Chapter 70: CH 70

“Princess Tuya, why would she do this? It just doesn’t make sense!” After aggregating the information from all sides and analysing it, Wei Chongrong came to this conclusion and exclaimed in shock even before Jun Hua and Dongfang could comment.

Jun Hua nodded slightly and agreed, “Yes, the Third Prince left home because he couldn’t marry Miss Huo, so it doesn’t make sense that he would move on so quickly and get involved with Tuya. If he really was such a person, it would only mean that Miss Huo’s knowledge of people was very good.”

Dongfang felt a little puzzled at Jun Hua’s words; what was wrong with Young Shizi’s thinking circuit? Master Shizi meant to say that the Third Prince’s disappearance had something to do with the princess of Zhuxia. How could Young Shizi come to the conclusion that they might have had an affair? Had he read too many romantic stories?

He didn’t expect Wei Chongrong to follow Jun Hua’s train of thought: “Princess Tuya is definitely out of question, she is the holy maiden of Zhuxia and by definition cannot marry anyone. If it were the Third Princess of Nanyue, it would be more like that. Third Brother met her when he was a child and their relationship isn’t bad.”

At this point in the conversation, Dongfang couldn’t bear it and reminded Wei Chongrong: “Master Shizi, I think your focus is a bit wrong. The matter of the Third Prince may not have anything to do with the affairs between men and women. Think about it from another perspective!”

Wei Chongrong glanced at him and sighed, “It makes even less sense from another perspective. Zhuxia has been subdued by Wang Changning over the years and doesn’t dare to act rashly. What use would it be for Tuya, the saintly princess whose mission is to pray for blessings, to abduct the prince of the Great Yan?”

If it was any of Tuduo’s brothers who captured Wei Mao and tried to threaten the Great Yan to cede the land and beg for peace or something, although in Wei Chongrong’s view it would be like a mantis blocking a chariot’s way, logically speaking, it would make sense.

Tuya, the holy maiden who didn’t care about the world, had no reason to do this, and the three of them were puzzled.

Dongfang frowned and thought for a while, then guessed: “Maybe one of the princess’s brothers asked her to do this? They didn’t think it was convenient for them to step in themselves. Besides, a few years ago, when the late emperor passed away, didn’t Zhuxia invade Yizhou…”

Ji Xin had been stationed in Yi’an County for six years. Jun Hua knew the military strength of the two countries very well and immediately shook his head, “That was just a test. Zhuxia wanted to see His Majesty’s attitude, and His Majesty responded, so they won’t dare to be reckless again.”

Thinking about it, in the early days of Wei Su’s ascension to the throne, Tiele also frequently violated the border, plunging the north of the Great Yan into the flames of war again and again.

When Zhuxia saw that the Great Yan was mired in war in the north, it thought it was a good opportunity to send troops to invade Yizhou. But in the end, it failed to steal the chicken and lost the rice, and the Great Yan got back six counties, including Jianning and Honghe, which brought Shangguan Yi eternal fame.

Wei Su died, and the newly enthroned Wei Ming was known for his benevolence and love for peace, so it wasn’t strange for Zhuxia to send troops to test. But the problem was that Wei Ming just didn’t like to take the initiative to conquer, which definitely didn’t mean that he wouldn’t fight back when someone invaded his country.

Before the Zhuxia people had taken a single city, they were beaten to death by Wang Changning who had rushed to the aid of Yi’an County; so how could they dare to have any more crooked thoughts?

“It doesn’t matter why Princess Tuya did this. The important thing is that we can already be sure that Third Brother is in her hands. Our task is to save him, and we will talk about other things later.” Wei Chongrong thought for a while and made a decision.

In this regard, Jun Hua had no objection, but Dongfang asked: “Since the Third Prince is not in Tuduo’s hands, the courtesan…” First in the Tianxian Courtyard and later in Tuduo’s own mansion, Dongfang watched Tuduo for two nights and already had a psychological shadow.

