“They should arrive after the Hour of Shen today.” Zhao Yusheng thought for a moment before replying, “For now, arrange for them to be housed in the village closest to here and leave brothers to stand guard.”

“There is farmland there — let them tend to it themselves. They won’t starve.”

“Mm.” Feng Jiu’er nodded.

“And what do you intend to send back to His Highness the Crown Prince?” Zhao Yusheng asked.

“We’ll see how things go. Get the people settled this afternoon, then figure out a way forward.”

Before the words had fully left her lips, Feng Jiu’er turned and walked toward the pile of herbs on the other side.

Zhao Yusheng gave a nod and asked nothing further.

By the time Nanmen Zhuo had led his soldiers to escort the surrendered forces to the location Zhao Yusheng had designated, it was already the end of the Hour of Shen.

He left behind a portion of his soldiers to keep watch and departed the long-abandoned village with the rest.

Over a thousand men — not too many, not too few. It took the brothers a full hour to get everyone properly settled.

Under their brothers’ supervision, the surrendered soldiers began fetching water from the stream to cook their meals.

No one could have anticipated that after the thousand-plus men had finished eating, every single one of them began vomiting. Even some of Nanmen Zhuo’s own soldiers were affected.

By the time the soldiers who had gone out returned, nearly everyone in the entire village showed no signs of life.

The soldiers were stricken with horror. Taking those among them who still drew breath, they rushed back toward the encampment.

Back at the camp, Feng Jiu’er and the others were still in discussion over how to reply to Zhan Yuheng’s letter.

Without warning, a soldier came sprinting in.

“Something terrible has happened, Young Master! Something terrible has happened!” The moment he entered the tent, the soldier fell to his knees on the ground.

Nanmen Zhuo recognized him as one of the brothers he had left behind and immediately shot to his feet.

“What on earth has happened?”

The soldier raised his eyes to look at him, trembling violently for a moment before he managed to say in a low voice, “The surrendered soldiers… all of them have been poisoned. Countless dead and injured.”

“Even dozens of our own brothers have been poisoned. Only a handful who were not deeply affected still have breath in them — I’ve brought them back.”

Upon hearing the soldier’s words, Feng Jiu’er and the others all rose to their feet.

“Nanmen Zhuo, Zhao Yusheng, and Xiao Yingtao — come with me. Xing Zizou, the poisoned brothers are in your hands.”

“Understood.” Xing Zizou dipped his head and, without another word, immediately headed outside.

“Given what has happened, there is no longer any need to send the letter for now. Wait until the situation has been confirmed before deciding on anything.” Feng Jiu’er’s voice rang out once more.

“Word will reach the Crown Prince’s ears very quickly. Qiao Mu, see to the arrangements immediately and be ready to engage at any moment.”

“Yes.” Qiao Mu dipped his head in acknowledgment.

Within moments, all those inside the tent had departed.

Feng Jiu’er, Nanmen Zhuo, Zhao Yusheng, and Xiao Yingtao — the four of them rode on horseback through the setting sun for a little under half an hour before finally arriving at the village where the surrendered soldiers had been housed.

“Xiao Yingtao, check for any survivors.” As soon as the words left her lips, Feng Jiu’er leapt down from her horse.

“Yes.” Xiao Yingtao dipped her head and dismounted at once.

Nanmen Zhuo and Zhao Yusheng hurriedly dismounted as well.

Throughout the village, outside the courtyard of every household, lay an uncountable number of bodies.

Feng Jiu’er stepped into a small courtyard and immediately crouched down to check the breath of those who had been poisoned.

It was no use. Of the several dozen people in the entire courtyard, not a single one had survived.

Even though they were enemy soldiers, as a healer, Feng Jiu’er would not let pass any opportunity to save a life.

One courtyard, then two — she made her way through them all, and with each step, her expression grew heavier.

At last, in a thatched cottage, she found someone seated cross-legged on the floor.

Feng Jiu’er wasted no time and went straight over, pressing a medicinal pill between the man’s lips.

The man opened his eyes, showing some resistance — yet he did not even have the strength to spit the pill back out.

His body swayed as though it might topple at any moment.

“If you don’t want to die, swallow it.” As Feng Jiu’er settled onto the ground, a silver needle was already pinched between her fingers.

The man looked at Feng Jiu’er once more, forced himself to swallow the pill down, and closed his eyes.

When Feng Jiu’er drove the silver needle into the acupoints on his head, the man showed a degree of resistance — but he did little more than flutter his eyelids before collapsing.

Feng Jiu’er seemed to have anticipated his fall all along. One hand holding the silver needle, her other hand reached out and gently caught him.

The man sank to the ground, his brow furrowed slightly.

Feng Jiu’er did not pause for even a moment. After inserting another silver needle into the acupoints on his head, she placed both hands on the collar of his garment.

The man’s unease was something Feng Jiu’er had no time to address. With a casual application of force, she pulled his collar open.

“Don’t exert yourself — if you do, the poison in your body will only spread faster.”

“The poison you have all been afflicted with is severe. I cannot guarantee your life, so your best course is to lie still.”

Ancient men tended toward restraint; even the mere exposure of their chest was enough to make them look as though they were on the verge of death, a reaction Feng Jiu’er had long grown accustomed to.

In order to quiet him down, she had no choice but to say a few more words.

“If I’m not mistaken, you are General Cai.”

“Whether or not you believe me — I did not administer this poison. I had just reached a preliminary agreement with the Crown Prince to see if this battle could be postponed, and then this happened.”

“The poison almost certainly wasn’t administered by the Crown Prince either. He exchanged ten days for your lives — it doesn’t look as though he regarded you as worthless.”

As she spoke, Feng Jiu’er continued to administer needles and apply pressure to acupoints without pause.

She knew the man had not fully lost consciousness and did not want him to lose consciousness now.

“As for who administered the poison, I cannot say for certain at this moment. But it is clear that whoever did it very much wants the battle between me and the Crown Prince to resume.”

A cold laugh escaped her lips as she shook her head.

“Your deaths and injuries have been so severe — the Crown Prince is certain to be furious. This battle is now inevitable.”

“Whoever administered that poison played their move brilliantly.”

She gave a faint sigh, helped the fallen man to sit upright, and then struck a firm palm against the vital point on his back.

With a dull sound, General Cai spat a mouthful of black blood across the floor.

Yet Feng Jiu’er still did not stop, striking the vital point on his back once more with force.

Another mouthful of black blood poured from General Cai’s lips.

By the time Xiao Yingtao, Nanmen Zhuo, and Zhao Yusheng came striding into the thatched cottage, the floor of the small room was almost entirely covered in dark bloodstains.

“Jiu’er, did you find a survivor?” Xiao Yingtao looked at the two seated on the floor and caught her breath.

“The others have no breath at all — every one of them died from the poison.”

Xiao Yingtao’s words were entirely within Feng Jiu’er’s expectations.

Even the general with the strongest martial arts had barely held on — to say nothing of everyone else.

“What did you find?” Her low, steady voice rang out as she and Zhao Yusheng together lowered General Cai to the ground.

“Upon inspection, every single food item contained poison. It appears the other party tampered with the water source.” A guard standing at the doorway — not daring to step inside — said in a hushed voice. “General Feng, it was the water in the stream.”

“But the stream is flowing water — how could it be poisoned?”

“While it’s not yet completely dark, go check the upstream situation.” Feng Jiu’er continued working to save the man.

She knew that even if she managed to keep the man alive, it would not change the fact that the battle would commence. And yet she had no wish to give up.

Whatever the circumstances, this was still a living, breathing life.