Wu Youyan felt she was about to be scared to death, but then she heard—

That tall man called Zan Jin! Wu Youyan turned her head to look at him, shook her head, then pointed at his hand, indicating she wouldn’t make a sound.

Zan Jin immediately released her and said in a low voice, “Go down quickly.”

Only then did Wu Youyan see that beneath Zan Jin’s feet was a square black hole. She decisively and nimbly drilled down. Only after her feet touched bottom did she become tense, not expecting she could make such agile movements—unprecedented.

“Commandery Princess, you’ve picked a good day to come calling.” The voice came with the person. Mo Zi’s face was golden and brilliant in the candlelight, indescribably beautiful.

Wu Youyan looked up and saw the opening had been closed with a plank. “That person—” hadn’t come down.

“He has things to do. Commandery Princess, please follow me.” Mo Zi smiled and turned to walk deeper inside.

Wu Youyan immediately followed. The light wasn’t bright—wherever she passed became dark. She only felt they twisted and turned, going down stairs twice. Finally they reached a cabin room, its half-open door透 transmitting bright light.

Mo Zi pushed open the door. “The person has arrived.”

Wu Youyan walked in and saw Yuan Cheng, and also someone else she recognized. “Wei Jia.”

“Commandery Princess.” Wei Jia nodded slightly. “Being able to see the commandery princess on this trip can be considered an unexpected gain.”

“What exactly are you all doing?” So many masked people on the deck, and this boat was like a maze.

“Commandery Princess, I received His Majesty’s decree to help Lord Yuan capture the true traitors.” At this point, there was nothing to hide. “Everything will be revealed tonight.”

“The true traitors?” Wu Youyan understood with one hint. “You’re saying my father really was wrongly accused, aren’t you?”

“It’s still hard to say now.” Yuan Cheng sat at the table turning a teacup. “We can only say your father may not be the mastermind.”

“What can I help with?” Wu Youyan felt a hidden excitement stirring in her heart—a bit of fear, a bit of shock, but more was anticipation.

Mo Zi leaned by the door smiling. “Commandery Princess, don’t get excited. As long as you’re safe, that’s good—otherwise how would Wei Jia explain when he returns?”

“They’ve already been allowed into the second level.” Zheng Yi’s face appeared.

“Mo Zi, then we should go up.” Yuan Cheng walked to the door and lightly grasped her sleeve.

Mo Zi called softly, “Stinky Fish.”

A door opened behind Wu Youyan. Stinky Fish grinned happily. “Here.”

“You take Wei Jia and the commandery princess. Be careful.” They would quietly leave by small boat through the stern’s water valve gate.

“Orders received.” Stinky Fish was already very familiar with Wei Jia, calling him Little Wei directly and pulling him along.

This secret cabin passage was narrow, allowing only one person to pass. Yuan Cheng followed behind Zheng Yi, holding Mo Zi’s hand from beginning to end.

“There’s one thing I don’t understand. Since we want to leave Great Zhou, why are we still helping the Great Zhou Emperor find these people who want to rebel? Let them have internal strife so they won’t have time to trouble us. The Great Zhou Emperor too—inconsistent, sometimes seeming to trust us greatly, sometimes tyrannical and autocratic—simply unfathomable.” Mo Zi now felt half fondness, half dislike for this Emperor.

“Because Great Zhou cannot fall into chaos at this time.” Yuan Cheng’s voice, neither high nor low, transmitted backward. “If Great Zhou becomes chaotic, it benefits Daqiu. And if the Great Zhou Emperor is hostile toward you and me, it’s unfavorable for Yuling. In today’s world pattern, if we want to withstand Daqiu’s iron cavalry, Great Zhou must hold firm. Otherwise, when the tree falls the monkeys scatter. Without Great Zhou, Yuling also cannot restore the nation. The realm will be unified by Daqiu. Originally, who rules this realm, who becomes emperor, has nothing to do with me. However, Daqiu’s deeply rooted habit of discriminating against Han people, though their ambition is great, lacks the long-term vision for governing the realm. I am Han, and particularly selfish—if I don’t help Great Zhou, I must help myself.”

