Suddenly, the sound of footsteps mingled with the wind from outside. Mu Mu’s expression shifted. He sprang from the bed in an instant.

His figure moved like a flash of lightning. In the blink of an eye, he was before Feng Jiu’er.

Jiu’er struck out on reflex. The blow landed — a solid, completely unguarded hit — sending his blood and qi churning within him, nearly causing him to vomit blood again.

But he did not pause for even a moment. He caught her in his arms and swept them both back to the bed, pressing her down beneath him.

“Mu—”

“Don’t speak. Elder Shi has come back.” His large hand covered Jiu’er’s lips. His eyes grew solemn, his voice quiet and grave. “If you don’t want him to activate the Heartless Gu and take control of your mind again, then listen to me.”

The moments from before rushed back to Jiu’er all at once, and she forced herself to go still.

She understood what Mu Mu meant. What she did not understand was why he would do this.

If they had joined hands to deceive her, use her, even control her — then why continue putting on the face of a good person now?

If he had simply hardened himself all the way through, at least she could have hardened her own heart in return and hated him cleanly.

But this — this left her wanting to hate him, yet unable to hate him completely.

Mu Mu had no attention to spare for more than this. He scooped up her legs with one arm, and as Jiu’er’s face went red to the tips of her ears, he thrust himself against her with a sound.

“Ah—”

The sounds that drifted from within the room made Elder Shi, who had turned back with some nagging unease, go abruptly red in the face.

It seemed his worry had been excessive. The two young people inside were still passionately occupied.

Thoroughly reassured at last, Elder Shi turned to leave. Such sounds were truly not fit for ears belonging to a man of his age.

How much time passed, no one could say — but once the footsteps outside had completely faded, Mu Mu finally stopped and let out a long breath.

Jiu’er stared up at him with wide, round eyes, her face so red it looked as though it might bleed.

Even if it had been false, that was… too shameless.

“Get off me!” Knowing Elder Shi had gone, Feng Jiu’er shoved him away with force. Even with her face still flushed crimson, she was cold as a slab of ice.

Mu Mu got off of her, but did not leave the bed. Instead, he pulled the bedding open, drew it over himself, and lay down.

“What are you doing?” Feng Jiu’er retreated to the far side of the bed, watching him warily.

“I’m tired tonight.” He truly was. It felt as though he had spent the entire night being hit — either his chest or his face.

His blood and qi were still unsettled. Without a proper night’s rest, he feared he would truly damage his vitality.

Feng Jiu’er had not missed the pallor that still clung between his brows. He had spent the earlier part of the night running his true qi to counter the effects of the floral drug. To save her, he had then taken a full palm strike from his Shifu, and absorbed several of her own blows, vomiting blood each time.

From a healer’s perspective, he had every reason to rest properly. She ought to go to him now and use her needles and massage to get his blood flowing properly again.

But now the two of them were on opposing sides. At the slightest move, they might come to blows again. Under such circumstances, how could she offer him treatment?

She quieted her thoughts and moved to climb off the bed.

Mu Mu’s voice came, quiet and even. “If I were you, I’d sleep through the rest of this night on this bed, recover what strength I could, and leave tomorrow’s problems for tomorrow.”

She made no move for a moment. Thought it through. And in the end, lay down on the far side of the bed and turned her back to him.

As things stood, her position was not favorable at all. The Bone-Softening Powder had still not fully cleared from her system. Her cultivation was less than half of what it normally was.

Attempting to escape in this state was not going to be easy. And she did not even know where she was.

Mu Mu, for now… would at least not harm her. Otherwise, there had been no reason for him to help her hide what had just happened from Elder Shi.

“If you cannot find the way out of this place, you won’t be able to leave on your own, not with the state your cultivation is in.”

Mu Mu closed his eyes and began slowly steadying his disordered breathing.

“Is this the bottom of Black Wind Ravine?” Feng Jiu’er could not help asking. She had suspected as much before.

That question Mu Mu did not answer. Undeterred, Jiu’er asked again. “Back then, when you and I were hunted by the black wolves together — were those wolves released by your people?”

“No.” This time, Mu Mu denied it at once.

“Then the black wolves — have they been brought under your people’s control by now?” She had long been certain that the black wolves were kept here at the ravine’s bottom. But the most critical question was when they had come to this place.

The black wolf attack on her and Mu Mu had been only a little over a month ago — not even two months from now.

Was it during these two months that they had found this place, tamed the black wolves, and claimed this ravine’s bottom with its strategic terrain as their base of operations?

Such formidable capacity for action — a Palace Master and a Young Palace Master. Could they really and truly be from the Night Underworld Palace?

“I don’t know.” Mu Mu turned over and faced away from her. This time, he genuinely intended to sleep.

He was determined not to answer, as was plain enough. But there was at least one thing Feng Jiu’er could be reasonably certain of: the place she was in right now was indeed the bottom of Black Wind Ravine.

No path out, she could not leave — Mu Mu had said as much before, that even those of deep cultivation could barely make it down into the ravine because of the hurricanes within.

If she wanted to climb her way out, the only option was to find the route they normally used to come and go.

Just as when she had once wanted to climb Snow Lotus Mountain — it was only because she had found a hidden passage that she had been able to go up and down freely, without difficulty.

These hidden and secret places all seemed to have their shortcuts. Only most people never knew of them.

Jiu’er had more she wanted to ask. But she found that Mu Mu, truly exhausted, had already fallen asleep.

Before long, the steady rhythm of his breathing filled the room. He seemed to sleep soundly.

Just like this — sharing a bed with her — with not a trace of guard against her?

If she moved against him right now, the odds would be very much in her favor. Why was he not worried?

Did he believe she would not dare? Or was he certain she would simply not do it? What was going through this man’s mind?

Feng Jiu’er lay with wide, round eyes, taking in everything in the room and straining to catch the sounds from outside.

There were indeed a fair number of guards posted nearby. Though they kept their distance, she could still detect a faint trace of their presence.

This was likely only a small layer of the perimeter. In this entirely unfamiliar place, there were almost certainly many more hidden guards stationed throughout.

Beyond those hidden guards, there was Night Rakshasa, whose cultivation surpassed hers — and there was Elder Shi, who could take control of her consciousness at any moment.

Under these circumstances, the idea of forcing her way out — how easily said, how difficult done.

She did not know how long she spent turning things over in her mind. In the end, when exhaustion claimed her completely, her head tilted to the side and she slipped into sleep.

In the very last moment before her awareness faded, her heart still lingered on one thought: what was the Ninth Imperial Uncle doing now?

She had gone missing again. It would only cause him more worry. What she feared most was that Night Rakshasa and Elder Shi intended to use her against the Ninth Imperial Uncle. When that moment came — what was she to do?