"Your situation with Chu Qingze is known throughout the city. If you stay here, it will damage your reputation. Moreover, since Lord Zhang has been misled by that advisor, it would be better for you to be at home to advise him, lest he commit any foolish acts."
Zhang Yajing had wavered at the first half of the sentence, but upon hearing the latter part, she suddenly realized the gravity of the situation.
Right! She still had an unmanageable father.
"Then, I'll leave tomorrow. I'll leave after Cui Xi wakes up."
After speaking, she smiled at Chu Qingze, who returned a somewhat unnatural smile.
The next day, the moment Cui Xi opened her eyes, she saw Zhang Yajing's troubled expression.
"Cui Xi, you're awake?"
"Ah?"
Cui Xi looked around and found herself in the same room where they had slept in the mass grave. Her memory ended abruptly after drinking that cup of tea last night.
Her face stiffened as she suddenly realized what had happened.
"Miss, I'm so sorry. That Doctor Chu is too cunning. I fell for his trick before I knew it."
"It's alright." Zhang Yajing's expression was one of resignation. Although she said she didn't mind, the worry on her face betrayed her true feelings.
"Miss, scold me if you want."
"Ahhh, this is so embarrassing!" Zhang Yajing suddenly covered her face, then grabbed Cui Xi's hand. "Cui Xi, let's just go home. I regret coming here."
"Miss, you don't really have to… Huh? Miss, you want to go home?"
Cui Xi was overjoyed. This was great!
"Let's go now."
"Alright."
The two left hand in hand, and before disappearing around the corner, Zhang Yajing looked back with a feigned reluctance. Rong Zhi, seeing this from the room, showed a "rest assured" expression.
Only after their footsteps had completely faded did Rong Zhi and Xia Yunting emerge. They found Chu Qingze also standing in the courtyard, gazing at the entrance with a pensive look.
"How is it, Chu Qingze, are you even a little moved?" Rong Zhi teased.
Chu Qingze replied indifferently, "It's good that they left. I was wondering how to get her to leave." httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
Hmph, tsundere.
"Stop making fun of me. She said that Lord Tang suspects us. What should we do?"
"What else can we do? Meet force with force, and block water with earth."
Rong Zhi glanced back at Xia Yunting, who gave her a "rest assured" look.
As expected, not long after, a messenger arrived from Lord Tang's side.
The messenger surprised them as well, it was Li Hao and Yun Heng.
Li Hao's face was long. He was no longer as polite to Chu Qingze as before, likely guessing that his occasional bouts of madness were most likely related to Chu Qingze.
Yun Heng and Li Hao stood far apart, as if they had just had a fight.
When they arrived, Rong Zhi and Chu Qingze stopped their work. Li Hao cut to the chase, "Doctor Chu, I'm afraid you'll have to stop your current work."
"Why?" Chu Qingze was displeased with Li Hao's tone.
"We have another task for you."
"What?"
"Recently, a mysterious assassin has been harassing us. We need to capture the assassin, and we're short on personnel."
"You want me to go catch assassins for you?" Chu Qingze frowned. "I'm a doctor. I only know medicine, not catching assassins. Besides, if I leave, what about these medicinal herbs?"
He gestured to the antidote that had been prepared, clearly indicating that what he was doing now was far more important than catching any assassin.
Li Hao snorted, "Of course, I know. Isn't there Doctor Lin here?"
He wasn't going to let them think he didn't know that the antidote had nothing to do with Chu Qingze.
"Besides, you won't be working for free. We'll compensate you. Or… you're unwilling to work for us?"
Towards the end, Li Hao's tone carried a hint of menace. He vowed to make Chu Qingze pay once he found any leverage.
Chu Qingze had intended to refuse, but he suddenly noticed Rong Zhi nodding at him. Zhang Yajing's words echoed in his mind. Could this be the legendary test?
"Alright then."
"That's more like it." Li Hao's expression softened slightly. He then pointed at Xia Yunting, who was assisting Rong Zhi.
"And you, go with him."
His attitude was as if he were ordering a servant.
Xia Yunting's eyes darkened, and a strong killing intent emanated from him, instantly chilling the air.
Li Hao shivered, and his tone was no longer as arrogant.
"These are the Hall Master's orders."
"I'm leaving," Xia Yunting said to Rong Zhi, then left with Chu Qingze to follow Li Hao.
Rong Zhi watched their retreating figures for a moment, then sped up her actions.
A test… perhaps?
Late at night, Rong Zhi scouted the area around the mass grave. Strangely, the surroundings were calm, with no signs of any presence.
Rong Zhi found it peculiar. Logically, the Blood Drinking Pavilion should have posted guards. At this time, there should at least be someone watching.
She checked several times but still detected no presence.
After confirming, Rong Zhi returned to her room and took out a box from under the bed board, containing many masks she had made earlier for Xia Yunting's backup.
The Blood Drinking Pavilion taking Chu Qingze and Xia Yunting away was to keep them within their sight. If no "Xia Yunting" appeared at this moment, the Blood Drinking Pavilion would confirm that one of them was behind this elaborate charade. If another "Xia Yunting" were to appear now, it would distract them.