Without waiting for Wei Chongrong to speak, Jun Hua replied first: “Among the three sons of Zhuxia’s king, Tuduo is the most capable. If it weren’t for the support of their families and if they were a little weaker, he would have killed the First Prince and the Third Prince a long time ago. When Zhuxia invaded Yizhou, it was also Tuduo’s suggestion. If this person takes the throne, he would always be a hidden danger to the situation in Yizhou. He is suspicious by nature and it wasn’t easy to plant a spy by his side.”

Hearing that Qingcheng had other uses than searching for Wei Mao, Dongfang wisely shut his mouth and said no more.

Tuya was a holy maiden, and naturally she didn’t live in the palace but in the Valley of Ecstasy located in the Diancang Mountains. As the people of Zhuxia were good at gu(1) techniques and the mountains were full of miasma, Wei Chongrong didn’t want to take Jun Hua with him and was going to leave him in Yisha City while he and Dongfang went to rescue Wei Mao.

Jun Hua agreed, and was very well-behaved when he agreed. Unexpectedly, as soon as Wei Chongrong and Dongfang left the house, he immediately followed. In order to prevent Wei Chongrong from discovering his presence and thus sending him back, Jun Hua deliberately kept his distance and didn’t dare to get too close.

Jun Hua had never told Wei Chongrong that compared to his martial arts skills his qinggong was even better, possibly even above Wei Chongrong’s qinggong. How else could Jun Hua have come to Zhuxia? Obviously it was because Ji Xin’s men couldn’t keep an eye on him.

This was also one of the reasons why Jun Qing was so relaxed about Jun Hua being out and about at such a young age; there was no problem escaping if he really couldn’t fight.

Jun Hua followed the traces left by Wei Chongrong and Dongfang in the direction of the Diancang Mountains, looking at the map as he walked. He planned to come out after more than two-thirds of the way. At that time, Wei Chongrong wouldn’t drive him back and could only take him up the mountains.

Who knew that the plan couldn’t keep up with the changes. Halfway from Yisha City to the Diancang Mountains, Jun Hua heard the sound of fighting coming from ahead. He almost cried out; Wei Chongrong and Dongfang must have run into someone from the Valley of Ecstasy. He immediately flew forward.

With how powerful Wei Chongrong and Dongfang were, when Jun Hua arrived, he just saw a bunch of corpses of some people in black lying on the ground. He was taken aback for a moment and blurted out, “Brother Rong, are you already done?”

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Wei Chongrong’s eyes darkened slightly as he asked sharply, “Huaixi, who told you to come here?”

Since he was a child, Wei Chongrong had always called Jun Hua Little Monkey, but two days ago, Jun Hua protested, saying that this nickname was very childish and others would laugh at him. Wei Chongrong promised to him that in the future, he would call him by his courtesy name when there were other people around.

Jun Hua bit his lip. His expression was that of a child who had made a mistake and was embarrassed to admit it. After a long time he said: ”I’m here to help you…” He had already followed here, and Brother Rong shouldn’t drive him back, right?

Sure enough, Wei Chongron scolded Jun Hua for “nonsense” and decided to take him to the Valley of Ecstasy.

It was obvious that the people of the Valley of Ecstasy were prepared for their arrival and this was just the first fight between the two sides. If Jun Hua was sent back alone, who knew what danger he would encounter on the way. It was better to keep him by his side and watch him with his own eyes.

Not long after, they met the second group of people in black. The number of people was smaller than in the previous group, but the martial arts were higher.

To prove that he wasn’t here to hold them back, Jun Hua was the first to rush into the fray with his sword, blocking most of the attacks of the men in black.

Seeing that he could handle the situation with ease, Wei Chongrong watched lazily from the side. The few people in black that Jun Hua missed were all taken care of by Dongfang without costing him the slightest effort.

