Chapter 46 The Man in Black

"Good!" Li Xi clapped his hands in approval. "You flatter me, young master," Yu Luo said, bowing her head shyly. "Miss Yu Luo, after listening to your music, I'm sure you'll have a good dream tonight."

"Young Master Li, come here," Qin Xiaolin continued to pour wine. The two toasted each other, and after a few songs, they stepped off the flower boat. The cold wind blowing in their faces made their teeth and cheeks ache.

The winter night sky is quiet and beautiful, like a black curtain woven with diamonds. Snowflakes fall lightly and quietly disperse in the silent winter night.

Qin Xiaolin and Li Xi were chatting idly. Suddenly, a group of men in black emerged from the shadows and attacked Qin Xiaolin head-on.

"This is the first time I've encountered someone willingly throwing their life away," Qin Xiaolin sneered, drawing his longsword to block the attack. Li Xi, itching for a fight, drew her sword and joined in. Lately, she'd been having trouble finding anyone to beat up at night for stealing chickens or other petty thieves. Wasn't this perfect opportunity for her to practice her skills?

"Brother Li, be careful!" Qin Xiaolin stepped forward and kicked away the black-clad man who was attacking Li Xi from behind.

“These people are no ordinary folks; they were following us before we boarded the ship,” Qin Xiaolin said warily, glancing around. “Then let’s beat them until they can’t get up,” the two said as they dealt with the men in black.

The men in black intensified their attack, but Qin Xiaolin and Li Xi remained steadfast. Their figures leaped in the moonlight, like two tenacious flames, burning even more fiercely under the men's onslaught.

Seeing that he couldn't subdue Li Xi immediately, the man in black took out some powder from his pocket and sprinkled it on them. Fortunately, the two were prepared and quickly held their breath, leaping to either side to dodge. Seeing that the two hadn't been hit, the man in black had no choice but to give up and hurriedly fled.

Li Xi and Qin Xiaolin nodded in acknowledgment, concealing their murderous aura as they followed. Their inner strength was profound, and the men in black remained unaware of them. They watched as the group of men in black leaped into a courtyard, and the two followed, scaling the wall.

They found guards standing three or five feet away in the courtyard, so the two jumped off the wall and went around to the main gate. It was just an ordinary residence—the Gao Mansion.

“Brother Qin, it seems it’s your turn to make a move,” Li Xi said helplessly. “The powder these men in black used is the same one that knocked me out last time. Their powder has a peculiar smell. The sleeping pills my men found on the black market are mostly similar, only this one is different. I think it must be something they use exclusively. I’ll have someone investigate this family’s background again tomorrow,” Qin Xiaolin said, puzzled.

"Brother Qin, if we find out tomorrow, would you like to meet at a restaurant? Sister Lan might know something about this powder," Li Xi pondered for a moment, perhaps it was related to Lan'er's father, "Then I'll head back first."

"That's exactly what I was thinking of asking. Miss Meng's medical skills are superb, so she must know something about these medicinal powders," Qin Xiaolin said after a moment's thought.

After saying goodbye to Qin Xiaolin, Li Xi hurried home. Meng Zhelan was still in the house writing a prescription. "Lan'er, there might be news about your father soon," Li Xi said excitedly.

Meng Zhelan was stunned upon hearing this, and the ink dripped onto the paper and spread. "Ah? What, what happened?" Li Xi told Meng Zhelan about her and Qin Xiaolin's encounter with the men in black. "Fortunately, we managed to avoid them in time. Young Master Qin said that the powder they used was the same as the one that drugged him last time."

"Does Young Master Qin have a way to find the person behind this?" Meng Zhelan frowned. "I think he has a way. After all, he is the son of the Duke's mansion," Brother Qin appeared gentle and refined on the surface, but there seemed to be a sense of indifference in his eyes.

“Alright, alright, then I need to prepare early too. These people didn’t catch you today, so they’re probably targeting us. They’ll probably come back if they don’t achieve their goal. They won’t dare to show up in broad daylight. I’ll go and refine some medicinal powder, and everyone should carry some.”

After Meng Zhelan finished speaking, she picked up her pen and wrote down four or five prescriptions, planning to go to the clinic to have them prepared in a couple of days.

In this bizarre and unpredictable world, no one can live a life that is completely smooth sailing.

"Your Excellency, we failed to capture Li Xi, and the young master of Dingguo Mansion is also here," the man in black said anxiously. This was the second time he had failed. "Didn't you use that powder? You've all experienced the power of that sleeping potion," a man in a black robe stepped out of the darkness.

“Those two seemed to be on guard and had already avoided us.” “Alright, here’s this month’s antidote. If you didn’t get the job done, don’t come back. Just wait to die outside.” The man tossed over a bottle of antidote. “Now go and bring those people back.”

In a courtyard house somewhere in Kyoto, Meng Zhong, having finished refining another batch of medicine, could finally lie down to rest, cursing under his breath, "These bastards, they treat me like a cow, refining medicine every day, making me go blind." He wondered how Lan'er was doing, whether she could take care of herself, and whether she could still go out.

The medicines he concocted were only slightly less potent than he should have been, not enough to kill anyone. He was a doctor, after all; for him to concoct medicines that could kill ordinary people went against his medical principles. He considered ending it all, but he couldn't bear to leave his daughter. His daughter had suffered greatly. She lost her mother at a young age and had followed him through ten years of hardship and displacement.

The guards outside the door were used to it; this doctor was strange, always cursing and making a lot of demands.

"Master, recently Prince Liang has been in contact with the bandit leader of Tiger Head Mountain. The men I sent out reported that they seem to have some financial dealings. Recently, those bandits have been planning to rob passing caravans in Yongzhou. Our scouts sent word back today, and it should be in the next few days."

The man addressed as sect leader stood there, exuding an aura of majesty that made one feel as if he possessed an incomparably powerful force that controlled everything.

"Hmm, send someone to relay this message to the Crown Prince. Alright, you may leave." The man's lips curled slightly, radiating an aura of indifference and ruthlessness that kept everyone at arm's length.

Li Xi was exhausted after running around all night and fell asleep soon after. In her hazy state, she seemed to hear someone saying something to her.

"Xi'er, you must protect this jade pendant and brocade pouch. They are closely related to you, and you must not let anyone discover your identity as a woman," Father Li handed her the two tokens and instructed her to take care of Li Yi. He hurriedly packed his luggage after saying only a few words. He and Mother Li were going out to trade and would not be back for a while. He talked with his two children by candlelight late into the night, seemingly reluctant to part with them.

They chatted about the two siblings' childhood and the interesting things in their lives. Li Xi saw how harmonious the family of four got along, and a bittersweet feeling welled up in her heart. This was a family atmosphere she had never experienced before.

The scene shifts back to the original owner giving the keepsake to the group attacking her for Zhao Bo's sake, only to be stabbed and pushed off a cliff by Zhao Bo. The pain of the poison corroding her wound throbbed in Li Xi's mind, as if she were experiencing it herself...