CHAPTER 2037: CHAPTER 2036: MANTIS AND ORIOLE

"Madam Bai, if you leave like this, the young master will blame us when he returns." Someone said.

Bai Ruozhu said without turning her head, "Blame whoever should be blamed. Just tell Tong Zhengye the truth."

The square-faced man stubbornly said, "As long as the young master is safe, even if I’m punished, I’ll accept it."

Bai Ruozhu sneered, "Loyalty isn’t something you just talk about. Tong Zhengye isn’t a fool."

"You..."

Bai Ruozhu, accompanied by Jianqi and Yizi, had already walked far away and ignored that person completely.

"Master, are we really leaving?" Yizi asked, somewhat worried.

"Let’s go out and wait a bit. Although I don’t have much friendship with Tong Zhengye, he did help me when we were digging the Secret Chamber at Feiyuan Building earlier. Let’s see him come out safely before heading back." Bai Ruozhu said.

She just found those people annoying and didn’t want to waste her words, also to avoid unnecessary complications.

At that moment, she frowned slightly, and Jianqi beside her noticed the change, quickly asking, "Master, what’s wrong?"

Bai Ruozhu had excellent hearing, and with her deep inner strength now, she could hear sounds that Jianqi might not be able to.

"Quite a few people have fallen inside." Bai Ruozhu said in a low voice, "Let’s hide first."

The three of them found a secluded corner, and Yizi quickly created a small disguise array, causing them to seemingly vanish into thin air.

Sure enough, shortly after, a guard ran out—it was the one who went to buy medicinal materials.

He chased outside for quite a while, thinking Bai Ruozhu and her group had truly left, and only then did he return, relieved.

Bai Ruozhu frowned slightly, puzzled. While she was concocting the antidote just now, there was nothing wrong with the medicinal materials. She couldn’t possibly have failed to notice if someone had tampered with them, right? If someone truly managed to conceal it from her, they must be a Poison expert. Since they are more skilled than her, why go through such a roundabout way when they could just poison everyone directly?

After the person left, Jianqi softly asked, "Did those people fall unconscious after taking the antidote?"

Bai Ruozhu nodded, "That must be the case."

"It seems that when we were leaving, the person who bought medicinal materials was closest to where you prepared the antidote." Jianqi said again.

Bai Ruozhu suddenly realized that the problem wasn’t with the purchased medicinal materials, but someone took the opportunity to add something, possibly Sleeping Powder or Poison like Huagong Powder.

On the other side, the square-faced man looked at the guards lying all over the place, his face showing an even more obvious cold smile.

The sound of footsteps approached; the guard sent out returned and nodded to him, saying, "Sui Sheng, they’ve gone far away."

"Did you check carefully?" The square-faced man asked.

"The road is only so wide. I watched it all the way; how could I have missed it?" The guard responded displeased.

Sui Sheng’s eyes flashed with annoyance; he was unhappy with the guard’s attitude, but for now, he still needed him, so he endured it.

"Let’s go in; we’ll act when the time is right." He said.

The two of them took the antidote that hadn’t been tampered with and then entered the Cave where Tong Zhengye had gone.

With the antidote, they did not succumb to illusion poison, nor did they experience breathing difficulties, smoothly passing through this area.

Soon they discovered some mechanism had been triggered ahead; there was a pool of fresh blood on the ground, and a sword had fallen on the ground.

His eyes brightened; he recognized the sword—it was Tong Zhengye’s Sword!

Tong Zhengye always liked to dress like a scholar, using a Soft Sword around his waist. He couldn’t stand such things, likening it to something women would use.

"Someone got injured; it seems very likely to be him!" Sui Sheng said excitedly.

The guard beside him also chuckled, "Let’s hurry and see; don’t miss a good opportunity."

The two of them chased inside, not expecting to also trigger mechanisms, but with Sui Sheng’s Martial Arts prowess, he narrowly dodged several times.

If he weren’t skilled in Martial Arts, he wouldn’t have been chosen as Tong Zhengye’s close aide.

Then, chaotic footsteps were heard ahead; the two exchanged a glance, certain it was Tong Zhengye’s group. It seemed they got the items and were returning!

Sure enough, Tong Zhengye was helped out by someone, his right shoulder blood-red, his handsome face pale, nearly transparent, appearing on the verge of fainting.

"Why is it just you two?" The person supporting Tong Zhengye asked.

Sui Sheng quickly said, "There’s a problem with the antidote from that woman Bai Ruozhu; everyone fell unconscious to the ground after taking it. I don’t believe she didn’t take it, thus escaping the calamity. Wan Liang ran buying the medicinal materials without catching his breath, and after resting a bit, discovered something was wrong. We feared she wanted to harm the young master, so we rushed in to report."

Tong Zhengye struggled to lift his head, "Since... there’s a problem with the antidote... how did you... get here?"

He was too weak, speaking with great difficulty.

His three close aides’ faces changed; the young master was the smartest, and if he suspected something, it couldn’t be wrong.

Sui Sheng immediately sensed danger, and suddenly drew his sword to stab at Tong Zhengye, "Die!" He shouted crazily.

"Master, watch out!" Given the close distance, the person supporting Tong Zhengye couldn’t pull him away and could only rush to block the Long Sword.

With a puff sound, the Long Sword pierced his chest, spewing warm blood, splattering Tong Zhengye’s face.

"Asong!" Tong Zhengye cried out, then fell to the ground.

The other two guards quickly stepped up, engaging in a fierce battle with Sui Sheng and the other.

Because they were injured by mechanisms several times, incurred various injuries, and had exhausted most of their inner strength, they soon fell behind.

Finally, the two were stabbed through the chest by Sui Sheng, falling to the ground, unable to get up again.

"Why?" Tong Zhengye asked weakly, his eyes filled with pain and confusion.

Sui Sheng didn’t know Bai Ruozhu hadn’t left, thinking no one could save Tong Zhengye anymore, so without fear, he laughed excitedly.

"Why? Let me tell you, it’s because you’re the legitimate son of the Tong Family, Tong Master’s most beloved son!" Sui Sheng said through gritted teeth.

Tong Zhengye was puzzled; he had checked the background of those around him. How did this person manage to slip through his scrutiny if he was from an enemy family?

"Don’t think about it; I just hate you and your father, not the Tong Family. Don’t worry, once you’re dead, the Tong Family will be mine. I’ll expand the Tong Family’s business well." He said, grinning hideously, "Didn’t expect it, did you? Once you’re dead, Tong Master has no choice but to accept the son born outside."

Tong Zhengye suddenly laughed, only to start coughing violently, spitting blood thereafter.

"You’re the... child from back then? Ridiculous... Ridiculous..." He said, laughing again, followed by severe coughing and a mouthful of fresh blood, having suffered a very serious internal injury.

Sui Sheng was unnerved by his laughter and shouted angrily, "What are you laughing at? Do you disdain my origin?"

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Sending up the fourth update with difficulty ~ headache is killing me, tomorrow is another day of meetings, and have to go for an inspection, so update times remain unstable ~