Two days later, the night was pitch black, with thunder and lightning illuminating the darkness. A torrential rain began to fall outside, the sound of it pattering against the windows.
The rain continued for an hour before slowly subsiding, but a cloud of unknown gloom still hung over the Cold King's Manor.
Despite the turmoil outside, the Cold King's Manor was remarkably quiet. Leng Ruo Li was hidden away in her spatial laboratory, cultivating and refining a tracking蛊 with a specially made potion.
After her modifications, this tiny蛊 worm's responsiveness and agility had increased severalfold.
If placed inside a human body, it would emit a subtle fragrance, attracting flying insects or animals with keen senses to track it, much like a homing beacon. The person would then be unable to escape.
Meanwhile, Jun Mo Han had locked himself in the study, assisting the Emperor in reviewing official reports from across the nation. The guards and servants of the manor were all busy with their respective duties, unaware of the imminent danger.
As the rain outside ceased, a dense black mist suddenly swept over the Cold King's Manor. Driven by the night wind, it enveloped the entire estate, emitting a pungent, acrid odor.
The guards and servants of the Cold King's Manor who inhaled this strange scent were all knocked unconscious, falling to the ground without a sound.
Night Shadow and Hidden Dust, on duty at Han Che Courtyard, saw the fallen guards and servants and immediately sensed that something was amiss. They quickly held their breath, covered their noses and mouths with handkerchiefs, and then split up: one to notify Leng Ruo Li, the other to inform Jun Mo Han.
"Consort, Consort, something major has happened at the manor!"
Hidden Dust frantically knocked on Leng Ruo Li's chamber door. However, Leng Ruo Li was busy with various tasks inside her spatial dimension and paid no attention to the commotion outside.
Hidden Dust was persistent. Even after Night Shadow had summoned Jun Mo Han, Leng Ruo Li still did not open her door.
"Hidden Dust, stop calling for the Consort. She must be asleep in her chambers."
Jun Mo Han stopped him. Leng Ruo Li had not responded to repeated calls from her room, indicating she had likely retreated into her spatial dimension again.
Subsequently, Jun Mo Han took a small plastic bottle from his sleeve, containing the antidote pills Leng Ruo Li had given him to keep on hand. He took one pill and then handed the entire bottle to Hidden Dust and Night Shadow, along with a few others who had not succumbed to the poison.
After taking the antidote, they felt significantly clearer-headed, and the dizziness they had experienced earlier vanished.
Jun Mo Han then instructed Hidden Dust and Night Shadow to administer the antidote to those who had already fainted.
"Your Highness, someone has poisoned the entire Cold King's Manor," Hidden Dust said, having checked the situation in other parts of the manor after taking the antidote.
"Yes, I am aware," Jun Mo Han replied.
As he spoke, Jun Mo Han leaped to the highest point of the Cold King's Manor, his gaze like a sharp, cold beam sweeping across the entire estate.
He observed that the entire sky above the Cold King's Manor seemed to be covered by an invisible, transparent dome, isolating the manor from the outside world.
He wondered who had gone to such great lengths to encase his manor.
If his assessment was correct, someone must have hired a high-level formation master to set up a Golden Bell Shield formation around his Cold King's Manor.
Their intention was to trap them all inside and let them perish, but these people were underestimating him, Jun Mo Han.
"Who has set up the Golden Bell Shield formation around the Cold King's Manor? Come out!" Jun Mo Han called out loudly to the sky.
At this moment, a strange laughter echoed from outside the Cold King's Manor, drawing closer.
"Woo woo... caw caw... ah ha..."
A plume of black smoke, swirling with an eerie wind, coalesced on the rooftop opposite Jun Mo Han. As the smoke dissipated, a man dressed in a wide-sleeved black robe, his head covered by a black cloak, and leaning on a cane, appeared within Jun Mo Han's sight.
Beside him stood a petite, adorable young girl with delicate features and a round, baby-like face. Her hair was styled in two pigtails, and she wore a white, crescent-moon-shaped dress with wide sleeves accented with gold thread. She appeared to be about five or six years old.
Jun Mo Han had seen this young girl before at Four Phases Manor. At that time, they had dismissed her as a mere child and paid her little attention. Now, she had reappeared before him.
Jun Mo Han fell into deep thought and quickly deduced the girl's identity. This "child" was likely Huo Ying, the top assassin from the Dark Night Pavilion.
"So it's you causing trouble again?" Jun Mo Han said, his gaze chilling as he looked at the leader of the Dark Night Pavilion.
"Indeed. Today is the day I claim both of your lives." The leader of the Dark Night Pavilion's voice was shrill, hoarse, and drawn-out, clearly altered by some substance.
"Then we shall see if you have the ability to kill us both." Jun Mo Han looked at the two individuals opposite him with utter disdain.
"Young man, why be so stubborn? If you apologize to our Pavilion Master and return the gold and silver treasures you took from the underground city, I, Huo Ying, will plead with the Pavilion Master on your behalf. How about we spare the lives of the hundreds within the Cold King's Manor tonight?" Huo Ying tempted Jun Mo Han with her sweet voice.
However, Jun Mo Han was not one to be easily deceived. Moreover, even if he wanted to return the treasures to the Dark Night Pavilion, he couldn't. Those treasures had already been collected by Leng Ruo Li into her personal space. With his wife's penchant for wealth, it would be difficult to make her part with them.
Still, Jun Mo Han was curious as to how the people from the Dark Night Pavilion had managed to track them.
"No need. If you want to fight, then come at us with full force," Jun Mo Han declared boldly.
"You are courting death!" The leader of the Dark Night Pavilion roared at Jun Mo Han.
With his words, he shook the wind chimes on his cane. The chimes emitted a clear, pleasant sound, and then, a swarm of subordinate attackers flew out from the shadows. They hovered in mid-air, forming a perimeter that instantly encircled the sky above the entire Cold King's Manor. There were at least two to three hundred of them.
This scene stunned Night Shadow and Hidden Dust into silence.
Following that, Night Shadow and Hidden Dust quickly flew to Jun Mo Han's side, ready to fight.
"Has the Consort come out?" Jun Mo Han suddenly asked Hidden Dust.
"Your Highness, I have been in your courtyard for a long time and have not seen the Consort emerge from her room," Hidden Dust replied truthfully.
"Hmm, it's good that she hasn't come out. We few will have a fierce battle with these people tonight. Everyone be careful," Jun Mo Han said, glancing at the courtyard below and cautioning everyone.
Li'er, I truly hope you don't come out tonight.