Dongfang wiped his sword clean on the clothes of one man in black and said in disbelief: “Knowing full well that they are no match for us, someone still sends them to die. I don’t think things are as simple as that, there must be something wrong.”

Wei Chongrong nodded and said in agreement: “If I wasn’t one hundred percent certain that I had never been to Yizhou before, nor had I ever had any grudges with Princess Tuya, I would simply suspect that the person she set up this trap against today was me.”

“But…” Jun Hua offered a different view, “The Third Prince has never been to Yizhou before either and he has no enmity with Zhuxia.”

Wei Chongrong’s eyes gleamed, and he smiled faintly: “He is the son of the emperor, and I am the son of the prince. The weight is completely different. If it is a national grudge, it will definitely be directed at him, not me. If it is a family grudge – only the Fuyu people could be coming at me, I have nothing to do with Zhuxia.”

Jun Hua was confused. The more he thought about it, the more he had a headache, and the more he thought about it, the more he couldn’t figure it out. At the beginning, this matter was obviously very simple, that is, a wayward prince ran away from home. As long as they found him and sent him back to the palace, the matter would be over.

Now, Wei Mao had been taken captive by the Zhuxia people for an unknown purpose, and they were lured into a trap and walked into a dangerous place step by step.

“No matter what, let’s go to the Valley of Ecstasy first. Whatever the purpose of the other party is, it is impossible for them to never show up.” Wei Chongrong vaguely felt that he seemed to have missed something very important, but he really couldn’t remember it, so he had to give up temporarily.

Going further, they met a third group of people in black, even fewer in number, only seven, with even greater martial arts skills that were not to be taken lightly.

After a fierce fight, each of them killed two men in black, and the last one was stabbed by Wei Chongrong in nineteen key points all over his body. The injuries were extremely terrifying. Even if the man didn’t die and would be cured in the future, the wounds meant a complete loss of martial arts; he would become a waste.

“Are you sent by Princess Tuya?” Jun Hua asked coldly as he stepped on the body of the man in black.

There was no response for a long time.

Jun Hua reached with his sword and picked off the scarf covering the face of the man in black, but saw that his face was covered in hideous scars, his features unrecognisable.

The man in black lay on the ground, looking at the sky blankly, refusing to say a word.

Jun Hua couldn’t get a response and angrily pierced him with a sword a few times, but the man still didn’t say a word.

Upon seeing this, Wei Chongrong said, “Huaixi, don’t ask, it’s useless.”

Jun Hua looked up at him and asked, “Do you want to keep him alive?”

Wei Chongrong turned to leave and said casually, “Do as you please.”

Jun Hua raised his sword, hesitated but didn’t stab the man. It was not that he hadn’t killed anyone, but it felt completely different to take the life of the opponent in a fight and kill a person lying on the ground unable to resist. He couldn’t do it.

Jun Hua thought for a while and said to Dongfang, “Little Dongzi, I’ll leave it to you.” After speaking, he went after Wei Chongrong.

Dongfang smiled bitterly and cleanly finished off the man in black.

After that, they didn’t encounter any obstruction and entered the Valley of Ecstasy without any problems.

The miasma in the Valley of Ecstasy was overwhelming. If ordinary people entered by mistake, at best they would lose consciousness, and at worst they would lose their lives.

Although Wei Chongrong and the other two had high martial arts skills, they didn’t dare to walk in casually. Before entering the valley, Wei Chongrong took out from his sleeve the Louye Qiancao(2) pills prepared by Sun Ye and shared them with everyone. He also gave Jun Hua a Jiuhua Yulu(3) pill, as his internal energy was the shallowest.

Before entering the Valley of Ecstasy, they had already encountered three groups of attackers, each group stronger than the previous. Wei Chongrong had a reason to believe that what was waiting for them in the Valley of Ecstasy was an inescapable net. If they were careless, they wouldn’t be able to get in or out.

