Zhao Xiaoxiao turned her head to glance at Jian Yi, then just as quickly looked away.

She pressed her lips together, her face flushing red, and waved her hand. “No thanks are necessary. Jiu’er, I heard you were injured too — these herbs are for you as well.”

“You and Jian Yi, please both eat well from them. I hope the two of you recover as quickly as possible.”

“That day, I was nearly frightened senseless. I’m just glad… that you and Jian Yi are both all right.”

“Xiaoxiao, thank you for your concern. We’re both fine.” Feng Jiu’er turned, gave a wave, and looked back.

“Xiao Yingtao, take Xiaoxiao to get some rest. I think we’ll most likely be moving out after midday.”

“Of course. Xiaoxiao, come on — let me take you to rest.” Xiao Yingtao came to stand beside Zhao Xiaoxiao.

Zhao Xiaoxiao, however, kept looking at Jian Yi, reluctant to leave.

“Don’t worry — Jiu’er will still be treating Jian Yi soon.” Xiao Yingtao said to her softly.

“With the tonic herbs you brought, not only will the wound on his face heal, but the injuries on his body will recover faster as well.”

“Yes.” Zhao Xiaoxiao nodded, bit her lip hard, turned, and followed Xiao Yingtao’s footsteps out.

The two of them had not gone far from the tent when Zhao Xiaoxiao turned to look at Xiao Yingtao, blinking.

Xiao Yingtao saw that she seemed to want to say something but was holding back, so she stepped forward and asked quietly, “Xiaoxiao, what is it?”

“Xiao Yingtao, I want to ask — can everyone already tell that I… have feelings for Jian Yi?”

Xiao Yingtao met her gaze, momentarily taken aback, then curved her lips upward and blinked.

“More or less. Having feelings for someone isn’t exactly something to be ashamed of.”

Xiao Yingtao had no wish to lie — and honestly, she couldn’t have gotten the lie out anyway. After all, everyone already knew what was in Zhao Xiaoxiao’s heart. How could she pretend otherwise?

“What?” Zhao Xiaoxiao stopped walking and stared at Xiao Yingtao, her crescent-shaped brows drawn tightly together. “Is it that obvious? What am I going to do?”

“What do you mean, what are you going to do?” Xiao Yingtao’s brow creased faintly as she asked.

Seeing Zhao Xiaoxiao in such a state of anxiety, Xiao Yingtao reached out and lightly patted her on the shoulder.

“Don’t worry. Feelings are feelings — we’re all people of the jianghu. There’s no need to overthink it.”

Zhao Xiaoxiao composed herself and nodded, but before long her brow furrowed again.

“I can ignore what everyone else thinks, but I don’t know what Jian Yi thinks. If he doesn’t have feelings for me, what am I supposed to do?”

“Well…” Xiao Yingtao smiled and scratched her head. “When it comes to feelings, there’s nothing I can do to help.”

“Matters of the heart are beyond anyone’s control. Who doesn’t wish that the person they care for would feel the same? Isn’t that right?”

Zhao Xiaoxiao drew a deep breath and looked ahead as she walked on.

“You’re right. But since I’ve made up my mind, I won’t change it so easily. I believe that someday, sooner or later, Jian Yi will have feelings for me too.”

There was no response Xiao Yingtao could give to those words — who was she to know who Jian Yi might one day come to care for?

Xiao Yingtao walked on and said nothing more.

Today was the day to settle the specific route.

Zhao Yusheng had brought with him every map and text he had gathered relating to the Black Gorge.

Xing Zizhou, who had gone ahead to scout, had also made it back overnight just the evening before.

Inside the tent, Long Feiyan, Feng Jiu’er, Zhao Yusheng, Xing Zizhou, and Qiao Mu sat around the modest table.

The others stood in a circle around them, with the sole exception of Jian Yi — whose body had not yet recovered — who sat at a distance to one side.

