"Why are you here again?"

The emphasis in this sentence is on "again," and Li Xingyuan’s tone carries three parts impatience and seven parts vigilance, which makes Tang Xiaobai very curious: "Who’s here?"

There’s a moment of silence outside the door, then another voice is heard: "Wenren Jia requests an audience."

"Please come in!" Tang Xiaobai hurriedly called.

Outside the door, after some hesitation, the door finally opened.

Wenren Jia stood at the door, his white clothes spotless, but he did not enter.

Li Xingyuan stood to the side, half of his face hidden by a beard, looking at Wenren Jia with a complex expression that was a mix of love and hate.

"What’s going on?" Tang Xiaobai curiously asked.

What story happened between these two?

Wenren Jia raised his left hand, revealing a small porcelain bottle: "I heard Yingying was injured, and I just happen to have brought antiseptic medicine from the Capital City."

Tang Xiaobai wanted to say she had some too, but since he had brought it, she felt embarrassed to refuse: "Thank you, Mr. Wenren."

She motioned Tao Zi forward to receive it.

Wenren Jia glanced at Yingying and gently asked: "How bad is the injury?"

Yingying knew he was a valued guest of the Second Miss, so she quickly stood up and greeted him, awkwardly replying: "Just a minor flesh wound... I haven’t mastered my skills—"

"You haven’t mastered your skills yet!" Tang Xiaobai interrupted with a laugh, "One versus ten, and didn’t suffer serious injuries, you’re already amazing. Even Yuan Xing might not do better!" She said, throwing a glance at Li Xingyuan.

Li Xingyuan just "snorted" wanting to say that if it were him, he wouldn’t have been injured, but Miss Tang’s harsh glance made him change his wording: "Yes, indeed..."

Wenren Jia chuckled, saying: "Miss Yingying is not only skilled in martial arts but also adept at disguise techniques, the best I’ve ever seen."

Yingying blushed and murmured quietly: "I... will train diligently today..."

Tang Xiaobai remembered her non-stop practicing and got a bit anxious, quickly saying: "Heal up first, no training before the wound heals, otherwise I’ll punish you!"

Yingying nodded obediently.

Tang Xiaobai shook her head with amusement and instructed Tao Zi: "Take Yingying inside to apply the medicine... Clean the wound first, use running water for cleaning... running water means, it means rinsing, don’t reuse the rinsed water... There, that’s right!"

After sending the two young ladies inside, she turned to invite Wenren Jia: "Come on in!"

Wenren Jia glanced at Li Xingyuan.

Li Xingyuan turned his face away.

When Wenren Jia lifted his foot to cross the threshold, Li Xingyuan turned back, watching the two in the courtyard, scratching his beard, and let out a "hey."

Perhaps... Write a letter to the Crown Prince?

... 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

"Are you looking for me for something?" Tang Xiaobai asked.

Wenren Jia nodded: "Is the Second Miss still planning to go beyond the border to search for someone?"

"Of course!" Tang Xiaobai replied.

This time, they’ve caught the traitor who had been intercepting the couriers, greatly reducing the probability of spies amongst the expedition army.

But... how should I put it?

Now that she’s here, if she just hides in the city waiting for news, then why did she come?

Moreover, in any case, the army has indeed lost contact, she can trace the clues out to quickly connect with them, inform them of the happenings at the Court, otherwise, if delayed too long, who knows what changes might occur.

Furthermore, it’s an invaluable chance to gather mapping information.

"When do you plan to set off?" Wenren Jia asked.

Tang Xiaobai thought for a moment: "Could you please bring a table out from my room!" After saying that, she quickly ran inside.

A table, cushions.

Brush, ink, paper, inkstone, and a wooden ruler she carried with her.

"Below Shibao City, the path in the valley has eleven turns, the first turn, the horse walks one hundred and twenty-eight steps, direction roughly thirty degrees northwest..."

"... after exiting the valley path, Weichi River, horse walks three thousand six hundred eighty steps..."

"... turns south by approximately twenty-five degrees from Kuba Sea, speed up, horse leaps one yard and three feet, a total of two thousand three hundred fifty-seven leaps, to Moli Post..."

She recalled as she recited, with her hand and ruler moving ceaselessly.

Wenren Jia recorded her words on another sheet of paper, occasionally supplementing: "... Kuba Sea spans seventy miles, northeast to Red Ridge one hundred miles..."

Lines and annotations multiplied on the paper under Tang Xiaobai’s hand...

...

Summer was already halfway through, time was pressing.

Tang Xiaobai did not wait for the result of Xue Shaojian’s interrogation and prepared anew, setting off again from Shibao City on May 20th.

Although her father and brother set out separately, she could not bring many people—

Xue Shaojian’s imperial guard certainly couldn’t be allocated to her, and she couldn’t move any of the Five Armies of Shanzhou.

She ended up taking only those from the Capital City, along with Gu Yuan, Ah Jin, and Xin Yi.

Since there weren’t many people, there was no need to separate, they simply took the southern route.

The southern route departs from Shibao City, and as before, crosses Weichi River, Kuba Sea, Moli Post, continuing westward.

This was the confirmed path Tang Ziqian’s army had traveled upon.

"On March 8th, the army defeated the Turkic Army at Ku Mountain; Tuyuhun Khan Murong Yun fled west, burning wild grass along the retreat to cut off the army’s horse feed. All generals deemed it inappropriate for long pursuit, but the Eldest Young Master believed that Tuyuhun was retreating in chaos, the army in disarray, with no scouts left behind, pursuing them could be as easy as gathering marbles; eventually, the Duke adopted the Eldest Young Master’s suggestion and split the forces to chase Murong Yun."

Tang Xiaobai listened to Xin Yi’s narration while examining the wooden fence in front of Moli Post.

On the previous visit, she had different intentions and hadn’t examined closely; now she could see the scorch marks on the fence.

Her brother’s army set out in March when the ice and snow were just melting.

Later, as spring grass sprouted, it covered the scars of battle.

They traveled up to this abandoned post for the first time and found something.

"Second Miss, we discovered a dagger by the water three miles northwest—"

"Let me see—" Tao Fen took it and flipped it around, "It’s a plum blossom dagger made in Liangzhou, one foot two inches long, with a circular grip."

Perhaps it belonged to one of the intercepted couriers!

"Head northwest!" Tang Xiaobai commanded.

Following the trail of the army, even if they couldn’t encounter her brother’s troops, they might come across the new couriers sent out—

...

The further they ventured into the western territories, the colder the climate became, and more traces of the army could be found.

While the direction became clearer, the environment grew increasingly harsh.

On June 25th, they encountered wolves on the prairie.

The encounter with the wolf pack occurred at twilight.

The setting sun glittered over the waters, a sudden western wind arose, and as Tang Xiaobai turned away from the wind, she noticed a distant black dot moving slowly.

"What’s that?" Tang Xiaobai’s instincts sensed danger, causing hairs on her neck to stand on end.

"It’s a wolf," Li Xingyuan drew his sword, "It’s a pack of wolves!"

Not just one black dot, but three to four dozen.

Three to four dozen black wolves were surrounding them from three sides.

They ran not fast, much like patient hunters, encircling bit by bit—

...

On a distant hillside, a figure in black took in the scene entirely, then turned and descended the mountain like a hawk.

Below, fifty black riders in black awaited orders.

"On the back side of the mountain, there are twenty to thirty travelers, encountering a wolf pack," reported the descending figure.

The leader said nothing, turned the horse’s head, and galloped along the mountain.

Under the setting sun, the dark cloak exuded a cold urgency...