Chapter 41 Chapter 41 If the prince insists, she will tear it down…

Hidden in the shadows, the secret guard and the shadow guard exchanged glances and nodded slightly. The shadow guard immediately rushed to the palace. Sword

shadows shone like rainbows, sharp and startling.

Startled birds in the forest garden scattered in all directions. The young woman's pale blue figure moved among dozens of sharp sword shadows, her blades turning into afterimages as she stabbed at the man with the swiftness of a swallow. Arrows occasionally pierced the clouds and pierced the bamboo and wood as she dodged.

Glancing at the two figures that suddenly appeared, Biezhi frowned. Including these two, there were twelve people in total.

Aside from the Hezhou group, she hadn't offended anyone else.

Before she could avoid the two who had suddenly appeared, they saw them, swords in hand, charging towards the dozens of people fighting with her.

They were here to help her.

Biezhi was certain that these two people's skills were not from Xianyun Tower.

Who had planted these people behind her?

A sword flickered past her ear, and she swiftly kicked the grappling assassin, sending him careening onto the rockery ten steps away. Then, she spun to dodge a sword attack from behind, thrusting her sword into the man's chest.

The thick, bloody smell instantly filled the air.

Biezhi dodged another arrow from the eaves of the Xu family's rooftops, keenly realizing that this wasn't the same assassins she'd encountered outside the city. The dozens of men before her were all shadows of Shang Yongjian, gravely wounded yet relentlessly pressing forward. They looked neither assassins nor assassins. They

looked like assassins...

Her pupils narrowed slightly, and she spoke to the two still engaged, signaling them to disengage. She turned and fled the garden, leaping lightly through the dense trees.

The assassins behind her followed, their pace swift as the wind, quickly forming a circle around them.

Seeing this, Biezhi immediately pulled out a pouch from her bosom, removed one of the pills, and stuffed it into her mouth. She paused her rapid pace and plunged back into the fray.

Since the approaching assassin was a death warrior, she no longer focused on saving her own life as she had just before. The sharpness of her sword intensified, and she swung it decisively at the approaching assassin, the blade aimed for his vitals.

Biezhi raised her eyes slightly to glance at the bright moon that had already climbed onto the tree branch, frowned slightly, and dodged the incoming blade like a shadow.

The sharp clash of swords and blades continued. She glanced at the four or five death warriors who collapsed to the ground, clutching their chests, and at a helper who lay nearby. His chest had been pierced, and the blood gushed out, soaking the ground. Without a moment to catch her breath, she rushed towards the others.

The moment the arrow feather pierced her arm, Biezhi paused slightly, raising her sword-wielding right hand to pull out the arrow. Blood gushed out along the arrow's arc, and the numbness instantly penetrated her bones. She frowned.

The arrow was poisoned.

Unable to wait for the antidote to take effect, she endured the pain coursing through her body and sternly shouted to the remaining person, "Go!"

The secret guard turned to glance at the girl struggling desperately. She seemed to be pulling something out, then retreated ten steps. She pulled out a pouch and tossed it, sending a burst of pale yellow powder scattering in the wind. The

approaching assassins froze, their bodies sliding uncontrollably downward.

The three leading men stabbed their swords into the earth, barely holding themselves up. They exchanged glances, their allies resisting the ache that had already invaded them, desperately wielding their swords as they rushed towards the slightly stiffened girl.

Biezhi instinctively raised her arms, but couldn't lift them even a bit.

Her body felt like it was filled with lead, unable to move.

Then, the sound of hurried footsteps reached her ears again.

Biezhi's lips curled up slightly, a smile forming before she sighed for no apparent reason.

Really, if I had known I would die here, I should have been more quiet.

Suddenly, the sword blade pierced the assassin who was rushing towards me.

Biezhi's eyes trembled, and light and shadow passed through her pupils.

She turned her eyes slightly and caught a glimpse of the man's cold and tense jaw. Biezhi breathed a sigh of relief, and her tightly held mind also fell down, falling into darkness.

In an instant, Fu Huaiqing's eyes shrank suddenly, and a trace of panic appeared in his eyes.

He threw away the long sword in his hand, reached out to catch the girl who fell straight down. The girl's body was stiff as a stone. Fu Huaiqing's fingertips around her body trembled slightly, and his throat was pinched by an unknown force. He said with difficulty: "Leave her alive."

The lights in the bedroom of the main courtyard of the palace were brightly lit.

It was clearly summer, but the bedroom was as cold as a cellar.

The moment Fu Huaiqing carried the patient into the chamber, Xiao Ming, the Imperial Physician, who had already packed up and returned to the palace, hurried over. Stumbling from the guards' pull, Xiao Ming straightened his back upon seeing the prince's frosty face inside. Before he could even greet him, he was pushed to the bedside by the guards.

