With Qiao Mu helping to portion out the roasted mutton, Feng Jiang was free to sit at ease.

He settled down not far away, pulled out a book, and began to read through it.

The brothers ate as suited them — some had porridge, some had snake broth, some had mutton.

A mouthful of wild vegetable porridge, a bite of roasted mutton, and then a serving of snake broth on the side — even in these days of flight and hardship, it was no small thing to savor.

Once the whole roasted sheep had been fully divided, Qiao Mu turned her head and looked over at Feng Jiang sitting not far away. She picked up a mutton bone with a good bit of meat still on it and tossed it toward him.

“Eat.”

Just as Feng Jiu’er was making her way back, she caught this very scene.

Anyone who didn’t know better might have thought Qiao Mu was giving her Third Imperial Brother special treatment, but Feng Jiang had clearly not been expecting it.

And yet with his quick reflexes, the moment he sensed a “projectile” incoming, he shot out a hand and caught the mutton bone clean.

“Thank you.”

He looked at Qiao Mu and curved his lips ever so slightly.

Qiao Mu furrowed her brow and shot him a glance, her eyes still brimming with unmistakable warning.

Feng Jiang paid it no mind whatsoever, bit into the mutton bone, and let his gaze drift back down to his book.

“Jiu’er, I’ve set aside a bowl of snake broth for you.”

Jian Yi’s voice reached her.

“Thank you.” Feng Jiu’er walked over with a delighted expression.

Cradling her bowl of snake broth, with a small serving of wild vegetable porridge balanced alongside, Feng Jiu’er turned and made her way back toward Zhan Qingcheng.

With Xue Gu there to look after her father, she could set her mind at ease. She could only hope her father wasn’t too upset with her — she hadn’t had an easy time of it either. Who knew when they’d next have the chance to sit down properly for a meal? With Yu Jingfeng absent, she at least had to look after the Ninth Imperial Uncle properly herself.

Though thinking about it — whenever she was around, there was really nothing left for Yu Jingfeng to do anyway.

After a satisfying meal, the group of several dozen set off on their way again.

This time, walking at the very front, alongside Feng Jiang and Qiao Mu, was an additional figure: Zhao Yusheng.

The moment they entered the forest, the color drained from Qiao Mu’s face.

But she carried her silver spear and walked at the front, and no one could tell anything was amiss.

“Here.”

After walking for a while, Feng Jiang turned back and held out a small cloth sachet to Qiao Mu.

Qiao Mu eyed the sachet with visible distaste and couldn’t help raising a hand to cover her nose.

“No wonder I kept feeling like there was something foul in the air — so it was coming off you all along.”

“What is this? It reeks!”

Qiao Mu had noticed the scratch marks on the back of Feng Jiang’s hand, but she hadn’t given them a second thought. She didn’t feel that anything involving Feng Jiang had anything to do with her.

“I told you — there are tens of thousands of venomous rats in this forest. If you don’t want them coming near you, you’d best keep this on you.”

Feng Jiang said quietly.

The moment the word “rat” reached her ears, Qiao Mu’s entire body gave an involuntary shudder.

She reached out and took the small sachet, her voice coming out a little hoarse. “I… what do I do with it?”

As long as there were no rats, a little smell was the least of her concerns.

“Tie it to your waist. When they catch the scent, venomous rats won’t dare come within ten paces of you.”

Feng Jiang left it at that and returned his gaze to the path ahead.

Qiao Mu fastened the sachet to her waist and fell back into step beside him.

“What exactly is in this? Does it actually work?”

“Wild cat droppings.”

Feng Jiang’s voice came back to her.

“Droppings?”

Qiao Mu looked down, and her expression was still thoroughly repulsed.

If it weren’t for necessity, who in the world would want to carry droppings on their person?

“Keep it with you — at least until we leave the Dark Lands.”

Feng Jiang glanced over briefly. “This sort of thing isn’t easy to come by. Don’t go throwing it away carelessly.”

Qiao Mu let out a helpless sigh, and her gaze drifted without thinking to the back of Feng Jiang’s hand.

