Qiaomu quickly caught up from behind, three horses trailing in tow behind her.

With the Fortress Master present the whole time, both women felt awkward, and barely said a word.

The Fortress Master would occasionally bring up topics he found amusing, and Feng Jiu’er would respond with a word or two now and then—not cold exactly, but hardly friendly either.

Having finally made their way across the grassy valley, Feng Jiu’er glanced back.

Zhuiyue, as if unable to wait any longer, kicked up its hooves and caught up.

Beside it, the two horses Qiaomu had brought also picked up their pace to keep up.

Dressed in a set of night-traveling clothes, Feng Jiu’er stood out somewhat against the green grassland.

It wasn’t just her—Jian Yi was the same.

But they knew exactly why they’d come, so naturally they weren’t going to fuss over such details.

“Fortress Master.” Feng Jiu’er leaped onto her horse, turned to look at the man behind her, and gave a small bow with clasped hands.

“I’ll be honest with you—this time I’ve come in, I really do want to see every bit of the terrain here.”

Feng Jiu’er swept her gaze around, letting it settle on the distance, the corner of her mouth lifting slightly.

“Seeing how vast your fortress’s territory is, I can hardly go everywhere on foot.”

Turning back again, Feng Jiu’er let the smile fade from her face.

“If the Fortress Master doesn’t mind, could you let the three of us wander about on our own?”

“Of course, you could give me a map of your fortress, and any places you say I can’t enter, I won’t enter without reason. What do you think—would that work?”

“Why is Miss Feng being so courteous?” the Fortress Master asked, looking at the woman in the sunlight, the smile on his face deepening.

He waved a hand, and a brother not far off strode forward.

The Fortress Master took the map from the brother’s hands and passed it to the figure seated on the white horse.

“Actually, I had this map ready for Miss Feng long ago. I was only planning to accompany you for part of the way—but it seems I’ve been turned down.”

“Don’t say that, Fortress Master.” Feng Jiu’er paid it no further mind, tossing out the remark before taking the map.

“We’ve already troubled you enough as it is. We can’t go wasting your precious time on top of that, can we?”

Feng Jiu’er spread the map open, glanced down at it, then turned her gaze back to the Fortress Master.

Holding the map, she swung herself off the horse.

“Fortress Master, are there any forbidden areas we shouldn’t enter? Tell us plainly, so it’s easier for us to manage.”

Seeing Feng Jiu’er heading toward the Fortress Master, Jian Yi strode over and snatched the map from her hands.

The Fortress Master watched, helpless, as the beauty approaching him was forced to stop in her tracks, his expression darkening at once.

“Miss Feng is my honored guest. There aren’t really any forbidden zones in my territory to speak of—but the areas marked as stone forests, you’d best not blunder into.”

“There are quite a few stone forest formations here in Nanman Fortress, and luck won’t be on your side every single time. Do you understand what I mean, Miss Feng?”

“Understood.” Feng Jiu’er stepped past Jian Yi, met the Fortress Master’s gaze, and nodded. “Even if pressed, we won’t damage so much as a blade of grass in your fortress.”

“Fortress Master, we’ll take our leave!” She clasped her hands in farewell, stepped forward, and leaped back onto her horse.

Feng Jiu’er truly didn’t want to waste much more time here; she only wanted this over with as soon as possible.

That the brothers had entered Nanman Fortress for her safety was a good thing for her—but for the brothers, it was something that could cost them their lives at any moment.

Feng Jiu’er mounted her horse, and Jian Yi and Qiaomu mounted theirs as well.

Lifting her gaze to look at the road ahead, Feng Jiu’er turned back once more and clasped her hands toward the Fortress Master.

“Fortress Master, I, Feng Jiu’er, am truly grateful for your sincerity. Many thanks!”

“Go on then, Miss Feng. Enjoy your outing!” The Fortress Master waved a hand and turned to head back.

Feng Jiu’er watched his broad back, brow furrowing slightly.

She took a deep breath, turned away, and spurred her horse forward.

Behind Feng Jiu’er, Jian Yi and Qiaomu followed.

Past the grassland lay a forest, and beyond that, a stretch of mountain peaks—nothing unusual could be seen for now.

“Qiaomu, when you went to see my mother just now, did she say anything?”

“General Long said they’d be very careful—even the water would be brought in by the brothers themselves. They absolutely won’t eat or drink anything from here,” Qiaomu replied softly.

“She told us to search with peace of mind, but also said we should always keep two people alert at all times, just in case.”

“Auntie Xue said that Fortress Master understands gu poison arts, and that you should be especially careful.”

Feng Jiu’er composed herself and drew her gaze back.

“Right now, besides being careful, all we can do is hurry and cover this place quickly. The sooner we can leave, the better—I don’t want to stay here a moment longer than I have to.”

“Jian Yi, give me the map.” Feng Jiu’er looked at Jian Yi beside her and held out her hand.

Jian Yi handed over the map in his grasp. “This place resembles the diagram Zhao Yusheng drew.”

Which meant this was indeed the map of Nanman Fortress.

It was just that what Zhao Yusheng had been able to mark down were only the most basic mountains and valleys—his map gave no specifics about the actual conditions inside Nanman Fortress.

Feng Jiu’er took the map and stopped walking; the other two stopped as well.

Qiaomu rode her horse closer to Feng Jiu’er. “Well? Which way should we go?”

Feng Jiu’er studied the map for a moment, then said softly, “If it weren’t for these damned stone forests, we could cover the whole place in twenty-four hours. Unfortunately…”

“Those net-like patches—that’s where the stone forests are?” Qiaomu stared at the map, her crescent brows knitting tight.

“Stone forests we can’t pass through all around us—where else is there for us to go?”

“Otherwise, why would he be so at ease letting you in here?” Feng Jiu’er quickly came to accept the situation.

Wasn’t the reason the Fortress Master disliked Zhao Yusheng simply that he knew how to break the stone forest formations?

“If it doesn’t work out, we’ll take the mountain paths—go straight up and follow the mountain range.”

“With my mother and Auntie Xue keeping watch, and Zhao Yusheng watching from outside, we can just focus on searching.”

“You mean we search day and night and don’t go back at all?” Qiaomu asked, frowning.

“If we go back, we’ll have to be careful about everything we eat and drink—might as well eat a couple of fresh sweet potatoes up in the mountains.” Feng Jiu’er handed the map back to Jian Yi.

“However formidable the Fortress Master may be, surely he can’t have laid poison on every sweet potato growing wild in the mountains?”

“True enough.” Qiaomu nodded. “I don’t want to go back and run into that Fortress Master either.”

Jian Yi took the map back, looked it over once more, then tucked it away.

He turned his head to look off into the distance, then said quietly, “Let’s start from the left.”

“All right.” Feng Jiu’er nodded, the corner of her mouth lifting slightly.

As Jian Yi turned back, he saw the smile on the woman’s face in the sunlight, and at last his own expression stopped being so grim.

Her smile now was different from before—far more natural, the kind Jian Yi liked.

“Let’s go. With you here, I won’t let you live on sweet potatoes alone.”

“Good, I want meat! Don’t complain it’s too much trouble.” Feng Jiu’er glanced at Jian Yi and took up her horse’s reins.

“You two, stop making eyes at each other all the time. If I’d known, I never would have taken this job—I can’t stand it!”

Qiaomu tossed out the remark and headed toward the mountain range Jian Yi had pointed out.

Feng Jiu’er watched her retreating back, the corner of her mouth lifting slightly, and rode after her.