The room was quiet for a good while before a hoarse voice broke the silence on the bed.

“Don’t let it happen again!”

Feng Jiu’er pressed her lips together and nodded in the man’s embrace.

“Ninth Imperial Uncle, are you still angry?” Her breathing seemed to have eased somewhat.

“Angry!” the man tossed out the two words flatly.

“Don’t be angry anymore, won’t you—”

“Heartache, too!” Di Wu Ya’s final three words cut off what Feng Jiu’er was about to say.

She lifted her eyes to meet his gaze, leaned in further, and kissed his chin.

“I’m sorry! I made you worry!”

Feng Jiu’er dropped that line and buried her head against the man’s neck.

“You smell so good! Ninth Imperial Uncle, did you bathe just to come see me?”

“Oh, right.” She raised her eyes, glanced over, then pulled away from the man’s arms and sat up.

“I’ve been studying a technique on my own lately—it can relax the muscles and clear the meridians. Ninth Imperial Uncle, do you want me to press on you for a while?”

The man lying flat on the bed looked at the woman sitting beside him and gave a light nod.

“Mm.”

“Then turn over.” Feng Jiu’er waved her hand.

The man’s sturdy frame shifted, and Feng Jiu’er’s mouth curved up slightly as she stood.

“It might hurt a bit, just bear with it—after the pain, it’ll feel good.”

Having explained, Feng Jiu’er turned around, raised both hands, and gripped the beam above her.

She placed her small, fair, soft feet on Di Wu Ya’s shoulders.

“Ninth Imperial Uncle, am I too heavy?” Feng Jiu’er asked carefully as she began to tread on the man’s back.

“No.” Di Wu Ya’s voice rang out, heavenly as ever.

“Then I’ll add more pressure—if it’s too much, you have to tell me.” Feng Jiu’er reminded him in a low voice.

She knew he was exhausted.

This man—rushing back early, who knew how many days and nights he’d traveled without rest.

She gave him this massage not only hoping to relieve his fatigue, but also wanting him to get a good night’s sleep.

Sure enough, before long, the faint chill that had still lingered in his breathing gradually warmed.

Feng Jiu’er kept her grip on the beam above the bed, gauging her strength as she pressed her feet against the man’s broad back, once, twice…

By the time the whole session was done, Di Wu Ya was sound asleep, while Feng Jiu’er was drenched in sweat.

She let go of the beam, climbed down from him, sat, and wrapped her arms around his shoulder.

“Ninth Imperial Uncle, that’s enough—turn over, you can’t keep sleeping face-down.”

Feng Jiu’er used all her strength to flip the man over.

She drew a deep breath, then bent down and kissed his cheek.

Just as she was about to leave, the man’s long arm reached out and pulled her back into his embrace.

“Ninth Imperial Uncle, I want to go change first. Be good, sleep well, I’ll be right back.”

“Let go of me! Let me go change first, be good, let go, alright?”

No matter what Feng Jiu’er said, Di Wu Ya showed no response whatsoever.

In the end, she stretched her neck up and kissed his thin lips—only then did he let her go.

“Good boy!” Feng Jiu’er forced herself to praise him, then pulled out of his arms.

She quickly changed and came back, squeezing into his embrace again, pulling up the blanket, and contentedly closing her eyes.

The next day, before dawn, several people dressed as farmers slipped past the guards and entered a mountain forest.

Even disguised as farmers, the aura around these people was nothing like that of farmers.

The man was tall and handsome, and more than that, his bearing was noble.

The two women wore human-skin masks, yet nothing could hide their beauty—especially the petite one among them.

Di Wu Ya had returned, and Xing Zizhou had not followed him into the mountain, staying outside instead, joining the others entering the city.

This morning, five people had gone into the mountain.

Di Wu Ya, Feng Jiu’er, Jian Yi, Feng Jiang, and Qiao Mu—all of them highly skilled fighters.

Sulfur Mountain was merely Feng Jiu’er’s own name for it.

This peak was actually called Tianya Peak, the tallest among the many mountains surrounding Yongshan City.

Ever since sulfur had been discovered, the entire mountain had been sealed off, making it difficult for their people to sneak in and gather information.

What’s more, time was too pressing—no one wanted to wait slowly.

Tianya Peak was tall and steep, yet it didn’t cover much ground, which made it easier to guard and encircle.

For now, the group entering the mountain still didn’t know the exact location of the sulfur; they would have to search once inside.

The five of them circled the mountain for roughly two hours before Di Wu Ya and Feng Jiu’er, walking in front, stopped almost simultaneously.

“There are people ahead.” Feng Jiu’er lowered her voice.

The three behind them sensed it too.

Jian Yi’s thick brows knit slightly as he said in a low voice, “Probably around a hundred or so, with about thirty of fairly high skill.”

“So the sulfur is up ahead, then?” Qiao Mu took two steps forward.

Her man stayed close by her side, never leaving her.

Qiao Mu turned back to look at Feng Jiu’er. “Jiu’er, Xiao Bao and I will draw them off—you all go in and check the situation, how about it?”

Feng Jiu’er met her gaze and nodded.

“Be careful, all of you!”

“Got it.” Qiao Mu turned and held out a hand to Feng Jiang.

Feng Jiang took her hand, and the two of them pushed off the ground together, leaping up to skim across the treetops—in the blink of an eye, they vanished from sight.

Feng Jiu’er looked at Di Wu Ya, then at Jian Yi.

The three of them pushed off at the same moment, disappearing into the forest.

In front of a large cave, guards surrounded the entrance, ringed in concentric circles.

Over a hundred men, all neatly dressed, stood motionless with long spears in hand.

Suddenly, a strange gust of wind blew past.

Two figures passed by the treetops not far off.

“Who’s there?” the guards standing at the outermost ring spotted the figures.

In an instant, several dozen men gave chase, leaving only the thirty most skilled guards standing motionless on watch.

Hidden in the trees, Feng Jiu’er handed Jian Yi a packet of powder.

Jian Yi gave a slight nod, took the powder, and turned to approach the cave.

Before the thirty guards could react to what was happening, they had already inhaled the powder Jian Yi scattered and collapsed unconscious.

“What’s going on?” The two men inside the cave heard the noise and ran out.

There was no one in front of them, yet a strange gust of wind came from nowhere—just as they looked up, they too collapsed.

Jian Yi entered the cave first, the other two figures flashing past the entrance right after.

The moment Feng Jiu’er stepped into the cave, the smell of sulfur hit her.

The scent wasn’t pleasant, yet it made her blood race with excitement.

Sulfur wasn’t just as precious as gold—it could also be used to make gunpowder. If it truly came to war with Feng Qiongcang, this would give them a much better chance of victory.

Feng Jiu’er pulled out the masks she had prepared early that morning and handed one each to Di Wu Ya and Jian Yi.

She put hers on and walked inside without a moment’s hesitation.

The cave was enormous, sulfur piled up all around. At a glance, the quantity was even greater than she had expected.

Feng Jiu’er looked at basket after basket of “gold,” her eyes gleaming with a dazzling light.

A fortune, just like that!