“Ninth Imperial Uncle, how are you?” Reaching Zhan Qingcheng from behind, Feng Jiu’er wrapped her arms tightly around his lean waist.

Zhan Qingcheng’s handsome, thick brows furrowed slightly as a mouthful of dark blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.

Even so, he still stood perfectly straight, like a god.

“I hadn’t expected…” The moment Feng Qiongcang opened his mouth, he immediately raised his large hand to clutch at his chest.

Seeing Feng Qiongcang spit blood, Han Ying rushed forward at once.

As long as Feng Li was safe, she could finally be at ease.

“Your Majesty.”

The instant Han Ying took hold of Feng Qiongcang’s hand, he flung it away, shaking her off.

“I’m fine.” He snorted coldly, his gaze returning to Zhan Qingcheng. “I hadn’t expected your internal power to run this deep.”

“What a pity—I’m afraid you’ll never have the chance to practice martial arts again, hahaha…”

Feng Jiu’er, still holding Zhan Qingcheng’s waist, came to stand beside him, glaring fiercely at Feng Qiongcang.

“After everything my father did for you, you’d still try to take his life? A man as unjust and unrighteous as you doesn’t deserve to be ruler of the Feng Clan!”

“Jiu’er, how can you speak to your Imperial Father this way?” Feng Jin looked at Feng Jiu’er, his voice heavy with warning.

“He is not my Imperial Father. My Imperial Father is Feng Li. My father is the true heir of the Feng bloodline—Feng Li is the true heir, and he is the impostor!”

Feng Jiu’er snorted coldly, her voice ringing out loud and clear.

A moment ago, to protect her father’s life, Feng Jiu’er had chosen to keep silent about the truth.

But now, it seemed, whether she spoke or not, the outcome would be the same.

The pursuing army had caught up, hadn’t it? Feng Jiu’er was determined to let as many people as possible learn the truth.

“Jiu’er, mind your manners!” Feng Jin’s brow furrowed tightly. “Are you not even worried about your people, who…”

“Hahaha…” Feng Jiu’er let out a long, sky-facing laugh. “Do you think that if I stay silent, this impostor emperor will spare my people?”

“You want me to go back with you simply because you want to use my status as a Feng daughter—you’re not the true Feng heir, you only need me to win the people’s hearts.”

“Feng Qiongcang, all these years, you’ve used me to hold my father, the true heir of the Feng bloodline, hostage—haven’t you done enough already?”

“And now, even me—you won’t let go of me either?”

“Silence!” Feng Qiongcang cut Feng Jiu’er off sharply.

The moment his anger flared, he coughed up several more mouthfuls of dark blood.

“Imperial Father, Jiu’er has simply been deceived by the people of Beimu Kingdom—please don’t let your anger rise.” Feng Jin said gently, trying to calm him.

“Feng Qiongcang, stop deceiving yourself. You are not the true heir, and the Feng Clan will never truly belong to you.” Feng Jiu’er smiled faintly.

She had drawn on her internal energy, and her voice carried clearly—even those several miles away could hear every word distinctly.

“To protect this secret, you didn’t hesitate to try to kill your own brother, born of the same father and mother—and now even me, and every innocent person here.”

With a cold laugh, Feng Jiu’er shook her head, her expression full of pity.

“It’s useless. You are not the true heir. The Feng Clan will never belong to you.”

“Even if you kill every last one of the thousand soldiers now rushing here, this secret will, one day, find its way out.”

Feng Jiu’er stared unblinkingly at Feng Qiongcang, partly to draw his attention away from others, and partly because she didn’t mind if he turned his strike on her instead.

Because only when he attacked her would she have her chance.

Sure enough, Feng Qiongcang’s patience had finally run out.

“Since you’re so eager to die…”

“Imperial Father, no!” Feng Jin rushed forward at once, placing himself before Feng Qiongcang. “Jiu’er has only been incited by others into spouting nonsense, Imperial Father…”

Before Feng Jin could finish, a burst of palm force struck him from behind, forcing him brutally aside.

