“Most of the Longwu Army is still in the imperial capital—I’m afraid they won’t be able to arrive in time.” Di Wu Ya stretched out his long arm and rested it lightly on Feng Jiu’er’s small shoulder.

During this time, whether he was attending to matters or resting, he liked to keep Feng Jiu’er close, almost confined, by his side.

And Feng Jiu’er had already grown used to his behavior—as long as he didn’t get in the way of what she needed to do, she didn’t mind too much.

“My people have mostly returned to Black Canyon. The moment my letter arrives, Zhao Yusheng will surely bring the brothers to come support us.”

Feng Jiu’er reached out her small hand, took hold of a lock of Di Wu Ya’s dark hair, and toyed with it lightly.

“With Mu Mu there, Black Canyon should be fine, shouldn’t it? Or perhaps Ninth Imperial Uncle could send him word, asking him to look after my Black Canyon during this time.”

“Those are all my people there—I can’t possibly leave them with no troops at all and disregard whether they live or die.”

“All right.” Di Wu Ya’s lips curved up slightly as he pulled Feng Jiu’er over and held her in his arms.

Feng Jiu’er glanced up and shot the man holding her a look, saying flatly, “Ninth Imperial Uncle, could you be a little more serious?”

“We’re about to go fight a war. The situation with the Feng Clan is no simpler than what we faced back in Beimu. Aren’t you the least bit worried?”

Di Wu Ya lowered his head and pressed a light kiss to Feng Jiu’er’s forehead.

“With you in my arms, this King fears nothing.”

Feng Jiu’er met the man’s deeply affectionate gaze, bit her lip, and made an effort to look away.

With such a handsome man right in front of her, managing to stay composed and unmoved—was that easy for her?

What’s more, these past few days, she had no idea where Ninth Imperial Uncle had picked up so many sweet words—sweet enough to be the death of her.

Feng Jiu’er gave a light cough, awkwardly pushed Di Wu Ya away, and sat back down in her own chair.

“What nonsense is this? Shouldn’t we be thinking about how to find Father right now?”

Di Wu Ya looked at his woman, reached out his large hand, and ruffled her hair gently.

“Don’t worry. The Longwu Army troops stationed at Black Canyon will come together with Zhao Yusheng.”

“Another group of Longwu Army brothers will also head south at the fastest possible speed to join us.”

“To mobilize this King’s men, all it takes is one word from the Princess Consort.”

“Who’s your Princess Consort?” Feng Jiu’er pulled her chair back, putting more distance between herself and Di Wu Ya.

This man—every single moment, all he thought about was taking advantage of her. There was truly nothing to be done about him!

“There’s no one but you.” Di Wu Ya kept his gentle smile, just as he had these past days.

Over this past month or so, even though Yu Jingfeng and the Twelve Flying Dragon Riders had been tossed about on the Black Pool’s waters and hadn’t eaten particularly well, these had still been the happiest days in years.

As long as the Prince was happy, the skies would clear—and that was no joke.

Feng Jiu’er turned her head, shot Di Wu Ya another glance, and said nothing more.

Before long, someone knocked on the chamber door, and Yu Jingfeng pushed it open and walked in.

“Your Highness, Miss Jiu’er, we’ve made contact with all the brothers, but so far there’s still no news of the Night Prince.”

“Over the past ten days or so, every dock, whether out in the open or hidden in the shadows, and every ship’s comings and goings, have all been checked.”

“Aside from the ship that came from the Feng Clan, nothing else appears suspicious.”

“Your Highness, Miss Jiu’er, what should we do now?”

“Leave a portion of the brothers behind to keep searching. The rest are to prepare the ships—at first light tomorrow, we set out for the Feng Clan’s territory,” Di Wu Ya said flatly.

“Yes!” Yu Jingfeng answered with a single firm, resolute word, then cupped his hands and turned to leave.

