Chapter 15 Gentle Understanding

anyue again. Is her body... safe" Prince Yun looked at Rong Jing."Uncle Yun, don't worry. I will do my best for her. Her condition is very serious and cannot be rushed; it must be treated slowly," Ron...Chapter Fifteen: Gentle Understanding

The old emperor finished speaking, and everyone turned to look at Ye Qian.

(Ye Qian) nodded readily. "Alright!"

"Father Emperor, Yu Ning isn't suitable..." Nie Tianqiong didn't expect the emperor to order a bloodletting for Qin Yuning right after announcing their engagement. His heart tightened as he naturally didn’t want anything bad to happen to Qin Yuning who was now his Crown Princess.

"Tianqiong, from today onwards, the little girl isn’t merely a weak maiden in her chamber anymore but your Crown Princess and this emperor’s daughter-in-law. The country comes first, personal affection second. You should understand this!" The old emperor interrupted Nie Tianqiong.

Nie Tianqiong choked up and lowered his head. "Your son understands."

"Little Qin girl, are you willing to help Princess Ye" The old emperor then asked Qin Yuning.

<

Qin Yuning raised her head and looked at the emperor with a weak but gentle voice, "I am willing! However, I have one request. Please allow me to tie my hair up before marrying Prince Tian."

"Oh What is it Just speak!" The old emperor’s old eyes flashed with a glint, quite magnanimous.

Qin Yuning opened her mouth and said, "I am still young. I won’t reach the age of tying my hair up for another few years, so I ask Your Majesty to be compassionate and let me tie it after that."

"Hm, you are indeed one year younger than Yue girl. That’s reasonable! Alright, this emperor agrees!" The old emperor consented.

Though Nie Tianqiong was displeased, he didn’t refute.

"You two may get up now," the old emperor waved his hand at them and turned to Ye Qian.

Ye Qian walked over to Qin Yuning. As Nie Tianqiong supported her as she stood up, she placed a hand on Qin Yuning’s pulse but only briefly touched it before removing it. She smiled at the old emperor and said, "Your Majesty, Miss Qin's pulse is much stronger than that of Cloud Shangyue. It can definitely stand a bloodletting, there won’t be any problems. This princess guarantees it!"

"Princess Ye, you only touched Yu Ning briefly. How could you possibly determine the situation so quickly" Nie Tianqiong was displeased. He maintained an attitude of protecting Qin Yuning.

"Prince Tian, this princess' medical skills may not be as good as Prince Jing’s but I believe no one here can surpass me! If you still doubt it, find another to take your beloved Crown Princess’ pulse!" Ye Qian said coldly.

Nie Tianqiong's face darkened but he didn’t speak. He only heard the old emperor say, "Tianqiong, this emperor trusts Princess Ye’s medical skills! Take Miss Qin with you and follow her to the execution platform!" Then, he turned to Nie Qingran and said, "Qingran, go up with Princess Ye too! Catching the culprit is secondary but human life is paramount. Ensure both Princess Ye and little girl come to no harm."

"Yes," Nie Qingran bowed his head.

“Your son obeys your command,” Nie Tianqiong also lowered his head.

The old emperor waved his hand, and Ye Qian took the lead with Nie Tianqiong supporting Qin Yuning following them to the execution platform.

A few steps in, Ye Qian seemed to remember something as she turned back to Cloud Shangyue. "Cloud Shangyue, don’t you want to take a look"

Cloud Shangyue did indeed wish to see how the Nanyang curse was cast. As she opened her mouth to speak, Rong Jing said, "You can still see clearly from here. Miss Shangyue needn’t go over. This matter is very significant; Princess Ye needs to be careful and can't treat it like a joke."

Cloud Shangyue’s thoughts stirred slightly. Didn’t Rong Jing ask her earlier to take a look Why did he change his mind now She frowned as she looked at Rong Jing, who didn’t even spare her a glance.

"Indeed! Then you’ll just watch properly here, Cloud Shangyue!" Ye Qian nodded and without further ado, lightly touched the ground with her toes before flying up to the execution platform.

