Sunset was still roughly half a shichen away. The sky looked good, and all around was quiet.

Qiao Mu found herself drawn in by the surroundings and the fragrance of the flowers — she barely felt hungry anymore.

She glanced around, her eyes settling on the small crouching figure, and stepped closer.

“This scent really is something.”

“If there’s nothing you’re after, at least we’ve got another fragrance to work with — that’s a way to make money too.”

Feng Jiu’er crouched before a cluster of small flowers, parting the stems.

She examined them carefully, drew a short blade from her waist, bent down, and dug one up, roots and all.

“How is it?” Qiao Mu leaned in.

Feng Jiu’er picked up the young plant, held it to her nose to smell it, then bent down again to dig up some of the soil.

Seeing that she wasn’t saying anything, Qiao Mu kicked at the grass beside her and sat down.

Feng Jiu’er kept pulling up plants, one after another — aside from this particular flower, she’d also dug up quite a few other kinds of plants and grasses.

The pile of plants and dirt in front of Qiao Mu kept growing.

Two incense sticks’ worth of time later, the others finally caught up.

Xiao Yingtao could have walked faster, but she had to look out for her companion too, so she couldn’t hurry.

The moment she stepped out of the trees, she broke into a run.

It looked like the two of them had been busy for quite a while.

Busy was the word, but it wasn’t really “they” — Qiao Mu had just been sitting there the whole time. The one actually working was Feng Jiu’er alone.

Qiao Mu knew she didn’t have a nose like a hound’s, so all she could do was sit and wait for orders.

“Qiao Mu, what’s going on?” Xiao Yingtao quickly reached her side.

“Ask her.” Qiao Mu raised an eyebrow helplessly.

She didn’t know what was happening either, but she was rather looking forward to hearing that note of delighted surprise from Feng Jiu’er.

Xiao Yingtao glanced at the dug-up plants, then went to crouch beside Feng Jiu’er.

At that moment, Feng Jiu’er was holding a handful of soil, sniffing at it.

“Jiu’er, what exactly is going on?” Xiao Yingtao asked, her crescent brows lightly knit.

If they’d only come for the flower, why was Jiu’er digging up other plants too?

And why was she cupping handfuls of dirt to her nose?

“Xiao Yingtao, come smell this.” Feng Jiu’er held the soil out to her.

Xiao Yingtao crouched beside Feng Jiu’er and lowered her head to smell it.

Her brows knit slightly. She sniffed again.

“Jiu’er, is there something special about it?” Weren’t they here for the flowers? Why dig up soil?

Feng Jiu’er’s lips curved slightly. She stretched out her legs and simply sat down.

She felt, it seemed, as though she had already caught the scent of gold.

“Jiu’er, what is it? What do you mean?” Xiao Yingtao took the handful of soil from her.

She sat down too, lowering her head to sniff carefully once more.

Qiao Mu’s apparent idleness hadn’t really been idleness at all.

She’d been keeping an eye on Feng Jiu’er’s every move the whole time, and seeing the corner of her mouth lift, she stood and strode over.

“What’s going on?”

Feng Jiu’er turned to look at her, smiling faintly, saying nothing.

Qiao Mu’s brow furrowed. She sat down beside Xiao Yingtao and held out her palm.

Xiao Yingtao glanced at her, split the soil in her hands into two portions, and put one in Qiao Mu’s palm.

“What’s going on with you two? I don’t notice anything special at all.”

Xiao Yingtao looked baffled, glancing at Qiao Mu for a moment before turning back to Feng Jiu’er.

“I think the soil here is different from other places.” Feng Jiu’er answered happily.

She hoped this wasn’t just her imagination.

Feng Jiu’er answered Xiao Yingtao’s question, then looked past her toward Qiao Mu.

“What is it? Qin—” “Yue Qinchun?” Yue Qinchun leaned in as well.

She and Leng Xuepiao crouched down on either side of Qiao Mu.

Duan Liuyang and Shen Rong’er, each cradling a small clump of flowers that Feng Jiu’er had dug up, came over to join them.

They didn’t ask any questions — they knew that when the time came, Jiu’er would explain.

“Qiao Mu, do you smell anything?” Xiao Yingtao sniffed the soil in her hands again, glancing sideways at Qiao Mu.

Qiao Mu sniffed for a while, then set the soil down, reached out with her long arm, and dug up a bit of soil from the spot Feng Jiu’er had already excavated.

Ignoring everyone else, she cupped the freshly dug dirt and kept smelling it.

Feng Jiu’er rested for about a minute, then rose, stepped over a cluster of flowers, moved a little closer to the cliff, and bent down to dig again.

Xiao Yingtao, thoroughly confused, followed anyway.

Feng Jiu’er kept digging; Qiao Mu also drew out her dagger and found another spot to dig.

Neither of them said a word, and Xiao Yingtao was nearly at her wit’s end.

“Jiu’er.” She finally couldn’t hold back and called out again.

Feng Jiu’er turned, holding out the freshly dug soil in her hands, looking at Xiao Yingtao.

Xiao Yingtao immediately reached out both hands to take it.

“Jiu’er, what’s the problem with this soil? Stop being so mysterious.”

“It smells like sulfur.” Feng Jiu’er didn’t hold back.

If she’d caught the scent wrong, what would explain Qiao Mu’s behavior?

“Sulfur?” Xiao Yingtao’s eyes lit up at once too.

She cupped the soil, held it to her nose, and inhaled deeply.

The other four women exchanged glances, but no one said anything.

One by one they drew closer, bending down to dig or scoop up the loose soil on the ground.

How could it be sulfur? How had Jiu’er figured it out?

Leng Xuepiao, Duan Liuyang, and Yue Qinchun, of course, knew about sulfur — its value and its uses.

Shen Rong’er didn’t know much about it, but seeing everyone’s delighted expressions, she understood it had to be something good.

“Jiu’er.” Xiao Yingtao looked up at Feng Jiu’er, her eyes glinting silver.

“It really does smell like sulfur. Could this mountain have sulfur too? Is this a sulfur mountain as well?”

“If this place is like Tianya Peak, then we’ve struck it rich.”

“There might be some — that doesn’t mean we’ll actually be able to dig it out, and no one can say how much there’ll be. Could just be a trace.” Feng Jiu’er turned to look at them.

“Still, better than nothing.”

“Jiu’er, I’ve noticed the scent seems to get stronger the further this way.” Qiao Mu said, still digging.

Xiao Yingtao immediately stood, walked over to Qiao Mu, and crouched down again.

“Qiao Mu, let me smell.”

Qiao Mu handed her a handful of soil without a word and stood, walking several steps further ahead.

“It really does seem like there’s something here.” Yue Qinchun murmured to herself.

“If there really is sulfur, shouldn’t we get everyone into the mountains sooner rather than later?” Duan Liuyang stood, surveying the cliff.

“Jiu’er, is it because Tianya Peak has this same flower, and because we said the flower changes once it’s brought back home, that you started thinking about sulfur?”

“Mm.” Feng Jiu’er nodded and stood, walking forward past Qiao Mu.

“Jiu’er, you’re amazing! Why didn’t I think of that angle at all?” Duan Liuyang looked at her with open admiration.

As expected — the thinking of someone who succeeds isn’t something a mind like hers could easily follow.

Duan Liuyang’s admiration for Feng Jiu’er grew a little more.

“No rush to call anyone yet — the brothers aren’t far off anyway.” Feng Jiu’er found a spot and crouched down.

The sun was nearly gone now, its light deepening from orange-yellow to orange-red.

That soft, warm hue spilled across the valley, over the flowers and grass, over the women themselves — everything a pleasure to behold.