Before Qiao Mu could say a word, Feng Jiu’er turned back and looked at the still, quiet carriage.

Her expression was earnest — her heart entirely sincere. “Your Highness, if I fall today, please remember — it is not that Feng Jiu’er did not wish to serve the nation, not that she did not wish to become a woman worthy of standing at your side. I have truly done everything within my power.”

The man inside the carriage made no response at all. Jiu’er spoke again. “Your Highness, if such misfortune truly comes to pass — will Your Highness be willing to remember Jiu’er for the rest of your life?”

These words made the hardened men all around them feel something shift quietly in their chests — an uneasiness that was difficult to name.

Even the men of Qingfeng Stronghold were moved, a reluctance stirring in their hearts.

After all, she truly was a delicate young woman, as beautiful as a flower — and yet, merely for the sake of earning even the slightest tenderness from the man she loved, she was not afraid even of death.

Xiao Yingtao couldn’t understand at all what Jiu’er was trying to do. She knew perfectly well that the man in the carriage was Mu Mu, not the Ninth Prince — so why was she speaking with such deep feeling?

It sounded as though she truly loved the man in the carriage. Loved him to the point of madness. What on earth was she thinking?

From inside the carriage, a man’s low, pleasant voice finally carried out.

“Very well.”

A single “very well” — and Feng Jiu’er was content.

She turned to look at Qiao Mu. She picked up a branch from the ground and drew a circle in the earth between them.

“Chieftain Qiao, I wish to take a small advantage over you — after all, the difference in our martial ability is truly too great.”

Qiao Mu was still somewhat dazed, unable to quite shake herself free from Feng Jiu’er’s words of farewell to the Ninth Prince just moments ago.

Even her voice came out a little blank. “…What do you mean?”

“I need only force Chieftain Qiao out of this circle, and it will be my victory. But for Chieftain Qiao to win — she must kill me.”

“General Feng!”

“Jiu’er!”

Xiao Yingtao panicked and moved to rush forward — but she was stopped with a casual block from Qiao Mu.

Qiao Mu stared at Feng Jiu’er, as though studying whether the look in her eyes in that moment was real or feigned. “Are you certain?”

“Come!” Feng Jiu’er put her needle pouch away completely. This time, there were no silver needles, no hidden weapons of any kind — nothing in her hands at all. She faced the opponent completely bare-handed.

Qiao Mu lazily extended her long arm, gripped her spear, and flung it away. With a clang, it drove itself into the stone of the ravine not far away.

She fixed her gaze on Feng Jiu’er. “Good — I’ll do it your way.”

As long as she stood her ground, Feng Jiu’er’s internal energy alone was nowhere near enough to force her out of the circle.

For Feng Jiu’er to fight her on these terms was no different from seeking death.

And yet the look in her eyes was truly that unwavering. She seemed genuinely unafraid of dying.

This girl — was she truly so ready to die without a trace of fear?

“Your Highness, I will not bring dishonor upon your dignity. Even if I fall in battle, I will never beg for mercy.”

Jiu’er seemed to be addressing the Ninth Prince — but Qiao Mu could not understand why hearing those words left her with such an ache inside.

In an instant, Feng Jiu’er’s fist was already before her.

By pure reflex, Qiao Mu stepped back with a defensive palm — but she quickly realized that the other girl’s punch carried not even a trace of true energy behind it. It was a completely bare strike.

With a smack, Feng Jiu’er was sent flying back by that palm, hitting the ground hard.

She opened her mouth, and a mouthful of bright blood surged out — the vivid red against her pale complexion a striking and heart-stopping contrast.

“Jiu’er!” Xiao Yingtao moved to run to her, but Huo Yan held her back.

Feng Jiu’er climbed back up from the ground, wiped the blood from the corner of her lips, and with absolute resolve, stepped back into the circle.

Both hands clenched into fists, she charged at Qiao Mu once more.

Qiao Mu had already gathered her internal energy in her palm — but sensing that the girl’s fists still carried no true energy behind them, she was completely bewildered.

“Why… are you not using internal energy?”