Chapter 262

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Qin Shiyue swept his gaze across the tragic scene in the hall, feeling quite satisfied. Only then did he display his Qinggong, dashing out of the hall. As he passed by Zhang Xiaohua, he whispered: “Follow us.”

Zhang Xiaohua glanced at him but did not respond. He performed Qinggong and followed at a steady pace, neither too fast nor too slow.

Once outside the hall, Qin Shiyue quickly surveyed the surroundings before darting toward the other side of the building.

There stood a round moon gate, with a small path leading inward—presumably the inner residence. As the three entered, they soon saw a few servants and maids scrambling in panic. Upon seeing Qin Shiyue, their faces turned deathly pale in terror. Qin Shiyue wasted no time and shouted: “Stand still! Otherwise, I’ll kill every last one of you!”

In an instant, the group trembled and froze in place, not daring to move a muscle. Qin Shiyue strode toward the nearest servant and asked: “Ma Rulong just escaped. Do you know where he went?”

The servant trembled like a sieve, his teeth chattering so much that he couldn’t even form a word. Seeing this, Qin Shiyue’s hand shot out like lightning, gripping the man’s throat. With a slight exertion of force, a crisp crack rang out. A trickle of blood seeped from the servant’s lips as he crumpled lifelessly to the ground.

Qin Shiyue then walked toward another servant standing a bit farther away. That servant, upon seeing him approach, turned ashen. Before Qin Shiyue even reached him, a foul stench filled the air—the man had lost control of his bowels in fear!

Qin Shiyue frowned slightly and turned toward yet another servant. The one who had just soiled himself showed a fleeting expression of relief, but before his smile could fully form, a flash of cold light streaked across the air. His head soared skyward, and that half-formed smile was forever frozen on his face.

Witnessing Qin Shiyue’s ruthless actions, Zhang Xiaohua couldn’t help but furrow his brows deeply, feeling strong disapproval. However, he was well aware that he was merely a fish on the chopping block himself—what right did he have to speak?

As the murderous demon approached, the remaining servant trembled uncontrollably, his face alternating between red and pale. Qin Shiyue was quite satisfied with the sheer terror he had instilled. As he walked forward, he said: “Do you know? If you do, then tell me. If not, then everyone in this courtyard will die.”

The servant opened his mouth, but no words came out. His eyes rolled back, bulging like a goldfish’s, and his breath came in shallow gasps—he could exhale but not inhale. His hands clutched at his throat, convulsing weakly before his body went limp and collapsed to the ground. He had actually been scared to death by Qin Shiyue.

Qin Shiyue’s expression remained unchanged. His gaze swept across the surroundings before he walked toward a nearby maid. At that moment, a trembling voice came from a small pavilion to the side. A maid, shivering as she spoke, said: “Daren, I think I know where Master Ma went. But… if I lead you there, will you spare us? We are merely servants of the Ma Residence.”

Qin Shiyue looked at the frail and rather plain-looking girl with mild surprise, then smiled. “Of course.”

The maid, still trembling, stepped forward and said: “Daren, I will take you there. But… can you let the others go? They truly know nothing.”

Qin Shiyue glanced at the other servants, who were already as pale as death, then waved his hand. “Just lead the way.”

The maid bit her lip, cast one last look at her terrified companions, and then resolutely stepped toward the inner residence.

Qin Shiyue raised an eyebrow. “Girl, Ma Rulong ran out through the corridor on the other side of the hall.”

The maid gritted her teeth and forced a faint smile. “I know, Daren. But there’s another way through here. If we go through the front hall, it would be a much longer detour.”

Qin Shiyue let out an “Oh” and said no more. He was certain this maid knew something.

Sure enough, after walking for some time, they arrived at a pond. At the end of the pond was a winding corridor. The maid pointed at a rock garden in the middle of the pond and said: “Daren, it’s that rock garden. One night, when I got up, I happened to see Master Ma emerge from there under the moonlight.”

Qin Shiyue studied the rock garden, then glanced at the maid. Smiling, he asked: “Are you certain?”

The maid nodded. “I am. It was nighttime, but the moon was bright. If I couldn’t even recognize my own master, what kind of servant would I be?”

Qin Shiyue signaled to Ying Fei. Without hesitation, Ying Fei displayed his Qinggong, leaping over the pond and landing atop the rock garden to inspect it.

Qin Shiyue looked at the maid again and smiled. “You’re not afraid of me?”

The maid answered, “I am.”

“Then why did you bring us here?”

“If I didn’t, wouldn’t we all be killed by you anyway?”

Qin Shiyue nodded and said: “Aren’t you afraid I might go back on my word?”

The maid’s face instantly drained of color. She bit her lip but dared not speak.

At that moment, Ying Fei called out from the rock garden: “Daren, there’s a mechanism here!”

Qin Shiyue’s eyes flickered. “Alright, you can leave now.”

The maid remained motionless. Qin Shiyue frowned. “I told you to leave—why aren’t you going?”

The maid replied: “Daren, please go first. Once you’ve left, I’ll leave as well.”

Qin Shiyue burst into laughter, turned away, and then waved his hand.

The maid, seeing his gesture, had already squeezed her eyes shut in terror. Even Zhang Xiaohua’s heart skipped a beat.

However, contrary to expectations, Qin Shiyue simply called out: “Ren Xiaoyao, follow me.”

Zhang Xiaohua let out an “Oh!” and leaped forward, a hint of joy in his voice.

Qin Shiyue was puzzled. He turned back to glance at Zhang Xiaohua, muttering: “You seem to be in quite a good mood.”

