“Zhao Yusheng!” Xing Zizhou drew his longsword and slashed at Zhao Yusheng.

Fortunately, Qiao Mu reacted quickly and blocked it with her Dragon-Tongue Silver Spear.

With a clang, the longsword struck against the silver spear, and Xing Zizhou stumbled back half a step.

“Xing Zizhou, what are you doing? How could you attack one of our own?” Qiao Mu stood blocking in front of Zhao Yusheng, glaring at Xing Zizhou.

Xing Zizhou’s thick brows knitted together, fury still burning in his eyes. “He was harassing Xiao Yingtao — didn’t you see!”

“That’s not it.” Xiao Yingtao shook her head fiercely, stepping out from behind Qiao Mu and taking hold of Xing Zizhou’s arm.

“It’s not like that, Xing Zizhou, listen to me explain — I was just too excited just now, I didn’t—”

“Zhao Yusheng wasn’t harassing me at all, I was just too overwhelmed — just now, I… I…”

Unable to bear seeing Xiao Yingtao so flustered, Xing Zizhou immediately sheathed his sword.

He took her small hand in his, both anxious and worked up.

“Xiao Yingtao, tell me — did he harass you or not?”

“No.” Xiao Yingtao shook her head. “Xing Zizhou, really, it’s nothing — it was a misunderstanding.”

Xiao Yingtao bit her lip and looked back at Zhao Yusheng.

“Zhao Yusheng, when do you think the next formation will be?”

Zhao Yusheng paid no mind to Xing Zizhou and instead raised his eyes to the sky again, counting on his fingers.

“Probably about two hours from now. If I’m not mistaken, there are five more formations ahead. Go and inform the brothers.”

The moment he finished speaking, he sat back down cross-legged.

Xiao Yingtao took a deep breath, looked away, and pulled Xing Zizhou off with her.

The brothers who had gathered to watch the commotion dispersed at once.

At the bow of the ship, Jian Yi stood facing into the wind with his longsword in hand, as if everything happening behind him had nothing to do with him at all.

Xiao Yingtao pulled Xing Zizhou into the cabin before finally letting go of him.

“Xing Zizhou.” She looked up at the man before her. “How could you draw your sword on Zhao Yusheng? If it weren’t for him, who knows what state we’d be in right now?”

“How could you draw your blade on one of your own brothers?” Xiao Yingtao gave a cold huff and looked away.

“Xiao Yingtao.” Xing Zizhou’s thick brows furrowed as he took her hand. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to — I was just worried—”

“I was the one who threw my arms around him just now — if anyone’s at fault, it’s me.” Xiao Yingtao looked up, meeting Xing Zizhou’s eyes once more.

“Xiao Yingtao.” Xing Zizhou’s frown deepened further, his breathing growing ragged. “Why would you embrace… Zhao Yusheng — are you—”

“No!” Xiao Yingtao cut him off and pulled her hand free of his grasp.

She turned and took two steps toward the door, then stopped.

“Tonight isn’t over yet. I hope what I did just now hasn’t thrown you off — all the brothers still need you. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

Watching her slender figure before him, Xing Zizhou strode forward and pulled her firmly into his arms.

“Xiao Yingtao, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean it. But do you know — everything else pales in comparison to you. I can’t lose you.”

“My life can no longer go on without you in it — do you understand?”

Xing Zizhou was trembling, and Xiao Yingtao could feel it clearly.

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and slowly turned around.

Xing Zizhou let go of her so she could turn to face him.

“Xiao Yingtao.” He held her by both arms, gazing into her eyes, and murmured her name softly.

Xiao Yingtao pressed her lips together, reached out, and touched Xing Zizhou’s face.

“I won’t leave you. What happened just now really was a misunderstanding. We’ve all been brothers together with Zhao Yusheng, Qiao Mu, Jiu’er, and the others for so long now — I didn’t think much of it.”

“I don’t have feelings for Zhao Yusheng — I don’t even think of him as a man, in that sense. Xing Zizhou, do you understand what I mean?”

Xing Zizhou blinked. “Does… does that mean you’ve agreed to marry me?”

Suddenly his eyes went wide, his whole body filled with excitement, and even his grip on Xiao Yingtao tightened considerably.

“Xiao Yingtao, are you saying you’ve agreed to marry me? You like me too? You don’t want to leave me, right?”

Xiao Yingtao shot this insatiably greedy man a sidelong glance, pressed her lips together, and let out a soft sigh.

“Agreeing to marry you doesn’t mean I can never leave you. If you’re ever bad to me, I’ll still walk away.”

“Xiao Yingtao.” Xing Zizhou’s voice trembled with excitement. “As long as you agree, I promise I’ll be good to you for the rest of my life!”

Xiao Yingtao looked down at the hands gripping her shoulders and gave him a gentle push.

“Let’s settle this once we’ve found the Night Prince.”

The moment she said it, she gave him another push, slipped from his embrace, turned, and walked away.

“We still haven’t broken through the Linked Formation — go quickly and inform the brothers. I’ll… be more careful from now on. Even among brothers, as long as they’re men, I’ll be mindful.”

Leaving behind that promise, Xiao Yingtao walked off without looking back.

Not long after Xiao Yingtao emerged from the cabin, Xing Zizhou appeared before the brothers looking as pleased as if he were basking in a spring breeze.

It had been an extraordinary night, but thankfully, the sun rose as usual the next day.

Not until just past noon did the sky clear again, and the Black Lake settled back into calm.

“Zhao Yusheng, what’s the situation now?” Xiao Yingtao set down her wooden sword and sat in a nearby chair.

Zhao Yusheng stared unblinking at the sky for a good while before finally looking away.

He swept his gaze across all the brothers present, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.

“Zhao Yusheng, what’s going on? Tell us already!” Xiao Yingtao straightened up, looking at him.

“We made it. We made it through the Linked Formation.” Zhao Yusheng took a deep breath and called out loudly.

Hearing this, the captain shouted it on as well: “We made it through! We made it through the Linked Formation!”

The captains of the ships on either side, hearing the call, shouted it onward in turn: “We made it through! We made it through the Linked Formation!”

Before long, cheers rang out from every direction, and even the air itself seemed to brighten with joy.

After nearly twenty hours of struggle, the captains had everyone bring their food up onto deck, and the brothers sat there eating and drinking porridge together in lively spirits.

Of everyone, no one was happier than Xiao Yingtao.

In just a few days, she had genuinely managed to help Zhao Yusheng break the formation, helping free the brothers from danger.

Having eaten her fill of steamed buns, Xiao Yingtao took a precious piece of fruit and moved over to sit beside Qiao Mu.

“Just thinking that we’ll get to see Jiu’er soon makes me so happy!”

Qiao Mu took a bite of her fruit and gave the faintest curve of a smile, but said nothing in reply.

“Xiao Yingtao, here.” He said with a smile, holding out the fruit in his hand to her.

The fruit stocked aboard the ship was rationed to one piece per person per day, and everyone treasured this precious fruit dearly.

Xing Zizhou walked over and sat down beside Xiao Yingtao.

Xiao Yingtao turned to look at him, frowning. “What are you doing? Eat your own.”

“It’s fine.” Xing Zizhou shook his head. “Fruit’s good for the skin. Mine — it’s all yours.”