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

帐中

Shen Mu casually tossed his shawl aside and sank into the armchair.

Close your eyes and rest your mind.

Having kept watch for three nights, he was so exhausted that he didn't want to speak.

At this moment, Haojing slowly lifted the tent flap and walked in, lowering his voice.

"My lord, we have news."

"Say"

Shen Mu raised his hand to support his head, strands of hair falling from the side of his face, outlining his sharply defined profile.

“Alashan intended to collude with the Southern Barbarians, and a second figure appeared behind him, the Southern Barbarian priest Aqina.”

"Alashan? The Western Regions are involved too?"

Shen Mu slowly opened his eyelids, his cold gaze falling on Hao Jing.

Haojing nodded quickly in reply.

"Yes, sir. Our men have infiltrated the Southern Barbarian army camps. Among them, the priest Aqina is the most suspicious due to his elusive behavior."

"According to you, it's just suspicious? Not confirmed?"

Shen Mu's tone was laced with a hint of ruthlessness; he disliked doing things that were uncertain the most.

"..." Hao Jing opened his mouth, but even though the news came so suddenly, he forgot to confirm it first.

He quickly lowered his head.

"I'll go and check again."

After saying that, he turned around and prepared to leave.

"You come back first."

"grown ups?"

Haojing withdrew the step he was about to take and turned around to look at Shen Mu in front of the table with some confusion.

Shen Mu's large hand rested on the table, tapping it idly.

After a moment of contemplation, he spoke.

Has Zhou Jinghuai returned?

"Young Master Zhou? He shouldn't be back yet. Didn't you send him back to the capital? Why is he back so soon?" Hao Jing asked, somewhat surprised.

Mingming's own parents were afraid that Zhou Jinghuai would meet with Thirteen, so they deliberately sent Zhou Jinghuai away.

In just a few days, I have asked about Zhou Jinghuai more than ten times.

"Tell him to come see me as soon as he gets back. I have something to say to him."

"My lord, what you mean is..."

"We have to find a way to resolve Thirteen's identity eventually. Fortunately, no one in the military knows him right now. To avoid arousing suspicion from others, it's best to try to prevent the two of them from meeting."

Shen Mu's considerations are reasonable.

After all, everyone in Nanyang knows that the Thirteenth Princess and the Fourth Princess are mortal enemies.

If Thirteen's identity were exposed now, it's inevitable that someone planted by the Fourth Princess in the army would tip them off and disrupt their plans.

"Yes, sir, you are very thoughtful." Hao Jing's expression was somewhat serious. He remembered that Pei Sui Sui's injuries should have almost healed, but with Shen Mu present, he was too embarrassed to ask.

His preoccupied expression caught Shen Mu's eye, and Shen Mu raised an eyebrow slightly, a hint of mockery in his eyes.

"Are you asking about how the second young lady of the Pei family is doing?"

"My lord? I..."

Haojing swallowed his words again; their most important task right now was to find the Demon Lord's other two clones.

Such matters of personal affection are really not suitable to be brought up now.

Shen Muxin understood, and replied to him quietly.

"Thirteen just sent word that she has woken up. She should still be resting in Thirteen's tent right now. You've worked hard these past few days, so you should go and rest early."

Hao Jing's eyes lit up upon hearing this; he naturally understood the meaning behind Shen Mu's words.

He quickly stepped forward, bowed, and then left the military tent.

This head

Under the moonlight, the stunning beauty revealed by the girl in the brief moment she was draped in a dark cloak startled the man in front of her.

Even though he had been thinking about this meeting for a long time, when it finally happened in front of Zhou Jinghuai, he was left standing there somewhat at a loss.

He originally thought it was Thirteen, whom he knew well, but to his surprise, the other person turned around, and that face that had been etched in his mind for hundreds of years appeared before his eyes unexpectedly.

Zhou Jinghuai gasped. No matter how much he had prepared, he never expected to meet her here again!

When Thirteen saw Zhou Jinghuai standing behind her, she couldn't help but widen her almond-shaped eyes and look at him with a look of horror.

Even though I hid for so many days, he still found me in the end!

A flicker of surprise crossed her eyes, but she quickly regained her composure. After all, she wasn't a man anymore!

"you……"

"you……"

They both spoke at the same time, yet simultaneously fell silent.

After staring for a long time, Thirteen felt his legs go numb from squatting. He tried to stand up, but unexpectedly stumbled back a few steps because he stood up too quickly.

"Be careful--"

Zhou Jinghuai grabbed her arm and steadied her.

Thirteen lowered his head in a panic, looking at the large hand that was tightly gripping his, and cried out in pain.

"let me go--"

The soft, delicate voice that belonged only to a young girl suddenly startled Zhou Jinghuai awake.

"Yes...I'm sorry."

He naturally realized that he had been presumptuous with the beauty and quickly let go of her hand.

Thirteen rotated her arm. Fortunately, she hadn't exerted too much force just now. Right now, her body was just like an ordinary person's; even a little bit of effort could cause her injury for a long time.

Zhou Jinghuai looked thoughtfully at Thirteen's actions, his eyes suppressing surging emotions.

"Young lady, who are you?"

He waited anxiously for the other party's reply.

Thirteen pulled his shawl tighter, pretending to be very afraid of him.

"I am... I am a newly arrived military doctor from a nearby military camp, and I am here to collect some herbs."

She thought for a long time, but her mind was completely blank, and she couldn't think of a better excuse to fob him off.

"Oh...Is that so? Do you need any help?" Zhou Jinghuai looked at the empty basket in her hand.

She must have just gone up the mountain to gather herbs.

"No need, I can do it myself. Young master, aren't you afraid of danger coming out so late? Why don't you go home earlier?"

Thirteen dragged her basket and headed deeper into the woods, but Zhou Jinghuai, unwittingly, started pestering her again.

"I think it's dangerous for a young lady to be alone so late. How about we travel together?"

Before Thirteen could answer, he snatched the basket from Thirteen's hand and walked forward.

"Aren't you afraid our general will arrest you later?"

Thirteen couldn't help but speak up. She had now returned to her true form. Although her figure was somewhat similar to her male form, both her voice and appearance were completely different from before.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Jinghuai paused, then suddenly turned around and smiled at her.

"Then why don't you let your general arrest me and see whose rank is higher?"

He didn't care about the other party's threats.

From the moment Zhou Jinghuai saw her, he was certain that the woman before him was the old friend he had been searching for for over a hundred years!

He just didn't understand

Why doesn't she remember him?

Thinking of this, he couldn't hide a hint of resentment on his face.

"You scoundrel, it's getting late, so please take your time picking them yourself, young master." Thirteen tightened his cloak, then ignored Zhou Jinghuai and turned to walk down the mountain.

"Hey, wait for me, girl."

Zhou Jinghuai, shameless as ever, strode after him.

He was afraid that he would lose the girl in front of him again.