Not long after, the breathing in the room had subsided, indicating the sleeping drug had taken effect. A dark figure flashed past outside, and Rong Zhi immediately threw off the quilt to pursue.
Who dared to cause trouble in the General's mansion? Strangely, with so many hidden guards around the General's mansion, had no one noticed the anomaly here?
Rong Zhi chased after, finding it increasingly strange. The normally heavily guarded General's mansion was now eerily empty.
She felt something was amiss but had no time to dwell on it, only wanting to catch up to the person ahead as quickly as possible and uncover the truth.
The dark figure ahead leaped over the wall. Rong Zhi followed suit. Just as she was about to give chase, two figures in black clothes emerged, blocking her path. "What do you want to do?"
Rong Zhi recognized them as the General's mansion's hidden guards and said to them, "There's an assassin, chase him!"
The two hidden guards exchanged glances, not yielding. Instead, they said with a hint of caution, "There's no assassin."
"I saw him go past with my own eyes. Don't you two see him?"
For the hidden guards of the dignified General's mansion to not even see two assassins was preposterous. Rong Zhi even suspected if they were doing this intentionally.
"Miss, we truly saw no assassin. It's just you. The hour is late, you should return quickly."
Rong Zhi narrowed her eyes, a dangerous glint appearing within them. "You are not the General's mansion's hidden guards."
The General's mansion's hidden guards were all elite. How could they possibly fail to see even one assassin? She had seen it clearly just now, how could it be false?
"Move aside, or don't blame me for being impolite!"
Upon hearing this, the two hidden guards also drew their weapons, appearing ready to fight to the death. Rong Zhi wasted no more words and engaged them in battle.
For a time, the clanging of weapons clashing was incessant. Rong Zhi quickly disarmed one of them and then fought fiercely with the other.
Rong Zhi realized that both men were highly skilled but had not used their full strength while fighting her, focusing primarily on defense, as if to stall for time.
Who was that person just now? And they even had an accomplice!
She couldn't afford to waste any more time. Rong Zhi suddenly flicked her sword blade, creating a gust of cold wind. She herself moved like the wind, her footwork unpredictable. Although the two could see Rong Zhi's figure, they couldn't keep up with her movements. Unbeknownst to them, Rong Zhi had already appeared behind them.
She spun around, leaped, and with one kick each, sent them to the ground. She then hurried after the figure.
This chase had an unexpected outcome. Rong Zhi discovered that after so much time, the dark figure was still nearby, hiding just outside the wall.
Rong Zhi was somewhat surprised. Even more strangely, the dark-clothed figure also wore an expression of surprise.
"What do you want?" The other's voice was somewhat weak, as if injured. Rong Zhi thought it was a good opportunity to strike while he was down and lunged forward, pinning him to the ground.
"Who are you, and what were you doing lurking outside my room just now?"
The dark-clothed figure frowned, his face instantly turning pale. Large patches of blood appeared on his back, staining the ground red. Yet, he offered no resistance.
"Madame! Stop immediately!"
A familiar voice suddenly rang out. Rong Zhi jolted back to reality, realizing she was choking Xia Yun Ting's neck. This was not outside the General's mansion, but inside the room. The candlelight flickered, illuminating a large, stark red bloodstain on the bed!
"Xia Yun Ting..." Rong Zhi, terrified, immediately released her grip. She looked at her hands, her expression one of disbelief. "What happened just now? Where's the assassin?"
Chen Xing frowned, a murderous aura still lingering on his face. "What assassin? As soon as you entered, you were choking the General's neck. If I hadn't recognized you, you would already be..." dead.
Chen Xing didn't finish the sentence, but his expression clearly showed his anger.
A series of coughs could be heard from outside. Rong Zhi went to look and saw the two dark-clothed figures she had fought earlier standing outside, clutching their chests, looking weak.
Rong Zhi was momentarily unsure if this was a dream or reality.
"What is going on? I clearly saw a dark-clothed figure outside the door blowing sleeping gas into the room. I chased after him, and then I found these two blocking me. I thought they were accomplices with the dark-clothed man, so I fought with them."
The two hidden guards looked up, their faces etched with grievance. "Miss, you were the only one running around the courtyard just now. We were wondering what you were doing up so late. Then you rushed straight for the General's room. Seeing the murderous look on your face, we dared not let you in. Before we could say anything, you started fighting us."
Rong Zhi's mind went blank after hearing this. But she had clearly seen the dark-clothed man and smelled the sleeping gas. That was undeniable. How could it all have been fake?
Wait, Xia Yun Ting!
Rong Zhi went into the room and saw Xia Yun Ting lying on the bed. He was shirtless, but his upper body was wrapped in bandages. His face was also very pale, indicating he was quite injured.
"How did you get injured?"
"The General was attacked by assassins outside and was just brought back," Chen Xing explained from the side, his tone laced with some blame.
Even though the General was so badly injured, and just now...
Rong Zhi's expression darkened, and she began to examine Xia Yun Ting. Xia Yun Ting's voice was a bit hoarse. "I'm fine."
He said to Chen Xing, "Chen Xing, you may withdraw."
"Yes."
