Everyone was watching?

This time, the drowsiness was completely scared away!

How could she be drooling while hugging the Ninth Imperial Uncle’s sturdy thigh, right in front of everyone’s watching eyes?

Feng Jiu’er’s eyes flew open. She rubbed her sore, achy eyes again before turning her head to look at everyone.

Xuegu sat not far away, as did Tuoba Keyan, both watching her.

Yanu hadn’t woken yet; Qiaomu sat beside him, keeping watch.

Most of the brothers had already woken up, but even awake, one could tell at a glance that their limbs were limp, their hands and feet weak, and their faces deathly pale.

The drug’s effects likely wouldn’t dissipate any time soon.

She too pretended to be utterly weak, struggling to climb up off Jiuqing’s leg, and leaned against the rock wall just as he was doing.

This was a naturally formed stone cave. At the cave’s entrance was an iron-barred gate, locked with chains, looking very sturdy.

The cave was fairly deep, with an extremely large interior.

If it hadn’t been this large, it truly couldn’t have held all of their group of over a hundred people.

Wait, over a hundred people?

Feng Jiu’er looked at the dozen-plus brothers sitting some distance away, her heart suddenly flooding with delighted surprise. “You’re all here!”

“We… were drugged too, and brought here.”

Not only were those dozen-plus brothers there, but Long Yi was there too.

But, Long Yi…

Jiu’er narrowed her eyes. “Are you really Long Yi?”

Long Yi looked somewhat confused, glancing at her, then at Jiuqing.

But at this moment, he couldn’t show any particular deference toward Jiuqing.

So in the end, he simply looked at Jiu’er: “Miss Jiu’er, I really am Long Yi. Is there… some problem?”

Everyone was looking at Long Yi—most people still didn’t understand what Jiu’er meant by this.

But why had they been drugged in the first place?

They’d been guarded entirely by their own people. No matter how skilled these bandits were, it shouldn’t have been possible for them to slip drugs into their food without alerting anyone at all.

Unless there was a traitor among their own people.

But everyone had come here together—no one wanted to suspect the people around them.

So was Miss Jiu’er suspecting Long Yi right now? How could that be?

The people of the Tianji Hall might suspect Long Yi, but the people of the Ninth Prince’s Manor absolutely would not!

Long Yi had served at the Ninth Prince’s side for so many years—no one would believe he would do something to betray the Ninth Prince.

Jiu’er pressed her lips together and asked, “When were you brought here?”

“Last night, brought here together with the brothers.” Long Yi was baffled. “Miss Jiu’er, what exactly are you suspecting?”

She was clearly suspecting him—could it be that she suspected him of colluding with the bandits, deliberately leading the brothers into a hopeless situation?

But what benefit would that bring him?

“How could that be?” A brother sitting not far from Long Yi looked utterly shocked. “Weren’t you with us this whole time?”

“That’s right, how were you taken away last night? Not only did you come back, you even brought medicinal herbs back for Miss Feng.”

“No, I never…”

“I’m afraid someone may have disguised themselves to look like Long Yi, infiltrating our group, waiting for the right moment to act.”

Qiaomu let out a long sigh. Far too much had happened the night before—everyone had been mentally and physically exhausted, with no energy left to distinguish anything clearly to begin with.

What’s more, although a dozen-plus brothers had gone missing, the fact that Long Yi had managed to come back made everyone feel it was a stroke of luck amid misfortune—who would have thought to question whether he was genuine or fake?

That fake Long Yi had also been clever—after returning, using the excuse of feeling unwell, he’d simply sat resting in the corner, working the whole time to keep a low profile.

In any case, everyone had been deceived the night before—though they shouldn’t have been, it was understandable given the circumstances.

Now that they’d fallen into the hands of those bandits, there was no one in particular to blame.

They could only blame themselves for being too careless.

“Jiu’er, what poison did everyone get hit with? Can you tell?” Xuegu asked.

“It’s a kind of bone-softening powder. But I still don’t know exactly what they used—I’d need to see the actual drug they used, or see the antidote, before I could formulate one myself.”

In an era without scientific instruments, trying to identify a drug’s composition purely from its symptoms truly wasn’t easy.

Most importantly, she wasn’t yet particularly familiar with the medicines of this era.

What’s more, they were already outside the borders of the Bei Mu Kingdom. In a place this close to the southern tribal regions, the medicinal herbs were entirely different from those within Bei Mu’s territory.

For the time being, there was simply no way to manage it.

“Don’t worry, I’ll find a way to formulate the antidote. Until then, everyone will just have to endure some hardship—whatever happens, don’t get into conflict with them.”

As she finished speaking, Jiu’er turned back to glance at Jiuqing.

Jiuqing only gave a soft snort, saying nothing.

Xuegu glanced at him before withdrawing her gaze, while Qiaomu looked curious. “Jiuqing, why is it that you don’t look… like someone who’s been poisoned?”

Earlier, when Jiuqing had carried Jiu’er, the strength in his arms had seemed no different from usual.

“He…” Knowing the Ninth Imperial Uncle wouldn’t be willing to make excuses to explain himself, Jiu’er could only explain on his behalf, “When he was young, he was once struck by a deadly poison. After recovering, he’s now immune to ordinary poisons.”

Nudging Jiuqing’s waist with her elbow, Jiu’er looked up at him. “Is that what you meant when you mentioned it to me a couple of days ago?”

“Don’t know,” Jiuqing said flatly.

“Don’t know” required no further explanation at all—either way, he didn’t know, and he simply hadn’t been poisoned along with everyone else; it was that simple.

Everyone was already used to Jiuqing’s indifference, and they accepted Feng Jiu’er’s explanation as well.

So now, what exactly should they do? Staying here indefinitely, Jiu’er had no way to find the components needed to formulate an antidote for everyone.

They’d have to get out first, in order to have any chance of obtaining the antidote.

Right now, Jian Yi and Mu Mu were both still out there somewhere, with no idea at all what the situation was.

In any case, the current situation was extremely dire for them.

“Jiu’er…” The words had barely left Qiaomu’s mouth before she suddenly bit down on her lower lip, swallowing back what she’d been about to say.

Xuegu signaled for everyone to be quiet—outside, footsteps were approaching from a distance, and soon they reached the cave entrance.

The iron gate was opened, and several people walked in, heading straight toward Feng Jiu’er.

One of them asked, “Is this the girl?”

“That’s right, it’s her!” a subordinate replied.

The one leading them nodded and waved a hand. “Take her!”

Two subordinates immediately walked toward Feng Jiu’er.

Jiuqing’s hand landed on Feng Jiu’er’s wrist, his gaze instantly turning cold and heavy.

Jiu’er hurriedly tried to pull away, whispering, “An opportunity!”

She had no chance to say anything more—she hoped the Ninth Imperial Uncle would trust her; this trip out might just bring about a turning point!

Jiuqing, however, still gripped her wrist tightly, ignoring the two approaching bandits.

Jiu’er grew anxious, struggling harder, unable to say much more, unable even to look at him—what if she angered the bandits and they drew a blade against the Ninth Imperial Uncle?

“Half an hour.” She lowered her voice, speaking just quietly enough for only the two of them to hear. “Trust me—just half an hour. If I’m not back by then, come find me.”