There was hypertoxic poison ahead. Regardless of its concentration or quantity, the detox system had no way to analyze the toxins. Without a doubt, that must be the restricted area's "medicine pond" that Long Feiye had mentioned.
Long Feiye hid his identity with a facemask before doing the same for Han Yunxi. He led her along as they darted and dodged behind the boulders, gradually going deeper into the restricted area. Soon enough, they saw torch lights up ahead. Long Feiye pulled Han Yunxi behind a large rock to hide, where she carefully peeked out her head and inadvertently sucked in a cold breath.
There was an oval-shaped pool before them. Though it wasn't very large, only about the size of two well openings, it was filled with all sorts of plants. Large swaths of leaves poked through the water like a lotus pond. Heavens, but they were all poisonous plants. Brand new cultivated strains! No wonder her detox system set off an alarm loud enough to deafen her ears. Heaven knows how long the masked man had been cultivating his plants here!
Lanterns were scattered around the pond, but nobody was in sight.
"Where's the people?" Han Yunxi murmured.
Long Feiye was concentrating on the woods around the pond and didn't reply. He only pulled Han Yunxi's head towards him and held her in place. Han Yunxi tried to struggle, but it was then that a fierce voice suddenly broke out from the forest. "Who's there?"
"They have many people. Stay here and don't move!" Long Feiye muttered, before releasing Han Yunxi's head and leaping high into the sky. Very quickly, the sound of clashing weapons filled the air. Han Yunxi trembled with fear as she cautiously stuck out her head for a look. The scene before her was enough to scare her senseless.
Heavens!
There really were tons of people. At least fifty black-robed assassins had surrounded Long Feiye. One against fifty?
What kind of joke was that? Against these numbers, they could kill Long Feiye just by crushing him to death!
But very quickly, Han Yunxi realized she'd been worried over nothing. There was no way for any of the assassins to approach Long Feiye. His speed was vastly superior to his opponents, and his swordsmanship went beyond the metaphor of floating clouds and flowing waters to become as swift as wind and as quick as lightning. It was impossible to see his moves clearly with the naked eye. As his blade flashed up and down, multiple foes fell to the ground! Han Yunxi couldn't help but exclaim in astonishment. She secretly congratulated herself for not making enemies with this man. Otherwise, she wouldn't be able to rest easy at night. His swordsmanship was truly in defiance of natural order!
A short while later, the area by the pond was littered with the dead and injured. Of the fifty men who had challenged Long Feiye, only ten remained. They slowly backed away, not daring to approach him. Yet it was right at this moment that two more men walked out of the woods.
One was a thin, short old man dressed in dark robes, with a mouth that stuck out and a chin like an ape's. His looks were rather wretched, but a single glance and one could tell he was a meticulous fellow. The other was a tall and haughty figure in black robes, his face covered by a terrifying-looking mask that only revealed his mouth. Even more arresting than his mask, however, were a pair of malicious-looking eyes.
It's him, the masked man!
His icy stare settled disdainfully on Long Feiye as he spoke coldly. "Useless things. This lord will give you one last chance. Show me his face!"
As soon as he finished, the ten remaining assassins surrounded Long Feiye anew, but unlike last time, Han Yunxi's detox system sent out ten separate warnings.
They're going to use poison!
Moreover, each of the assassins had a different poison on hand. Most of them were toxic powders that would poison the victim as soon as it was inhaled.
This masked man really was going too far!
Han Yunxi burned with impatience. How was she supposed to warn Long Feiye? His sword skills were formidable, but he had no immunity whatsoever against poisons. A single moment of carelessness would be his undoing. She shifted in place, wanting to stand up multiple times, but Long Feiye had long sensed that something was off. One hand held onto his sword while the other hid behind his back. He wasn't as relaxed as before, but on high alert.
Suddenly, the five men abruptly rushed Long Feiye, whose sword flashed in retaliation and took away five lives. He was about to back away, but it turned out these five men had been a distraction. At the same time they fell, the five other assassins scattered poison powder in Long Feiye's direction.
Han Yunxi was about to cry out a warning, but Long Feiye was shrewd enough to hold his breath before backing up a great distance. At the same time, he abruptly raised his sword and swiftly swept the blade in a large arc across the air, sending his opponents flying back into the darkness of the surrounding forest! Their status was unknown.
A beautiful counter!
Han Yunxi looked on with rapt attention, her heart pounding as she admired Long Feiye's moves. The Duke of Qin was still the Duke of Qin, and not someone who was easily matched! The masked man clenched his fists as he yelled at Long Feiye. "Just who are you?"
"What about you?" Long Feiye retorted as he raised his sword at him.
"You don't have the skills to find out!"
The masked man unsheathed a sword as well before pointing it at Long Feiye. But it turned out to be a feint, because countless poison needles shot out of the sword at the same time he brandished his weapon, heading straight towards Long Feiye. This time, Han Yunxi couldn't stay calm. She leapt up and cried out, "Dodge! The needles have toxic powder that will poison you on skin contact!"
This type of powder differed from the ones used by the assassins. As long as one didn't inhale their poisons, one wouldn't be affected. But the powder now would affect the victim even if they came in contact with a tiny portion. It'd cause the victim to lose all his strength for at least two hours. If Long Feiye was poisoned, then everything was over!
