“It’s fine.”

Feng Jiu’er gently patted the man’s shoulder. “As long as it’s good merchandise, someone will appreciate it.”

“Longying Pharmacy isn’t only in Yue City—it’s also gaining a foothold in Yongshan City.”

“Although Yongshan City is some distance from Panlong Stronghold, if your herbs are good, that distance won’t matter much.”

“Miss, you’re welcome to come take a look. Our herbs are genuine, with no falsification whatsoever.”

The man immediately straightened his back.

The sound of arguing inside had stopped. Feng Jiu’er glanced inside and said, “Deal with matters here first. I’ll be waiting for you at the teahouse across the way.”

Leaving those words behind, Feng Jiu’er turned, glanced at Qiao Mu, and walked off.

Qiao Mu said nothing either, turned, and left together with her.

The two returned to the teahouse. About the time it takes for one stick of incense to burn, the man from before arrived with his two brothers.

“Big Brother, it’s them.”

The man pointed at Feng Jiu’er and Qiao Mu as he spoke.

Feng Jiu’er turned her head to glance at them, then withdrew her gaze and waved her hand.

“Innkeeper, add three more seats. Bring buns, tea, and meat porridge—bring some of everything.”

“Coming right up.”

The shopkeeper answered with a smile.

Feng Jiu’er stood and pulled over two more chairs.

“Please, sit!”

The other two men were seeing Feng Jiu’er and Qiao Mu for the first time, and both their eyes lit up.

Were all the people from Longying Pharmacy this good-looking?

Once the three had sat down, one of them couldn’t help but blurt out the question.

“Are you all from Longying Pharmacy? Is everyone at Longying Pharmacy this good-looking?”

Feng Jiu’er didn’t feel put off by the two men staring straight at her. After all, she didn’t sense any disrespect from them.

“We are indeed from Longying Pharmacy, genuine as can be.”

Feng Jiu’er took three cups out of a box and placed one in front of each of them. She also picked up the teapot and poured tea into each cup.

“Here, here, mind the heat.”

The shopkeeper brought over the food and set it on the table.

“Eat a little first,” Feng Jiu’er said, looking at the three of them and waving a hand.

“You left the stronghold quite early, didn’t you? Eat first—you eat, and I’ll talk.”

“Good.” The man cupped his hands toward Feng Jiu’er.

“Good.” “Good.” The other two men also cupped their hands.

The three began eating, and Feng Jiu’er didn’t rush them either. She watched them for a while before speaking softly.

“Our Longying Pharmacy is planning to open a branch at the northwest gate of Yue City.”

“However, we haven’t yet found a suitable location.”

“Earlier I saw you bringing herbs over, and I took note—your herbs are good.”

“So, if you’re interested, I’d like to meet with your stronghold master to discuss the herb trade.”

“Even before the northwest gate branch opens, Longying will have branches in both Yue City and Yongshan City. If the herbs are good, we can purchase them right away.”

The man who had spoken with Feng Jiu’er in the shop finished a bun in two bites, then picked up his bowl and drank an entire bowl of porridge. Having filled his stomach in the shortest time possible, he pulled out a handkerchief, wiped his mouth, and looked at Feng Jiu’er.

“Miss, I’ve told my Big Brother about this. He says it still depends on what our stronghold master decides.”

The man glanced at his Big Brother, then looked back at Feng Jiu’er.

“There’s nothing to be done—we’re not the stronghold master, and a matter this important isn’t ours to decide.”

“But don’t worry, Miss. Our stronghold master is a good person, and she’s always worried about our herbs.”

“I think she’d be very willing to meet you.”

“Could we arrange for you to meet her today?” Feng Jiu’er asked.

The three exchanged glances, and the one called “Big Brother” looked at Feng Jiu’er.

“Miss, I’m afraid that will have to wait until we go back and can give you a reply.”

“It’s fine.”

Feng Jiu’er took out a piece of loose silver and set it down.

“If your stronghold master wants to meet me, just have someone come tell the shopkeeper here.”

Feng Jiu’er stood and walked toward the shopkeeper. She exchanged a few words with him, then returned to the table.

“There’s silver left over here. Order whatever you like. We’ll be going now.”

Feng Jiu’er glanced at Qiao Mu, and Qiao Mu picked up her long sword and stood.

“Miss.” The two men stood up at the same time.

“If we come looking for you here, will we really be able to find you?” one of the men asked.

“Just tell the shopkeeper—he’ll know where to find me,” Feng Jiu’er said.

“Yes, yes.” The shopkeeper hurried over, bowing slightly, his face full of deference.

It wasn’t hard to see that he had already received a handsome reward.

“The three of you, would you like anything else?” the shopkeeper asked, looking at the men.

“We’ll head off first,” Feng Jiu’er said, tossing out another line.

“Miss, we’ll go report back right away.” Big Brother looked at Feng Jiu’er.

“There’s no rush to leave until you’ve eaten your fill.” Feng Jiu’er nodded and turned to walk away.

Qiao Mu hadn’t said a single word the entire time, and followed her out.

Once they had walked far enough, Qiao Mu asked, “What now?”

“Have Long Qi take the brothers to check the forest. We have to prepare for both outcomes,” Feng Jiu’er replied.

“All right.” Qiao Mu nodded, asking nothing further.

Neither of them had expected that their negotiations with Panlong Stronghold would end up involving something as small as herbs.

Feng Jiu’er hadn’t lied, either—the plan to open a Longying Pharmacy branch in the northwest of Yue City was something she genuinely intended to move forward with.

Good herbs were, after all, a matter of mutual benefit.

But right now, the crucial thing was the war between them and Mao Zhongcai. Whatever they did now had to serve as preparation for that war.

In this battle, only success was permitted—failure was not an option.

So they had to hurry to Pingyuan City.

Feng Jiu’er, Qiao Mu, Long Qi, and Yue Shan once again led the brothers into the forest.

In the dense woods that had been trampled the night before, part of the grass had straightened back up, but much of it still lay flattened.

The difference between the view by day and by night was more than slight. Standing at the edge and looking in now, they realized this dense forest wasn’t actually very large.

In other words, they hadn’t actually traveled very far into the forest the night before.

“Miss Jiu’er, no one from Panlong Stronghold has come out to deal with this,” Long Qi said softly, standing beside Feng Jiu’er.

“Perhaps this forest is just for show,” Feng Jiu’er said, gazing into the distance.

“They’re fully confident that even without this forest, we still won’t be able to get through easily.”

“The stone-forest maze,” Long Qi said, recalling what he’d seen the night before.

After a moment, he said, “Miss Jiu’er, why don’t we go in and take a look first?”

“Mm.” Feng Jiu’er nodded.

Feng Jiu’er, Qiao Mu, Long Qi, Yue Shan, along with Feng Yinan and Jian Yi, plus fifty brothers—

this was the same group as the night before, when they had first pushed into the dense forest.

Passing through the trampled tall grass, they once again arrived at the edge of the stone forest.

Now they could clearly see what lay ahead, but aside from pile after pile of stones, there was nothing else.

Getting through would truly not be easy!

—