A family of loyal martyrs, starting with nine wives to continue the family line.

In the desert south of Yangguan, Nie Yinniang led twenty elite members of the Embroidered Uniform Guard westward along the ancient trade route for five days until they arrived at an abandoned beacon tower.

Nie Yinniang pushed aside the half-collapsed wooden planks inside the beacon tower, her fingertips touching a piece of still-warm ashes.

She did not get up immediately.

Half a piece of firewood was buried in the ash, its outer layer blackened, but red embers still remained inside.

A neatly folded piece of paper was pressed into a crevice in the nearby stone.

Someone just left not long ago.

Nie Yinniang looked up at the beacon tower and saw that twenty elite soldiers from the Embroidered Uniform Guard had already dispersed to inspect the surrounding sand.

"Don't touch anything else," she said.

The spies stopped what they were doing.

"Lead the horses far away and block the eastward footprints. No one is to utter a sound without my order."

"Yes."

Nie Yinniang then picked up the paper.

The paper was rough, with sand stuck to the edges.

The characters above were written very steadily, each stroke as if written with great effort.

She only read the first line before her breath caught in her throat.

"In the Western Regions there is a foreign tribe called the White Wolf Tribe, who have guarded a secret artifact for generations."

Nie Yinniang continued reading.

"Three hundred years ago, the sages of Fangmen traveled to the far west and used their eloquence to obtain a secret artifact to examine for three days. After returning to China, they created the 'Landscape Map'."

"If any descendants of the Fang family ever come from the west to demand repayment, they should return this item to uphold their integrity."

There was no signature on the paper.

But Nie Yinniang recognized the last character, "方".

Fang Fuyao showed her the notes left by Fang Zhaoru.

The two people's characters are not exactly the same, but the way the strokes end in this character is almost identical.

This was left by Fang Zhaoru.

Nie Yinniang turned the paper over and looked at it again.

White Wolf Tribe, Secret Item, Landscape Painting.

It turns out that the Black Flag Army's claim of being able to command the seventeen tribes of the Western Regions was not just a legend.

She always thought that Fang Zhaoru had only taken away a token or an old covenant.

It now appears that the sages of the Fang family had seen that object three hundred years ago, and Fang Zhaoru brought it back to the Central Plains.

That makes sense.

The Black Flag Army pursued the matter for two years, not to kill an old man, but to reclaim something that rightfully belonged to the Western Regions.

The 30,000 troops that marched to Yangguan were not there to collect Fang Zhaoru's body.

They were telling Xinwu that whoever dared to leave behind the Mountain and River Map would be an enemy of the White Wolf Tribe and the various tribes of the Western Regions.

"What did you find?"

A scout walked in from outside the beacon tower, his voice very low.

Nie Yinniang did not answer.

Her gaze fell on the ground.

On the sand, near the corner of the wall, someone drew a line of words with their finger.

The writing was faint, and the edges had been blurred by the wind.

"If the Nie family girl finds this place, there is an oasis three days' journey southwest. — Fang."

Nie Yinniang squatted down and looked at it for a long time.

She reached out and touched the words, but found no dents, only sand covering her fingers.

She stood up and asked, "How many sets of footprints are there around here?"

"At least three groups."

The scout replied, "One set of footprints is very old; the wind has smoothed them out. The second set was left two days ago; their shoes had narrow soles, and they walked very fast. The third set is nearby; they must have left today."

"direction?"

"They all lead to the southwest."

Nie Yinniang looked at the paper.

Some people got here before them.

And it wasn't an ordinary caravan.

To be able to bypass the Black Flag Army's noses and reach the beacon tower, and to find the words left by Fang Zhaoru a step ahead of the twenty elite soldiers of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the other party must have at least someone familiar with the sandy roads.

If you were to travel on horseback, you could reach this place in a day and a half.

It's impossible that Mr. Fang was accompanied by only one person.

The Black Flag Army was looking for him, as were the tribes of the Western Regions, and a group of unidentified people were also chasing after him ahead of everyone else.

That oasis in the southwest will definitely not just be a place to rest.

There are people there.

There might also be a knife.

"Put the paper away carefully," Nie Yinniang instructed.

The scout took the paper but didn't immediately leave: "Should we wait until dawn?"

"No, we won't wait."

