“Of course you wouldn’t need to—the Third Prince is already completely infatuated with you.”

Xiao Yingtao patted the back of Qiao Mu’s hand, then turned to look at Feng Jiu’er.

“Jiu’er, so do you have a way to avoid getting pregnant for now?

Qiao Mu might need it too, who knows.”

“There is one.” Feng Jiu’er nodded. “On the first day of your monthly cycle, just use acupuncture to stimulate three specific points.”

Feng Jiu’er had never really had much free time.

Even during the rare lulls when there was no fighting to be done, she still had her own projects to look into.

Medicine, therapeutic massage, acupuncture, and so on.

Fighting had never been her goal—no one enjoyed war.

She, too, hoped for the day things would settle down, when she could sell medicine and see patients.

Have children, earn a living, support a family.

As Feng Jiu’er taught Xiao Yingtao how to perform the acupuncture, Qiao Mu listened attentively as well.

Gong Xinyue, who had come in without knowing what was going on, leaned in too and studied it seriously.

“Understand?”

Finally, Feng Jiu’er looked up at the two who’d been peeking and asked.

“Understood.” Gong Xinyue nodded earnestly.

“But, Jiu’er, what’s the use of this for me?”

“What are you looking at me for?” Qiao Mu met Feng Jiu’er’s gaze and raised an eyebrow.

“Worried you wouldn’t understand.”

Feng Jiu’er replied.

“How could I possibly not understand, it’s so simple…” Qiao Mu seemed to realize something and immediately changed her tune.

“No, I mean, does it matter whether I understand or not? I don’t need it anyway, do I?”

“You’ll need it soon enough.”

Feng Jiu’er patted the shoulder of the woman whose words didn’t match her heart.

“Xinyue, these three acupuncture points are for preventing pregnancy.”

“Once you have a boyfriend, and once you two have become intimate as husband and wife, if you don’t want to become a mother too quickly, this will come in handy.”

“Just use a silver needle to prick these three points on the first day of your period each time, and it’ll have a preventive effect.”

Gong Xinyue hadn’t expected to learn something so important about acupuncture, and her face immediately flushed red.

“Jiu’er, um… does boyfriend mean fiancé?”

She asked in a low voice.

“Mm.”

Feng Jiu’er nodded, tucked away the needle case, and looked up at Xiao Yingtao.

“Xiao Yingtao, no more problems now, right?”

“No more problems.”

Xiao Yingtao shook her head in response.

Gong Xinyue looked at Xiao Yingtao, pressed her lips together, and cupped her hands in a small congratulatory gesture.

“Congratulations, Xiao Yingtao.”

“Thank you.”

Xiao Yingtao gave her a bashful smile.

Regardless of everything, she was still young, and talking about such matters so openly still left her a little unable to relax.

“By the way, Xinyue, once we’ve wrapped up things in Nanshan Town, I’d like to borrow your hometown for a bit.”

Feng Jiu’er stood up.

“Anytime is fine.”

Gong Xinyue was a little surprised but agreed right away.

“I’d like to hold Xiao Yingtao and Xing Zizhou’s wedding at Panlong Stronghold.”

Feng Jiu’er continued.

“This will also be the first happy occasion for our Dragon Shadow group, and I want to make it a grand one.”

In truth, Feng Jiu’er mainly felt she owed Xing Zizhou and Xiao Yingtao something.

Everyone had been through so much together, risking their lives, and she still hadn’t been able to lead them to a stable, peaceful life.

So, when it came to this wedding, Feng Jiu’er didn’t want to be careless about it.

“For now, Panlong Stronghold is relatively safe, and I can also take the opportunity to familiarize myself with the place, and treat your family to a good meal.”

Feng Jiu’er looked up at the three people before her, smiling faintly.

“Let’s go. Tomorrow’s matter is important, we can’t afford to delay.”

“Xiao Yingtao, you stay behind and just follow Xing Zizhou’s arrangements.”

“If tomorrow goes smoothly, we can start planning the trip to Panlong Stronghold.”

“Rest well these next few days, and get ready to be a beautiful bride.”

Feng Jiu’er walked over and touched Xiao Yingtao’s flushed little cheek.

“Mm.”

Xiao Yingtao nodded.

“Everyone needs to be careful! Not a single person can be missing from my wedding.”

“We know, we know.”

Qiao Mu waved a hand. “Such a nag, just like a married woman already.”

“Yes, I’m the biggest nag there is.”

Xiao Yingtao didn’t mind Qiao Mu’s teasing at all, and even smiled back at her.

“Let’s go, or none of you will have time to rest.”

“Let’s go.”

Feng Jiu’er glanced at Gong Xinyue. “We can discuss the wedding details on the way.”

“Alright.”

Gong Xinyue nodded.

The four women, chatting and laughing, left the camp.

The next day, at dawn, near the mouth of the cave they had discovered the day before, explosions rumbled without pause.

The ground shook for the better part of an incense-stick’s time before finally falling silent.

Inside the cave, a dozen or so people had gathered.

“What exactly happened?”

Once things outside had quieted down, the woman dressed in a nun’s robe, who had seen the town chief off the day before, asked.

“We don’t know either.”

A man shook his head. “Maybe outsiders got in and triggered the mechanism.”

“But regardless of how many got in, none of them could still be alive now. Let’s go take a look.”

Just as the man finished speaking, the sound of chaotic footsteps came from outside.

Soon, a group surged into the mouth of the cave, led by Feng Jiu’er and Qiao Mu.

The people inside immediately drew their weapons and stepped forward, shielding the woman behind them.

“Who are you people?”

The man standing in the middle asked.

“Are you Mao Linye’s people?”

Feng Jiu’er got straight to the point.

Since they had already forced their way in, there was no point worrying about formalities now.

Feng Jiu’er noticed that at the mention of Mao Linye, the faces of these people all changed to some degree.

Sure enough, they had no small connection to Mao Linye.

“We’re here to search the premises. I hope you’ll cooperate?”

Feng Jiu’er stared at the pair of eyes behind the men.

“Are you the one in charge here?

Come out. Unless absolutely necessary, I’d rather not solve this with force.”

The tall woman coughed lightly, and the men guarding her stepped aside to either side.

“This search you speak of—whose orders is it under?

The town chief’s?”

The woman’s cold gaze swept over Feng Jiu’er.

It was truly a face so striking it stirred envy.

“Isn’t the town chief a regular of yours?”

Feng Jiu’er curved her lips slightly. “Just yesterday, I saw the two of you together.”

The woman froze for a moment, apparently not expecting the other party to show no fear even at the mention of the town chief.

“Whose people are you, exactly?”

She frowned and asked coldly.

“The City Lord’s. The new City Lord’s people.”

Feng Jiu’er replied.

“Mao Linye is dead, I imagine you’ve already heard the news?

I won’t hide it from you—he died by our blade.”

“Mao Linye secretly manufactured a poison that harms people—surely you’re well aware of that?”

“If you don’t want to die, you’d best come clean about everything you know.”

“The new City Lord isn’t like the old one—he won’t tolerate troublemakers in his territory, and he certainly won’t let this kind of poison taint his land.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

The woman said coldly.

“This place is nothing more than where we manufacture explosives. If you don’t believe me, feel free to go in and look.”

“Fine.”

Feng Jiu’er stepped forward.

The armed man tried to stop her, but the foot he raised couldn’t move forward at all.

What an overwhelming presence! Just who is this woman?