"Young girl, are you very curious No matter, if you can’t see clearly, I'll explain it to you when we return," Nie Qingran said to Cloud Shangyue.

“Alright!” Cloud Shangyue nodded. She thought that since Rong Jing didn't want her to go, there must be a reason behind his words.

When Night Qingran saw that Yun Qianyue had agreed, he no longer delayed. He gently pushed off with his toes and flew towards the execution platform.

Night Tianqiong was originally supporting Qin Yuning. Upon seeing Ye Qian and Night Qingran use their light-foot techniques, he also stretched out a hand to lift Qin Yuning up and used his technique to fly toward the execution platform.

It didn’t take long before all four of them successively landed on the opposite execution platform.

The execution seat, including the old emperor and everyone else, did not speak anymore. Everyone’s gaze was focused on the execution platform.

Yun Qianyue’s eyes were even more unblinking as she stared at every movement of the execution platform.

Suddenly, when Ye Qian arrived on stage and stood in the middle of the platform, she said something to Night Qingran. He then waved his hand, and someone brought up a triangular stand before her. Ye Qian bowed respectfully towards the triangle stand. After that, she instructed Night Qingran again with a nod of her head; he waved his hand once more, and someone brought out three large bowls which were already prepared from earlier and placed them at each of the three points on the triangle stand. Then, Ye Qian gave Night Tianqiong another instruction and asked him to carry Qin Yuning over towards the opposite direction that faced her. He stood in alignment with the middle point between the two of them.

When looking from the execution seat’s perspective, Ye Qian, Qin Yuning, and the midpoint on the triangle stand were all aligned in a straight line.

After finishing everything up, Ye Qian gave Night Qingran another wave. He stood behind her as she reached into her pocket and pulled out something that looked like a small round jar from this angle. She casually shook it, tossing it up into the air; everyone followed its movement to look upwards. Yun Qianyue also turned her gaze upward to follow the object’s trajectory. As it went up in mid-air, it spun around three times before dropping down and stopping just above Qin Yuning’s head, continuing to rotate.

There were no strings pulling Ye Qian and the jar; it rotated on its own as if it had a life of its own. Yun Qianyue was wondering what this object could be when Rong Jing whispered to her, "That is the Southland’s Oath King! The king among all oaths!"

Yun Qianyue thought about his words and noticed that Rong Jing had walked up beside her at some point. She glanced around and saw that the old emperor and everyone else were focused on Ye Qian and the others on the execution platform, so no one was paying them any mind. Realizing how much the old emperor would want to know the secret behind the Southland’s oath techniques, she asked Rong Jing in a low voice, "What is it"

"It is said that it is a thousand-year-old toad!" replied Rong Jing.

A toad! Yun Qianyue nodded and turned her gaze back to the execution platform. Suddenly, Ye Qian made an odd hand gesture while chanting words; after about a cup of tea’s time, the round jar above Qin Yuning’s head suddenly opened with a click. It was indeed a tiny green toad as Rong Jing had said, no larger than a small fruit. After it emerged and quickly hopped onto Qin Yuning’s palm, it bit down on her hand. In an instant, its green color turned pale red.

Yun Qianyue was surprised by the toad’s ability to change colors and glanced at Rong Jing.

Rong Jing explained in a low voice, "The reason why this thousand-year-old toad is known as Southland’s Oath King isn’t because of itself; it is because there is a worm inside its body that feeds off oaths. It is similar to the worms you saw when you dissected the dead corpse. They are just much bigger and feed exclusively on blood, causing them to change color."

Yun Qianyue nodded. The Southland was known as the land of Worm Oath magic; in layman terms, this meant controlling someone’s soul through a certain kind of worm. She continued watching as, within moments, the toad had turned completely red. Although Qin Yuning faced away from her and Yun Qianyue couldn’t see her face, she could clearly see the faint green mist emanating from Ye Qian’s body. Recalling what Ye Qian said about damaging one's own body while casting an oath spell, she guessed that this was coming from her own essence.

After another cup of tea’s time, the toad’s color became increasingly red and its body swelled up by a circle; at the same time, the green mist around Ye Qian thickened until it enveloped her entirely.

