Tao Li’s mind went blank. She stumbled back a few steps, her face turning completely pale. "You mean, I'm gradually turning into Old Master Tao and the others?"
Before Sheng Lengshuang could answer, she added, "Impossible! Old Master Tao and the others are no better than corpses. I have consciousness and can move freely. I'm different from them. Don't scare me."
Sheng Lengshuang sneered, "Do I need to scare you? You know your own physical condition. Look at your ghastly appearance, then think about your recent appetite and behavior, and you'll know if I'm telling the truth."
Hearing this, Tao Li remembered that she hadn't eaten much or slept much recently, yet she didn't feel hungry at all and was still living well. Her legs went weak, and she collapsed onto the ground.
"How is that possible? I'm different from Old Master Tao and the others. I can run and jump, and I have my own consciousness."
Sheng Lengshuang said coldly, "You have consciousness now, but it won't be long before you become like Old Master Tao and the others. No, you're slightly more advanced than them, with stronger abilities. The similarity is that none of you have consciousness; you are all puppets of someone else."
When Tao Li heard this, she crawled on her knees to Sheng Lengshuang, kowtowing repeatedly and crying, "Sheng Lengshuang, I beg you, I beg you, please save me, okay?"
"I know I was wrong. I promise I won't trouble you and the Sheng family anymore, and I'll stay far away. Please save me. I don't want to become like Old Master Tao and the others."
How much she had disdained Old Master Tao and the others for becoming like that back then, she now feared becoming like that even more.
Sheng Lengshuang replied, "I can save you, but you have to tell me what you know."
Tao Li repeatedly said, "No problem. Actually, I don't know the master's true identity. Even Zhou Wenxing doesn't know..."
"Tao Li, you slut, shut up!" Zhou Wenxing yelled, "Do you know what you're doing? If you say these things, the master will definitely not spare you."
At this moment, Tao Li's mind was filled with the desire to survive and not become like Old Master Tao and the others. Therefore, she couldn't listen to Zhou Wenxing at all. "However, Zhou Wenxing knows quite a bit. He has made many exchanges with the master to get Madam Sheng."
Sheng Lengshuang had her hidden guards control Zhou Wenxing and sealed his acupoint to prevent him from babbling any further.
"Tao Li, tell me what you know. I'll ask Zhou Wenxing about the rest."
Tao Li recounted what she knew. "As far as I know, the master has bribed many court officials and servants in various mansions. Therefore, he can get the first news of any incident and make arrangements in the shortest possible time."
This made Sheng Lengshuang understand why they could never catch anyone. So that's how it was. "Do you know what your master wants to do? This person has always been targeting me."
Tao Li said she wasn't very clear. "The master seems to want power. The reason he targets you seems to be out of personal grudges. Some say the master is a woman, and she targets you like this to snatch Prince Mingrui."
Sheng Lengshuang pondered, "If you say your master is a woman, where did you hear that?"
Tao Li replied, "It was the masked people who said it. Sometimes I followed them on missions, and I heard them say such things."
Sheng Lengshuang asked, "What kind of missions do you do?"
Tao Li described the missions she had undertaken, such as eliminating people she disliked, threatening court officials or others, and so on. There were all sorts of missions, so she never understood what the master's true purpose was.
After listening, Sheng Lengshuang also couldn't figure out what the mastermind was trying to do. "Where do you usually hide?"
Tao Li said, "We always hide in the residences of court officials. Those court officials bribed by the master will obediently protect us and prevent anyone from finding us."
Sheng Lengshuang obtained a list of some court officials and related personnel from Tao Li and ordered her hidden guards to hand it over to Mo Lingxi. This matter was of great importance and needed to be resolved as soon as possible.
She gave Tao Li three prescriptions. "First, take these according to the prescriptions to clear some of the toxins in your body. Then I will give you acupuncture. Also, pay more attention to your daily diet to avoid being harmed without knowing."
Tao Li thanked her repeatedly and left with the prescriptions as if they were treasures, showing no intention of saving Zhou Wenxing.
Sheng Lengshuang did not stop her. Tao Li would come to her again for the sake of survival, and then she would be able to obtain more useful information.
She had her hidden guards carry Zhou Wenxing into the mansion.
"Zhou Wenxing, did you ever think that Tao Li would betray you?" She had her hidden guards release Zhou Wenxing's mute acupoint.
Zhou Wenxing truly didn't expect Tao Li to treat him like this. He glared hatefully at Sheng Lengshuang. "Sheng Lengshuang, it's useless even if you catch me. The master will help me achieve my wish, and none of you will survive then."
Sheng Lengshuang retorted, "Look at you now, like a stray dog barking wildly?"
Zhou Wenxing was furious. He was very clear about his current predicament and understood what his trump card for survival was. "You want to find out about my master from me?"
Sheng Lengshuang understood his meaning and smiled. "Isn't that obvious? Otherwise, why would I keep you alive?"
"You don't need to use this to negotiate with me. I have plenty of ways to make you confess everything obediently. Moreover, I won't let anyone rescue you this time."
Zhou Wenxing gritted his teeth and remained silent. If he didn't want to say something, no one could force him.
Sheng Lengshuang was not in a hurry. She forcibly made Zhou Wenxing swallow two pills of different colors and then had her hidden guards take him away to be interrogated properly.
"Zhou Wenxing, I know you have a tough bone. I don't mind breaking your bones bit by bit."
Zhou Wenxing couldn't help but tremble, his face turning a little pale. He knew Sheng Lengshuang was capable of doing such things. Even so, he couldn't speak.
Once he truly confessed, he would only have a dead end. If he didn't confess, he could wait for the master to send someone to rescue him.
Seeing Zhou Wenxing being dragged away, Sheng Lengshuang returned to her courtyard.
"Lengshuang, is everything alright?" Madam Sheng took her hand and examined her carefully.
Sheng Lengshuang repeatedly assured her that she was fine. "This time, thanks to Tao Li, we caught Zhou Wenxing. Once Zhou Wenxing confesses everything and we find out about the mastermind through him, we will deal with him."
Madam Sheng was relieved. "I'll listen to you. What's Tao Li's situation? How could she send Zhou Wenxing to us?"
Sheng Lengshuang explained the situation in detail. "Tao Li's condition is such that even if she's cured, she won't live long. But if she's not treated, she will become a puppet like Old Master Tao and the others, without any consciousness of her own."
Madam Sheng showed no sympathy for Tao Li. "We can't let Tao Li go. She's a menace."