Rong Zhi put away the masks, opened the courtyard gate, and found the surroundings unusually quiet, with only the night wind rustling through the weeds. Just as she was about to step out, she sensed something was wrong.
If she were a member of the Blood Drinking Pavilion, she would definitely have placed an informant outside. There's always someone better, and if she couldn't sense it, it didn't mean there was no one, only that the informant's martial arts were so profound that she couldn't detect them.
With this thought, Rong Zhi retreated. Seeing that the medicinal paste made during the day had dried, she gathered it into her room, formed it into pills, put them in bottles, and then went to bed.
Meanwhile, behind a tombstone in the mass grave, a figure was curled up in the darkness, their form almost completely blended with the night. If they hadn't moved, they would have been invisible.
Yi Ming gripped the short sword at his waist, watching the closed door, a hint of confusion in his heart. Why did she go back? Did she not discover me at all?
After Xia Yunting and Chu Qingze left, Rong Zhi was alone in the mass grave. Although making antidotes was not difficult for her, with ample supplies of medicinal herbs and tools, the atmosphere here was too eerie, especially at night. She felt the cold wind blowing outside as if it were the wails of ghosts.
It was fine when Xia Yunting was around, but now, with Rong Zhi alone in the vast mass grave, the feeling of terror intensified.
During the heavy rain, large raindrops splattered against the window. Rong Zhi tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Xia Yunting falling into an ambush outside.
She wondered how they were doing.
Suddenly, a gust of wind blew the window open. Rong Zhi snapped her head around and saw shadowy figures outside. Terrified, her heart pounded, almost jumping out of her chest.
"Ghosts."
It turned out to be the shadows of the trees outside.
Rong Zhi patted her chest, feeling her rapid heartbeat, and suddenly had an idea. It was a way to go out and help Xia Yunting without worrying about being discovered by the watchers.
The next morning, Rong Zhi went to the mass grave and collected many dead branches and leaves. Ostensibly, she was gathering firewood, but in reality, she was specifically picking out branches that were tough, thin, and long. She gathered a large bundle and returned to the courtyard to start a fire and boil medicine. While the medicine was boiling, she took out a small knife, peeled the bark from the branches, softened them with medicinal water, and then began to fold and weave them. The branches seemed to come alive in her hands, gradually taking shape, forming a spherical object.
Then, she repeated the process, assembling the woven parts together to create a life-sized doll.
She then rummaged for some of Chu Qingze's clothes and dressed the doll. Using dry grass for hair, after much effort, the doll became lifelike.
Rong Zhi looked at the doll and nodded with satisfaction.
It had been too long; she had almost forgotten she possessed this skill.
After finishing everything, Rong Zhi placed the doll in the room, set up a few small traps in hidden locations, and then, as usual, continued making the antidote, quietly waiting for nightfall.
At night, Rong Zhi leaped over the wall and left the mass grave at an extremely fast speed. If one didn't look closely, they wouldn't realize anyone had passed.
Yi Ming, hidden in the darkness, rubbed his eyes. Was it an illusion? Why did it feel like someone had passed by?
He quickly went to the outside of the courtyard and listened for any sounds within. There was no human voice, only the sound of running water. This further convinced him that someone had gone out earlier.
Then, he leaped into the courtyard and saw that the light was on in Rong Zhi's room, and a silhouette was cast on the window. Long hair was hanging down, submerged in a water bucket, as if she were bathing.
Yi Ming quickly concealed himself in the darkness.
Someone was inside, so what was that shadow earlier?
Yi Ming frowned and moved closer, intending to get a clearer look. He reached out and touched the window, preparing to poke a hole to see clearly. The next moment, a silver needle shot out from inside, heading straight for his face. Yi Ming ducked, dodging the needle, his expression becoming solemn.
Could he have been discovered?
He stopped moving and quietly listened to the sounds within.
The sound of water flowed, but it seemed a bit off. The rhythm and volume of the water sound were always the same, unlike the sounds made by a person bathing.
Recalling the black shadow from before, his suspicion deepened. He took out a bamboo tube from his怀, preparing to blow some poisonous smoke into it. Before he could rise, he felt a sudden dizziness and weakness. By the time he realized what was happening, it was too late. His head drooped, and he softly collapsed on the ground.
At this moment, Rong Zhi had already arrived near Yanzi Mountain.
Perhaps because of the commotion she caused last time, she found the defenses here had been strengthened, with many more guards. Although Rong Zhi didn't see them, she could sense a strong killing intent.
Rong Zhi took out a silver needle from her怀, scanned her surroundings, and finally focused her gaze behind a patch of grass. With a flick of her wrist, the silver needle flew out, landing precisely in the grass. A muffled groan then came from within.
"What's going on?"
The commotion attracted the attention of the surrounding guards. The people in the grass revealed themselves, and upon a quick glance, there were twenty to thirty of them. One of them walked into the grass, lifted a person, and pulled out someone who had fainted.
"Someone's coming."
Another person behind them cautiously scanned the surroundings but found no one.
Rong Zhi hid in a tree, having counted their numbers. At the same time, she held an equal number of silver needles in her hand.
She found her position and, with a twist of her wrist, the silver needles seemed to come alive and shot towards the crowd. Instantly, muffled groans echoed through the jungle.