Poisonous Goddess: I'm just lazing around in the mortal realm.

Shen Mu reacted quickly and caught Thirteen's falling body.

Having been struck by Sun Youzhi's palm, Thirteen's face was now completely bloodless, ashen and pale as frost.

Her eyes were closed, and blood was still seeping from the corner of her mouth.

Shen Mu frowned slightly and gently brushed aside the stray hairs on her forehead, revealing a face that he knew all too well.

He couldn't help but catch his breath. Even though he had experienced life and death many times, he couldn't control his emotions at this moment. He subconsciously clenched his fists, wishing he could tear Sun Youzhi to shreds.

He stared at the frail girl in his arms, as if the softest part of his heart had been touched.

The torrential rain continued, which immediately reminded Shen Mu of those years ago.

The same torrential rain, the same person. Shen Mu held Thirteen tightly in his arms with lingering fear, afraid that she would die in his arms like she did a hundred years ago.

No one knew that a blood-red hue was gradually creeping into the depths of his eyes, as if it were about to devour his soul in an instant.

At this moment, as that crimson hue spread across his eyes, his reason was increasingly overtaken by madness. Shen Mu now wanted to bury the entire Nanyang Imperial Palace with Thirteen.

At the critical moment, Xie Qiao, who had arrived late, suddenly appeared at the entrance of Mingyue Palace. He saw his master kneeling on the ground in the heavy rain from afar and hurriedly stepped forward, whispering...

"grown ups!"

Shen Mu's body trembled slightly, as if Xie Qiao's voice had pulled him back to his senses.

As Xie Qiao ran closer, the bloodshot in his eyes gradually faded. When Shen Mu turned his head to look at Xie Qiao, his deep eyes seemed to regain their clarity.

"Where is Haojing?"

Shen Mu frowned slightly. He didn't have time to wait for Xie Qiao's reply and picked up Thirteen's weak body.

Following Shen Mu's movements, Xie Qiao finally saw the girl Shen Mu was holding in his arms.

The girl, lying on her back in Shen Mu's arms like a rag doll, made Xie Qiao frown. He quickly stepped forward, opened the umbrella he was carrying, and shielded the girl from most of the rain.

As Shen Mu carried the girl towards Xie Qiao, he carefully examined her appearance. For some reason, staring at her face made him feel like he had seen her somewhere before.

At this moment, Shen Mu also noticed Xie Qiao's distraction and said somewhat displeasedly.

"I'm asking you, where is Haojing? She's injured and needs immediate medical attention."

Shen Mu's urging voice brought Xie Qiao back to his senses. He subconsciously looked up at Shen Mu and said...

"He's...on the way. I bumped into him just before I entered the palace. He should be looking for you in the secret room now."

Xie Qiao had bumped into Zhou Jinghuai at the city gate earlier, because he had discovered Chongming's whereabouts, and the two agreed to split up to search for Shen Mu.

Unexpectedly, he found nothing at the Shen residence. Now, anxious to convey the matter to his master, he went to the palace gate in person, but did not find the Zhou family's carriage.

Clearly, Zhou Jinghuai did not enter the palace.

Fortunately, he met Haojing before he entered the palace. Haojing said he had important matters to discuss with Shen Mu, so he went to the secret room they had set up next to the Jinyiwei dungeon to look for him.

Fortunately, Xie Qiao finally found Shen Mu in the palace.

Pulled back to reality, Xie Qiao suddenly remembered who the girl in Shen Mu's arms was and exclaimed in surprise.

"My lord, this is the same person who stopped me and Young Master Zhou from burning down the Bright Moon Palace last time! What is she doing here?"

Xie Qiao had never met Shi Wanyan before; he only remembered that the girl was an excellent archer and that Zhou Jinghuai had almost suffered a loss at her hands last time.

"She was slapped by Sun Youzhi. We'll ask her questions later. Let's go back to the dark room first."

Shen Mu's cold voice carried a hint of displeasure as he carried Thirteen out of the palace. Startled by Shen Mu's tone, Xie Qiao quickly followed, holding up his oil-paper umbrella.

Although Shen Mu was their master, he treated them like brothers.

It's rare to see Shen Mu so annoyed right now.

Thinking of this, Xie Qiao couldn't help but recall what Hao Jing had said to him back then. Even he, who usually disliked gossip the most, became somewhat curious about the relationship between the girl in front of him and his master.

Back when Shen Mu was a novice, he fought Chongming many times and was seriously injured, but he was never as nervous as he is today.

Even he couldn't quite understand the connection between this girl and Shen Mu.

The heavy rain stopped quickly, and Nanyang seemed a bit more muggy after the rain.

When Zhou Jinghuai rushed to the palace gate, he happened to see that purple-white light.

He was startled; this light, shining in the mortal realm, was invisible to ordinary people. Only they, as divine rulers of the divine realm, could see it.

He looked at the light and it seemed to be exploding from the direction of Mingyue Palace. His heart sank and he immediately ran towards the palace.

Just as he reached the palace gate and was about to hand the token in his arms to the guard, Qingfeng, who had separated from him earlier, suddenly stepped forward and snatched the token from his hand.

Zhou Jinghuai turned his head with displeasure and saw Qingfeng, who was supposed to be back at the mansion keeping an eye on Aunt Qin.

"What are you doing here? Didn't I tell you to keep an eye on Aunt Qin?" He just thought that if Aunt Qin found out about his 'wandering behavior' in the mortal world, she would definitely take him back to Xichen.

"It's about Aunt Qin. I saw her head towards the courtyard in the south of the city!" Qingfeng said, slightly out of breath, as she pulled Zhou Jinghuai aside.

He looked in the direction Aunt Qin had gone, which was clearly Thirteen's home in the capital.

Fearing that Aunt Qin would hold her accountable, Qingfeng hurriedly returned to inform Zhou Jinghuai.

Zhou Jinghuai frowned and quickly asked

"How did Aunt Qin know where Thirteen lived?"

Even though Aunt Qin had been in the mortal realm for a long time, he had rarely visited Thirteen's house recently, which clearly meant that Aunt Qin had not learned the news from him.

Thinking of this, Zhou Jinghuai stared at Qingfeng with a worried expression. Although Qingfeng did not answer him, seeing his guilty look, Zhou Jinghuai immediately understood.

"I knew it was you! Is your mouth a sieve?"

While blaming Qingfeng, Zhou Jinghuai quickly ran towards the south of the city.

Right now, he went to the palace only to inform Shen Mu that Chongming had returned to the capital.

Even if he doesn't have to make the trip himself, Xie Qiao and the others will still be able to find Shen Mu in the end.

For Zhou Jinghuai right now, stopping Aunt Qin from going to find Thirteen was more important than delivering a message to Shen Mu. Thinking this, he quickly quickened his pace.

"Master, I... I dare not offend anyone!" Qingfeng followed closely behind Zhou Jinghuai, his handsome face scrunched up in a frown.

It wasn't that he wanted to leak the secret; it was just that Aunt Qin's imposing aura had already terrified him so much that he dared not breathe.

Not to mention, not answering Aunt Qin's question is tantamount to telling him to die.

He was torn between his master and his master's aunt, and he dared not offend either of them.

Seeing that Zhou Jinghuai was ignoring her, Qingfeng quickly and timidly added...

"I came to find you right after I finished talking to Aunt Qin, I swear!"