Chapter 56
The night in Bayan City was bleak under the moonlight. A secluded and inconspicuous courtyard was hidden in a deep alley, with wild grass growing on the walls, trembling slightly in the wind.
In the stillness of the night, a dozen or so dark figures silently slipped into the courtyard. Their steps were incredibly light, leaving no trace. Close behind the leader was a young man, his eyes darting around, barely containing his excitement. He lowered his voice and said, "Boss, I never imagined the enemy commander's hiding place would be so lax! The Chen family has offered a bounty, and so many in the underworld wouldn't dare take it… Heh, this immense wealth should rightfully be ours!"
The leader suddenly turned around, his gaze sharp as a knife, and glared at him fiercely, his voice squeezed out between his teeth: "Shut up! This is a life-or-death business. If you say another word, I'll send you on your way first."
The young man shrank back, still muttering defiantly, "It's just catching a defenseless little woman, why are you so nervous..."
The leader ignored them, turned around and made a few hand gestures to the crowd, then whispered the order: "The target is in the highest pavilion in the west wing. Be on your guards. There will definitely be guards at the door. Don't alert anyone."
As soon as the words were spoken, a dozen or so people, as if given a command, simultaneously leaped into the air, their figures tracing swift arcs under the moonlight.
However, the moment their feet touched the ground, everyone sensed something was wrong. The courtyard was too quiet; not even a single insect could be heard, let alone the guards. Alarm bells rang in the leader's mind. Just as he was wondering if this was an abandoned courtyard, a piercing scream suddenly tore through the night: "It's terrible! The young lady has been assassinated! Help! There's an assassin!"
The scream was shrill and urgent, sounding particularly terrifying in the quiet night. They paled at the sound, exchanging glances, each seeing the words "tricked" in the other's eyes. The leader acted decisively, gesturing for them to retreat. The others tried to withdraw, but it was too late.
Suddenly, a cacophony of footsteps echoed from all around. Dozens of armored guards emerged from what had seemed like empty corners, behind pillars, and outside moon gates. In an instant, their swords flashed and formed an impenetrable encirclement, trapping them inside.
Just then, Pei Yun hurried over, wearing a loose outer robe. He seemed to have just gotten up from the couch, his black hair unbound and draped loosely over his shoulders. Upon seeing the scene in the courtyard, he stopped in his tracks, his gaze passing over the black-clad men shouting "innocent" and looking straight at the open door.
Inside the door, a woman lay silently in a pool of blood, her clothes soaked with blood, and a shocking red stain lay beneath her.
Pei Yunru was struck by lightning, his whole body stiffened on the spot, and the color drained from his face instantly. He seemed to have lost his soul and was stunned for a long time before he staggered forward and scooped up the woman with trembling hands. Just as he bent down, an imperceptible black mist suddenly emerged from the woman's clothes and rushed into his eyes!
It was "Bewitching and Soul-Inducing Powder," he shook his head with a bitter smile. So this was what was waiting for him. But as soon as the thought crossed his mind, he lost consciousness.
Seeing Pei Yun's body tremble violently, his eyes suddenly turning bloodshot, and his aura becoming wild and violent, He Ying knew something was wrong. He immediately shouted sternly, "Take down all these thieves and lock them in the woodshed under strict guard! No one is allowed to approach the young lady without my order... Seal off the entire courtyard. If a single word of what happened tonight is leaked, the person in charge will be punished according to military law!"
Before he finished speaking, he strode forward and delivered a precise chop to the back of Pei Yun's neck. Pei Yun let out a muffled groan and collapsed. He Ying caught him and urgently ordered his men, "Quickly, take His Majesty back to his room! Summon the imperial physician immediately!"
Torches were lit one after another in the courtyard, their flickering light illuminating the panicked faces and casting long shadows on the ground. The moonlight continued to shine coldly on the suddenly chaotic courtyard, ensuring that no one would ever sleep.
As dawn broke, casting a hazy, grayish-white light upon the room, Pei Yun awoke on the bed, his long eyelashes trembling slightly as he slowly opened his eyes. A burning heat still lingered in his chest, and a feeling of utter exhaustion remained in his limbs. He felt as if he had just struggled out of an endless nightmare; those chaotic and painful fragments of memory still flickered faintly in his mind, making him afraid to delve deeper.
He sat up silently, his long, ink-black hair cascading down his plain white undergarment. His face had regained its usual calm and composure, but his deep eyes were like frozen pools, concealing an unfathomable darkness. He sat there quietly, without uttering a word, and the air was thick with a suffocating oppression.
Seeing this, He Ying silently dismissed the palace servants and imperial physicians standing in the room, slowly stepped forward, bowed and whispered: "Your Majesty, the poison you were poisoned with last night was 'Bewitching and Soul-Drawing Powder'."
This poison is extremely sinister, made from the miasma of the southern border and combined with the bewitching grass... If an ordinary person is poisoned by this, their mind will be shattered, and they will be immersed in the most painful and fearful past events of their life, until they die of madness and weeping blood. He Ying shook his head, recalling the past events in the southern border, and understood most of it.
He paused slightly before continuing, "Fortunately, I had previously taken a pill that Wu Lingwei had secretly refined using her own blood essence, which suppressed the poison."
He took a deep breath and lowered his voice to almost inaudible: "So it seems... the girl didn't intend for you to live."
Upon hearing this, Pei Yun's lips slowly curved into a faint yet extremely bitter smile. He did not look at He Ying, but instead gazed at the gradually brightening sky outside the window, murmuring, "She... finally found out."
