“We have no master; we are hired by someone,” one of the men in black said.

"Who hired you?"

"have no idea."

"Such a stubborn mouth, are you planning to go down to the underworld to investigate the case?" Lu Xiaoyun drew her longbow, the bowstring taut and creaking, and aimed at the person who spoke.

The man in black swallowed hard, looking at the corpses scattered on the ground and the "Prince An's" murderous gaze, his face turned as white as paper: "Don't kill me, I'll talk, I'll talk."

Another man in black, his eyes blazing, said, "If you dare to say that, I'll make sure you die a horrible death!"

Lu Xiaoyun narrowed her eyes, walked up to the man, and ripped off the black veil covering his face, revealing an ordinary-looking square face with a scar under his mouth.

Feng Yan frowned slightly: "I feel like I've seen you somewhere before."

The man in black sneered, "Commander Feng has mistaken me for someone else. We are outlaws, living on the edge of death just to make a living. How could you possibly recognize me?"

But as soon as the words left his mouth, he felt a wave of fear, realizing he had let something slip.

As expected, Lu Xiaoyun sneered: "Feng Yan is the commander of my secret guards. Not many people know his name. If you are just a bandit, how would you know who he is!"

The man in black turned pale and was about to bite the poison hidden in his mouth when Lu Xiaoyun struck him with a palm strike.

The poison hidden in the teeth flew out the next moment.

"My lord, I remember now. He is the Third Prince's personal guard. If I am not mistaken, he should be the Deputy Chief Guard, Xiao Shen! Xiao Shen has a scar below the left corner of his mouth. That's right, it's him!"

Lu Xiaoyun asked, "Did Zhu Chen send you to ambush them here?"

Xiao Shen, having been recognized, sneered, "What does this have to do with His Highness the Third Prince! We were detained by Lu Yuyan in the Prefect's Mansion and held a grudge, so we hired assassins to kill him!"

"Oh, that's strange. Mr. Lu told you not to move around too much to avoid you getting infected with the epidemic. How come you're the one who's in the wrong?"

Xiao Shen turned his head away and ignored Lu Xiaoyun.

Lu Xiaoyun turned to the first man in black who had spoken.

She had just ordered Feng Yan to spare the two men.

Feng Yan naturally knew which two people his master wanted to keep; he had long since noticed that Xiao Shen, the man in black, was different from the others.

The moment the man in black met Lu Xiaoyun's gaze, he immediately knelt down in fright: "It's...it's His Highness the Third Prince, Zhu Chen. We were hired by him."

Seeing that Lu Xiaoyun seemed to have no reaction, the man in black said again, "It was the Third Prince who ordered us to kill Lu Yuyan."

Lu Xiaoyun's expression grew even colder: "Why did you kill him?"

"This, this I really don't know, please, Your Highness Prince An, spare my life." The man in black kept kowtowing as he spoke, "The one we were talking to wasn't him, it was, it was someone else."

"who?"

"I don't know, I only know that this Lord Xiao is also under his command. That's all I really know. Please, Your Highness Prince An, spare me." The man in black kept kowtowing.

The only people Xiao Shen had to obey were Zhu Chen and his chief bodyguard.

"Knock him out." Lu Xiaoyun ordered Wu Chuan, who was holding Xiao Shen captive.

Before Xiao Shen could react, Wu Chuan delivered a swift chop to the ground, sending Xiao Shen sprawling to the floor.

Lu Xiaoyun gave Feng Yan a wink.

Feng Yan struck the man in black in the abdomen with a palm strike. The man in black instinctively opened his mouth, and the next moment a black pill entered his mouth and slid down his throat into his stomach.

The man in black turned pale with fright: "What...what did you give me to eat?"

Feng Yan said: "Heart-eating Pill!"

"The Heart-Eating Pill? Give me the antidote, please, give me the antidote, I'll do anything you want." The man in black trembled like a leaf, kowtowing repeatedly to Feng Yan. The next moment, a stench of urine wafted from between his legs.

Wu Chuan frowned in disgust. With such cowardice, how dare he come out and kill someone?

A royal physician huddled in the corner cautiously nudged Physician Jiang: "Physician Jiang, what is the Heart-Eating Pill? The name doesn't sound very good."

Physician Jiang stroked his beard: "The so-called Heart-Eating Pill is what causes a small worm to grow in the stomach of those poisoned by it. The worm grows extremely fast and feeds on flesh and blood. It specifically gnaws at the heart until it is completely devoured. The poisoned person not only suffers excruciating pain, but the process is also extremely long, lasting seven days and seven nights, until the heart is completely eaten away before death."

Just hearing about it is enough to scare people half to death.

Especially as darkness fell and the dense forest fell silent, Physician Jiang's words were heard with particular clarity by the man in black.

"Good, so poisonous, so black!" The imperial physician, who had been asking the question, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

What Feng Yan gave the man in black was not a real Heart-Eating Pill, but just ordinary poison. The main poison was the palm strike Feng Yan had just delivered to him.

Lu Xiaoyun chuckled, squatted down, and grabbed the man in black by the chin: "Very good! Go and report to Zhu Chen immediately that Lu Yuyan and Princess Ruoling have been killed by you. Make sure he believes that when you return, I will give you half an antidote."

"Yes, yes, I will do whatever you say. But what if the Third Prince passes through this place on his way back to Shengjing tomorrow and finds out that I lied to him?"

Lu Xiaoyun sneered: "Don't worry, Zhu Chen won't take this route tomorrow. Moreover, he will definitely make you keep this news under wraps."

The man in black was completely confused, but Feng Yan and the others understood.

The Third Prince's return to Shengjing was aimed at securing the position of Crown Prince. If news were to spread that the Princess, the head of the Imperial Hospital, and a group of imperial physicians had been murdered on their way back to Shengjing, and he conveniently postponed his return by a day, it would be difficult to avoid arousing suspicion.

Thinking deeper, those who are unaware of the internal situation may very well blame him for this major epidemic.

That would completely block his path to becoming the crown prince.

Therefore, Zhu Chen will definitely keep this news a secret.

And that's exactly what Lu Xiaoyun and her group need; it all depends on who holds the reins in the end.

Lu Xiaoyun stood up: "As for the other half, I'll give it to you after I've decided what I want you to do."

The man in black immediately knelt up straight: "I am willing to testify for His Highness Prince An that the plague in Mu City was caused by His Highness the Third Prince. He killed Mr. Lu and the princess to silence them because he was afraid that Mr. Lu would expose his evil deeds."

Lu Xiaoyun chuckled. Although the idea was good, it wasn't necessary. If Zhu Heng did it, then Zhu Heng did it.

"No need. I'll remember your half-life. Remember, you only have one day. Come back here at this time tomorrow to collect the half antidote. Otherwise, the taste of the Heart-Eating Pill's poison will be unbearable."

The man in black really wanted to cry. Giving him half an antidote, even if it wouldn't kill him, would still be a painful process. He could only nod repeatedly in agreement.

Feng Yan kicked him in the butt, and the man in black scrambled away.