Nangong Mo carried Gu Qianying into the house. After gently placing her on the bed, he sat by her side, gathering an invisible ice force in his palm.
The heart of the Zilings, a spiritual medicine of the world, needed to be integrated with ice when it was stripped from the body. It could then be melted when used as medicine.
This was the best time to take the heart, as no one was present.
"Nangong Mo, don't leave me, don't..."
In her drunken stupor, she suddenly clutched his sleeve.
Nangong Mo froze on the spot.
She was calling his name?
She was asking him not to leave her?
Why would she do this?
How did she feel about him before...?
"So hot..."
Because she had drunk wine, she raised her hand and pulled open her collar. A small pendant, modified from a jade pendant and worn around her neck, caught his eye.
Was this... his?
"Mmmph~"
In the end, he used a dagger to cut off a piece of flesh from his wrist, transforming it into a heart, and sealed it with ice.
The drop of blood that fell from his wrist spread at his feet. He put away the dagger that came with him.
Nangong Mo hid the "fake heart" in his palm.
He turned and left.
If those two old men couldn't find the Zilings' heart for him, they would never give up.
Since he couldn't bring himself to harm her, he would protect her from now on.
He looked at the woman on the bed, kicking around in her drunken state.
At this moment, Nangong Mo suddenly felt an urge to recover his memories. This urge occupied his mind, turning it into a goal.
"Woman! Wait, I will return!"
A gust of wind suddenly stirred.
The weak spiritual energy surrounding the bamboo house gathered in an instant. As everything began to grow, the green bamboo and flowers became more vibrant.
Inside the bamboo house, a fast, flickering golden light appeared for a moment before vanishing.
Meng Qinghua entered with the hangover soup.
The shadow of Xiao Linzi was no longer in the house.
Outside, Nangong Li, whether drunk or asleep, was motionless, sprawled on the steps.
Meng Qinghua wondered who had carried Gu Qianying into the house and placed her on the bed, even thoughtfully tucking her in.
Seeing that Gu Qianying was already asleep, he placed the hangover soup aside.
He decided not to wake her, thinking it would be good for her to sleep and rest here.
After closing the door, Meng Qinghua realized Nangong Mo was gone.
There was only one way out of the bamboo house, and his usual small kitchen had open windows.
Therefore, if someone had left, he would have seen them.
He hadn't seen Nangong Mo leave, which meant Nangong Mo was somewhere within his small bamboo house.
Sixth Prince Nangong Li searched the area around the back mountain and the bamboo house, but found no trace. Xiao Linzi had vanished from the Divine Doctor's Sanctuary.
This person was semi-transparent within the Divine Doctor's Sanctuary, so his absence for several days was not considered unusual.
However, this did surprise Gu Qianying when she woke up.
The person had just disappeared?
She had originally wanted to keep Xiao Linzi by her side, as his abilities were not bad.
But now that he was gone, even if she wanted to keep him, it would be futile.
Xiao Linzi hadn't left much of an impression on her, but after hearing that he had disappeared, Gu Qianying felt an emptiness in her heart.
She couldn't understand why she felt this way.
After sleeping in the bamboo house, Gu Qianying got up and returned to the palace.
On her way back, she encountered a man with a pale face and black eyebrows.
The man was handsome, but his dark eyebrows and dark mouth made her feel disgusted.
The man claimed to be the Evil King and wanted to befriend her, to take care of her personally, and to protect her.
After listening to the man's nonsense, Gu Qianying decisively grabbed her Crimson Blood Saber and fought him.
She didn't want anything too ugly, and she definitely didn't want anything neurotic.
A suddenly appearing, ugly male creature wanting to take care of her?
Was he crazy!
As Gu Qianying and the Evil King fought, the clear sky turned overcast, with thunder and rain.
The Crimson Blood Saber displayed its full power in her hands, yet it couldn't even wound the man.
She couldn't leave the palace for too long, so she didn't prolong the fight. While pressing the Crimson Blood Saber towards the Evil King's lower body, she threw out three silver needles.
