Nangong Xuanning subconsciously closed her eyes.
"Gu Qianying... you..."
There was no pain as expected.
A cool, comfortable sensation spread from her fingertips.
Nangong Xuanning's eyes snapped open. She saw Gu Qianying sitting beside her, head bowed, meticulously cleaning every wound on her fingers.
Nangong Xuanning was stunned, lost in thought for a long time.
It wasn't until Gu Qianying finished tending to the wound on her forehead that she came back to her senses.
"You... even if you try to please this princess in every way, it's useless. I will definitely win against you in this disciple selection assessment. I want to let you know that I am the one most qualified to marry the Ninth Imperial Uncle, hmph!"
"Whether you are qualified to marry Nangong Mo, this young lady doesn't know. This young lady only knows that you look like a ghost right now, very ugly, exceptionally ugly!"
"Gu Qianying! You..."
Nangong Xuanning was so angry she cried.
She wanted to scold Gu Qianying further, but for some reason, she burst into tears, facing Gu Qianying: "Gu Qianying, this princess is hungry."
"..."
It turned out that cleaning the Gongfang had taken too long, causing them to miss the mealtime.
Nangong Xuanning had returned hungry.
Seeing Nangong Xuanning's pitiful appearance, Gu Qianying, without a word, made a "shushing" gesture to her and then quietly led Nangong Xuanning away from the room.
As the two opened the door and stepped out, Lan Qingqing, who had been sleeping with her eyes closed, suddenly opened her eyes.
She got up, got out of bed, and followed them.
Deep in the night.
In a place filled with medicinal herbs within the Poisonous Doctor's Sacred Hall.
Two blurry figures were hiding among the plants, doing something unknown.
"Can this really be eaten? Gu Qianying, you're not going to poison me, are you?"
Nangong Xuanning held a roasted sweet potato she had never seen before, her face full of doubt.
"If you're scared, then don't eat it. Let you starve to death."
Gu Qianying snatched the sweet potato from Nangong Xuanning's hand, peeled it, and then pushed it back into Nangong Xuanning's hand. She then stood up, turned around, and prepared to leave.
Nangong Xuanning pouted, cradled the hot sweet potato, cautiously took a small bite, and then ravenously devoured the entire thing.
Gu Qianying looked back, watching Nangong Xuanning's comical gluttony, and found it somewhat endearing.
Nangong Xuanning had lived in the palace her entire life and had never suffered any grievances.
Participating in the disciple selection assessment within the Poisonous Doctor's Sacred Hall was also a form of tempering for her.
In her previous life, although she and Nangong Xuanning had no interaction, Nangong Xuanning had spoken up for her mother at a palace banquet.
Even though Nangong Xuanning's intention in saying those words was not to help her mother, her mother had indeed managed to escape a calamity.
Her mother had told her about this small matter, and she had never forgotten it.
In this life, she had merely helped Nangong Xuanning casually in the process of her own benefit.
Pulling her thoughts back, Gu Qianying turned around and said coldly, "If you're full, then scram back. Female ghosts appear here late at night."
What was initially a humorous remark, as soon as it was uttered, a white figure suddenly attacked Gu Qianying rapidly.
"Ah, a ghost!"
Nangong Xuanning, too scared to swallow the sweet potato in her mouth, tilted her head, closed her eyes, and fainted.
The sharp glint of a sword under the moonlight entered her vision.
Gu Qianying's eyes narrowed slightly.
As she dodged, she quickly picked up a few fallen leaves and, channeling three parts of her internal energy, flicked her wrist.
The leaves, like sharp blades, collided with the long sword flying towards her, sparking.
Amidst the clash of blades and swords,
Gu Qianying looked up and saw that the white figure before her was veiled, her appearance indistinguishable.
But her eyes, filled with hatred, were exceptionally familiar.
"Bitch, die!"
The white figure shouted.
Picking up the long sword that had been knocked to the ground by the leaves, she once again wielded the sword and attacked Gu Qianying.
Gu Qianying leaped lightly, landing on the rooftop.
The white figure followed closely.
Just as the sword in the white figure's hand was about to pierce Gu Qianying's back,
Gu Qianying suddenly turned, her palm striking out fiercely.
The white figure grunted.
Clutching her shoulder, she somersaulted and rolled off the rooftop.
Gu Qianying followed her down.
Just as she was about to find out who the white figure was,
She found that the white figure had already vanished without a trace.
The drops of blood on the ground fell into Gu Qianying's line of sight.
Gu Qianying followed the intermittent bloodstains.
But the bloodstains disappeared into the herb garden.
She looked up.
Ahead was where the contestants were temporarily residing.
Therefore, the person who wanted to kill her was likely one of the contestants.
The person's voice was also familiar.
But who could it be?
She couldn't recall for a moment.
However, what puzzled her was,
When all the contestants entered the Poisonous Doctor's Sacred Hall, they had handed over their weapons. How did that person manage to bring a sword in?
The interior of the Poisonous Doctor's Sacred Hall was incorruptible by anyone.
Therefore, the person could only find a way to secretly bring in the weapon they needed.
But how exactly was it brought in?
Unless...
A sudden flash of inspiration struck Gu Qianying, and she instantly had an answer.
"Pfft!"
Cool water splashed onto her face.
Nangong Xuanning was woken up by a basin of cold water.
After waking up, the tips of her hair were still dripping with water.
She stared blankly for a moment, then sat up abruptly, jumped onto Gu Qianying, clamped Gu Qianying's waist with her legs, and wrapped her arms around Gu Qianying's neck: "Ah, there's a ghost, do you see it? There's a ghost, woo woo woo, this princess is so scared."
Gu Qianying's mouth twitched incessantly. With a dark expression, she turned and glared at Nangong Xuanning: "Get off!"
Nangong Xuanning held on tighter with her hands: "No, no, this princess won't get off. This princess is scared. Hurry and carry this princess back, my legs are so weak from fear..."
Bang!
Gu Qianying unceremoniously threw Nangong Xuanning to the ground.
Nangong Xuanning was stunned by the fall.
"Gu Qianying, you're bullying this princess, woo woo, I'm going to beat you to death!!"
Nangong Xuanning clutched her backside and got up from the ground.
She lunged at Gu Qianying with flailing arms.
Suddenly, her head throbbed with intense pain.
Gu Qianying clutched her head and squatted on the ground.
Fuzzy memories surfaced in her mind.
A person, a boy, a forest, many people, blood, blood all over.
Many fragmented snippets combined to form a complete picture.
But the images in her memory were very blurry.
She couldn't see the people clearly, their faces.
"Ah!"
The intense pain in her head continued.
But the hazy memories in her mind disappeared.
Gu Qianying's face turned extremely pale, like paper, from the pain.
Nangong Xuanning, who had been lunging at her, was startled by Gu Qianying's appearance.
"Gu Qianying, you... what's wrong with you? Don't scare this princess, this princess..."
Before Nangong Xuanning could finish her words, Gu Qianying's body went limp, and she fainted into her arms.