What kind of future is this person calculating again? Mo Zi broke free from his hand, pressing both index fingers to his temples, smiling lightly. “Thinking so much—doesn’t your head hurt?”

“I can’t build ships, nor can I carve wood. All day long with plenty of idle time, I can only use it for wild thoughts. Unlike you with real skills—I truly have no great talents.” False modesty? No, genuine.

“You have the talents of a sovereign, powerful minister, and great commander, while I can only run errands for you.” She was the technical faction; he was the strategist.

Zheng Yi raised a hand, listening to the movement above with his ear pressed close. “Huayi’s signal. Master, it’s now.”

Yuan Cheng took down Mo Zi’s hands, turned his head to look at her quickly once, and closely followed Zheng Yi up.

Mo Zi also went up, but her direction was opposite to Yuan Cheng’s. She was together with Zan Jin. “How is it on the deck?”

“Killed half the opponents. More on our side fell into the water.” The implication was water escape and feigning death.

Several black-clothed men appeared ahead. Because they could only advance one by one, Zan Jin easily fed them the Jade Heart Sword.

“Miss, watch out beside you!” Luo Ying jumped out of a cabin room.

Clang—Mo Zi’s small sword and Zan Jin’s long sword both blocked the horizontally slashing blade.

In the next second, that black-clothed person who ambushed Mo Zi fell clutching his chest. A chilling dagger, its tip dripping blood, was gripped in Mo Zi’s left hand. This night, both her hands held life-taking blades.

“Ah! Master!” Zheng Yi’s angry shout was especially clear throughout this interconnected cabin level. “I’ll make you pay with your life!”

Mo Zi told herself in her heart—it’s fine, everything is in the plan. But Zheng Yi’s fury, Zheng Yi’s voice, was so real, making her worry again that plans couldn’t keep up with changes. Feeling anxious, she swiftly ran toward the source of the sound.

“Brother Mo.” Reaching the predetermined location, Zan Jin grabbed her, not letting her run past, reminding her in a deep voice, “Elder Lei is also there.”

Mo Zi suddenly came to her senses.

At this time, another black-clothed person appeared at that end of the corridor. He had slanted triangular eyes and carried a cloth bundle in his hand.

“Stop him. Don’t let him take away the Water-Purifying Pearls.” Mo Zi ordered, thinking to herself this was the leader of the flock.

The triangular-eyed man was full of killing intent. Having just gone through an intense battle, that expert hired by the fugitive official had skills on par with his own. If the fugitive official weren’t a spineless shrimp who dragged down that expert’s attacks, he would probably have had great difficulty escaping.

“Woman seeking death!” He swung that arm which had been stabbed in several places, the blade’s edge aimed at Mo Zi’s neck.

Mo Zi dodged and ran up to the deck.

Zan Jin had to retreat several steps backward to avoid the blade.

The triangular-eyed man took advantage to also reach the deck, whistling to the assassins who came with him, “Retreat!”

“Thinking of leaving isn’t so easy!” Mo Zi thrust with her sword.

The triangular-eyed man saw she had neither stance nor presence, and sneered coldly. “You truly want to die—no one can stop you.” The blade light swept horizontally.

Mo Zi yanked a rope she’d been gripping in her hand and flew high with a whoosh. Her left hand held a hidden crossbow. “If you want to die, no one can stop you either.”

Three poisoned needles appeared in the triangular-eyed man’s forehead. He died on the spot.

Mo Zi jumped down, picked up the cloth bundle, and said loudly with delight, “I got it back.”

No sooner said than done—from the mast’s tip, a person suddenly flew down, five fingers formed into claws, striking toward Mo Zi’s face.

Mo Zi cried out in alarm. Retreating, she accidentally bumped into a rope-fastening post on the deck. Her body lost balance. As she fell backward, the small bundle in her hand flew out.

