Fifty-six people, hand in hand, walked into the dense thicket together.

Feng Jiu’er, Qiao Mu, Jian Yi, and Feng Yinan were in the middle, with Yue Shan and Long Qi at the two outer ends.

They’d agreed beforehand: no matter what happened, no one’s steps were to veer off course even slightly.

Should anything block their way, they would meet gods and slay gods, meet demons and destroy demons.

Step by step, the men pressed forward, treading through the grass.

The sky grew darker and darker, yet not a trace of fear showed on anyone’s face.

They’d fought together many times before, but holding hands like this — this was a first.

Once the sky had gone completely dark, with no signal to stop coming through, everyone kept walking hand in hand, treading through the tall grass.

Those pairs of clasped hands, apart from the brief instant they had to separate to get around a large tree, stayed tightly gripped the rest of the time.

No one could say how long had passed before the way ahead gradually grew clearer, and everyone’s eyes couldn’t help but brighten.

Feng Jiu’er took a deep breath and kept moving forward.

She had a faint sense that there were no more large trees ahead — had they truly broken through this time?

Suddenly, someone among the men, from one side or another, shouted, “We’re out, we’re finally out!”

With more than fifty people, the line was long, and of course they couldn’t all leave the thicket at once.

Hearing one of the men cheer, everyone else grew excited too.

Soon, everyone had made it out of the thicket.

“Is anyone missing?” Long Qi called out loudly.

“No one!” one of the men shouted back.

“None on our side either,” another chimed in.

“None here either,” yet another spoke up.

Long Qi nodded and turned his gaze back.

Everyone looked at the stone forest before them and released their clasped hands.

“It’s a stone-forest formation,” Feng Jiu’er said after a moment, standing in the middle of the group.

She looked up at the moon overhead and let out a soft sigh.

“At this hour, it’s no longer wise to press forward — a stone-forest formation isn’t like the thicket we just came through. It would be far too easy to set traps inside.”

“Let’s head back for now. Whatever needs discussing, we’ll discuss tomorrow.”

Tomorrow, Zhao Yusheng would arrive, and breaking the formation would be somewhat easier with him there.

Feng Jiu’er had no wish to go to war with the people of Panlong Stronghold — all she wanted was to seek their consent to pass through their territory.

As for any unexpected gains along the way, it wasn’t that she had no interest, only that she truly hadn’t had the time to think much on it.

With one word from Feng Jiu’er, everyone turned as one and headed back.

On the way back, the tall grass had been trampled nearly flat, making the return trip far easier than the way in.

Still, for the sake of everyone’s safety, Feng Jiu’er insisted they keep holding hands, to make sure every last one of them made it back safely.

By the time they returned to camp, it was already very late.

After eating a late meal, Feng Jiu’er washed up and went straight to bed.

Tomorrow, there would be much more to attend to.

Early the next morning, Feng Jiu’er and Qiao Mu set out early for the smaller pharmacy.

By the time the two of them arrived, the shop hadn’t opened yet, so they found a spot to sit, drink tea, and eat breakfast.

“Jiu’er, do you think they might not come?” Qiao Mu asked, picking up her teacup.

“Hard to say,” Feng Jiu’er said, watching the still-shut door.

Given how much commotion they’d caused in the forest yesterday, there was no telling whether it might affect today’s plans.

“I heard the fighting over at Yongshan City has died down,” a man at the table beside them said.

“I heard that too,” nodded another man, his head wrapped in gray cloth. “Mao Zhongcai isn’t thinking of setting his sights on our Yue City, is he?”

“We have Lord Yue — he wouldn’t dare,” said a man in white, frowning.

“But I heard word that a great many soldiers suddenly showed up at our western gate — it’s not impossible,” sighed a man in dark green robes.

“When has our place ever had this many soldiers show up?”

“Didn’t they say Mao Zhongcai lost the battle?” the man in white said.

The man with the wrapped head shook his head. “What’s going on, then? Heavens, let’s hope there’s no war.”

“Could it be Yongshan City means to attack us?” the man in white asked, glancing left and right at his companions before lowering his voice.

“It might well be true,” said the man with the wrapped head, picking up the teapot.

“It won’t happen,” the man in dark green waved a hand.

“Yongshan City is no match for us — their city lord wouldn’t be foolish enough to throw himself against a rock like that.”

“The former Lord Duan wouldn’t have — but I hear there’s a formidable new city lord in charge now. Who knows what this one is thinking?” the man with the wrapped head sighed quietly.

“True enough. If this one really is ambitious, then anything’s possible,” the man in white sighed as well.

“We could all just be living our lives in peace — why must there be war? If there’s war, it’s us common folk who suffer!”

“There won’t be,” Qiao Mu said, holding her teacup and looking over at the three men.

All three turned their heads at once to look at her.

“Who are you?” the man with the wrapped head asked. “What do you mean, ‘there won’t be’?”

“Yongshan City will not attack Yue City. Absolutely not,” Qiao Mu said.

“Why is that?” the man in dark green frowned.

“The lord of Yongshan City and the wife of Yue City’s lord are close sisters, so Yongshan City and Yue City will coexist,” Qiao Mu said.

Though these men didn’t know Qiao Mu, her composure and her air of authority were clearly nothing an ordinary woman possessed.

So, deep down, none of them wanted to doubt her words.

“Miss, who exactly are you people?” the man in white asked.

“The same as you,” Qiao Mu said, glancing briefly at the three of them. “People who long for peace and dislike war.”

“You’re saying Yongshan City and Yue City will coexist — is that true?” the man in dark green asked.

“Mm.” Qiao Mu nodded.

She set her cup down gently and said nothing more.

“To think the lord of Yongshan City is actually our own city lord’s wife’s sister,” the man in white said, his face lighting up with delight.

“Maybe someday Yongshan City and Yue City will become sworn sister cities, like Yi City and Yi City are.”

“Not someday — it already is,” Qiao Mu said, looking at the man in white.

Feng Jiu’er glanced at the still-closed door, then looked away and turned toward the table beside them.

She hadn’t expected these men to trust Qiao Mu’s words so readily.

“Right, right, right.” The man in white grew deferential toward Qiao Mu, even his eyes carrying a look of admiration.

“Then may I ask — the one who reclaimed Li City was…”

Ordinary people could only ever hear secondhand accounts of such matters — usually knowing only part of the story, and unsure whether what they’d heard was even true.

Still, everyone surely hoped it was true that the great villain Lei Shenbao was dead.

“Li City is about to change hands,” Qiao Mu said, the corner of her mouth curving slightly as she stood.

At the same moment, Feng Jiu’er, having noticed something, set down her teacup and stood as well.

Qiao Mu turned back and glanced at the three men. “All you need to know is that Yongshan City will absolutely not attack Yue City.”

“We’re all on the same side — wild guessing isn’t a good thing.”

With that, Qiao Mu set down some silver, and stepped forward to catch up with Feng Jiu’er.