Feng Jiu’er frowned and strode toward the dense thicket, where almost nothing inside could be seen.

“Jiu’er.”

“Jiu’er.”

Qiao Mu’s and Jian Yi’s voices rang out at the same time.

Feng Jiu’er didn’t slow her steps, continuing forward. “If Yinan says so, the secret must be in here.”

“Trust me — at the very least, I can find my way back out.”

Just as Feng Jiu’er was about to step into the thicket, someone caught her by the arm.

She turned and looked at Jian Yi, a faint smile touching her lips. “Great Hero, I’ll be fine.”

“Together,” Jian Yi said quietly, with no intention of letting go of her hand.

“Together,” echoed the person standing on Feng Jiu’er’s other side — Qiao Mu.

Feng Yinan had come along too, following behind the three of them. At some point, the two little squirrels had returned and were once again cradled in his arms.

Feng Jiu’er nodded, and the four of them, plus two squirrels, walked in together.

Inside, besides the large trees, there was grass taller than a person.

The grass grew thick and dense — to move forward, one had to push it aside with every step.

Only after great effort could they find a small patch clear of grass; everywhere else was as tightly packed together as if the grass itself were huddling close.

Jian Yi’s tall figure blocked the way ahead, and his hand never once let go of Feng Jiu’er’s.

Qiao Mu and Feng Yinan walked almost shoulder to shoulder with them.

Aside from the sheer amount of grass, nothing else seemed out of the ordinary.

After walking for roughly the time it takes an incense stick to burn, they could faintly make out a clearing not far ahead, and the four of them, without hesitation, headed toward it.

Feng Yinan let out a breath where no one could see.

He’d known the outcome would be exactly this — but why, he still couldn’t quite work out.

Once they’d left the dense thicket behind, the other three all instinctively looked around.

They didn’t see the Panlong Stronghold they’d hoped to find; more startling still, they realized this place looked somewhat familiar.

“Jiu’er, do you think this is the spot where we went in?” Feng Yinan asked.

Feng Yinan hoped it wasn’t — hoped it desperately — but it did seem to be the very same place.

The moment Feng Jiu’er stepped out, she began looking around.

Before she could say anything, Qiao Mu spotted something important.

She hurried over and picked up the bag Feng Yinan had been eating red bean cake from earlier.

If the forest really looked the same everywhere, how could this bag be explained?

“The last two times I went in, I marked the trail,” Feng Yinan said, pointing to scratch marks on a nearby tree trunk.

This was, without a doubt, the very same spot they’d started from.

“After that I simply stopped moving forward and went back to wait at the spot where the tracks had last been found, until you all arrived,” Feng Yinan continued.

“Though this time, with Jian Yi leading the way, we went quite a bit further in. On my own, I hadn’t even gone thirty paces before I came right back out.”

Only then did Feng Jiu’er notice that Jian Yi was still holding her hand.

She glanced at him and withdrew her hand.

Jian Yi’s expression didn’t change at all, as if he hadn’t given the matter a second thought.

“Let’s not go in for now — let’s see if there’s anything different about the surrounding area.”

“All right,” Qiao Mu nodded.

Feng Yinan nodded too.

Soon the four of them spread out, though not too far — close enough to still see one another.

Feng Jiu’er stood at the spot where they’d gone in and come back out; Qiao Mu and Feng Yinan headed off to the left, Jian Yi to the right.

Qiao Mu looked at the wall of grass before her, growing more and more impatient by the moment.

No matter how she looked at it, it was nothing but a mass of grass.

Knowing full well that Panlong Stronghold lay somewhere inside, she was ready to hack her way through a path if that was what it took.

No sooner said than she began cutting — though unfortunately, she hadn’t brought her longsword out today.

All she had was a short blade, and however sharp it was, it wasn’t especially convenient for the job.

Clump after clump of tall grass fell before Qiao Mu, but she still wasn’t satisfied, and kept cutting.

Feng Jiu’er stood motionless where she was. After a while, she leapt up into the branches of a tree.

At the same moment, Jian Yi, standing closest to her, leapt up into a tree as well.

The grass was tall, but not as tall as the trees.

Standing high enough up in the branches, one could take in everything below at a glance.

Feng Jiu’er and Jian Yi walked a circuit along the treetops before returning to where they’d started.

Feng Yinan and Qiao Mu sat waiting together on the ground.

Seeing the two land steadily back on the ground, they stood and went to meet them.

“Jiu’er, what’s the situation?” Feng Yinan asked.

Feng Jiu’er shook her head, her brow furrowing slightly.

“Perhaps we need more people.”

No sooner had she spoken than the faint sound of footsteps could be heard.

Soon, Jian Yi, Qiao Mu, and Feng Yinan all heard it too.

Yue Shan and Long Qi, leading a group of their men, came walking over.

“Young Miss Jiu’er, we finally found you all,” Long Qi said.

“The brothers said you’d left the city, so I brought men to search for you.”

“Have you all eaten? I had people bring some food along — it’s getting late, you should eat before we talk further.”

Yue Shan unfolded a wooden frame he’d been carrying, and it turned into a table.

Two of the men came forward and took the food out of the baskets.

“Young Miss Jiu’er.” Yue Shan looked at Feng Jiu’er. “Please, eat.”

“There’s no rushing matters like this — eat your fill first, and you’ll have the strength to think things through.”

“All right.” Feng Jiu’er nodded — she quite agreed with what Yue Shan had said.

Only with a full stomach could one think clearly.

“Qiao Mu, Jian Yi, Yinan — let’s eat,” Feng Jiu’er said.

It had been roughly two hours since they’d last eaten a little, but with dusk now falling, they were more than a bit hungry, if not outright famished.

If worse came to worst, they’d simply head back — tomorrow the sun would rise all the same.

The four of them gathered together, sitting on the grass and tree roots to eat.

Yue Shan and Long Qi, along with their men, patrolled the surrounding area, since Feng Jiu’er had mentioned earlier that the breakthrough point was nearby.

Long Qi had brought thirty men of the Dragon Martial Army in with him, and Yue Shan had brought twenty of his own capable men.

More than fifty people in all, searching through the forest.

About the time it takes an incense stick to burn, the four of them — Feng Jiu’er included — had eaten and drunk their fill and stood up.

Seeing this, Long Qi immediately moved toward the group’s position in the middle.

“Young Miss Jiu’er, there’s nothing unusual to report yet,” Long Qi said, still striding forward.

“Have you all found anything?”

“This thicket isn’t just barriered below — it seems to be barriered above as well,” Feng Jiu’er said, looking at the dense woods.

“We went in ourselves. We were all forced back out.”

Qiao Mu had also cut through the grass, hacking out an opening, but it didn’t seem to have done any good.

“I have an idea,” Feng Jiu’er said after a moment, turning to look at everyone.

“How many people do we have right now?” Feng Jiu’er looked toward Long Qi, and toward Yue Shan, who was just arriving.

“Fifty,” Long Qi said. “Fifty-six, counting the few of us.”

“Good. Let’s have all fifty-some of us make a push through together,” Feng Jiu’er said with a nod.

“If it fails, we’ll head back and try again fresh tomorrow morning.”

Besides forcing their way through, she had one other idea — but it, too, would have to wait until tomorrow.

If at all possible, they needed to at least crack this forest’s secret; otherwise, they’d have little leverage in any negotiation with the others.

“All right.”

“All right.”

Long Qi and Yue Shan nodded at the same time.

Each turned and headed back toward his own men.