Chapter 376: then translation of title

Anyway, they had originally planned to borrow iron sheets from the Third Prince.

Tell him?

Pei Si wasn't in a hurry either; it seemed he could know or not know, he slowly savored his tea, his expression relaxed.

By evening, well past their appointed time, Gu Rongjin and the Qilin still hadn't come out, and Mu Yuanzhi could hardly sit still.

The pot was filled with hot, steaming assorted tangyuan emitting fragrant smells, but nobody cared.

Mu Yuanzhi decided to tell Pei Si about the Back Mountain affair; after listening, he only asked one sentence: "How many iron sheets for the armor remain?"

The blacksmith said there wasn't even enough for one person, so he only made two pieces that resembled armor.

"Enough." Pei Si said.

Mu Yuanzhi said, "Enough? The flame pool is extremely hot; merely approaching risks burns—too dangerous."

"Naturally not this princess." Pei Si said, gazing at the grass cultivator standing like a door god at his side, "He will go."

Cao Xiuci gave no opinion, apparently acquiescing.

Mu Yuanzhi gazed at Cao Xiuci in confusion: "Does this Lord Cao possess some exceptional talent?"

"He is not afraid of heat." Pei Si said, "Even a volcano, he wouldn't fear."

Mu Yuanzhi wondered whether Pei Si was exaggerating, but she had indeed read in ancient texts that in antiquity, some practiced ice arts, yet could not endure great heat.

"Of course we still need proper protection; we have iron like yours here, we can patch it together, give it to the princess for your use, and the two of you can already go in together." Pei Si said.

Mu Yuanzhi thought, sure enough, the iron masks worn by the Third Prince's death warriors were the same material as the Back Mountain iron gate.

She nodded and fetched the blacksmith's unfinished third set of armor.

The blacksmith had originally wanted to attempt completing the third set, but as he anticipated, the third set's protective mask lacked sufficient material.

Pei Si summoned two death warriors, took off their iron masks, and had the blacksmith rush the work; in less than two hours, a full set of protective armor was completed.

Before donning the mask, Mu Yuanzhi asked Cao Cixiu assuredly: "Lord Cao, you really have no issue?"

She asked only after she saw Pei Si walk away.

Cao Cixiu smiled and said, "Princess, please rest assured."

Now that it had come to this, Mu Yuanzhi had no further qualms; she intended to go inside to find the Qilin and Rongjin.

The Qilin wasn't present; normally entry to the Back Mountain would be forbidden, but the Qilin had given an order that all must obey Mu Yuanzhi's command, so before the Back Mountain, Yue Yun again quarreled with the guards.

"Even if the master ordered everything to obey her, this is the Back Mountain! The patriarch's decree prohibits entry; without the valley lord's consent, how can we just enter?!"

Yue Yun could no longer bear these outsiders behaving in Juechen Valley as if it were their own home, acting wantonly!

The two guards stared at each other, unsure what to do.

The eldest senior sister's words were indeed reasonable.

But the master's command also said everything should obey the martial uncle; whether entering the Back Mountain is included remains unclear, leaving them puzzled…

Qiao Chu was absent, not knowing where he had gone, leaving no one able to persuade Yue Yun.

Cao Xiuci paid no attention to their argument, sitting on a stone bench with legs crossed, as if watching a show, yet his face lacked any interest.

Mu Yuanzhi truly didn't want to waste time here arguing with Yue Yun, and she said bluntly, "Don't you care at all about your master's safety?"

"Me!" Yue Yun was left speechless.

How could she not worry? She was worried sick!

A day has gone by, the master still hasn't come out; what lies in the Back Mountain, what happened to the master—she has been worrying about it all day.

But how could just anyone be allowed to enter the Back Mountain? Are the ancestral injunctions merely decorative?!

Mu Yuanzhi aside, that red-clad man is utterly an outsider—who knows what motives he has?

If something were to happen in Juechen Valley, how would she explain it to the master?!

"Look, it's already this late and they still haven't emerged; what about tomorrow? If they still don't come out tomorrow, what will you do? What if you miss the optimal moment then?"

Mu Yuanzhi employed the very words Pei Si had just used to convince her, in order to convince Yue Yun.

If Yue Yun still refused to listen, she would have no alternative but to knock her out!

Yue Yun clenched her lower lip, and after a long while she let out a resigned hum and walked off.

Out of sight, out of mind!

It's good not to have to knock someone out; otherwise she'd need to find someone to watch her, Mu Yuanzhi thought.

"Lord Cao, you may go in now." Mu Yuanzhi said to Cao Cixiu nearby.

Cao Cixiu nodded; his long legs carried him a few steps ahead of Mu Yuanzhi. Mu Yuanzhi wondered why, then suddenly looked down at his shadow on the ground, and seeing that he truly had a shadow, she quietly laughed at her own overthinking.

Could he actually be a ghost that crawled out of a tomb?

This man is plainly a death warrior, yet wears no iron mask; his garments are embroidered with blood‑red spider lilies that seem to drip, and a close sniff reveals a hint of cinnabar—how is cinnabar embroidered onto the cloth? She wondered.

Judging by the embroidery, it must be the work of a highly skilled embroiderer, but not one of the famous embroiderers of Jingcheng; the fabric is also exquisite, a material Mu Yuanzhi had never seen before.

The hairpin he uses to half‑tie his hair is also red, bearing an agate stone that Mu Yuanzhi had seen before in Pei Shangling's palace—extremely precious, carved into a tiger's head, very exquisite and meticulous.

His entire bearing exudes nobility; even if his clothes and ornaments were gifts from Pei Si, the aura he gives off is something ordinary warriors, even death warriors, would never have.

He rather resembles a fallen aristocrat.

But that doesn't seem right either; he shows no sign of being down‑on‑his‑luck, appearing like a guard of Pei Si, yet lacking any subordinate bearing.

"Princess, have you finished studying me?" Cao Cixiu said, as if he had eyes on his back, able to tell without turning that Mu Yuanzhi was staring at him.

Perhaps her gaze was too fervent, Mu Yuanzhi thought.

She sheepishly touched her nose, then tried to sound casual: "A person like Lord Cao inevitably invites curiosity."

"Oh, what kind of person am I?" Cao Cixiu gave a low laugh, "Just a minor death‑warrior captain, liable to die on duty at any moment—there's nothing for the princess to study."

Mu Yuanzhi didn't believe him: "Lord Cao doesn't look simple at all."

"For example?"

"For example, rather than saying you're a death warrior, you're more like a… death spirit." Mu Yuanzhi pondered long before barely managing to devise a somewhat fitting term to describe him.

Cao Cixiu suddenly stopped, pointing ahead: "Is the flame pool the Princess mentioned the one ahead?"

He changed the subject, and Mu Yuanzhi didn't continue either. She had never seen the flame pool, but how come she didn't feel hot along the way? Could it be that she was just paying attention to observing Cao Xiuci?

Or is it because Cao Xiuci is present that it's not hot?