“Given how extraordinary your martial abilities are, I never would have expected you to be afraid of mice.”

Shaking his head with a faint smile, Feng Jiang turned and walked over to pick up the rabbit from the ground.

Before Qiao Mu even had a chance to say a word, he grabbed the rabbit and flung it toward her.

Qiao Mu recoiled with visible disgust, tilting her body to the side to dodge.

“This filthy thing — this young lady wants no part of it!”

“I never said you had to eat it. I only wanted to return it to its rightful owner.”

Feng Jiang curved the corner of his lips slightly.

Catching the amusement at the edge of Feng Jiang’s mouth, Qiao Mu’s expression grew even more guarded.

Returning it to its rightful owner — this fellow simply wanted to use it as an excuse to mock her again.

“So what if this young lady is afraid of mice? What of it? Surely even the Third Prince of the Feng Clan has things he fears, does he not?”

Feng Jiang met her gaze, shook his head, and raised his brow. “My apologies — truly, there isn’t.”

“If you want meat, you’re welcome to help yourself,” he said, waving a casual hand. “But I must remind you — what you just saw were venomous rats. Their toxicity is extremely potent; they’re a species unique to the Dark Lands.”

“They don’t normally leave their burrows, but the moment they catch the scent of blood, they come out in packs to feed. You wounded the rabbit and left it on the ground — that’s what drew them here. Understand?”

Just thinking about that black writhing mass sent goosebumps crawling across Qiao Mu’s skin all over again.

She swallowed hard, her complexion still far from well.

“Since there’s quite a bit of edible game in this forest, why don’t you bring some back for everyone? How are our brothers supposed to endure eating dried meat day after day?”

Feng Jiang’s expression carried that unmistakable look of “sounds like the one who can’t endure is you,” and the moment Qiao Mu caught it, she felt thoroughly uncomfortable.

So what if she was the one who couldn’t endure it? Did the Third Prince have no opinion on the matter whatsoever?

“Jiu’er doesn’t like dried meat either. And there’s also the Fourth Imperial Uncle — his health isn’t good to begin with, yet he’s been gnawing on dried meat every day. Recovery won’t be easy for him.”

In the end, Qiao Mu found herself a perfectly reasonable excuse.

“Head back first. I’ll bring some along in a little while.”

Feng Jiang raised an eyebrow and stepped forward.

“There are tens of thousands of venomous rats in this place. If you’re frightened, you’d best—”

“Ahh—!” Qiao Mu’s cry cut Feng Jiang off mid-sentence.

Something small and dark and furry slipped past her feet without warning, and Qiao Mu leapt straight onto the back of the man walking beside her.

In an instant, that sharp squeaking sound erupted again.

Wave upon wave of venomous rats burst out from the grass and surged toward the rabbit carcass not far from where Qiao Mu had just been standing.

Qiao Mu clung tightly to Feng Jiang, burying her face in the crook of his neck.

Her trembling body and the wave of pure fear radiating off her made it abundantly clear that Young Miss Qiao’s dread of rodents was absolutely genuine — not the ordinary sort of fear, either.

“What on earth are we supposed to do now?”

Feng Jiang had no choice but to turn his head and look at the face pressed almost directly against his own.

“You… you didn’t say there’d be… mice. Didn’t you say… snakes, scorpions, spi-spiders and the like? Why is it venomous… rats?”

“It’s… too terrifying! Quickly make them go away — yes, the whistle! They’re afraid of the sound, aren’t they? Hurry up and make them leave, then… we can talk.”

“The rabbit carcass won’t be finished in a day. They won’t give up until it is.”

Feng Jiang’s voice came. “Actually, there’s nothing particularly frightening about—”

“It’s absolutely terrifying!” Qiao Mu was shaking so hard that even her voice trembled. “Make them go away now, or else carry… me out of here. Either works.”

“You—” The tone of Feng Jiang’s voice carried a trace of amusement. He accepted the closeness between them for the moment, but Qiao Mu wasn’t about to give him the chance to say another word.

