“If the Jade Moon Serpent isn’t here, then should we just go back and report the situation to his majesty? We can change the exam then.” Zu An recalled Jiang Luofu’s warning before he had left, as well as the various red-marked dangerous areas. On top of all of that, he had no idea what kind of sinister schemes King Qi had waiting for them. He felt a strange sense of unease.

The others immediately complained about Zu An’s suggestion.

“Are you kidding me? Are we going to return in defeat after just setting out? How humiliating is that?”

“Exactly! If we went back, wouldn’t that mean we failed? How can we stand that?”

“If you’re scared, you can go back first.”

…

The others spoke while shooting Zu An looks of disdain. The crown princess trusted him so much, yet he had ended up being a good-for-nothing coward.

Zu An didn’t pay them any attention and looked at Bi Linglong, asking, “Crown princess, what do you think?”

Bi Linglong shook her head. “We can’t go back. The crown prince’s exam was in the works for a long time, and we used too many resources. Returning in...