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

Pei Suisui's voice rang out from the side at an inopportune moment.

Thirteen couldn't help but chuckle, while Zhou Jinghuai sat at the table with a somewhat unpleasant expression. He naturally knew he couldn't beat Shen Mu.

However, the way Pei Suisui said those words made him feel a little awkward.

"Why do I always feel like there's a barb in your words, young lady? You should know that the medicine that cured your illness was all bought with my money."

After thinking for a long time, Zhou Jinghuai could only come up with this reason.

Pei Suisui glanced at Thirteen, then slowly said

"I'll return that money to you when we return to the capital. My Pei family can certainly afford it. It's just that I'm afraid you, Young Master Zhou, have other matters to resolve, and we might become a burden to you."

She could naturally see that Zhou Jinghuai's extra care for them over the past two weeks was simply because they could benefit from Thirteen's influence.

Pei Suisui could see that Young Master Zhou was so humble and had a special place in Thirteen's heart.

However, she firmly stood on Shen Mu's side.

Such a small favor was something that Pei would naturally disdain to accept.

"Do you think I care about your paltry sums? Let's not talk about that. Thirteen, do you know how dangerous Philadelphia is right now?"

Zhou Jinghuai's expression turned serious. He knew that if they continued talking about the previous topic, he would be driven crazy by this little girl, Pei Suisui.

He could clearly sense that Pei Suisui and he didn't get along.

“I was going to tell you about this too. The Crown Prince and his party arrived in Philadelphia a few days earlier than us, but I learned from Shechow that the situation in the city is not optimistic.”

Thirteen couldn't help but frown. Xie Qiao had gone ahead of them yesterday to enter Philadelphia and find out the situation.

Unexpectedly, the new crown prince's three bold moves upon taking office resulted in his influence reaching the veteran general, General Weiyuan.

On one side is Duan Yuqing, a mere child who holds the position of Crown Prince; on the other side is an old general who has served two emperors of Nanyang.

This head-on confrontation was truly a headache for his generals.

"What Xie Qiao said was only the tip of the iceberg. Now you know that what we're looking for... is also in Philadelphia."

Zhou Jinghuai couldn't help but glance at Pei Suisui beside him.

His pointed words immediately made Thirteen understand.

"You mean..."

"Ah."

"..."

Pei Suisui rolled her eyes, somewhat speechless, then stood up and nimbly left the room. She could naturally tell that the two of them were also hiding something from her.

However, she has no interest in meddling in other people's business right now.

After Pei Suisui left, Thirteen couldn't help but speak up.

"You mean the remaining two? They've both shown up? But didn't Shen Mu say he found traces of them in the Southern Barbarian army camp?"

Zhou Jinghuai nodded and replied.

"It's strange, Shen Mu told me before that those two were from the Southern Barbarians, but now they've appeared in Philadelphia. You should be more careful about this. I'm afraid they have some kind of plan to take revenge."

Although Shen Mu has many informants, his Zhou family is also quite powerful, so he can get this kind of information immediately.

"Do you think this might be related to Nanyang's attack on the Southern Barbarians? Could they be trying to take advantage of the chaos in Feicheng?"

Thirteen looked up and drank the tea in front of her in one gulp. The dry climate at the border had made her feel a little unwell.

After all, she currently has no divine power protecting her, so her body is no different from that of an ordinary person.

"I'm afraid those two people sneaked into Philadelphia to find Sun Youzhi. Don't forget that Sun Youzhi has already been secretly sent to the border by the Duke of Anguo."

Zhou Jinghuai frowned slightly. The mention of Sun Youzhi reminded him that Thirteen's mortal body was entirely thanks to Sun Youzhi!

He only regretted that he wasn't by Thirteen's side at the time. If he had been there, he would never have let Thirteen suffer such harm.

Thinking of this, he gripped the teacup even tighter.

Seeing Zhou Jinghuai's thoughts wandering, Thirteen couldn't help but gently interrupt him.

"I've actually had an idea for a while, but I thought it was too daring and I've been hesitant about whether I should tell you."

Zhou Jinghuai couldn't help but purse his lips, his tone somewhat helpless.

“I’ve noticed that these past few days, when you said those hurtful things to me, you never considered whether they would hurt me. Why are you suddenly becoming so hesitant now?”

You should know that the reason Pei Sui Sui dares to speak to him like this is mostly because Thirteen gives her the confidence.

He's been turned away more times in the past two weeks than he's been in the Western Divine Realm for hundreds of years.

"You brought that on yourself; it has nothing to do with me."

Thirteen glared at him. In the past two weeks, she had also seen Zhou Jinghuai, whose skin was as thick as a city wall, fawning over her every day.

If she hadn't known that Zhou Jinghuai had a past love in his heart, she might have mistakenly thought that Zhou Jinghuai liked her.

"Yes, Mr. Thirteen is right, I deserved it."

Zhou Jinghuai retorted readily, but the pain surging in his eyes vanished in an instant, as if afraid of being seen.

"Isn't that getting off topic? All the way here I've been thinking about why Sun Youzhi was sent to the Southern Barbarians by the Duke of Anguo's men. If the Duke of Anguo is working for the Emperor of Nanyang, and Nanyang is about to go to war with the Southern Barbarians, such a dangerous place doesn't seem like the Emperor's way."

At this point, Thirteen rubbed her forehead, perhaps because she hadn't had a proper rest in recent days while taking care of Pei Sui Sui.

She propped her head up with one hand, took a moment to catch her breath, and then spoke.

"You mean the Duke of Anguo acted on his own initiative? He shouldn't have that much ability. To be able to control the Emperor of Nanyang's elixirs... I have to admit that such ability is astounding."

The fact that the Emperor of Nanyang had been taking elixirs for many years was no secret in the entire city of Nanyang.

Rumors circulated that his elixirs could grant him immortality. However, it's clear to anyone with discerning eyes that Sun Youzhi was simply fabricating these claims!

Ever since taking the elixir, the Emperor of Nanyang has become increasingly volatile and irritable. Only after taking the elixir concocted by Sun Youzhi can he regain his composure for a period of time.

Such a terrifying elixir is extremely dangerous for the entire Nanyang region.

Especially since Sun Youzhi actually had some connection with the Duke of Anguo.

Zhou Jinghuai snorted coldly, his voice full of disdain.

"Sun Youzhi is at most a charlatan. If he weren't the incarnation of the Demon Lord, I'm afraid such a person would never have gotten close to the emperor."

“But now he’s missing, and two more have appeared in Philadelphia… I can’t help but suspect that their plans are connected to Nanyang.”

Thirteen was somewhat strapped for cash.

After all, given her current abilities, she could easily eliminate the incarnation of the Demon Lord Chongming.

It’s simply a fantasy!

"That's why I told you, the information Xie Qiao got was only superficial."