Seeing the figure striding swiftly toward her, Feng Jiu’er suddenly used her strength to push Zhan Qingcheng away from her.

A figure who had appeared from nowhere took hold of Zhan Qingcheng and swiftly carried him off.

Feng Jiu’er raised her palm, charged full with true energy, and met the incoming strike head-on.

With a “boom,” the ravine shook once more.

When the tremors finally settled, Feng Jiu’er’s eyes widened as she stared at the man before her, an expression of utter disbelief in her gaze.

Even though Feng Qiongcang had already been gravely wounded by her Ninth Imperial Uncle, even with her father’s unrivaled martial skill flowing through her, the outcome was still beyond anything she’d expected.

Having taken Feng Qiongcang’s strike head-on, she found herself unharmed—only her breath slightly disturbed. Could it be that she had truly mastered the divine technique within her body, able to wield it freely now?

Watching blood spill once more from the corner of Feng Qiongcang’s mouth, Feng Jiu’er felt even more astonished.

Sensing something wasn’t right, just as she was about to turn and look, she felt her body suddenly seized from behind and forcefully pushed forward.

As her body floated lightly through the air, Feng Jiu’er glanced back—and finally understood.

She stared, unable to look away, at the woman before her, pale-faced, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth, words catching in her throat like a fishbone, unable to make a sound.

Mother. She had come.

It was her mother who had lent her the strength to stand against Feng Qiongcang, while absorbing all of Feng Jiu’er’s own pain and injury onto herself.

“Go!” Long Feiyan frowned and called out coldly.

Feng Jiu’er’s eyes stung, but she forced herself to turn and run despite the pain.

“Qiao Mu, take everyone and leave, quickly!”

As she swiftly made her way through the ravine, the sounds of battle behind her grew ever more intense.

No matter what, she could only take her father to safety first—or perhaps her Ninth Imperial Uncle instead.

If they stayed any longer, more would die.

Mother, you must survive.

I promised Father—once we return to Beimu Kingdom, we’ll help you reclaim everything that should be yours. You must come back!

Long Feiyan faced off against Feng Qiongcang, while Qing Zhi and Qing Ye each took on Feng Jin and Han Ying respectively. The pursuing troops behind them, for some reason, slowed their pace.

Jian Yi and Long Shiyi led the brothers in a swift retreat.

The whole way, there was no sign of Zhan Qingcheng, and Feng Jiu’er couldn’t decide whether to feel relieved or worried.

She knew well enough that, were her Ninth Imperial Uncle conscious, he would never have willingly left her behind alone.

So he must have been carried away, rather than having left on his own.

Glancing back to make sure everyone was keeping up, Feng Jiu’er quickened her pace.

Arriving at a cliff’s edge, she spotted a figure clad in black, and behind him, a nun sitting cross-legged, the one who had carried him away.

Feng Jiu’er stopped a short distance off, watching quietly.

Only when the nun withdrew her palms from where they had been pressed against Zhan Qingcheng’s body did she finally step forward, landing beside her.

“You…”

Before Feng Jiu’er could finish speaking, the nun clutched at her chest and spat out a violent mouthful of dark blood.

“Are you alright?” Feng Jiu’er rushed over at once, reaching to support her.

But the nun raised a hand, stopping her from coming closer.

“Take him back, and care for him well…” She forced herself to stand despite the searing pain. “If anything happens to him again, I will not let you off.”

With those harsh words left behind, Master Jingxin clutched her chest and made her way to the cliff’s edge.

Feng Jiu’er frowned and hurried after her.

“What are you going to do?”

Master Jingxin turned, giving Feng Jiu’er one last cold, piercing glance, then turned and leapt off the cliff.

“Remember what I said!”

On the cliff’s edge, only the nun’s parting words remained.

Feng Jiu’er stared unblinkingly in the direction where Master Jingxin had disappeared, her expression growing darker by the moment.