The first thing Mu Xueshi did upon waking was look for the Third Prince.
But after glancing around the room several times, he realized this was not the prince’s sleeping chamber.
“Where is this place?” he murmured, a chill spreading through his chest.
The room had been empty.
Yet the moment his words fell, someone stumbled through the doorway.
Unlike the other servants around the Third Prince, Su Ruhan wore plain hemp clothing. Yet even in such simple attire, his imposing aura remained unmistakable.
The instant Mu Xueshi met his gaze, he recognized him.
The memory was vivid.
Su Ruhan had once slaughtered more than ten servants without a single change in his expression.
Now the two of them were alone in this room.
Mu Xueshi could not help but feel a surge of fear.
“Did the Third Prince send you to kill me?” he asked.
Sadness clouded the lively eyes he once possessed.
He had thought he would only feel fear when death approached.
Yet even now, his mind still wandered to unnecessary thoughts.
Su Ruhan shook his head.
From his sleeve he took out a jar of Yunwu Ointment and handed it over.
Mu Xueshi’s arms were covered in scratch marks—wounds he had inflicted on himself during the Gu’s agony.
But the first thing Mu Xueshi asked upon receiving the jar was:
“Is this… arsenic?”
Su Ruhan had no idea what he meant.
He could only tell that Mu Xueshi seemed unhappy.
Ever since he entered the room, Mu Xueshi had been unusually quiet. Everyone in the courtyard knew him as lively and restless.
Seeing him so dejected stirred an unexpected sympathy.
Originally he had not intended to speak.
But after hearing Mu Xueshi muttering to himself, he finally replied calmly,
“It’s medicine to treat your wounds.”
Mu Xueshi’s face lit up instantly.
He jumped off the bed and ran toward Su Ruhan.
“Did the Third Prince give it to you to pass to me because he felt embarrassed to come himself?”
Su Ruhan remained silent.
His expression was answer enough.
Even Mu Xueshi, slow-witted as he sometimes was, could understand that much.
He had already known the Third Prince would never continue treating him kindly after what had happened.
Otherwise, he would not have been driven away.
“Where is this place?” Mu Xueshi asked again.
“Linhan Palace,” Su Ruhan replied coldly.
The word “cold” in the name immediately made Mu Xueshi think of the Cold Palace.
But that made no sense—he wasn’t a concubine.
The thought was absurd, and he shook his head with a bitter smile.
Su Ruhan assumed Mu Xueshi feared Linhan Palace.
Anyone who lived in that courtyard did.
Every corpse that died there was dragged to the back mountain. Linhan Palace was built against that mountain, where yin energy gathered heavily.
Those with weak constitutions often felt as though ghosts haunted them constantly.
Some even claimed to see wandering spirits.
The psychological terror alone was enough to make people pale at the mere mention of the place.
Mu Xueshi, however, had not yet grasped the danger he was in.
Still staring at the jar of ointment, he asked stubbornly,
“It really wasn’t the Third Prince who sent this?”
Su Ruhan let out a cold laugh and turned to leave.
Thinking he had offended him, Mu Xueshi hurriedly called after him,
“Sorry! I didn’t mean to doubt you—I just hoped it was from the Third Prince…”
Then, realizing that sounded wrong, he added quickly,
“Well… it’s fine if it’s from you too! Thank you, big brother!”
But Su Ruhan had already disappeared.
Mu Xueshi sighed.
As expected of the Third Prince’s personal guard—his temperament resembled the prince’s somewhat.
Though Su Ruhan seemed a bit more approachable.
He simply didn’t smile.
But he lacked the chilling killing aura that surrounded the Third Prince.
Futile Devices Scans 
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