His entire family perished in battle; he rose from the ashes to conquer the world.

Zhou Bao's desire to kill Mu Yuan had been brewing for quite some time.

Now, the eldest brother, Li Tai, has made a promise.

He was overjoyed.

Zhou Bao was afraid that his elder brother would go back on his word, so he repeatedly emphasized: "Brother, you said it yourself. After we get the jade Buddha, we will take action against Mu Yun. You can't go back on your word then."

Li Tai said in a deep voice:

"When have I ever broken a promise I made to you?"

"Then I'm relieved." Zhou Bao swept away his frustration and revealed a ferocious smile.

Li Tai looked at Su Su, who hadn't uttered a single word the entire time, and asked, "Miss Su Su, what are your thoughts?"

Upon hearing this, Su Su's eyes remained completely still, and her face showed no emotion whatsoever. She said calmly:

"It's your business to discard someone after they've served their purpose; how you do it is none of my concern. I only care about that jade Buddha. As for the rest, you can handle it yourself."

After saying that, he left without looking back.

Zhou Bao watched Su Su's graceful figure as she left, licking his lips repeatedly, a lewd expression on his face, and said:

"If I could have my way with that woman even once, I'd die happy!"

Upon hearing this, Li Tai slapped him across the face in anger and warned him:

"I'm warning you, she's the Emperor's woman. You really think she's one of our Black Cloud Stronghold's people?"

"Whether she's in front of us or not, you must not do anything excessive. Offending her is offending the Emperor. If the Emperor finds out, not only you and I, but the entire Black Cloud Stronghold will be in deep trouble. Do you understand?"

Faced with Li Tai's stern warning, Zhou Bao covered his face, nodded with a wronged expression, and said:

"Understood, brother."

the other side.

It was already dark.

Mu Yuan returned to the courtyard.

Upon entering the hall, they saw Qin Hongxiu and the others sitting around the dining table, all looking worried. They hesitated to touch the table full of delicious food.

Mu Yuan noticed their sullen expressions and asked, "What happened? Why do you all look so down?"

Upon hearing Mu Yuan's voice, Qin Hongxiu and Lin Xueshang were struck as if by lightning. They quickly stood up and looked at Mu Yuan, their eyes filled with concern.

"You're finally back! We were so worried!" Lin Xueshang said, still looking shaken.

It turned out that Mu Yuan had been taken away early in the morning, and Lin Xueshang and the others were very worried about him, fearing that something might have happened to him. They spent the whole day in fear.

Only now that Mu Yuan has returned safe and sound can I finally relax.

"What are you worried about? I'm perfectly fine." Mu Yuan smiled faintly, and as he spoke, his gaze turned to Qin Hongxiu beside him.

The moment Qin Hongxiu met Mu Yuan's gaze, the concern in her eyes vanished instantly, her face darkened, and she sat back down, picked up her chopsticks, and began to eat heartily on her own.

As a woman, Lin Xueshang keenly sensed that Mu Yuan and Qin Hongxiu seemed to have a conflict, and immediately spoke up for Qin Hongxiu.

She smiled and said:

"You have no idea, my sister-in-law has been so distracted all day, she was so afraid that something had happened to you."

Before Mu Yuan could speak, Qin Hongxiu coldly retorted, "I'm not out of my mind; I'm just scared because I'm in Black Cloud Village!"

Her reasoning was weak and even somewhat laughable.

After all, Qin Hongxiu comes from a military family and is quite skilled. Having spent many years in the army, what storms hasn't she seen? Would she be afraid just because she's in Black Cloud Stronghold?

Lin Xueshang seemed to have noticed something, and smiled without saying anything, her smile somewhat meaningful.

Mu Yuan did not choose to expose her. He knew that Qin Hongxiu was worried about him. If he exposed her directly, wouldn't that put Qin Hongxiu in an awkward position?

Moreover, Mu Yuan also knew that Qin Hongxiu was still angry with him.

"Let's eat first!"

To avoid making the atmosphere more awkward, Mu Yuan sat down and invited everyone to eat. He had been traveling all day and was very hungry.

"I'm stuffed."

As soon as Mu Yuan sat down, before he could even pick up his chopsticks, Qin Hongxiu threw down her chopsticks, got up, and left the table, heading towards her room without looking back.

This scene left everyone present completely dumbfounded.

for a long time.

Qin Hongxiu had never lost her composure like this before.

Lin Xueshang stared straight at Mu Yuan, her smile becoming even more playful.

The two members of the Shadow Squad were also very perceptive. They ate very quickly, filled their stomachs in a hurry, and then got up and left their seats, deliberately creating a space for Mu Yuan and Lin Xueshang to talk alone.

Did you upset your sister-in-law?

With no one else present, Lin Xueshang finally asked the question that had been on her mind.

Mu Yuan seemed not to have heard Lin Xueshang's words and continued eating with his head down.

This made Lin Xueshang even more convinced that there must have been a conflict between Mu Yuan and Qin Hongxiu. Otherwise, given Qin Hongxiu's personality, she would never have deliberately made such a move to exclude Mu Yuan in front of others.

Lin Xueshang rested her chin on her right hand, smiling as she looked at Mu Yuan, offering him thoughtful advice:

"It's clear that Hongxiu cares a lot about you. Otherwise, she wouldn't have done this. As the saying goes, concern can cloud judgment. Find an opportunity to apologize to her."

However, Mu Yuan's mind was filled with thoughts of what would happen four days later.

He bowed his head and admitted his mistake to Qin Hongxiu.

He doesn't have time to deal with that right now.

"Four days from now, a Burmese team will escort the Jade Buddha through here. At that time, Black Cloud Village will come out in full force. You can take this opportunity to return to Diancheng!" Mu Yuan said while eating.

Upon hearing this, Lin Xueshang composed herself and said with a serious expression:

"And what about you?"

"I'll meet up with you once I've finished my business," Mu Yuan said casually.

Four days later will be the best time to wipe out Black Cloud Stronghold in one fell swoop, and also the perfect opportunity to capture Li Tai and his men. As the saying goes, to catch a thief red-handed, the entire Black Cloud Stronghold participated in the robbery of the Jade Buddha. As long as they all come out, it will be irrefutable evidence.

With him as an eyewitness, no matter how hard Black Cloud Village tries, they can't wash away this guilt.

At that time, Mu Yuan could use this incident to interrogate Li Tai separately and extract all the information.

This includes the truth behind the murder of Lin Xueshang's family, the robbery of the jade Buddha offered as tribute by Black Cloud Village, who was behind it, and even the secrets hidden within Black Cloud Village.

"I'll stay with you." Lin Xueshang knew that this trip was fraught with danger, and at this time, she had to stay by Mu Yuan's side and do everything she could to protect him.

"No!" Mu Yuan refused decisively, without explaining why.

Lin Xueshang was incredibly intelligent; after a moment's thought, she understood Mu Yuan's thoughts and said, "Are you worried that I'll be in danger if I go with you?"

Mu Yuan put down his chopsticks and remained silent.

Seeing his tacit agreement, Lin Xueshang was deeply moved. She took Mu Yuan's hand, her expression resolute, her eyes filled with tenderness.

"No matter what, I want to face this with you!"