Night Rakshasa had never in her wildest dreams imagined that she would be defeated in a single exchange by this young man. One move!

He absolutely was not Feng Jiu’er. Even if Feng Jiu’er trained until her dying breath, she would never, ever reach this level.

For Night Rakshasa to acknowledge she had lost a single exchange to Feng Jiu’er — she would sooner die.

And so, the white-robed young man before her was simply someone whose silhouette bore a few points of resemblance to Feng Jiu’er, nothing more. Not to mention, that person was a man.

Elder Stone helped Night Rakshasa to her feet, then turned to look at Feng Jiu once more, countless emotions churning within him.

This young man had defeated Night Rakshasa in a single exchange — no trickery, no schemes, no underhanded moves. That had been solid, genuine skill.

Even the Palace Sovereign had been beaten in one move by him. He himself was even less likely to be any match for this person. Any notion of avenging the Palace Sovereign, therefore, was entirely and absolutely out of the question.

All eyes fell on Feng Jiu — though each person’s thoughts were their own.

Cold Moon had likewise not anticipated it — this wretched girl had actually managed to defeat even Night Rakshasa!

Now, of these four people, only Cold Moon still stubbornly insisted that the young man before them was Feng Jiu’er.

Though this person now looked like a man, and the height did not quite match — still, the boots she was wearing were somewhat unusual. Who was to say there was not something hidden inside those boots?

And though her face looked nothing like Feng Jiu’er’s — the art of disguise in the jianghu could reach extraordinary heights. Elder Stone himself was a master of disguise. There was nothing at all strange about Feng Jiu’er possessing some exceptional disguise technique.

Even if the face did not look like it was wearing a human-skin mask, Cold Moon was simply convinced she must have disguised herself.

“Foster Father, she truly is Feng Jiu’er!” Cold Moon refused to let it go.

Emperor Ji, however, appeared thoroughly indifferent to the matter. He fixed his gaze on Feng Jiu and said: “May I ask, young brother — are you, by chance, the proprietor of Tianji Hall, Mr. Feng Jiu?”

“Foster Father, look — even the name differs from Feng Jiu’er by only a single character!” Cold Moon cried out again in a hushed voice.

And she still claimed it was not Feng Jiu’er — who would believe it?

Feng Jiu could not be bothered to explain herself. This woman did not rate even a glance from her. If she had the ability, she could win a fight against her first, then talk.

Though she was not particularly inclined to engage with Emperor Ji, she still gave a grudging nod at this moment: “That is correct — I am Feng Jiu.”

“Truly, heroes emerge young.” Emperor Ji’s words of praise were entirely sincere.

Night Rakshasa, though she still found Feng Jiu deeply disagreeable, found herself unable to do anything about it at this point — the person before her was genuinely not Feng Jiu’er. What could they do?

What was more, she truly had been impulsive just now.

Even if this had been Feng Jiu’er, with Wu Ya present, what could they have done? If it had truly been Feng Jiu’er, Wu Ya would be absolutely incapable of watching idly while they harmed her. That would ultimately amount to a confrontation between themselves and Wu Ya.

Yet no one present — whoever it might be — could possibly raise a hand against Wu Ya.

And so the moment anyone had made a move today, the fault was already theirs. Having lost the exchange, having suffered the setback — that was their own problem to bear, with no one else to blame.

Things having come to this pass, Emperor Ji had no further desire to belabor the matter. He simply looked at Zhan Qingcheng and said: “There are certain important matters that require your return for deliberation.”

“Military affairs can be referred to General Mu. As for other matters — Foster Father can handle them himself. What need is there for this Prince to return?”

Zhan Qingcheng appeared entirely unwilling to give him the time of day. This cold and distant manner was somewhat beyond Feng Jiu’s expectations.

Though the Ninth Imperial Uncle was accustomed to coldness, he had, in the past, held a degree of respect for Emperor Ji as both his foster father and his master.

Why was it that what she now witnessed showed not even the faintest trace of deference?

Though the Ninth Imperial Uncle was proud and domineering, he would not normally go so far as to be this rude toward the elder who had raised him with his own hands. The Ninth Imperial Uncle now was truly being rude.

Though it was the Ninth Imperial Uncle’s manner of speaking with Emperor Ji, Feng Jiu’s mood was nonetheless quite pleasant — yet she could not help but be puzzled.

Emperor Ji, for his part, seemed to have already grown accustomed to his cold indifference and disrespect. Having been rebuffed by Zhan Qingcheng in such a fashion, he showed not the slightest sign of ill feeling.

It was Night Rakshasa who, having barely managed to steady her own breath, rose to her feet and stepped forward, cast a glance at Feng Jiu, before letting her gaze settle on Zhan Qingcheng.

“Mu’er’s whereabouts are unknown tonight — he has been searched for throughout every street and alley and cannot be found. There are certain matters… that are indeed very important. My Lord Prince, let us first return.”

This time, Zhan Qingcheng was not even willing to acknowledge her — and this was his own aunt by blood!

That sort of attitude truly was somewhat excessive — though, from Feng Jiu’s perspective, her mood somehow felt even better for it.

Even so — Mu Mu had gone missing?

She turned her head to look at Zhan Qingcheng, uncertain what Mu Mu’s disappearance meant exactly, nor what the current state of affairs surrounding Mu Mu was.

If Mu Mu had not yet recovered his memories… she could not shake the feeling that Mu Mu without his memories was somewhat like a child. He might well have been lured away by someone out there.

It would be best to find him and bring him back sooner.

“I am far too tired tonight to give the Prince a massage. My Lord Prince — perhaps you should return to the manor first.” She said gently.

Zhan Qingcheng gave a faint grunt and swept a glance over her.

Feng Jiu of course knew — he was simply displeased that she was always trying to send him away. But were there not important matters waiting for him to attend to right now?

Feng Jiu was well aware that if the matter were not truly significant, these four people would not have come looking for him together.

Though she harbored no fondness for the four villains before her, she remained concerned for what pertained to the Ninth Imperial Uncle.

“My Lord Prince, when we next meet, I shall make something delicious for you — how does that sound?”

Zhan Qingcheng was still somewhat displeased — it was plainly nothing more than a coaxing ploy to get him to leave, without even the slightest hint of wanting to keep him there.

Still… after a moment’s thought, he relented at last.

“I shall hold you to that.” That towering figure swept past her, and turned to walk in the other direction.

He had finally agreed to return to the manor.

Both Emperor Ji and Night Rakshasa let out breaths they had been holding, yet could not help but give Feng Jiu another glance.

That this young man could actually make Wu Ya change his mind — that was truly remarkable.

Still, this person was most certainly not Feng Jiu’er. Wu Ya was fond of spending time with him — most likely because he was taken with that silhouette of his that so resembled Feng Jiu’er.

When one thought on it, that was not necessarily a terrible thing.

Thinking back to those past six months, when the Ninth Prince had gone half-mad searching everywhere for Feng Jiu’er, paying no heed to his own health, acting with such frantic desperation — it had been a source of genuine worry for all.

Now, although he had not found Feng Jiu’er, he had found someone who felt remarkably like her. At least the man was now willing to settle down.

This was far better than continuing to search for Feng Jiu’er day and night without rest.

Most importantly, Feng Jiu was a man — between them, at most, there could only be the bond of siblings. As long as Feng Jiu did not cause trouble, keeping him around was harmless enough.

Night Rakshasa exchanged a glance with Emperor Ji. Emperor Ji gave a nod. Only then did Night Rakshasa shoot Feng Jiu one final vicious glare, and leave.

Emperor Ji, seeing Cold Moon make no move, gave her a reminder: “Let us go.”