This is an old man with a serious face and neatly combed hair.

He was wearing a purple official uniform, a goldfish bag, and holding an ivory hu in one hand.

At this moment, he glanced around.

The next second, his gaze suddenly stopped somewhere!

There was a bloody man and a man in an embroidered robe with a bloody hole in the middle of his forehead.

The old man's body suddenly froze, and he stood there like a wax figure.

Not a muscle moved.

About three breaths passed.

He took a deep breath, and the priceless ivory scepter in his hand tilted and fell.

His figure turned into a phantom, and in an instant he knelt beside the fallen Qin Ji.

At this time, a thumb-sized hole appeared in Qin Ji's skull between his eyebrows, and blood-red liquid flowed down from his eyebrows in crooked curves.

There was also some gray liquid mixed in it, which wet the broken gold lock on his chest.

The old man's mouth opened silently, then slowly closed. He opened his hands, as if he wanted to hug the man under him, but in the end he didn't do it.

The next second, the old man hurriedly reached into his sleeve and took out a milky white object.

It is a piece of fine mutton-fat jade emitting a hazy glow.

A closer look reveals that this piece of "mutton-fat jade" is not a hard jade, but a ball of liquid as soft as water.

The old man made a gesture with his left hand, and the Confucian monk's words came into being.

"When the spirit liquid was collected, it still flowed on the ground, and the remaining milk can prolong life."

Extend a finger.

The second finger of the day hit Qin Ji's forehead again.

As soon as the flowing "mutton-fat jade" touched his wound, it sewed up the broken skull and blocked the gap.

He held his breath and concentrated, reached out to touch Qin Ji's pulse, felt a few breaths, and then exhaled slightly.

Then, the old man was silent for three seconds, and the next moment he turned his head suddenly.

Like a tiger or wolf looking around.

The old man, who is usually calm and composed, now has his hair standing on end, his brows are straight and his eyes are angry, and his face is red and veins are bulging.

He stood up suddenly and looked around quickly.

There were the remains of a thousand cavalrymen, a comatose man, an old man in a black robe with blood gushing from all his orifices, and a sinister man covered in blood...

Immediately, his eyes were fixed on Liu Sanbian who was standing next to Qin Ji.

"You rats! How dare you harm my Ji'er! You deserve to die!"

The old man was furious, with smoke coming out of his seven orifices. He reached out his hand to grab Liu Sanbian's corpse, and his five fingers were like hooks, tightly grasping the neck of the sixth-rank warrior who had already burned out all his blood but died with his eyes closed.

"Li Shida, get out here right now!"

The old man's voice echoed down the long street, shaking heaven and earth.

Just as he finished speaking, two voices came hurriedly from the other end of Suzaku Street.

The person in the lead was none other than Li Shida. His face turned pale and blue, his chest heaved violently, and he staggered as he walked.

Gao Yi, who was following behind him, walked steadily but his teeth were chattering and his eyes were evasive when he saw the old man.

Before he even came up to her, Li Shida had already spoken:

"Teacher, student..."

"Shut up! I told you to take good care of Ji'er, and this is how you do it?"

Li Shida's body trembled, he stopped, knelt heavily, gritted his teeth, lowered his head, and remained silent.

There was a fierce storm in Qin Jianfu's eyes, and his gaze was like a knife, sweeping across Li Shida and Gao Yi, causing the two to tremble again.

Qin Jianfu's nostrils flared and he took a deep breath.

"Ji'er still has a chance of survival. I have to go to Qing Sui Sect."

As he finished speaking, he stared at his favorite student who was kneeling on the ground.

"Li Shida, you disappoint me. This is your last chance. If Ji'er never wakes up again, you will never be able to go to Siqi Academy again!"

"You all stay at home and take care of Ji'er until I come back!"

Qin Jianfu shouted coldly, waved his sleeves and left, turning into a long rainbow and disappearing into the horizon.

…

Three days later.

evening.

Zhao Rong crossed his hands and walked leisurely along the street, passing by the north gate of Liangjing.

During this time, he paused slightly, raised his eyelids, and looked at the body of the sixth-rank warrior who was hung on the top of the city wall, a hundred feet high, and exposed to the sun for public display.

At this time, after three days of excitement, there were still many people stopping to watch at the city gate.

Zhao Rong pursed his lips.

The body was covered in blood, and even after being hung for three days, there were still drops of black blood gathering at the toes, falling rhythmically and silently.

On the ground beneath the corpse was a shocking pool of black and red blood, covering a very large area, but no one had cleaned it.

The person was dead, but the body was treated like this. One can imagine how angry the person who did this was.

Besides this, there is another purpose...

Zhao Rong turned his head as if nothing had happened, and glanced at the people who were pointing and talking, and at some familiar figures among them.

He had picked out these secret sentries hidden in the crowd after "passing by" repeatedly in the past two days.

Zhao Rong turned and left.

The person behind the scenes is still looking for them, and wants to use Liu Sanbian's body to lure them out.

However, Zhao Rong had changed his attire and was no longer dressed as a Confucian scholar as before, and he did not bring Su Xiaoxiao with him when he went out.

And relying on his innate talent - mediocre.

It's hard to be recognized.

That day on Zhuque Street, Zhao Rong witnessed what happened after the old man in official uniform arrived.

The old man in official uniform must be the Prime Minister Qin mentioned by the people of Liangjing.

Zhao Rong walked on the road, thinking carefully.

That day, he also met a young Confucian scholar and Gao Yi, who had been on friendly terms with Liu Sanbian a few days ago.

If nothing unexpected happens, Gao Yi is the one who betrayed Brother Sanbian. The magic circle that was set up on Zhuque Street that day also proves this point.

As for the Confucian scholar, he heard Qin Jianfu's words that day and learned that his name was Li Shida. He then went to the market to inquire and roughly knew the identity of Li Shida, who was the closest student of Prime Minister Qin.

Equivalent to the Qin Mansion's staff and think tank.

That day, Qin Jianfu said that Qin Ji still had a glimmer of hope, which made him feel uneasy.

Zhao Rong bought some snacks on the street and brought them back to the inn for Su Xiaoxiao.

She has been feeling a little down these days and hasn't eaten much.

The orange sunset has set, and darkness shrouds the city of Liangjing.

After returning to the inn, Zhao Rong opened the door and found that Su Xiaoxiao had not turned on the light, and there was a vague figure beside the window.

Zhao Rong put down his things, walked to the oil lamp and took out the tinder.

"Don't light the lamp."

The little fox demon said softly.

Zhao Rong stopped what he was doing when he heard that, stood there in silence for a moment, walked to the window, found a stool and sat down.

At this time, Su Xiaoxiao was curled up in a chair with her legs hugged, her face resting on her knees, quietly looking at the starry sky outside the window.

She did not tie her hair up as usual, but let her long black hair fall casually.

The residual light of the dim lights in the distance caressed her jade-like face.

"Zhao Rong, aren't you sad that someone you know has died?"

Zhao Rong closed his eyes and said nothing.

The little fox demon stopped talking.

In the dark.

The two sat quietly for a long time.

At some point.

“They are all dead,” she said.

"who?"

"them."

Zhao Rong didn't say anything.

"Da Huang, the old teacher of the private school, the villagers of Xiahe Village, and the scholar who went to Beijing to take the imperial examination."

The little fox demon said softly:

"They are all dead."