His gaze was cold and sharp, like a pointed knife, capable of cutting deep into the most hidden parts of a person’s heart.

Jiang Yanyi dared not look him in the eye and lowered her gaze. “I heard there are some strange outsiders lurking over there.”

Calculating the time, Lu Lingyuan was likely already settled in Dingjia Village.

He and the assassins sent by the Lu family to protect him were all outsiders, so her words weren’t entirely a lie.

Moreover, since the Turks were attacking Dingjia Village, they would definitely send scouts first to assess the defending troops’ strength.

As long as someone from the Xizhou camp sent people to investigate, they would surely uncover something!

Feng Shuo remained silent for a while, deep in thought.

Chi Qing, fearing that the “spy” might discover something amiss, replied for Feng Shuo, “Such a thing exists? We must report this to the General and definitely send someone to investigate.”

With this assurance, Jiang Yanyi felt a bit more at ease.

There was only so much she could do.

If she firmly asserted that Dingjia Village would be attacked, she would have no way to explain how she knew in advance.

Revealing her identity as a time traveler might get her labeled as a monster and burned alive.

Jiang Yanyi bowed and retreated.

This was a muscle memory of the body she inhabited; she instinctively performed the action as she backed away.

At this moment, Jiang Yanyi was somewhat unsettled and didn’t notice Feng Shuo’s furrowed brows after she performed this courtesy.

Once Jiang Yanyi had left, Chi Qing dismissed a few Fire soldiers who wanted to come forward and serve but didn’t know how to.

Then he turned to Feng Shuo and said, “This cook does seem to have some issues. What do you plan to do?”

Feng Shuo simply replied, “Don’t startle the snake,” and after a moment of thought, called for Xing Yao, who was stationed outside the Firehead Camp. “Send a few scouts to Dingjia Village overnight to see if there are any anomalies.”

Xing Yao accepted the order and left.

Chi Qing, having lost his appetite from the greasy braised pork at lunch, had only managed to eat a couple of bites of plain rice and was now starving, feeling like his front was pressed against his back.

The braised pork that the little cook brought out was golden red in color, with a good balance of fat and lean meat, looking quite appetizing.

The fragrance of preserved vegetables mixed with the meat wafted up into his nostrils, awakening all his hunger pangs.

He swallowed hard, gazing longingly at the plate of braised pork in front of Feng Shuo, while pitifully picking up the bun in front of himself.

At first glance, this bun appeared to be vegetarian, but upon biting into it, he discovered that it was filled with meat, and the rich flavor of braised pork wrapped in sauce combined perfectly with the salty aroma of the preserved vegetables.

Chi Qing looked at his plain bun with delight, “This is delicious!”

Feng Shuo shot him a glance but didn’t respond.

He picked up his chopsticks and placed a piece of braised pork, equal parts fat and lean, on top of the perfectly cooked rice and took a bite.

The long-lost flavors burst forth on his tongue once more.

Compared to the surprise he felt the first time, this time Feng Shuo had more questions.

The recipe he had taken from the little cook the night before had been checked by the doctor at his residence, who found it was just a regular cookbook and didn’t contain any medicinal ingredients that could restore his sense of taste.

The doctor also examined the candied chestnuts he had packed to take home but found nothing wrong with them.

Moreover, the chestnuts had been particularly sweet when he ate them at the Firehead Camp, but after returning home, he found they had no flavor at all.

Feng Shuo gradually discovered a pattern: when he ate in his own tent, he could only taste about thirty percent of the flavors, but the closer he got to the Firehead Camp, the more his taste returned.

When he dined at the Firehead Camp, he regained all of his sense of taste.

Did this mean that the reason for his restored taste was not in the food but rather in the Firehead Camp’s feng shui?

Feng Shuo’s brow furrowed even tighter.

He had never believed in ghosts or gods, but this situation was indeed too mystical.

Perhaps he should invite a geomancer to take a look…

While Feng Shuo was lost in thought, he completely overlooked that Chi Qing, having finished two buns, was now swallowing hard at the sight of the braised pork in front of him.

“Um… can I have a piece…?”

Chi Qing cautiously asked for Feng Shuo’s permission.

If this bowl of braised pork had been in front of him, he might not have thought it was so delicious, but the problem was that it wasn’t his!

It’s human nature to always think that what’s in someone else’s bowl is more delicious.

Feng Shuo was absorbed in his thoughts and didn’t pay him any mind, so Chi Qing assumed it was tacit approval.

He took a pair of chopsticks from the bamboo tube, picked up a piece of braised pork, and sent it to his mouth.

His fox-like eyes instantly widened, and he turned around, shouting toward the kitchen, “Cook! I want a portion of braised pork too—”

Turning back, he met Feng Shuo’s unfriendly gaze and gave a sheepish smile. “It’s all because the braised pork at lunch was too awful. I’m starving right now…”

Feng Shuo averted his gaze, choosing not to see.

…

When it came time to settle the bill, Feng Shuo naturally didn’t have any coins on him and directly handed Jiang Yanyi two taels of silver.

Jiang Yan Yi smiled, her eyes narrowing in delight.

Truly, a generous customer looked three times more handsome than ordinary people!

Chi Qing fumbled in his sleeve pocket for a long time before finally pulling out a few copper coins.

Seeing that Feng Shuo had given so much money, he quickly put the coins back into his pocket and, without the slightest shame, said to Jiang Yan Yi, “Count my meal as part of that.”

Feng Shuo found it hard to watch. “What have you done with your monthly salary?”

Chi Qing, oblivious to the fact that he was biting the hand that feeds him, declared righteously, “Do you think it’s so easy to save up a wife’s dowry?”

