After passing through Black Tiger Mountain through the night, the road ahead became much easier once they entered the next town.

In truth, Mu Mu understood — even if his master was angry, she would calm down before long.

After all, it wasn’t Feng Jiu’er who had left alone — he was with her.

Ye Luosha naturally knew that walking away like this had been entirely his own idea, nothing to do with Feng Jiu’er.

The two made their way back to the imperial capital. To their surprise, Xiao Yingtao and the others had gotten there even faster — they had arrived two days earlier.

“The Prince ordered us back. He said there was no need for the new Longqi recruits to go to the battlefield, so we came back first.”

The moment the Prince arrived, he had instructed Xiao Yingtao and Dan Yidao to fall in with Huo Yan and lead the new Longqi Army back.

“Word is the Prince’s side won the battle and is already on the way back.”

Though Xiao Yingtao had been quietly trying to steal a few more glances at Mu Mu, when talk turned to the Ninth Prince, she couldn’t contain her excitement.

“Jiu’er, you don’t know — the Ninth Prince was truly amazing! He arrived and immediately led troops out of the city. It wasn’t a defensive battle at all; it was a direct assault.”

“We stayed an extra day at Phoenix City before coming back, and as luck would have it, we got to witness the Prince’s commanding presence on the battlefield — it was simply…”

Ah! Xiao Yingtao found herself at a loss for words. In short, it was absolutely incredible — unbelievably impressive!

“They say the Ninth Prince fell gravely ill. We didn’t really know if it was true, but his complexion looked genuinely wrong — terribly pale.”

“Even so, his fighting strength wasn’t affected in the slightest. The Ninth Prince’s combat ability was simply off the charts!”

Having spent a stretch of time at Feng Jiu’er’s side, even Xiao Yingtao had started to pick up her way of speaking.

In any case, when it came to the Ninth Prince’s performance on the battlefield, Xiao Yingtao was genuinely in complete and utter awe.

The image of the Ninth Prince’s devastatingly beautiful face drifted through Feng Jiu’er’s mind. Hearing Xiao Yingtao describe it like this was genuinely stirring — after all, he was an extraordinarily handsome man.

Though it was rather remarkable to think that she had once addressed the Ninth Prince as Ninth Imperial Uncle.

Mu Mu kept his gaze on Feng Jiu’er’s face throughout, watching for any sign of distress. Finding none, he moved to one side, sat down, and poured himself a cup of tea.

The journey back had not been slow. Jiu’er had seemed eager to return quickly too, and their pace had been at least half again as fast as most people’s.

He had worried about Jiu’er’s health on the road, but looking at her now, her vitality over these past few days actually seemed better than before.

Could it be the result of the Phoenix Girl’s true energy gradually integrating and taking root within her body?

But why was there such a saying — He who possesses the Phoenix Girl shall possess all under heaven?

Though the true energy within Jiu’er was indeed extraordinarily powerful, when it came down to it, it was still inferior to his own inner cultivation — and even further from matching the Ninth Prince’s.

He who possesses the Phoenix Girl shall possess all under heaven — if that referred to this true energy, it plainly couldn’t hold up.

What other secret was hidden behind the Phoenix Girl?

Abruptly, Mu Mu’s brow furrowed. He turned his head to look at Xing Zizhou, seated not far away. “What is it?”

“Are you… really Mu Mu?” This was the question that had been hanging over Dan Yidao and Xing Zizhou since the moment they first saw him — and had stayed with them until now.

This handsome — could this really be Mu Mu?

Xing Zizhou in particular had previously considered himself fairly good-looking. But now, looking at Mu Mu’s true appearance, he felt he was as dust on the ground… strictly speaking about looks, of course.

Dan Yidao too was full of bafflement. Mu Mu’s face was simply too striking.

The previous “dark-skinned” Mu Mu had admittedly been fairly good-looking too, but it turned out that had only been a layer of pigment over his true complexion.

Now, having recovered his natural fair complexion, the features Mu Mu had always possessed were revealed to be capable of being this remarkable.

Mu Mu raised his cup, ignored the two inexplicably baffled men, and looked at Feng Jiu’er’s profile. “Your body still hasn’t fully recovered. Go back and rest early.”

“Jiu’er, I’ll walk back with you.” Xiao Yingtao smiled cheerfully.

Mu Mu was genuinely striking, yes — but, well, it was a little overwhelming!

Especially since Mu Mu so clearly had feelings for Jiu’er — all her own ardent hopes were probably going to come to nothing.

So, out of sight, out of mind. Don’t look, don’t look, don’t look! If she didn’t look, she wouldn’t feel so awful. If she didn’t look, she could force herself to stop thinking about it.

It would be good if Mu Mu and Jiu’er ended up together. Jiu’er was such a wonderful girl — she deserved a man as outstanding as Mu Mu to stand by her.

Feng Jiu’er gave a nod, started to go, then suddenly thought of something and turned back to face Xing Zizhou and the others. “Has Instructor Huo said anything about whether there will be training drills tomorrow?”

“Yes — from now on, barring any unforeseen circumstances, there will be drills every day, with rest days in between.”

“Understood.”

Xiao Yingtao took Jiu’er’s pack for her, and the two of them left the side hall of Juefeng Courtyard and made their way back to Mingyue Courtyard.

All along the way, Xiao Yingtao peppered her with questions about everything.

“How did you and Mu Mu end up together? Why did you suddenly disappear? Where did you go? Were you out on a mission?”

“Mm.” Jiu’er didn’t want to go into detail. There was a lot she hadn’t sorted through in her own head yet.

For instance — what exactly was her relationship with the Ninth Prince? They were neither kin nor acquaintance, so why had they so often ended up together in the middle of the night?

Looking back on it now, she found their relationship genuinely strange. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it — only that it felt strange.

She would chalk it up to her own earnest patriotism, and her unwillingness to see someone who served the country and people as faithfully as the Ninth Prince come to any harm. Otherwise, how had things unfolded the way they had, step by step?

“So you and Mu Mu — what are you two now?” Xiao Yingtao asked again.

Only then did Feng Jiu’er remember — Xiao Yingtao still had a certain lingering attachment where Mu Mu was concerned.

She looked at Xiao Yingtao, her lips moving slightly, not sure what to say.

“You don’t have to lie to me, and you don’t have to spare my feelings, Jiu’er. I know myself well — Mu Mu doesn’t like me.”

Xiao Yingtao shrugged. She had dared to like the old Mu Mu. But the Mu Mu of now — his looks had entirely exceeded anything she could have imagined.

The Mu Mu of now was better-looking, more distinguished, more… someone she felt a sense of being completely out of reach of.

“I think Mu Mu genuinely likes you. He really takes care of you, and he really does dote on you.”

Xiao Yingtao looked at her. Having accepted it, it didn’t seem to hurt quite so much anymore.

“So don’t hide things from me. Tell me sooner rather than later — don’t let me go on like a fool, quietly… admiring him from afar.”

“He said I am the wife he has decided on.” Feng Jiu’er decided not to conceal it. When it came to this kind of thing, hiding it would only be worse for Xiao Yingtao.

“Xiao Yingtao — if you can find it in yourself to like someone else, don’t let the opportunity pass. Mu Mu… I don’t know what exactly he feels for me, but when he said those words, I felt he was serious.”

If he was serious, that meant whatever else Mu Mu might or might not feel, he would not develop feelings for Xiao Yingtao.

“Don’t let a man come between our friendship, Xiao Yingtao. Please.”