Chen Xing obeyed and withdrew, though he remained somewhat uneasy, guarding outside and listening for any sounds within.
Rong Zhi frowned and asked Xia Yun Ting, "How did you get injured?"
Xia Yun Ting replied, "I fell into an ambush."
He said it so casually, but Rong Zhi knew that whoever could ambush Xia Yun Ting must be no ordinary person. It seemed this assassin was not to be trifled with.
"Who was the assassin?"
"It seems to be someone from the Blood Drinking Pavilion."
The Blood Drinking Pavilion, again? Could it be the Pavilion Master?
Rong Zhi shared her suspicions with Xia Yun Ting, who merely shook his head. "I didn't get a clear look."
The sneak attack had been sudden, occurring on the way back from court. Xia Yun Ting had pursued them and engaged in a fierce battle, but he hadn't expected them to have already set up an ambush.
"Let me see."
Rong Zhi examined Xia Yun Ting's wounds. Xia Yun Ting allowed her to help him sit up and unwrap the bandages for examination.
Fortunately, they were all superficial wounds, not affecting bones or tendons, and there were no signs of poisoning. Rong Zhi finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"I'm sorry." She felt a pang of guilt. She didn't know what had happened just now, but she had fallen into an illusion and mistaken Xia Yun Ting for an assassin.
Chen Xing and the guards outside had no defenses against her. If she hadn't woken up, in Xia Yun Ting's injured state, Rong Zhi might truly have choked him to death.
"I think something is wrong with me."
Xia Yun Ting asked, "What is wrong?"
"It's Xia Jin." Rong Zhi recounted the incident of Xia Jin taking blood, including Madam Gu's madness, Xia Jin's actions against Dong Mei and the others, and the illusion she saw tonight.
"Since they all said there was no assassin, I must have been mistaken. I suspect I might have also been controlled by Xia Jin, just like Madam Gu."
Of course, this was all Rong Zhi's speculation. After all, Xia Jin's ancestral lineage included some skilled individuals, but she lacked conclusive evidence.
"Xia Yun Ting, I think you should deal with Xia Jin as soon as possible. Otherwise, if this continues, I fear I might actually kill you."
Rong Zhi felt the matter was simple. Since Xia Jin was behind everything, killing him would resolve it all. To her surprise, Xia Yun Ting refused.
"Xiao Mo, Xia Jin was sent by the Grand Tutor's mansion. If he dies in the General's mansion, the Grand Tutor will become suspicious of me. We cannot fall out yet."
Rong Zhi was puzzled. If Xia Yun Ting wanted to eliminate someone, there should be many ways. When had Xia Yun Ting become so indecisive?
"Is there any news from Xiao Jian Li?" Xia Yun Ting had mentioned before that controlling corpses was not Xia Jin's doing but someone else's. Xiao Jian Li had gone to investigate this matter; she wondered if there was any progress.
Xia Yun Ting shook his head. "The investigation is ongoing."
"Are you going to let a tiger grow unchecked?"
Xia Yun Ting replied, "He cannot die yet."
"Fine then." Rong Zhi was somewhat annoyed. "Then you'd better keep an eye on me. Otherwise, I don't know when I'll see another illusion and mistake you for an assassin and kill you."
It was late now, and it was inconvenient for Rong Zhi to stay any longer, otherwise Dong Mei and the others would surely notice.
As she left, the guards on either side and Chen Xing still looked at her warily, as if afraid she would act again.
Rong Zhi felt even more wronged. She was clearly being framed. She had expected Xia Yun Ting to at least think of a solution, but he had done nothing. Was he just going to let Xia Jin cause chaos in the General's mansion? Simply because Xia Jin was from the Grand Tutor's faction? Absurd, utterly absurd.
Never mind. Since Xia Yun Ting was not taking action, Rong Zhi decided to investigate herself. As long as she could figure out what Xia Jin was up to, there would be a solution. Even if not, there was still Xiao Jian Li.
Rong Zhi suddenly remembered. She had almost forgotten her old friend. Since Xiao Jian Li could break the corpse-controlling technique, he could surely break Xia Jin's methods. As long as she found Xiao Jian Li, she would surely be able to resolve this matter.
Rong Zhi did not expect that before she could find Xiao Jian Li, Dong Mei, Xia He, and Qiu Ju would have successive accidents.
The next day, as soon as Rong Zhi got out of bed, she heard a clatter from inside the room, interspersed with women's screams.
Xia He and Dong Mei were fighting each other, their faces contorted with madness, their eyes red, just like Madam Gu had been.
Rong Zhi was startled and quickly got out of bed to separate them. "What are you doing? Why are you fighting with your own people?"
Dong Mei's hair was disheveled, her face flushed, and she pointed at Xia He, saying, "Don't pretend to be innocent with me. Don't think I don't know you both want to climb into the General's bed. You don't want to put yourself out there, you just want to wait until I succeed and then reap the benefits. Fat chance!"
Xia He's eyes were red. "Don't think everyone is like you. We came here against our will, we don't have as many ulterior motives as you do!"
Qiu Ju looked at the two, her face anxious, and finally cast a pleading gaze at Rong Zhi. "Chun Tao, quickly think of a way!"