A tall figure on horseback appeared in everyone’s line of sight.

Feng Jiu’er’s eyes lit up at once — how had Ninth Imperial Uncle arrived so quickly?

Still, he really was so handsome! Even with a mask covering most of his face, he still looked striking.

“Mao Linye, surrender yourself!”

Yu Jingfeng, standing beside Di Wu Ya, said coldly.

“Who exactly are you people?”

One of the generals stepped forward.

Yu Jingfeng pulled a token from within his robes. “The one who can lead you!”

The generals, of course, recognized the city lord’s token at once.

Di Wu Ya, tall, valiant, composed, and formidable, carried an imperial air the moment he appeared, making many who saw him willing to submit before him.

With their own city lord gone, and now this commanding, powerful man standing before them holding the token, the generals immediately found where their loyalty belonged.

Mao Linye carried an aura of malice about him, standing in stark contrast to this man’s unyielding presence.

No matter who it was, in that moment, the choice was an easy one to make.

“Greetings, new city lord!”

One general stepped forward and knelt on one knee.

Seeing this, the other generals hurried over and knelt alongside him.

“Greetings, new city lord!”

They said in unison.

“What are you doing?”

Mao Yi stared at the kneeling men, his voice trembling.

“You’re all my father’s men — how could you do this?”

Mao Gang clenched his fists tightly in anger.

One of the generals turned to look at the two brothers, taking a deep breath.

“To be honest, if you two young masters weren’t so utterly incapable, we wouldn’t have come to this decision.”

“After all, if it weren’t for the old city lord, there wouldn’t be a Plains City at all.”

“But so what? The former city lord had no idea how to govern a place — not only was he incompetent, he was utterly inhumane!”

Everyone had seen what Mao Zhongcai had done, but since he was city lord, no one dared voice their anger.

“Exactly!”

Another general nodded. “The former city lord had already lost the people’s support, and his descendants are even more unworthy!”

“How— how dare you?”

“You’re rebelling — are you looking to die?”

“You’ll come to a bad end!”

“Heaven won’t forgive you ingrates!”

Mao Yi and Mao Gang kept shouting, but no one paid the two brothers any more attention.

One general looked up at Di Wu Ya and cupped his hands. “This one is willing to follow the general.”

“So are we!”

The other generals cupped their hands, speaking in unison.

The four looked at Di Wu Ya, their faces full of sincerity.

“Rise,” Di Wu Ya said, his voice cold.

“Thank you, city lord!”

The generals said together.

Someone set off a signal flare.

At once, the sound of voices and hoofbeats rose from beyond the perimeter.

Battle broke out once more in that open space.

Feng Jiu’er hadn’t expected there to be a hidden passage in this place.

Mao Linye’s men arrived just in time, escorting them away.

She had been wondering how she might help Mao Linye escape without arousing suspicion.

Ninth Imperial Uncle and Third Brother were already moving to seize Fenggang Town, yet her own task still had no leads — she felt somewhat powerless.

Before nightfall, Mao Linye led Feng Jiu’er into a thatched hut.

The hut stood deep in the woods, looking no different from any other abandoned building.

But once they entered, a door suddenly opened.

Mao Linye strode inside, and Feng Jiu’er hurried to follow.

What Feng Jiu’er hadn’t expected was that this thatched hut was far from simple.

Beneath it, hidden away, was an underground chamber.

Descending the narrow staircase, the path grew wider the further down they went.

Candles burned all around; even underground, the light was quite sufficient.

After descending roughly one story’s height, they came to a door the color of earth.

Mao Linye pressed his large hand against the earth-colored wall, and with a rumble, the door of earth rose up.

Inside was a passage that looked very deep.

Feng Jiu’er glanced inside and followed the man ahead of her.

After passing through two more doors, the two of them, along with four soldiers behind them, entered a room.

Song Shiniang, who had been waiting inside, heard the door open and immediately stood to greet them.

Feng Jiu’er noticed that, aside from candlelight, there were also faint traces of light coming through four narrow gaps somewhere above.

If she guessed correctly, this room lay beneath the forest, meaning the forest above must be hiding a number of ventilation openings.

“Boss, are you injured?”

Song Shiniang asked, her face full of concern.

“It’s fine.”

Mao Linye replied flatly, walking over to sit in the largest chair.

“Boss.”

Song Shiniang said softly, kneeling before Mao Linye.

“Shiniang has failed you!”

“The enemy was able to break through in such a short time because… because they already had people inside.”

Mao Linye frowned but said nothing.

“It was Xiang City — the three thousand soldiers Xiang City sent were intercepted by the enemy. That ‘General Liang’ was never really General Liang at all.”

“Not long after the battle began, they worked from within and without, catching us completely off guard.” Song Shiniang took a deep breath and continued, “And with the Mao family army turning against us, we suffered a great defeat.”

“I think the remaining soldiers won’t be able to hold out much longer.”

“Boss, let’s flee. As long as the mountains remain green, there will always be firewood to burn — besides…” Song Shiniang glanced at Feng Jiu’er and said no more.

Mao Linye clenched his fists tightly, leaning back against the chair, and closed his eyes.

Feng Jiu’er looked at him, then discreetly turned to Song Shiniang.

“Sister Shiniang, is there any tea here?

I’ll go pour some for boss.”

“Out the door, turn right, second door.”

Song Shiniang replied curtly.

Feng Jiu’er nodded and left.

The door opened and closed, shutting out the sound from inside; she had no idea what was happening in there.

Feng Jiu’er went to pour the tea and, coming back out, ran into Qiao Mu and Gong Xinyue — both of them being escorted by soldiers.

“Xiaoxiao.”

Qiao Mu saw Feng Jiu’er, her expression far from good.

“Big brother, second brother, how did you get in here?”

Feng Jiu’er, carrying the tea, frowned slightly.

“They sneaked in and were subdued by our brothers.”

one soldier said coldly.

“Miss Xiaoxiao, even though they’re your brothers, they came in without boss’s permission, so we can’t release them.”

“Move.” The soldier finished speaking and pushed Qiao Mu forward.

Another soldier escorted Gong Xinyue forward as well.

“Where are you taking my big brother and second brother?”

Feng Jiu’er asked anxiously, turning back.

“They’ll be locked up for now, until boss has time to deal with them.”

one soldier replied.

Feng Jiu’er’s face paled with worry. She followed the group for a couple of steps, then stopped.

Finally, after hesitating, Feng Jiu’er turned back to the room where Mao Linye was and knocked on the door.

“Boss, it’s Xiaoxiao. May I come in?”