"Who is this?" Zhi Ning glanced at Nalan Yiren, her expression somewhat peculiar.

She also noticed that the person was a woman.

"Let's go inside to talk," Chen Mo suggested.

Inside the tent.

Xiao Jing and Wu Yanqing also noticed that Nalan Yiren was a girl. Seeing there was no military discussion, they didn't go in.

In the military tent, only Chen Mo, Yue Ruyan, Xia Zhining, and Nalan Yiren were present.

"Poison King Valley, Saintess?"

Zhi Ning's eyes, already curious, became even more so.

You just went out for a stroll, and you bring back another woman?

"Young lady, have we met before?" Without needing an invitation from Chen Mo, Nalan Yiren found a place to sit and removed the raincoat draped over her.

"No," Zhi Ning didn't know why she was saying this.

"Then does the young lady have a grudge against Poison King Valley?" Nalan Yiren inquired again.

"No."

"Since we haven't met and there's no enmity, why is the young lady hostile towards me?" Nalan Yiren fixed her eerie gaze on Zhi Ning.

Zhi Ning: "..."

"Ahem..."

Chen Mo coughed slightly; it was her old habit of getting jealous acting up again. He promptly shifted the topic, "Miss Nalan, let's focus on the task at hand."

He then asked Zhi Ning to bring Diwu Fusheng over.

Seeing Chen Mo handle matters so swiftly, Nalan Yiren's expression softened somewhat, no longer dwelling on Zhi Ning's hostility.

"Duke An, you called for me?"

Diwu Fusheng arrived shortly.

"Please sit. I wanted to ask if, during your service under Prince Huai, you ever heard him talk about Immortal Powder," Chen Mo said bluntly without beating around the bush.

"Immortal Powder?" Diwu Fusheng instinctively glanced at Nalan Yiren, being the only stranger in the tent, and then said, "Yes, he mentioned it. He gave the Immortal Powder to the spies to take to Jiangnan to harm you, Duke An."

"Do you know where Prince Huai obtained the Immortal Powder?"

"Western Regions?" Diwu Fusheng seemed puzzled, as if Chen Mo should already know this.

Although Chen Mo was aware, he asked again to confirm, "And do you know who was sent to buy it in the Western Regions? Who was the seller?"

"Yes, it was handled by the Liang Family a few years ago. Originally, the plan was to deliver the Immortal Powder through the Liang Family to the capital to deal with Xu Guozhong," Diwu Fusheng explained.

At that time, Prince Huai still controlled Huai State and Jiangnan. Liang Mu carried the Emperor's Blood Letter and sought Prince Huai, who then rallied the troops to support the King.

Many methods were considered to deal with Xu Guozhong.

Poisoning was one of them.

Liang Mu then mentioned he had connections in the Western Regions, knew someone there.

But the Western Regions were too far from the Great Song.

By the time they traveled back and forth,

the campaign to support the King had already ended.

Thus, the Immortal Powder was unused and fell into Prince Huai's hands.

"Duke An, you could ask Duke Liang... Liang Mu, he knows this best," Diwu Fusheng quickly corrected himself.

"Liang Mu..."

Chen Mo nodded, pondering for a moment before saying, "Understood, sir, you may go now."

"Yes."

Diwu Fusheng was curious about Chen Mo's questions, but since he hadn't fully integrated into this "group," he curbed his curiosity and withdrew.

"Who's Liang Mu?" Seeing the lead, Nalan Yiren promptly inquired, "Where is he?"

"The Patriarch of the Liang Family. He's not in the camp right now," Chen Mo had not brought Liang Mu along,

but rather had him escorted with Madam Gan's convoy to be detained back in Linzhou.

"So where is he?" Nalan Yiren asked.

"Barring any accidents, he should be detained in a Linzhou cell now," Chen Mo replied.

"Then take me to see him," Nalan Yiren requested.

"Not possible at the moment."

"Why not?"

"No time, I have a battle to fight."

Nalan Yiren frowned, "Then arrange for me to go by myself."

"That's also not possible."

"Why not?"

"I don't trust you."

"Hm?"

"In short, it's just not possible."

Chen Mo still didn't fully trust her, how could he allow her to go to Linzhou?

"Are you doing this on purpose?" Nalan Yiren's gaze turned cold again, staring ominously at Chen Mo.

She thought Chen Mo was deliberately employing this tactic to make her help him in battle.

"Miss Nalan misunderstood," Chen Mo said. "I think it would show more sincerity to have him brought here. I'll write a letter shortly, please wait a few days."

Nalan Yiren: "..."

Having reached this point,

what else could she do but agree?

"I hope Duke An won't keep me waiting too long," Nalan Yiren stated.

"Don't worry, it won't take long..."

Saying this, Chen Mo gazed at her voluminous black robe, "Can you now show me the Elixir that slows aging and beautifies?"

Nalan Yiren glanced at Yue Ruyan and Xia Zhining, then slowly removed her hat brim.

With the hat brim removed, a cascade of jet-black long hair draped over her shoulders.

She then removed the black robe draped over her.

Without the black robe's concealment,

she wore an exotic warrior outfit, with a decorative tiger-skin skirt at the waist, though she had pants underneath.

These pants were quite unique, with many exposed pockets holding various porcelain bottles.

At this moment, Chen Mo noticed that not only did she have a bamboo basket hanging from her waist, but also vials strapped to her thighs, and there were two elongated bamboo baskets on her arms, where poisonous snakes could be vaguely seen.

Nalan Yiren's figure wasn't bulky; it was carrying so many bamboo baskets and vials, covered by the black robe, that made her appear a bit bulky.

Her physique wasn't bulky; in fact, from Chen Mo's experienced eyes, it was quite perfect, balanced in weight.

Nalan Yiren took a small porcelain bottle from her thigh and tossed it to Chen Mo, "I happened to bring one, though there's only one left."

After all, when traveling, Nalan Yiren carried mostly defensive items.

Chen Mo received it with Innate Spiritual Qi, carefully opened the stopper, and shook out a pea-sized red pill.

"Are you sure this is the Beauty Pill? It's so vividly red, it looks more like poison," Chen Mo scrutinized the pill.

"That's a common misconception. Those who use poison in martial arts often seek surprise and preemptive strikes, so their poisons are usually inconspicuous. This Beauty Pill is made from essences of various flowers and precious herbs, so naturally, it's bright," Nalan Yiren explained.

"That makes sense." Although Chen Mo didn't bring it close, with his senses, he could detect a floral fragrance.

However, not being a doctor and with Wu Mi absent, he couldn't verify it.

He decided to tentatively believe and said, "Just one pill? That's hardly enough..."

"Back then, we agreed..." she paused, back then she only mentioned having this elixir, not specifying how many pills to give.

Since she had to wait here for some days, she said, "You supply the materials, and I can concoct as many as you need."

"Hmm, let's start with fifty pills," Chen Mo suggested.

Nalan Yiren looked at Chen Mo with a surprised gaze.

Chen Mo realized he might be asking for too much, and after thinking, he said, "At worst, I'll accompany you to the Western Regions, but only to find people, not to kill."

"That's more like it." Nalan Yiren nodded, and then said, "But the quantity you request is large, it will take longer, and some herbs might not be in pharmacies, they'd need to be found in the wild."

Some flowers only bloom in spring.

Pharmacies might not have them collected and dried.

Though substitutes are possible, it's November now, nearing winter.

It's manageable for a small number but would take a long time for fifty pills.

"No worries, I can wait," Chen Mo replied.