After midnight, two figures in black slipped out of the house and quickly vanished into the woods beyond.

In the darkness, Feng Jiu’er had already gotten a feel for the layout of the breeding grounds, and with that experience, she and Jian Yi soon found their way to the site.

The gate was heavily guarded. Jian Yi and Feng Jiu’er hid nearby and observed for a while before withdrawing.

The two of them moved along the edge of the breeding grounds through the woods, found a suitable spot, avoided the traps, and scaled the high wall.

No wonder it was the emperor’s own breeding ground — the security was no joke.

At the very least, an ordinary martial artist would have trouble getting in, let alone slipping over this wall and quietly making off with a large number of poisonous creatures.

Where Feng Jiu’er and Jian Yi entered was the scorpion enclosure.

Rather than three separate breeding grounds, it was in fact one large enclosure divided into three zones.

Both Feng Jiu’er and Jian Yi had sprinkled themselves with a powder — neither scorpions, venomous snakes, nor toads would readily approach them once they caught the scent.

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary at the breeding grounds that night; all was quiet on every side.

After roughly an hour, the two of them finally left the grounds.

Rather than heading straight back, Feng Jiu’er and Jian Yi wandered around the settlement for a while.

By the deep hours of the night, the lights in many houses had gone out, and the settlement remained quiet.

Unexpectedly, just as the two of them passed by, they happened to see someone ride out of the settlement gate on horseback.

The distance was too great for Feng Jiu’er to make out the rider’s appearance clearly. After a moment’s thought, she decided not to give chase.

In the end, the two of them returned to the house they had been given and climbed back in through the window.

Day turned to night and back again — a single night, a few short hours, passed in the blink of an eye.

As dawn broke, the entire land grew warm under the morning light.

The men who had stood guard at the breeding grounds all night yawned and pushed open the heavy gate.

What they saw instead was a stretch of bloody, mangled flesh nearby.

“Something’s happened! Something terrible! Quick! Go tell the Old Patriarch — the toads, something’s happened to the toads too!”

Some ran inside, some ran out, and in an instant the once-quiet place erupted into chaos.

By the time Feng Jiang received word and hurried over, the Old Patriarch was already there, not far ahead.

The Old Patriarch and his men had gone first to the middle breeding ground.

He looked at the toads on the ground, tears streaming down his face.

“What sin have I committed! My poor toads… damn it! What is going on here?”

“Old Patriarch, we don’t know what happened either. The moment we opened the gate, it was already…” a guard said.

“Get a count going! Find out how many died and how many are gone!” The Young Patriarch’s expression was also grim.

“Yes, Young Patriarch.” The man cupped his hands in acknowledgment.

“Wait!” The Old Patriarch raised a hand. “Has Master Bao been informed?”

“Already informed.”

“Master Bao has arrived,” came an announcement from behind.

“For now, no one is to touch anything.” The Old Patriarch turned toward the entrance.

“Let Master Bao and Physician Long take a look at the situation first. Go, call all our physicians over.”

“Yes, Old Patriarch.” A man cupped his hands and turned to leave.

On Feng Jiang’s side, aside from Feng Yinan — who had only just gone to rest after Yang Sheng took over the watch near dawn — everyone else had just woken up.

Once word reached them, they all came over, even Yue Qinchun, riding the same horse as Feng Jiu’er.

Feng Jiu’er wasn’t comfortable leaving the girl alone, so she had brought her along.

Arriving at the gate entrance, Feng Jiu’er gently patted Yue Qinchun’s shoulder and dismounted.

“Yang Sheng, watch over Qinchun.”

“Understood, Physician Long.” Yang Sheng nodded in acknowledgment.

Feng Jiu’er, Feng Jiang, Qiao Mu, and Jian Yi walked into the breeding grounds.

This area was one that Feng Jiu’er and Jian Yi had passed through the night before, and they hadn’t noticed anything amiss — yet here it was, something had happened after all.

“Old Patriarch, what’s the situation?” Feng Jiu’er came before the crowd.

“What sin have I committed!” The Old Patriarch wiped the tears from his face and turned to look back at the scene of chaos.

“Master Bao, Physician Long, as you can see, it’s much the same as before, I… ” his voice broke.

“I’d guess the toads that died number even more than this — that monster must be eating them.”

Feng Jiu’er was about to look for a bamboo pole when Jian Yi handed her one.

She came to the pile of remains and used it to pick out the broken, incomplete toad pieces.

Feng Jiang studied the dead creatures for a moment, then withdrew his gaze and looked at the Old Patriarch.

“Master Bao.” The Old Patriarch looked at him too. “What do you make of this? I truly…”

“Yang Yang.”

“Old Patriarch.” A man stepped forward to the Old Patriarch’s side.

“Weren’t you the one keeping watch last night? Didn’t I tell you to increase the number of guards?” the Old Patriarch asked, heartbroken.

“We do raise young ones, but to lose this many all at once — there simply wasn’t time to keep up!”

“What am I supposed to do about this? What am I supposed to do?”

“Old Patriarch.” The subordinate, Yang Yang, cupped his hands and lowered his head. “Last night, this servant was on duty, this…”

He glanced back at the mess of red and green on the ground, his expression heavy.

“This servant truly doesn’t know what happened. We were right outside the gate, and this servant didn’t hear so much as a single sound.”

“This servant had already doubled the guard, and yet this still happened. This servant truly doesn’t understand what went wrong.”

“Old Patriarch.” Feng Jiang spoke quietly.

“Master Bao.” The Old Patriarch turned and came to Feng Jiang’s side.

“How many people are there in the settlement altogether?” Feng Jiang’s voice was low but heavy.

The Old Patriarch frowned and lowered his own voice as well.

“Men, women, young and old — over five hundred in all. The houses up front aren’t meant for the guards; most of the guards live in the wooden cabins on either side.”

“Raising a batch of poisonous creatures isn’t the work of a day or two — some of the guards’ families live far away, so entire families have come to help out.”

“There are also some guards whose families live in the town behind the mountains. They occasionally go out to buy supplies, and visit their families while they’re at it.”

“Can people in the settlement come and go as they please?” Feng Jiang asked further.

“Of course not,” the Old Patriarch shook his head.

“Anyone who needs to leave must apply in advance and get approval before they may go.”

“Did anyone leave last night?” Feng Jiang’s thick brows drew together slightly.

“Last night?” The Old Patriarch’s brow furrowed, and he shook his head. “No one should have left at night.”

“Are you certain?” Feng Jiang’s tone remained heavy.

“Certain,” the Old Patriarch nodded. “The settlement has a rule — anyone with approval to leave must do so during the day and return on time.”

“At night, without my permission, no one is to leave.”

“I’m very certain — I haven’t made any exceptions for anyone.”

“Master Bao, is something wrong?” the Old Patriarch asked in a low voice.

“Yes.” Feng Jiang nodded. “Last night, my people saw someone leave.”