Yun Qianyue’s gaze was even more unblinking as she realized that this must be a critical moment. Just as she thought so, a beam of blood suddenly shot out from the toad and flew towards one bowl at the left corner of the triangle stand. Because there was too much green mist, Yun Qianyue couldn’t see clearly but could imagine that it was filled with fresh blood by now. She faintly saw a red spot in the mist. A moment later, the beam suddenly changed direction and shot toward another bowl on the right side; after that, it changed directions once again and flew towards the top point of the triangle stand, leaving a faint red dot in the thick green mist.

Yun Qianyue turned to Rong Jing with a low whisper, "Do you think they will find the culprit"

Rong Jing blinked his eyes and whispered back, "What do you think"

"No." Yun Qianyue said two words. She didn’t know why but she felt that it wouldn’t.

"I also feel that they won’t," replied Rong Jing with a smile.

Yun Qianyue raised an eyebrow and was about to ask him something when a sudden loud bang came from the execution platform. She turned around in alarm, seeing that the green mist surrounding Ye Qian had suddenly turned black; countless beams of blood shot up into the sky as she heard Ye Qian’s heartbroken cry, “Little Toad!”

Yun Qianyue widened her eyes and realized that something must have gone wrong. Her instincts were usually accurate! Although she couldn’t see what was happening above clearly, it had to be that Ye Qian’s Oath King had been destroyed!

"Yuning!" Night Tianqiong's horrified cry came from the execution platform.

Immediately after, a plopping sound followed by another explosion of blood in the thick mist was heard. Yun Qianyue guessed that if it was the toad’s blood earlier, this had to be Ye Qian’s own blood now.

"Stinking woman! What happened" Night Qingran's anxious voice rang out from the execution platform next.

The heavy fog suddenly cleared, and the corpses scattered around suddenly burst into flames. Flames soared up from all sides of the execution platform, making a loud crackling sound.

Cloud Qianyue closed her eyes for a moment before opening them again. She saw that Ye Qian was being held by Night Qingran in the midst of the burning corpses. Blood covered Ye Qian's face so thoroughly that it was impossible to recognize her features, while Qin Yuceng was being held by Night Tianqing, who also had blood all over his face and could barely be recognized as well. The two had one thing in common: they were both lying silently in the embrace of their respective holders, their fates unclear.

"Yuceng!" Chancellor Qin called out loudly and rushed off the execution platform.

"What's going on Go take a look!" Old Emperor also stood up from his seat in shock and hurriedly left the platform, walking briskly towards the execution stage.

Duke De, Duke Xiang, Prince Yun, and others immediately followed behind the old emperor.

Nan Lingrui lightly touched his toe to the ground and leaped up, arriving ahead of everyone else.

In an instant, only Rong Jing and Cloud Qianyue remained on the execution platform. Cloud Qianyue narrowed her eyes as she watched the scene for a moment before turning back to look at Rong Jing. He said in a gentle tone, "Let's go see what happened."

"Alright." Cloud Qianyue nodded.

The two of them left the execution platform together.

At this time, Night Qingran and Night Tianqing had already taken Ye Qian and Qin Yuceng off the execution stage. Nan Lingrui also arrived simultaneously, blocking Night Qingran's path to check Ye Qian's pulse without saying a word.

"Doctor Wang, come over quickly and check on Yuceng!" Seeing Old Emperor and others approach, Night Tianqing shouted at Doctor Wang.

“Yes!” Doctor Wang hurried past the old emperor and came to stand beside Night Tianqing, placing his hand on Qin Yuceng’s wrist.

"I knew it would come to this in the end," Nan Lingrui said as he pulled back his hand.

When Cloud Qianyue heard Nan Lingrui's words, she let out a breath of relief. She thought that if Ye Qian was fine, then all was well!

"Prince Li Rui, how is Princess Ye Is her life in danger" The old emperor asked anxiously. As the only daughter of the Southern Border King, he couldn't explain to him why something had happened to Ye Qian in Heavenly Capital.

"She will likely be unconscious for about seven or eight days but she should survive," Nan Lingrui replied.

