On Zhufeng Street, in the Baisheng Store—
The horse neighed softly, and the sound of the turning carriage wheels came to a halt. Only two long tracks, dirty and messy, were left on the snow.
Qiao Yan and Ye Xi exchanged a glance. Nervously, Qiao Yan wiped the thin sweat on her palm, took a long breath, adjusted her expression, and then lifted the curtain and stepped out of the carriage first.
"This is the place, Xiaoxi," Qiao Yan said, turning back and reaching out her hand to help Ye Xi. "I heard that since the New Year is approaching, the Baisheng Store has specially sourced a lot of new and interesting things from various countries. They haven't even been put on the shelves for sale yet." As she spoke, she helped Ye Xi inside.
"I got this insider information through some connections. You've been worried about the matter of Prince Yu'an for so long. It's time for you to have some fun and go on a shopping spree."
"But..." Ye Xi looked listless, seemingly in no mood.
Qiao Yan dragged Ye Xi into the store and said grandly, "I'm treating today. You can take whatever you like. Don't feel bad for me."
"Shopkeeper," afraid that Ye Xi would back out and run away, Qiao Yan quickly called out. "Bring out all your newly arrived goods. I'm going to have a great time picking today."
"Sure thing—please wait a moment." The shopkeeper grinned from ear to ear, secretly winked at Qiao Yan and Ye Xi, and led them into the side room reserved for distinguished guests.
The clerks served tea and water, and some quickly brought out the items, which were laid out on a table in great variety.
After they had been choosing for a while, Ye Xi seemed really uninterested and said, "A Yan, you look first for a while. It's stuffy in this room. I'll go for a stroll in the backyard."
"Ah?" Qiao Yan put down the item in her hand. "Then I'll go with you."
Ye Xi waved her hand and winked at the clerk standing nearby. She said, "No need, no need. I just want to get some fresh air. I won't run away."
The clerk received Ye Xi's signal, and with hands behind his back, made a gesture towards the window crack.
There were two "thumps" from outside, as if someone had accidentally knocked something over.
Ye Xi walked out of the door. Immediately, a clerk came up, asked with a smiling face about her needs, and then led Ye Xi towards the backyard.
"Alright, I'll just stand here." Ye Xi let out a soft breath, and a white puff of mist rose. "You can go now."
The clerk responded and happily left with the reward Ye Xi had given him.
The snow fell silently.
Ye Xi and her two servants stood quietly. The only sound they could hear was the shopkeeper's voice greeting customers from time to time.
"Miss," Sai Xing tucked Ye Xi's cloak in. "It's cold. Let's go back. The hot-water bottle is almost cold."
Ye Xi handed the hot-water bottle to Sai Xing and stared blankly, saying, "Then go and get me a new one."
Exchanging a glance with Ling Yan, Sai Xing reluctantly took the hot-water bottle Ye Xi gave her and went back inside to change the hot water.
Not long after Sai Xing left, a woman in merchant's attire in her thirties entered the outer hall. She rushed towards Ye Xi and said, "Excuse me, miss. I'm really sorry to bother you. I'm in urgent need to use the restroom..." As she spoke, she got closer to Ye Xi.
Probably because she was walking too fast, she suddenly slipped and fell towards Ye Xi.
Ling Yan quickly reached out and caught the woman who let out a scream.
The woman was stunned for a moment. With a look of relief, she patted her chest and said, "Oh, thank you so much. Here, this is a little token of my appreciation..." As she said this, she reached into her bosom and took out a small bamboo tube as thick and long as a finger. She pulled off the lid with a "pop" and held it in front of Ling Yan, saying sinisterly, "Don't dislike it, miss."
The strong smell of the powerful sleeping drug filled the air. Ling Yan was caught off guard and inhaled most of it.
"Miss..." Ling Yan felt dizzy. She wanted to tell Ye Xi to run away quickly, but she could hardly speak clearly. She wanted to draw her sword, but her hand was completely out of control.
"Ling..." Sensing something was wrong, Ye Xi didn't have time to call for help. The woman had already covered her mouth, with so much strength that Ye Xi couldn't struggle at all.
"Thud, clang—" Ling Yan couldn't resist the drug and fell to the ground. Her sword dropped to the snow with a dull sound.
The silver light reflected from the weapon flashed. The woman quickly drew out the dagger from her boot and stabbed at Ye Xi's neck.
"Ding—" Several silver needles suddenly appeared from the side and knocked the dagger out of the woman's hand.
The woman was startled. Without thinking, she pulled out the silver hairpin from her head and continued to stab at Ye Xi.
The person hiding in the dark finally showed up. Holding an Emei Piercer, he instantly blocked the woman's attack.
The sound of "whooshing" never stopped. After just a few rounds, the woman was no match for the purple-clad man and fled in a hurry.
Ye Xi half-kneeled on the ground in a mess, covering her neck. Blood gushed out from between her fingers, quickly staining her light-yellow cloak red.
A look of fear flashed across the purple-clad man's eyes. He rushed forward quickly to check Ye Xi's injury.
As soon as he got close to Ye Xi, a cloud of white powder flew towards his face.
Cursing inwardly, the purple-clad man instinctively stepped back. He circulated his inner breath in his abdomen and waved his hand to disperse the flying powder.
Suddenly, Ling Yan, who had "feigned a coma after being hit" behind him, drew her sword and flew towards the purple-clad man, stabbing straight at him.
"Attack!" Ye Xi shouted.
Immediately, countless people swarmed in from all directions.
Qiao Yan held a whip, kicked open the window, and flipped out to protect Ye Xi and retreat.
Archers who had appeared on the wall heads suddenly showed up and aimed their bows and arrows at the purple-clad man.
Xie Huaiyue led people in through the front door, while Yun Qi led people to surround from the back door. They closed in from both sides and instantly surrounded the purple-clad man in the yard.
Xie Huaiyue sneered coldly, waved her hand, and shouted, "Capture him!"
Realizing he had been tricked, the purple-clad man was furious. He flicked his sleeve, and hidden weapons flew out with a "whooshing" sound. They were blocked by several skilled people and scattered everywhere with a "clanging" sound.
Some of the hidden weapons on the ground broke in the middle, and a strange mist rose.
Fortunately, Ye Xi had reminded them in advance. When they came in, they had all worn face masks, which blocked most of the mist. But there were still some guards who were close or whose face masks had been blown up. They were poisoned and fell to the ground one after another.
Yun Qi waved his hand to disperse the poison in front of him, and then sprinkled the sleeping drug he had brought.
The purple-clad man was extremely alert. As soon as Yun Qi moved, he had already dodged to another place strangely.
But he didn't know that Xie Huaiyue had given everyone sleeping drugs.
For a moment, wherever he dodged, a puff of powder would fly into his face.
He was well wrapped up. Although the sleeping drug was sprinkled on his face like snow, it didn't have much of an effect. But it really blocked his vision. Yun Qi, Ling Yan, and Xie Huaiyue were all extremely skilled.
Taking advantage of his momentary blindness, they all attacked. The sword lights flashed, and the purple-clad man was cut in many places.
His sinister eyes were filled with a terrifying light. The purple-clad man roared in anger. He put away his Emei Piercer and threw things out with a "whooshing" sound.
When the swords and weapons hit those things, there was no longer the clear sound of metal colliding.
A slight "hissing" sound never stopped. When they took a closer look, they found that they were all kinds of terrifying poisonous creatures.