Su Xiaoqi knew very well that the later functions were fabricated by Zhang Yu. Seeing the black-clothed man's distressed expression, she knew her words had hit home and naturally wouldn't be foolish enough to expose her.
Some people weren't afraid of death, but they might not be unafraid of itching.
This sensation made life worse than death.
After enduring for a quarter of an hour, the black-clothed man finally broke down when he pulled off his own skin.
Even if he were to die, he wanted to leave behind a complete corpse.
He told the truth.
He said that internal strife had indeed occurred in Yan Yu Pavilion.
The cause was that the Pavilion Master had suddenly been severely injured and fallen unconscious, and the Young Master was accused of being the perpetrator.
They were acting on the orders of the Senior Brother to apprehend the Young Master and bring him back to the Hall of Punishment for questioning.
"Bring him back? I'm afraid that's not the case. Weren't your orders to kill him on sight?" Su Xiaoqi interrupted him.
The black-clothed man stared at her in shock.
This woman looked delicate and beautiful, like a lady from an official's family, so how could she understand these martial world affairs?
Furthermore, she had seen through the matter he was deliberately concealing at a glance.
"What does it matter if he's killed? As the Young Master, he actually betrayed his master and murdered his father..."
"So your Young Master Xiao Qin fled here, and he's injured."
"That's right. We cornered him outside Gan Quan Temple. He fought fiercely by himself, injuring us, but he wasn't unscathed either; he was also seriously wounded.
I'm going to die, and he won't live either. I've finally lived up to Senior Brother's trust..."
"Hmph, well said, 'lived up to trust.' I think you're going to die, but perhaps it's a death of injustice.
You can't even distinguish between loyalty and treachery, between good and evil. You deserve to die miserably." Su Xiaoqi attacked him uncharacteristically.
"You, you..." The black-clothed man was extremely angry and wanted to curse, but the sword at his neck was scratching his skin, and he was itching uncontrollably.
"Give him the antidote and let him await his death," Su Xiaoqi said, then left with Zhang Yu.
At the same time, Su Xiaoqi's mind began to race.
For some reason, an idea had just flashed through her mind, but it had vanished too quickly for her to grasp it fully.
She felt an urgent desire to hold onto it, but it was futile.
Su Xiaoqi had no choice but to give up and, with Zhang Yu, moved through the intricate stone forest, one after the other.
After walking for a while, they encountered several more black-clothed men lying on the ground.
Their cause of death was all due to the Five-Star Dart poison.
This showed that it was indeed the Young Master of Yan Yu Pavilion, Xiao Qin, who had acted.
However, after walking for a short distance, she saw someone who surprised her yet was also within her expectations.
Seeing her, the fleeting thought that had crossed Su Xiaoqi's mind earlier suddenly returned.
So it was related to her.
Zhang Yu also recognized the person ahead.
She murmured softly, "Young Madam Zhao Xiaohua, the adopted daughter of Marquis Yong'an?"
Su Xiaoqi nodded. "Yes, I was wondering why something felt off. It turns out it's because of her."
The scattered thoughts that had flashed by earlier, and the seemingly fragmented pieces, suddenly became clear and connected.
It was likely not just Du Yiyi and her, but even the person they thought was hiding behind the scenes plotting against them had fallen into Zhao Xiaohua's scheme.
As for why she went to such great lengths, Su Xiaoqi also had many speculations.
She must have wanted to use the blessings bestowed upon her by heaven to secure benefits for herself.
In their past lives, Yan Yu Pavilion had once served Shen Yun.
The reason for this was simply because Shen Yun had saved their Young Master, Xiao Qin.
But now, Shen Yun had not come to save Xiao Qin, yet Zhao Xiaohua had.
Su Xiaoqi couldn't understand whether Zhao Xiaohua was acting for herself, wanting to change the course of history,
Or if she was acting for Shen Yun, trying to steer events back onto their historical track.
Soon, she found out.
Because Zhao Xiaohua believed no one was following her, she was speaking in hushed tones with her personal maid, Yuanhuan.
"Miss, it's getting dark, and it's so scary in here, let's leave quickly." Yuanhuan shivered, chilled by the cold mountain wind.
"Leave, why leave? I've worked so hard, and haven't found anyone. Why should we leave?"
Zhao Xiaohua glared at her useless maid and then looked at the tall, stout middle-aged woman beside her, saying:
"Aunt Jia, are you scared?"
Aunt Jia shook her head. "This servant is not afraid. This servant's life was saved by Miss, so this servant has nothing to fear. My life is cheap; if it's gone, it's just repaying Miss's kindness."
"Aunt Jia, don't say that. I still need you to help me with important matters. Talking about life and death so casually is too inauspicious."
"Miss is right to admonish me. It's just that I've heard about this place. It's called the Devil's Stone Forest. Not to mention people, even wild beasts that enter may not be able to get out..."
Hearing Aunt Jia say this, Yuanhuan became even more frightened, clinging tightly to Zhao Xiaohua's arm, tears welling up.
Zhao Xiaohua was annoyed and glared fiercely at her, calling her useless. With a cold face, she said:
"Hmph, then you are overthinking. I have an old acquaintance who knows how to get out of this place.
He even drew a map for it, and I have it firmly memorized in my mind. You can rest assured.
No matter who gets stuck here today, it won't be us."
Su Xiaoqi's heart skipped a beat. Where did Zhao Xiaohua meet such a powerful expert who could draw a map of the renowned Devil's Stone Forest?
However, hearing Zhao Xiaohua say this, Su Xiaoqi was no longer worried. Now all she needed to do was find Du Yiyi and then keep a close eye on Zhao Xiaohua to find a way out.
As she was thinking, the sound of clashing weapons echoed from ahead.
"Hurry, they're fighting again..." Zhao Xiaohua was startled and instinctively ducked into a side path to hide.
Her clever plan was to wait until the two sides had fought to a certain extent, then jump out and have Aunt Jia deal with them one by one, and rescue the person she wanted to save. That would be success.
Su Xiaoqi was unaware of Zhao Xiaohua's thoughts and hesitated for a moment, wanting to follow her to not miss the way out,
But also wanting to go and see what was happening, because amidst the sounds of fighting, she thought she heard Du Yiyi's voice, and the sound of whips lashing at people.
She couldn't bother to follow Zhao Xiaohua and merely asked Zhang Yu to go with her.
But Zhang Yu refused to budge, saying she would follow wherever Su Xiaoqi went.
The area ahead was clearly a battlefield. If Su Xiaoqi went there and encountered danger, what would be the point even if they could get out?
Zhang Yu understood this clearly, so she resolutely followed Su Xiaoqi all the way to the fray.
As expected by both of them, the assassins sent by the Senior Brother of Yan Yu Pavilion had caught up with their Young Master, Xiao Qin, and were engaging him in battle.
Xiao Qin's martial arts were good, but he was already severely injured and was only able to maintain his stance with great effort, moving agilely amidst the flashing blades, finding it very strenuous.
Seeing that he had taken several more sword wounds to his body and arms, his stance staggered, and he could no longer stand steady.
Beside him, a figure in a light green robe was protecting him with a whip.
That was Du Yiyi, whom Su Xiaoqi was looking for.
Her movements were agile, but even the strongest fists are no match for four hands, and she also had to protect the half-dead Xiao Qin, which was extremely taxing.
Seeing her whip being caught by two black-clothed men who had joined forces with their swords, while two others moved in to strike her down, Su Xiaoqi cried out in anxiety:
"Yiyi, be careful..."