“Miss Jiu’er, as for this illicit drug, I don’t fully understand it either.”

Yu Jingfeng replied, “I’ve heard it’s a kind of powder — colorless and odorless.”

“It’s not a remedy for illness, but it does have a pain-relieving effect.”

“But apparently this thing can’t be used often — regular use produces dependency.”

“Once a person becomes dependent, they can never again do without it.”

“So its price is very high — on that alone, Mao Linye can make a great deal of money.”

As Feng Jiu’er listened to Yu Jingfeng’s words, one word rose up in the depths of her heart: poison.

So, this era of the Feng Clan already had this kind of thing in existence?

“Can this be obtained — brought back?”

Feng Jiu’er felt somewhat frantic.

If things really were as she suspected, then this powder needed to be eliminated — necessarily.

Not for any other reason — simply for the future of the Feng Clan, such a thing could not be allowed to exist.

Yu Jingfeng’s thick brows knit together, as if for a moment he hadn’t understood Feng Jiu’er’s meaning.

He knew well enough that Miss Jiu’er, being a healer, had a greater interest in medicines than most people.

But shouldn’t the offensive take priority right now?

“No way to get it?”

Di Wu Ya stared at Yu Jingfeng and coldly tossed out those few words.

Only then did Yu Jingfeng snap back, his scattered focus pulled sharply into place as he met Di Wu Ya’s gaze.

“Reporting to Your Highness, where this powder can be bought, or how easy it is to obtain, I don’t know yet either.”

“The only thing I understand is that this powder is more expensive than ordinary medicine, and it’s bad for the body — perhaps you could say it’s outright poison.”

After answering Di Wu Ya, Yu Jingfeng’s gaze settled on the woman beside him.

“Miss Jiu’er, if you really want to look into it, I can try to find out, but given the current situation, I can’t give you a definite answer.”

“No matter.”

Feng Jiu’er understood Yu Jingfeng’s thinking.

And because of that, her worry only grew heavier.

“Let’s deal with this once this battle is over.”

She truly was anxious, but right now she couldn’t afford to lose sight of the bigger picture while chasing this.

Perhaps she could quietly investigate on her own, and sort it out once she knew more.

“Lord Yu, you said there were four other factions — are they only from Liuchuan City, Yi City, Yicheng, and Xiangcheng?”

Feng Jiu’er continued.

Yu Jingfeng seemed about to nod, then didn’t; seemed about to shake his head, then didn’t do that either.

In the end, his gaze returned to Di Wu Ya before he spoke. “Miss Jiu’er has guessed three correctly.”

“Within Fenggang Town, there are indeed forces from Liuchuan City, Yi City, and Yicheng, but none from Xiangcheng.”

“The last faction comes from the imperial house — exactly who, we still don’t have clear word on.”

“It’s not strange that there’s an imperial presence — the First Prince has finally gone south, so it’s unlikely he’d rush north so soon.”

Feng Jiang’s grip on his teacup tightened.

“According to my scouts’ reports, quite a number of the troops the First Prince leads are still near Song River.”

“So it’s no surprise at all that there’s an imperial presence in Fenggang Town.”

“Then what are we supposed to do about this battle?”

Xiao Yingtao’s delicate crescent brows furrowed.

She hadn’t meant to interrupt — she was simply so genuinely worried the words slipped out on their own.

Xing Zizhou took her small hand in his but said nothing.

The thatched cottage fell silent again, the atmosphere turning somewhat heavy.

After a while, Feng Jiu’er stood up and stretched.

“Since we can’t act rashly, let’s rest well for now — once we’ve rested properly, it’ll be easier to think of a good plan.”

“Oh, right.”

Feng Jiu’er put her hands on her hips and twisted her lower body clockwise.

Di Wu Ya’s brow tightened, and he cleared his throat softly.

Feng Jiu’er, preoccupied with her thoughts, didn’t notice Di Wu Ya’s odd reaction.

She twisted her body counterclockwise again, her gaze still on Zhao Yusheng.

“Zhao Yusheng, has the water source problem been resolved?”

Zhao Yusheng shook his head, his grip on his longsword tightening slightly.

His response wasn’t what Feng Jiu’er had expected.

“No?”

Feng Jiu’er straightened her back. “There are paddy fields nearby, so there must be a river — could it be…”

“The river water is poisoned too.”

Zhao Yusheng confirmed Feng Jiu’er’s guess. “Quite a few fish and shrimp have died. We tested it with silver needles too — it really is poisoned.”

“Not just the fish and shrimp — the grass along the riverbank has all withered yellow. It looks like the poisoning of the river hasn’t been going on for very long.”

“This was done specifically to target our army.”

After a moment of disbelief, Feng Jiu’er’s expression settled back into calm.

“Mm.”

Zhao Yusheng nodded. “It’s the same for several of the rivers. Not one of the village wells has escaped it either.”

“Jiu’er, our grain isn’t in short supply for now, but water is running very low.”

“If we’re to stay, we need to find a water source as soon as possible.”

“Jiu’er, Xing Zizhou and I planned to take some brothers after the evening meal and widen the search area.”

As Xing Zizhou spoke, he didn’t let go of the small hand in his own.

“I’ll go along with you two.”

Xiao Yingtao raised her eyes to look at him, her voice soft.

“Mm.”

Xing Zizhou nodded.

“I’ll go with you all as well.”

Feng Jiu’er glanced at the two of them, then turned her gaze back to Di Wu Ya.

“A’Jiu, Third Brother, water matters to everyone — we’ll go find the water source, and the rest will have to rely on you two for now.”

“Tomorrow, then.”

Di Wu Ya turned his head to look at the woman beside him.

“With Mao Zhongcai acting like this, he’s certainly set traps nearby — it’s not wise to move at night.”

“Listen to A’Jiu.”

Feng Jiang spoke up as well. “This village is far too quiet — that’s not a good sign.”

“Yang Sheng, tonight have the brothers on watch stay fully alert; everyone else, rest well.”

“Yes!”

Yang Sheng clasped his hands toward Feng Jiang, turned, and left.

No one quite knew when it had happened, but Yang Sheng had become Feng Jiang’s most trusted aide.

“Then let’s wait a bit longer.”

Feng Jiu’er had no objection.

This village was far too quiet — not a single figure in sight, something that had never happened the whole way here.

There would be water somewhere; they just didn’t know how far, and they didn’t know whether some danger might be waiting wherever the water source was.

The meeting went on for about a quarter of an hour, and those who needed to leave, left.

The night was very calm.

Because of their exhaustion, aside from those on watch, everyone soon fell into sleep.

Feng Jiu’er lay on the bed, unable to fall asleep for a long time.

Not until there was movement at the door did she hug her blanket, turn her back to the room, and close her eyes.

The narrow bed sank down deeply on one side, and a pair of firm, warm arms wrapped around her, pulling her into an embrace.

Sharing a bed like this had happened now and then during this stretch of time, though never for very long.

With the fighting never stopping, everyone could only rest in shifts, and even then only briefly.

Like tonight, where it looked like they might actually get to rest through an entire night — this was the first time.

The familiar scent lingered around her, and Feng Jiu’er’s heart gradually settled, quieter than before.

But no matter how much she tried to hide it, she still couldn’t escape the man’s eyes.

“What’s wrong?”

Di Wu Ya gently turned the small body in his arms. “Not sleeping — are you planning something?”

—