Both of them used Qinggong to glide across the pond. Only when they reached the rock garden did the maid finally turn and flee as if her life depended on it. Qin Shiyue glanced back at her, twirling a short strand of his beard between two fingers, lost in thought.

Beneath the rock garden was a pitch-black tunnel entrance, with a staircase leading downward. Ying Fei hesitated. “Daren, could this be a trap?”

Qin Shiyue chuckled. “Even if it is a trap, do you dare to go in?”

Ying Fei forced a smile. “As long as I’m following Daren, I’d climb a mountain of swords or walk through a sea of fire without hesitation.”

Qin Shiyue snorted. “Enough flattery. Get in there and lead the way.”

Ying Fei glanced at Zhang Xiaohua and said: “Daren, I think it’d be better to let this kid go first.”

“Get down there already! Why are you wasting time? If I could let him take the lead, do you think I’d have brought him all this way?”

“Yes, yes!”

Ying Fei dared not argue further and reluctantly took the lead, stepping down the staircase.

The secret passage beneath the rock garden was both narrow and low. Not only did Qin Shiyue and Ying Fei have to stoop, but even Zhang Xiaohua had to bend down. The passage was damp and dark, with occasional water droplets falling, indicating that they were likely walking beneath the pond. Ying Fei, leading the way, held a firestarter in one hand and a sword in the other, cautiously advancing.

After a long while, the passage gradually widened and dried up, yet no traps had been encountered. A bit further in, the passage sloped upward, suggesting they were nearing its end.

The three of them relaxed slightly.

Before long, a half-open door appeared ahead, with light seeping in from the outside. Ying Fei put away the firestarter and chuckled: “Daren, look at how hastily Ma Rulong fled—he didn’t even shut the door properly.”

Saying that, he reached out to push the door open.

At that very moment, three arrows suddenly shot in from outside with a sharp “whoosh”, aimed directly at Ying Fei.

Ying Fei, already in the process of pushing the door, had no time to react. He hadn’t expected a trap embedded in the half-open door, and by the time he realized, it was too late to dodge.

These arrows, launched by a mechanism, carried immense force, targeting three key points—upper, middle, and lower. If hit, Ying Fei would undoubtedly lose his life.

In the blink of an eye, Qin Shiyue kicked Ying Fei in the waist, sending him flying sideways, allowing him to evade the upper and lower arrows. However, the middle arrow was unavoidable—it pierced straight through Ying Fei’s left arm with a sickening “pfft,” exiting from the other side. Ying Fei couldn’t help but cry out in pain.

The remaining two arrows whizzed past Ying Fei and shot toward Qin Shiyue. Having just kicked Ying Fei away, Qin Shiyue had yet to regain his footing. With a swift motion, he drew his flexible sword from his waist and slashed at the upper arrow. A metallic “clang” echoed—the arrow was made of iron! His sword deflected it, causing it to veer off course and embed deeply into the wall. Meanwhile, the lower arrow streaked past Qin Shiyue, heading straight for Zhang Xiaohua. By the time Qin Shiyue noticed, it was too late to intervene.

Another “pfft” sounded as the iron arrow embedded itself in the passage wall. When Qin Shiyue turned to look, Zhang Xiaohua stood there, motionless, seemingly petrified by fear. Qin Shiyue assumed he was too scared to react and paid him no further attention, striding toward Ying Fei instead.

What he didn’t realize was that from the moment they entered the passage, Zhang Xiaohua had already released his divine sense. Despite the darkness, he was fully aware of everything happening within a ten-zhang radius. The moment the iron arrows were launched, he had already sensed them. While these arrows posed a lethal threat to Qin Shiyue and Ying Fei, they were well within Zhang Xiaohua’s perception. This was the brilliance of his divine sense. He had long anticipated the arrows’ trajectory and, just as the third iron arrow approached, he casually executed a Piaomiao Step, allowing the arrow to pass harmlessly by his leg. His composed demeanor led Qin Shiyue to mistakenly believe he had been paralyzed by fear!

Meanwhile, Ying Fei had already collapsed in pain. Qin Shiyue stepped closer and, in the dim light, examined the wound on his arm. Dark blood was oozing from where the iron arrow had pierced—poisoned!

Qin Shiyue frowned and, without hesitation, kicked the door wide open. This time, no more arrows were fired.

Qin Shiyue called out: “Ren Xiaoyao, help Ying Fei out.”

Zhang Xiaohua responded and moved forward to lift Ying Fei from the ground, dragging him out of the narrow passage.

Qin Shiyue took out a small porcelain bottle from his robes and poured out a blood-red pill, saying: “Ying Fei, the poison on that arrow is potent. Take this ‘Detoxifying Pill’ first.”

Ying Fei, with a pale face, forced a smile and replied: “Thank you, Daren, for the medicine. With this pill, I believe my life will be spared.”

He then took the “Detoxifying Pill” and swallowed it.

Zhang Xiaohua, hearing the name “Detoxifying Pill”, felt a flicker of recognition. Could it be some special kind of pill? He couldn’t help but take a closer look and scanned it with his divine sense. However, it didn’t seem to contain any Yuan Qi.

Just as he was about to investigate further, Ying Fei had already swallowed the pill. To his surprise, the “Detoxifying Pill” was indeed effective. Soon after, fresh red blood began to flow from Ying Fei’s injured arm. Qin Shiyue then pressed his fingers onto Ying Fei’s arm at several acupoints, stopping the bleeding.

Ying Fei, still in discomfort, spoke with difficulty: “Daren, we’ve delayed for a while. Old Master Ma has probably already left. What do you think?”