Early - Sun Huaizhu was still sad when she came to the kitchen to decoct tonic medicine for Wangquan Baye. Wangquan Baye's health had declined significantly, and his will had also become much more dispirited.
"Stop thinking about it. Hurry up and decoct the medicine. The most important thing now is to recuperate Baye's health!" Early - Sun Huaizhu patted her head and started to deal with the medicinal materials on the chopping board.
In recent days, she had been cooking in order to take care of Wangquan Baye's health. If cooking used to be a hobby, now it had become a habit.
This medicine was weighed from the doctor, and the amounts had already been well - proportioned. Early - Sun Huaizhu poured the medicine bag into the casserole and added some firewood below. Decocting medicine couldn't be rushed; it had to be simmered over a low flame.
Stirring the dark liquid medicine in the pot, Early - Sun Huaizhu thought of Wangquan Baye with a listless look in his eyes again. He had been so dispirited all day and had lost so much weight.
Just as she was in a daze, a sharp arrow came through the air.
"Zheng!" The arrow was firmly embedded in the wooden pillar in the kitchen. The tail of the arrow was still shaking violently, and a note was nailed to the pillar.
Early - Sun Huaizhu looked around warily but found no suspicious figures. She walked to the pillar, pulled out the arrow, and took off the note on it.
The paper was slightly yellowed, the most ordinary kind of paper nowadays. Early - Sun Huaizhu unfolded the note to see what was written on it.
"Dongfang Qinlan is in danger! Her life is at stake! Come quickly to the eastern city forest."
There were only a few words on the note, each word oozing with anxiety. Early - Sun Huaizhu's heart tightened, but she couldn't be sure whether the note was true or false.
"Who is it? And what's their intention? Is Qinlan really in danger?"
These doubts made Early - Sun Huaizhu feel restless. It was a sensitive period, and a single wrong step on her part might cause losses, so she had to be cautious.
"Zheng!"
"Zheng!"
"Zheng!"
Several more sharp arrows came through the air. She didn't know who had shot them. Early - Sun Huaizhu unfolded the notes, and as expected, they had the same content.
Seeing this, Early - Sun Huaizhu's hesitation diminished and was replaced by anxiety.
"What does this mean? But considering Qinlan, I'd better go and have a look." Thinking like this, Early - Sun Huaizhu couldn't stay in the Wangquan Mansion for a moment longer. She wiped her fingers dry, put out the fire, and went out.
The servants in the Wangquan Mansion were puzzled when they saw her rushing out of the mansion in a hurry, but they didn't dare to say anything and just continued with their work.
"What's going on? Why is she rushing out of the mansion?"
"Who knows?"
"She must have something important to do."
The servants whispered to each other, looking at Early - Sun Huaizhu's departing back. How could they know the entanglement between Wangquan Baye and Early - Sun Huaizhu?
They only regarded Early - Sun Huaizhu as a concubine with no background who had been married into the mansion, so they dared to discuss her so openly.
"Stop talking and get back to work!"
A sharp - eyed servant saw Wangquan Baye not far away, and everyone scattered like birds. The master doted on this concubine very much.
Although the Wangquan Mansion was located in the bustling city center, it wasn't far from the city gate. Early - Sun Huaizhu was worried about Dongfang Qinlan's situation, so she walked quickly to the place where the note said Dongfang Qinlan was in danger - the eastern city forest.
Although it was daytime, the eastern city forest was still pitch - black. The trees here were so dense that they blocked out the sky and the sun. Unlike other forests where the sunlight made it look peaceful, this forest seemed extremely solemn and murderous.
A sense of uneasiness flashed through her mind, but Early - Sun Huaizhu shook her head. In her desperation, she didn't care about anything and plunged into the forest to look for Dongfang Qinlan.
"Why am I being so timid today?"
Early - Sun Huaizhu encouraged herself as she walked into the forest. "Qinlan?"
She tried to call Dongfang Qinlan's name. In this vast forest, there was no one else but herself. Occasionally, a gentle breeze blew, making her feel a chill.
"Dongfang Qinlan?" Early - Sun Huaizhu called out. Just looking for her blindly, she didn't know when she would find her.
"Sister, I'm here." A clear female voice sounded.
"It's Qinlan!" Early - Sun Huaizhu's heart was filled with joy. She didn't have time to analyze the difference between this voice and her sister's usual one.
Early - Sun Huaizhu walked towards the direction where the voice came from. After passing by a big tree that several people could barely hug, a young girl walked towards her. She was only up to Early - Sun Huaizhu's chest. The sacred fire mark between her eyebrows was similar to hers, and there were a few signature tufts of hair on her head. Who else could it be but her younger sister?
"Qinlan, it's not that I don't want to recognize you. It's just that the current situation forces me, and I have no choice."
"..."
Early - Sun Huaizhu didn't look at Dongfang Qinlan's expression. She was just feeling lonely on her own face, helpless about the current situation. So she didn't notice that her usually lively and bright - eyed younger sister now had a dull and empty look in her eyes.
"How have you been recently?" Early - Sun Huaizhu looked up, as if she had forgotten that she came here because someone told her Dongfang Qinlan was in danger.
And the seemingly fine younger sister in front of her didn't make her think of anything suspicious.
The previously motionless Dongfang Qinlan suddenly moved. She conjured up a ball of sacred fire in her hand and threw it at Early - Sun Huaizhu.
Early - Sun Huaizhu was still shocked by this sudden change. When she looked up at Dongfang Qinlan again, she was no longer the cute and naughty younger sister she was used to.
Dongfang Qinlan's eyes were blood - red. Her once - charming eyes were now empty. She stared straight ahead without looking at Early - Sun Huaizhu and only attacked fiercely, giving Early - Sun Huaizhu no chance to catch her breath.
"Qin... No! You're not Qinlan! Who are you?!"
Looking at this completely strange Dongfang Qinlan, Early - Sun Huaizhu thought, this couldn't be her younger sister. She had been dealing with so many things recently that her mind had become a bit dull.
"Who on earth are you? Who sent you here? And where is the real Dongfang Qinlan?" Early - Sun Huaizhu dodged the fake Dongfang Qinlan's attacks and asked.
Facing someone with the same appearance as her younger sister, she was a bit soft - hearted and couldn't bear to strike back.
She could only dodge while leading the fake Dongfang Qinlan out of this place and towards another place. Early - Sun Huaizhu used her light - body skill, and the fake Dongfang Qinlan chased after her.
"Whew." Early - Sun Huaizhu led her to another place and stopped.
The person pretending to be Dongfang Qinlan behind her was like a marionette, just closely chasing and attacking Early - Sun Huaizhu.
While dodging, Early - Sun Huaizhu heard a male voice getting closer. It was a familiar, shudder - inducing and disgusting voice.
"Hehe, junior sister, how have you been since you married into the Wangquan Mansion as a concubine?"
"Your Wangquan Baye probably won't last much longer. You seem to be quite happy being with him!" Jin Renfeng landed from the air and stood firmly on the ground. He didn't seem surprised by the appearance of the fake Dongfang Qinlan. Staring at Early - Sun Huaizhu, his eyes were full of ugliness, showing a disgusting and jealous look.
"Since you've chosen to degenerate on your own, junior sister, don't blame me for cleaning up the sect in place of our deceased master!"