Qi Huaiyu's injuries were indeed extremely severe! He needed these two medicines to prolong his life! Moreover, the transaction would take place at the abandoned post station in the western suburbs! At three-quarters past midnight!
An opportunity! A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!
This may be the only chance to catch Qi Huaiyu by the tail, or even to completely eliminate him!
A tremendous temptation and a chilling sense of crisis simultaneously gripped Xin Jiuwei. The body of Huiming from Hantan Temple was barely cold from his "accidental" death; the half-jade pendant and the scraps of cloth belonging to the servant were still hidden on Xin Kui's body; the shadow of the blood hawk mark clung to her like a maggot... All of this revealed the ruthless and pervasive influence of the Second Prince Xiao Zhuo and Qi Huaiyu's forces! Could this black market intelligence be yet another meticulously planned trap?
However, Qi Huaiyu's need for the Heart-Regenerating Grass and Jade Marrow Fungus is genuine! These two medicines cannot be faked! The time and place of the transaction are so specific! If we miss this opportunity, once his injuries have healed or he has moved his hiding place, finding him again will be like looking for a needle in a haystack!
To go or not to go?
Xin Jiuwei's fingertips tapped unconsciously on the table, producing a dull thud. Each tap felt like a blow to the taut strings of her heart.
“Miss…” Xin Kui looked at the intense struggle in Xin Jiuwei’s eyes and said in a worried whisper, “It’s too much of a coincidence! The incident at Hantan Temple just happened, and this news about the black market has already arrived! And it just so happens to be in the western suburbs! That abandoned post station… it’s in the middle of nowhere, the perfect place for murder and robbery! I’m worried…”
“I know,” Xin Jiuwei interrupted her, her voice low and firm. “I know there are risks, even… it could very well be a trap.” She raised her head, her eyes filled with a desperate resolve. “But Xin Kui, Qi Huaiyu, that venomous snake, must be eliminated! As long as he’s in the capital, he’s a huge threat to us, to Yuncheng, and to my sister! This Xinxu Grass and Jade Marrow Mushroom are his Achilles’ heel right now! I can’t let this opportunity slip by! Even if there’s only a one in ten thousand chance, I have to go!”
She stood up, walked to the window, and pushed it open a crack. Outside, the night was as dark as ink, and a cold wind howled, swirling up the remaining snow on the ground. The icy air rushed in, clearing her muddled mind somewhat.
“The guards of the Prince’s mansion are spies, we absolutely cannot bring them.” Xin Jiuwei quickly analyzed, “As for Liu Ya, use the excuse that ‘His Highness’s illness has not yet healed and he needs to pray quietly, and no one is allowed to disturb him’ to keep things calm for the time being. You stay here and keep them in suspense. I… will go alone.”
"No!" Xin Kui refused resolutely, her eyes filled with anxiety. "It's too dangerous! Miss, you're alone..."
"This is an order!" Xin Jiuwei's tone was resolute, carrying an unquestionable authority. "You stay here and adapt to the situation. If I haven't returned by dawn... immediately find a way to notify Yuncheng!" She looked at Xin Kui, her eyes filled with complex emotions. "Don't worry, I'll disguise myself and act carefully. Remember, your mission is to guard this place and create the illusion that I'm still here!"
Seeing the unwavering resolve in Xin Jiuwei's eyes, Xin Kui knew further persuasion was futile. She bit her lower lip hard and knelt on one knee: "Miss... please be careful! Your subordinate... will wait for your return!"
It's almost midnight.
The Prince's mansion, like a lurking beast, was shrouded in a repressive silence. The main house remained dimly lit, filled with the smell of medicine. Xin Jiuwei's room had also been dark since early on.
A slender, agile figure, like a raccoon dog, silently vaulted out of the back window of the side room, instantly disappearing into the thick darkness. Xin Jiuwei had changed into a tight-fitting night outfit, her face covered by a specially made human skin mask, concealing her originally beautiful features, revealing only a pair of eyes that gleamed in the darkness, sharp as a hawk's. She clung to the cold wall like a gecko, avoiding the patrols of several sentries, both visible and hidden. Relying on her familiarity with the layout of the Prince's mansion and her superb skills, she leaped over the high wall of the Prince's mansion's backyard in a few bounds, disappearing into the vast night and howling wind.
Thirty li west of the city, north of the fork in the official road.
A biting wind swirled with snowflakes, howling mournfully. A dilapidated post station stood forlornly in the wilderness, like the skeletal remains of an abandoned beast. The main building had long since collapsed, leaving only a few sections of crumbling earthen walls and a few barely intact outbuildings. Roofs had sunken, doors and windows were askew, their dark openings like gaping maws ready to devour their prey. The hitching posts in front of the post station lay scattered, overgrown with weeds and buried under a thick layer of snow. All around was an endless expanse of snow-covered wilderness, a deathly silence that sent chills down one's spine.
Xin Jiuwei lay prone behind a low earthen slope more than a hundred feet away from the post station, her body covered with camouflage cloth the same color as the snow, only her eyes showing, quietly observing like the most patient hunter.
Time passed slowly. Midnight had passed.
The area in the direction of the post station was deathly silent, with only the sound of the wind and the occasional rustling of snow sliding down the dilapidated eaves.
Was the intelligence report incorrect? Or did the other party notice something amiss and cancel the transaction?
Xin Jiuwei's heart sank little by little.
Just then!
In the northwest corner of the inn, towards the side room that appeared to be the most intact but whose roof had actually collapsed halfway, a faint, will-o'-the-wisp-like yellow light suddenly appeared in the darkness! The light flickered a few times and then went out!
Signal!
Xin Jiuwei's spirits lifted! The other party had indeed come! And they were extremely cautious, choosing not to trade at the main gate or courtyard of the post station, but instead hiding in a more secluded side room!
She took a deep breath, the icy air filling her lungs and calming her. Like a ghost blending into the night, she stealthily approached the outbuilding, using the ruins and overgrown weeds as cover. Each step she took was made without a sound on the soft snow.
Approaching the dilapidated window of the outbuilding, Xin Jiuwei held her breath, pressed her body against the cold, damp earthen wall, and listened intently.
Inside the house, extremely low voices could be heard, mostly drowned out by the wind, speaking intermittently:
"...The things...have you brought them?" A hoarse, dry voice asked, like sandpaper scraping.
“…Inspect the goods…” The other voice was even deeper, with a metallic coldness.
Then came an extremely faint sound, like the friction of opening a box lid, and a barely audible hiss.
“…Not bad…it’s genuine…” The hoarse voice carried a hint of greedy satisfaction.
“…money…” The cold, hard voice was concise and to the point.
“…What’s the rush…This place is no place to stay for long…Take the money…Leave immediately…” The hoarse voice sounded somewhat nervous.
Xin Jiuwei's heart raced. The transaction was underway! The Heart-Renewing Grass and Jade Marrow Ganoderma were inside! The buyer (that cold, hard voice) was most likely one of Qi Huaiyu's men!
She cautiously peered inside through a crack in the broken window frame.
There were no lights on inside; only the pale moonlight from outside shone through the cracks in the collapsed roof and the broken windows, casting dappled beams of light. In this dim light, Xin Jiuwei could see two blurry figures inside.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
