She had never seen such a large room before, so much so that she couldn't see anything around her while lying in the middle. All she could see were several large furnaces in the middle of the room, seemingly burning something, each emitting wisps of white smoke.
"Hiss..."
Hearing a sudden noise, Shen Mo turned around sharply but saw nothing. He moved his heavy body closer to the side and discovered that there was a whole row of bottles and jars along the edge, and every now and then, one of the bottles or jars would shake.
At that moment, the smell in the room suddenly became stronger, hitting Chen Mo's head directly. It smelled like medicine? No, it smelled more like...poison!
Shen Mo's eyes widened in surprise. The future master of Qixuan Kingdom, and the person Rong Yue was preparing to push He Shang towards, was Prince Xiao Yin, who was addicted to poison and willing to exchange five cities for a poisoner!
"Snap!" The door lock was opened at that moment.
He wore a long brocade robe with the collar pulled low, and a few strands of dark hair floated on his collarbone, exuding an air of languor and allure. He held a black feather fan at an angle, playing with it, but his eyes were fixed on her.
The tall man immediately blocked a large portion of the light from outside the door. This time, the push of the door was much lighter than that of the burly man before, but judging from Shen Mo's expression, it was also much more terrifying. This must be Xiao Yin!
Xiao Yin raised the corners of his lips, "Light the lamp!" and walked towards Shen Mo.
Several servants entered one after another. After a short while, as the room gradually brightened, the man suddenly frowned, looked at Shen Mo with disgust, and called out to the side, "Zhang Li!"
Immediately, one of them stepped forward and said obsequiously, "Your subordinate is here!"
"I thought it was someone important enough to disturb my romantic night with my beauty, but it turns out to be just a skinny little girl. She's not even good enough for me to play with for two days." Saying this, he kicked Chen Mo's foot, but yelled at Zhang Li, "Do you know your crime?"
“Master, please don’t be angry,” Zhang Li said, a glint of light flashing in his eyes. “Yesterday, when I went to the outskirts to scout out the enemy troops, I found her. She seemed to be showing signs of poisoning, so I used Master’s method to test the poisons one by one and discovered a strange phenomenon.”
Xiao Yin suddenly became impatient and slapped Zhang Li hard on the head, "You brat, get to the point, I'm exhausted."
Zhang Li immediately replied, "Yes, there are more than a dozen different kinds of poisons in her body. I thought you would be interested, so I brought her back."
There were more than ten kinds, so wouldn't He Shang have even more? What exactly did Rong Yue do to He Shang? Shen Mo was stunned for a moment, and when he came to his senses, a magnified face appeared in front of him.
His gleaming eyes narrowed slightly, a faint smile playing on his lips. He was fairly handsome, but the way he looked at his prey made Shen Mo extremely uncomfortable. This discomfort was amplified to the extreme when the other man pulled out a dagger.
"Speak, what happened to you? What poison did you suffer from?" Xiao Yin rubbed the blade with the handle of his fan, not looking at her at all, yet his words were full of threat.
Shen Mo turned his face slightly away and remained silent.
"Hmm?" Xiao Yin frowned and stared at her, but his expression changed after a moment, and the smile on his lips grew wider. "I forgot to tell you what my preferences are. The more disobedient something is and the more it needs to be conquered, the happier I am."
A sudden chill ran down her skin, and Shen Mo froze as the dagger was already pressed against her neck.
"So, will you tell me yourself, or do you want me to draw blood and test it myself?" He spoke each word with exceptional seduction, even breathing on her face. After a moment, seeing that she still didn't move, he said, "I don't mind serving you at all."
Shen Mo lowered her head, frantically thinking of a strategy, but at that moment she missed Xiao Yin's limit of tolerance. When a sharp pain shot through her neck, she caught a glimpse of displeasure and ruthlessness flashing across Xiao Yin's face. The warm blood mixed with the still-cold dagger was painful and nauseating.
"Little thing, remember to be obedient next time. Look, this is not appropriate." The devilish Xiao Yin shook his head with feigned pity, but the next moment he took away the dagger, turned around and laughed loudly.
With her wrists tightly bound, Shen Mo could only let the blood flow down her neck. She bit her lower lip and glared fiercely at Xiao Yin's back as he walked toward the furnace and reached out to put the dagger to one of the holes. But just then, an accident happened.
As soon as the dagger approached the furnace, it hissed and caught fire. Shen Mo's blood burned fiercely like oil, and even Xiao Yin, who was holding the dagger, was momentarily stunned.