Zhao Yusheng spread the map he had prepared flat on the table surface and held a bamboo pointer in his hand.

“The map you’re all looking at now covers nearly the entirety of the Black Gorge.”

“The Black Gorge is vast. By the estimates that could be recorded, it spans an area comparable to four Fenghuang Cities.”

Zhao Yusheng pointed to a spot and said, “What everyone knows as Zhao Family Stronghold is right here — the area marked in the deeper shade.”

“Given how long we have been in the Black Gorge, our territory covers quite a large area.”

“Beyond that, there are also many factions and organisations of varying sizes.”

“Among the more notable ones is Pingdan Valley to the northeast, close to Yamu City — home to the largest mountain valley in the Black Gorge. The mountain bandits take their name from the valley itself.”

“Their terrain is not only well-suited for cultivation, but also easily defensible and difficult to assault. Over the years, their population has grown quite rapidly.”

“From what I’ve gathered, the number of young men in Pingdan Valley runs into the tens of thousands. Zhao Yusheng, what’s your read on that figure?” Xing Zizhou looked at Zhao Yusheng as he spoke.

“That’s not surprising. I looked into it as well — the number is roughly in that range.” Zhao Yusheng replied quietly.

Upon hearing this, Feng Jiu’er perked up.

“A single Pingdan Valley already has tens of thousands of young male fighters. Is that place very large?”

Zhao Yusheng drew a circle on the map with the bamboo pointer before looking up at Feng Jiu’er.

“Their main territory is just one mountain valley, but in truth, the land stretching from beyond the valley all the way to Black Pond now falls under their domain.”

“My Zhao Family Stronghold shares a border with the mountain range around Pingdan Valley. Over the years, there has been little conflict between us — not exactly friendly, but not hostile either.”

Feng Jiu’er looked at the area Zhao Yusheng had just circled, then looked at the more deeply shaded region, and met Zhao Yusheng’s gaze.

“Would it be convenient to ask about… the strength of Zhao Family Stronghold’s forces?”

She seemed to have asked something rather presumptuous. Feng Jiu’er felt a little embarrassed.

But she genuinely wanted to know — and it was information she had to have. It was only a matter of sooner or later.

“From what I understand, over a hundred thousand.” Before Zhao Yusheng even had a chance to speak, Xing Zizhou curved his lips and said so.

“A hundred thousand?” Feng Jiu’er turned to look at Xing Zizhou, her mouth falling open and refusing to close again for a moment.

In the end, she swallowed, then turned back and looked at Zhao Yusheng, waiting for an answer.

Zhao Yusheng’s gaze fell on Xing Zizhou, and the faintest trace of a smile rose at the corner of his mouth.

“It seems your information really does reach far and wide. In just a few days, you’ve managed to find out this much.”

His gaze returned to Feng Jiu’er, and Zhao Yusheng nodded. “Yes, over a hundred thousand — though what most people would be able to find out is perhaps only half of that.”

“It seems Xing Zizhou is truly no ordinary man.”

“Really, a hundred thousand?” Feng Jiu’er’s eyes went wide, and she very nearly started drooling.

That figure had genuinely exceeded her expectations. The number she had been carrying in her head was fifty thousand.

Zhao Yu’s descendants were every one of them brave and skilled in battle. Fifty thousand of them could very well match a regular army of a hundred thousand, and Feng Jiu’er would naturally have been glad to bring them under her command.

She had never imagined the number was a hundred thousand.

“Jiu’er, I know what you’re thinking, but this matter still needs my father’s agreement.” Zhao Yusheng looked at Feng Jiu’er and let out a soft sigh.

“I understand that completely.” Feng Jiu’er pressed her lips together and nodded. “Which is why, before I go to Zhao Family Stronghold, I must find the treasure.”

“Only by making the elder of the stronghold feel that I am trustworthy, and that I have the ability to protect his people, will my words carry any weight.”

“Agreed.” Zhao Yusheng nodded. “We will search for the treasure together.”