Powerless

At dawn the next morning, a sliver of fish-belly white had just appeared on the horizon, and the morning mist had yet to disperse.

As always, Mo Yun rose early and went to the Martial Training Ground to practice his fist technique, a routine not even thunder could shake.

Although several days had passed since Commander Li ended the group lessons, Mo Yun, Xiao Liu, and Han Tang, the newly promoted "senior" odd-job servants, still maintained their habit of training for two hours every morning.

Of course, Mo Yun pushed himself far harder than the others.

While everyone else trained for two hours, he got up earlier every day and trained for a full four hours.

When seven o'clock arrived, they wiped off their sweat and headed to the Spirit Herb Garden together, right on time, to begin another day's work.

The moment he entered the garden, Mo Yun keenly noticed Liu Niang's condition.

If Liu Niang had been anxious and frightened over the past two days, today she had gone from being weighed down by worry to a walking corpse that seemed to have lost its soul.

She sat alone in a wicker chair inside the Rare Herb Garden, staring blankly at the withered, yellowing spirit herbs with hollow eyes. All life seemed to have drained from her, and a thick aura of death hung about her.

In fact, over the past few days, Mo Yun had pieced together some of the truth from his own observations during breaks in his work and the whispers of the older odd-job servants.

Through days of tireless, sleepless effort, Liu Niang had actually found evidence that someone had deliberately scattered Poison Powder to damage the spirit herbs' roots and stems. She had even taken action herself and caught the culprit red-handed!

The man she caught was none other than the shifty-eyed, middle-aged odd-job servant Mo Yun had seen at the edge of the herb beds that evening.

But what made the situation utterly hopeless was that this middle-aged servant was merely a lowly puppet who had let greed cloud his mind and taken money to do the job.

He had only been responsible for spreading Poison Powder at designated times and places. When asked who the mastermind was or what their ultimate aim might be, he knew absolutely nothing.

More ruthlessly still, Liu Niang had thrown the middle-aged servant into the dungeon one day, only for him to drop dead the next morning, blood pouring from all seven facial orifices.

An examination by the Mountain Manor's physician confirmed that someone had fed him a poison with an extremely long dormant period beforehand. Once the task was done, the poison took effect and killed him. Clean and efficient.

The trail ended there, as though someone had ruthlessly severed it with a sharp blade, leaving nothing further to follow.

Even if Liu Niang had possessed powers that reached the heavens, there was nothing she could do with the only witness dead.

Holding a bucket, Mo Yun silently watched Liu Niang sitting in her wicker chair.

In all fairness, although Liu Niang had a cold, harsh temper, she had treated him reasonably well during these days of helping in the Rare Herb Garden. Occasionally, she had even offered him pointers on profound medicinal principles.

Seeing her now trapped in a hopeless situation that would surely end in death, Mo Yun felt a jumble of emotions. He wanted to help, only to find that he, too, could do nothing.

With my paltry strength, I wouldn't even make a ripple if I got dragged into this. Commander Li mentioned before that he was investigating in secret too, and that he already had some leads.

I hope he finds the real mastermind in time. Otherwise, once the Village Master's deadline arrives, Liu Niang really might lose her life...

Mo Yun sighed inwardly, then turned back to his work.

The sun rose and set, and another day passed in the blink of an eye.

That evening, servants from the inner courtyard came to collect a large batch of mature spirit herbs, so the steward forced Mo Yun and the other newcomers to stay behind as laborers and work overtime.

Only after the sky had gone completely dark were all the heavy crates of medicinal herbs finally carried over and loaded onto the carts.

Because Liu Niang had been distracted all day, no one else dared touch the delicate herbs in the Rare Herb Garden that required careful harvesting and handling. In the end, Mo Yun, the most reliable worker, had to finish up alone.

Thus, Mo Yun worked until the very end, finishing almost a full hour later than Xiao Liu and the others.

The moon was hidden, the wind fierce, and jackdaws cried harshly. Thick darkness had swallowed the surrounding landscape, leaving only a few dim yellow storm lanterns swaying in the night breeze within the Spirit Herb Garden, casting faint halos of light.

Mo Yun returned the last tool to the shed, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and let out a long breath, ready to leave the Spirit Herb Garden and head to the Dining Hall for dinner.

It's already so late. My stomach's been flat with hunger for ages. I wonder if those women serving food have put everything away. If it's cold, I'll have to find some way to heat it up myself...

Rubbing his stomach, Mo Yun walked toward the exit.

Just as he was about to step through the garden gate, something seemed to occur to him, and he suddenly stopped.

Instinctively, he looked back, peering through the dim candlelight at Liu Niang, who still sat in her wicker chair like a statue.

"Liu Niang, it's so dark already. Aren't you going back to rest tonight either?" Mo Yun could not help asking.

Liu Niang's eyes shifted slightly. Her voice was feeble, carrying a stillness like dead ashes. "You go on ahead. I still have to... keep watch tonight."

Mo Yun nodded. Although Liu Niang had barely rested for several days, she had made up her mind, and he was in no position to press her.

Without another word, he turned to leave the Spirit Herb Garden.

Yet the instant one of his feet crossed the threshold, something unexpected happened!

Whoosh-!

An exceedingly faint sound of something slicing through the air broke the silence of the night.

A figure dressed in black, with a black mask covering his face, suddenly sprang from a towering tree outside the Spirit Herb Garden, like a giant bat swooping out of the darkness!

The black-clad man was exceptionally burly, the muscles of his arms coiled like mighty dragons. Moving with incredible speed and an incomparably ferocious murderous aura, he vaulted the wooden fence and charged straight toward the deepest part of the Rare Herb Garden!

His target was clearly the Rare Herb Garden!

But just then, a sharp female shout brimming with murderous intent suddenly rang out!

"Hmph, you finally showed up!"

Liu Niang, who had been slumped in her wicker chair as though she had lost all hope and was waiting to die, erupted with astonishing vitality in that instant.

All her dejection and deathly air vanished, replaced by an edge like a sword drawn from its sheath. Her eyes blazed with fierce light!

Mo Yun: "???"

How did she look like someone in despair? Where was even a hint of a lamp whose oil had run dry?

So she'd been acting all along? Liu Niang really knew how to put on a performance!

Mo Yun steadied his expression and looked toward the Rare Herb Garden.

Boom!

At the sight of the intruder, Liu Niang drove her foot against the ground, and the wicker chair shattered instantly.

With a cold snort, she unleashed the Tiger-Crouching Fist without hesitation. Like a tigress descending the mountain, she struck fiercely at the black-clad man with unstoppable momentum!

Watching from a dark corner, Mo Yun was inwardly alarmed. He immediately held his breath and slipped deeper into the corner, concealing his entire body in the shadows.

Although he desperately wanted to flee, the black-clad man might have accomplices lying in ambush outside. Rather than rashly venture out, he was better off lying low in the Spirit Herb Garden for now.

At least for the moment, Liu Niang appeared to have the upper hand.