Unexpectedly, this was not the case. After they entered the Valley of Ecstasy, they hadn’t seen a living person.

Of course, the miasma in the Valley of Ecstasy was powerful, but they took the Louye Qiancao pills in advance, so it was not a big obstacle. Jun Hua’s internal strength was insufficient and he occasionally felt very uncomfortable; then Wei Chongrong would transfer some of his true qi to him to help.

As for traps in the valley, those were in the scope of Dongfang’s Qimen Dunjia skills. With him leading the way in the front, Wei Chongrong led Jun Hua, and it was like walking on flat ground. The three of them entered the central area of the Valley of Ecstasy smoothly, but they still didn’t see anyone.

“Little Dongzi, you go to the left, and I will take Huaixi to the right. We will meet here in half a shichen.” The smell of conspiracy was obvious, but having come this far, Wei Chongrong had no way back and could only walk forward without hesitation.

Dongfang obeyed the order and went away, his heart aggrieved. Young Shizi was not Little Monkey anymore, but he was still Little Dongzi.

Wei Chongrong took Jun Hua by the hand and flew into the empty courtyard, saying quietly, “Little Monkey, be careful.”

Jun Hua nodded, looking inexplicably excited, “Brother Rong, you be careful too.”

They searched from house to house, but never saw anyone. Their expressions became more and more serious.

Soon, Wei Chongrong and Jun Hua reached the last courtyard. They were about to kick the door in when a dark shadow flashed in front of them.

Jun Hua reacted instinctively and broke free from Wei Chongrong, chasing after the shadow. Wei Chongrong felt something was wrong but couldn’t stop Jun Hua, who was moving so fast that Wei Chongrong didn’t even have time to say “be careful”.

Wei Chongrong originally wanted to follow, but when he heard some movement in the courtyard, he changed his mind and went straight in. Jun Hua’s martial arts skills were no match for his, but Jun Hua’s qinggong was better than his, and there was no way he could catch up if he was half a beat behind.

There was really someone in this courtyard. The man was sitting in the pavilion with his back to Wei Chongrong, but his back looked very familiar.

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“Third Brother, is that you?” Wei Chongrong called out tentatively, his entire body immediately on guard.

“Who are you?” The man turned around slowly; he was obviously very close, but his voice sounded very distant.

“I am your younger brother.” Wei Chongrong slowly approached the pavilion, and as he walked, he carefully looked at the person sitting there. Who was it if it wasn’t Wei Mao?

Wei Mao stood up haughtily. His face became a little weird as he said hesitantly: “Are you Wei Chongrong?”

“…en.” Wei Chongrong walked to the front of the pavilion and stopped. If the man wasn’t identical to Wei Mao up to the shape of his ears, he would wonder if Wei Mao had been impersonated. But even if it wasn’t an impostor, the current Wei Mao looked, well, very wrong.

After a positive answer, Wei Mao’s expression immediately changed. His eyes showed an unprecedented fierceness, and he said sharply: “How dare you come to me? What do you want to do? You want to show off in front of me, don’t you? Why don’t you say anything? Say something?”

“I…” Wei Chongrong was so stunned by Wei Mao’s questions that he didn’t know what to say.

Wei Mao continued: “You, what you? Are you very proud of yourself? She chose you over me…”

What was all this about? Wei Chongrong was confused by Wei Mao’s gibberish. If he was referring to Huo Yingying, he could only say that Wei Mao was thinking too much. Huo Yingying had never liked him before and would never like him in the future. Absolutely impossible.

Wei Chongrong didn’t want to listen to Wei Mao’s nonsense anymore. He was going to knock him out and carry him away. He raised his hand and was about to slash at Wei Mao’s neck when he saw Wei Mao tremble slightly and plunge forward abruptly.

Whether it was his cousin or not, it was impossible for Wei Chongrong to watch Wei Mao flop on his face, so he quickly caught him.