“Master, her blood can ignite upon contact with your furnace. Congratulations on finally finding her!” Zhang Li seemed exceptionally excited.
Xiao Yin shifted his gaze from Shen Mo, raised an eyebrow, and smiled at Zhang Li, "Not bad, I'll remember your contribution."
"Thank you, Master." Zhang Li said smugly.
Seemingly noticing the confusion on Shen Mo's face, Xiao Yin leaned closer and said, "Having survived multiple poisonings, you must already know that your constitution is different from ordinary people, right? Tell me, where does this confusion come from?"
"I'm unconscious from poisoning, just like any other person. You've got the wrong person," Shen Mo said calmly.
"No different from ordinary people?" Seeing that she finally spoke, Xiao Yin seemed to be in a good mood. "If these poisons were on an ordinary person, they would die."
Shen Mo moved her lips, but he cut her off immediately, "Don't mention detoxification to me. I'll tell you straight, there are thirteen kinds of poisons in your body. Although there are few, they are very strong. They cannot be cured by medicine. Only two kinds of people can withstand them: one is someone who has tried all kinds of poisons since childhood, and the other is someone with blood-type special abilities who can cure all poisons!"
The image of the spotted serpent flashed through her mind, and she thought it was He Shang... According to Xiao Yin's words, Shen Mo was terrified. If she was the second type, then He Shang was the first.
Looking at Xiao Yin in front of him, Shen Mo lowered his eyebrows and asked, "What do you want to do?"
"Follow me, and we'll save lives." Xiao Yin didn't mince words.
However, this only earned him a cold laugh from Shen Mo. "Use my blood to save lives or to aid the wicked?"
Xiao Yin was not annoyed at all, and nodded, saying, "You do have some awareness."
Glancing at the hilt of a sword in the corner of the furnace, Shen Mo lowered his head, and after a moment, calmly said, "I need to think about it."
If one knew Shen Mo, they probably wouldn't believe this sudden change in attitude. But Xiao Yin didn't understand. He took out a bottle of medicine from his sleeve, opened it, and sprinkled it on Shen Mo's neck. When he leaned down, his neckline was as low as it could go, and he didn't forget to raise an eyebrow at her.
The bleeding from his neck stopped in a moment, and Xiao Yin turned to Zhang Li with satisfaction, saying, "Change the girl's room. This place is too dark; don't let her get frightened."
“No need!” Before Zhang Li could finish his “yes”, Shen Mo interrupted him, then added, “I’m not afraid of the dark. If possible, please untie the ropes on my hands.”
Xiao Yin frowned and looked at her. "Come back and ask me when you've thought it over." With that, he walked away without changing rooms or untying the rope.
I could vaguely hear low commands outside the door, and then the doorknob clicked shut again.
The two guards outside seemed bored after Xiao Yin left, so they started to chat from time to time. Shen Mo knew that her current appearance probably wouldn't alert the experts guarding Xiao Yin, but she still waited until night fell before she started to move her body, inching closer to the furnace.
Having not eaten all day and having to be mindful of the noise she made, moving around was extremely difficult. Only when she was covered in sweat and pale could she carefully climb up the furnace, but then she quickly moved away. The furnace was too hot, and she had to grit her teeth to stop the muffled groans from being burned. The ropes on her hands were also crackling from the heat of her movements.
With the dagger already in his hand, Shen Mo's eyes were fixed on the door and window, and his movements didn't stop for a moment...
The moonlight is serene outside the door.
What are you thinking about?
"I am thinking of my master's beautiful woman."
"Are you out of your mind? Is this something you can even think of?"
"Don't tell me you haven't thought about it."
"That's true. They are all stunning beauties. To have even one of them would be enough to make one's life complete."
Just as the two were looking forward to it, something unexpected was approaching...
"Ah! There's a lizard behind you!"
"You're just scaring people! Master's poisonous creatures are kept safe, they can't get out... ugh!"
"ah……"
Once everything returned to calm, flames broke out on the paper window beside it, and even the horizontal window bars were gradually burned away with crackling sounds, revealing a huge exit and a tired but stubborn face.
Having escaped successfully and left the courtyard, Shen Mo hesitated for a moment, pressing his bleeding arm where he had cut himself, before randomly running off to a certain place.
"I heard that Rong Yue has found a poison master and is preparing to offer him to the master. Does the master really intend to hand over the five cities?"
"What a joke! Do you think I'm that easy to talk to?"
