“Qiao Mu.”

This was the first time Feng Jiang had ever called Qiao Mu by her name in a proper, serious manner.

Qiao Mu stared at him unblinkingly, the grip on his palm not loosening in the slightest.

Feng Jiang met her gaze, his expression growing considerably more solemn.

“Do you wish to guard Jiu’er for the rest of your life?”

“Mm.”

Qiao Mu’s stiff head gave a small nod.

“If you wish to help Jiu’er accomplish great things, you must overcome this fear. Do you understand?”

Feng Jiang’s voice continued.

“If one day, because you feared a wild rat, you placed Jiu’er in danger — do you think you would still have the right to stand by her side?”

Qiao Mu’s eyes flickered. Anyone could see she was caught in an intense inner struggle.

Feng Jiang knew well that women were troublesome, but he had never imagined that a woman of such formidable martial skill could also be this troublesome.

Everyone had already begun fighting. Seeing Qiao Mu in this state, he could not very well shove her aside with a palm strike.

If Qiao Mu were hurt because of that, Jiu’er would certainly blame him for it.

“What exactly is it about them that frightens you? They are nothing more than tiny—”

“I’m afraid they’ll bite my face.”

Qiao Mu softly interrupted Feng Jiang’s words.

Those creatures had a particular fondness for biting her face. Qiao Mu had not forgotten.

“That’s easily handled.”

Feng Jiang raised an eyebrow. “If your face is truly ruined and no one wants you, then I, Feng Jiang, will take you.”

“I don’t like you.”

Qiao Mu shook her head.

“Qiao Mu, you—” Feng Jiang let out a helpless sigh. “I am, at the very least, a prince of the Feng Clan in every sense of the word. You really—forget it.”

There was no more time for idle conversation. Feng Jiang drew his palm free from Qiao Mu’s grasp.

Then, with a sudden sweep of his long arm, he pulled her into his embrace.

“Remember what I said today. If you cannot overcome this fear, you have no right to remain at Jiu’er’s side.”

The words had barely fallen when he reached with his other hand, pulled out a whistle, and placed it to his lips.

A sharp, piercing whistle rang out. The venomous creatures that had been drawing steadily closer suddenly fell into disarray.

They continued to attack the people, but their offensive strength was greatly diminished.

The moment Feng Jiang’s whistle sounded, everyone found fighting back considerably less difficult.

Within the shrill notes of the whistle, Qiao Mu slowly came back to herself.

The man still held her in his arms, in the posture of someone guarding another.

Sensing his presence around her, when she looked again at those writhing masses of living creatures, much of the terror in her heart dissipated.

Whether it was due to the items in the small cloth pouch at Qiao Mu’s waist or not, the creatures that dared to approach Feng Jiang and Qiao Mu were all of the smaller variety — not a single rat among them.

Whistle between his lips, one arm holding Qiao Mu, the other gripping his long sword, Feng Jiang easily repelled and even cut down the venomous creatures that drew near.

And so Qiao Mu nestled in Feng Jiang’s arms, watching everything around them with unblinking eyes.

Suddenly, from not far away, the sound of a flute drifted over. The creatures that had only just been thrown into confusion instantly regained their fighting power.

Even the venomous rats seemed as though they had been bewitched, surging toward Qiao Mu and Feng Jiang in great numbers.

Assailed on all sides while still protecting one person, Feng Jiang began to find himself gradually growing strained.

Most critically, the moment the flute rang out, his whistle became completely ineffective.

Feng Jiang had just cut down a venomous snake when another wave of rats came. Behind him arrived a swarm of venomous scorpions, and from directly overhead, several hundred bats came pouring down.

In that critical, desperate moment, Qiao Mu’s silver spear emerged, cutting down the bats descending from above.

The silver spear swept downward with a sharp swish, and the dozens of venomous rats directly before Qiao Mu went flying.

Feng Jiang, who had just swept away a cluster of scorpions, turned to look at the woman standing back-to-back with him.

“You’ve come to your senses?”

“The worst that could happen is a prince of the Feng Clan — what have I to fear?”