What Yu Jingfeng had reported came as no surprise at all to Feng Jiu’er.

The spice was the best proof of all—it was that ship from the Feng Clan that had taken her father away. This person who was neither quite woman nor quite man—who could they really be?

…

On the boundless expanse of the Black Pool, more than a dozen great ships, linked together in pairs by iron chains, rode the wind and cut through the waves as they sailed forward.

Behind them came another dozen-odd great ships, linked together in the same fashion, following close behind the ships ahead.

The great ship at the very center of the front row was larger than all the rest.

A tall woman stood at the bow.

Out on the Black Pool, the wind was strong, blowing her dark hair and the sleeves of her robe.

She stood facing the wind, holding a silver Dragon-Tongue spear nearly as tall as herself—an utterly imposing sight!

“Qiao Mu.” Xiao Yingtao walked toward the bow, holding two pears.

Qiao Mu turned to look at Xiao Yingtao, her silver spear still gripped firmly in hand.

“Qiao Mu, stop being so on edge all by yourself. Here, have a pear.”

Xiao Yingtao handed Qiao Mu one of the pears, then raised the other to her own mouth and took a bite.

She stood beside Qiao Mu, gazing at the seemingly endless Black Pool stretching ahead.

“It’s a good thing it’s autumn right now, or else who knows whether we could have found this many fruits all at once.”

“Using Jiu’er’s method, the fruit won’t spoil even after being stored for a while.”

“Jiu’er said that out here on the Black Pool, being able to eat fruit every day already counts as a happy thing. Let’s just eat—whether we worry or not, the day passes all the same, so we might as well be happy.”

“Zhao Yusheng has been studying the formations day and night—who knows, maybe he’ll come up with a solution.”

Qiao Mu took a bite of her pear and turned her head to look at the person beside her.

“Xiao Yingtao, is it that no one’s talked to you in too long?”

Xiao Yingtao met Qiao Mu’s gaze and blinked.

“Right, Xing Zichou must be out there somewhere. With him going back and forth between all these ships every single day, he won’t have time to pay you any attention,” Qiao Mu continued.

Before Xiao Yingtao could say anything more, Qiao Mu finished off her entire pear and tossed what remained into the Black Pool.

“Jiu’er and the others set out from Qiangu Prefecture, and their journey is longer than ours, but by the time we received the letter, they may already have covered half the distance.”

“They had originally planned to travel freely and at ease, yet who would have thought they’d run into something like this.”

“What worries me is, if they arrive at the Feng Clan’s territory first, how could they possibly cope with so few people on their side?”

“With Jiu’er and the Prince joined together like dragon and phoenix, even the most difficult formation can be unraveled. If anything, shouldn’t your worry be about us instead?”

Xiao Yingtao looked at Qiao Mu and frowned slightly.

“Even though Zhao Yusheng knows a great many strange and esoteric arts, if he were truly confident, he wouldn’t need to shut himself away like this, studying without rest day and night.”

“Xing Zichou said we’ll be reaching the Feng Clan’s territory soon. I wonder whether the road ahead will be smooth or not.”

“Our bearings are correct, aren’t they? Didn’t Jiu’er designate a specific spot for us to wait at?” Qiao Mu gazed into the distance and let out a soft sigh.

“Right now, all I hope for is that we can arrive quickly and join up with Jiu’er and the others as soon as possible.”

“It won’t be long now.” Xiao Yingtao pressed her lips together and turned to look back at the Black Pool.

“This morning, Xing Zichou said we’d need to sail roughly another twelve hours, and then we should stop and wait.”

“Maybe Jiu’er and the others are already waiting for us at the designated spot. In another day, the three of us sisters will be reunited again—wouldn’t that be wonderful?”

Qiao Mu gazed into the distance and nodded lightly. “Mm, it would be wonderful.”

This girl—up and leaving just like that, so carefree about it. With the Prince around, she’d probably be well fed and plump by now.