After Tasang Dong’s attack, Tasang Nan never mentioned the matter of revenge again.

Instead, once he had settled Tasang Dong, he cleaned and properly dressed the bodies of his parents and buried them in the small flower garden behind the house.

That such a poverty-stricken place could still have a small flower garden made it clear that Tasang’s mother, in life, must have been an exceptionally gentle and graceful woman.

“She was beautiful. Everyone says women from the Beimu Kingdom are beautiful, but to me, my mother was the most beautiful of all.”

Tasang Nan knelt before the fresh graves of his parents, staring at the characters carved on the headstones, his voice flat, without the slightest ripple of emotion.

Feng Jiu’er stood behind him, watching the side of his face, and said calmly, “Seeing what you look like, it isn’t hard to imagine how beautiful your mother must have been.”

Tasang Nan’s fingers slowly curled into fists. No matter how he tried to pretend otherwise, he still could not suppress the pain of losing both his father and mother.

“A’Dong’s condition is still uncertain. If you have plans of your own, I won’t try to stop you, but at least—wait until A’Dong’s condition has stabilized a little, all right?”

Tasang Nan still said nothing, offering no response at all.

Jiu’er looked at him once more, then turned and went back into the house to check on Tasang Dong.

That night, after dark, Qiao Mu came to Jiu’er’s room and said in a lowered voice, “Jiu’er, I know you’re soft-hearted and can’t bring yourself to leave these two brothers behind right now, but our business…”

“I haven’t forgotten.” Jiu’er waved a hand, looking out the window, and said calmly, “We set out tomorrow. I know what I’m doing. But tonight, I need to prepare some medicine first.”

She handed Qiao Mu the prescription she had just finished writing. “Help me go and buy all these ingredients, and bring them back as quickly as you can. I need to finish making the pills before we leave tomorrow.”

“Is this for Tasang Dong?” Although Qiao Mu didn’t agree with wasting time like this, a life was at stake, and she wasn’t so heartless either.

Since they had already stayed this long, staying one more night wouldn’t change much—after all, even if they didn’t stay here, they’d need to find somewhere to rest regardless.

She simply worried that Jiu’er was overexerting herself without any regard for her own body. Her injuries had only just healed—how much more strain could she really withstand?

“Yes. Make the pills for him, so that whenever his illness flares up again in the future, he can take one and have the symptoms eased.” Jiu’er nodded and said calmly, “Go on, then.”

Qiao Mu took the prescription and left. Tonight Jiu’er would be making the medicine, and there was no telling how late it would take, so she didn’t want to waste any more time.

Not long after Qiao Mu left, Xiao Yingtao rushed in clutching a note. “Jiu’er, A’Nan, he…”

“Slipped off to seek revenge, didn’t he?” Feng Jiu’er said, as though she had already expected as much. Of course—if he hadn’t gone to seek revenge, he wouldn’t have been Tasang Nan at all.

Seeing the way Tasang Nan had looked today, this feud was one he would never let go unanswered.

“Yes, he left this note behind.” Xiao Yingtao handed the note to Jiu’er.

Jiu’er lowered her eyes and quickly scanned it:

“Miss Jiu, thank you for saving A’Dong’s life. But the hatred of a father’s death and a mother’s violation cannot go unanswered—I’m sorry, I cannot listen to you on this.

If I do not return, please wait until A’Dong’s body has recovered somewhat, then send him to Granny Er’s house at the end of the village. Granny Er will look after A’Dong.

If I do return, then from now on this life of mine will be yours. Please, I beg you, take good care of A’Dong for me!”

He was gone. Looking at the characters on the note, the ink hadn’t even dried yet—he couldn’t have gone far.

Feng Jiu’er looked at Xiao Yingtao. “Stay here and watch over Tasang Dong. I’ll go find him.”

“Jiu’er, where he’s headed is the military camp—it’s dangerous.” Xiao Yingtao looked a little worried; they still had another task to carry out here, and they couldn’t afford any mishaps at a time like this.

“But I can’t just leave him be either, can I?” Jiu’er gave a faint smile, burned the note, and rose to chase after him.

“Jiu’er…”

“Don’t worry. Madam Xue may stay silent most of the time, but she’ll be watching from the shadows.” The moment Jiu’er’s voice faded, her shadow vanished along with it.

Xiao Yingtao felt a small chill. She hadn’t expected Jiu’er’s lightness skill to have reached such a level already!

She had always known Jiu’er learned everything quickly, her martial skill constantly improving—but to think anyone could actually progress this fast was simply unbelievable!

…The military camp was heavily guarded territory, and whether inside or outside the city, the defenses were extremely tight.

Feng Jiu’er had originally assumed it would be very difficult for Tasang Nan to get inside, but to her surprise, he slipped in with ease.

His lightness skill wasn’t weak at all—who would have guessed it, looking at him. Still, Tasang Nan’s overall combat skill was only middling at best. In a camp crawling with skilled fighters like this one, could he really manage to take his revenge?

She trailed behind Tasang Nan the entire way, and of course he had no idea, his mind set entirely on revenge.

The camp’s defenses truly were tight. No matter what, he couldn’t force his way through the path ahead—pushing forward any further would surely expose him.

Just as he was at a loss for what to do, a chill, clear presence suddenly swept in from behind him.

Tasang Nan jumped in fright and was about to turn around when, without warning, the back of his collar tightened and he found himself lifted clean off the ground.

The scent on that person was wonderfully pleasant, a faint, clean fragrance, her footsteps light as a feather as she walked across the tops of the tents as easily as if walking on level ground.

“Young Master Jiu…”

“Shh, don’t speak.” Jiu’er’s lightness skill was, by some unknowable margin, far superior to Tasang Nan’s, and carrying him along the way cost her no effort at all.

At last, atop one of the tents, they spotted those same three scoundrels!

The three appeared to belong to the same unit and had just returned from a shift change.

As they entered the tent, one of them, savoring the memory of the day’s events, said with a smug look, “Ah, I tell you, that woman’s flavor really wasn’t bad at all. Why don’t we go again tonight…”

“Heh, that quickly thinking of going again? Isn’t your lust running a little too high?” another said with a laugh.

The first man looked unbothered. “What right do you have to talk? Don’t forget, today you vented yourself on that woman twice. Don’t tell me you don’t want to as well?”

Lying flat atop the tent, Tasang Nan’s fingers clenched tight, and he very nearly couldn’t hold himself back from charging down to tear them apart.

Jiu’er’s hand pressed down on his shoulder, gently shaking her head at him.

This was heavily guarded camp territory. Although Madam Xue was also trailing them in the shadows, if any disturbance broke out here, it wouldn’t be easy for them all to make a clean escape.

If possible, it would be best to deal with the men quietly, without drawing too much attention.

Jiu’er signaled for him to be patient, intending to go down herself and finish them off, but Tasang Nan firmly shook his head—this was his vengeance, and he would carry it out himself!

Just as Jiu’er was wondering exactly how he meant to take his revenge, she suddenly saw Tasang Nan bring both hands together at his lips and blow softly.

The sound was strange, not loud at all—rather like the noise of wind blowing through bamboo.

The men below also heard the sound and, without a word, all looked up—yet saw nothing unusual at all.

“Just the wind,” one of them said.

But lying right beside Tasang Nan, Jiu’er suddenly widened her eyes, staring in disbelief at the change unfolding in the night sky above.

This… this was simply astonishing!