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

"According to your logic, should we hand over the leads on the assassin or not?"

Zhou Jinghuai rested his chin on one hand and tilted his head to look at Shen Mu.

"Of course we have to pay."

Shen Mu tapped his well-defined index finger lightly on the stone table, then pondered for a moment before speaking.

"Not only must it be handed over to His Majesty tomorrow, but we must also inform the Crown Prince's Palace to hand it over as well."

In the early morning, a ray of sunlight shone in and gently fell on the ground.

Thirteen, who had been in a deep sleep all night, opened his eyes groggily and stared blankly at the unfamiliar bed curtains.

She turned her head to look at the unfamiliar furnishings in the room, then suddenly sat up. Where was she? She subconsciously checked her clothes and thankfully found that she was dressed properly.

At that moment, the door was pushed open, and Thirteen looked up to see Haojing walk into the room.

"You're awake."

Haojing placed the breakfast he was carrying on the table. This was the task Shen Mu had assigned him the moment he met Shen Mu in the palace that morning: to come to the Shen residence and deliver breakfast.

Thirteen hurriedly got out of bed, looked around but still couldn't figure out whose house she was in. She only vaguely remembered that after leaving the Drunken Immortal Pavilion last night, she was knocked unconscious by someone.

"What happened to me last night? How did I end up here?"

Haojing hesitated slightly upon hearing this, then said with a light laugh, "You are at Lord Shen's residence. Last night he asked me to come and check on you, saying that you fainted outside Zuixianlou."

Shen Mu was, after all, his master, and he dared not tell Thirteen directly that Shen Mu had knocked her unconscious outside the Drunken Immortal Pavilion last night and brought her back to the manor.

"Really? I fainted on my own?"

Thirteen was slightly taken aback; judging from Haojing's words, he must have fainted.

Thirteen subconsciously touched the back of her neck, and the faint pain made her doubt herself. If she had accidentally fainted, why would her neck hurt so much? Could it be that she had strained her neck when she fainted yesterday?

"Yes, Lord Shen went to the palace early this morning to report to the Emperor. He was worried about you, so he asked me to prepare some food for you and then send you back after you have eaten."

Haojing pointed to the steaming rice porridge and side dishes on the table, but inwardly he was cursing Shen Mu.

Previously, on Haohai Cliff in the Demon Realm, they captured Demon Lord Chongming. He took a blow from the Demon Lord for Shen Musheng and almost lost his life.

He lay in bed for more than three months before recovering, and Shen Mu never made time to visit him.

Not to mention that Thirteen had only met them by chance, and had only known them for a few days. He had fainted from a nightmare, and Thirteen had even waited for him at the palace gate early in the morning, asking him to personally deliver breakfast to him.

Thirteen walked to the table, looked at the prepared rice porridge, and felt a tightness in his chest, making it hard to eat.

Before she could speak, another commotion erupted outside the door.

"I've already said it, who dares to stop me?"

Upon hearing the noise, Haojing opened the door, and Thirteen, who was sitting at the table, looked up and saw that the noisy person outside was none other than Duan Yuyan, the fourth princess of Nanyang.

Thirteen frowned slightly and whispered, "Why is the Fourth Princess here?"

Today, Duan Yuyan was dressed in a bright peach-colored gown, her head adorned with extremely elaborate pearl hairpins. She brandished a leather whip in her hand and was about to strike the servants who were blocking her way when she said fiercely, "Let's see who dares to stop me today! Anyone who dares to stop me will die!"

"Greetings, Fourth Princess!"

Just as Duan Yuyan's whip was about to strike the servants, a clear voice interrupted her raised hand.

Duan Yuyan was startled, wondering if she had misheard. She was clearly in the Shen residence, and that familiar voice seemed to have been heard somewhere before.

She turned her head and saw Thirteen sitting in the room, preparing to eat. Her eyes were full of disbelief. "How did you, a lowly commoner, end up here?"

"It's not surprising that this humble subject is here. What's surprising is how the Fourth Princess dared to trespass on the Commander's residence." Thirteen glanced at Hao Jing and told Hao Jing to quickly send away the servant who had almost been poisoned by the princess.

Duan Yuyan was furious. She rushed to the bedroom, pointed her whip at Thirteen, and shouted, "You lowly commoner, how dare you trespass on the commander's residence! Guards! Seize this lowly commoner for me!"

Unfortunately, Duan Yuyan forgot that she was now in the Shen residence, not her princess residence. She had tried to force her way in, but her guards were held back by the servants in the front yard. At this moment, there were only a few servants who had been scattered to the distance by Haojing in this huge courtyard.

The servants of the Shen family are all well-trained people from the divine realm. Unless their lives are threatened, they are not allowed to attack people from the mortal realm.

Thirteen leisurely sized up Duan Yuyan. She had heard Pei Suisui say that the Fourth Princess had become obsessed with Shen Mu ever since he entered the capital and became a commander. Seeing her today, she never expected that a young lady from a respectable family would dare to barge into a man's home in broad daylight.

However, she was secretly relieved. At least she was still dressed as a man. If she had shown her true face from the beginning, the princess would probably have labeled her a rival in love in no time.

She straightened her robe, got up, and walked outside, speaking slowly.

"Fourth Princess, you should save your energy. This is the Shen residence, not your princess residence."

Duan Yuyan gritted her teeth in anger. She was beautiful, but her beauty concealed a sinister and vicious nature, always reminding people of a venomous snake lurking in a dark corner.

Especially given her status as a princess, coupled with the Nanyang Emperor's excessive indulgence of her, she always looked at people with her chin held high, exuding an annoying arrogance.

"I think you're really tired of living!"

Duan Yuyan raised the leather whip in her hand and lashed it at Thirteen. In an instant, Thirteen caught the whip steadily and grabbed the whip rope, pulling it into his arms.

Duan Yuyan's strength was no match for the male form that had appeared before her, so she staggered forward and subconsciously let go of the whip.

By the time everyone could see clearly, the Fourth Princess's whip had already fallen into the hands of the Thirteenth Princess.

Thirteen glanced at the leather whip in his hand, bowed to Duan Yuyan, and said sarcastically.

"Thank you, Fourth Princess! This gift may be a bit rough, but I will accept it nonetheless."

"You lowly commoner!"

Enraged, Duan Yuyan raised her hand and slashed at Thirteen.

Although Thirteen was not good at close combat, that was compared to those with top-notch martial arts skills. Dealing with the Fourth Princess's fancy but ineffective moves was more than enough. She nimbly and easily dodged Duan Yuyan's attacks, keeping her hands behind her back the whole time.

Although she had just seen Duan Yuyan about to attack the servants of the Shen family, she had deliberately provoked Duan Yuyan in a moment of panic.

But in the end, she didn't dare to lay a hand on Duan Yuyan. So when Duan Yuyan kept throwing punches at her, she simply dodged step by step.

Driven by rage, Duan Yuyan unleashed vicious attacks, but Thirteen easily dodged them all. The more anxious she became, the more disorganized she seemed, completely unaware that Thirteen was deliberately leading her away step by step.

Thirteen glanced at the pond in the courtyard. Although it was early spring, the pond had not been tended to and was covered with green algae.