“The army is in danger?” These words instantly alarmed both Prince Sang and the Great King of Yuehe.
Feng Jiu’er offered no further explanation, only saying, “I ask that Your Majesty make an immediate decision — whether or not to send men with this general.”
…
The danger to the army that Feng Jiu’er had alluded to — the Great King of Yuehe had already begun to dimly guess at its nature.
When two armies faced each other, there were only ever two outcomes: one side prevailing over the other, or a negotiated peace.
Right now, the distance between the two armies was this small — it would take almost nothing for fighting to break out. Who could guarantee the Ninth Prince would not suddenly mobilize?
Jiu’er had nothing more to say. Some things, they would understand on their own.
The reason Ninth Imperial Uncle had come in the first place was to do what she was now doing, so whether this battle would actually be fought was uncertain.
But now, she had stayed behind to hold the rear for Ninth Imperial Uncle. Given his temperament — if she went too long without sending word, he would certainly take action.
As for what kind of action — she would leave that to them to wonder about.
Jiu’er, with Feng Yinan, Xue Gu, and Qiao Mu, along with Prince Sang and the Second Prince, and several hundred guards, set out in a great procession toward the south gate of the city.
Past the south gate, they soon arrived at the place where Feng Jiu’er and her people had been before.
The fork in the road lay just ahead. Last time, Jiu’er and her group had taken the left path, while Xue Gu and Xing Zizou had taken the right — and both groups had run into trouble.
Even now, Jiu’er had not explained in full what had happened previously, so even Xue Gu and Qiao Mu did not know the whole of it.
After returning, there had simply been no opportunity to recount everything in detail.
Only Feng Yinan — who had been with Jiu’er throughout — knew better than anyone.
“The left path is the correct one, but we took the wrong turn at the start last time.”
Feng Yinan looked back at Qiao Mu and Xue Gu. “That is why Young Master and I were gone for an entire night — we took the wrong path, ran into a pack of black wolves, and later even encountered a great beast.”
The dangers they had faced were too many to recount in detail right now. Feng Yinan looked back at Jiu’er.
Jiu’er nodded, and only then did Feng Yinan reach into his pocket and produce several medicinal pills, looking toward Prince Sang and the Second Prince. “There is a miasma formation and a poison-gas formation ahead. These pills were taken from their people — they are antidotes.”
Prince Sang dared not simply swallow some random pill. The Second Prince, however, took them, and was the first to consume one.
The Second Prince’s men, seeing this, went pale with alarm. Yang Qin stepped forward at once: “Second Highness, let your subordinate take it first.”
“Come here,” said Tuoba Ermeng, and passed him a pill.
Since the Second Prince had already taken one, Yang Qin did not dare delay — he immediately swallowed one as well.
Qiao Mu and Xue Gu also came forward, took the pills from Feng Yinan’s hand, and swallowed them at once.
Feng Yinan took one himself, handed another to Jiu’er, then looked toward the guards behind the Second Prince.
“There are not many pills here — I cannot say with certainty whether there are enough for one per person. The poison-gas formation ahead is quite powerful. Whether to take one, you must each decide for yourselves.”
The pouch of pills was handed directly to Yang Qin.
Yang Qin looked back at everyone and said, “The Second Prince has already taken his. Anyone unwilling to follow — step forward now.”
Who would dare say they were “unwilling to follow”? Since the Second Prince had taken one, of course everyone had no choice but to follow suit.
Prince Sang’s men began to grow anxious. They had been told there might not be enough pills for everyone — if the Second Prince’s guards took them all, what would they take?
Would they truly have to fall out of line and not go with them?
A chance to render service — they absolutely could not miss it!
Seeing his own men beginning to stir with restlessness, Prince Sang, after a brief moment of hesitation, said in a low voice: “Bring some to me.”
In truth, there were enough pills. Feng Yinan had only made a casual remark. The remaining pills were put away and returned to his pocket, and the group set off at once toward the miasma formation.
Through the miasma formation, and then into the poison-gas forest — but upon entering the poison-gas forest, Feng Jiu’er and Feng Yinan immediately led everyone along a different path.
Just ahead lay the territory where the black wolves gathered. That was not a place to blunder into carelessly.
The black wolves were so numerous that even a group this size would not be enough to fend them off if they charged in recklessly.
Moreover, outside the black wolf forest, another dense woodland was home to the great beast. Though the beast now seemed to have formed something of a bond with Feng Yinan, a beast was still a beast — faced with a group of intruders, it would be very difficult for it to feel anything resembling goodwill.
So if they could avoid disturbing it, it was best not to disturb it at all.
“Feng Jiu’er, the path ahead seems to have increasingly dense poison-gas,” said a trusted aide on Prince Sang’s behalf, since Prince Sang himself could not speak openly.
Any ordinary person would not continue pressing in that direction — what difference was there between that and walking to one’s death?
“Do not panic. You have all taken the antidote — the poison-gas will only make breathing difficult, like thick smoke. It will not kill you.”
Feng Yinan explained, then looked ahead. “We have walked this path before. Trust in Young Master — it will not lead us wrong.”
The reason they had failed to locate the weapon-forging camp the first time they were in the poison-gas forest was the same reason any ordinary person would have turned back: the poison-gas here was clearly growing thicker and thicker.
The path they had taken last time, the one that led to the wolf pack, had seen the poison-gas growing thinner and thinner instead.
Any ordinary person would choose the path where the poison-gas was gradually disappearing rather than press deeper into it. That was precisely why most people who came to this place ended up heading in the wrong direction and never found it.
If not for a fortunate turn of circumstance, Jiu’er and Feng Yinan likely would not have found it either.
Feng Jiu’er and Feng Yinan went first. Qiao Mu and Xue Gu followed close behind. The Second Prince too showed not the slightest hesitation, bringing his men along in quick step.
Prince Sang, though he found the breathing increasingly labored and uncomfortable the further they went, noticed that aside from the difficulty of holding his breath, there truly seemed to be no other ill effects — nothing resembling the signs of being poisoned.
The pill had evidently done its work. They had not been struck down by the toxin — the poison-gas, though growing thicker, merely made one choke and feel wretched.
At last, the fog before their eyes gradually thinned and lightened, as though it was returning to what it had been at the beginning — until the mist could barely be seen at all.
Everyone’s eyes brightened — they had finally made it through! Surely, after coming out the other side, there would be something to see?
But the camp they had been anticipating was nowhere in sight. Instead, what greeted them upon emerging from the poison-gas forest was a sheer cliff face.
“Feng Jiu’er — what is the meaning of this?” After all that effort to push through the poison-gas forest, they had arrived at a cliff where there was nothing whatsoever. How could Prince Sang not be furious?
To pass through the poison-gas forest had already been a matter of risking one’s life — and now, was she toying with them?
The base of the cliff was wrapped in swirling white mist, and nothing could be seen below — nor was there any way of knowing what lay at the bottom.
With nothing but a wall of white mist below, what could possibly be down there? Only an unfathomably deep drop.
Could Feng Jiu’er really be suggesting that the weapon-forging camp was at the bottom of that cliff — and that she was trying to lure them all into leaping off to their deaths?
This was not evidence of the First Prince plotting rebellion. This was simply her trying to kill them.