After helping Wei Mao sit down on a bamboo chair in the pavilion, Wei Chongrong checked his pulse, which was so messy that he couldn’t understand it. Needless to say, Tuya must have done something to Wei Mao. Fortunately, his breathing was still stable, so Wei Chongrong was slightly relieved.

He found a Jiuhua Yulu pill and stuffed it into Wei Mao’s mouth. Although this medicine couldn’t cure the root cause, it could at any rate cure the symptoms first.

Not long after, Wei Mao opened his eyes. His gaze was very peaceful, without the initial hostility: “Fourth Brother, it’s you…”

Wei Chongrong was overjoyed and planned to call Jun Hua and Dongfang to withdraw from the Valley of Ecstasy. Unexpectedly, Wei Mao’s face suddenly changed. He pulled out a dagger from his sleeve and stabbed Wei Chongrong in the abdomen fiercely. His movement was extremely ruthless, completely unlike his usual way.

Without waiting for Wei Mao to yank out the dagger, Wei Chongrong, who finally reacted, grabbed his wrist with one hand and slapped him to the ground with the other, then quickly pressed several key points on his body, making Wei Mao unable to move.

In terms of qinggong alone, the man in black who led Jun Hua away wasn’t as good as him, but the other party was familiar with the terrain and Jun Hua wasn’t, so he was defeated and lost the target.

Jun Hua originally wanted to continue chasing but inexplicably felt uneasy, so he returned, just in time to see Wei Chongrong with both hands covered in blood. He rushed over and said in a worry: “Brother Rong, what’s going on? Who hurt you?”

Wei Chongrong shook his head with a wry smile, raised his chin and pointed to Wei Mao who was lying on the ground: “It was me who was careless…”

Jun Hua turned white when he heard these words. He was about to draw the soft sword wrapped around his waist. Wei Mao dared to hurt Brother Rong, he didn’t want to live anymore, did he?

“Huaixi, don’t be like this, Third Brother didn’t mean to…” The wound in his abdomen was deep, making it difficult for Wei Chongrong to speak.

Jun Hua stopped moving when he heard this, with anger written on his face. Didn’t mean to? They risked their lives to save him. Wei Mao didn’t say thank you and even dared to attack Wei Chongrong. Even if he was being controlled by others, Jun Hua wouldn’t forgive him easily.

He kicked Wei Mao twice in displeasure and turned around to help Wei Chongrong deal with the wound. Wei Mao’s dagger pierced so deeply that although Wei Chongrong sealed several surrounding acupuncture points in time, blood kept seeping out, and Jun Hua almost cried in distress.

Wei Chongrong waved his hand and said softly, “Little Monkey, it’s okay, it’s just a skin injury. It’s almost time, let’s go quickly and meet Little Dongzi first.” He stood up clutching the wound, and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly without him noticing.

Jun Hua wrinkled his nose, thinking in his heart: what skin injury, you were almost pierced through. However, he also knew that the Valley of Ecstasy wasn’t a place to stay for a long time. If the other party could use Wei Mao to plot against Wei Chongrong, maybe there were other tricks waiting for them.

He drew out his soft sword, ready to accompany Wei Chongrong and kill whoever came at them, but when he looked back, he saw Wei Chongrong pick up Wei Mao and carry him on his shoulder. He couldn’t help but say, “Brother Rong, your injury… let me do it.” As he said that, he reached out, trying to grab Wei Mao.

Wei Chongrong stepped to the left, avoiding Jun Hua’s movements, and said with a serious expression: “Little Monkey, behave yourself, don’t be whimsical.”

Jun Hua flattened his mouth, aggrieved, but said nothing in the end and walked in front of Wei Chongrong with his sword. As soon as they walked out of the courtyard, they saw the clouds of fog in front of them, only to hear a cold voice coming from the fog: “It’s not that easy to leave even if you want to!”

“Brother Rong, what should we do now?” Wei Chongrong was injured and was carrying Wei Mao on his shoulder. Jun Hua was quite worried.

