The sky is slightly bright and the morning fog has not dispersed.
Hong Yu and Biyao opened their eyes in a daze, only to feel a dull pain in the back of their necks, as if someone had hit them hard with a sap.
They looked around blankly and found themselves lying on an unfamiliar soft couch, covered with a thin blanket.
"W-where is this?"
Biyao rubbed his temples with a hint of panic in his voice.
Hong Yu also sat up, trying to remember what happened last night.
"Didn't we follow Master Jiang into the room? How come we suddenly don't remember anything?"
The two looked at each other and saw the same confusion in each other's eyes. Their last memory was the moment they entered the room, followed by darkness.
"Could it be?"
Biyao lowered his voice and tightened his clothes unconsciously with his fingers.
Hong Yu bit his lip and glanced across the empty room.
"But there's not even half a human figure here. Where did the master and that Senior Sister Hong Ling go?"
The room was quiet, and only the residual warmth from the medicine stove proved that someone had been here not long ago.
There was a faint medicinal fragrance floating in the air, which was inexplicably calming, but at this moment, the two of them just felt creepy.
"Could it be that we were really taken as drugs?"
Biyao's voice trembled, and he subconsciously touched his wrist, fearing that there would suddenly be a wound on it.
Hong Yu forced himself to calm down, lifted the blanket and checked his body. He breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that there was nothing unusual.
"Don't scare yourself. If you really want to use us to make medicine, how can you cover us with quilts?"
"No matter what, let's get out of here first!"
Hong Yu made a prompt decision and pulled Biyao off the bed gently.
They opened the door carefully, and the cool morning breeze blew in their faces, clearing up their chaotic minds.
There was no one in the courtyard, except for a few elixir plants swaying in the morning dew.
"Strange, master and Senior Sister Hong Ling didn't sleep all night?"
Biyao muttered.
Hong Yu shook his head.
"At their level, it's common to go several days without rest. Maybe they're meditating somewhere."
As soon as the two of them stepped out of the courtyard, a cold light suddenly flashed through.
"Whoosh!"
A pitch-black flying knife was nailed deeply into the bluestone at their feet. The handle of the knife was still trembling slightly, making a low buzzing sound.
Hong Yu's pupils shrank and he immediately recognized the knife.
This is Shadow Blade who belongs to Dou Wang expert Mo Tianhen under Ninth Young Master!
Biyao was so frightened that he almost screamed, but Hong Yu covered his mouth.
The two looked at each other and understood the meaning in each other's eyes.
This is Ninth Young Master urging them to go back and resume their lives.
"Quick, pull it up!"
Hong Yu said in a low voice.
Biyao trembled his fingers and pulled the flying knife out of the stone slab with force.
A piece of paper as thin as cicada's wings was wrapped around the blade, with only two words on it.
Come home soon!
Hong Yu bit his lip and crushed the note into pieces.
The most important thing for maids like them, who are given away as playthings, is to know how to maneuver according to the circumstances.
Although he is already Master Jiang's person in name, in his heart he is still the spy installed by Ninth Young Master.
"Let's go!" She picked up Biyao and hurried towards Ninth Young Master's courtyard.
In the courtyard of Bai Xiaofeng, sandalwood scent lingers.
When Hong Yu and Biyao were kneeling in front of Ninth Young Master tremblingly, Bai Xiaofeng was lazily leaning on the soft couch, playing with a jade ring fingertip.
"Hey, aren't these the two beauties I sent away?"
The corners of his mouth curved into a sarcastic arc.
"Why, Master Jiang got tired of playing and drove you back?"
Hong Yu and Biyao immediately lowered their bodies skillfully and put their foreheads close to the ground.
"Ninth Young Master Mingjian!"
Hong Yu's voice was just right with sobs.
"The slaves are yours in life, and your ghosts in death! Last night, last night, I really couldn't help myself!"
Biyao also quickly agreed.
"Yes Ninth Young Master! Those Master Jiang and Senior Sister Hong Ling were so mysterious that they knocked us unconscious as soon as we entered the door. When we woke up this morning, they were long gone!"
A cold light flashed in Bai Xiaofeng's eyes, and he suddenly hit Hong Yu's forehead with the jade ring finger in his hand!
