Tang Xiaohua arched a crescent brow and reached out to take Yue Qinchun’s small hand.

“Get up, let Mother look at you.”

Yue Qinchun nodded and stood, lowering her head slightly.

Tang Xiaohua pulled her close, looked her over from side to side, and cleared her throat. “Weren’t you here to fight? Why have you put on weight?”

“And quite a bit too.”

Yue Qinchun pressed her lips together with a smile and scratched her head.

“I haven’t gained weight these past few days — I gained it earlier, from eating well every day.”

“Mother, I actually feel like I’ve gotten thinner.” She bit her lip and touched her own face.

“Haven’t I? I’ve been so busy these days, I’ve lost weight.”

“You have slimmed down a bit,” said Feng Jiu’er, picking up her spoon with a faint smile. “Let’s eat first — your mother’s hungry too.”

“Hua-jie, don’t worry too much. Whoever else we starve, we won’t starve your precious girl.”

“Good, then.” Tang Xiaohua nodded gently. “Go on, eat.”

“Mn.” Yue Qinchun nodded and turned to walk toward the others nearby.

“I heard you’ve been learning to cook lately. Once this battle settles down, make Mother a feast.” Tang Xiaohua looked at the daughter she’d been fussing over.

“Okay.” Yue Qinchun bowed slightly to her before sitting down.

The delayed dinner finally began, and everyone gradually relaxed; laughter and chatter filled the gathering.

The next morning, Feng Rui’s troops found a weakness and broke into Feng Jiu’er’s territory.

Early in the morning, the sounds of battle erupted on the mountainside to the left, plunging everything into chaos.

At least ten thousand of Feng Rui’s soldiers pushed through the mountain on the left and into the valley beyond.

But somehow, after following the retreating enemy soldiers for about half a li, they found themselves lost.

The entire force of ten thousand was trapped in a stone forest.

And the retreating soldiers they had been chasing had vanished without a trace.

The scouts sent ahead to survey the terrain never returned; the men who had gone in after them turned their horses back.

“Commander, still no word.”

“How strange. It’s been two quarters of an hour since the third batch went in — twenty-one men in total — and not one has come back.”

The commander on horseback stared at the stone forest before him, his thick brows furrowing.

“I refuse to believe that with over ten thousand troops, we can’t even break through a mere stone forest!”

“Move out!” The commander waved his hand. “All soldiers, advance!”

“Yes, sir.” The soldiers obeyed, following their commander into the mist-shrouded depths of the stone forest.

No one knew how much time passed, but outside the stone forest, all was silent — as if no one had ever been there at all.

Where the defensive gap in the mountains had appeared, the position was reinforced, and it was no longer easy for Feng Rui’s scouts to slip in and gather information.

A full day passed, and Feng Rui still had no news of his attacking army. Furious, he swept the food off the table.

“How is that possible? If we can’t get in, wouldn’t they at least send a signal?”

“An entire army of ten thousand can’t just vanish into thin air!”

At the head of the command tent sat a man whose temples were streaked with grey but whose complexion remained vigorous; he stared coldly at the man kneeling before him.

The soldier kneeling on the ground, his body splattered with the spilled food, lowered his head and said quietly, “General, the truth is… no word has come back at all.”

“It’s as if they vanished into thin air. Once they went in, we lost all contact with them.”

“There’s also…” the soldier trembled slightly and didn’t continue.

“Also what? Speak!” Feng Rui roared.

His thunderous voice carried clearly even to the soldiers standing ten zhang outside the camp.

Outside the tent, all was quiet; many soldiers were gripped with fear.