Feng Jiu’er released Di Wu Ya’s arm, and looking at the man kneeling on the ground, her expression instantly turned grim.

“What did you say? What happened to my father? Stand up at once and explain clearly!”

The man raised his eyes to glance at Feng Jiu’er, then stood, lowering his head: “Reporting to Miss Jiu’er, Prince Ye disappeared seven days ago.”

“At the time, since you were all still out on the black lake, the brothers thought it unwise to send word to Lord Yu.”

“We’ve searched for many days and still haven’t found any trace of him. Seeing that you were about to arrive, the captain sent me ahead.”

“Up until now, it’s been more than seven days since Prince Ye went missing, and I still haven’t received any news from the brothers. I’m afraid…”

“Afraid of what?” Feng Jiu’er clenched her fists tightly.

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of someone bringing horses over, and immediately strode toward her own horse, Zhuiyue.

After coming off the black lake, Long Shiyi had had someone take their steeds to graze.

The innkeeper, knowing the guests were leaving, had notified the stable hand to bring the horses out.

Just as Feng Jiu’er took her first step, a warm, large hand caught her small one.

Di Wu Ya didn’t say any comforting words; he simply took hold of Feng Jiu’er’s hand and moved forward with her.

The two of them leapt up together, landing on a black horse and a white horse.

Seeing this, everyone else immediately mounted as well.

Led by the brother who had come to deliver the news, everyone set off in the same direction.

Feng Jiu’er truly could not understand it — her father had come to such a distant country, and yet something had still happened to him.

Given her father’s personality, he would never hide away on his own; if he were to leave, he would at least have left her a note.

So, had some enemy come looking for him?

Whether it was the Feng Clan or the Beimu Kingdom, both were far from Qiangu Prefecture. Just who could have taken her father away?

The horses chosen by the brother who’d come to report, though decent, were no match for Zhuifeng and Zhuiyue.

A day later, the only ones who could still keep up with Di Wu Ya and Feng Jiu’er were Yu Jingfeng and a few brothers from the Feilong Shi’er Qi.

Another day after that, aside from Yu Jingfeng and Long Yi, all the other brothers had been left behind.

Before entering Guzhou City, two more brothers arrived from within and joined up with the four who had been riding ahead.

After more than two days of hard travel, Di Wu Ya, Feng Jiu’er, Yu Jingfeng, and Long Yi finally dismounted and boarded a ship.

Feng Jiu’er washed up in the cabin, changed into fresh clothes, and hurried back out.

At the bow of the ship, a small table had been set up. Di Wu Ya’s tall, broad frame settled beside it, making the already small table look even smaller.

Feng Jiu’er glanced over, then strode forward with large steps.

“What’s the situation?” she asked, arriving at the bow and looking at one of the brothers.

After learning that Feng Li had gone missing, everyone had rushed over; the full details of what had happened still weren’t clear.

Yu Jingfeng picked up a cup of tea and handed it to Feng Jiu’er: “Miss Jiu’er, sit down first and have some refreshments.”

Feng Jiu’er glanced sideways at Yu Jingfeng, accepted the teacup from him, and sat down.

“Miss Jiu’er, the city where Prince Ye resides is an isolated piece of land — also a rather famous city in Qiangu Prefecture, called Guzhou City.”

“It’s surrounded on all sides by the black lake. To leave, one can only go by boat.”

“According to the brothers, on the night nine days ago, during the evening meal, the brothers were certain Prince Ye was still in his own chamber.”

“But the next day, at the hour of Chen, when the brothers noticed Prince Ye hadn’t come out, they went and knocked on his door — and found no trace of him at all.”

“That’s right, my lord, Miss Jiu’er.” The brother standing nearby cupped his hands in a respectful salute.

“Prince Ye comes out the moment it gets light each day. Sometimes he sits beneath the pavilion drinking tea, sometimes he practices his swordsmanship in the courtyard, sometimes he fishes by the lake.”

“That day, when our brothers saw he still hadn’t come out past the hour of Chen, we went in — and to our shock, there was no sign of Prince Ye in his chamber.”

“We searched the entire courtyard but couldn’t find him anywhere. Over these past nine-plus days, the brothers have searched the whole city, and we still can’t find him.”

The brother took a deep breath, then dropped to his knees with a thud.

“My lord, this subordinate failed in his duty. Please punish me, my lord — please punish me, Miss Jiu’er!”

“What use is asking for punishment now?” Feng Jiu’er glanced at the kneeling man. “Get up. Let’s talk about finding my father first.”

The kneeling brother raised his eyes to look at Feng Jiu’er, then let his gaze fall on Di Wu Ya.

Di Wu Ya cradled the small teacup in his hand, took a light sip of tea, and said nothing.

The kneeling brother bowed once more, then stood up.

Feng Jiu’er drained a mouthful of tea and asked in a low voice, “My father has now been missing for ten days. Have you truly found nothing useful at all?”

“Nothing.” The brother shook his head slightly.

“The brothers have searched all of Guzhou City, and even gone to other parts of the country. So far, there’s been no useful news whatsoever.”

“My lord, Miss Jiu’er, ever since we discovered Prince Ye’s disappearance, fearing he’d been taken out of Guzhou City, we immediately sent brothers to watch the different docks.”

“Up to now, we’ve searched every place within Guzhou City that could be searched.”

“We suspect that Prince Ye was taken out of Guzhou City — possibly even out of Qiangu Prefecture altogether — the very night he went missing.”

“If whoever took him boarded a ship that night and sailed out of Qiangu Prefecture, then we… have no way of searching further.”

Yu Jingfeng took out the map he’d been carrying and spread it open on the table.

“My lord, Miss Jiu’er, what he says isn’t wrong. Look — this is the map of Qiangu Prefecture.”

“This is a country surrounded by the black lake. The locals here don’t call these places ‘black lake’ the way Beimu people do — they call any place with water ‘the ocean.'”

“Qiangu Prefecture’s development is deeply tied to the ocean. The locals are very fond of these waters; the closer a place is to the ocean, the more the common people gather there.”

“From what the brothers say, after Prince Ye arrived, he too grew fond of the ocean, which is why he chose Guzhou City, surrounded on all sides by it.”

Yu Jingfeng pointed to a spot on the map and continued, “My lord, Miss Jiu’er, look — this is Guzhou City.”

“It has no city walls at all. Whether leaving or entering, one must pass through the ocean.”

“What the brother said isn’t unreasonable. If someone left by the ocean from here, they could reach many other places — including our own Beimu Kingdom, and the Feng Clan.”

“And of course, there could be other countries we don’t even know of.”

“My lord, Miss Jiu’er, if Prince Ye really was taken away, could it be someone from the Feng Clan? The Feng Clan is closer to here than Beimu Kingdom.”

“Logically speaking, the only places Prince Ye has ever been are his own Feng Clan and Beimu Kingdom, so…”

The moment Feng Jiu’er thought of what Feng Qiongcang had done to her father, her heart grew heavy.

Even if Yu Jingfeng hadn’t said it, the thought that came to her mind was also the Feng Clan.

She furrowed her brow slightly, her hand resting on the table clenching into a tight fist, her breath turning cold and sharp.