At this moment, Feng Jiu’er found herself facing Mu Mu with a feeling that there was truly nothing to say.

Not because she had any grievances against him, but because she had suddenly realized that this fellow was just like her Ninth Imperial Uncle — sometimes utterly cold and heartless to an alarming degree.

Worthy of being the Ninth Imperial Uncle’s own blood brother — a true scion of the Di imperial bloodline. All of them carried a wolf’s nature, and whoever provoked them would come to grief.

“You think I was too cruel to her?” Mu Mu settled into a chair, his gaze fixed on her. “If I hadn’t been cruel, she would still come after you someday.”

Regrettably, Emperor Ji still held some affection for Leng Yue, and so had stopped short of finishing her off entirely.

For Feng Jiu’er, this was absolutely not good news. Leng Yue had not been killed today — if she learned her lesson and restrained herself from this point on, so much the better. The fear was that she would grow more brazen instead.

He did not believe someone like that could harbor any good intentions. Perhaps killing her was the only solution.

The moment Jiu’er raised her head, she caught a flash of bloodthirsty killing intent in the depths of his eyes before it vanished.

She gave a start, and quickly said, “I don’t pity her. But please don’t kill people for my sake, Mu Mu. I don’t like you doing that.”

She truly did not pity Leng Yue — she was not so saintly. She simply didn’t want Mu Mu to have someone like that’s blood on his hands.

No matter how many people he had killed before, she didn’t want him to keep going down that road.

“Mu Mu, do you think I’m beautiful?”

Mu Mu looked at her, not quite understanding why she had suddenly asked such a thing, but he nodded honestly nonetheless. “You are the most beautiful girl I have ever seen.”

Jiu’er couldn’t help the flush that rose to her cheeks. She hadn’t expected him to say something so stirring — but that wasn’t the point. The point was… “So — do you think there would be many people who are jealous of me in this lifetime?”

Mu Mu said nothing. With her looks, naturally there would be no end of people jealous of her.

“So — are you going to kill every last person who’s jealous of me? And if you don’t kill them, you’ll worry they’ll harm me someday — isn’t that right?”

“But there are so many of them you could never finish. Kill one and another will rise, someone new who dislikes me or even hates me. Are you going to keep killing, one after another, forever?”

Mu Mu still said nothing. His face was cool and expressionless, without a trace of warmth — yet when his gaze fell on Feng Jiu’er, it carried at least a small measure of softness, not cold enough to make one’s skin crawl.

But when he had been outside earlier, his entire presence had truly been chilling enough to make one’s hair stand on end.

“All right, I know you’re doing it for my sake. But Leng Yue has already received her lesson tonight. Those few words of yours have ensured that Ye Luosha will never trust her again, and Emperor Ji is deeply disappointed in her as well. That’s enough.”

She had to say, Mu Mu was truly ruthless. Had he simply said Leng Yue had drawn a blade to stab her, Ye Luosha might not have given it much thought.

That Ye Luosha — she had no particular tenderness toward Jiu’er, at least when it came down to it.

Jiu’er had worn herself to the bone worrying over and tending to her Mu’er — yet now, watching Mu Mu recover, Ye Luosha’s attitude toward her had begun to cool once more, even turning unfavorable.

Leng Yue trying to kill her? Ye Luosha wouldn’t care about that. But Mu Mu had said the one Leng Yue intended to stab was him.

Could Ye Luosha remain unmoved by that?

For Ye Luosha, probably only Mu Mu and the Ninth Imperial Uncle were worth her tenderness and protection.

People of the imperial family — she didn’t know if they were all so heartless. Now that she found herself caught in the middle of such a complicated web, would she eventually be discarded or even eliminated by those people? Who could say?

After all, she was now caught between Mu Mu and the Ninth Imperial Uncle. In the eyes of Emperor Ji and Ye Luosha, she would gradually become a thorn in their side — and in the end, might they simply decide to be rid of her?

How could Jiu’er not understand the feelings of Emperor Ji and Ye Luosha? If she were Ye Luosha, what would she herself do?

In truth, Ye Luosha’s position was a difficult one — and so was Emperor Ji’s.

Placing herself in their shoes, she could understand their predicament.

Yet it was precisely because of this that she felt even less at ease about her own situation. It was not that she lacked awareness of the danger; she simply did not show it.

Someone reckless and impulsive like Leng Yue was, in the end, the least worrying of them all.

“All right, Mu Mu — it’s getting late. Let’s rest early.” Jiu’er stifled another yawn. The drowsiness pressing down on her was deep and real.

“Yes, let’s rest early.” Mu Mu, still on the long bench, simply lay down flat.

“Mu Mu?” Jiu’er, who had been about to lie down herself, gave a startled jump and sat back up, staring at him. “Mu Mu, your room is next door.”

“I’m not comfortable leaving you here alone. From now on, I’ll stay and watch over you.”

Mu Mu said it plainly, then turned over on the bench and closed his eyes, apparently genuinely settling in to rest.

“That won’t do. It’s deep into autumn — the cold at midnight will make you ill.” Besides, hadn’t he been the one who insisted on the principle that men and women should not be alone together? What was this about now?

“My body is not as fragile as you imagine.” Mu Mu was unmoved.

“But you yourself said men and women should be kept separate — how can we share a room at night?”

“I am merely watching over my bride-to-be. If you find this present arrangement awkward, then we shall marry right now.”

“Marry?” Feng Jiu’er nearly leaped out of her skin. “Mu Mu, I thought I’d made myself clear enough — you and I don’t have that kind of relationship. We are only friends.”

“My caring for you before was because I am your life-and-death companion, and also a physician — it was simply my duty to tend to you. Once you’ve recovered, I’ll…”

“Is your heart already given to someone else?” Mu Mu was still facing the inner side of the bench, his back to her. “Is it the Ninth Imperial Uncle whose name you called out in your dreams?”

Jiu’er’s face went red. She hadn’t realized she had actually called the Ninth Imperial Uncle’s name in her sleep.

But since Mu Mu had heard it, there was no point in hiding it any longer. Perhaps this was indeed the quickest way to cut through the knot.

She nodded. “Yes. The Ninth Imperial Uncle and I have already pledged ourselves to each other in private. In this lifetime, I will only marry…”

“When we reach Phoenix City, I will go to him myself.” Mu Mu cut off her words, seemingly wholly indifferent to her so-called private pledge.

But what he said next nearly scared Feng Jiu’er out of her wits: “I will settle things with him — in a fight to the death.”

“Mu Mu! He is your elder brother!” She had already made this clear to him — and even if he had lost his memories, the days ahead still had to be lived.

But Mu Mu remained utterly cold, not moved in the slightest. “I have spent my entire life accustomed to being alone. Now, there is simply you added to that.”

What did that mean? Feng Jiu’er stared at him wide-eyed. Did this mean he didn’t even want to acknowledge his own brother?

Of course, Mu Mu had always been alone, and now that he had also lost his memories, having no feeling for a legendary elder brother he couldn’t remember wasn’t so strange.

But — a fight to the death?

No. How could that be?