“So serious” The old emperor was startled.

“Her internal organs were damaged, and the backlash from the counter-magic caused her to lose a lot of blood. She’s lucky to still be alive. Eight days unconscious is nothing compared to what would have happened if she had used something else instead of the King of Ten Thousand Curses,” Nan Lingrui stated.

The old emperor was shocked once more and muttered, "Thank goodness," before asking Doctor Wang who was checking Qin Yuceng's pulse, “Doctor Wang, how is Miss Qin”

"Your Majesty, Miss Qin merely lost too much blood and fainted. She’s not in danger." Doctor Wang said after releasing his hand: "However, she’ll likely be unconscious for a few days."

“That's good,” the old emperor heaved a sigh of relief.

Cloud Qianyue’s footsteps paused. Ye Qian was severely injured and nearly lost her life; the Southern Border Kingdom’s King of Ten Thousand Curses had been destroyed, which was indeed serious, but Qin Yuceng merely fainted due to blood loss

"Princess Ye is so badly hurt; logically speaking, shouldn't Miss Qin be worse off Why did she only faint from losing too much blood" Cloud Qianyue had just thought of it when Prince Tianyu asked.

Everyone was startled and looked at each other in confusion.

"Thank heavens! My daughter is unharmed!" At this moment, Chancellor Qin heaved a great sigh of relief, turning to say to Prince Tianyu: "My daughter was merely the blood sacrifice. Princess Ye cast the spell; due to improper use, it backfired and severely injured her instead. This is quite normal. Does Fourth Prince want my daughter to lose her life"

Everyone nodded in agreement upon hearing this.

The old emperor also nodded, giving instructions to Ye Qingran and Ye Tianqiong, "Qingran, take Princess Ye back to the De Prince's Manor for treatment. Use the best medicine to ensure her injuries heal well. Tianqiong, escort Qin Yucleaning back home."

"Yes, Uncle Emperor!" Ye Qingran replied with a nod.

"Yes, Father!" Ye Tianqiong responded.

With that said, the two of them quickly left without delay, carrying Ye Qian and Qin Yucleaning away.

The old emperor looked towards the execution platform. At this moment, it was ablaze with fire, and the stench of burning corpses and blood nauseated him. He turned to Rong Jing and asked, "Young Master Jing, what do you think about today's events"

"It doesn't matter if we can't find the murderer. We'll search for them gradually in the future! As long as Princess Ye and Miss Qin are fine!" Rong Jing focused on the burning corpses; they had already been reduced to ashes within such a short time. He spoke calmly.

"That's all we can do! If anything happens to Princess Ye, I would have difficulty explaining it to King of Southern Borderlands. Thankfully, since she is out of danger now, that's fortunate enough," the old emperor nodded, frowning at the sight before him and instructed Ye Tianyu, "Tianyu, you're in charge of cleaning up here!"

"Yes, Father!" Ye Tianyu bowed respectfully.

"It's getting late today. You may all go home now," the old emperor waved dismissively at his subordinates behind him.

"See you off, Your Majesty!" everyone immediately knelt to bid farewell.

The old emperor led the way as the ceremonial guards followed closely in tow, escorting a figure of imperial yellow through the grand palace gates.

Yun Qianyue did not kneel but instead walked over and picked up the round jar containing the toad that Ye Qian had brought with her, tucking it into her sleeve. As Ye Tianyu straightened up after escorting the old emperor, he noticed Yun Qianyue's action and asked, "Little girl, why did you take her things"

"This is Ye Qian's item; I'm afraid she'll look for it when she wakes up. So I'll keep it safe," Yun Qianyue explained.

Ye Tianyu nodded in agreement.

Rong Jing glanced at the sleeve of Yun Qianyue, speaking softly, "Let's go! Fourth Prince is dealing with this now."

Yun Qianyue nodded. She figured that the toad was likely dead and buried after the explosion; she cast a glance towards the execution platform before following Rong Jing.

Xiang Ge had been waiting by the carriage, and upon seeing Rong Jing and Yun Qianyue approaching, he immediately asked worriedly, "Young Master, how is your arm If I had followed you earlier, Young Master wouldn't have needed to step in."

