“We still don’t know for certain. My suspicion — and Ninth Imperial Uncle’s suspicion as well — is that we should be as cautious as possible going forward.”

Feng Jiu’er shifted her gaze to Yue Jianfei.

“Brother Yue, Hua-jie — have either of you heard of anyone in the Feng Clan who is particularly skilled in formations?”

“Of course.” Tang Xiaohua met Feng Jiu’er’s eyes and raised an eyebrow.

“Who?” Feng Jiu’er asked softly.

“My master,” Tang Xiaohua replied. “A pity she passed away three years ago.”

“My master was the most gifted formation master in the Feng Clan. She lived an upright and honorable life, yet met a bleak end. Such a waste.”

Everyone could feel the sorrow and regret in Tang Xiaohua’s voice.

But the matter at hand was…

“Hua-jie, does that mean you are quite familiar with formations as well?” Xiao Yingtao looked at Tang Xiaohua with an expression full of admiration.

“As the founding disciple of a formation master, how could I not be?” Tang Xiaohua looked at Xiao Yingtao and lightly raised a brow.

“It’s just that after I married, I quickly became a mother, and I gave so much for this family. Otherwise, my attainments would certainly be far greater than they are now.”

Yue Jianfei reached over and ruffled Tang Xiaohua’s hair. Tang Xiaohua turned and met his gaze.

For a moment, the two of them looked as they had more than twenty years ago, not long after they first met.

But Tang Xiaohua snapped back to the present not long after and looked at everyone again.

“On our journey up from the south, conditions were relatively stable.”

“Lei Shenbao’s ten thousand guards were almost entirely annihilated. The remnants we allowed to escape on purpose.”

“Hua-jie, so you are also skilled in formations?” Feng Jiu’er looked at her, as though she had just discovered something remarkable.

“I wouldn’t call it skilled — I know a little,” Tang Xiaohua said with a nod.

“But I think, if Lei Shenbao truly brought in a master, that person may well be my senior martial sister, Chen Hong.”

“Your senior martial sister?” Feng Jiu’er’s brows drew together slightly.

“Mm.” Tang Xiaohua nodded. “Chen Hong entered the sect a year before me. Later, because of him…”

Tang Xiaohua looked at Yue Jianfei.

“Because of him, Chen Hong and I fell out.”

“To avoid putting my master in a difficult position, after I married I rarely went back — only sneaking a visit to my master during holidays and festivals.”

“But what I didn’t expect was that Chen Hong, in her desire for revenge against me, cultivated a form of demonic power.”

“With that so-called demonic power to bolster her, her formation abilities grew more and more formidable, until even my master could no longer control her.”

“Ten years ago, she harassed our lives nearly every year. It wasn’t until five years ago that she finally began to disappear.”

“After my master died, Chen Hong vanished entirely. I have had no news of her whatsoever.”

Tang Xiaohua looked at Feng Jiu’er and shrugged.

“Had you not brought it up, we would never have known Lei Shenbao had a formation master at his side.”

“Third Brother’s people only just uncovered this,” Feng Jiu’er replied. “He didn’t know for a long time either.”

“Fortunately, we now have someone among us who understands formations. What comes next may be simpler than we imagined.”

“That said…” Feng Jiu’er looked at Tang Xiaohua with a faint curve of her lips. “If it truly is Chen Hong, then Hua-jie, I’m sorry to put this burden on you.”

“I actually hope it is her.” A chill crept into Tang Xiaohua’s eyes. “If not for her, I would have three children now.”

“It was she who took my second child from me — before that child even had a chance to meet us.”

At these words, Tang Xiaohua’s expression fell.

“My master has been gone three years. It is time I settled accounts with Chen Hong.”

“Xiaohua.” Yue Jianfei took Tang Xiaohua’s hand with a look of tender anguish and drew her into his arms.

Tang Xiaohua nestled into his embrace without resisting.

Her eyes carried a faint chill, edged with killing intent.

“I’m sorry.” Feng Jiu’er pressed her lips together gently. “Hua-jie, I promise you — Chen Hong will be eliminated.”

“She must be eliminated.” Tang Xiaohua raised her eyes to meet Feng Jiu’er’s gaze. “I have endured so many years for my master’s sake. I cannot endure any longer.”

“My master’s death was no accident. I must confront Chen Hong and find out the truth.”

“If she is the one who moved against my master, I will tear her to pieces.”

“I never knew Hua-jie had such a vicious senior martial sister.” Xiao Yingtao was heartbroken for her.

She could only imagine how much pain Tang Xiaohua must have been in back then.

“Chen Hong, is it? I’ll cut her down for you!” Qiao Mu was seething with rage as well.

“Whether or not the person beside Lei Shenbao is Chen Hong right now — as long as that woman lives, I will avenge you!”

“You’ve come back to your senses?” Tang Xiaohua, still nestled in Yue Jianfei’s arms, looked at Qiao Mu with a faint curve of her lips.

“What do you mean, ‘come back to my senses’?” Qiao Mu rolled her eyes.

“Qiao Mu, we’ve all been quite worried about you,” Xiao Yingtao added, shifting her attention to Qiao Mu as well.

“Ever since your little Jiang left, you haven’t said a word. You didn’t even eat breakfast just now. I was afraid you’d fall ill.”

“Has everyone eaten breakfast already?” Qiao Mu met Xiao Yingtao’s gaze and frowned.

She reached down and rubbed her flat belly, which let out an involuntary rumble.

“Of course everyone has eaten — everyone but you,” Xiao Yingtao said, rolling her eyes.

“I practically shoved a steamed bun in front of your mouth earlier. You were in such a daze the whole time, honestly!”

Qiao Mu looked at Xiao Yingtao with an expression that said “did you really?” then looked away.

“I wasn’t hungry then. Let’s not talk about it — let’s focus on confirming the attack plan.”

Besides, talking about it now would only make her stomach growl louder.

“Right. Back to the matter at hand.” Feng Jiu’er glanced at Qiao Mu with a slight upward tug at the corner of her mouth.

“For now, the most suitable points for our assault are still these four mountain gorges.”

“However, Lei Shenbao has chosen this as his final battlefield. He must have full confidence in it, so we absolutely cannot afford to underestimate him.”

Yue Jianfei, his arm around his wife, looked toward Feng Jiu’er.

“Li City was Lei Shenbao’s territory to begin with, and this is also his ancestral home. He must know the terrain here extremely well.”

“My suggestion is that before we mount our assault, it is worth taking more time to understand the lay of the land in greater detail.”

“Yes.” Feng Jiu’er met Yue Jianfei’s gaze.

“What Brother Yue has in mind is what I have in mind as well.”

“Zhao Yusheng and our brothers are still out scouting the terrain. I intend to go myself.”

“Particularly these four gorges.” Feng Jiu’er turned back and pointed once more to the four red marks in turn.

She faced everyone again.

“Until now, the only one among us with any knowledge of formations has been Zhao Yusheng.”

“Zhao Yusheng has been fascinated with these obscure and peculiar disciplines since he was young, but without a dedicated teacher, his understanding only runs so deep.”

“As of now, no useful information has come back.”

“I’ll go with you.” Tang Xiaohua looked toward Feng Jiu’er and spoke quietly.

“Mm.” Feng Jiu’er nodded. “I had originally planned to go with Jian Yi.”

“Since you understand formations, I hope you’ll come with us and assess the situation firsthand.”