Chapter 171: Otherwise I guarantee you won't be able to utter another word!

"You! Mu Yuanzhi, who are you calling an idiot?!" Xiao Chuchu was so angry her teeth itched.

Mu Yuanzhi: "Helping a fugitive kill someone is either stupid or evil—pick one."

"A fugitive?" Pei Yunxi was infuriated by those two words.

Dare call her a fugitive?!

"Whoever declares me guilty is a fugitive? Mu Yuanzhi, as long as Father Emperor hasn't issued an order, I am innocent for a day." Pei Yunxi lifted her head proudly.

The silent Pei Shangling finally spoke: "I'm in charge of escorting her back to the capital this time; there will be absolutely no mishap, you can rest assured, Ahzhi."

Mu Yuanzhi: "I hope you can say it and do it."

Pei Shangling patted his chest and vowed: "I will definitely not let her escape again!"

Gu Rongjin actually didn't really want to just let her go like that; he wished he could kill her on the spot!

But Pei Yunxi is, after all, a princess; unless absolutely necessary, we shouldn't act rashly.

Anyway, we have plenty of time ahead.

"Ahzhi, I won't be here, so take good care of yourself." Pei Shangling wasn't entirely reassured, but he had no choice—he ought to be guarding Pei Yunxi more closely.

Mu Yuanzhi smiled at Pei Shangling, who stared blankly; a flood of thoughts ran through him, but before he could finish savoring it, he heard his sister say: "As long as you keep that mad dog under control, I'll be safe."

"Mu Yuanzhi, who are you calling a mad dog?!" The one scolded as a mad dog, Pei Yunxi, truly resembled a mad dog, wanting nothing more than to lunge and bite Mu Yuanzhi.

"Shut up! Otherwise I guarantee you won't be able to utter another word!" Pei Shangling snapped angrily.

Pei Yunxi's eyes instantly filled with grievance, a flash of hatred passing through.

No matter her expression, the current Pei Shangling felt nothing.

When he rushed in and saw Gu Rongjin cradling the dying Mu Yuanzhi from the pool, his feelings toward Pei Yunxi were nothing but hatred—no trace of pity remained.

Before, it was all his fault; if he weren't blind, he would never have let Pei Yunxi repeatedly harm his little sister Ahzhi!

From now on, he won't give Pei Yunxi any chance to succeed!

"Come on!" He roughly grabbed the trussed-up Pei Yunxi, then frowned at Xiao Chuchu.

One person escorting two is a bit difficult.

Better to notify the Crown Prince Brother and Jue Brother first, Pei Shangling thought.

With one hand gripping each, once they left this place he and Mu Yuanzhi's group went their separate ways.

Gu Rongjin quickly found an inn where they could stay, first letting Mu Yuanzhi rest a few days before departing for the Black Sea.

"Going to the Black Sea isn't urgent, senior sister—you need to recuperate properly." Qilin said to Mu Yuanzhi, who was sitting on the bed drinking the medicine she had prepared.

After finishing the medicine, Mu Yuanzhi handed the bowl to Gu Rongjin beside her and nodded: "I really do need to rest a few days."

"I didn't expect my wife to be so obedient—I thought you'd insist on pushing yourself again." Gu Rongjin sat down and teased.

Mu Yuanzhi gave him a white-eyed look: "How can you say I'm like a brainless person? Even now you won't rest, and my body isn't made of iron."

"Sorry, Little Ahzhi. It's all my fault—if I hadn't arrived late, you wouldn't have suffered." Gu Rongjin clenched Mu Yuanzhi's hand.

"Don't blame yourself—I'm fine." Mu Yuanzhi also returned his grip.

The two gazed at each other, full of deep affection.

Qilin interjected: "It's all my fault—I failed to keep an eye on senior sister."

"Monk Qilin, you're really out of touch—at this moment you should just disappear." The monk said, then without further ado hauled Qilin out the door and, as an added courtesy, closed it behind him.

Mu Yuanzhi couldn't help laughing; Gu Rongjin really wanted to give the monk a thumbs-up—he was so good at reading the room.

"Stupid monk, aren't you annoying?!" Qilin angrily shook off the monk's hand.

"Isn't he just concerned about senior sister? What does 'out of touch' even mean? Being clingy still needs occasion-appropriate behavior."

"Calling him a stupid monk again? You're also being overly sharp-eyed." The monk chuckled: "You should know—if it weren't for me the pauper monk, your senior sister would be gone."

"Pah!" Qilin rolled his eyes: "You monk, don't forget you're doing this to atone—otherwise you'd be charged with the grave crime of plotting to murder the princess!"

The monk laughed: "Quite the big hat you're trying to pin on me!"

He obviously wasn't the slightest bit afraid.

"I'm asking, what's your deal, monk? And now that you're following us, what schemes are you hatching?" Qilin had to stay on guard.

Who knows whether this demon monk will keep flip-flopping?

One day they might stab us in the back—we can't afford not to guard against it!

The monk gave a low chuckle: "Naturally, because it's amusing—I find following you quite entertaining."

"Interesting in what way?"

"How does it feel like we're just being played for fun?"

"All kinds of aspects." The monk obviously had no intention of answering: "The pauper monk is hungry; I need to go beg for alms."

"What alms are you seeking? I see you've got pockets full of silver—you monk, are you not going to swindle and deceive?"

Qilin chased after him: "Stupid monk! Yuan Yan!"

Inside the room, Mu Yuanzhi heard Qilin shouting outside and asked Gu Rongjin: "Just what is the background of that Master Yuan Yan?"

"He was originally someone Xiao Chuchu fetched, claiming to be an old friend of Xiao Yichen, who lured Qilin away to detain him; later, for unknown reasons, he turned around and helped us—I felt we should be wary of him." Gu Rongjin's expression turned unusually serious: "He knows the martial arts of the Hidden Moon Sect, and that sect has vanished from the martial world for many years."

Mu Yuanzhi frowned suspiciously: "Ah, that explains it—I was wondering why we suddenly gained a high-ranking monk companion… What's the origin of the Hidden Moon Sect?"

"It was once a heretical cult that stormed the martial world, then disappeared without a trace; some say it was wiped out by an orthodox sect, but no school has come forward to claim it—and since I wasn't even born then, I naturally wouldn't know that much."

Mu Yuanzhi nodded: "In short, we should be cautious."

"Perhaps he's plotting something; according to Qilin's account, he might have taken a liking to Qilin's skill in poison arts, for all we know." Gu Rongjin analyzed: "But the fact that he saved you is true, so we don't need to be overly on guard."

"Let's wait and see for now." Mu Yuanzhi said, "I'm tired, I'm going to sleep."

"I'll keep you company."

"Be serious."

"Be serious, okay? I mean 'accompany' in the literal sense."

Rumble rumble rumble!

Madam, how did you get angry out of embarrassment?

Gu Rongjin!

Early the next morning, Qilin came over to take Mu Yuanzhi's pulse.

"Senior sister, are you awake?" Qilin knocked on the door.

The one who opened the door was Gu Rongjin, and Qilin's gaze instantly turned wary: "How come you're in my senior sister's room?"

"Please, I am your senior sister's legitimate husband, okay?" Gu Rongjin was utterly exasperated, "You look so guarded against a petty person, it's really funny."

Qilin pursed his lips, "Sorry, brother-in-law, this is just an instinctive reaction."

"Your instinctive reaction is really amusing." Gu Rongjin was speechless, "I'm going to buy breakfast for your senior sister."