"Sir, your dishes are here."
Shen Qianmo looked at the colorful and fragrant dishes on the table, a hint of ruthlessness flashing in her eyes. She pretended to be examining the various dishes, and a slow smile appeared on her lips.
Hmph! Playing with poison with her?! Although Nanjiang is skilled in using poison, she, the Palace Master of the Demon Palace, is no pushover. She has been dealing with all kinds of poisons since she was ten years old, and is extremely familiar with them. In addition, she faces various ambushes and assassinations every day, and is always very cautious in her daily actions. How could she not be careful when eating out?
Moreover, given the current situation, knowing that the people of the Southern Frontier Holy Clan are lurking in the shadows, she would naturally be even more cautious. To poison her at this time is to seriously underestimate her.
Since that's the case, she'll give them a taste of their own medicine. This poison must have come from the Three Kings' men; if that's the case, they should be watching her nearby.
Shen Qianmo slowly curled a smile, pretending to have no appetite, and put down her chopsticks. However, her eyes quickly scanned the people in the inn. Suddenly, her eyes sharpened, and her dark eyes turned slightly, concealing any extra emotions. Shen Qianmo's fingers curled slightly, and a barely perceptible cold smile appeared on her lips.
Sure enough, they were in the inn. Sitting in the most inconspicuous spot in the inn were three ordinary-looking commoners. They looked no different from ordinary people, and even their auras were well concealed. If she hadn't seen the fleeting disappointment in one of their eyes the moment she put down her chopsticks, she probably wouldn't have been able to find any trace of them.
"Waiter, do you have agarwood here?" Shen Qianmo raised an eyebrow, called over the waiter, and asked.
"Sir, this is a small inn. How could we have such expensive wine?" The waiter looked troubled, scratching his head as he looked at Shen Qianmo.
A sly glint flashed in Shen Qianmo's eyes. He feigned understanding and said with a smile, "I have a peculiar habit: I can't eat without drinking. Brother, please allow me to go back and get a pot of sandalwood. Just leave the dishes here for now."
"This..." The waiter looked at Shen Qianmo with difficulty. The dishes were already prepared. Although this customer hadn't eaten them, he should still pay for them. If he let him leave now, what if he didn't pay the bill? How could he, a mere waiter, bear that responsibility?
"The money is here." Shen Qianmo immediately understood the waiter's predicament, took out some loose silver and placed it on the table, looking at the waiter with a smile.
The waiter's eyes lit up as soon as he saw the silver, and he said solicitously, "Then please go ahead, sir. I'll reheat this dish for you."
Shen Qianmo smiled slightly and left the inn. As she left, she glanced at a corner of the inn as if by chance and saw a hint of doubt flash in the eyes of the people from the Southern Frontier Holy Clan, but they remained seated there.
A sly smile appeared on Shen Qianmo's lips as she quickly returned to her room and closed the door.
"What's wrong?" Situ Jingyan raised an eyebrow and asked Shen Qianmo. He had seen her suddenly stop eating and return to her residence from the shadows, and he had been wondering about it ever since. Shen Qianmo had a good tolerance for alcohol, but she wasn't a glutton, and there was no reason why she couldn't eat without alcohol. Shen Qianmo must have her reasons for doing this.
"The people of the Southern Frontier Holy Clan poisoned the food." Shen Qianmo said with a cold smile and an icy expression.
"What?!" A ruthless glint flashed in Situ Jingyan's eyes. Poisoning the food? It was truly impossible to guard against! Fortunately, Shen Qianmo was sensitive to poison; otherwise, wouldn't she have fallen victim to the Southern Frontier Holy Clan's trick?! But since Shen Qianmo had already noticed the problem with the food, why didn't she expose it on the spot? Instead, she went back here to get some agarwood!
Shen Qianmo saw the doubt in Situ Jingyan's eyes, a sly smile appeared on her lips, and she slowly said, "Since they like to poison people, how can we not retaliate?! Since they poisoned me, they will naturally focus on whether I have eaten the food, and they will easily let their guard down and overlook whether there is anything wrong with their own food."
As soon as Shen Qianmo finished speaking, Situ Jingyan immediately understood. Shen Qianmo was planning to attract the attention of the Southern Frontier Holy Clan herself, while he secretly poisoned them, using their own methods against them, and letting the Southern Frontier Holy Clan experience what it's like to have their food poisoned.
"As expected, she is my Mo'er." Situ Jingyan smiled with satisfaction. She was indeed his Mo'er, smart and ruthless enough.
Shen Qianmo showed no joy on her face. She took out a packet of powder and handed it to Situ Jingyan. "This is color-enhancing poison, which is best placed in food and drink. It is difficult to detect. I will distract them in a moment, and you can quietly put the poison into their food and drink."
“Okay.” Situ Jingyan gave Shen Qianmo a knowing smile, a sly and ruthless glint flashing in their dark eyes at the same time.
Shen Qianmo composed herself, picked up the sandalwood incense from the table, smiled, and said, "Let's hurry, lest they become suspicious."
Back at the inn, Shen Qianmo glanced at the Southern Frontier Holy Clan out of the corner of her eye. They seemed to be eating casually, but their eyes were actually fixed on her. Having lived in ambush and assassination attempts since the age of ten, she was extremely sensitive to any gaze that might secretly observe her. Even though the Southern Frontier Holy Clan members had concealed their true intentions well, they couldn't escape her keen senses.