Yun Qianyue's steps paused for a moment; she suddenly remembered that Rong Jing was injured. She glanced at the spot where he was wounded and saw that the handkerchief wrapped around his arm was stained with blood. Recalling how Rong Jing had saved Qin Yucleaning, her expression darkened.

"The bones are out of place; can you help me align them on the carriage" Rong Jing did not answer Xiang Ge's question but turned to ask Yun Qianyue gently with a cautious tone and appearance, "If I don't deal with this promptly, my arm will be crippled!"

Xiang Ge was alarmed, "Young Master, how severe is it Allow me to help..."

Rong Jing glanced at Xiang Ge coolly, silencing him.

"Aren't you supposed to be fine Isn't this a minor matter Yet now that you won't align your bones properly, they'll become crippled" Yun Qianyue shot Rong Jing a cold look and suddenly turned around, walking towards the carriage of Cloud Duke. She left him with a phrase, "Whoever got you hurt should help you align it! Don’t come to me!"

Thinking about how he had been injured saving Qin Yucleaning, especially when she was lying on his arm at that moment, Yun Qianyue felt uncomfortable. She wished she could cut off the very arm that held Qin Yucleaning and let him align it himself Dream on!

"If you don’t help me realign my bones, I won't do anything about them; they can rot for all anyone cares," Yun Qianyue paused in her steps as Rong Jing reached out to hold her back. His voice was extremely soft.

Yun Qianyue's feet halted and she turned around to look at him, raising an eyebrow with a cold smile, "Oh So you'll just let your arm rot if I don’t help you"

Rong Jing nodded. "Yes!

"Then you deserve to be crippled!" Yun Qianyue didn't hold back as she slapped his hand off her arm and walked forward.

Rong Jing felt a sharp pain in the back of his hand, but he still tightly held onto Yun Qianyue's arm. He followed her one step and said with a soft and urgent voice, "At that time, I had no choice to save her. If there was even a sliver of possibility, I wouldn't have acted. You know the situation back then; if I didn't save her, she would surely die. If she died, who else in this Heavenly Saint Empire could make Night Tianqiong abandon you for marriage The Emperor wouldn’t easily abolish the ancestral precept either. I... "

"Get into the carriage first!" Yun Qianyue suddenly interrupted Rong Jing and turned around.

Rong Jing nodded but didn't let go of Yun Qianyue's arm.

Yun Qianyue glared at him. She knew clearly that after Night Tianqiong failed to catch Qin Yuceng, none among the martial artists like Ye Qian and Nan Lingrui made a move to save her. The old emperor’s guards were incapable of rescuing anyone in such critical moments either. If Rong Jing hadn't acted, Qin Yuceng would indeed have died for sure. If Qin Yuceng had died, none of these events would have happened afterward. Moreover, if it weren’t him who saved Qin Yuceng, Night Tianqiong wouldn’t be forced to issue an imperial decree on betrothal either; she wouldn't have been involved in a life-and-death situation that led the old emperor to abolish the ancestral precept. Even though Yun Qianyue was unhappy with this turn of events, she wasn’t unreasonable.

"Young Master, Miss Qianyue is calling!" Xuan Ge saw the two arguing and felt anxious. Last time when Young Master Rong Jing had a quarrel with Miss Qianyue and returned to the residence in silence for an entire day, he finally understood how significant she was to his young master. Now that Yun Qianyue had come back, he was delighted and quickly pulled up the carriage curtain.

Yun Qianyue climbed into the carriage first and saw Rong Jing still holding her hand in front of it. She turned around irritably and said, "What are you hanging onto me for Get in the carriage!"

"Help me up, I don't have enough strength now," Rong Jing replied.

"Am I being polite to you" Yun Qianyue raised an eyebrow at him.

Xuan Ge’s face darkened. When would someone dare speak like this to his young master He glanced at Rong Jing, who didn’t seem annoyed and instead smiled at Yun Qianyue as if trying to win her favor by saying, "I truly don't have strength."

Xuan Ge lowered his head; his young master must be enchanted by Miss Qianyue’s poison.

