Lu Yuanfeng was almost driven crazy, eyes scanning everywhere, hoping that everything in front of him wasn’t real.

Shuangshuang was still there, Cheng Dagang was still there!

"Fengzi, what should we do?" Xing Beichen also wore a worried expression.

"Find her, we must find Shuangshuang!" Lu Yuanfeng shouted, and started running towards the woods outside Blacksmith Village.

Xing Beichen followed him into the woods.

The two wandered around but still didn’t see Mu Shuangshuang and Cheng Dagang.

...

Deep in the woods, Mu Shuangshuang and Cheng Dagang were sitting around a campfire. The weather was hot, and the fire made her sweat profusely.

But there was no choice; on the fire, a mountain chicken was being roasted.

She would occasionally toss some cumin onto the chicken, and the smell of roasted chicken could be detected from afar.

Cheng Dagang stared unblinkingly at the chicken Mu Shuangshuang was roasting.

His mouth was almost watering.

"Girl, is it done, is it done..." Cheng Dagang asked loudly.

"Even if it’s done, it’s not for you to eat; it’s for Fengzi and Xing Beichen!" Mu Shuangshuang said bluntly.

As she spoke, she furtively observed Cheng Dagang with her eyes.

Thinking about earlier, Mu Shuangshuang felt it was a close call.

As soon as she closed her eyes, she felt that Cheng Dagang was problematic.

With a passionate demeanor, he led Fengzi and Xing Beichen outside the village but didn’t go himself, and she noticed Cheng Dagang was quite familiar with the village.

It seemed he frequently went inside.

Moreover, both Fengzi and Xing Beichen were wary of him, making Mu Shuangshuang inclined to hear something from him.

Just as Cheng Dagang tried to sneak away while she rested, Mu Shuangshuang naturally didn’t hold back.

She deceived Cheng Dagang by saying she wanted to cook something even better than lunch at night, successfully making Cheng Dagang stay for a while.

Using the method Fengzi taught her, she caught a mountain chicken and, under Cheng Dagang’s guidance, found a pond to remove the feathers.

Once the aroma of roast chicken wafted out, Cheng Dagang ignored any other pretense, his eyes practically glued to the roast chicken.

"I say, girl, why do you have so much seasoning?"

As Mu Shuangshuang started sprinkling salt on the chicken, Cheng Dagang got closer to her.

"I’m a chef, naturally I have a lot of these things! Moreover, the things I can make are quite different; every single dish is something you haven’t tasted!" Mu Shuangshuang replied.

"I don’t believe it!" Cheng Dagang looked at Mu Shuangshuang as if saying ’you think I’m a fool’.

"Don’t believe me? Wasn’t the honey-roasted chicken at noon delicious? Ever heard of cold noodles, cold preserved eggs? Qingshan Roasted Duck? Grilled fish?"

Mu Shuangshuang randomly mentioned a few dishes that were selling well at her restaurant or were unique, asking Cheng Dagang.

Cheng Dagang naturally showed he hadn’t seen or known about them!

"So? Was it tasty?" Cheng Dagang asked!

"I say it’s tasty, but you surely won’t believe it! Besides, weren’t you planning on running away moments ago? What relevance does it have to you whether it’s tasty?"

After being exposed, Cheng Dagang was visibly restless.

"Who... who ran away, I was looking around for something to eat because I’m hungry!"

Mu Shuangshuang sneered, clearly not believing Cheng Dagang’s words.

Plus, just then, the chicken in her hand was ready; she moved away from the fire pit.

Cheng Dagang became anxious, watching Mu Shuangshuang about to leave.

"Hey, girl, let me try that tasty thing; it smells incredibly good!"

"Do you really want to try?" Mu Shuangshuang shook the steaming roast chicken in her hand.

Cheng Dagang nodded emphatically: "Of course I do! Quickly give it to me, don’t let it get cold, cold isn’t as good!"

"Then tell me, why are you running away? What’s your relation to that person? Are you from the village? Are you an elder with status in the village or the village head?"

Mu Shuangshuang asked everything she wanted to know in one go.

As soon as she finished speaking, Cheng Dagang sighed helplessly, "Seems you’re the smartest among the three of you! Should’ve brought you in from the start!"

Mu Shuangshuang frowned!

"Alright, I won’t go around in circles, I’ll get straight to the point! Actually, those people didn’t willingly come to Yulin County after that old man from the Xing Family died.

Old man from Xing Family entrusted me to take care of his brothers who lived and died alongside him."

"Entrusted? Isn’t it said that after War God Xing Ningtian died, these people, having lost their leader, decided to retire from the military life?" Mu Shuangshuang asked.

"Hmph, nonsense! That’s far from the truth!" Cheng Dagang was rather agitated, his face flushed with anger.

"The old man from Xing Family was a War God of the Da Ning Dynasty, renowned far and wide, every battle he fought was victorious.

Moreover, during those times, Da Ning Dynasty was constantly at war; to the common people, he was practically a god!"

Before Cheng Dagang finished speaking, Mu Shuangshuang basically figured out why Xing Ningtian met a bad end.

Too powerful to overshadow the ruler, the ruler must remove—

"That fool, with his straightforward nature, never knew how to curb himself, offending quite a few people at court!

The last campaign against Da Wei, put nicely, was winning more with less! Put bluntly, it was like throwing buns to dogs, there’s no return!"

Cheng Dagang carried a look of hatred throughout.

Because he understood that feeling too well. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Military generals have always been ministers that higher-ups fear, especially people like him and Xing Ningtian, who are called War Gods.

Xing Ningtian, at thirteen, could lift heavy weights, at fifteen, could fight beasts.

The more famous he became, the more the court feared him, and they wished for his death.

Especially when Xing Ningtian had vague plans of marching to Da Wei’s capital.

If he succeeded, no one knew how Xing Ningtian’s status in Da Ning Dynasty would be.

The final battle, the court had long prepared for a truce.

So when Xing Ningtian went to the battlefield, neither manpower nor food supplies were adequate.

If it was with another country, perhaps they could hold out for days.

But it was Da Wei, a place where the people were fierce, living through martial arts.

Upon hearing Cheng Dagang’s words, Mu Shuangshuang inevitably felt a sense of pity.

A hero of an era had his life so easily cut short due to the ruling power’s suspicion!

This led to Xing Beichen losing his father at such a young age.

After his father’s death, Xing Beichen’s mother spent her days devoted to Buddhism.

Mu Shuangshuang didn’t even know, if Xing Beichen learned the truth, whether he’d still remain loyal to the court he once admired?

"Girl, why aren’t you surprised?" Cheng Dagang realized he had revealed too much to Mu Shuangshuang.

Plus, noticing Mu Shuangshuang wasn’t shocked by his words, he couldn’t help but ask.

"I’m very surprised inside?!" Mu Shuangshuang replied with nonchalance.

This time, she was met with Cheng Dagang’s scoff.

"Alright, don’t put on an act in front of me, I’ve met plenty of people, and eaten more salt than you’ve eaten rice!"