Chapter 290 The Man in Black Returns Ahead of Schedule

Ji Xinghan shrank back again. She bumped into something and looked back. It turned out to be a clothes rack with several clothes hanging on it.

She glanced at the apprentices, then at the clothes.

This is their uniform!

She immediately had an idea, chose a suit that was similar to her size, changed into it, took off her protective mask, and put on the matching hat.

The people on the other side kept talking.

Niu Ma only said one sentence, paused after being questioned, and then turned and left.

The old apprentice, who was in his forties or fifties, snorted: "It wasn't called Chongyue before!"

Several young apprentices immediately surrounded him: "What's his name? Do you know him?"

The old apprentice sat down lazily: "His name used to be Erniu. Apart from being good-looking, he was just average in every other way, especially in terms of talent. When he was an apprentice, he was so stupid that he was scolded countless times. Later, he got lucky and somehow got in touch with Madam Yingyue. Madam Yingyue used to have a close companion, but then that companion suddenly disappeared. Chongyue... that's how Erniu got his position."

The young apprentices were extremely envious:

"Then Master Chongyue is quite capable."

"Exactly, a comeback!"

"I've heard that Lady Yingyue is very beautiful, is that true?"

The old apprentice snorted: "It's more than just beautiful. Lady Yingyue's pharmaceutical skills are very strong. You probably don't know, but twenty years ago, Lady Yingyue was already able to preside over the alchemy conference!"

The young apprentice sighed, "But we've only heard of Master Chongyue. There are only three versions of what happened to Madam Yingyue: one is that she was Master Chongyue's wife; two is that she was delicate and weak, had a bad temper, and always needed to be coaxed; and three is that she was beautiful but sick!"

"Cough cough," Niu Ma suddenly walked in again.

They exchanged glances and dropped the subject.

Ji Xinghan listened to the gossip with great interest for a long time; the reason she listened was to gather information.

I never expected that Master Chongyue would rise to power in this way!

Now she wants to find Luye even more.

The apprentices stopped talking about anything else. Ji Xinghan, dressed in her apprentice uniform, swaggered out of the house, deciding to look around at other places.

Wearing the clothes and no longer sneaking around, she became much more efficient, passing through several rooms and finding either medicine-making equipment or various jars inside, but hardly encountering anyone.

Even if they encounter someone, they just pass by quickly.

Bao Yuan was nowhere to be found. Ji Xinghan walked backwards and finally saw only clumps of weeds. It seemed that there were no more houses behind them.

She planned to go back and wander around.

Turning around, I saw Baoyuan.

Bao Yuan pointed with a serious face: "Look ahead, Lu Ye is right there!"

"What?" Ji Xinghan turned around and looked ahead. He saw that the weeds were getting taller and taller, and in the distance, there seemed to be a stone house.

There?

Ji Xinghan turned to look at Bao Yuan.

Bao Yuan nodded: "Let's go take a look!"

Bao Yuan refused to walk in front, so Ji Xinghan had no choice but to walk ahead, passing through the weeds, and arrived at the door of the stone house.

She opened the door.

"Who?" a hoarse voice rang out.

Ji Xinghan was startled; the voice was unpleasant. She looked into the room.

The small house was not big; inside were only a stone bed, a stone table, and a few stone chairs. A person was sitting at the table, and when he saw Ji Xinghan enter, he did not move.

Ji Xinghan first sized him up.

The man was dressed in black, wearing a black mask and gloves. The only thing visible on his body was his eyes.

Is this Luye?

Ji Xinghan looked at his legs, but because he was sitting, she couldn't tell whether his left leg was lame or not.

"What are you doing here?" the man in black asked again.

“I’ve come to find an old friend for Yingyue,” Ji Xinghan said.

When Ji Xinghan mentioned Yingyue, she had been observing the man in black. She clearly noticed that when he heard the name "Yingyue," the man in black's left hand, which was resting on the chair, suddenly trembled.

Then, he said coldly, "You've come to the wrong place. Nobody here knows Yingyue. Please leave immediately!"

He raised his hand.

Generally, if an NPC raises their hand, they might send someone flying.

Ji Xinghan panicked and grabbed the door frame: "Yingyue is in danger!"

Man in black: "You're lying, she's not in danger!"

Ji Xinghan: ...

You know whether Lady Lianyingyue is in danger, yet you say you don't recognize her?

Bao Yuan walked up from behind: "There's no time, we need to hurry!"

Ji Xinghan turned around and saw several people walking towards him from not far away, but he couldn't make out who they were.

When those people arrived, she knew she couldn't speak properly to the men in black, so she hurriedly said, "Yingyue really misses that old friend; she wants to see him every single moment..."

The man in black interrupted her: "Impossible!"

Voices could be heard coming from behind:

"Master Chongyue said that suspicious individuals have entered the Alchemy Conference. Search them immediately!"

"Hey, look, isn't there someone over there?"

"The master said that anyone who isn't one of our people or on our guest list should be killed without exception. Quick, kill her!"

The man in black had already stood up.

Ji Xinghan turned around to look at the people chasing after them, and then saw the man in black stand up. He quickly took out the handkerchief that Madam Yingyue had given him: "Look, this is the handkerchief that Yingyue always carries with her, and... Oh, help!"

Bao Yuan vanished in a flash.

Only Ji Xinghan remained.

Ji Xinghan inwardly groaned; the pursuers were NPCs with formidable combat power, and she couldn't handle them alone.

We can only rely on the men in black.

Hopefully, the handkerchief Lady Yingyue gave her in the end will be useful.

The group rushed forward, and one of them shouted, "Look, this person is wearing an apprentice's uniform but has no identification badge. There's definitely something wrong with her. Kill her!"

Several people rushed over, and Ji Xinghan quickly snapped a picture and dodged to the side like the wind.

One of the men spotted the man in black and shouted, "There's another one here pretending to be a ghost! Kill him too!"

The man in black finally moved. With a wave of his hand, Ji Xinghan swayed and opened his eyes to find himself standing by a roadside.

This location is not far from the Valley of Heartbreak.

Ji Xinghan was overjoyed: "Would you like to come with me to see Madam Yingyue? She really wants to see you!"

The man in black remained silent for a long time, still clutching the handkerchief in his hand. He picked it up and examined it for a long time before finally saying, "Are you telling the truth? You're not lying to me?"

Ji Xinghan: "Absolutely not!"

Man in black: "Good!"

With a wave of her hand, the two of them arrived near the courtyard in the Valley of Heartbreak.

It's about 500 meters outside the courtyard.

Ji Xinghan turned around: "Let's go!"

The man in black remained motionless, seemingly lost in thought. Ji Xinghan urged him several times before he finally moved slowly.

Ji Xinghan sighed. He could have teleported directly to the courtyard, but the man in black hesitated and didn't dare to move more than 500 or 600 meters outside the courtyard.

It seems really difficult to get him to come and take a look at Lady Yingyue.

But how did he know about this courtyard?

Have you been here before?

Now was not the time to ponder. Ji Xinghan led the way and patiently waited for the man in black for more than ten minutes before the two of them slowly arrived at the entrance of the courtyard.

One of the gates to the courtyard was open.

As the two reached the door, they heard voices inside: "Moon, do you like the gift I brought you this time?"

Ji Xinghan's expression changed. It was Master Chongyue!

He's back!

He came back ahead of schedule!