“Are you still tired? If so, lie back down and sleep a little longer.” Mu Mu gazed at Jiu’er’s still-pale face and asked softly.

“I want to eat something.” She was a little hungry.

Mu Mu shook his head, his large hand gently stroking her head. “Master said you just woke up and your body is still very weak — you can’t eat too much. Have you forgotten that you already had a bowl of congee and some side dishes earlier?”

He glanced outside, then said, “Judging by the light, you should sleep for another hour. After that, I’ll wake you up, and by then, there will definitely be a whole table of delicious food waiting for you.”

“I want seafood… big prawns, deep-sea fish, Arctic clams, sea…”

“You can only eat plain congee and light side dishes.” When it came to matters of health, there was absolutely no room for carelessness — not even if she looked incredibly adorable right now.

“Mu Mu…”

“If you want to eat it, once you’re better, I’ll definitely take you.”

“You said that!”

“A promise is a promise!”

……

Actually, Feng Jiu’er had never been able to figure it out — why, when she clearly knew she was going to die, had she not fought back with all her might against the parasitic worm invading her heart?

Every detail of those events remained crystal clear in her memory; she had forgotten nothing.

Including escorting the Ninth Prince to Butterfly Valley, and afterward, Emperor Ji taking her away — and then, inexplicably, being brought back to Butterfly Valley and used by Butterfly Lady.

The Prince probably hadn’t known. He wasn’t that terrible a person.

Still, the fact that she had so willingly laid down her life for the country was genuinely somewhat surprising, even to Feng Jiu’er herself.

The Ninth Prince served both country and people. It was because of him that Bei Mu had enjoyed these years of peace. She’d heard that in the early days, before the Ninth Prince had fought those campaigns, things had been turbulent without end.

The Ninth Prince absolutely could not come to harm — so it seemed she truly was a passionate, hot-blooded young soul, someone who would throw away even her life for the Ninth Prince.

Still, saving someone ought to require her consent first. When she had the time someday, she absolutely had to go settle accounts with that presumptuous Butterfly Lady!

“Miss Jiu’er, the Young Palace Master is asking whether you’d like shallow-water baby shrimp or deep-sea lobster?” Liuli came hurrying back from the sea, her clothes still dripping wet.

“Big lobster.” Feng Jiu’er crouched on the beach, watching the distant figure out on the water, feeling a little bored.

“Liuli, I want to go in and play too — I can swim.”

“Is Miss Jiu’er saying you’re a strong swimmer?” Liuli grinned cheerfully. It was clear she’d been having a wonderful time in the water today, and that look only made Feng Jiu’er even more envious.

But she shook her head, her expression firm. “That won’t do! The Young Palace Master said Miss Jiu’er’s body has only just begun to recover and isn’t fully healed yet — she can’t go into the sea right now.”

“I’ve already fully recovered — if you don’t believe me, watch this.” Feng Jiu’er stood up, drew a deep breath, and in an instant, went streaking across the beach at tremendous speed.

In the blink of an eye, she was back in front of Liuli. “You see? What’s wrong with me?”

This was the secret Feng Jiu’er had discovered on the second day after waking up — her inner energy had become extraordinarily powerful. Combined with the footwork the Ninth Prince had taught her and her newly deepened inner cultivation, her lightness skill had reached an almost miraculous level.

She realized now that footwork was only the foundation of lightness skill; what truly mattered was the depth of one’s inner cultivation. With strong inner energy, lightness skill naturally followed — and since the Ninth Prince’s footwork technique was already extraordinary, Feng Jiu’er’s lightness skill could, at times, reach a state of breathtaking artistry.

Of course, only at times — because she had not yet fully mastered the powerful inner energy now residing within her.

The feeling of it being inconsistent was truly frustrating.

Liuli watched her lightness skill with undisguised envy, but envy was one thing — she still could not neglect what the Young Palace Master had entrusted to her.

“In any case, Miss Jiu’er absolutely cannot go into the sea. I’m going to help the Young Palace Master catch deep-sea lobster.”

“No, you’re going to play!” Feng Jiu’er pouted. Catching lobster — she could see right through it; clearly going to splash around in the water!

Liuli just laughed and cannonballed back into the sea, off to join Mu Mu.

Feng Jiu’er stood on the beach, stomping her feet in envy!

Yet as her gaze fell on that figure occasionally surfacing out on the water, a faint discomfort stirred in her chest.

That head of white hair was truly too striking.

White hair on someone so young — it was heartbreaking.

She touched the strap of her bag, and at last set it down. Watching that distant figure on the sea, she drew a sudden deep breath, and with the lightest tap of her foot—

In an instant, that slender silhouette was streaking out across the surface of the sea.

She had only been skimming along the beach’s edge before, but now she was stepping directly on the water itself.

Feng Jiu’er hadn’t quite expected that she could actually do it. At first she dared only skim along near the shoreline, but her courage gradually grew.

Watching Mu Mu dive down into the deep water, she gathered her breath with a great effort, then abruptly turned and went skimming toward the deep-water area.

Mu Mu was quite far from the shore now. Out in the deep-water zone floated a small boat — their boat — drifting on the surface.

Liuli had also ventured out toward the deep water, but her inner cultivation was far below Mu Mu’s. When she tired, she would climb back onto the boat to rest.

Now, with both of them in the water, the little boat bobbed there, empty.

Feng Jiu’er set her sights on that small boat. When Mu Mu emerged from the sea, she would pop her head up over the side and startle him — it would definitely scare him senseless, ha!

But she hadn’t expected that just as she was nearly upon the boat, the calm sea surface suddenly erupted with a loud splash, and a figure leapt up out of the water.

Feng Jiu’er had not yet mastered the true energy within her, having come all this way on a single held breath. Startled by the figure bursting from the water, she lost control of that breath entirely — and plunged headlong into the sea.

“Wah—” At this rate, she was going to get an absolutely dreadful mouthful of seawater — it tasted awful!

Suddenly a firm grip closed around her waist. Her rapidly sinking body was brought to a halt, and then she was lifted and swept upward, landing aboard the small boat in an instant.

“That was incredible!” The moment her feet touched the deck, Feng Jiu’er looked up at the man beside her with a face full of admiration.

She’d thought her current level was already quite impressive, but it turned out to be entirely unremarkable before Mu Mu.

Yet in front of Liuli, she had clearly been the impressive one — just look, Liuli still had to slowly swim her way over!

Her lightness skill was something even Liuli envied greatly!

So why was Mu Mu able to reach such a level?

After setting her aboard the boat, Mu Mu immediately released her and stepped back two paces, not wanting the water on him to soak her clothes.

He studied her face — glowing with a clarity and loveliness in the sunlight that defied description — and the faintest note of reproach surfaced in his eyes.

“Did I not tell you to wait at the shore? So impatient.”

“I was impatient!” Feng Jiu’er furrowed her brow, putting on a playful grin. She wasn’t afraid of being scolded by Mu Mu — he didn’t have the heart to do it. “I missed you — I wanted to see you sooner… and your big lobster, hahaha!”