“What do you mean, ‘you’? Stop talking nonsense! Turn around, walk back, now! As long as I can’t hear that sound anymore, it’s fine — I’ll even forgive you for bullying me, how’s that?”

Feng Jiang raised an eyebrow, then reached up and wrapped both hands around the young woman’s thighs.

“What are you doing?”

Qiao Mu hissed under her breath.

She recoiled inwardly at being touched, yet didn’t dare move a muscle for fear of falling.

Feng Jiang remained utterly unmoved and made no attempt to withdraw his hands.

Steadying the figure clinging to his back, he turned around and started walking back the way they had come.

The blood-curdling squeaking still lingered all around them. Qiao Mu could do nothing but grudgingly accept the two palms resting against her thighs.

“One correction — I never bullied you. And another thing I forgot to mention: the one thing I fear most in this lifetime is women. Particularly the sort like you.”

Qiao Mu was busy counting the man’s footsteps in her head and had nearly missed what Feng Jiang said entirely.

Seeing that the distance was about right, she pressed down on his shoulders and leapt lightly onto a branch overhead.

“Goodbye! No — farewell for good!”

She threw the words back over her shoulder and vanished without a trace.

Insufferable man. What did he mean, “particularly the sort like you”?

Well, she’d settle that score with him later.

That wretched forest — so many venomous rats. How was she supposed to get through it later?

Carrying both her fury and her dread, Qiao Mu finally made her way out of the forest and back to Feng Jiu’er’s side.

“Flushed and out of breath — what trouble did you two get into?” Feng Jiu’er opened her eyes and cast the person beside her a glance.

Qiao Mu sat down next to her, the two of them leaning side by side against a tree trunk.

“Who had any mind to get into trouble? Besides, there’s no one in that forest I care for.”

Letting out a long, heavy breath, Qiao Mu closed her eyes.

Feng Jiu’er studied her carefully for a moment and could plainly tell something was off.

“So you’re saying — if someone you fancied had been in that forest, you wouldn’t stop at anything?”

She shot Qiao Mu a glance, then leaned back against the tree trunk again and closed her eyes to rest.

Every time that forest came up, Qiao Mu’s mind went straight to those furry creatures. Knowing she’d have to pass through it again before the day was out, her legs felt numb already — she was in no mood to joke around.

Receiving no reply, Feng Jiu’er furrowed her brow. “Right — my Third Imperial Brother is alright, isn’t he?”

“And you? You left in such a hurry — aren’t you going to explain?”

“It’s nothing,” Qiao Mu said.

She didn’t want to admit to her fear of rodents, but…

“Jiu’er, is this really the only way? Do we have to pass through this forest today?”

Qiao Mu sat up straight and looked at the person beside her.

Feng Jiu’er opened her eyes and met Qiao Mu’s gaze, her own narrowing slightly.

“Is there some venomous snake or fierce beast in there that our young Miss Qiao is afraid of? Go ahead and tell me — I won’t laugh.”

This was the first time Feng Jiu’er had seen Qiao Mu hedge and dance around something like this. If she said it was nothing, who would believe her?

“Mice.”

Qiao Mu pressed her lips together and forced out the single word with visible effort.

Looking at that stiff expression of hers, even Feng Jiu’er didn’t have the heart to laugh.

“So you’re saying — you were just chased out by mice?”

“More or less.”

Qiao Mu let out a soft sigh and leaned back against the tree to rest her eyes. “Feng Jiang has a small whistle. When he blows it, the mice obediently clear the way.”

“Have him lend the whistle to me in a moment. In exchange, whatever venomous creatures he mentioned — I’ll handle them for him.”

Feng Jiu’er furrowed her brow, leaning against the trunk shoulder to shoulder with Qiao Mu.

“Everyone has at least one or two weaknesses at heart — just like how Jian Yi is afraid of snakes, and you’re afraid of mice. There’s nothing wrong with admitting—”

“Then what are you afraid of?”

Qiao Mu cut Feng Jiu’er off.

Qiao Mu always felt that if she didn’t know at least one weakness of Jiu’er’s, she was getting the short end of things.