The seed withered!
It signified that the person had died!
"Something's not right!"
Ying San's expression darkened. He sensed the death of one seed but couldn't feel the presence of the other.
One dead, one escaped?
"Master!"
Standing deep within the dense forest on the outskirts, Ying San stood by with a grim expression. At his feet lay a disemboweled corpse. The body had been skinned, then dissected, and finally died from a贯穿 wound to the heart.
It was the fellow who played with dirt.
The one who played with shadows had vanished.
Nan Shiying lifted the hem of her robe and squatted beside the corpse, fiddling with the bloody remains.
"Uncle-Master is truly a prominent figure from the generation before last. Look at the placement of the cuts, the precision in his hands, his sharp mind, and his seasoned methods."
This poor little white mouse probably couldn't comprehend until its dying breath why its companion had attacked it with such ferocity.
This was because he had planted the seeds that Ying San had previously placed within their bodies.
Nan Shiying raised her hand, and Lü Wan placed a prepared handkerchief into her palm. Nan Shiying wiped the blood from her hands and inquired, "Where are the seeds? Where were they planted?"
Ying San blinked repeatedly at the Consort's practiced corpse examination skills. It took him a moment to realize she was asking him, and he quickly replied, "In the nasal cavity, or the esophagus."
The so-called seeds were merely the pistils of the small yellow flowers. The pistils, entering the body through the nose or throat, would most likely attach to the nasal cavity and esophagus.
Nan Shiying nodded, then stood up. She had no interest in performing another autopsy on this little white mouse. Pistils, even when attached to the esophagus and nasal cavity, would likely appear as a smear of yellowish-brown residue smaller than the tiniest speck of mud, even if dissected.
It was unnecessary.
However, the traces left at the scene were rather interesting.
"Uncle-Master is really 'violently cracking open the shell'!" Nan Shiying exclaimed with a teasing smile. Ying San's eyes twitched slightly. "Cracking open the shell," indeed?
Wait, so the one who played with shadows was the Consort's Uncle-Master?
Where did this Uncle-Master come from?
"Is Feng Quan still in the hands of the Ghost Sha Sect?"
She switched topics as quickly as she had spoken about the current matter, a jump in thought that Ying San couldn't quite follow. Ying Yi nodded and said, "Still in their hands!"
The Ghost Sha Sect was located on a mountain peak, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack. Not only Gui Lao alone, but even Master's Demon Hunting Army, without a full-scale invasion and overwhelming numbers, would find it hard to capture it immediately.
"Is that so!"
Nan Shiying rubbed her chin. The identity of Gui Lao was still unknown, but based on the current situation, the past events Gui Lao spoke of had lost their reference value, and Feng Quan's identity also cast a question mark.
Who was Feng Quan?
Or rather, what value did this person, raised by Gui Lao, hold for him personally?
And what role did the Ghost Sha Sect play in all of this?
Looking at the situation holistically, the act of the Ghost Sha Sect abducting Feng Quan and forcing Gui Lao had the result of pushing Gui Lao from the shadows into the open.
Interesting, truly interesting.
It was fine to lose track of the person; an exposed enemy was far easier to deal with than an enemy hidden in the dark with an unknown identity.
"Burn it!"
Nan Shiying waved her hand. Leaving this person here would only pollute the environment. It was better to turn his remains to ashes.
"Master..."
Ying San wanted to confess his fault, but Ji Jinmo had already taken Nan Shiying's hand and turned to leave. His words of apology remained stuck in his throat.
Lü Wan followed Nan Shiying, glancing at Ying San as they left.
Ying San looked at her, completely bewildered.
What was she looking at?
Did he have flowers on his face!
Ying Yi felt that Ying San's brain might have been used as fertilizer for plants and flowers. The Consort had already spoken, so why was he still asking for forgiveness?
"Burn it!"
He pointed at the corpse of the unfortunate fellow on the ground and said to Ying San.
Ying San: "..."
Don't you have hands?
Ying Yi smiled.
Ying San fumbled for his flint and steel.
Ying Yi grabbed Ying San by the top of his hair bun. The little yellow flower struggled to emerge from his palm.
"What are you doing?"
Ying San was forced to look up, his eyes wide as he asked.
Ying Yi was speechless. "Can flint and steel burn people?"
"Why not?"
Ying San retorted, his eyes glaring. "One spark from my flint is enough."
Ying Yi: "..."
Who do you think you are, flammable like that?
"Fine, then you be the fuse first!"
Ying San's pupils trembled. "Do you call that human language? Are you even human?"
...
Gouzi and Ya Dan suffered from insomnia.
Gouzi, recalling everything he had witnessed that night, tossed and turned. He didn't want to study medicine anymore; he wasn't cut out for it.
"Creak~"
He put on his outer coat and pushed open the door. Xiao Man heard the door open and looked up.
"Oh my!"
Gouzi was startled by Xiao Man, who was squatting outside his door.
"What are you doing!"
He was already somewhat shaken, still feeling lingering fear and seeing shadows everywhere. Suddenly seeing an unknown mass startled him, and he cried out. Ya Dan heard the commotion outside, rolled out of bed, and pushed open the window. She saw Gouzi and Xiao Man, one standing, one squatting, the atmosphere strange.
"What are you doing?"
She asked!
Gouzi and Xiao Man turned their heads simultaneously and looked at Ya Dan.
The three of them looked at each other, speechless.
Gouzi and Xiao Man pushed open Ya Dan's door and walked in, one after the other. Ya Dan lit a candle, its flame dispelling the darkness. As the two entered, they brought in a gust of cold wind. Ya Dan rubbed her arms, still feeling a chill.
"Why aren't you sleeping yet?" Ya Dan asked.
Gouzi looked at her and retorted, "What about you?"
Ya Dan wanted to say that she was woken up by them, but after some thought, she felt there was no need to hide her weakness and fear from them. She said, "I'm afraid I can't sleep."
Gouzi said, "I'm not afraid. I'm contemplating my future path."
Xiao Man scoffed.
"Aren't you afraid?" she asked.
Gouzi maintained a tactical silence for a full half-minute. However, under the persistent "attack" of Xiao Man and Ya Dan's gazes, he finally conceded.
"Afraid!"
How could one not be afraid when facing death?
"What about you?"
Gouzi asked Xiao Man.
Xiao Man sighed softly. "Afraid!"
"But I'm not losing sleep because of that," she explained. "I feel useless."
"Then why are you looking for me? To highlight your own usefulness?"
Xiao Man looked at him and said earnestly, "I think you are quite useful." She paused for a few seconds. "It's just that neither Poison Master nor Miss wants to use you."
As a medicinal puppet, Gouzi was immune to all poisons, making him beneficial for drug testing. Yet, neither Poison Master nor Miss had ever used him for such a purpose.
Gouzi pursed his lips. He was actually willing. Rather than being a useless waste, he preferred to be a test subject.
Ya Dan didn't understand, but she didn't care. She didn't understand many things, but so what? She was just an ordinary person. If she hadn't met Poison Master and Niangniang, she didn't know where she would have ended up – perhaps as a corpse in a gutter or food for wild dogs. She was content and grateful.
Therefore, she only listened and did not ask.
All she needed to hold onto was her heart.