Zan Jin wanted to catch it, but that assassin’s eyes revealed fierce light as one palm continued to strike toward Mo Zi. He could only protect Mo Zi first.

The opponent, however, made a feint, leaped up to snatch the cloth bundle, and with three bounds and two jumps, leaped off the boat. Once he left, the remaining accomplices no longer lingered in battle and withdrew one after another.

Mo Zi waved her hand. The boat workers immediately rushed to the ship’s side shouting to pursue. She herself hurriedly turned back to the second level. Only after seeing Yuan Cheng standing and talking with Zheng Yi did she feel relieved.

Yuan Cheng only needed one glance to know her thoughts. “I’m fine, not a hair harmed. How is it outside?”

“Everything according to plan. The Water-Purifying Pearls have been taken away.” He said he was fine, but Mo Zi still carefully looked him over once. “As you predicted, there’s someone behind the triangular-eyed man.”

“He likes to be prepared for contingencies. So do I.” Yuan Cheng smiled and sat down.

Huayi walked in. “The assassins who didn’t escape in time all took poison.”

“You and Zan Jin lead people to thoroughly search the boat again. Don’t let any slip through the net—dead or alive doesn’t matter.” Yuan Cheng instructed.

Huayi acknowledged.

“For these Water-Purifying Pearls, the martial world has nearly been washed in blood. If they discover they took fakes, won’t they die of anger?” The performance was also thrilling—if not for experts at their side, lives would have truly been lost. Mo Zi patted her chest and drank tea to calm her nerves.

“Who said those six Water-Purifying Pearls are fake?” His ink-wash eyebrows raised like handsome green mountains.

Mo Zi choked and coughed violently. “Then… then they’re… real?”

Yuan Cheng patted her back and passed water to her. “Real. First, no one can replicate Water-Purifying Pearls. Second, using fakes would alert the enemy. What if they opened it midway to look?”

“But where did you get six?” She had three, but he didn’t ask her, so she thought they were fake.

“Old Master Min lent them to me.” Obtained without any effort at all.

“He lent you all four pearls?” So generous.

“The old master obviously trusts his grandson-in-law greatly. He also said that in my hands is like in your hands, and in your hands equals in the Min family’s hands—no rush to return them.” He was shameless again.

Mo Zi covered her forehead. “Although one can’t catch the wolf without risking the child, if Wei Jia loses the people he’s following, what will you use to return them to my grandfather?” This time, they really played big.

“…” Yuan Cheng propped his chin on his hand. Only after quite a while did he answer, “I never considered the possibility of losing them.”

Huh?! Mo Zi was both exasperated and amused. “You just said to be prepared for contingencies.”

“Prepared for contingencies, so it’s impossible to lose them.” On cause and effect, understanding was opposite.

In the latter half of the night, someone came with news.

As soon as Mo Zi saw who came, she jumped up. “Ding Gou! When did you return?”

“After completing what you assigned me, I went to see Master. Master told me to come back and help. Just as Lord needed to use me.” Ding Gou was also very happy to see her, but important matters took priority. He turned to Yuan Cheng and said, “My lord, the people are resting at Ling’an Temple in the northern city. The monks in the temple are all their people with substantial martial arts foundations. The stables are quiet, lights blazing—it doesn’t look like they’ll leave tonight. On the way, I ran into Wei Jia. His meaning is it’s best to capture people while the night is deep.”

“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go.” Yuan Cheng stood and had Luo Ying bring a cloak to fasten for Mo Zi.

Ding Gou’s eyes brightened. Following behind Mo Zi, he teased, “I just heard from Stinky Fish that Water Snake got married. I missed it and feel uncomfortable in my heart. When you marry, you can’t do it secretly without inviting me to the wedding feast.”

“What time is it, and you still have leisure to joke?” Mo Zi gave him a withering look.

Descending from the boat, the night was thick and wouldn’t dissolve. Cold air entered wind, bone, rain, and blood. Swift horses with urgent hooves—trampling far away soundlessly.