Each needle was coated with a potent poison.
She aimed the last silver needle at the Evil King's lower body. The Evil King's temples throbbed. As he dodged the three silver needles, he gathered seven parts of evil energy in his palm.
But... Gu Qianying used a close-quarters technique. While dropping the Crimson Blood Saber to distract the Evil King, she directly used a move called "Monkey Steals the Peach," scattering the evil energy gathered in the Evil King's palm.
As she left, Gu Qianying provocatively said, "Ugly man, next time you dare to provoke me again, I'll make sure you can't have children. Do you understand?"
Watching her fiery back as she sped away.
The Evil King stood rooted to the spot, gritting his teeth and clutching a certain part of his lower abdomen.
He thought, "Damn it!"
Didn't the Zilings by Emperor Lian's side say she was a cold and arrogant little beauty?
Was this woman who used such underhanded tactics to injure him truly the Zilings?
Had he made a mistake?
Had Emperor Lian sent a woman who looked exactly the same to trick him?
But then he thought again, it was impossible.
Who was Emperor Lian?
A gentleman who was more upright than anyone. With Emperor Lian's character, he wouldn't do something as foolish as sending a fake.
Therefore, the woman just now was indeed the Zilings, the genuine article!
She just lacked the memories of her past life.
But it didn't matter. Who was he? The Evil King, the King of the Demon Realm!
It wouldn't be difficult to make the Zilings regain her past life's memories.
However, before that, he had to stay close and not let the Zilings escape.
The Evil King thought this.
He rubbed his injured spot, and as he released his hand, he spun around.
His handsome male appearance instantly transformed into that of a beautiful woman.
Upon returning to Jiuhua Palace, Gu Qianying found that nothing out of the ordinary had happened within the palace.
She used illness as an excuse and stayed hidden in the palace for a few more days.
A few days later, it was the Grand Empress Dowager's birthday.
Red lanterns were hung all over the palace. The opera troupe that the Grand Empress Dowager enjoyed listening to was waiting outside the palace.
The palace musicians and dancers were all ready.
The current Emperor attached great importance to this birthday banquet, even granting a general amnesty to the world in honor of the Grand Empress Dowager.
It was rumored throughout the palace and beyond that the Emperor and his grandmother had a very good relationship, with filial piety and maternal love, and how enviable their familial bond was.
But who truly knew the truth of the matter?
Inside Jiuhua Palace.
Gu Qianying had finished dressing and was preparing to head to the Empress Dowager's with Lu Zhu.
The banquet was held in the Empress Dowager's Shou Kang Palace.
Those attending the banquet were all princes, marquises, and generals, each accompanied by their wives.
All the princes and kings in the palace, and even those enfeoffed in distant lands, would return.
It could be seen that this birthday banquet was extremely grand.
At this moment.
In the winding corridor.
"Sister, after so many days, you look even more haggard. Today is the Empress Dowager's birthday banquet, and you haven't even dressed up. What? Are you planning to embarrass yourself in front of the Empress Dowager and the Emperor?"
Nangong Zhen'er, accompanied by her personal maid, saw Nangong Xuanning, dressed in plain clothes, from afar as she passed by.
How high-profile Nangong Xuanning used to be, and how she loved to wear bright and beautiful dresses.
Conversely, she was now so low-key, often wearing plain clothes as her usual attire.
Even for today's Empress Dowager's birthday banquet, she had no mood to dress up.
Since that incident, she had often suffered from insomnia.
Even though Gu Qianying often accompanied her and comforted her, some things, once they happened, had happened.
She couldn't be as carefree as before, nor could she ignore it.
It was also after that incident that she had matured considerably.
Just like now, no matter how Nangong Zhen'er mocked her, she treated it as a dog barking and ignored it.
Nangong Xuanning did not respond to Nangong Zhen'er. She turned to avoid her, but Nangong Zhen'er was not about to let her go!