He Ying was startled, his heart filled with astonishment. He knew? He knew what? His mind raced, but he couldn't grasp the clue. Just as he was feeling lost, he heard Pei Yun change the subject, his voice returning to its usual coldness, as if the vulnerability he had shown just moments before was merely an illusion: "Have you investigated the details of last night's chaos?"
He Ying's throat tightened, and an awkward embarrassment and fear appeared on his face. He glanced at Pei Yun secretly, and finally braced himself to report, his speech quickening: "An Qi... was found unconscious in the inner room's side chamber, his limbs bound and his mouth gagged with cotton cloth, clearly he was ambushed. The female corpse that suddenly appeared... after investigation, it was found that she was not from the courtyard, as if she had appeared out of thin air. Apart from bloodstains, there were no other suspicious traces at the scene. Currently... currently there are no clues."
He swallowed hard and continued, "I have already interrogated the servant who first shouted 'There is an assassin!' He only said that when he got up in the middle of the night, he smelled a strong smell of blood, which startled him. When he looked out, he saw a dark shadow moving around, which is why he cried out... When asked anything else, he shook his head and said that he knew nothing."
This report almost admitted the guards' incompetence and negligence, and that the investigation yielded nothing.
Pei Yun listened silently, his face revealing neither joy nor anger, but a faint hint of mockery seemed to rise at the corner of his lips. He then suddenly asked, "Has anyone seen Xi Yu?"
He Ying immediately replied, "I have questioned all the guards and servants in the courtyard overnight. The last time I saw Young Master Xi was around Shenshi yesterday. He told the gatekeeper that he was going out to buy some items for the young lady... After that, no one has seen him since."
His tone grew increasingly dejected, and his head drooped even lower as he thought to himself: This is, after all, the land of Beijiang, a place I'm unfamiliar with. This hospital is merely a temporary refuge, and apart from the imperial physicians and personal guards accompanying the emperor, everyone else has been sent to the front lines. I must leave as soon as possible...
Upon hearing this, Pei Yun suddenly chuckled, but there was no warmth in his laughter, only cold mockery: "When did my residence become as free to come and go as in a marketplace inn, with such slackness? Do you expect that one day, when enemy spies silently hold swords to my neck, you will only realize it after I have bled profusely?"
Upon hearing this, He Ying broke out in a cold sweat, his back instantly soaked. He felt utterly aggrieved but dared not argue. He could only hurriedly kneel on one knee and urgently promise, "Your Majesty, please calm down. You are always surrounded by layers of skilled guards, both overt and covert. There is absolutely no way such a catastrophic blunder could have occurred! Besides... besides, there is your subordinate. Your subordinate will swear to protect Your Majesty with your life!"
Seeing Pei Yun's face grow increasingly gloomy and cold, he instantly understood what was going on and quickly added, "The young lady was originally accompanied by An Qi, so there was no chance of anything going wrong, but... but who would have thought that the young lady seemed... seemed to be on guard..."
As soon as the words left his mouth, He Ying immediately realized his slip of the tongue. The meaning behind the word "beware" was self-evident in this strange situation. He broke out in a cold sweat, not daring to meet Pei Yun's instantly icy gaze. Before the king's rage could erupt, he hurriedly bowed deeply and staggered out of the room, leaving behind a suffocating chill and an unyielding atmosphere of tension.
*
A carriage moved silently along the winding road, its body discreet yet its speed remarkable. The wheels rolled over the road, stirring up the morning dew clinging to the roadside grass. Inside the carriage, a man lay sprawled on a soft couch, his brow furrowed, fine beads of cold sweat beading on his forehead. His breathing was sometimes rapid, as if trapped in a nightmare, unable to find peace.
Xi Xiao sat quietly to one side, holding a wooden box in her hands. Her fingertips gently traced the delicate wood grain on the box before she slowly opened it and took out an ancient book with yellowed pages and dense writing. She looked down at it, and a faint smile suddenly appeared on her lips, but the smile did not reach her eyes. Instead, a cold and deep-seated hatred spread across her face.
She casually flipped through a few pages, her gaze sweeping over the contents she already knew by heart, then indifferently closed the book and placed it back into the box. With a soft click, she secured the box with a delicate brass lock, then carefully hid it in a secret compartment inside the carriage wall.
She turned to look out the window; the distant mountains blended into a blurry gray-green in the rapidly receding light and shadow. Suddenly, a muffled groan reached her ears, and she paused almost imperceptibly, but did not turn around.
"Where is this...?" Xi Yu's voice was hoarse and weak from just waking up. He shook his head vigorously, trying to dispel the dizziness and throbbing in his brain. His vision was blurry for a while before the scene gradually became clear.
The first thing that caught his eye was Xi Xiao's indifferent figure sitting with her back to him. In this situation, his mind raced, and he understood most of what was going on.
"You... you knew all along?!" Xi Yu could not hide her shock. Her voice trembled slightly with surprise and doubt. Countless thoughts surged in her mind, but they were all in a mess.
Xi Xiao slowly turned around, her cool gaze lingering on his face for a long time before she said indifferently, "Senior brother seems very surprised?" She scoffed lightly, her tone revealing neither joy nor anger, "Senior brother always has his own ideas when it comes to doing things. When have you ever thought of discussing them with me? It's as if my thoughts are always insignificant and can be ignored."
Xi Yu shook her head and hurriedly explained, "I didn't mean that! Xiao Xiao, if you don't like it, I will never do it again. I just wanted to..."
"You just want to arrange everything for me and make me accept everything you give me, is that it?" Xi Xiao interrupted him coldly, her tone hard: "In that case, what's the difference between you and that person? Equally self-righteous, equally... fond of forcing others to do things against their will."
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