The young woman on the couch had a serene and docile face, as if the thick, black blood oozing from her arm wasn't her.

With the patient in front of him, Xiao Ming didn't bother to greet her.

He leaned over to check the girl's breath. A faint breath lingered over his knuckles, and his frown relaxed slightly. He probed the wound, oozing blood. It looked fresh, but the flesh beneath was as dead as dead flesh, even bubbling.

His breath hitched, and he turned back, bowing, and said, "Your Highness, this young woman has been poisoned. I'm afraid she'll need to undergo a bone-cutting procedure."

Fu Huaiqing nodded, his inky black eyes deepening.

He'd realized it just as he'd wrapped his arms around the other branch.

Qiaoshi Powder.

Not fatal, but it could make a person stiff as a stone.

If not treated promptly, they'd be as immobile as a stone for the rest of their lives.

Receiving a clear answer, Xiao Ming immediately pulled out the tools from his medical kit, then turned and instructed the guards at his side to prepare ten basins of clear spring water and a sufficient amount of Mafei Powder.

The guard took his orders and left. As he left the chamber, he happened to see Cheng Jin, who had been left behind to clean up the mess, hurrying back. A stern-faced man followed him, and the two of them entered the chamber at lightning speed.

Ling Feng, who had rushed over after receiving the news, saw his apprentice lying on the couch. His hand trembled as it fell to his side. Meeting Fu Huaiqing's eyes, as calm as the surface of a lake, he said in a hoarse voice, "How is she?"

"The arrow was poisoned. Cut the flesh to heal the bones." Fu Huaiqing's voice was calm and indifferent. He paused, then said, "Qiaoshi Powder."

Ling Feng was stunned, then immediately stepped past him and walked to the couch.

The girl's lips were pale, and her breath was weak.

It was like an old man on his deathbed.

He bent down and felt the wound on his arm, frowned and gave way to the imperial physician who was already prepared, and looked at the man standing quietly at the side, his eyes fixed on Biezhi.

The man's eyes became deeper and deeper, as if he was trying his best to suppress the turbulence under the lake, disguising himself as a quiet and boundless lake. If anyone accidentally fell in, they would be strangled by the surging lake water.

On the way here, Ling Feng also heard Cheng Jin mention that the dozens of people who fought with Biezhi were all assassins, even the archers standing on the eaves of Xu's house.

The bounty order in Hezhou has been posted for nearly half a month. Countless killers have come to take the reward. The people in Xianyun Tower have already received instructions. No one showed mercy. Anyone who came across someone who wanted to take life would be killed immediately.

But the assassins...

were still a group of organized and premeditated assassins.

Ling Feng's eyelashes trembled: "Are they coming for her?"

Fu Huaiqing remained silent, his eyes fixed on the dead flesh beneath Xiao Ming's knife. He lifted a tiny sliver and examined it. Biezhi, lying quietly on the couch, remained calm, as if she felt no pain at all.

He closed his eyes. "Are they all dead?"

A voice from deep within the cold pond echoed in his ears. Cheng Jin gritted his teeth and nodded, "Yes."

The moment the prince left, the remaining two men immediately committed suicide with their swords, even the archers in the distance did the same.

Jiang Yue's brows twitched as he watched Xiao Ming cut away the dead flesh. He asked, "Is someone planning to attack Xu Wenche and is thinking of eliminating Miss Biezhi?"

Ling Feng frowned at this.

If someone intended to attack Xu Wenche, they would have already discovered that Biezhi was secretly protecting him. Eliminating her, who had been following Xu Wenche for so long, would have allowed them to take his life without hesitation.

Fu Huaiqing's face was grim, and he curled his lips. "Her mission is over. Someone else should follow her."

"No," Ling Feng said hurriedly. He knew Biezhi well. If the mission had ended midway for other reasons, she might have accepted it. But if it was because of concern for her safety, she would doubt his ability. "If she doesn't change, how about sending two more people to follow her?"

"No one has attacked Xu Wenche," Fu Huaiqing said.

During Xu Wenche's trip to the capital, he had not only issued orders to Xianyunlou, but also accompanied him with two other groups. They acted independently and did not offend each other.

And at the moment, there was no news of anyone being hunted by the other two groups.

His voice was very calm. "Send someone to find out if anyone besides Xu Wenche has been around her recently."

After a brief silence, he asked, "Where is the secret guard accompanying her?"

"He's recovering in the outer courtyard." Cheng Jin frowned, remembering the secret guard limp on the ground, seemingly boneless. "Besides the Qiaoshi Powder in Miss Biezhi's body, it seems there's another poison. He was limp and passed out on the way back to the outer courtyard, and hasn't woken up yet."

