“Jiu’er, what’s the situation on your end?” Xiao Yingtao looked up at Feng Jiu’er.

“This area is a recovery zone for wounded soldiers. I also saw some of our captured brothers and commoners there.” Feng Jiu’er’s voice had grown noticeably heavier.

“I’ve had dealings with Feng Jin before. He’s honest and simple by nature, and values loyalty and duty—his biggest flaw is that he obeys orders unconditionally.”

“I had thought that whether it was my third imperial brother or my father in his hands, given how much he values loyalty, he wouldn’t…”

“Feng Jiu’er, what exactly are you trying to say?” Qiao Mu had only just managed to suppress her fury enough to follow orders properly.

Feng Jiu’er’s words had struck her like a heavy blow.

“I think the Feng Jin I knew isn’t the real Feng Jin.” Thinking of the brothers still suffering out there, Feng Jiu’er’s own mood was heavy too.

“Jiu’er, how are our brothers doing? Did you see the Night Prince, or Little Jiang?” Xiao Yingtao asked anxiously.

“No.” Feng Jiu’er shook her head. “The commoners are all right, but our brothers aren’t doing well.”

The men of Dragon Shadow were all men of iron will—Feng Jiu’er had no fear that they would betray them.

So seeing them reduced to their current state left her heart bleeding without pause.

“Qiao Mu.” She steadied herself and looked at Qiao Mu. “Don’t think too much. Tonight, our army is going to break through.”

“This is a critical moment—you absolutely cannot let your emotions take over.”

“That’s right.” Xiao Yingtao took hold of Qiao Mu’s hand. “One is her father, the other her elder brother—Jiu’er isn’t having it any easier than you.”

“Qiao Mu, if Jiu’er can hold it together, so can you!”

She patted the back of Qiao Mu’s hand gently before letting go.

Feng Jiu’er let out a long breath, her gaze returning to the map she had drawn.

“This spot isn’t suitable for placing explosives.” She tapped one location, her fair, slender finger moving to another.

“This spot works—it’s the warhorse breeding grounds. This one works too—it’s some of the enemy’s reserve troops.”

“The horse pastures are a perfect spot—once the explosives go off, the warhorses will scatter everywhere in a panic.” Xiao Yingtao, too, had gathered her focus.

“We brought forty charges of explosives in total. Now that the locations are set, we can start dividing them up.”

“Right.” Feng Jiu’er nodded slightly. “Qiao Mu, the camps near the grain stores—what you and Yang Sheng saw there were also enemy troops, correct?”

“Mm.” Qiao Mu nodded, her voice very low.

“All right, let’s start assigning tasks now.” Feng Jiu’er’s attention returned to the map.

“From the grain storage area all the way to the horse pastures, I counted on my way back—there are roughly thirty-some tent camps.”

“We’ll place one charge every other camp, and we can still spare seven or eight for the horse pastures.”

“Jian Yi and I will handle the horse pastures. Qiao Mu and Yang Sheng will handle the grain stores. For the twenty-some camps in between, Long Shiyi will lead the five of you there.”

“Long Wu and Xing Zizhou will provide support at the rear of the group. If anything uncontrollable happens, fire the signal flare immediately.”

“Remember, the signal is two large flares and one small.”

Feng Jiu’er looked up at Xiao Yingtao and the five women standing behind her, and continued, “Xiao Yingtao, the rest of you can head back.”

“Head back right away. No matter what happens, don’t turn back, not until you reach the designated forest. Is that clear?”

“If you run into an ambush, your very first thought should also be to fire the signal flare.”

“Our agreed time is midnight, assuming the plan goes smoothly.”

“Everyone’s safety matters above all. Everyone must be careful—if you encounter danger, you must absolutely not engage the enemy head-on.”

“As soon as a signal is fired from any single location, the city gates will open immediately, and our army will charge in right away.”

Feng Jiu’er swept her gaze over everyone, her voice serious and noticeably lower.

“Is this arrangement clear to everyone?”

If not for the sake of covering their tracks, Xiao Yingtao and the other five women shouldn’t have been brought along at all.

Refugees fleeing danger couldn’t be all men—it was best to have women among them too.

And by coming along, Xiao Yingtao and the other five had also helped smuggle out the explosives.

The five women Feng Jiu’er had chosen all had skills surpassing Xiao Yingtao’s, so the journey back shouldn’t pose much of a problem.

“Clear!”

“Understood!”

The brothers nodded one after another in response.

Xing Zizhou took Xiao Yingtao’s hand and led her off to the side.

The two of them embraced, murmuring something no one else could hear.

Feng Jiu’er and Qiao Mu remained kneeling on the ground, going over locations and timing with the brothers who would set off the explosives.

Xing Zizhou saw the six women off, then returned to the group.

With every detail large and small settled, and the escape route confirmed, everyone shouldered the explosives and set out.

The moment midnight struck, a deafening explosion tore through one part of Feng Jin’s camp.

At the same time, the gates of Yongshan City, which had been closed for not even twenty hours, slowly swung open.

After the first explosion came another, not far off.

Then, in quick succession, a rumbling series of explosions followed one after another.

Behind the camp, in a very short span of time, horses scattered wildly and sparks flew in every direction.

“Eldest Prince, something terrible has happened.”

Feng Jin had only just lain down to sleep when his personal guard Gu Mingcheng threw back the curtain and strode in.

Having already heard the explosions moments before, Feng Jin was already up and dressed.

“What’s happening?” His voice came low and indifferent.

“It’s the rear camp.” Gu Mingcheng cupped his hands.

“A series of explosions came from the rear camp, each one piercingly loud—the explosives seem to have been extremely powerful.”

“And horns have sounded from the front camp as well—the enemy must have launched an attack.”

Feng Jin tied off his robe sash, strode forward, threw back the curtain, and walked out.

Gu Mingcheng turned and followed close behind him.

Feng Jin had crossed the river with thirty thousand troops, and had since lost several thousand.

After the army withdrew from Yongshan City, it had all been encamped near the riverside.

The main camp was close to the rear camp, and even from a distance, the raging flames were clearly visible.

The rear camp now lit up half the sky.

“It looks like both the grain stores and the horse pastures are lost.”

Gu Mingcheng let out a sigh, then quickly moved around to stand before Feng Jin, cupping his hands.

“Eldest Prince, the enemy has already left the city—we must send troops to meet them in battle.”

“Have the front three ranks engage immediately, and have ranks four, five, and six ready to support at any moment. Go!” Feng Jin waved a hand, turned, and walked off in another direction.

“Yes.” Gu Mingcheng cupped his hands, accepting the order.

Feng Jin strode over to another tent and swept a glance over the guarding soldiers.

“Is he still here?”

“Reporting to the Eldest Prince.” The soldier cupped his hands. “Still here.”

Feng Jin stepped forward, and the soldier immediately turned to pull back the curtain.

Inside the tent, in the faint candlelight, a tall figure sat by the edge of a low bed.

His dark hair and robes were somewhat disheveled, sweat beaded at his temples, and his eyes were dull and lifeless—he clearly wasn’t doing well.

Feng Jin looked at the man, the chill in his lowered eyes growing colder still.

“Third Brother, don’t blame your eldest brother. You brought this all on yourself!”