"Horses are prone to getting stuck on sandy roads at night."

"So leave behind the things you shouldn't have brought."

The scout was taken aback.

Nie Yinniang looked at him and said, "Keep two water bags, one day's worth of dry rations, and don't forget the tinderbox and messenger tube. Throw all the extra tents, wooden boxes, and iron pots here."

"But if that happens, what if we encounter an ambush..."

"If we encounter an ambush, we'll fight our way out."

She tucked the paper into her bosom, turned, and walked out of the beacon tower.

The twenty spies quickly began to pack up. No one asked why, and no one complained.

Everyone in the Embroidered Uniform Pavilion knew that once Nie Yinniang decided to travel overnight, it meant that there was not much time left to waste.

The horses were led behind the sand dunes.

All the ironware was wrapped in cloth, and the horseshoes were re-wrapped tightly.

Someone trampled out the remaining fire and covered it with sand.

Some people walked backwards along the path they had come from, erasing the traces they had left behind.

Nie Yinniang stood at the highest point, looking southwest.

A three-day journey.

This was the direction Fang Zhaoru left behind, and it was also the direction he deliberately made her follow.

He knew she would come.

Since they know this, it means he is still alive, at least he was alive when he wrote it.

This information is insufficient.

She wants to take the person back.

Fang Fuyao was waiting in the capital, Wei Zhao was waiting, and there were 30,000 Black Flag soldiers watching outside Yangguan Pass.

As long as Fang Zhaoru continues to hide in the Western Regions, everyone will be dragged into this struggle.

She doesn't like being passive.

He disliked making Fang Fuyao wait even more.

"Set off."

The cavalry did not light a fire and moved southwest along the back of the dunes.

At first, the ruins of the beacon tower could still be seen, but after walking ten miles, only a short, dark shadow remained behind.

The sandy ground tripped the horses, slowing them down, but Nie Yinniang didn't stop the group.

They had to get ahead of the owners of those three sets of footprints.

Perhaps the other party has already reached the oasis.

Perhaps the scouts sent by the Black Flag Army are behind us.

If they were from the White Wolf tribe, those footprints would represent pursuers.

If Fang Zhaoru left behind those footprints, they would represent a rendezvous.

Either way, it means the oasis is no longer safe.

Nie Yinniang raised her hand, and the procession stopped.

Below the sand dune ahead, there is a broken wooden stake.

She dismounted and squatted down beside the wooden stake, looking at it for a moment.

The wooden stakes were buried very deep, and there were traces of knife cuts on the surface.

It was not formed naturally, nor was it left behind by abandoned beacon towers.

Someone planted it here, and then hurriedly pulled it out.

She picked up a small piece of wood shavings.

fresh.

"Go around it," Nie Yinniang said.

The group did not follow the original route, but instead headed south at an angle, crossed two sand dunes, and then turned back southwest.

This detour delayed things by half an hour, but no one raised any objections.

Nie Yinniang turned around and glanced at the wooden stake.

That's not a warning post.

It's more like some kind of marker.

Those ahead are telling those behind that the road is still there, but you can't go straight.

Was Fang Zhaoru reminding her, or was he reminding someone else?

Every word the old man left behind seemed to be only half-said.

But she didn't have time to think things through.

All she could do was get to the oasis first and then see who was there.

As dawn approached, the caravan had already covered most of the distance.

The two horses at the front began to pant, and behind them, a man with cracked lips gritted his teeth and kept following.

Nie Yinniang reined in her horse and glanced back.

"Change horses."

"We haven't arrived yet."

"Change."

The two scouts immediately dismounted and led their tired horses to the back of the group.

The spare horse was brought to the front, and the exchange of reins took only a moment.

Someone whispered, "If we keep rushing like this, we won't have the strength to use our knives when we reach the oasis."

Nie Yinniang heard it.

"Then we'll cut less."

She urged her horse on again.

A muffled thud came from the east.

Nie Yinniang turned around.

In the direction of Yangguan, several plumes of smoke rose on the horizon.

The plumes of smoke were not tall, but they appeared one after another, first two, then another, pressing straight down into the gray sky.

The Black Flag Army has made its move.

Something happened to Huo Qingluan.

Nie Yinniang gripped the reins tightly, her knuckles turning white.

She did not order the horse to turn back, but urged it to continue forward.