She was particularly sensitive to auras. This was why, despite Situ Jingyan's flawless disguise, she could always detect something amiss.
Composing herself, she slowly opened the agarwood incense burner, took a deep sniff, and feigned a state of utter intoxication. Sensing the anxious gazes directed at her from behind, Shen Qianmo's lips slowly curved into a smile.
What's wrong? Are you in a hurry?! Do you really want to watch her eat that poisoned food?! Don't rush things. With a playful smile, Shen Qianmo took out a wine glass, poured out a cup of agarwood wine, and played with the glass in her hand for a while, but still refused to eat the food.
The three kings of the Southern Frontier Holy Clan, who had been keeping a close eye on Shen Qianmo, darkened their expressions and said to their two protectors, "What tricks is she playing?!"
"Could it be that she noticed something was wrong?!" One of the protectors' faces darkened. If it weren't for Shen Qianmo's superb martial arts skills, which meant they wouldn't have a sure chance of winning in a direct confrontation, they wouldn't have needed to sneak around poisoning her.
"Who knows! If she doesn't eat, then we'll have no choice but to fight her!" Another protector glared at Shen Qianmo and said, word by word.
The murderous aura emanating from the three men gradually dissipated with their fluctuating emotions. Just as the three were carefully watching Shen Qianmo's every move, Situ Jingyan had already silently sprinkled poison into their food.
The three men were completely focused on Shen Qianmo, but she picked up her chopsticks, put them down again, and then leisurely drank her wine, which annoyed them greatly. They were completely unaware of anything unusual happening to the waiter serving them the food.
After succeeding, Situ Jingyan quietly walked to a place where Shen Qianmo could see him, and gave Shen Qianmo a triumphant smile. Shen Qianmo smiled coldly, drank a cup of wine in one gulp, but still showed no interest in eating.
"Damn it! Is she going to eat or not?" The protector who seemed to be the most impatient among the three kings was already getting annoyed. He took a big bite of food and mumbled angrily.
"I think she's playing us for fools!" Another protector angrily took a big bite of food. Honestly, they were protectors of the Southern Frontier Holy Clan, and when had they ever felt so humiliated? They sat here watching this woman, but she seemed to be deliberately toying with them. Just as she was about to eat the food, she deliberately put it down and went to drink. It was truly infuriating.
"Calm down." The three kings coldly glanced at the two protectors beside them. They had stayed in the Southern Frontier for decades and had never seen the people of the Central Plains. They had unconsciously assumed that no one was a match for the Holy Clan of the Southern Frontier. However, the seemingly beautiful and harmless woman in front of them was indeed not simple.
They were actually able to devise a plan to kill the Four Kings and wipe out a quarter of the elite forces of their Southern Border Holy Clan; they are absolutely not to be underestimated. After taking a bite of food, the Third King calmly looked at Shen Qianmo.
As the three kings took their bites of food, a slow smile crept onto Shen Qianmo's lips. Although she wasn't looking in the direction of the three kings, her eyes were constantly watching them out of the corner of her eye. Every move they made had been observed by her, and now all three of them had eaten the poisoned food.
He slowly stood up, walked out of the inn, and hurried towards the outskirts.
When the three kings saw that Shen Qianmo had left the inn without touching her food, they immediately gave chase.
They used their lightness skills to reach the outskirts of the city. However, while Shen Qianmo was fast, the Three Kings and the others were not slow either, and they quickly caught up with her.
"The people of the Southern Frontier Holy Clan have noses that are even more sensitive than dogs; they can't be shaken off anywhere." Once Shen Qianmo reached the outskirts, she stopped walking. A faint smile appeared on her lips as she looked up at the three kings and two protectors who had caught up with her.
"Hmph! You're just being glib!" The three kings snorted coldly when they heard Shen Qianmo's words. Even if the woman in front of them was highly skilled in martial arts, even if the three of them attacked together with all their might, Shen Qianmo would definitely not be their match.
Seeing the murderous intent surging in the eyes of the three kings and the others, Shen Qianmo's smile grew even more sinister. Her gaze remained calm, as if she hadn't noticed their intense killing intent at all. She lazily looked at the three kings and the others and said, "Since poisoning failed, you want to launch a direct attack?"
Upon hearing Shen Qianmo's words, the three kings' expressions changed. Sure enough, this woman had seen through their scheme. The poison placed in the food and wine was colorless and odorless, yet this woman was able to distinguish it. It seemed that the Demon Palace, as the number one poison sect in the Central Plains, truly lived up to its reputation.
Although the Tang Clan is also skilled in using poison, their methods are insidious and deadly. In contrast, the Demon Palace has a much wider range of knowledge; there is no poison that the Demon Palace does not know. Correspondingly, the Demon Palace is also a holy land for antidotes, which is why Shen Qianmo was able to cure such a rare poison as Yin Yang San.
"Hmph! Palace Master of the Demon Palace, you are indeed quite capable. However, we used poison only to save some effort. Don't think we can't deal with you." The Third King looked at Shen Qianmo and said with a hint of arrogance.
The implication couldn't be clearer. We've only refrained from a full-blown fight to conserve our strength, but if it really came down to a battle, the three of us wouldn't lose to you.
"Oh? Is that so?" Shen Qianmo raised an eyebrow, glanced at the three kings and the two protectors, and slowly said with a mysterious smile, "Then let's give it a try."