and without. I cannot remain here watching from the sidelines.”

“Jiu’er, are you going back?” Xiao Yingtao thought for a moment, then felt something did not quite sit right: “Leng Yue said you left on your own that time — where exactly did you go? Why did you suddenly end up so badly injured? Who hurt you?”

“Only asking now — could your nerves be any slower to fire?” Feng Jiu’er shot her a sideways glance.

Xiao Yingtao pursed her lips in a small pout. She could not quite make sense of what Jiu’er had said, but she could tell it must mean she was calling her slow-witted.

“We can talk about those things later. But right now — since Mu Mu can manage to coexist peacefully with the Ninth Imperial Uncle for the time being — I will not return just yet.”

Ye Luosha had done Feng Jiu’er no small number of wrongs, yet in this particular matter, Ye Luosha had at least done right by Mu Mu and the Ninth Imperial Uncle.

With her absent, those two at least could maintain a temporary peace. Most critically, in this extraordinary juncture — with foreign enemies pressing in from outside and domestic enemies tightening the noose within — this was going to be a brutal fight; likely the most grueling and exhausting battle the Ninth Imperial Uncle had ever faced.

That they could stand together against the enemy was absolutely a blessing of the highest order.

“I cannot go back. If I were to go back at this moment, there is no telling what those two would get up to.”

If Mu Mu were still the Mu Mu from before, things might have been more manageable. But now his temperament had become exactly like the Ninth Imperial Uncle’s, and Feng Jiu’er had absolutely no confidence she could keep the two of them in peaceful coexistence if she returned.

“So then, you plan to—” Qiao Mu looked at her — perhaps she had already understood. “All right. I will go make the arrangements. We depart at once!”

……

By evening, they had skirted around the road leading to Phoenix City and set foot upon the unclaimed borderlands between their destination and Ruhe.

“Further south lies the Southern Wilds,” Qiao Mu said by way of introduction.

Jiu’er gave a nod and peered outward through the carriage curtain. The night spread vast and desolate; a wind blew in from the southern direction, and whether it was merely the workings of her mind she could not say — but it carried with it a faint air of gloom.

The Southern Wilds — a land where Gu worms were cultivated; a place where masters of Gu poison were as plentiful as blades of grass.

Her thoughts drifted unbidden back to Madam Butterfly, who had once been as breathtakingly beautiful as a flower in full bloom. In that moment when the two of them had grappled and plunged together into the Gu pool, Xue Gu had pulled her free — and with her own eyes, she had watched Madam Butterfly fall into the Gu pool, immediately swallowed by a swarm of Gu worms.

After that, the force of her surging blood had overwhelmed her and she had lost consciousness. Though she had not witnessed Madam Butterfly’s final fate, it was not difficult to imagine.

Why did such things as Gu worms exist in this world to harm people? Why would anyone take pleasure in breeding and taming such lethal weapons?

The Southern Wilds — if she could help it, she would willingly never set foot there for as long as she lived.