"Ahhh..."
The woman in black went mad with rage, "I'll kill you, you slut, slut!
What are you all standing around for?
If you don't act soon, I'll have my mother kill you all as a sacrifice!"
At these words, the expressions of the black-clad guards around her changed drastically.
However, their mother's deterrence was still in effect. Although the black-clad guards were displeased, they dared not disobey her orders on the spot.
They drew their swords and charged towards Lu Qingwan.
Seeing this, the latter smiled brightly and unleashed her steel whip.
The black-clad girl, seeing that Lu Qingwan not only showed no fear in the face of her threat but even dared to laugh, became even more enraged.
She charged forward with her sword, "Slut, today I will remove this stumbling block for my mother!"
With that, she took the lead and rushed forward, while the other black-clad guards had already surrounded Lu Qingwan.
Lu Qingwan, holding her steel whip, assumed a posture of readiness. But just as the black-clad guards closed in and surrounded her, she suddenly leaped up and out of the encirclement.
With a flick of her wrist, she threw a makeshift bomb into the encirclement.
Boom! Red light filled the air again, and fireworks illuminated the night sky.
Lu Qingwan, seated steadily in the carriage, scoffed, "Idiots!
Do you think I'd use this many simple and crude weapons and then go toe-to-toe with you with just a whip? Do you take me for as brainless as you are?"
She tugged at the whip in her hand, and a creature of unknown origin was dragged to her feet.
Li Su immediately stepped forward, "My Princess, what shall we do with this person?"
Lu Qingwan tilted her head and pointed towards the carriage, "Treat them the same way as the other one."
"Understood!"
Li Su nimbly stuffed the pill into the black-clad girl's mouth and tied up her hands and feet.
Seeing Lu Qingwan raise her eyebrows, she bared her teeth, "These little girls who spew venom from their mouths deserve a lesson. We can't let her be too comfortable."
Lu Qingwan remained noncommittal, "Call everyone back. If we don't leave now, it will be midnight."
Li Su said nothing more, took the bullhorn hanging from her horse, and blew it. Before long, over thirty hidden guards had returned to the official road in unison.
Without Lu Qingwan needing to ask, Ru Yue reported proactively, "Master, I've investigated. The techniques of these assassins, at first glance, bear some resemblance to those of the Reincarnation Hall disciples.
However, they only mimicked the superficial aspects of the Reincarnation Hall; they had the form but not the spirit.
I can confirm that they are not from the Reincarnation Hall."
Lu Qingwan nodded, "I can see that. The Reincarnation Hall people may not have good fighting skills, but their minds are intact."
Ru Yue twitched her lips speechlessly, not realizing that this was meant as a compliment.
Ying Er, seeing this, tried to stifle a laugh of schadenfreude. When he met Lu Qingwan's questioning gaze, he quickly recomposed himself.
"Reporting to my Princess, my situation is a bit complicated.
Thanks to the firearms, the brothers didn't suffer any significant losses, but those people seemed unusual."
Lu Qingwan's interest was immediately piqued, "Oh? How were they unusual?"
Ying Er took a deep breath and said, for once, with seriousness, "At first, perhaps the appearance of firearms disrupted their formation, and they were indeed somewhat flustered.
But soon, I felt a strong urge to draw my sword and turn to assassinate you.
Several brothers even defected on the spot. Brother Shuofeng had to forcibly knock them unconscious and finish the fight quickly to prevent irreversible consequences.
Those with the most pronounced symptoms are all here. Please examine them, my Princess."
The inability to control one's own actions is something everyone fears. Looking at Xie Shichuan's current state, one can see how terrifying this loss of control is.
Li Su asked almost instinctively, "My Princess gave the brothers a pill first and carried another one with her. Did you foresee this scene long ago?"
Ying Er's eyes lit up at this. If Lu Qingwan had prepared for this, then he had nothing to worry about.
But soon, he was disappointed.
Because Lu Qingwan hesitated and shook her head, "The first pill I gave you was an antidote to a hundred poisons, and the second was an anti-gu pill. They don't have such miraculous effects."
Lu Qingwan knew that saying this would inevitably cause panic.
However, she also knew that the people around her had been through a lot and possessed some ability to adapt.
If she, thinking she was doing them a favor by concealing it, were to hide it, it would harm them when the time came.
Therefore, her denial of having foreseen the situation was both truthful and a reminder to those around her to heighten their vigilance.
After speaking, she quickly walked over to the hidden guards who had been knocked out by Ying Er and Si Han.
As soon as her fingers touched a hidden guard's pulse, Lu Qingwan frowned. It was poisoning?
At the same time, the space laboratory quickly produced the pathological report and toxicological analysis report for the hidden guards. Upon seeing the poison components, Lu Qingwan's frown deepened.
She looked back at Ying Er, "Do you remember the location where they lost control of their actions?"
Ying Er nodded, "Of course. My Princess, do you want to return to the scene?"
Lu Qingwan stood up directly, "Take me there to see."
Ying Er immediately called for several hidden guards to escort Lu Qingwan into the dense forest where they had just fought the enemy.
Although called a dense forest, it was still not comparable to the primeval jungles commonly found in the southern regions.
Ying Er led Lu Qingwan back to their previous position. After a moment of recollection, he said decisively, "My Princess, look. The brothers with the most pronounced symptoms were standing right here."
To facilitate Lu Qingwan's reconstruction of the scene, he specifically brought six people and had them stand in the original positions of the unconscious hidden guards.
Lu Qingwan looked around. There was common vegetation all around, with no mandrake or other neurotoxins.
However... her nostrils twitched slightly. She bent down to examine the leaves beside her. A familiar scent wafted to her nose, and following the scent, she suddenly understood something.
She straightened up abruptly and instructed Ying Er, "Put on a mask and take down all the leaves from this area to bring back."
Ying Er immediately set to work. Si Han, who was standing idly by, looked at the leaves and a sudden idea struck him.
"My Princess, did the other party use the wind to poison us?"
Because of Lu Qingwan's reminder, they had been extra cautious. With the cover of the firearm team, they had barely bled and thus had not given the other party a chance to poison them.
But if the other party used the wind to deliver poison, spreading through respiration, then they would be caught off guard.
"Clever!"
Lu Qingwan gave him a thumbs-up, "Go back and re-examine the movements of Feng Qingheng and Xie Shichuan over the past year.
Pay close attention to any strangers they have contacted.
Also, investigate thoroughly how many people in the Wu'an Palace are dabbling in medicine."
To think they used such clumsy tricks as the signature techniques of their former comrades. Lu Qingwan felt that if those two were here, they would be so angry they would strangle themselves.