Sang Ji nodded, "Take me with you!"
"Your injury?"
"Divine Doctor Feng said it's fine!"
"Divine Doctor Feng?"
"That refined young gentleman by the Prince's side, the renowned Divine Doctor Feng Luan of the capital!"
Only then did Luan Wencheng realize why this young gentleman had been the one questioning him on behalf of the Prince throughout his report. He had assumed the young man was a strategist under the Prince, but unexpectedly, it was that madman Feng Luan!
Ever since Feng Luan had coerced the Imperial Consort and threatened His Majesty in the palace, the officials of the Ministry of Justice, the Court of Judicial Review, and the Metropolitan Police had privately referred to her as a madwoman. While others might go mad and kill a few dozen people, this one, when mad, could poison half the city.
Luan Wencheng had intended to leave a contingent of men to look after Sang Ji while conducting a more thorough search. However, since that person had personally applied medicine, set the bones, and re-bandaged Sang Ji's wounds, he figured Sang Ji could withstand a bit of bumping.
"Alright, I understand!"
Luan Wencheng still left a team behind to continue searching Siping Village. He, however, led the main force and galloped towards the capital.
The carriage jolted, and Sang Ji was secured in the seat. His head and the right side of his body bumped against the carriage with each movement, while the left side was bound by straps, leaving him with a series of chafing marks.
Sang Ji felt like crying but had no tears.
He gazed at the carriage roof with a dazed expression.
...
The capital, underground black market.
The day and night in the underground black market were distinguished by lighting.
During the day, lights embedded everywhere shone as brightly as daylight; at night, most lights were extinguished, leaving only a few for illumination.
Outside the 'Snack Shop' in the black market, pink lanterns hung. Behind the tightly shut door, sounds of string and wind instruments seemed to echo.
Nan Shiying stood under a lantern, the pink light casting a glow on her face, as if enveloping her in a dreamlike enchantment.
She reached for the door knocker and tapped lightly.
"It's late, we're closed!" a sleepy voice responded from inside.
The 'Snack Shop' had its own secret code!
"Ten taels of gold for a piece of mung bean cake."
Nan Shiying felt the secret code was terrible, a huge loss.
The door opened from within. The doorman's hand, holding the doorknob, paused slightly as he saw the two people standing outside. His relaxed muscles instantly tensed.
He quickly stepped aside, ushering the two inside.
After closing the door, he knelt to pay respects: "Xuan Wuliu greets Your Highness, greets Your Highness Consort."
Nan Shiying turned to look at Ji Jinmo, speechless.
Were names assigned so casually?
Xuan Wuliu, was it because he was the fifty-sixth in line?
"Rise!"
Ji Jinmo pretended not to notice Nan Shiying's gaze and waved for Xuan Wuliu to stand. He thought that after witnessing the names Xuan Yi, Xuan Thirteen, and Xuan Wu, Nan Shiying would no longer care about the naming convention.
What was wrong with naming them by number?
It was convenient and easy to remember.
"Gather the men and capture someone." After Xuan Wuliu stood up, Nan Shiying said to him with a smile.
"Yes!"
Xuan Wuliu did not ask further questions and, without waiting for his master to speak, readily accepted the command. Unbeknownst to others, one might have thought Nan Shiying was their actual master.
Ji Jinmo paid no mind and even thought of praising him.
Once the personnel were assembled, Nan Shiying issued the order: "Bring the old man from the pharmacy on North Street of the black market!"
"Yes!"
The subordinates received the command.
Upon returning to the capital, they learned that the person who raised Feng Quan was the old man from the pharmacy implicated in the Liu Ling case. Nan Shiying and Ji Jinmo decided to first send the people embedded in the 'Snack Shop' in the black market to probe.
That old man might be connected to Miao Jiang and the Longevity Sect, and there could be people from those factions lurking around him. If so, they would be apprehended as well.
Pharmacy.
Gui Lao, who had been fast asleep, suddenly sat up and looked towards the tea table. In the darkness, a shadowy human figure was quietly seated by the tea table, his hand resting on a wooden box placed on the table, tapping the box repeatedly.
Gui Lao supported himself on the bed frame and stood up, lighting the candle on the bedside table.
The candlelight dispelled the darkness, illuminating the figure of the uninvited guest. The person was dressed in black, wearing a black mask, still like a shadow.
"Medicine Master!"
Gui Lao's reaction exceeded the uninvited guest's expectations. His voice was filled with admiration.
Gui Lao picked up his outer garment and draped it over himself, standing quietly by the bedside. The dim candlelight fell upon him, casting his shadow on the floor infinitely long.
Within the shadow, it seemed as if countless tentacles were spreading and swaying.
"I'll say it again, I am not some Medicine Master!" Gui Lao said with anger in his voice.
The person chuckled and said, "At this point, what meaning is there in your denial?"
Saying this, he patted the wooden box in his hand and asked, "Don't you want to know what's inside?"
"No!"
"Then it's a pity. A few days ago, several clerks from the Ministry of Justice disappeared without a trace, neither alive nor dead. Ah, I wonder if they've been found yet. Oh, right, what was the name of the young minister in charge? I believe his surname was Feng? Oh yes, that person's surname was Feng, given name Quan. Does this name sound familiar to Medicine Master?"
Gui Lao's heart tightened, and a trace of anger appeared on his usually calm face.
"What exactly do you want to say?"
The person raised his hand and tossed the wooden box towards Gui Lao: "Medicine Master, take a look. It's still fresh!"
Gui Lao did not catch it. The wooden box fell to the ground with a "pat." The box was not locked and burst open, spilling its contents onto the floor.
The moment Gui Lao saw what was inside, the flames of rage roared within him. His shadow beneath him became abnormal, like a ghost hidden in the night, rapidly spreading to the black-clothed man's feet.
Then, the black shadow suddenly solidified and bound the black-clothed man's ankle.
Gui Lao raised his hand, and the shadow leaped up, forming a monstrous black entity. The black-clothed man's feet tightened, and he was instantly inverted.
Gui Lao bent down and picked up a severed finger that had rolled out of the wooden box. The cut end was still bleeding, fresh and warm, as he had said!
"It's just what you cut from Feng Quan, isn't it?"
Gui Lao's voice was calm, as if without a ripple, but the malevolent aura, thick like the saliva from a demon's gaping maw, instantly enveloped the black-clothed man.
As Gui Lao spoke, the black monstrous entity branched out into three black things, like ribbons, binding the black-clothed man's hands and his other foot. Then, as Gui Lao opened his hands, he exerted force in all directions, as if to tear the black-clothed man apart.
"Ah!"
A piercing scream tore through the night sky. Nan Shiying and Ji Jinmo exchanged a glance and couldn't help but quicken their pace. Xuan Wuliu and the others, hearing the commotion from the room, no longer hesitated and instantly killed their way in.
Then they froze.
Inside the room, a black shadow monster was attempting to tear apart a person dressed in black, and the one controlling the monster was their target this time—the pharmacy's Gui Lao!
"Gulp~" Someone swallowed hard.
The atmosphere became momentarily stagnant.