Wei Chongrong didn’t seem concerned and said softly: “It’s okay, let’s go out the same way, they are no match for you.”

Jun Hua’s confidence increased greatly when he heard these words, and his soft sword, infused with internal strength, moved so fast that it was impossible for anyone to get close.

The people who besieged them obviously knew that Wei Chongrong was injured. They couldn’t do anything with Jun Hua, so they focused on attacking Wei Chongrong. However, Wei Chongrong had been on the edge of a sword all his previous life, so he didn’t care about this small injury and his combat power wasn’t affected at all.

The two of them slashed their way through the fog, killing right and left, and Dongfang was already waiting for them at the agreed place. He came to the rescue when he heard the sound and killed the men in black without mercy. When the attackers saw that the situation was hopeless, they retreated quickly.

Wei Chongrong threw the unconscious Wei Mao to Dongfang and ordered: “Take the Third Prince and return to Honghe County as fast as possible. Don’t worry about anything else. Remember, don’t let the Third Prince wake up. He was bewitched and his mind is very unclear.”

Dongfang took Wei Mao and asked, puzzled: “I’ll take the Third Prince away, what about you, Master Shizi?”

Wei Chongrong rolled his eyes angrily: “Without us covering for you, do you think you can easily get out of Zhuxia?”

Dongfang thought about it. Master Shizi was very strong and there were few people who could match him. The young son of Wang Changning was really good at qinggong. The two of them together, they would be safe without the burden of Wei Mao, so he took Wei Mao and went ahead.

Jun Hua didn’t say a word from start to finish, but the way he looked at Wei Chongrong was full of worry.

As soon as they were out of the Valley of Ecstasy and Dongfang took Wei Mao away, Wei Chongrong leaned on his sword as if he was unable to support himself.

Jun Hua glanced at him and said coldly: “Didn’t you say it was a skin injury? Not trying to be a hero anymore?” Although he said that, his hands hurriedly supported Wei Chongrong, and the worry in his eyes was obvious.

Wei Chongrong frowned and said with a wry smile: “The dagger was poisoned. I have to find a place to force the poison out as soon as possible.”

Jun Hua suddenly turned white with fear: “What poison? What are we going to do? Where are we going?” He was so confused that he was out of ideas.

“Let’s just find a place at the bottom of the mountain.” Although the Valley of Ecstasy was located in the Diancang Mountains, it didn’t mean that the entire Diancang Mountains was its territory.

Wei Chongrong could almost definitely say that Tuya was the one who captured Wei Mao and targeted him, otherwise she wouldn’t let them into the Valley of Ecstasy unobstructed. She bewitched Wei Mao and used Wei Chongrong’s lack of defence against Wei Mao to get him stabbed with a dagger. The dagger was poisoned. Although it wasn’t fatal, it was necessary to get rid of the poison immediately. If Wei Chongrong used his martial arts again, it would speed up the spreading of the poison in his body. When he found Wei Mao, he was surrounded by the people from the Valley of Ecstasy, so he had no choice but to use his martial arts.

Being able to survive the Valley of Ecstasy was already a manifestation of Wei Chongrong’s deep internal skills, but he was almost at the limit. If he didn’t find a place to force the poison out, the consequences would be hard to describe.

“At the bottom of the mountain? Brother Rong, hang in there, we’ll go now.” Jun Hua took two deep breaths and forced himself to calm down.

Wei Chongrong squeezed his sweaty palm and said softly: “Little Monkey, don’t be afraid, I will bring you back safely.”

“Oh, oh.” Jun Hua responded casually twice, obviously not listening to Wei Chongrong’s words.

Fearing that Tuya would send someone after them again, Jun Hua, who supported Wei Chongrong, picked out the places on the mountain where there was no trodden path. In normal times, this bumpy terrain wouldn’t be a problem for them, but Wei Chongrong didn’t dare to use his martial arts anymore, so it wasn’t so easy to walk.

