23. A Plan Within a Plan
“Follow me.”
Amidst the blinding light, Qiu Shui and Lu Xinyao felt someone grab their hands and pull them along at a breakneck pace.
When the dizziness subsided, they realized the person was…
“It’s you?” Qiu Shui looked at Gong Yiling, then calmly thanked her. “Thank you for saving us.”
“But how did you…?”
“Oh, I was nearby. I saw the fire and came to investigate.”
Gong Yiling hid the anti-mother weapon and looked behind them. “Good, they didn’t follow.”
“But this is the competition area. Why were they chasing you?”
—Miss Gong already had a guess.
The answer was obvious. Whoever controlled this area was the one behind the attack.
Undoubtedly, it was Shangguan Yaochang who sent the assassins.
And they weren’t sent in after the competition began!
To avoid attention, he must have had them hide beforehand.
And the First Prince and Young Master Xuli coming here first… their purpose must have been to instruct the assassins.
“I’m the only one who showed my face in the palace,” Lu Xinyao said, realizing the truth.
“It’s Shangguan Qingyun.” She gripped Qiu Shui’s arm.
“He wouldn’t attack us personally, so after finding us, he must have notified the assassins.”
But instead of worrying about their own situation, the two girls were concerned about Gong Yiling.
“Will they target Master too?” Qiu Shui frowned. “There’s no one protecting her.”
Lu Xinyao nodded. “I think so too. Should we withdraw and warn Big Sister?”
“Yes… Master’s safety is more important.”
They were about to crush the blue crystals they had been given.
Their concern surprised Gong Yiling.
But she wouldn’t let them waste this opportunity.
She stopped them and said, “Don’t worry, your master is with Shangguan Lingyue. She’ll be fine. But you two… are you planning to run away?”
“Run away?”
Her words irked them again.
“I just took a look,”
Miss Gong smiled and clapped her hands. “Those guys aren’t that strong. The strongest is only at Return to Origin. You two aren’t afraid of them, are you?”
Afraid? Not really…
But there were at least fifteen of them.
They couldn’t fight so many people!
“I know what you’re thinking.” Gong Yiling said, “What if I told you I have a way to deal with those assassins, and even make the First Prince suffer?”
She took out a talisman with a strange symbol on it—a “No Parking” sign.
“Want to try it?”
—
—
Time passed.
The First Prince led the group through the forest, while Young Master Xuli used his techniques to conceal them from sight.
Even if they passed right in front of other participants, they wouldn’t be seen.
But as they walked, the First Prince sensed something amiss.
They were heading towards the central area.
“Your Highness, they…”
The lead assassin also noticed this and asked, “Are you sure they went this way?”
Normally, anyone questioning him like this would face consequences.
But this time… he didn’t react.
He was also puzzled.
He knew their location because of a special incense called Thousand Miles Fragrance.
Colorless and odorless, those affected by it wouldn’t even realize it.
Others, however, could smell it with a special antidote.
This incense was incredibly valuable on the black market. If he hadn’t needed to control Lu Xinyao, Shangguan Qingyun, having just suffered a major financial loss, wouldn’t have used it.
He had applied the incense to the two girls while greeting them. Theoretically, they shouldn’t know they were being tracked.
Could it be… they were intentionally heading towards the central area?
“Heh—” Shangguan Qingyun sneered.
If they were courting death, then he wouldn’t stop them!
He quickened his pace.
After following them for a while, until the surrounding scenery changed significantly, Shangguan Qingyun realized something.
“This is… still the outer area?”
He looked around.
The plants here had a distinct purple hue. He knew this was the result of absorbing the poisonous mist.
These trees were called Demonic Qiong Trees. They absorbed the toxins, turning their leaves and branches purple, but their unique filtering system ensured their fruits and sap remained untainted.
These trees sustained the demonic beasts living between the outer and central areas.
But their presence here meant they were no longer within the designated competition area, but had entered a dangerous zone.
“Stop!”
Shangguan Qingyun frowned. “We’ve been tricked.”
“Is this the central area?” The lead assassin asked, puzzled. “But we haven’t encountered the barrier. It requires a special dispelling talisman to break, right?”
Shangguan Qingyun glared at him coldly. “What if those two girls have such a talisman?”
Just as he finished speaking, demonic roars echoed through the forest, followed by tremors and the continuous roars of giant beasts, confirming his suspicions.
However, the sudden appearance of demonic beasts didn’t faze Shangguan Qingyun and Young Master Xuli.
They immediately abandoned the assassins and fled.
But soon, they encountered another group of demonic beasts, seemingly waiting for them. And behind the beasts stood their original targets, Qiu Shui and Lu Xinyao.
“It’s you two.”
Shangguan Qingyun, looking at the hostile beasts surrounding them, greeted them calmly. “What a coincidence.”
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