The quip fell lightly, and Qiao Mu wielded her silver spear, sweeping it through another wave of venomous rats surging toward them.

The battle between humans and venomous creatures lasted roughly half a quarter-hour.

Then, the sound of the flute shifted, and the surviving snakes and creatures suddenly turned and retreated. In the blink of an eye, all that remained around them were corpses strewn across the ground.

“Are any of our brothers injured?”

With the situation brought to a temporary halt, Feng Jiu’er immediately turned to check on everyone.

“Miss Jiu’er, I was bitten by a snake. Will you take a look at how bad it is?”

“I think I was stung by a scorpion.”

“Miss Jiu’er, there’s also a wound on my foot.”

Three people spoke up from among the group.

Feng Jiu’er went to each of the three injured men at once to assess their conditions.

“Fortunately, we all took the antidote beforehand, so the venom has not spread too deeply.”

Feng Jiu’er exhaled a soft sigh and spoke.

“Come, the uninjured brothers help support those who are hurt, and let us leave this area. I will give everyone a proper examination once we are clear.”

“The ground here is covered with the corpses of venomous creatures. If we are careless and get stung, or if venom touches an open wound, it will do more harm than good.”

“Yes.”

The brothers assented in unison.

As everyone continued moving forward, Mu Mu, his white hair flowing freely, came from ahead and descended to land before Feng Jiu’er and Zhan Qingcheng.

Mu Mu simply shook his head and said nothing.

Zhan Qingcheng said nothing either, and the group pressed on.

They came to a more open clearing where the brothers formed a circle and rested where they stood.

In the middle of the group, Feng Jiu’er was administering acupuncture to the injured brothers, working to force out as much of the venom as she could.

Once she had tended to the wounds of those who were hurt, Feng Jiu’er returned to Feng Li’s side.

“Father, how are you feeling?”

She took his arm and leaned gently against his shoulder.

“I’m fine.”

Feng Li reached out a large hand and lightly ruffled Feng Jiu’er’s hair.

Feng Jiu’er gave Feng Li a smile in return, then released him and turned her head to look at Zhan Qingcheng and Mu Mu, who stood only three steps away.

“Mu Mu, what did you see earlier?”

Feng Jiu’er asked.

“The flute sound was strange — I could find no source for it. Concerned about the situation, I came back.”

Mu Mu replied softly.

Feng Jiu’er composed herself, then suddenly rose to her feet and leaped, vanishing from everyone’s sight in an instant.

She had not gone far, but found the tallest tree nearby and stood at its crown, gazing out in all directions.

Jian Yi, unwilling to leave her side unguarded, leaped up and landed beside Feng Jiu’er.

“Jiu’er, have you found anything?”

After a moment, Jian Yi asked softly.

Feng Jiu’er swept her gaze across the surroundings, then let it settle on Jian Yi.

“I think I understand what is happening. Come, let us return and I will explain.”

Feng Jiu’er’s words still lingered in the air, but she herself had already vanished from Jian Yi’s sight.

Looking down at the girl who had already rejoined the group, Jian Yi curved his lips slightly and leaped back after her.

Feng Jiu’er sat down between Zhan Qingcheng and Mu Mu. Across from them sat Feng Li, Xue Gu, and Qiao Mu.

Picking up a branch, she swept aside the dead leaves and withered twigs on the ground, and drew a square figure in the earth.

“I believe I know why Mu Mu could not find the source of the flute sound. Everyone look — this is what I observed just now from up there.”

She pointed to the center of the figure with the branch and raised her eyes to look at the gathered faces.

“This is the forest where we currently stand.”

The tip of the branch turned, and Feng Jiu’er made markings all along the outer edges of the figure.

“The forest is encircled by mountains on all sides, with almost no gap anywhere along the perimeter.”

“The flute sound we heard was an echo. This means that no matter which mountainside it is played from, as long as one finds the right position, the flute’s sound can resonate throughout the entire forest.”

She glanced sideways at Mu Mu, her lips pressed lightly together.

“So even if you were to keep searching, it would not be easy to find the source.”