Yun Qianyue frowned and observed Rong Jing. She noticed a fine layer of sweat on his forehead, indicating he wasn’t faking it. She pulled him into the carriage with all her might. As soon as the curtains fell to block out the light, she immediately checked his pulse. Upon feeling it, she changed expression and angrily said, "You dare jump in to save someone even though your strength has just recovered Do you want to die"

She was puzzled by how he had regained some of his martial arts skills before her. He must have felt confident enough with a mere fraction of his power to go and save Qin Yuceng. She let go of him, frustrated, and cursed, "Why didn't you kill yourself Breaking your bones is the least of it; lucky you didn’t get your internal organs shaken loose!"

"I was confident," Rong Jing said calmly when he saw Yun Qianyue’s irritated face. "Look, nothing happened."

"Nothing happened You say that with injuries to your inner organs and a barely recovered fraction of strength now wasted And you call getting one muscle bone in your arm broken minor" Yun Qianyue glared at Rong Jing, amazed by how he could pretend it was no big deal in front of the old emperor. Now he wasn’t acting anymore! It made sense why he didn't immediately let go of Qin Yuceng—perhaps he even lacked the strength to do so.

"Alright, not minor injuries but major ones," Rong Jing softened his tone and continued with a hint of sweetness, "So you will have to take good care of me for some time while I recover."

"You want me to look after someone else who got injured saving them Why" Yun Qianyue's face darkened.

Rong Jing didn’t answer but took off his outer robe and threw it away, instructing Xuan Ge, "Burn it!"

"Yes," Xuan Ge accepted the robe from Rong Jing.

Yun Qianyue saw that Rong Jing was only wearing a brocade robe underneath. She understood he had discarded his outer robe because of Qin Yuceng and felt somewhat better, yet she still wasn’t pleased with him.

"The Emperor is inscrutable; he already suspects us both. The way he asked me whether I liked someone to betroth me was the first sign of his suspicion. If I don't do something to ease his mind, who knows what he might do I know you dislike my saving her, as do I. But rescuing Qin Yuceng gave us a chance to manipulate Night Tianqiong. Manipulating Night Tianqiong means controlling half the Emperor’s power. Regardless of whether or not the Emperor still suspects us, we no longer have the disadvantage. Although we didn’t find the murderer today, abolishing the ancestral precept was a huge gain. After these changes, at least for now, the Emperor won't be able to focus on us." Rong Jing sighed and said softly to Yun Qianyue.

Yun Qianyue remained silent with her face still solemn.

Rong Jing leaned closer, embracing Yun Qianyue with his uninjured arm. Seeing she didn't try to evade him, he seemed to smile and continued gently, "When I saw Night Tianqiong bringing Qin Yuceng here so meticulously, I guessed that today could be an opportunity for us to get rid of the ancestral precept’s restriction on you. If she had no use, why would I have saved her We don’t often control our own fate; how could I pass up such a chance You wouldn't either, right Please don't be angry anymore. Next time, I won't save her."

Yun Qianyue's face improved slightly but she still didn't speak.

"This time we both got injured in our arms, yours on the right and mine on the left; it’s perfect for us to recover together," Rong Jing lowered his head to kiss her lips lightly before smiling again.

Yun Qianyue felt a cool sensation across her lips, which made her anger disappear. She pushed him away irritably, "Who does such things when injured You’re truly capable of it! First check if your arm is crippled!

"Alright!" Rong Jing released Yun Qianyue and nodded with a smile.

Yun Qianyue reached out to roll up his sleeve, only to see redness and blood on the crook of his elbow. Her heart tightened as she gently pressed it with her fingers. She heaved a sigh of relief when she realized that it was merely a dislocated tendon. Looking at Rong Jing, she softened her tone and said, "You'll have to endure the pain while I reset your dislocated tendon and immobilize it."

"Mm!" Rong Jing nodded with warm eyes.

Yun Qianyue found a suitable position with both hands and suddenly exerted force. She heard a 'crack' sound as the dislocated bone returned to its original place. Lifting her head to look at Rong Jing, she saw him looking at her gently without changing his expression. She concealed her slight pain and mocked him, "Indeed heartless! You don't even know it hurts!"