When they reached the bottom of the mountain, both of them were covered in sweat, dirty and dishevelled..

Wei Chongrong casually found a flat place, sat down cross-legged and began to exercise his internal strength to force out the poison. Jun Hua didn’t dare to disturb him, so he sat quietly beside him.

Perhaps because he was too tired from the day’s tossing and turning, Jun Hua started to doze off little by little.

The Valley of Ecstasy was as famous for its poisons as it was for its gu techniques. Although Wei Chongrong’s poison was not the kind that killed immediately, it was also very troublesome. With his skills, if he was lucky enough to force out the poison in the early stages of poisoning, he would be fine at this moment. Unfortunately, there was no opportunity. Although he took the Jiuhua Yulu pill in time to decrease the toxicity, it was only a temporary delay. On the way to meet Dongfang, Jun Hua was leading the way, but it was impossible for Wei Chongrong not to make a move at all. When he killed on his way out of the Valley of Ecstasy, he also used his qi, so the poison had already spread to all his limbs and bones.

It was actually a bit late to force out the poison at this time, and Wei Chongrong could obviously feel that the true qi in his body was running very low. He forcibly performed his exercises, trying to break through the barrier, and suddenly his blood surged and a sweet taste filled his throat as he spurted out a mouthful of blood.

Jun Hua, who fell asleep, was immediately awakened. He turned to look and saw Wei Chongrong covered in blood. His mind went blank. He didn’t care about anything, crawling over on his hands and feet, crying: “Brother Rong, don’t scare me…”

Wei Chongrong raised his hand to wipe away the blood from his mouth. Seeing Jun Hua crying so miserably, he suddenly felt that his head hurt more than his wound, and said hurriedly: “Little Monkey, don’t cry, I’m fine, really, don’t cry, as soon as I see you crying, my wound hurts.”

Jun Hua was taken aback when he heard his words and didn’t dare to cry anymore, but just asked repeatedly: “Really? Have you forced out all the poison?”

Wei Chongrong nodded, his face calm. In fact, because of the delay, it was impossible to get rid of the poison in his body by internal exercises alone, but most of it had been expelled, and the rest, fortunately, could be suppressed and could wait until they went back and found a way.

Jun Hua smiled with tears in his eyes and helped Wei Chongrong bandage the wound in his abdomen that had opened again. After wrapping it up, he said in confusion: “Brother Rong, why did Princess Tuya try to kill you?” He could also see that Wei Mao was just a bait, and Wei Chongrong was the target.

Wei Chongrong shook his head, saying that he didn’t know the answer either, but he suspected that Tuya was just someone’s tool. No matter which way he looked at it, there was no chance of conflict between him and Tuya. But she was trying to kill him, and there had to be a reason.

“Little Monkey, were the people in black who attacked us in the Valley of Ecstasy all men?” The Valley of Ecstasy was the residence of the holy maiden; it stood to reason that no man should have appeared there. But the people who attacked them really didn’t look like women.

Jun Hua frowned for a while, and said uncertainly: “The fog was too dense at that time, I didn’t see clearly. I don’t know if all the people in black were men, but I know that they were definitely not all women.”

Wei Chongrong decided to go back to Yisha City. He still had some doubts that he hadn’t figured out. No men were allowed to appear in the Valley of Ecstasy. Wei Mao was the bait for the time being but those people in black had to be outsiders. Who exactly could make Princess Tuya so obedient?

As long as Jun Hua could stay with Wei Chongrong, he would go wherever he was told to and would never raise any objections.

Quietly returning to Yisha City, Wei Chongrong and Jun Hua went back to the small courtyard where they had lived before. They checked up and down and there was no sign of outsiders coming in. It could be seen that their whereabouts remained secret and had not yet been discovered.

