Chapter 343: Progress

　　After settling Mu Hongyu’s side, Chu Liuyue also planned to bid farewell.

　　Mu Hongyu was shocked. “You’re leaving now?”

　　Chu Liuyue glanced at Mu Qinghe, and her lips curved up. “Time is of the essence, so I have to hurry. But don’t worry; since Lieutenant Mu and Young Master Jian have already agreed to help, they will definitely see it through. If you need any herbs or ingredients, go to Zhen Bao Pavilion and look for Second Master Yan. Tell him to put everything under my bill. When I come back, I’ll find him personally.”

　　Mu Hongyu shook her head determinedly. “That can’t do! You’ve already helped me so much; how can I use your money?”

　　Chu Liuyue thought for a while and did not insist. “Just tell him to do me a favor, and he’ll help you to gather all the herbs you need.”

　　It was indeed a little hard to remove all of the poisons in the Princess Consort’s body, but it wasn’t a problem with Jian Fengchi’s capabilities. However, he might need a few special ingredients. It might not be easy to find them in the Imperial City, but Zhen Bao Pavilion definitely had some.

　　If Mu Hongyu went herself, Second Master Yan might not produce them. Therefore, she told Mu Hongyu to mention her name so that there would be a higher chance of Second Master Yan helping her.

　　Chu Liuyue did not explicitly tell Mu Hongyu about the connections in between, but Mu Hongyu was very smart and could already guess a little in her heart. She had many things to say in a short amount of time, but all the words seemed to be stuck in her throat.

　　In the end, she said, “Thank you, Liuyue.”

　　Chu Liuyue nodded. As for Jian Fengchi… Even though I don’t normally deal with him and don’t really like him, he is indeed someone that will make good on his words. If he says he is going to refine medicine here to help the Princess Consort, he will definitely do it.

　　Mu Hongyu looked very reluctant.

　　Chu Liuyue initially wanted to remind her to be careful of Jian Fengchi, but she thought for a moment and realized that there was no need to.

　　Mu Hongyu was a metal tree, and she would only be Jian Fengchi’s nemesis.

　　Chu Liuyue looked at Mu Qinghe, smiled, and asked, “Lieutenant Mu, are you staying here or…”

　　Mu Qinghe didn’t say anything and directly left.

　　Mu Hongyu leaned in and whispered, “Liuyue, don’t you think Lieutenant Mu looks a little upset?”

　　Chu Liuyue said lightly, “Oh, really? I didn’t notice.”

　　“Really! For some reason, his expression suddenly changed just now. Even though he didn’t have much of an expression before…” Mu Hongyu knitted her brows and couldn’t think of a way to describe it. “Anyway, I just feel like he’s upset—like he had recalled something sad… I’ve never seen such a look on his face before.”

　　“I didn’t notice.” Chu Liuyue curled her lips into a half-smile. If I could, I also want to chase after him and ask him what happened to his face. Does he feel terrible or embarrassed? I just said ‘betrayal,’ but what was he thinking? Did he think about ‘her’ anytime within this year?

　　Chu Liuyue took a deep breath. She suddenly really wanted to know what Mu Qinghe would look like if he knew that she was ‘her.’ And those people…

　　“Liuyue? Liuyue!” Mu Hongyu suddenly felt that Chu Liuyue’s aura had become icy cold and that she was enveloped in intense loneliness and hopelessness. Mu Hongyu felt very uneasy and hurriedly called out to Chu Liuyue.

　　Chu Liuyue recovered her senses and saw her look of worry.

　　“A-are you okay?”

　　Chu Liuyue’s aura quickly dissipated, and she broke out into a light smile. “I’m fine.”

　　Those people should be the ones that aren’t okay!

　　…

　　Mu Qinghe returned to his own residence. He was in a rare daze, and his heart seemed to be stuffed with something, causing him to feel extremely uncomfortable.

　　He closed his eyes to calm himself down, but Chu Liuyue’s words kept reverberating throughout his mind as if they were the most memorable curse.

　　“…In this world, even your closest friends and the people you trust the most might betray you. By then, you won’t even know how you died.”

　　The girl’s clear voice kept ringing in his ears.

　　That’s not right… That’s not right! Mu Qinghe tried his best to find his rationality as he sat on the chair and habitually made tea for himself.

　　Every time he felt conflicted, he would always do this to calm himself down. But when he poured the tea and looked at it, he couldn’t help thinking of something. Everyone thinks that I love to drink tea, but that is not the case. It is just that brewing tea itself can calm me down. In the past…

　　A scorching pain immediately caused him to recover his senses. He realized that he spilled the boiling tea water on his hands as he was in a daze.

　　He harshly closed his eyes and angrily swept all the tea items to the floor.

　　Clang!

　　The crisp sounds of them shattering echoed throughout the room, making it sound extra spacious.

　　Hong Yao—who was standing at the window—turned back to glance at Mu Qinghe before lazily burying its head in its wings.

　　An excruciating pain came from his heart. Mu Qinghe’s face changed as he held his chest and breathed heavily. He then held out an oval-shaped copper mirror with much difficulty.

　　Hong Yao didn’t move, but its body tensed up.

　　A glaring light flashed across the copper mirror the next moment, and an invisible suppression dominated the room.

　　The light gradually disappeared from the copper mirror, revealing bloody seawater.

　　A voice sounded from within—

　　“Mu Qinghe, it’s been so long. What’s the progress on the task that I’ve assigned you?”