“Little Brother, are you feeling any better?”
Xia Mingyue’s eyes were slightly red, and they were filled with guilt. She didn’t dare look directly into Xia Renye’s eyes.
Her younger brother had always been sensible. Even though he was younger than her, he had been taking care of her throughout the journey.
“Elder Sister, don’t worry. I feel better than I ever have before.”
Xia Renye wasn’t merely comforting Xia Mingyue. He truly felt much better. He no longer suffered from the unbearable pain that felt like being cut by thousands of knives.
“Young Master, have some water. I just caught a wild rabbit. It’ll be enough for us to have a meal tonight.”
Yin Wudao had already reached the water source and filled all the water bags in the carriage.
Seeing Xia Renye drink quite a bit of water, he finally let out the breath he had been holding.
“Brother Yin, the black line on my hand seems to have faded.”
Xia Renye pursed his lips slightly and raised his hand in confusion, holding it out in front of Yin Wudao.
He had been poisoned while still in the palace.
Fortunately, an imperial physician who owed his mother a favor had treated him and prescribed him medicine to keep him alive.
However, the medicine could only temporarily prevent him from dying. It could not cure the poison.
The length of the black line on his palm represented how deeply the poison had spread through his body.
Once the black line reached his wrist, there would be nothing anyone could do to save him.
Earlier, after becoming extremely agitated, the poison had invaded his internal organs, and the black line had already spread to his wrist.
Unexpectedly, after waking from his unconscious state, the black line had disappeared.
“What?!”
Yin Wudao grabbed Xia Renye’s hand and examined it carefully.
There really wasn’t even a trace of the black line.
Could the poison have been cured?
But how was that possible?!
Yin Wudao couldn’t figure it out.
After carefully examining Xia Renye’s symptoms, he finally confirmed that the poison had truly been eliminated.
The poison that had nearly taken the Sixth Prince’s life had inexplicably disappeared.
Yin Wudao frowned slightly.
For some reason, he felt that it might have something to do with the family they had encountered earlier…
Night fell.
This time, the Jing family found a run-down teahouse.
The teahouse wasn’t large. There was only a single room, and because no one had visited for a long time, it was covered in a thick layer of dust.
Grandma Jing led several people in giving the place a simple cleaning.
Jing Yin, meanwhile, took Tangyuan and went out alone.
When she returned, she was carrying a bamboo tube in her arms, along with a piece of pork, a small bag of flour, some scallions, ginger, garlic, and a little cooking oil.
The cooking oil was stored in a palm-sized white porcelain jar, and there wasn’t much of it.
The system was really stingy.
Fortunately, time was frozen inside her space, so she didn’t have to worry about the food spoiling.
“Grandma, I want meat dumplings.”
Jing Yin placed the meat and flour right in front of Grandma Jing.
Grandma Jing stared at them with her mouth hanging open, an utterly bewildered expression on her face.
What was this?
Was she seeing things?
How could there possibly be meat here?
And was that white stuff flour?
It wasn’t until Grandpa Jing slapped her lightly that she snapped out of it and sucked in a sharp breath.
“My goodness! My precious granddaughter, your blessings are still to come!”
Grandma Jing quickly picked up the meat and flour.
Before long, she bowed toward Tangyuan, who was licking its paws, and added, “Thank you, Fox Immortal, for your protection.”
Tangyuan: “……”???
What?
“Grandma, it’s hot and the meat will spoil easily. Mince all the meat, and use all the flour too. Save one piece of meat for Tangyuan.”
Jing Yin was afraid Grandma Jing would be reluctant to use the ingredients, so she specifically reminded her.
Grandma Jing swallowed awkwardly, suppressing the thoughts in her heart.
…
Grandma Jing and the others were busy kneading dough and making dumplings.
Even little Erdan was running around gathering firewood.
Jing Zhao was responsible for keeping watch nearby in case any unknown danger appeared.
Jing Yin carried a bamboo tube of water over and sat down beside Jing Zhao.
“Big Brother, there’s something I need to tell you.”
As she spoke, Jing Yin took out an antidote pill and dropped it into the bamboo tube.
She had also added several drops of Spirit Spring Water.
This would maximize the antidote’s effectiveness.
She had consulted the system.