Shen Mo was about to pass a bright spot and was checking his steps when he heard this conversation. He stopped abruptly and couldn't take another step.
Chapter Twenty: Double Bed
"Master, actually, I have something to report," Zhang Li said somewhat hesitantly.
"Why have you become as delicate as my beauty? Just say what you need to say!"
“Master, after Rong Yue took over the Ningcheng border defense, he lured and killed our two border guards in less than half a month.”
"What's the reason?" Xiao Yin's tone changed from playful to sarcastic.
"Even heroes can't resist the charms of a beautiful woman."
"What hero can't resist a beautiful woman! It's clearly lust at play." Xiao Yin suddenly flew into a rage, and Zhang Li dared not interrupt after that.
"Very well, I've wanted to get rid of this person for a while. This gives me a reason to launch a counter-ambush." After a long silence, Xiao Yin casually uttered these words. However, Shen Mo, who was hiding in the shadows, gasped.
“But Rong Yue has no romantic history and seems uninterested in women.” Zhang Li looked somewhat troubled.
"Could it be that you've been following me for so long that you can't think of any other weapons in the world besides beautiful women?"
Zhang Li, standing to the side, wiped a cold sweat from his brow. He had clearly heard him say something about counter-luring and killing, but he could only agree, "Your subordinate is terrified, terrified..."
"That's enough. Pick a skilled archer from the army and have him ready to be deployed tomorrow."
"Master means..."
“If I remember correctly, Rong Yue has been patrolling the city walls every noon these days. He brings archers with him, creates chaos before making his move, and then, with an arrow piercing through the gut, he can turn the tables and kill the enemy.”
"Report! The woman in the black box has escaped through the window, and the two guards are unconscious." A person appeared out of nowhere, interrupting Xiao Yin's arrangements and startling the still astonished Shen Mo, who then disappeared into the depths of the artificial hill.
Upon receiving a signal from his master, Zhang Li hurriedly instructed, "This person is extremely important, but as an outsider, he certainly won't be able to find the exit in the northeast for the time being. Send people to search every courtyard, making sure not to miss a single corner!"
"yes!"
Along with the sound of the guard's footsteps, a few rustling sounds also arose from behind the artificial hill not far away. However, the movements were gentle and careful, with someone holding their breath and bending their legs, retreating almost inaudibly.
The southwest was brightly lit, while a few pursuers arrived from the northeast, but ultimately failed to capture them.
One hour later
"They're gone?" Xiao Yin sipped his fine wine contentedly from the hand of the beauty in his arms, glancing at Zhang Li standing at the door.
"yes."
"Alright, you can go now." Xiao Yin snatched the wine glass and said this to the woman in his arms.
"Young master! This humble servant..."
"Hmm?" Though it was a soft tone, Xiao Yin's expression changed as he interrupted the woman, startling her so much that she immediately got off the bed and ran away, forgetting even to put on her shoes.
Zhang Li entered the room and asked, "That woman's blood is a treasure. Why did you deliberately let her go, Master?"
"I don't want just a few drops of blood; I want her to bleed for me for the rest of her life. But to be able to escape the black box single-handedly while completely exhausted—use your stupid brain to think that a woman like that would easily risk her life for someone else?"
"But all the more than ten kinds of poisons in her body were caused by Rong Yue. What if she ignores Rong Yue and goes solo? Wouldn't we have put on a show for nothing?"
Xiao Yin took a sip of wine and raised an eyebrow slightly. "If that's the kind of person I'd be here for, what would I be doing here?"
Zhang Li understood. "Understood!"
"You should understand what to do next." Seeing Zhang Li's blank expression, he said, "Oh right, I forgot to tell you, I added a special fragrance to her. It's unique to me, Xiao Yin, and only Rong Yue can recognize it."
Zhang Li looked up at his expression and said after a moment, "Yes, if the woman appears and Rong Yue still has murderous intent towards her, then save her and make her grateful. If Rong Yue does not kill her, then use the incense to find out the woman's secret intentions and then sow discord between them."
Xiao Yin yawned and raised his hand slightly, "Alright, you can go now, but don't forget the crucial assassination."
Zhang Liben had already bowed when he was startled by these words. "Does Master really want Rong Yue's life?"
"Of course!" Xiao Yin's two cold eyebrows swept across his face. "I want both that life and that person."
As night fell, a bright red sun illuminated the small thatched hut by the roadside, and the few rays of light that peeked in managed to pry open the tightly closed eyes of the woman on the bed.