Everyone shot him a disdainful look, and the Fifth Prince even showed a hint of gratified relief. Ever since he met Mu Hanyan, he’d realized his brain didn’t seem to be as sharp as he’d always thought, but seeing Jiang Yuzhe now, his confidence came back quite a bit. If Jiang Yuzhe knew what the Fifth Prince was thinking, he’d probably puke blood in fury and despise him to death—what the hell is there to be proud of in that?

"Looks like the battles to come won’t be that easy." Zirong couldn’t be bothered to explain to Jiang Yuzhe and said in a low voice.

Huayue and the others’ expressions also became abnormally grave. "Not that easy" didn’t even begin to cover it. From what Yun Qianmo had said, the next battles would definitely be incomparably dangerous. If Mu Hanyan insisted on holding Beining Pass to the death, her life would very likely be in danger.

"No point overthinking it. We have to hold Beining Pass, hold Lu’an City." Whatever they could think of, Mu Hanyan could naturally think of as well, but she still spoke with unshakable resolve.

"Mm." Huayue and the others all nodded heavily, but their gazes, by prior agreement, drifted toward Ye Lanfeng.

Beining Pass was important, of course, but in their eyes, Mu Hanyan’s safety was even more important.

"This time, I’ll stay with you and hold Beining Pass." Ye Lanfeng noticed their gazes and spoke without the slightest hesitation.

Huayue and the others let out long breaths of relief, relaxed smiles appearing on their faces.

The Fifth Prince and Qu Fengting were even more overjoyed. After that palace banquet, they naturally no longer treated Ye Lanfeng as Mu Hanyan’s servant; they were quietly in awe of his status and strength. Even though they understood there was deeper meaning hidden behind Yun Qianmo’s earlier words, having Ye Lanfeng helping to defend Beining Pass still made their confidence surge.

There had been quite a commotion earlier at the General Mansion, and now several hundred soldiers and commoners with decent cultivation had rushed over. Afraid of causing panic, the Fifth Prince didn’t tell them the truth; he only said that he and Mu Hanyan and the others had gone overboard while sparring, and fobbed everyone off with that.

After that, Mu Hanyan and the rest each went back to their rooms to rest, while the Fifth Prince and Qu Fengting hurried to wake those soldiers who had been knocked unconscious earlier. Fortunately, Yun Qianmo had been extremely precise in his control, and Ye Lanfeng had held back as well, so none of them had suffered any real injuries.

"I get it, I get it. What he meant was that the Exotic Beasts coming next will be even stronger, so strong that even Han Yan won’t be able to fend them off, right? I got it right, didn’t I?" Just as everyone was dispersing, Jiang Yuzhe suddenly slapped his forehead, as if waking from a dream.

Mu Hanyan and the others staggered at the same time and nearly fell flat on the ground.

"Did you not hear a single word of what we just said?" Mu Hanyan asked.

Jiang Yuzhe shook his head, face full of confusion.

"Go to bed early. Get more rest. It’s good for your brain. Good for your ears too." Zirong patted Jiang Yuzhe on the shoulder and said earnestly, then thought for a moment and added another line.

Jiang Yuzhe was still completely dumbfounded. Why was everyone looking at him with that "caring for the mentally challenged" kind of gaze?

Night shrouded the land. Aside from the soldiers guarding the walls, everyone else had fallen into slumber. Beining Pass was utterly calm, so peaceful it was almost unreal. No one knew what kind of storm was lurking behind this peace.

Far, far away, atop the mountain peaks, mists coiled and drifted. Two figures, one kneeling and one standing, seemed to be floating amid the clouds.

The kneeling man wore a silver mask, his body spattered with blood. It was Yun Qianmo, who had just left Beining Pass.

The standing man wore a golden mask, his entire being exuding arrogant dominance, as if the whole world lay trampled beneath his feet.

"Why did you go to Beining Pass?" the man in the golden mask asked in a low voice, his tone deep and full of authority.

"This subordinate knows his mistake. Please punish me, my lord." Yun Qianmo’s voice still held not a trace of emotion, like a stone statue.

"Why did you go to Beining Pass?" The man in the golden mask raised his voice, clearly angered, and thus even more imposing.

"This subordinate knows his mistake. Please punish me, my lord." Yun Qianmo remained as cold as ever, giving him the same answer. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

The two of them, one kneeling and one standing, simply stared at each other like that, with only the endless cold wind sweeping past them.

"Enough. Get up," the man in the golden mask sighed after a long time and said.

Yun Qianmo said nothing. He stood up silently and waited respectfully behind the man.

"I actually know why you did what you did. But you should also know why I’m doing what I’m doing." The man in the golden mask spoke mildly.

"This subordinate understands," Yun Qianmo said.

"We’ll let it go this time. I hope you won’t act on your own again. In all things, put the grand situation of the world first. You must not harbor even the slightest trace of romantic attachment." Having said this, the man in the golden mask didn’t wait for Yun Qianmo’s reply before drifting away.

Yun Qianmo stayed silent for a long time, then also shot into the sky and left.

...

At daybreak, sunlight spilled across the Earth, and Beining Pass once again regained the solemn air it had before the great battles.

The Fifth Prince and Qu Fengting led several hundred soldiers, standing atop the wall like a row of javelins, while below, over a thousand soldiers stood in strict formation, ready for battle.

Mu Hanyan also led several hundred noble family’s sons guarding one side of the wall. Though the battles over the past few days had been intense, thanks to the protection of those Swords, not a single one of the noble family’s sons had fallen. Even those who were injured were not seriously hurt; after a short rest of a day or two, they were back in the fight as lively as ever.

With their powerful Combat Power supporting the line, the Fifth Prince and the other officers naturally had a much easier time. Even though the number of wounded on their side far exceeded that of Mu Hanyan’s group of noble family’s sons, not a single man had died.

Thinking back to the brutal situation before they arrived, even they felt this was nothing short of a miracle.

Below the pass, commoners bustled to and fro, sending bundles of sword-arrows up to the parapets and hauling huge boulders to the Catapults in the rear.

After days of battle, even the soldiers defending the city hadn’t lost a single man, so the commoners were of course unscathed. On their faces, none of the past bleakness or despair could be seen; every single one of them was full of fighting spirit.

But strangely, today the Exotic Beasts did not attack as they usually did. The canyon leading into the depths of the Longyan Mountain was completely quiet.

Time slowly ticked by, and before they knew it, dusk had arrived, yet they still hadn’t seen a single Exotic Beast.

Everything felt eerily strange.

"Could it be that those Exotic Beasts finally gave up?" Almost everyone relaxed a bit. They’d been fighting bitterly almost every day lately, not a single easy day among them. Whether or not the Exotic Beasts had truly given up, having one day of respite was a good thing.

But Mu Hanyan, Huayue, and the others showed not the slightest relief; instead their expressions grew even more solemn.

Yun Qianmo’s voice seemed to still echo in their ears. They all knew those Exotic Beasts couldn’t possibly just give up. This was only a brief calm before the storm.

"Boom!" All of a sudden, a shocking thunderclap boomed from within the canyon.

Everyone looked up at the sky in confusion. Colorful clouds floated along the horizon, and overhead the sky was a clear, washed blue without a single dark cloud—so where had the thunder come from?