Almost without hesitation, Xin Jiuwei turned her horse around and charged onto the path leading to the abandoned village! The horse's hooves pounded on the thick snow, making a dull thud that was particularly clear in the deathly silence of the night. She slowed down, cautiously observing her surroundings. Dilapidated mud walls, collapsed roof beams, and dark, gaping windows like ghostly eyes—the entire village exuded an aura of desolation and decay.
The cart tracks disappeared completely at the entrance to the village, covered by thick snow, clearly deliberately altered. Xin Jiuwei's heart sank. She dismounted, tethered the horse behind a broken wall, and pulled the sharp dagger Xiao Xun had given her—the one she always carried—from her boot. The cold hilt in her hand brought a strange sense of security.
Like a ghost, she silently crept into the village. Each step she took pierced the thick snow, trying to make as little noise as possible. The cold wind howled through the broken walls and ruins, adding to the eeriness. She held her breath, summoning all the alertness she had honed for survival in Yingzhou in her past life, carefully searching for any possible clues.
Most of the abandoned houses had their doors and windows wide open, empty and covered in dust. Xin Jiuwei's heart sank. Had she made a wrong judgment?
Just as she was about to give up and turn to another area, her nose suddenly caught a very faint scent that seemed completely out of place with the decaying atmosphere—the burnt smell of lamp oil! And... a faint, extremely delicate yet strangely sweet fragrance? Like some kind of peculiar medicinal scent!
Her heart skipped a beat! Following the scent, she cautiously made her way to a seemingly inconspicuous, low-lying mud house deep within the village, almost half-buried in the ground. The door of the mud house was askew, and the inside was pitch black. But the smell of lamp oil and medicine was emanating from inside! More importantly, she keenly noticed that although the snow at the doorway had been swept away, in an inconspicuous dent in the corner of the wall, there remained half a blurry footprint with a slight limp!
It's him! He must be here!
Xin Jiuwei's heart suddenly raced, and she gripped the short dagger tightly. She didn't rush in rashly. Qi Huaiyu was cunning and ruthless; there must be a trap inside! She crouched low, like a cat circling around to the side of the earthen house. There was a small ventilation hole there, barely covered by a tattered straw curtain.
She held her breath and carefully parted the straw curtain through a tiny gap to peek inside.
The earthen house was cramped, containing only a broken table and a nearly burnt-out oil lamp, casting a dim, yellowish light. A figure sat at the table with his back to the ventilation hole, head bowed, seemingly tending to a wound on his arm. In the dim light, Xin Jiuwei could clearly see the gruesome, old burn scar on the person's profile, deliberately concealed. Tall and thin! It was Qi Huaiyu!
He tore open the sleeve of his left arm, revealing a shallow but bleeding wound, clearly sustained in the recent explosion or melee. He was pouring some white powder from a small black porcelain bottle, preparing to sprinkle it on the wound. Scattered on the table were several items: a water pouch, some dry rations, and… an even smaller, jet-black jade bottle with a tightly sealed mouth! The style of that jade bottle was extremely similar to the one that had previously contained the blood-based antidote for the "Bone-Corroding Orchid"!
The antidote! He really did carry the antidote with him! Or... a more deadly poison? Xin Jiuwei's pupils suddenly contracted! Whatever it is, she had to get it!
You only get one chance!
Xin Jiuwei no longer hesitated! She took a deep breath and, with all her might, kicked the already rickety and dilapidated wooden door hard!
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