“In truth, you have no desire at all to be a bandit. What you want is to be like the great hero you admire — riding into battle, slaying enemies on the field of war.”

Though, when she thought about it — how was that so different from what he already did, leading his brothers here to repel outside threats?

Were all men like this — convinced that only by making a name for themselves on a battlefield could they be called great heroes?

Zhao Yusheng stared at her and said nothing.

Feng Jiu’er smiled. “If that is truly what you want, why not find a path forward for your brothers? Lead them to pledge their allegiance to the Ninth Prince — would that not be a good thing?”

He still said nothing. He suddenly rose and went to the table, poured himself a cup of strong liquor, and drained it in one fierce swallow.

“Is it because of what happened to your ancestors? But have you considered this — those events took place hundreds of years ago, and today’s Phoenix City is nothing like the Phoenix City of that time.”

“As for the current master of Phoenix City — you yourself know how capable he is. How righteous. How deeply he is loved by the people.”

“A Ninth Prince like that — could he truly be the same kind of man as those people from long ago?”

“The others would never agree to it.” Zhao Yusheng poured himself another cup and drank it down, then another after that, one cup following the next.

He was right — the others would never agree. Because what had happened in those days had left wounds cut too deep to forget.

The true descendants of Zhao Yu within the Zhao Family Stronghold were not many now — which alone spoke to how many must have perished in those days.

He had not been born in that era. He could not feel the despair and fury that those people had felt. But he could imagine it.

And the generation before his felt it even more deeply than he did.

No one would agree, because everyone was afraid. And because the legend of those days was too terrible to face.

To pledge allegiance — and risk repeating what had happened — meant confronting the terror of an entire clan being wiped out.

He believed in the Ninth Prince. But who else would?

His brothers would not believe it. His father would not believe it. No one would believe it.

“You don’t understand.” He poured himself yet another cup and, without a moment’s thought, drank it down in one brooding swallow.

“If you want to leave, then go. I’ll drink myself into a stupor. Take your chance and get out of here.”

“What did you say?” Feng Jiu’er climbed down from the bed, walked over to him, and gave him a light push.

“Hey — what did you just say?” Something about leaving? It sounded like he was telling her to go. Could such a fortunate thing actually be happening?

Zhao Yusheng suddenly sat up straight and fixed his gaze on her.

That abrupt movement nearly buckled Feng Jiu’er’s knees and sent her crashing to the floor.

Honestly — was he drunk or wasn’t he? He was going to frighten someone to death.

“The Black Pool has only one route through. You won’t be able to pass. Go back to Phoenix City — consider this your warning.”

Then he poured himself two more cups in quick succession and drained them both. After that, he stood, walked to the bed, found a comfortable position, and dropped down with a heavy thud.

A short while later, he was snoring soundly.

“This fellow…” Jiu’er could not be entirely sure whether he had truly fallen asleep or was only feigning it.

But one thing was certain — he was genuinely a good person.

He was giving her the opportunity to escape.

She looked up, blinked her eyes, and signaled for the figure above to leave.

Zhao Yusheng had guessed wrong — she was not planning to leave just yet. She still could not confirm whether the Bone-Softening Powder that had been administered to her brothers had fully worn off.

If she stayed, at the very least the stronghold would not be on guard for the time being.

If she left now, she might throw the others’ plans into disarray.

As for the person on the roof — he should go and help right away. That was what mattered.

Mu Mu naturally did not dare leave at this moment. A certain someone had tasked him with watching over her — how could he simply walk away?

What if the young master was only pretending to be drunk, or suddenly lost control once he was gone? What would become of this girl then?

But Jiu’er kept looking up at the rooftop, shaking her head and waving her hand, urging him to go help.

She pressed her fingers to the surface of the table and traced out a few words: “Save Yanu. The young lady’s room.”

Mu Mu had no choice. After a moment’s hesitation, he finally left.

Only then did Feng Jiu’er walk to the bedside and look at the man lying there.

His shoes were still on. He had no blanket pulled over him. On a night like this, she did not know if he might catch a chill.

Whatever the case — given that he was a good person — she made the grudging effort, pulled off his shoes, and drew the blanket over him.

After that, she went and sat by the window, keeping careful watch over everything outside.

She could only wonder how the others were getting on at the cave…

With a click, the iron gate of the cave was pushed open.

The brothers from Tianjitang and the Ninth Prince’s mansion who were inside had by now recovered their strength, every one of them.

Seeing the gate open, they were poised and ready to burst out.

But no one had expected that the person stepping through the door would be Jian Yi.

“You…” Xue Gu leaped to her feet and hurried forward. “How did you get back? Where is Mu Mu?”

“He went to rescue Jiu’er.” Jian Yi looked around at everyone and lowered his voice. “Has everyone recovered their strength?”

“Yes!” The group rose to their feet.

Jian Yi said: “I’ve put most of the bandits outside to sleep with a sedative. Move now — quickly.”

Xue Gu glanced at Jiu Qing. He appeared to have shown not the slightest surprise at Jian Yi’s arrival.

It seemed he, too, had known that Mu Mu was watching over Jiu’er.

No wonder that even when the hour for the wedding night had come, he had remained perfectly calm and unhurried — not a trace of worry on his face.

As it turned out, he had already arranged everything long in advance.

Outside the cave, not a single bandit stood watch. Two lay sprawled on the ground. Countless others had collapsed in the open space outside the main hall.

Their liquor had been tampered with by Jian Yi, and they were now sleeping soundly — utterly unconscious.

“I’m going to rescue Yanu.” Qiao Mu rushed over to Xue Gu, urgent and anxious. “The rest of you go save Jiu’er.”

“There is no need.” A flash of joy passed through Xue Gu’s eyes. “Yanu is back.”

Qiao Mu turned around — and sure enough, Yanu was approaching alongside Mu Mu.

Jiu Qing saw Mu Mu appear and his expression instantly darkened. “You left her alone.”

“I…” Before Mu Mu could finish his words, a grey shadow flickered past — and Jiu Qing was already gone.

“Qiao Mu, you and Jian Yi take the brothers to gather at the stronghold’s entrance. Mu Mu and I will go find Jiu’er and catch up with you immediately.”

“Understood.”

There was no time to waste. Everyone moved at once toward the stronghold’s entrance.

Jian Yi had already scouted the route, and with him leading the way, things were considerably easier.

As for Xue Gu and Mu Mu — by the time they reached the outside of Zhao Yusheng’s room, they found that all the skilled guards who had been stationed there had already been knocked out.

Jiu Qing was inside the room, his gaze fixed on Zhao Yusheng sleeping on the bed, his eyes carrying a glint of killing intent.

“Don’t do anything rash — he is not a bad person!” Jiu’er grabbed hold of his hand at once, terrified that if he lost his temper for even a moment, the man would be finished on the spot.

“Did he…”

“No, no — nothing happened. We just talked for a while, and he drank some wine.”

Feng Jiu’er hastened to explain. She knew perfectly well that the Ninth Imperial Uncle’s temper was nothing to take lightly.

A single unclear word could cost the young master his life in an instant.

Jiu Qing gave the figure on the bed a brief, cool glance, then took Jiu’er’s hand and led her outside.

Xue Gu and Mu Mu were standing guard at the door. When they saw the two of them emerge, Xue Gu looked at Mu Mu: “You take Jiu’er ahead first.”