“What is it you wish to say?” the Third Prince asked calmly.
“Nothing much,” Hao Lin replied with a faint smile. “I merely wished to remind you—now that this game of chess has been solved, Mu Xueshi’s poison should also be dispelled.”
The Third Prince’s eyes shot toward Hao Lin’s, a chill instantly surfacing within them. Just as he had suspected—once Hao Lin had deliberately drawn him away, someone had surely taken the opportunity to secretly attack Mu Xueshi.
Even so, the prince’s expression remained tranquil. Gazing toward the forest across from Wangyun Peak, he spoke lightly, as if discussing nothing of consequence.
“The future ruler of Yunxi will not be me.”
A flicker of surprise passed through Hao Lin’s heart, though his face revealed nothing.
“Who becomes Yunxi’s next monarch is the business of Yunxi itself. What does it have to do with me, Hao Lin?”
The Third Prince let out a cold laugh.
“Mu Xueshi is merely one insignificant citizen of Yunxi. What concern is he of yours?”
Hao Lin chuckled teasingly.
“Who would have thought that Your Highness the Third Prince understands what love is? Or perhaps what fascinates you is simply that beauty of his—one you alone possess.”
The prince had no desire to continue this stalemate and turned to leave.
Behind him, Hao Lin spoke again at an unhurried pace.
“In truth, what interests me most… is precisely what you are trying so hard to conceal.”
The previous night, Sun Ye had waited in the place where Gu Master Mo Ru usually lingered, remaining there the entire night without catching even a glimpse of him.
For some reason, Sun Ye felt strangely restless.
From time to time, Mo Ru’s usual teasing words seemed to echo in his ears. Now that he could neither hear them nor retort to them, he found himself feeling… unexpectedly empty.
Realizing this strange thought, Sun Ye frowned deeply.
Logically, he should have no reason to worry about the man. Why had a single act—Mo Ru saving his life—so easily shaken him?
“Ah!”
A sudden cry rang out.
Sun Ye had just collided with something soft. He himself barely felt it, yet the object he struck flew nearly two meters away.
Looking closely, he realized that the person he had knocked over was Eunuch Tai’an. For the first time, a trace of panic appeared on Sun Ye’s usually composed face. He stared at the eunuch, momentarily at a loss for words.
“Guard Sun, what’s the matter with you today?” Eunuch Tai’an complained while rubbing himself. “You’ve been pacing back and forth in this courtyard all day. I greeted you earlier, but you ignored me entirely—you didn’t even notice I was standing here!”
Sun Ye forced out a faint smile.
“It’s nothing. I was simply a bit tired.”
Eunuch Tai’an eyed him suspiciously, looking him up and down.
“Just tired?”
Sun Ye found the eunuch’s odd behavior baffling. If anything, he felt he should be asking the eunuch what was wrong.
Seeing Sun Ye remain silent, Eunuch Tai’an suddenly burst into laughter.
“Come now, just admit it! Ever since Gu Master Mo Ru stopped coming to this courtyard, you’ve been completely absent-minded.”
The moment those words were spoken, Sun Ye’s expression changed instantly.
With a swift motion he drew the sword from his waist, its blade flashing as it stopped at Eunuch Tai’an’s throat.
“I have long respected your years of service in this courtyard,” Sun Ye said coldly. “But such offensive words today—I cannot tolerate them.”
Eunuch Tai’an’s face paled. Trembling, he pointed toward the Third Prince’s chambers.
“Guard Sun, you misunderstand! Those questions were taught to me by Young Master Xue. I merely repeated them. He’s been cooped up indoors all day and came up with this trick for amusement. He’s been watching you from the window for quite a while…”
Sun Ye’s face flushed crimson.
Grinding his teeth, he looked toward the window.
Sure enough, Mu Xueshi’s small head was resting there, his hand cheerfully waving at him.
Seeing Sun Ye glaring furiously, Mu Xueshi looked rather pleased with himself.
He yawned exaggeratedly and said with a grin,
“Just teasing you!”
With that, his head disappeared back inside.
Sun Ye nearly exploded with rage.
He was already troubled enough by his inexplicable concern for the Gu Master—and now someone was making a joke out of it.
Thinking of Mu Xueshi’s mischievous expression earlier made him want to grab that face and squeeze it flat.
After some time, Sun Ye realized the courtyard had become strangely quiet.
Looking up, he saw that the Third Prince had returned at some point.
Eunuch Tai’an followed closely behind him, looking cautious. Sun Ye quickly stepped forward to salute, his wandering thoughts gradually settling.
The Third Prince said nothing. His expression was unusually grave.
Stopping at the entrance of the bedchamber, he said to the two of them,
“Without my orders, no one is permitted to enter.”
“Yes, Your Highness!”
Sun Ye couldn’t help feeling that something was odd. Normally, no one was allowed into the prince’s chambers anyway—there had never been any need to emphasize it before.
Why stress it today?
After a whole day of strange happenings, Sun Ye began to suspect the problem might lie with himself.
Looking confused, he walked off toward an empty patch of ground, sword still in hand.
The moment the Third Prince stepped into the room, he saw Mu Xueshi collapsed on the floor, his face deathly pale.
Just moments ago he had been lively and energetic, yet now he lay motionless like a corpse.
The prince quickly lifted him and placed him on the bed.
Taking out a vial of holy water and the pollen of the Ruo Zhi flower, he mixed them carefully and spread the solution across Mu Xueshi’s face.
After a short while, the thin membrane covering his face slowly peeled away, revealing the scarred visage beneath.
Mu Xueshi had already lost consciousness.
When he had been teasing Sun Ye earlier, he had felt perfectly fine. But not long after, a familiar discomfort had surfaced—followed by the same sensation as yesterday, as if body and soul were separating.
