Ling Ba thought for a moment and said, "I heard from Captain Yuan that they were followed by tails the whole time they went to the Western Regions last year."

The soldiers fought countless times to get rid of the tail, resulting in heavy casualties among them.

This is one of the reasons for their delay.

Qin Susu found it boring and went to the thatched hut not far away.

Ling Ba spoke again, causing Qiu Yan's heart to tighten.

Without even thinking, Qiu Yan guessed that those people must be Qin Feng's men.

"Where are their people now?" Qiu Yan asked. Her cheeks were flushed red from the slanting sunlight.

Ling Ba looked at Qiu Yan seriously, somewhat reluctant to speak: "They also found another nitrate mine a hundred miles away, and like us, they are mining nitrate."

If he could, he didn't want to tell Xiaoyan about it.

"What?" Qiu Yan's heart skipped a beat.

In a split second, she thought of it—

Feng Qi!

Deep inside, an overwhelming sense of regret suddenly welled up.

Since the last time Qin Feng asked her in Lingnan Village,

'Did you tell him the gunpowder formula?'

She began to suspect Bai Lu.

Before that, Bai Lu and Qin Susu had searched for nitrates together for her.

She closed her eyes, her heart filled with utter remorse.

Why did she take her in out of momentary pity?

He knew perfectly well that she and he were in an adversarial relationship.

Qiu Yan was consumed by deep self-blame.

Fortunately, Ling Qi has already returned.

She asked, "How much saltpeter have we mined?"

“The rest can fill two more carriages,” Ling Ba said.

Qiu Yan was not entirely satisfied with the number after hearing it.

"Why don't our people go back sooner?"

She was a little anxious.

We absolutely cannot let Qin Feng's men gain the upper hand.

“Our men had previously gone back to deliver a group of gunpowder.”

“But Gu Qian didn’t mention this.” After thinking for a moment, Qiu Yan was shocked again. “Qin Feng, he’s the one who robbed us of our saltpeter.”

Therefore, this time, Ling Qi personally escorted them.

Ling Ba clenched his fists; of course, he thought so too.

"This time, I owe you a lot."

If Xiaoyan hadn't suggested going to the Western Regions, they would still be in the dark.

Qiu Yan: "How long has it been since the last delivery of gunpowder?"

Ling Ba: "At the end of last year."

Half a year is too long.

Six months have passed, and it's already too late to catch up.

what to do?

Qiu Yan shook her head vigorously.

No, Gu Qian will be fine.

"Xiaoyan, it's alright. For a long time now, the general has been ordering people to manufacture gunpowder."

They searched for nitrates in more than one place, but this was the place with the most.

"You're right, he'll be fine."

Although Qiu Yan said this, she couldn't calm down for a long time.

"Xiao Yan." From the thatched hut not far away, Qin Susu called out and waved to Qiu Yan.

“Come and take a look. The soldiers’ thatched huts are really shabby. How can anyone live in them?”

"What's so interesting about this?" Ling Ba thought to himself, seeing Qiu Yan walking towards Qin Susu, and followed her.

The thatched huts were randomly erected, in five rows in total.

Outside the thatched hut was a stove made of stacked stones.

Inside the stove were dirty, unwashed bowls and chopsticks.

The bowls and chopsticks were piled up like a small mountain, covered with ash stains.

The environment here can be summed up in three words: dirty, messy, and terrible.

Qiu Yan tried hard to ignore her inner unease.

She glanced at the three scattered buckets beside her, none of them had lids, and it was easy to imagine that they were full of sand and dust.