"Bang!"
Blood immediately flowed down Hong Yu's forehead, but she remained silent and knelt even lower.
"Trash! I asked you to monitor, but you were treated like a fool! Tell me! What happened last night? Don't let me miss a word!"
Bai Xiaofeng shouted sharply.
Hong Yu endured the pain and said with a trembling voice.
"Back to Ninth Young Master, the slaves really didn't know that we just stepped into the medicine house and passed out with pain in the back of our necks. When I woke up this morning, my clothes were intact and there were no signs of injury."
Bai Xiaofeng narrowed his eyes and stared at Hong Yu and Biyao who were kneeling on the ground with a sly smile. His knuckles tapped lightly on the armrest of the soft couch, making a dull sound.
"Oh? I don't know if I ask three questions?"
He drawled his tone slowly, but there was a coldness in his eyes.
"It seems that you two are much more courageous than before."
Hong Yu The blood on his forehead hadn't dried yet, but he didn't dare to raise his hand to wipe it. He could only lower his body lower and his voice trembled.
"Ninth Young Master Mingjian, slaves really..."
"Okay!"
Bai Xiaofeng suddenly waved his hand to interrupt her. The smile on his face suddenly disappeared, replaced by a look of boredom.
"Go away!"
Hong Yu and Biyao were stunned. They didn't expect that Ninth Young Master would let them go so easily, but they didn't dare to ask any more questions. They quickly kowtowed and thanked them, then quickly walked out with their heads lowered.
After the two left, a figure Ninth Elder Qin Wuye slowly walked out from behind the screen, standing with his hands behind his hands, looking deeply at the direction they left, shaking his head lightly.
"It seems that Master Jiang's methods are even better than we imagined."
Bai Xiaofeng snorted coldly, a trace of unwillingness flashed in his eyes.
"I usually pretend to be stoic and disdainful of women, but I didn't expect that my attack was so ruthless that they didn't even dare to say a word!"
Qin Wuye smiled slightly and said meaningfully.
"Maybe he didn't touch them at all."
"Didn't touch it?"
Bai Xiaofeng frowned.
"Then why are they unconscious? And why are they so secretive about what happened last night?"
Qin Wuye fingertips gently touched the dark lines on the cuffs and said slowly.
"Maybe, Master Jiang just doesn't want them to know too much."
Bai Xiaofeng was silent for a moment, then suddenly sneered.
"Interestingly, it seems that this master is hidden deeper than we thought."
Jiang Donghua was sitting cross-legged in the depths of the medicine house just last night. The surrounding Zhu Huo was dim and reflected his stern profile.
He flipped his palm, and Earth Spirit Cauldron floated up. The runes on the ancient tripod flowed, exuding a heavy Earth attribute.
"Myriad Ants Devour Heart Poison!"
He murmured in a low voice, tapped his fingertips, and a wisp of yellow flame ignited from the bottom of the cauldron.
The table is covered with various poisonous materials. Black Blood Centipede's poison glands, Bone Rot Flower's juice, and Heart-Eating Grass's powder are all highly poisonous. Ordinary people's skin and flesh will ulcerate just by touching them.
Jiang Donghua looked as usual and put them into the cauldron one by one with skillful movements.
"Tsk--"
As soon as the poisonous material entered the cauldron, it turned into a thick black mist, and there seemed to be countless tiny poisonous insects squawking in the mist.
Jiang Donghua looked calmly and formed seals with his hands. The spiritual power in Earth Spirit Cauldron slowly compressed, condensing the poisonous mist into a powder as fine as dust.
"Master once said that once this poison enters the blood, it will be like thousands of ants eating the heart, making you want to live."
The corners of his mouth raised slightly, and a hint of coldness flashed in his eyes.
"Even Peak Dou Huang still has to peel off its skin."
The poisonous powder in the cauldron gradually took shape, and was as black as ink, but strangely glowed with a dark purple shimmer, and squirmed slightly as if it were alive.
Jiang Donghua took out a piece of Jade Bottle and carefully put the poisonous powder into it. Then he flicked his fingertips and sealed the mouth of the bottle with a wisp of Dou Qi to ensure that the poison would not leak out.