Upon hearing this, Ling Feng glanced sideways at his apprentice on the couch and said in a deep voice, "Bone-Dissolving Powder."

Bone-Dissolving Powder was unique to Xianyun Tower, having been developed by Biezhi during her recent retreat. Concocting it wasn't difficult; the difficulty lay in its antidote, which was why she had locked herself up for the better part of a month.

"She thought she was taking the antidote before using the poison," Fu Huaiqing said.

Ling Feng nodded, acknowledging this.

Biezhi always used poison cautiously, never rashly, and if she did, she would always have a backup plan.

Fu Huaiqing's gaze dropped, landing on the girl's quiet and well-behaved face. Her usual lively expression was completely gone, like a vivid picture album, quietly staying there, a look that was so frightening.

"Master." The shadow guard who had gone to Queshan Pavilion quickly stepped into the bedroom, holding a box in both hands and handing it forward. "Antidote."

Fu Huaiqing opened the box, and inside the palm-sized box lay a small brown pill.

To prevent the wound from opening, Xiao Ming had already neatly cut away the dead flesh outside the wound, even cutting away the area that was in contact with the dead flesh but showed no signs of poison. When Fu Huaiqing walked to the side of the couch, he was already suturing the wound. After finishing the last line, he held out his hand: "Scissors."

He cut the thread, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw the prince standing beside him without knowing when, and hurriedly stood up to make way.

Fu Huaiqing's eyes swept across the sweat on his forehead, and said, "Take Master Xiao down to rest for a while."

Xiao Ming bowed and thanked him, raised his sleeve to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead, and retreated.

Fu Huaiqing stretched out his arm around Biezhi's shoulder, deliberately opened her wound, and raised his body half an inch. He pinched the pill with his fingertips and pushed it into the corner of her slightly opened mouth, and then his knuckles rested on her jaw and lifted it up for a moment, his eyes fixed on the girl's throat.

For a long time, there was no sign of the pill rolling over.

Fu Huaiqing frowned, pinched the side of her face with his fingertips, and with a little force, pinched open her tightly closed lips, and saw that the pill was in her cheek, and she didn't want to swallow it at all.

He pressed his little finger against the cheek containing the pill and pressed it inward a little bit, but the pill in his mouth did not move at all.

Ling Feng, standing behind him, saw this and frowned, "I'll do it—"

Glancing at the man's sudden slump, his voice trailed off, his eyes widening.

Fu Huaiqing thrust his tongue between the girl's lips, pressing against the pill, and pushed it in.

The force of the push sent the pill sliding down her throat.

Fu Huaiqing rose, took the teacup from Jiang Yue, sipped the water, and once again placed it over her lips, offering it to her.

Ling Feng watched in astonishment, then saw the unperturbed expressions of Jiang Yue and Cheng Jin, clearly accustomed to this.

He had been with Fu Huaiqing for nearly twenty years, having taught him martial arts since he was five. He could now be considered one of the people who best understood Prince Su.

Naturally, he knew Fu Huaiqing was no frivolous person. The fact that he could kiss Biezhi without hesitation meant he was clearly interested in her and had already determined she was the woman he wanted to walk hand in hand with.

But…

Ling Feng's lips moved for a long moment before he calmly asked, "Does Biezhi know?"

"What?" Jiang Yue asked, puzzled.

Ling Feng frowned, glancing at the two figures overlapping in front of the couch. "Does Biezhi know that the prince is acting this way?"

It looked familiar, not like this was her first time.

Clearly, she'd been so decisive after many intimate encounters, but Biezhi's heart was currently focused on Ji Ran. Given her personality, even if she praised this man one day and that other the next, it was all just talk, never actual action.

The only exception was Ji Ran.

Now that the prince was acting this way, it was clearly impossible for her to have volunteered.

Ling Feng, looking at the only child left by his junior sister, hesitated for a moment before catching his gaze. After a pause, he reminded him, "She has someone she wants to marry."

Fu Huaiqing stood up and handed the teacup to Jiang Yue.

He said 'hmm' indifferently: "So what."

Even if the Ji Ran that Biezhi wanted to marry was referring to himself, he was not Ji Ran himself. As long as he was around, the two of them would never be able to get married. Being

just a couple in name only would not work.

Ling Feng: "..."

He calmed the turbulent waves in his heart and reiterated: "She has a man she likes."

Forcing someone to do something would definitely not work.

"With Biezhi's personality, if the prince forces her, she will tear down the prince's mansion."

She is not someone who can be manipulated. She

is being respectful now, but if pushed to the limit, Biezhi will do something.