After hiding Shi Zhao away, Lin Yanxi finally slipped quietly out of the Lin residence.
After three days of careful observation, she had already figured out the general layout of the War Prince’s Manor.
Following the route she had mapped out in her mind, she skillfully found the manor’s back gate.
The back entrance was where the servants entered and exited, and it was also the weakest point in the entire manor’s defenses.
Walking with tiny catlike steps, she sneaked toward the back gate. The gate had already been locked for the night, but she was not worried in the slightest. She still had a way to get inside.
She searched around outside the gate for quite a while before finally finding what she was looking for.
Mm!
A small dog hole!!!!
Without the slightest hesitation, she immediately crawled through it. Since the opening was rather tiny, it took her quite a bit of effort to squeeze across.
By the time she stood up again, her face was covered in dust.
Fortunately, night had already fallen, so no one could see how miserable she looked. After brushing off the dust and tying a black face covering over herself, she began surveying the layout of the manor.
What she did not know was that from the moment she approached the manor, every single one of her actions had already fallen into Xiao Junyan’s eyes.
Not only had he not stopped her deliberately, he had even instructed the servants beforehand not to wander around the manor unnecessarily.
He wanted to see whether the Lin family’s young miss had come for the jade pillow… or for the secret documents hidden in the study.
Tonight’s entire setup had been carefully arranged by him from the start.
A classic invitation straight into the trap.
Though separated by quite some distance, he could still hear Lin Yanxi’s inner thoughts.
【This War Prince’s Manor is really ridiculously huge. They say the jade pillow is in the room where he rests, but where exactly is his bedroom?】
【If only there were a servant around to guide me right now!】
It was at that moment that Lin Yanxi noticed something strange.
【Why is the manor so quiet? Could this be some kind of trap?】
She cautiously scanned her surroundings, but the entire estate was deathly silent. She could not even detect anyone breathing nearby.
【This is too weird. Maybe I should just leave…】
The voice ringing in his ears caused Xiao Junyan to frown slightly.
He still had not figured out Lin Yanxi’s true intentions. Naturally, he would not allow her to leave so easily.
“Wei Xing. Arrange for a few people to go over.”
“Your Highness, why don’t we just capture her directly? If she truly is a Linyuan spy, it would be disastrous if she stole the manor’s secrets and sent them back to Linyuan,” Wei Xing said worriedly.
Xiao Junyan stood completely concealed within the darkness, his emotions impossible to discern. The only thing clear was the unquestionable authority in his tone.
“Go make the arrangements. Find a few clever ones to guide her.”
Wei Xing was shocked again and again.
Since they already suspected she was a spy, why deliberately send people to guide her? Wasn’t that the same as handing their secrets to her personally?
Unable to help himself, Wei Xing looked at Xiao Junyan strangely.
Ever since his master met Miss Lin the previous time, his behavior had become extremely bizarre.
Could it be…
Had the prince taken a liking to her?
Otherwise, why would he not stop her and instead create opportunities for her?
“Why are you still standing there?”
A cold gaze swept over Wei Xing.
A chill instantly ran down his spine. He snapped back to his senses at once, acknowledged the order, and hurried off to carry it out.
And so, everything afterward went incredibly smoothly for Lin Yanxi.
She wandered freely through the manor.
Successfully intercepted a guard.
Successfully extracted information from him regarding Xiao Junyan’s bedroom.
Then knocked the guard unconscious and followed the direction he had pointed out.
While heading toward the bedroom, however, she suddenly sensed something unusual and stopped in her tracks.
Standing outside the room, she carefully felt the faint aura leaking from within.
Moments later, she determined that there was deathly energy inside.
But why would Xiao Junyan’s residence contain death aura?
Curiosity immediately surged within her, and she wanted to see what exactly was hidden inside.
Just as her hand touched the door—
Suddenly, a sharp arrow shot toward her from behind.
The arrow carried terrifying force, as though it intended to pin her directly against the door.
“Who goes there?!”
A group of guards instantly surrounded her.
“What kind of person dares trespass into the War Prince’s Manor at night? By His Highness’s orders—kill intruders without mercy!”
At that command, all the guards closed in around her.
Seeing this, Lin Yanxi took a deep breath.
【I knew getting in this easily had to be a trap! I was careless!】
Even so, she showed no fear.
Though she lacked the powerful inner strength these men possessed, she had countless hidden weapons and poisons.
Enough to guarantee that none of them could get close to her.
The instant the guards’ weapons nearly touched her, Lin Yanxi swiftly pulled out ten silver needles from her body and flung them without hesitation.
Immediately, the ten guards closest to her collapsed to the ground.
The remaining guards showed no fear whatsoever. They continued charging forward with blades raised, determined to kill the intruder inside the manor.
Lin Yanxi retreated continuously while throwing out more silver needles.
The needles kept flying.
The guards kept falling.
But each time a guard dropped, another instantly replaced him.
And once her hidden weapons were used, they were gone for good.
When only five silver needles remained on her body, Lin Yanxi still hesitated not at all.
With the mindset of taking down as many enemies as possible, she threw them out anyway.
By the end, every silver needle on her had been exhausted.
The courtyard was already covered with fallen guards, yet the remaining ones still surrounded the entire area so tightly that not even a fly could escape.
Lin Yanxi’s delicate brows furrowed tightly together. Beneath the dark night, her eyes shone brilliantly like stars.
She gritted her teeth.
In the end, she truly had been careless.
As the guards pressed closer step by step, Lin Yanxi reached toward her waist and pulled out a small medicinal pouch.
She glanced up at the night sky.
Beneath her black mask, a beautiful smile curved across her lips.
Even heaven was helping her.
At that very moment, a powerful gust of wind swept through the courtyard.
Seizing the opportunity, Lin Yanxi decisively scattered the contents of the pouch into the air.
With the aid of the wind, the powder instantly spread throughout the courtyard, and everyone involuntarily inhaled it.
“Not good—it’s poison!”
Someone noticed the problem and immediately shouted loudly,
“Hold your breath! Don’t let the poison enter your bodies!”
But by the time the warning came, it was already too late.
Those who had inhaled the powder rolled their eyes back and collapsed to the ground without warning.
In the midst of such chaos, it was the perfect opportunity for Lin Yanxi to escape.
She clapped her hands, casually tossed aside the empty paper wrapper, and prepared to leave in style.
But after only taking two steps—
A fierce palm strike suddenly rushed toward her.
Caught completely off guard, her entire body was blasted far into the air.
Bang!
Lin Yanxi crashed heavily against the stone steps.
Clutching her chest, she looked toward the direction the attack had come from.
A tall and imposing figure, broad and steady as a distant mountain, slowly stepped into her line of sight.