Due to running around all the way, Wei Chongrong’s wound unfortunately opened again. Jun Hua re-dressed it and ordered him to lie on the bed and rest, not allowed to get out of bed without his permission.

Jun Hua went downstairs to make porridge, and Wei Chongrong lay on the bed unable to sleep, so he started sorting out the known clues from the beginning.

Wei Mao left the palace and ran away. He was ordered to track him down. Wei Mao disappeared in Dongshan Town. All information indicated that Princess Tuya’s people had taken him.

If he wanted to find Wei Mao, he had to follow him to the Valley of Ecstasy. Tuya was prepared and used a gu compulsion on Wei Mao, causing Wei Mao to stab him.

Wei Mao’s departure from home wasn’t planned. He wanted to marry Huo Yingying but learned instead that the empress had chosen a wife he didn’t like for him. This was when he ran away in anger. The fact that he went to Dongshan Town was either a coincidence or someone deliberately instigated it.

Wei Chongrong being responsible for tracking down Wei Mao probably wasn’t the original intention of Uncle Emperor either, but someone recommended it to him on purpose.

After several clues were put together, Wei Chongrong had a preliminary idea in his mind. He was about to think about it, when he heard a “boom” from downstairs, and Jun Hua’s panicked voice.

Wei Chongrong propped up his body and raised his voice to ask, “Little Monkey, what happened?”

“It’s okay, Brother Rong, don’t worry.” Jun Hua’s voice reached him along with a cloud of white smoke.

Wei Chongrong knew that something was wrong, so he slowly moved off the bed, walked out of the room and looked downstairs.

Just with one glance, Wei Chongrong was shocked. He saw a thick smoke billowing in the kitchen. If not for the fact that he didn’t see the fire, he would have thought that Jun Hua was burning the house down. How could he stay upstairs? He hurriedly went down.

Walking into the kitchen, Wei Chongrong saw that Jun Hua was struggling with the wood stove, coughing as he added wood to it.

There was an obvious gooey smell floating in the air. Wei Chongrong coughed lightly and asked, “Little Monkey, is this the white porridge you said you could cook?”

Jun Hua looked back, blushed suddenly, and said in embarrassment: “I really know how to cook it. Father and Daddy both praised me for cooking it well. Little Tiger also loves to eat it. But in the past, there was always someone to help me with the fire, and I was only responsible for cooking the porridge.”

When Wei Chongrong heard this, he chuckled, accidentally tugging at the wound, which immediately made him wrinkle his brow and hum lightly.

Little Monkey was so funny. The most difficult thing while cooking was to control the heat. Someone did this job for him. The rice in Wang Changning’s residence was sure to be of good quality. Jun Hua was also told how much rice and how much water to put in, and then he took a spoon and stirred a few times. Who wouldn’t be able to cook it?

Seeing him frowning, Jun Hua hurriedly persuaded him: “Brother Rong, you go and rest, I will be fine, and there will be porridge to eat soon.”

Wei Chongrong waved his hand and walked up to the stove: “Let me help you with the fire. I’m afraid you’ll burn the house down if you keep cooking.”

Jun Hua stuck out his tongue and didn’t say anything. He didn’t believe that if he didn’t know how to keep the fire, Brother Rong would be good at it.

Unexpectedly, Wei Chongrong was really good at it. Not only was the fire moderate, but the smell of smoke was gone from the kitchen. Jun Hua stirred the porridge in the pot while asking curiously, “Brother Rong, how come you know how to do this?”

Wei Chongrong raised his head and said absent-mindedly: “I’ve seen more, so naturally I know how to do it.” He had been in the army in his previous life and had done everything in the barracks, including being an army cook. Keeping the fire was nothing. He could cook many things but he had never had a chance to show it.

“Oh.” Jun Hua responded casually and stopped asking. What he thought was that when Brother Rong lived in Fuyu, his life must have been very miserable and he had to do all the work by himself. He decided that he shouldn’t bring up Brother Rong’s sad past again.