“Before dawn broke, I sent him off to rest — he likely still doesn’t know what happened.” Xing Zizhou replied softly.

Feng Jiu’er gave a small nod, then turned to look at him. “Give me a complete list of every brother who was on duty last night.”

“Jiu’er, you…” Xing Zizhou’s thick brows furrowed slightly.

“Just go and prepare it.” Feng Jiu’er waved a hand. “The sooner you bring it over, the sooner we can all rest.”

Knowing that Feng Jiu’er was in a poor mood, Xing Zizhou asked nothing further. He dipped his head and turned to leave.

“Mother, Xue Gu — come speak with me in my tent.” Feng Jiu’er glanced at the two women beside her and turned toward the tent.

“Yan Dong, have the others stand guard on all four sides. Let no one approach.”

Feng Yan Dong, Feng Yan Nan, Feng Yan Xi, and Feng Yan Bei all nodded simultaneously, then dispersed to the east, west, south, and north.

Jian Yi remained at his original post — neither leaving nor following them inside.

Feng Jiu’er walked into the tent. Long Feiyan and Xue Gu followed her in.

The curtain dropped. Xue Gu spoke quietly: “Jiu’er, do you suspect there is a traitor among our brothers?”

“Mm.” Feng Jiu’er went and lifted the blanket, making room. “Mother, come and sit here.”

“This isn’t the first time I’ve suspected we have a mole within our own ranks. Xue Gu, do you still remember our battle against the Crown Prince?”

“Mm.” Xue Gu gave a nod.

“I had my suspicions then too, but I never found any evidence.” Feng Jiu’er crossed to the low table and poured herself a cup of water.

“I never imagined something like this would happen again so soon.”

“Judging by the fort master’s expression last night, I was almost certain he was willing to open the gates and let us in today — yet this came out of nowhere.”

Xue Gu looked at her, her voice carrying a weight of gloom. “This was no coincidence.”

Feng Jiu’er nodded, picked up the cup from the table, and swirled it gently.

“There is also the possibility that no one inside actually died — that the fort master spread this news purely to deny us entry.”

“But that possibility seems unlikely, so my guess is that something truly did happen in there.”

“Or perhaps an enemy of Nanman Fort came knocking, hoping to use our strength to destroy the fort from within.”

“Or it could simply be an internal problem — someone among us trying to halt our advance, all for the sake of the treasure.”

“Whichever it is, we still have to find a way to resolve it.” Feng Jiu’er picked up her cup, tilted her head back, and drank in large mouthfuls.

Xue Gu settled to one side, watching the young woman standing by the table. “Jiu’er, do you have any suspects in mind?”

Feng Jiu’er set the cup down and turned to meet her gaze, brows lightly knitted.

“Honestly, I don’t want to suspect anyone. The people who know we are searching for this treasure can be counted on very few hands.”

“Add my four personal guards, plus the squad leaders and team leaders — that comes to just over twenty people in total. Xue Gu, who do you think I should suspect?”

Feng Jiu’er shook her head and continued. “As a precaution, I ordered all of them to keep this matter secret.”

“Even the two brothers who were captured yesterday — all they could say was that we are looking for a mountain range. They had no knowledge that there might be a treasure hidden beneath it.”

“So the problem lies within our group of twenty-odd people.”

Xue Gu exhaled softly and asked in a quiet voice: “Besides the three of us and Jian Yi, is there anyone else who knows about the treasure map?”

“No.” Feng Jiu’er shook her head. “As for Jian Yi — he is impossible. I would stake my life on it.”

“Even Qiao Mu and Xiao Yingtao only know that the treasure is somewhere beneath that stretch of mountains.”

“The map shows only a faint outline of five peaks. Without the two traced copies and the jade pendant I hold, finding the treasure would be no easy task.”

“Jiu’er.” Suddenly, Long Feiyan — who had been silent all this while — called out softly.

Feng Jiu’er met her gaze and blinked.

Long Feiyan looked at her, brows creasing. “You’ve forgotten Yanu, haven’t you? Not every person willing to die for you will necessarily remain loyal to you.”

Those words left Feng Jiu’er with nothing to say in return.

Feng Jiu’er looked at Long Feiyan, pressed her lips together, and went to sit beside her.

“Actually, Yanu is my person.” Long Feiyan’s voice came again.

“What?” Feng Jiu’er stared at Long Feiyan, eyes going wide. “Yanu is your person?”

“Yes.” Long Feiyan nodded. “In name, he worked for Feng Qiongcang, but in truth, he was mine.”

Meeting Feng Jiu’er’s look of utter disbelief, Long Feiyan continued: “Many things in this world are not what they appear to be.”

“Sometimes you cannot even fully trust those closest to you — let alone outsiders.”

Feng Jiu’er stared at Long Feiyan, drew a slow breath, and nodded. “I understand.”

“But I will never suspect you or Father, just as you have never suspected Grandfather and Uncle — isn’t that right?”

“By the way, Mother — where is Yanu now?”

“You still concern yourself with him?” Long Feiyan raised an eyebrow.

“Mm.” Feng Jiu’er nodded. “He did betray me — but it is also true that he treated me sincerely for many years.”

“After so long apart, is it not perfectly natural to wonder how he is?”

And no matter whose person Yanu truly was, his betrayal of her had still been done for her sake.

Looked at from a different angle, the whole thing appeared entirely different. She had long since let go of any anger toward Yanu — let alone now.

“We can speak of that later. Right now, the most pressing matter is deciding what to do next.” Long Feiyan looked at her daughter and exhaled softly.

“Stop sighing as well — this girl is exactly like you, both of you with such kind hearts.” Xue Gu said gently.

Long Feiyan shot Xue Gu a sideways glance, her voice dropping a notch: “What good does a kind heart do?”

“True, not much good at all.” Xue Gu shook her head, a faint smile touching her lips. “But I, an outsider, will never betray either of you in this lifetime — rest assured of that.”

“Xue Gu is no outsider.” Feng Jiu’er looked at her and let a small smile curl at the corner of her lips. “Whoever the mole may be, we must first confirm the situation inside the fort.”

“Very well, I’ll go in with you.” Long Feiyan rose to her feet. “Go have breakfast first — we set out in half a quarter-hour.”

Feng Jiu’er looked at Long Feiyan, a soft smile playing on her lips. “Mother, how did you know I wanted to go in together with you?”

“Go get ready. There is no time for me to bicker with you.” With that single remark, Long Feiyan turned and strode out.

Feng Jiu’er pressed her lips together and hurried to follow.

As they left the tent, Feng Yan Dong — standing guard at the entrance — stopped someone in their path.

“By Miss Jiu’er’s orders, no one is to enter, no matter who they are.” Feng Yan Dong blocked Tuoba Keyan, who had been moving to step forward.

Tuoba Keyan halted, frowning. It was only when he saw Feng Jiu’er emerge that he stepped forward again.

“Jiu’er, what happened? I heard someone died inside Nanman Fort.”

“Mm.” Feng Jiu’er looked at Tuoba Keyan and gave a light nod. “The situation is still unclear right now. You haven’t slept all night — go and rest a while longer.”

The words had barely left her lips when she swept a glance around them and gave a small shrug.

“Though it seems, right now, even if you wanted to rest — it wouldn’t really be possible.”