Feng Shuo didn’t want to continue talking to this embarrassing character.

Before leaving, Jiang Yan Yi returned the wrapped cloak to him. “I’m not sure if this belongs to the Military Advisor(Strategist). Your kindness, Military Advisor, I will remember in my heart. Today, I return this cloak to its rightful owner.”

A spark of gossip ignited in Chi Qing’s fox-like eyes.

Feng Shuo was much taller than Jiang Yanyi.

He looked at the little cook before him, who had her head lowered in silence.

After a moment, he simply said, “It’s not mine.”

With that, he left the firehead camp.

Chi Qing pursed his lips, clearly surprised by such a dull conclusion.

He hurried to catch up with Feng Shuo, leaving Jiang Yanyi stunned in place.

Not his?

Was it that he found the cloak he wore unappealing and didn’t want it?

Or was it that someone else saved her last night?

---

The next day, Jiang Yanyi, along with the other women, went to work in the firehead camp as usual.

Chef Li was a restless man.

Feeling slightly better, he returned to the kitchen.

He learned from several soldiers that Jiang Yanyi was the reason he had been saved.

Though he didn’t say anything, he immediately started teaching her how to make his signature dishes.

Anyone with discerning eyes could see that Chef Li was grooming Jiang Yanyi as his successor.

The dishes Jiang Yanyi could prepare were mainly ones she learned from her father when he held feasts in the countryside.

Later, due to her cravings, she had also learned quite a few recipes.

However, everyone has their shortcomings, and she didn’t master every cuisine.

After all, Chef Li had been working in the kitchen for decades.

Jiang Yanyi genuinely learned a lot from him.

Today was the day for the firehead camp to go out for supplies.

Since arriving here, Jiang Yanyi hadn’t had a chance to see what the city of Xizhou looked like.

If she wanted to return to her previous profession after leaving the army, she had to understand the market.

She told Chef Li that she wanted to go out to buy supplies with him, and he readily agreed, instructing her to find Head Zhao.

Since Chef Li had spoken, Head Zhao, an old friend of his, couldn’t possibly refuse.

To make it easier to leave the army camp, he suggested that Jiang Yanyi disguise herself as a boy.

Jiang Yanyi’s skin was too fair, so she smeared pot ash on her face and hands, instantly turning herself into a little coal ball.

She looked so strikingly bad that it was hard to look at her.

Head Zhao took her and a few other soldiers responsible for procuring ingredients and smoothly exited the Xizhou military camp.

Meanwhile, in the main commander’s camp, Feng Shuo had just received a report from scouts.

“…We have indeed discovered traces of the Turks in Dingjiazhuang. Their warhorses come from the grasslands of the Pingxi region; they are large, and their hoofprints are significantly bigger than those of the horses in the Central Plains. The hoofprints left near the mountains around Dingjiazhuang are identical to the ones left by the Turks in Zhaojiatun!”

Feng Shuo stared at the sand table in front of him, lost in thought.

His eyes were dark and unclear.

After a moment, he ordered, “Issue a secret order to increase the number of light cavalry at Dingjiapo by five thousand. They will march under the cover of night.”

Perhaps what the cook said last night was true, or maybe the enemy was deliberately creating a false appearance to lure him into a trap.

Regardless of the situation, reinforcing Dingjiapo was better than being unprepared.

After this matter, it would become clear whether that cook was indeed a spy.

He lifted a cup of tea beside him and took a sip, suddenly frowning.

Just a moment ago, he could still taste the tea; how could it suddenly be tasteless now?

Feng Shuo sensed something was off.

Xing Yao, seeing his displeased expression, cautiously asked, “My lord, is the tea poorly brewed?”

Feng Shuo set down the teacup and stood up, heading outside. “I’m hungry. Let’s go see the firehead camp.”

Xing Yao was unsure whether this was something his master would typically say.

Having followed Feng Shuo for many years, he had seen him go without water for two days and three nights during food shortages on the battlefield, yet he had never heard him say he was “hungry.”

What was going on today?

Feng Shuo’s unexpected visit to the firehead camp frightened several cooks.

They thought something serious had happened, but it turned out the general had come just to eat a bowl of noodles.

He only took one bite before furrowing his brows and setting the bowl down, his aura growing increasingly dark.

Chef Zhu, who was cooking the noodles, was sweating profusely, nearly fainting from the pressure.

Feng Shuo couldn’t understand why he had lost his sense of taste even in the firehead camp.

What on earth was going wrong?

His cold gaze swept over the firehead camp, and the cooks trembled, their backs soaked with cold sweat.

Not seeing Jiang Yanyi, he suddenly asked, “Where is that cook?”

---

At that moment, Jiang Yanyi was sitting on a cart waiting to enter the city, leisurely enjoying the scenery of the borderland.

Since Head Zhao was doing errands for the military, the guards at the city gate didn’t dare to give them a hard time.

They glanced at their travel permit and let them through.

Their cart entered from the left side of the city gate, just as a merchant caravan waited to exit from the right side.

The lead vehicle was a horse-drawn carriage, likely belonging to the owner of the caravan, followed by three carts piled high with cages.

The boxes were tightly sealed, making it impossible to tell what kind of business they were conducting.

However, as the middle cart passed, Jiang Yanyi caught a whiff of an indescribable stench, like something rotting, but with a heavy layer of spices covering it.

The guards showed no kindness to the merchants, shouting for them to open each cage for inspection.

Jiang Yanyi was also curious about what the caravan was transporting and couldn’t help but look a little closer.

Just at that moment, a rough hand slowly lifted the curtain of the carriage.