“Your injury — did a wild cat scratch you?”

It certainly looked that way from the marks.

“It’s nothing.”

Feng Jiang tossed back those two words and quickened his pace.

Qiao Mu watched that retreating figure for a moment, briefly taken aback, before continuing forward herself.

“Why does your face look like you’re moved by something?”

Feng Jiu’er had caught up beside her and spotted that rare, unguarded expression on Qiao Mu’s face.

“It’s nothing.”

Qiao Mu shook her head and fell into step behind Feng Jiang.

Traveling by day was very different from traveling by night. Zhao Yusheng scattered medicinal powder at intervals up ahead, and the path passed without incident.

Through the forest and then another hour of trail through the mountain ravines, they finally arrived before the dense forest Feng Jiang had spoken of.

Without stopping to rest, everyone took their antidote and entered the forest together.

The amount of venomous creatures along the way was considerably greater than in the morning’s forest, but continuing forward was not particularly difficult.

After roughly half an hour of walking, Feng Jiang, at the very front of the group, suddenly halted.

After Zhao Yusheng, Qiao Mu, Feng Jiu’er, Zhan Qingcheng, Mu Mu, and the others stopped, the rest of the group seemed to sense something was wrong as well.

In an extremely short span of time, the entire group had closed ranks, forming a defensive battle circle.

Everyone had their weapons in hand, ready to fight.

Suddenly, a sharp, rustling sound rang out, along with countless faint, scattered noises — as though a tiny yet enormous force was drawing closer.

“Jiu’er — it’s venomous creatures. Everyone on guard!”

Feng Jiang furrowed his brow and called out in a low, steady voice.

“Yes!” The brothers responded with firm, resounding voices.

They had been on the march for so long — it was time to fight a proper battle. It was fair to say that every last person was brimming with confidence. Every last person, save one.

Even amid the countless other sounds all around, Qiao Mu could not block out that particular squeaking.

Moments later, venomous snakes, venomous rats, scorpions, and spiders surged forward in dense, swarming masses toward the group, while above, a thick, black cloud of bats drew nearer through the air.

“Everyone be on your guard. These are all venomous creatures. We’ve taken the antidote, but the full effect of these toxins isn’t something anyone can predict.”

Feng Jiu’er’s voice rang out.

“Yes!” The brothers answered in resounding unison.

On Qiao Mu and Feng Jiang’s side, a great tide of venomous rats was surging toward them.

The venomous rats were larger than ordinary ones, and their cries were piercingly sharp.

Qiao Mu’s mind flashed back to a night in her childhood when she had jolted awake in the dark to find a fat, bloated rat right before her face, and the coldness in her entire being sharpened to its keenest edge.

After that night, every last person in the mountain stronghold had known that their young miss was terrified of rats.

Because of that, through the collective efforts of everyone, Qiao Mu had rarely come face-to-face with a rat in all the years since.

What had happened in the outer forest this morning had still been fresh and horrifying. Who could have imagined that barely any time later she would encounter them again — and in numbers this overwhelming.

The sound of blades and swords rang out, and some of the brothers had already launched into battle.

Having followed Zhan Qingcheng for so many years, they had fought more battles, large and small, than they could count. But a war against insects and creatures — this was a first.

Just as Feng Jiang was about to strike, a large hand suddenly seized his.

He glanced to the side, and even though he had an extreme aversion to being this close to any woman, he did not immediately push her away.

Qiao Mu stared at him, frozen, a glimmer of tears trembling in her eyes like starlight.

The Qiao Mu of ordinary times — how could she ever have reached out for someone else’s help? Let alone reached out to take the hand of a man she didn’t even like?

The Qiao Mu right now was in the grip of an overwhelming, paralyzing fear. Whatever she was doing, she very likely had no awareness of it at all.

She didn’t even need to look. The mere sound alone was enough to terrify her completely — and terrify her utterly. One rat would have been more than enough to make her forget herself entirely. Let alone this — a dense, surging tide of them still pouring toward the crowd.