After struggling for some time, a sharp pain pierced through his heart like a blade, and he blacked out instantly.
The Third Prince’s lips curved into a proud smile.
He withdrew a small bottle from his sleeve, rubbed the contents onto his fingertips, and gently applied it to Mu Xueshi’s cheek.
Immediately, the swollen blemishes and scars began to fade.
Beneath them, skin white as snow slowly appeared.
Half of the face was restored, while the other half remained scarred.
Covering the damaged side with his hand, the flawless half alone was already breathtaking.
So it is indeed as I thought…
Outside, everything remained quiet.
Mu Xueshi lay peacefully, showing no sign of awakening.
Seeing this, Shangchuan Hong no longer felt the need to maintain appearances. His movements returned to their usual rhythm as he skillfully continued detoxifying the other half of Mu Xueshi’s face.
When the final scar vanished beneath his touch, Shangchuan Hong suddenly held his breath.
The sleeping youth before him resembled a piece of rare jade—so precious that one feared it might shatter with the slightest touch.
Long, delicate lashes rested upon his cheeks.
A straight nose.
Lips as red as cherries.
To call him a celestial being descending to the mortal world would not be an exaggeration.
At last, Shangchuan Hong understood why the Third Prince valued this younger brother so greatly.
Empress Hunruo’s beauty had already been unmatched in the world. After seeing her so often, Shangchuan Hong had grown indifferent to the appearance of others.
But now, faced with Mu Xueshi, even that incomparable beauty seemed to pale in comparison.
The realization struck his mind like lightning.
A bright light pierced Mu Xueshi’s eyes.
He rubbed them groggily and slowly opened them.
When Shangchuan Hong saw those dazzling eyes—brimming with flowing brilliance—turn toward him, he felt the youth’s beauty had become something unreal.
Impossible to describe.
Impossible to paint.
Impossible for anyone to replicate.
“Why did you come back so late?” Mu Xueshi stretched lazily. “I’ve been waiting all afternoon.”
The moment he saw the “Third Prince,” all traces of drowsiness vanished, replaced by lively energy.
Seeing Mu Xueshi’s radiant smile nearly caused Shangchuan Hong to lose control of himself.
Only by recalling the purpose of his visit did he regain some composure.
“The affairs of the palace are busy. There’s no need for you to concern yourself with them.”
Mu Xueshi nodded.
“Oh.”
Then, as if out of habit, he wrapped an arm around the “Third Prince’s” shoulders and leaned close to his ear.
“Let me tell you something funny. Want to hear it?”
Though Shangchuan Hong knew he should not waste time, Mu Xueshi’s eager expression and intimate gesture made him strangely reluctant to refuse.
Taking his silence as agreement, Mu Xueshi giggled and excitedly recounted how he had just tricked Sun Ye—adding several exaggerated details along the way.
The utterly trivial story left Shangchuan Hong momentarily speechless.
Just then, Mu Xueshi noticed something inside his sleeve.
A faint silver gleam.
His mind went blank.
“Tsk… Xi,” he said with trembling lips, staring at him. “I want to see the silver coin in your sleeve.”
“My sleeve faces inward,” Shangchuan Hong replied slowly. “How do you know there’s a silver coin inside?”
Fear flickered across Mu Xueshi’s beautiful face.
“Because it’s mine. Of course I recognize it. Have you really had it all this time? Why didn’t you tell me? Or… did you already know what it meant all along?”
Even someone as calculating as Shangchuan Hong could not guess the reason for Mu Xueshi’s sudden panic.
But one thing was clear.
This silver coin was yet another unexpected gain.
Mu Xueshi continued insisting on seeing it. Finally, Shangchuan Hong lost patience and tapped his acupoint, knocking him unconscious once again.
He wrapped Mu Xueshi’s body in cloth, covering everything below the face, and carried him out of the courtyard.
Sun Ye naturally stepped forward to follow.
But after only a few steps, the Third Prince’s voice sounded.
“No need to accompany me.”
Sun Ye bowed obediently.
By the time he straightened, the prince had already disappeared.
Shangchuan Hong mounted the Third Prince’s horse, lifted Mu Xueshi onto it, and rode swiftly toward the palace gates.
The journey was suspiciously smooth.
So smooth that Shangchuan Hong felt uneasy.
It seemed too simple.
Surely danger was waiting somewhere ahead.
The moment his vigilance sharpened—
An arrow suddenly shot toward them.
And its target was not the “Third Prince.”
It was Mu Xueshi.
Without hesitation, Shangchuan Hong raised his hand and blocked the arrow.
The force behind it was astonishing.
When he opened his palm, a thin line of blood had already appeared.
Watching this from afar, Su Ruhan let out a cold laugh.
Of course it would end this way.
With something so beautiful in one’s arms, who could bear to let even a single hair of it be harmed?
Riding forward, Su Ruhan blocked their path.
His sharp eyes locked onto Shangchuan Hong.
“Put him down.”
Shangchuan Hong’s expression remained composed, a faint smile on his lips.
“Su Ruhan. As my guard, you dare block my path?”
Su Ruhan’s face turned icy.
“Shangchuan Hong… I almost forgot. You know this Yunxi Palace better than I do.”
Pretending not to understand, Shangchuan Hong pointed at Mu Xueshi.
“What do you think would happen if I took him to the city walls and removed the veil from his face… so that the people of Yunxi could witness this once-in-a-thousand-years beauty?”
A murderous chill erupted from Su Ruhan’s eyes.
Even the horse beneath him trembled.
Shangchuan Hong suddenly lashed his whip, urging the horse into a gallop.
As he sped away, he shouted back,
“Let’s see whose arrow is faster—yours… or my hand.”
Futile Devices Scans 
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