Chapter 969: It’s Them

　　It wasn’t known when he appeared here, but his dark-olive robe made his handsome and alluring face stand out. His slight reddish eyes, in particular, gleamed dangerously as if he could devour people at any time, and his lips were curled up into a mysterious smile.

　　It looks like he has been here for a while… Then, a sudden thought emerged in Chu Liuyue’s mind. He has probably witnessed everything that happened just now. It’s probably because he’s way more powerful than us, but he did a good job in concealing his aura such that none of us noticed his presence.

　　Meanwhile, Mu Hongyu and the others were shocked to see Jun Jiuqing appear. What if he exposes our deeds? As the Beiming Dynasty’s Crown Prince, his words have absolute power!

　　The two sides fell into a brief stalemate, and even the air seemed to be freezing.

　　Chu Liuyue flashed Jun Jiuqing a smile. “What a coincidence. I didn’t expect to meet you here, Your Highness.”

　　Despite knowing that I witnessed her killing and destroying the bodies of the Taiyu Dynasty’s people, she’s still so calm… She sure is the same as before. Even though her body and appearance have changed, her temper and character didn’t. Jun Jiuqing couldn’t resist laughing as he stared at the young lady in front of him. “Yeah, I happened to be around the corner when I heard the commotion over here, so I came over to take a look. But I didn’t expect… to see such a good show.”

　　He stroked his chin. “Dantai Chen must’ve found out about their deaths by now. Never mind about the other people, but Dantai Ruoli is his only daughter, as well as the apple of his eye. I wonder what expression he’ll have on his face if he finds out that… his precious daughter has been killed inside Ancient Phoenix Mountain.”

　　“How would I know what expression he’ll have? But if you’re so concerned about him, why don’t you comfort him for a bit when you leave the mountain? We have other matters to attend to, so we won’t stay to chat any longer. We’ll take our leave now.” With that, Chu Liuyue turned around and lifted her chin in Mu Hongyu and the others’ direction. “Let’s go.”

　　She then moved to leave. She reckoned that there was no point in trying to feign innocence in this matter since Jun Jiuqing had already witnessed the entire incident. Besides, she didn’t think that he was someone she could negotiate with, so she decided not to say anything.

　　Jun Jiuqing raised his eyebrows slightly before moving to block Chu Liuyue’s path. “Aren’t you afraid that I might accidentally let this matter slip? Never mind that you killed the other people, but Dantai Ruoli is a princess…” This might start a war between the two countries. Does she really not care about it?

　　“You want to blackmail me with this matter? Don’t you think it’s superfluous?” Chu Liuyue looked up with a hint of a cold smile on her lips. Why would I care about this when he has Father in his hands?

　　Jun Jiuqing couldn’t help laughing. “That’s true.”

　　Chu Liuyue ignored him and sidestepped him. If it weren’t because she had to hide the fact that she had been to his study, she definitely would’ve been exchanging blows with Jun Jiuqing by now. But unfortunately, it clearly wasn’t the time for her to do this.

　　Mu Hongyu and the rest exchanged looks with each other. Uh… Previously, Jun Jiuqing acted as if he knew Her Majesty from way back. By the looks of it now, something really seems to be amiss…

　　But upon seeing Chu Liuyue leave without a second word, the trio didn’t say anything and simply followed after her. As Wu Ming had the most serious injuries, Mu Hongyu and Yuwen Jinghong helped him walk by supporting him from each side.

　　“Your Highness!” A shout was heard coming from midair before several figures swiftly landed right next to Jun Jiuqing. It turned out that they were the four other people from the Beiming Dynasty.

　　“Your Highness, you moved so fast that it took us some time before we managed to catch up to you. I hope you forgive us for being so slow!” said a young man between pants.

　　Although the other people didn’t say anything, they looked pretty much in the same condition as him. It was apparent that they had exerted a lot of effort in order to rush over here. These people were considered geniuses themselves, but they were way more inferior when compared to Jun Jiuqing.

　　A wicked and indifferent smile appeared on Jun Jiuqing’s lips. “It’s fine.”

　　Chu Liuyue narrowed her eyes when she heard what Jun Jiuqing said, but she didn’t stop walking and continued to lead the others forward. It was clear that she didn’t want to be involved with the Beiming Dynasty’s affairs.

　　“Your Highness, aren’t those… the Tianling Dynasty’s people?” The rest of the Beiming Dynasty’s people finally realized that Jun Jiuqing had been watching the Tianling Dynasty’s people when they looked over.

　　“Isn’t that… Shangguan Yue?” muttered a young man. Although he had only seen her a couple of times, he could recognize the girl at a glance because she had such a conspicuous presence that she would be the focus of everyone’s attention no matter where she went. “I remember her saying that she wasn’t going to come in… Did she change her mind in the end?”

　　“I doubt so. I saw the other two Tianling Dynasty’s people before, and they were here right from the start,” refuted another person.

　　That was when they realized that something was wrong, and they looked at one another. That’s right! We’ve been here for days, and the number of Tianling Dynasty people we’ve seen inside here added up to five! Shangguan Yue isn’t among those five, so how did she appear here?!

　　Although they found this matter strange, Chu Liuyue’s group had seemingly no intention of offering an explanation either.

　　“Forget it; let’s ignore this for now. We’ll know when we go out.” The young man standing at the front retracted his gaze and surveyed his surroundings with a grave expression. “Your Highness, what happened here just now? Why is it in this state…?”

　　From the debris, caved-in ground, and the spots of blood everywhere, anyone could tell that a huge fight had taken place. “I think the Taiyu Dynasty’s people came in this direction just now… But why don’t I see them now?”

　　“Yeah! Weren’t they… chasing after the Tianling Dynasty’s people?” The only girl in their group warily took two steps forward in a seeming move to check the place carefully. “These… don’t seem to be the marks left behind by an ordinary fire…”

　　She carefully examined the scorched ground before raising her head and looking at Chu Liuyue and her group with plain suspicion in her eyes. “Did… the Taiyu Dynasty’s people fight with the Tianling Dynasty’s people just now?”

　　Mu Hongyu and the others stiffened when they heard this. Even though we’ve done our best to hide this matter, it’s inevitable that some traces were left behind. That girl sure is sharp! She managed to arrive at this deduction after just taking a few glances at the scene. If we don’t make things clear that we weren’t involved in this fight, they’ll surely suspect us when they realize that the Taiyu Dynasty’s people are dead!

　　Chu Liuyue stopped and turned around, but just when she was about to say something, Jun Jiuqing lazily laughed and said, “That’s right. Both parties were fighting each other just now.”

　　Under her sleeves, Chu Liuyue clenched her fists tightly..