Yan Jiaojiao followed the tracking incense and returned to the Yan family as expected.
The Yan family remained quiet and somber, as if the turmoil of recent days had done nothing to change the oppressive atmosphere.
With the original body's memories, Yan Jiaojiao easily evaded the Yan family's guards and quietly infiltrated their courtyard.
The Yan family had a small dungeon, and Yan Jiaojiao guessed Rong'er was imprisoned there, so she hid in the shadows.
Soon, the fake Rong'er, wearing the face of the head guard, swaggered over. By now, her appearance and clothing were identical to the head guard's, making it impossible to distinguish her from the real one.
"The master wants to interrogate Zhao Rong. Open the door for me," the fake Rong'er commanded with a semblance of authority.
The guards at the door did not suspect anything. They responded with an "aye" and turned to bring Rong'er out.
Rong'er's face was haggard, her eyes vacant, and her body bore many lash marks.
Yan Jiaojiao felt a pang of heartache. If she had stayed with Rong'er from the beginning, none of this would have happened.
The fake Rong'er rejoiced inwardly upon seeing Rong'er emerge. She quickly snatched the chain from the guard's hand and said, "Just hand her over to me."
The guards obeyed and returned to their posts at the dungeon entrance.
The fake Rong'er led Rong'er away. One of the guards suddenly noticed their direction was wrong and said to another, "That doesn't look like the way to the master's study."
The other guard looked up as well. The path clearly led to the back gate. He frowned immediately, "Something's not right."
As they were whispering to each other, the deputy head guard approached from the other side. Seeing them, he was displeased and strode forward, questioning, "Are you chatting during your post?"
The two guards were startled and quickly explained, "The head guard took Zhao Rong to see the master, but it looked like they were heading out of the estate."
The deputy head guard's brow furrowed. "Nonsense, the head guard is clearly on a mission to Zhao Family Village..."
Before he could finish, all three realized something was amiss. The deputy head guard immediately exclaimed, "Not good!" and led the two in a hurried pursuit.
Yan Jiaojiao, however, was not about to let them catch up. She shot three streams of spiritual energy from the shadows, targeting their Achilles tendons. The three unsuspecting guards were instantly knocked to the ground.
"Ambush!" The deputy head guard, slightly more resilient, managed a spinning recovery roll as he fell, shouting a warning while reaching into his robes for a miniature signal flare. Just as he was about to pull the cord, another stream of spiritual energy flew towards him.
This time, the deputy head guard was prepared. He easily dodged the attack and, by tracing the direction of the spiritual energy, located Yan Jiaojiao's hiding spot. His eyes widened, and he yelled into the dense foliage, "Who dares trespass on my Yan manor? Show yourself immediately!"
Yan Jiaojiao had no intention of revealing herself. Instead, she took a smoke bomb from her spiritual jade and threw it to the ground in front of the guards. With a "poof," a large cloud of white smoke billowed upwards, acrid and thick, instantly engulfing everything in sight.
"Cough, cough!"
The three guards coughed uncontrollably, their eyes stinging. They instinctively swiped at the thick smoke. When it finally dissipated slightly, the assassin was nowhere to be seen, and the signal flare in the deputy head guard's hand had vanished without a trace!
"Hurry and report to the master!" the deputy head guard roared, then, along with another guard, sprinted towards the back gate.
Meanwhile, Yan Jiaojiao, having escaped the Yan manor using the smoke bomb, continued her pursuit of the tracking incense without pause, her heart filled with anxiety. The deputy head guard had mentioned the head guard was going to Zhao Family Village, which could only mean he was coming to cause trouble for her!
Currently, only Dongfang Xu and Xiao Hei were at Zhao Family Village. While she knew Xiao Hei was exceptionally capable, Yan Jiaojiao couldn't rest easy with the two of them facing a group of menacing guards.
Fortunately, Rong'er had no cultivation skills, and the fake Rong'er couldn't move very fast. Before long, Yan Jiaojiao cornered her in an alley.
"You actually followed," the fake Rong'er exclaimed, startled by Yan Jiaojiao's sudden appearance.
"I cannot afford to fail," Yan Jiaojiao stated coldly, reaching out and pulling Rong'er behind her.
Seeing Yan Jiaojiao, Rong'er's suppressed tears finally fell. She cried, "Eldest Young Lady, you've come to save me!"
Yan Jiaojiao's voice softened instantly. She whispered, "Of course, I came to save you."
"Sob, Eldest Young Lady, but my brother..."
Yan Jiaojiao's heart ached. She patted Rong'er's shoulder comfortingly.
"Don't dawdle here! Give me the antidote quickly!" the fake Rong'er interrupted impatiently. "The Yan family guards will be here soon. If we're any slower, no one will get away!"
Yan Jiaojiao turned to look, her gaze sharp.
The fake Rong'er flinched, then, after a moment, her tone softened slightly. "I can't go back to the Yan family now. Those guards will discover the anomaly soon, and I need to escape as well!"
Yan Jiaojiao ignored her and instead asked, "Which cliff did your brother fall from?"
The fake Rong'er shook her head repeatedly. "I really don't know. Why would someone like me need to know such trivial details? They called me over to impersonate her after they captured the girl. I only heard about her brother's fall from a cliff in passing."
The fake Rong'er spoke sincerely, and Yan Jiaojiao glanced back at Rong'er, receiving a nod of confirmation.
Yan Jiaojiao then let out a cold snort and tossed an object. The fake Rong'er hastily caught the pill and swallowed it in one gulp. A sharp pain shot through the wound on her leg almost immediately.
"Ugh!" The fake Rong'er groaned in pain. "You kept your word and gave me the antidote. You're better than your father."
"I have nothing to do with Yan Zhengfeng," Yan Jiaojiao said indifferently. "You may go."
"Farewell!" The fake Rong'er gave Yan Jiaojiao a deep look and then leaped out of the alley.
Yan Jiaojiao, with Rong'er in tow, headed towards Zhao Family Village.
Suddenly, Yan family guards swarmed out, and another wave of searching swept through Kunyang City.
Outside Zhao Family Village, the Yan family's head guard, leading a squad of guards, stood before the village. Sheng Mobai's carriage blocked their path, and the two groups were locked in a stalemate.
When Yan Jiaojiao saw this, she indeed led Rong'er to skirt around the side, reaching Zhao Family Village via a small path shortly after.
As soon as she spotted Zhao Qi's house, Yan Jiaojiao detected something unusual. Others might not notice, but she could see a spiritual energy barrier surrounding the Zhao residence.
Her heart sank. Fearing that something had happened, Yan Jiaojiao quickened her pace.
At that moment, Dongfang Xu was sitting peacefully under a tree, but Xiao Hei, the dog, was nowhere to be seen beside him.