The reinforcements who had come from the four cities were, for the moment, unsure whether to leave or continue staying.

If they wanted to leave, they would need orders from their own city lords. That very day, all four generals had sent letters back to their respective city lords.

Worried that if Mao Linye went mad he might even turn on them, the four generals led their soldiers and pushed back to the stretch of grassland closest to the city lord’s residence.

One side of the city gate bordered Fenggang Town, while the other side belonged to the territory of Liuchuan City.

Between the two cities there was only a single wall, with a large stretch of open ground left on each side.

With Cheng Wenzhi of Liuchuan City present, everyone felt somewhat reassured — if Mao Linye made any move, they could immediately open the gates and go to Liuchuan City to await orders.

All of this had been laid out clearly in the letter Cheng Wenzhi had sent back.

In one stroke, Mao Linye had offended the people of four neighboring cities, as well as the imperial family.

That day, Fenggang Town was uneasy on every side.

Not long after nightfall, five shadows, almost blending into the darkness, scaled the wall into the largest courtyard in Fenggang Town.

Within this courtyard stood the largest house in the entire town, and behind the house was a row of connected courtyard buildings.

Two of Mao Linye’s hidden, unlicensed drug factories had already been burned down — no one knew if there were any left.

Feng Jiu’er had once entered this exposed drug factory herself; she was certain it held the secret drugs everyone spoke of.

So this factory, too, could not be allowed to remain.

The first time Feng Jiu’er had come, someone had led her in through the front. This time, she had brought her own people and taken a different route along the side.

During the day, Feng Jiu’er had found the factory’s blueprints at Mao Linye’s residence.

The blueprint showed not only the entire layout of the factory grounds but also the placement of its traps and mechanisms.

To avoid drawing attention, she hadn’t taken it with her — she had simply studied it carefully on the spot.

Now, Feng Jiu’er walked at the front, and the man guarding her — a head taller than she was — was Long Shiyi.

No one said a word; everyone followed her footsteps in silence.

After passing through several traps, the person in front finally came to a stop.

Feng Jiu’er took a deep breath and asked in a low voice, “Is everyone ready? We regroup here in a quarter hour.”

“Whether or not the task is finished, you must come back — understood?”

“Ready!” the other four answered in unison.

“Good.” Feng Jiu’er nodded. “There are five doors here, one for each of us. Once inside, plant two charges per room.”

“We all move to the right at the same time — go through your own room, then continue into the next three rooms on the right in sequence.”

“Qiaomu first, Long Shiyi second, myself third, Jian Yi fourth, Long Wu fifth. Go.”

The moment the last word left Feng Jiu’er’s mouth, the five of them shouldered their packs, turned, and pushed open their doors almost simultaneously.

The factory workers all ate at the same set times, and right now most of them were in the courtyard buildings at the back.

They ate in three shifts; by the time the third shift went in, the first shift would already be heading back.

Feng Jiu’er had timed everything carefully — she meant to burn the drugs, not the people, so the timing of the detonation had to be precise.

The room they had all just been in was the very room where Feng Jiu’er had been slipped poison the day before — the central room of the factory.

Inside were five doors leading to five different rooms.

Feng Jiu’er had chosen this central position deliberately, so the five of them could fan out in different directions.

The layout of each room was slightly different, but she had discovered that as long as everyone kept moving right, none of them would ever cross paths.

Feng Jiu’er had not only determined exactly where to place the explosives, she had even calculated the right quantity.

If everything went according to plan, the charges would be enough to level the entire factory without harming the nearby townspeople.

As Qiaomu, the last of them, came into view, the five were finally able to regroup at the agreed time.

The five of them made their way back along the route — but no sooner had they scaled over the wall than they found themselves surrounded.

In the woods, a dense mass of soldiers pressed in. Feng Jiu’er and the other four were pinned against the wall, looking small against the sheer numbers.

Tonight the sky was poor; even the moon hid behind the clouds.

It was dark all around — dark enough that one could barely see a hand in front of one’s face, let alone make out the features of someone standing across from them.

“Just who are you people?” From within the crowd, a tall figure stepped forward.

Those who trained in martial arts generally had sharper eyesight than ordinary people.

Despite the poor light, at this distance the five surrounded figures could still make out who had stepped forward — it was Mao Linye.

Feng Jiu’er said nothing; she was afraid her voice would give her away.

She reached out and, behind Long Shiyi standing beside her, tapped lightly at his lower back with her slender fingers.

It wasn’t that Feng Jiu’er meant to choose his lower back specifically — she was simply too short, and if she couldn’t make a large motion, raising her hand only reached as high as Long Shiyi’s waist.

Long Shiyi understood at once and turned a cold gaze on Mao Linye.

“Your enemy,” he said, his voice indifferent.

“You little brat, what did you say?” Song Shiniang gave a cold snort.

“Our master is asking who you belong to. His Majesty’s? The Third Prince’s? Or Yue Jianfei’s?”

“Why should I have anything to say to you?” Long Shiyi’s gaze swept toward the woman who had spoken.

He couldn’t even tell how many enemies surrounded them; right now, their best chance of escaping was to stall for time.

If they couldn’t make it back within the set time, their brothers on the other side would come for them.

“You little brat, don’t push your luck!” Song Shiniang said coldly. “Do you really think the five of you can escape from under a thousand of our elite soldiers?”

“Speak! Whose people are you really? Say it now, or don’t blame us for what comes next!”

“Archers, ready!”

At Song Shiniang’s command, a rustling sound rang out.

The row of men at the back stepped past those in front and dropped to a half-kneel, bows glinting faintly with silver light in their hands.

Not only that — even the swaying trees around them were crawling with soldiers armed with bows.

“Talk or not? If you don’t, get ready to feel what it’s like to have ten thousand arrows through your heart,” Song Shiniang said, taking a half-step forward, glaring at the five of them.

Just as Feng Jiu’er began to worry that Long Shiyi might run out of things to say, another voice spoke up.

“Hold on — we’re all just hired hands. How could you have the heart to kill us poor kids who risk our lives just to scrape by out here?”

Feng Jiu’er turned her head and saw Long Wu, her little brother-in-arms, hold up one palm in front of himself and take a step forward.

Clang — with his other hand, he tossed his long sword to the ground.

“This lovely elder sister here, isn’t that right? If we had food on the table and money to spare, none of us would be out here risking our necks like this.”

“I’ve often thought — if only I could find a pretty, wealthy little lady like yourself, and just live out an ordinary life.”

“But sadly, I’ve never had the luck. I’ve never met anyone.”

“Sister, if you don’t mind, why not just take me in? I’m quite capable in a fight, and I’m in good health too — I promise you’ll be satisfied.”