“Jiu’er, they’ve come.” Xiao Yingtao, hiding in the shadows, lowered her binoculars and said quietly.

“Wait until we see the situation clearly.” Feng Jiu’er raised her palm, signaling everyone to stay calm.

The brothers lay flat again, and not one of them made a sound.

At the entrance of the valley, the person walking in front quickly spotted the crowd around the lake.

“Fifth Company Commander, look — aren’t those the men from First and Second Company?” A soldier ran forward a few steps and turned back.

The Fifth Company Commander saw the crowd too, and unconsciously quickened his pace.

But for some reason, his head suddenly spun, and everything seemed to whirl before his eyes.

The Fifth Company Commander stopped, took two deep breaths, and steadied himself.

“You lot…” he turned back to look at the troops stretching behind him, out of sight. “Does anyone feel unwell?”

“Fifth Company Commander, are you all right?” A soldier came over and steadied him.

The Fifth Company Commander shook his head and pulled his arm back from the soldier’s grip.

“Something’s not right. How do you all feel?”

“My head’s a bit dizzy, and walking is starting to feel like a strain.”

The soldiers reacted one after another.

“I feel the same thing.”

“Could we have been poisoned?”

“That can’t be, can it? We didn’t encounter any poisonous smoke along the way.”

“Commander, quite a few soldiers are having trouble walking and have fallen behind.” A soldier ran up, panting.

The Fifth Company Commander furrowed his brow and turned to look ahead.

“As long as everyone’s still alive, that’s fine for now. Gather them first.”

“Yes, sir.” The soldier cupped his hands in acknowledgment and turned back.

The Fifth Company Commander continued forward. The soldiers near him didn’t ask further questions and simply kept pace with him.

The soldiers in the valley noticed the commotion at the entrance, and the Second Company Commander led a few soldiers out to meet them.

Soon, the two commanders met.

“Old Five, what’s going on with you all?” The Fifth Company Commander looked at the Second Company Commander who had come to meet him.

“Old Two, why are you here too? How did you get in?” The Second Company Commander kept glancing toward where the soldiers were arriving.

“Is that the exit over there? But how come we can’t find the way out?”

The Fifth Company Commander frowned and turned to look back as well.

“We got separated from our army in the enemy’s stone forest formation, wandered around for half a day, and ended up here.”

The Fifth Company Commander turned his gaze back and asked, “How are things with you all? Has everyone shown signs of being poisoned?”

“You’ve been poisoned too?” The Second Company Commander’s brow tightened, and he clenched his fist.

Seeing this, the Fifth Company Commander didn’t ask anything further.

“Let’s head over first. We still have a lot of soldiers behind us — probably close to ten thousand, though we don’t have exact numbers yet.”

“Aren’t we going to escape?” the Second Company Commander asked.

“Do you have a way?” The Fifth Company Commander sighed lightly.

The Second Company Commander looked back and shook his head. “I thought that if we followed the path you came in by, we might have a chance to get out.”

“You’ve tried that already and failed. I think, for now, we should regroup and see how the soldiers are doing first,” the Fifth Company Commander said quietly.

“Fine.” The Second Company Commander didn’t press the matter further, waving his hand.

The two of them, one on each side, walked toward the lake.

“We really have tried many ways, but none of them let us leave this valley.” Along the way, the Second Company Commander’s voice rose.

“Fortunately, there’s a pool of steaming, miraculous water here, or else the brothers would’ve frozen to death in the night.”

“By the way, Old Five, are there any army physicians among the men who came in with you?”

The Fifth Company Commander looked at the mist-covered lake and shook his head. “Not sure yet.”

“That’s troublesome, then.” The Second Company Commander sighed repeatedly.

“So many of our brothers are poisoned, and without an army physician — that’s hard.”