Nobody expected Han Yunxi to stand out. Her reminder caused Long Feiye to avoid the needles rather than deflecting them with his sword. In a flash, his figure vanished into thin air. The masked man was very shocked, but soon narrowed his head. "Someone, capture her!"
Han Yunxi was about to run towards Long Feiye when a black-robed assassin appeared behind her. Long Feiye prepared to head her way when the masked man sent another barrage of poison needles to block his way!
"I want her alive!" the masked man ordered coldly, provoking Long Feiye with a look as he kept shooting out poison needles. There was no way for Long Feiye to get close to Han Yunxi. He was forced to deflect needles with his sword in the distance, trapped in place as he kept part of his attention on Han Yunxi's plight. Han Yunxi trembled with fear as she watched the assassin approach her, backing away step by step until her back pressed against a large rock.
"Heheh, big brother's being generous, not making a move against a woman," Han Yunxi managed to force out a smile.
The assassin didn't reply, but reached out a hand to grab her. In a flash, Han Yunxi dodged to the right and turned to run, but the man grabbed her left shoulder. She was about to struggle when he strengthened his grip, making her feel as if her shoulder bones were about to break!
Detestable!
Han Yunxi sucked in a cold breath from the pain as her foot aimed for the assassin's nether regions. The assassin didn't expect her to use such an anti-pervert move and was hit straight on target, paining him enough to let go! Seizing the chance, Han Yunxi fled, but the fallen assassin was replaced by two others that emerged from the woods. They surrounded her in front and behind as they closed in. Han Yunxi evaded them both as she panted for breath, her movements extremely nimble. But how could she compete against these professional killers? If not for the fact that the masked man wanted her alive, they would've finished her off long ago, right?
Once again, she was backed into a boulder with no way out. Suddenly, an assassin reached forward to rip off her facemask!
Dammnit, Long Feiye had brought her here to help instead of being a burden, much less reveal their identities!
Wait, she was here to help?
Han Yunxi suddenly seemed to realize something as she changed from being a passive party to an aggressor. Her hand viciously slapped the assassin's hand away.
"Ah!" the assassin gave a grieved exclamation as he stared dazedly at Han Yunxi.
"What are you looking at? Yes, you've been poisoned!" Han Yunxi stuck out her leg and kicked the assassin, toppling him over. He'd fainted with an acupuncture needle sticking out from the back of his hand. Han Yunxi couldn't help but feel distressed. She was in such a rush just then that she'd wasted a ton of perfectly good needles when only two or three could've done the job.
The other assassin looked at his partner in disbelief, giving Han Yunxi the chance to wave her hand and scatter a cloud full of poisonous powders. By the time the assassin thought to dodge, it was already too late! As soon as the powder reached him, his limbs turned weak and he collapsed onto the ground. She kicked him once and said coldly, "You guys think you're the only ones who can use poisons? I've given your master's poison as a gift!"
Although Madame Li's dying words had caused her heavy damage, they hadn't been wrong. A poisons detoxification expert was also an expert poisons user. How could Han Yunxi keep forgetting her own skills in poisons? All right, though it was against a doctor's principles to use poisons for harm, she'd risk everything tonight. She was here to help Long Feiye!
Now that she'd taken care of the two assassins, Han Yunxi didn't dare delay. She ran straight for Long Feiye, but was soon surrounded by a black-robed crowd. After witnessing Han Yunxi's poison skills, this group wasn't going to take her lightly. All of them bore sharp swords. Han Yunxi's face paled, wishing she could have some concealed weaponry just like the masked man to kill them with one hand. She knew how to use poisons and had all sorts of them on hand, but her poison methods were simply child's play. Besides poking people with needles, or dusting them with powder, she didn't know anything else.
Blade after blade gleamed in the torch light, bright enough to nearly blind her. Very soon, a sharp edge came from behind to rest against her neck. Han Yunxi dearly wanted to cry. In the end, she'd ended up being a burden after all.
But it was right then that a swift and fierce blade suddenly launched an aggressive assault from the sidelines, its momentum enough to topple the mountains and overturn the seas. Leaving aside Han Yunxi, even the surrounding assassins were awed and frightened. For a moment, they forgot to move. There was a sudden sound of impact as the sword by Han Yunxi's neck broke into pieces. At the same time, the assassins holding her hostage were swept aside by a blade, leaving Han Yunxi standing alone in place, unharmed.
Han Yunxi was thoroughly flabbergasted. She was about to turn around and look when she spotted Long Feiye standing nearby with his sword, three needles stuck to the back of his hand.
He's been poisoned?
Because he had protected her, he didn't manage to dodge the poison needles? Victims of the powder from those needles would quickly lose their strength, but why hadn't she picked up any signs from poison from this fellow's body?
Currently, the masked man was also staring at Han Yunxi. The three of them formed a deadlock, neither one of them moving despite all of them wanting to. The atmosphere immediately turned tense.
Suddenly, Long Feiye's legs collapsed beneath him as he sank to kneel on one leg! Seeing this, Han Yunxi was even more bewildered. They weren't far apart, so she was perfectly capable of detecting Long Feiye's status. More likely than not, the needles on his hand hadn't pierced through his skin at all, so the poison powder hadn't affected his muscles. Although she was surprised, Han Yunxi hid it inside her heart. She feigned worry as she prepared to rush to his side, but the masked man said coldly, "You stay put…"