Exile at the start? The princess is no ordinary woman.

Such unusual behavior, even going so far as to use her inner strength just for that wet hair, made Cang Ling increasingly believe that the lady was very likely the person her master was thinking of. But why?

The others also stopped eating because of Jun Yanchen's unusual behavior, and all stared blankly at the scene.

A few seconds later, Gu Nanzhi really felt that her hair, which had been wet and sticking to her back, was now dry, and she heard a "It's done" voice behind her.

Gu Nanzhi raised her hand to gather her waist-length hair, her eyes filled with disbelief as she looked at the fluffy strands. She turned to face Jun Yanchen.

I'm still in shock. They just... just did it like that?

How did she do that? Oh right, she forgot, didn't people in ancient times value internal strength? So this is internal strength?

This is incredible! There are always people more capable than you, and the world is truly vast. Today has really opened her eyes to something amazing.

"You...you used internal energy?"

"Um"

The other three men, who were skilled in martial arts, were not surprised to see their master use his internal energy to dry his wife's hair. Xia He, the little girl who had never seen the world, was also astonished. The prince was too amazing.

Gu Nanzhi's shock lingered for a long time, then a glint of light appeared in her eyes.

"Is internal energy that powerful? How is it trained? Can I learn it?"

Since yesterday—no, it should be said since the day before yesterday—Gu Nanzhi has remained calm and composed. Even the exile, the journey, and the exhaustion haven't stirred any other emotions within her; not even fear, dread, or complaints have surfaced.

However, Jun Yanchen's sudden action revealed a different side of Gu Nanzhi's emotions.

Excitement, shock, disbelief, curiosity, longing... and so on—she was so vibrant, so full of life, for a woman in her late teens.

Jun Yanchen's heart softened without her even realizing it. Her vibrant energy was irresistible. Just as she was about to respond, she suddenly felt her inner energy surge, as if about to break through something. Jun Yanchen froze, her hand, which she had just withdrawn, bulging with veins as she desperately tried to suppress it.

Gu Nanzhi was eagerly awaiting a positive response. Thinking back to the martial arts she had practiced in her past life, if she were to learn internal energy as well, wouldn't she become even stronger?

Just as she was thinking about becoming stronger in the future, she didn't receive a reply from the man in front of her, which made her realize that something was wrong with him.

"Hey, what's wrong? Jun Yanchen?"

In an instant, Cang Ling was already beside Jun Yanchen, her expression revealing unconcealed worry.

"master"

Master, you shouldn't waste your inner strength right now, why are you being so impulsive?

Jun Yanchen desperately suppressed the surging energy within his body, which caused him to spit out a mouthful of dark brown blood in front of everyone after only a few seconds.

"puff"

"master"

Butler Li and Zhou Cai had already gathered around.

The already timid Xia He was quite frightened by this sudden turn of events, and she nervously approached her young mistress from behind.

However, spitting out a mouthful of blood didn't seem to be enough for Jun Yanchen. His whole body tensed, the veins on his neck bulged, and his eyes beneath the mask turned a bloodthirsty red, his gaze icy and piercing, as if he were possessed.

At the same time, Cang Ling quickly pressed down on Jun Yanchen's body with both hands, "Master..."

All of this happened too suddenly, but fortunately Gu Nanzhi remained calm. Her expression, which had been shocked by the internal energy, quickly returned to normal.

He made a swift judgment, and a silver needle suddenly appeared in his hand, accurately piercing Jun Yanchen's hair as he was about to lose control.

As the silver needles fell, those bloodthirsty red eyes instantly calmed down and returned to their dark color. The body that had been suppressed by Cang Ling also instantly lost strength and then fainted.

It all happened so fast, as if in an instant, that Cang Ling had no time to react. Even after Jun Yanchen lost consciousness, he didn't know what had happened.

"Master, Your Highness"

Cang Ling thought something had happened to Jun Yanchen, and anxiously shook his arm and called out to him.

Their commotion still caught the attention of those who were closely watching them. Some felt sorry, some were worried, and some gloated.

It seems the rumors that Jun Yanchen is nearing the end are true;

Gu Nanzhi was speechless at Cang Ling's actions.

"Alright, stop shouting. He's just temporarily knocked unconscious by the stab."

As she spoke, Gu Nanzhi had already taken Jun Yanchen's right hand, and her thin fingers, barely covered by skin, were already on his pulse.

Cang Ling finally calmed down, but his tension and worry for Jun Yanchen had not lessened at all. Yes, just a moment ago, he seemed to see his wife's hand reaching to the back of his master's head. He glanced in that direction and sure enough, there was a needle hidden in his hair.

"Madam, Master..."

At this moment, he hesitated, wanting to say something but holding back. Although his wife knew a little about pharmacology, the poison that his master had been poisoned by was something that neither Bai Zang nor Doctor He could solve. How could his wife possibly have a solution?

It was already a great help that the lady could temporarily use acupuncture to put the master into a coma so that he wouldn't lose control in front of so many people; he dared not hope for anything more.

But now that Bai Zang and Doctor He are both gone, and there's no medicine, what should he do? He's on the road to exile again.

Gu Nanzhi was speechless after taking the man's pulse. She felt an urge to punch him; this guy wouldn't live long without the antidote anyway.

The poison in his body was only temporarily suppressed with medication. He was perfectly fine and wouldn't have had a relapse, but he really courted death by using his internal energy, and now the poison has taken hold.

At this moment, Gu Nanzhi inwardly cursed, "Is this person really sick? Doesn't he know he can't use his internal energy? And yet he still managed to cause me this disaster."

My hair was perfectly fine, it was just wet, it would dry in a bit with the wind, why did he have to interfere? Now he's gotten poisoned because of this, is he trying to pin this on me?

Damn it, I shouldn't have been curious and cooperated with him. Now I've lost out; I got scammed.

Does she really think Gu Nanzhi is kind?

"Let's go! Let's go! Get up quickly, we're on our way!"

"I told you to get going! Hurry up, or I'll whip you to death!"

The escorts had already begun urging people to set off, and no matter how unwilling they were, they could only drag their still tired and hungry bodies on the road.

At this moment, in the small team of six, Steward Li and Cang Ling were still immersed in the grief and worry of their master vomiting blood and falling into a coma. They also had to force themselves to carry the prince onto the cart, pack his things, and catch up with the team ahead. Because of Jun Yanchen's accident, their mood, which had been somewhat relieved by the interaction between Gu Nanzhi and Jun Yanchen, became heavy again.

While everyone was settling Jun Yanchen down, Gu Nanzhi, despite her inner grumbling, took a small test tube from her spatial storage and collected a little of the black blood Jun Yanchen had spat out, putting it into her storage space.

Then, he casually took out a black hair tie from his spatial storage and tied his hair into a bun, silently following along on his way.

Seeing her mistress like this, Xia He could only quietly follow by her side. Her mistress was already in a bad mood because of the prince's misfortune, and she didn't dare to bother her any further.