俞 Qingwu didn't speak, the nails hidden in her palm digging in deeper, her face becoming even paler.

Yu Qingwu remained silent all the way back.

Yu Qingwu didn't speak, and Xie Jin Yan didn't open his mouth either.

Seeing that the two of them were silent, Yan Qingqing didn't dare to speak either.

Along the way, besides the sound of breathing, there were only footsteps, and occasionally birdsong could be heard.

As the sky grew darker and darker, the road ahead became increasingly unclear. Fortunately, before it was completely dark, the three finally reached the foot of the mountain.

As soon as they walked out of the forest, they saw Hu Die and Ning Yu hurrying towards them, each holding a lantern in their hands.

"Second Senior Sister, where have you been?" Hu Die frowned, and when she saw Yu Qingwu and the others appear, the heart that had been hanging in the air finally fell back. She stepped forward and grabbed Yu Qingwu's arm, anxiously asking, "Second Senior Sister, are you hurt?"

"How dare you run into that forest alone? Don't you know that there are many wild animals in the back mountain of our academy, especially wolves. Once night falls, they run out in packs. Fortunately, you didn't encounter them, otherwise it would have been terrible."

"It's okay, I just got lost and took a fork in the road that I hadn't taken before. I heard wolves howling, but fortunately Qingqing and Xie Jin Yan arrived in time." Yu Qingwu waved her hand, trying to force a relaxed expression onto her grave face, and asked Hu Die with a strained smile, "By the way, Hu Die, how is your herb gathering going? Are you going again tomorrow?"

"Of course, we are." Hearing Yu Qingwu say that she was fine, Hu Die breathed a sigh of relief, but when she mentioned gathering herbs, she became very depressed, complaining, "This Shifu (Master) is also strange. Even if our sect doesn't have money to renovate the new dormitories, our sect has a lot of business. Not to mention the silk business, even the breeding industry earns more than gathering herbs every day. I don't know what Shifu is thinking, insisting on making us gather herbs."

"The back mountain of our academy is indeed a holy place for growing herbs, but if we gather them like this every day, don't we have to do any missions? If this goes on, I don't know when I will be able to complete my apprenticeship."

Hu Die complained endlessly, but she didn't notice that Yu Qingwu and Xie Jin Yan's expressions had changed drastically.

But soon, the two of them returned to their usual expressions.

After exchanging a glance with Yu Qingwu, Xie Jin Yan curled his lips into a nonchalant, playboy smile and asked her, "Hu Die, look at you, you can't even bear this little bit of hardship, and you're still thinking about completing your apprenticeship? Why don't you come back to the Crown Prince's mansion with me and scrub the chamber pots? I guarantee that I'll let you scrub all the chamber pots in the mansion, and I won't let anyone else have the advantage!"

"You…" Hu Die was immediately angered by Xie Jin Yan's joke.

She glared at him fiercely and complained to Yu Qingwu, "Second Senior Sister, look at him!"

"Isn't that just how he is? Why bother arguing with him? Look, I can't even be bothered to get angry with him." Yu Qingwu said with a faint smile, putting on a helpless expression as if she had already reconciled with Xie Jin Yan, and naturally changed the subject again, pulling Hu Die as she walked towards the sect, and asking her, "But Hu Die, I think what you said is right. Compared to those herbs, other businesses are clearly more profitable. Even if you escort a few more shipments, the profit will be higher than these medicinal materials. After all, these medicinal materials can't be dried in less than a month, the process is complicated, and they have to be transported out and then find a big buyer. It may not be possible to earn money in half a year…"

"Hey, what kind of herbs has Shifu been having you gather these days? Are they all commonly used medicines in pharmacies?"

Yu Qingwu asked casually, and soon brought the topic to the most important point.

Hu Die didn't feel anything unusual, and just chatted with Yu Qingwu as usual, counting, "They're all what Bai Ji (bletilla tuber), dandelion, and also honeysuckle, mugwort, Bai Mao Gen (lalang grass rhizome), Forsythia…"

Mugwort, dandelion, honeysuckle?

Hearing these names of medicines, Yu Qingwu's pupils trembled slightly, and the answer in her heart became clearer.

She didn't know what the other medicinal materials were for, but mugwort was used to stop bleeding, while dandelion and honeysuckle were used to relieve pain and eliminate pus, to prevent infection.

If she remembered correctly, Southern Yue was currently at war with the neighboring Li Kingdom.

Both sides had suffered extremely heavy losses, especially Southern Yue, which had already been badly damaged due to the previous war with Zhou. Now that it was at war with Li, it was conceivable that both hemostatic drugs and drugs to relieve pain and eliminate pus were extremely scarce.

So Shifu was really in league with Southern Yue…

Thinking of this, Yu Qingwu's mood became more and more complicated, but she still maintained a peaceful expression on her face, and sighed in a tone that showed her concern for Hu Die, "Well, these medicines are all commonly used medicines, so they're easy to sell. I think Shifu also wants to train you, having you gather herbs every day, so that if you get injured when you're out in the world in the future, you'll know how to treat yourselves."

"Second Senior Sister, you're always speaking up for Shifu." Seeing Yu Qingwu speaking for Xiao Rongqi, Hu Die was immediately a little dissatisfied.

Yu Qingwu patted her head and said with a smile, "Alright, it's getting late, go back and rest early. You have to go up the mountain to gather herbs tomorrow, so you have to maintain your strength."

As she spoke, the group had already reached the fork in the road.

"Senior Sister, is there anything unusual about Shifu asking us to gather herbs?" As soon as the three of them separated from Hu Die and the others, Yan Qingqing asked in a low voice.

Having returned this way for just one and a half hours, she had become increasingly aware of the seriousness of the matter.

She raised her eyes to look at Yu Qingwu, then at Xie Jin Yan, and finally lowered her voice and said, "Second Senior Sister, Seventh Senior Brother, honeysuckle, dandelion, and forsythia are all for eliminating pus and relieving pain. Mugwort, Bletilla tuber, and lalang grass rhizome are for stopping bleeding."

So, as she expected, these medicines were used by Shifu to supply the military needs of Southern Yue?

Even Zhou Empress, as a princess of Southern Yue, had not done such a thing. Why would Shifu do it?

The seeds of doubt gradually sprouted in her heart. Yu Qingwu nodded to Yan Qingqing and replied softly, "Okay, I know. You should go back and rest first. Get up early tomorrow, and we have to get to Xinghua Village before noon."

"Okay." Yan Qingqing nodded. Seeing that Yu Qingwu and Xie Jin Yan seemed to have important matters to discuss, she didn't say anything more and turned to walk towards her room.

Yu Qingwu and Xie Jin Yan also quickly returned to their rooms.

Back in their rooms, both of them looked solemn.

In the dim light, the two looked at each other, but neither of them spoke.

After a long while, Xie Jin Yan spoke first, but unexpectedly, he didn't mention Xiao Rongqi's identity. Instead, he called out to Yu Qingwu softly, in a comforting tone, "Awu, even if Shifu has nurtured you, you don't have to be sad, and you don't have to feel guilty for scaring Xiao Yumo crazy."

"After all, if that's the case, then Shifu initially wanted you to be a concubine, with Xiao Yumo as the legal wife. Then you would fight to the death, standing in front to block the knives, while Xiao Yumo would enjoy the fruits of your labor. He wants Xiao Yumo to be wealthy and not suffer, and also wants her to be the mother of a nation. How can there be such a good thing that occupies both sides?"