Rong Jing looked deeply into Yun Qianyue's eyes and smiled faintly, "You have already felt the pain for me, how could I possibly feel it"

Yun Qianyue snorted and asked, "The medicine"

"It’s in the box behind you." Rong Jing said.

Yun Qianyue turned around to see a box as expected. She immediately opened it to find several jade bottles inside. She looked at them one by one and took out the best one, opening it up. Then she reached into her chest to take out a handkerchief. Seeing that it was the one she had taken from Rong Jing earlier, she put it back and took out another colored lotus-patterned handkerchief he had given her to wipe off the blood at his elbow gently. After wiping clean, she threw away the handkerchief and poured some medicinal liquid onto the wound. She then finished applying it to the entire injured area before saying without lifting her head, "Give me your handkerchief! I’ll bandage you up!"

"You already have one in your chest pocket, why don’t you use that" Rong Jing asked with a smile.

“I just don't want to. What's it got to do with you” Yun Qianyue urged impatiently, "Hurry up and give me yours!"

Rong Jing took out his handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to Yun Qianyue, smiling, “They’re all my handkerchiefs anyway. What’s the difference"

"Why are you so talkative!" Yun Qianyue took the handkerchief and efficiently bandaged him up before putting down his sleeve. When she was done with everything, she heaved a sigh of relief. She couldn't understand why her injury didn’t seem like such a big deal but when this man got injured, it felt so unpleasant for her. Wiping off her forehead sweat, she warned him as she looked up at him, "Considering today’s significant gains, I'll let you off the hook for saving Qin Yucning. If you get hurt next time to save someone else, go find whoever can treat your injuries and don’t come bothering me."

"Alright!" Rong Jing nodded with a smile spreading across his lips, his brows warm as water.

Yun Qianyue felt that every time this man smiled, it made her lose control of herself. With difficulty, she moved away from him and hid her bewitched heart, snorting, "You’re smart to know what I want!"

Rong Jing looked at Yun Qianyue with a smile but said nothing.

"Why did you also think Ye Qian wouldn't succeed" Yun Qianyue turned back to the subject. She was merely following her instincts, and she didn’t believe Rong Jing would base his judgment on feelings alone. There had to be something wrong somewhere.

"The King of a Thousand Curses is a treasure of Southern Frontier. It’s called so not only because it can nurture curses but also because its body can test poisons." Rong Jing wiped off his smile and spoke slowly, "When you found the King of a Thousand Curses changing after consuming Qin Yucning's blood, did anything strike you as unusual"

Yun Qianyue’s mind stirred. Recalling it carefully, she said, “That toad was green at first, turning red when it bit into Qin Yucning’s arm. Is that wrong”

"What happened after Did you see its color change again" Rong Jing asked.

Yun Qianyue recalled the dense fog back then and how her mind was preoccupied with Ye Qian and Qin Yucning, so she didn’t pay attention to whether it changed colors later. She shook her head and said, "I only saw that it grew bigger by a circle."

"It turned purple when it exploded," Rong Jing said.

“What” Yun Qianyue was startled, looking at him in disbelief, “You mean Qin Yucning’s blood is poisonous Or the toad was poisoned and assassinated Since it's used for poison testing, isn’t it supposed to be immune to poisons"

"It fears a type of poison called Purple Grass. As soon as it comes into contact with it, it explodes," Rong Jing said.

Yun Qianyue squinted her eyes and searched for information about Purple Grass in her mind. It was like the medical book she saw in his study opening to the page on purple grass, but everything there was blank. She looked at him, "What is this Purple Grass"

"Purple Grass…" Rong Jing’s brows were slightly cold as he spoke softly under Yun Qianyue’s puzzled gaze, “When my father died, it was from the poison of Purple Grass—there was nothing that could have saved him."

–––Interlude–––usand miles away, located near the Ten Miles of Snowy Mountains' precipitous cliffs.In reality, the precipitous cliffs weren't truly so steep but were rather arranged by the ten great families with an...