Xue Gu’s heart sank as she looked at Jiu’er. “Yinan… what happened to him?”

“Yinan is still alive, only… his hands cannot move, and he cannot speak. He is suffering ten thousand times more than before.”

Feng Jiu’er’s gaze fell on Tuoba Keyan, who stood behind Xue Gu. “You go inside and rest first.”

“Jiu’er! We cannot let him leave!”

Xiao Yingtao struggled to break free from Xing Zizou’s grip, but failed. Furious, she cried, “Jiu’er, he may very well be the one who injured Yinan. You must investigate this matter thoroughly!”

“Even if it is as you suspect, it remains nothing more than a possibility. Xiao Yingtao, if you can find evidence proving that this was done by Yan, I will certainly not show any leniency.”

Jiu’er looked at her and said gently, “But until there is evidence proving that he is the culprit, let us not act rashly. Alright?”

“I cannot remain calm.” Xiao Yingtao did not want to let her emotions control her, but seeing Feng Yinan in such a state, no one could remain calm.

Whenever Jiu’er was away, it had always fallen to her to care for Feng Yinan. She had watched with her own eyes as Feng Yinan’s legs recovered little by little.

Yet just as he had finally reclaimed a glimmer of hope in his life, that wretched person had stolen away every last shred of it in an instant.

Feng Yinan’s current condition was worse than death! How was he supposed to endure the days ahead?

And yet now, these people were not going to allow her to interrogate Tuoba Keyan!

He was clearly a great villain. All they had to do was tie him up, apply a little pressure, and he would surely confess everything. Why hadn’t they even questioned him? Did Jiu’er trust him that much?

“I will not let this rest!”

Xiao Yingtao shoved Xing Zizou aside with force and turned to run.

“Zizou, go watch over her.” Feng Jiu’er glanced at Xing Zizou, then turned to Qiao Mu. “You go back and see if there is anything else Mu Mu needs.”

“Alright.” Qiao Mu left as well. Although she also disliked Tuoba Keyan, as Jiu’er had said, without evidence, one could not declare someone a culprit.

Indeed, that would be far too rash. What if an innocent person was wrongly accused? But then again, was Tuoba Keyan an innocent person?

No. Not only was he not a good person — he was an utterly wicked and terrible one.

Xing Zizou cast one long, deep look at Tuoba Keyan before he too departed. Without evidence, he did not consider this matter to have been done by Tuoba Keyan, and so on this issue, he maintained a neutral stance.

However, the fact that Tuoba Keyan had once harmed Xiao Yingtao remained, and how could he possibly look at Tuoba Keyan without contempt?

Were it not for Jiu’er saying that he could no longer remember his past — if he were still the Tuoba Keyan of former days — Xing Zizou would have demanded justice for Xiao Yingtao even at the cost of his own life.

Once they had all gone, Xue Gu finally let out a breath of relief.

They were all Jiu’er’s people, and she had no wish for any discord within the Heavenly Mechanism Hall. Yet this matter was truly beyond all reason.

“Yan, go in and rest for a while. I have some things to say to Jiu’er.” Xue Gu turned to look at Tuoba Keyan.

Tuoba Keyan’s gaze lingered on Feng Jiu’er, then in the end he simply pressed his lips together, gave a nod, and walked into the room.

Xue Gu’s words were something he was willing to heed. Whatever others thought of him, he knew at least that Xue Gu’s care for him was genuine.

Xue Gu looked at Jiu’er. Jiu’er’s mood was far from pleasant at the moment; she turned and walked out toward the courtyard outside the west wing.

Xue Gu followed. After they had left the west wing, she could not help asking, “Is there still a chance of a cure?”

“I don’t know.” This was a question Feng Jiu’er had asked herself as well, but she truly had no answer.

“His meridians throughout his entire body were shattered by internal force, and he was poisoned on top of that. The fact that his life has been preserved is already a miracle. If I had not detected that faint remaining pulse, I fear he would no longer be with us.”

Even now, looking back, Feng Jiu’er still felt a lingering dread.

At that moment, she had truly sensed only the barest thread of breath — truly just the smallest trace.

Had she been even slightly inattentive, she would have missed even that.

And once missed, the consequences would have been unthinkable.

Xue Gu’s heart was filled with sorrow. Even Jiu’er said she did not know — then Feng Yinan’s condition was likely far worse than she had imagined.

“Yinan is a humble and sincere young man, the sort who never offends anyone. He should have no enemies to speak of.”

Xue Gu looked at Feng Jiu’er’s back and thought for a moment before continuing, “He has also not yet formally begun participating in the affairs of the Heavenly Mechanism Hall. If someone wished to act against the Hall, they would not come after him.”

“That is also something I cannot make sense of. Nevertheless, I will conduct a thorough investigation into this matter.”

Feng Jiu’er turned to look at Xue Gu and said calmly, “For the next few days, keep an eye on Yan.”

“You also suspect it was his doing? But Jiu’er, Yan has already lost all his martial arts. How could he have shattered the meridians around Yinan’s heart?”

“I do not suspect anyone in particular. At least for now, I have no specific target of suspicion.”

However, a few words Mu Mu had said the previous night were at least not wrong.

The guard arrangements of their Heavenly Mechanism Hall were truly not strict enough. For the first half of last night, she had been with Mu Mu the entire time, and Mu Mu had not yet had the opportunity to reorganize and reinforce the Hall’s guard forces.

No one had expected things to unfold as they did. From this point forward, the guard of the Heavenly Mechanism Hall must not be allowed to slacken again.

“It may not necessarily be an outsider.” Xue Gu also appeared deeply troubled. “Though Yinan has only just recovered, his martial arts are by no means weak. He lives in the east wing, just as you do. If a true intruder had come, it would be impossible for there to have been not even the slightest sound.”

“I have thought of this as well.” If there had been no sound whatsoever, it meant that Feng Yinan had been wounded before he even had time to react.

Yet however modest Feng Yinan’s martial skill might be, he could not be so lacking as this. Even if someone as formidable as Xue Gu had gone to harm him, they could not have done so without making any sound at all.

Either this person’s martial arts were of an unimaginably superior level, or there was only one other possibility — that the one who had struck Feng Yinan was someone familiar to him.

Someone whom Feng Yinan never thought would harm him.

Because his guard was completely down, he may have first been poisoned, and afterward his meridians were shattered.

“It must almost certainly have been someone Yinan knew.” Feng Jiu’er clenched her palms and gazed at the distant horizon.

Could it truly be one of the people among them? Who among those in the inner quarters of the Heavenly Mechanism Hall could it be?

Aside from the servants and guards, only a few of them remained. And yet who among them had any motive against Feng Yinan?

If one were forced to name someone who harbored animosity toward Feng Yinan, there was only Tuoba Keyan.

And yet given Tuoba Keyan’s current condition, how could he have shattered Feng Yinan’s meridians?

“Jiu’er…”

“I will pursue this matter to the very end and see that justice is done for Yinan.”

Feng Jiu’er cut off Xue Gu’s words and said in a low voice, “Xue Gu, I am a little tired. I am going back to rest. Go and look after Yan.”