If each person drank a few mouthfuls before being poisoned, it would be enough to resist the poison from the Venomous Explosive Egg.
Jing Zhao watched Jing Yin’s actions in confusion.
“Tangyuan sensed some danger. We need to prepare in advance.”
“What kind of danger?”
Jing Zhao clenched his palm tightly, unsure whether he would be able to help.
“Possibly assassins.”
Jing Yin wasn’t sure whether they would actually encounter them this time.
“Assassins?”
Jing Zhao pressed his lips into a thin line, seemingly deep in thought.
They were just ordinary people.
Why would assassins come after them?
After thinking it over, Jing Zhao suddenly raised his eyes and softly uttered a name.
“Brother Yin?”
“Possibly.”
After warning Jing Zhao, Jing Yin took two mouthfuls of water before handing the bamboo tube to him.
“This is the antidote Tangyuan gave us. If we really encounter them, we’ll use the poison. Don’t act rashly…”
Jing Yin carefully explained her plan.
Jing Zhao listened quietly.
A complicated look flashed through his eyes, but he still nodded lightly.
“Mm.”
After drinking several mouthfuls himself, Jing Zhao then passed the water around to the others as a precaution.
It would be troublesome if anyone came into contact with the poison.
After briefly explaining everything to the others, he and Jing Yin quietly stood guard at the entrance of the teahouse.
The dumplings inside had already been wrapped and carefully arranged in bamboo baskets.
Even during those two years when their family had been doing well, they had never eaten dumplings this good.
They should have been happy.
Yet at this moment, no one could smile.
Everyone wore tense expressions.
Grandma Jing, Grandpa Jing, Erdan, Jing Da, and Zhao Xiao’e all knelt on the ground and repeatedly bowed toward Tangyuan.
Tangyuan’s ears twitched.
The fresh meat it had just received was still being chewed in its mouth.
Its round eyes stared at them in confusion.
It had absolutely no idea what they were doing.
“They’re here!”
Jing Yin cautiously stared into the distance and quietly warned Jing Zhao.
The moment she finished speaking, six men dressed in black silently surrounded the two of them.
Each man held a sword.
The blades were incredibly sharp.
“Who are you?”
Jing Yin cried out in fear.
Grandma Jing ran out of the room after hearing the commotion.
The moment she saw the scene, she was terrified and tightly hugged Erdan as she trembled.
Aside from Grandma Jing, the others were all too frightened to move.
Seeing how terrified they looked and sensing no threat from them, the black-clothed men relaxed their guard slightly.
One of them immediately walked up to Jing Zhao and took out a portrait.
“I’ll ask you. Have you seen the woman in this portrait?”
Under the faint moonlight, Jing Zhao could barely make out the woman in the portrait.
He opened his mouth but hesitated.
Jing Yin took advantage of the moment to quietly drop the Venomous Explosive Egg beside her feet.
The explosive egg silently cracked open.
A faint mist slowly spread in every direction.
Under the dim moonlight, it was completely invisible.
“Tell me! Have you seen her?”
The black-clothed man threatened them ominously.
“As long as you tell me honestly, I’ll spare your lives.
“But if you dare conceal anything, I’ll kill every single one of you!”
Before Jing Zhao could answer, Jing Yin suddenly spoke timidly.
“I—I saw two women sitting in a carriage today. I don’t know if they were…”
As soon as she said this, everyone’s attention was immediately drawn to her.
“Tell me. Where did you see them?”
The black-clothed man immediately stepped in front of Jing Yin.
Jing Yin looked terrified, her voice even trembling with tears.
“I—I’m not sure. My lord, could you let me see the portrait?”
The black-clothed man immediately handed the portrait to her.
Jing Yin rubbed her eyes and looked even more frightened.
“My lords, my eyesight isn’t very good. I can’t see clearly. C-Could you give me some light?”
The black-clothed man didn’t suspect that Jing Yin was up to anything.
He immediately took out a fire starter and urged her to confirm it quickly.
However, the moment the fire starter was lit, the air in front of the black-clothed man suddenly erupted with a loud explosion.
Before the black-clothed men could react, their bodies began trembling violently like people suffering from seizures.
Not long afterward, all six black-clothed men spat black blood and collapsed to the ground, dead.