"Xie Jing" no longer wasted words with her. Like a ghost, he instantly drifted before Qin Jiujiu, holding up a white jade bottle.
"Eat it!"
Qin Jiujiu glanced at the white jade bottle, then at "Xie Jing," and quietly took a step back.
Logically, this shouldn't be poison. If he truly wanted to kill her, he wouldn't go through so much trouble. Seeing her unwillingness to comply, he said, "Don't worry, it's not poison!"
As if reading her mind, he preempted her question. Qin Jiujiu watched him take a step closer and raise the medicine to her face again.
"Do I have to eat it?"
Even if it wasn't poison, it could be something more terrifying.
He replied without hesitation, "Naturally!"
"Or, there's another option..."
A glint flashed in Qin Jiujiu's eyes, but seeing his ill-intentioned smile, she relented and snatched the medicine bottle from his hand.
While she still had the courage, she quickly opened the bottle and poured the medicine into her palm.
There was only one pill in the bottle. It looked like an ordinary black pill, neither small nor large. She glanced at "Xie Jing" before popping the pill into her mouth and forcing herself to swallow it.
She couldn't decipher the expression on his face. It seemed to hold anticipation, but then quickly shifted to a hint of reluctance. The emotions flickered, and Qin Jiujiu, though confused, dared not stare.
"Since that's the case, you should have a good sleep here! If that person comes, you will survive..."
It was that strange scent again. Even though she covered her nose with her sleeve, it was no use. The scent was overbearing, and soon she felt her body weaken and her head spin.
In her haze, she saw the person before her split into many figures. These were all Xie Jing, but it felt as if they were the real Xie Jing.
"System, if I fall on the ground like this, will I die?"
Before passing out, she urgently called out to the system in her mind. She didn't want to die from falling, as landing on the back of her head could be fatal.
Before the system could reply, she felt herself falling into an embrace, a familiar scent filling her nostrils. The scent was pleasant, but she couldn't quite place it.
When Xie Jing arrived, he saw Qin Jiujiu looking unsteady. He walked towards her, and she stumbled into his arms.
Xie Jing hesitated for a moment before reaching out to embrace her waist. With his other hand, he scooped up her legs. In a blink, he was holding her in a princess carry.
Qin Jiujiu retained a sliver of consciousness. Her head felt heavy and unwell, but the scent tickling her nose seemed to invigorate her.
She dazedly opened her eyes again. Though still dizzy, she was clearly more awake. At least she wasn't seeing double anymore.
However, it might just be a final surge of energy. She stole a glance at Xie Jing before losing consciousness again, this time completely.
But that one glance left a deep impression, and even in her dreams, it was him.
Xie Yun and Liu Jin walked for a long time without reaching the cave entrance. They were unaware of Qin Jiujiu's situation, and all their communication talismans had gone unanswered.
Only when the light within the cave gradually brightened did they successfully reach the exit and head directly to the right.
Through a narrow passage, they entered the room Qin Jiujiu had been in before. It was still filled with trinkets from the opera house, displayed in a spectacular fashion.
After a brief inspection, they noticed another opening on the other side, with the stone door not fully closed. Inside, a butterfly hairpin lay on the ground. Liu Jin recognized it as Qin Jiujiu's. They had bought it together while shopping a while ago, and Jiu Jiu had liked it very much.
Since the hairpin was found here, it meant Jiu Jiu had been here, and something must have happened to cause the hairpin to fall from her hair without her realizing it.
"Xie Daxia, look! This is Jiu Jiu's!"
Xie Yun took the hairpin, his heart suddenly filled with unease. Something must have happened to Jiu Jiu! Just then, a deafening sound echoed, like something collapsing.
Xie Yun and the others immediately became alert, the sound seemingly coming from not too far away.
As everyone drew their swords in a defensive posture, a man covered in blood, with disheveled clothes and hair, ran towards them, looking utterly pathetic.
Upon seeing Xie Yun, the fear in his eyes lessened, and he ran straight towards them. However, likely due to his injuries, his steps were unsteady, as if he would collapse at any moment.
Someone seemed to recognize the man and tentatively asked, "Ah Chen?"
Soon, everyone recognized him. Wasn't this Ah Chen, their comrade of many years?
As Ah Chen approached Xie Yun, he could no longer stand and collapsed. Xie Yun quickly knelt to help him, and the other constables gathered around. Ah Chen's intermittent words reached Xie Yun's ears. He was gravely wounded and wouldn't have made it here if not for an unfinished task.
"My Lord, quickly save Lord Wei!"
After saying this, he coughed up blood and fainted.
Hearing this, it was clear that Wei Ting and the others were in danger. Xie Yun immediately turned and pursued the direction Ah Chen had come from. The constable who had first recognized Ah Chen carried the unconscious man and gave chase.
Although Wei Ting was a mortal, he had practiced martial arts since childhood. Coupled with the talismans given by Xie Yun, he managed to hold on until Xie Yun arrived.
Not long ago, their group had passed through the same narrow path and cave that Qin Jiujiu and Xie Yun had taken. However, while retracing their steps from that stone cave, they discovered that the path they were taking was different from before.
Strangely, though there was only one intersection and their direction hadn't changed, they felt lost and couldn't find their way out.
After circling the same path many times, they entered a stone cave. They initially thought it was the same one they had encountered before, but the furnishings were clearly different.
"Are those skeletons?"
Someone exclaimed in shock. Liu Jin's gaze, however, was drawn to the screens in the center. Upon hearing the exclamation, everyone turned their attention to that area.
The focal point was a pile of bones, with some undecayed fabric still scattered around them. While it was impossible to tell if they were animal or human at this moment, their presence here was profoundly unsettling.
Liu Jin remained remarkably calm upon seeing human bones. She had accompanied her father and brothers on campaigns and had seen countless dead bodies and skeletal remains. The fear had long since passed, and she now viewed them with equanimity.
She quickly shifted her attention back to the screens. Ever since entering this place, she had sensed something peculiar about them.
There were dozens of screens here, each with a different design, all featuring portraits of people, not landscapes. These figures were vividly painted, but none of them had eyes.
"Xie Daxia, look at these screens."
Xie Yun quickly moved to Liu Jin's side. Before them stood a screen with an unfinished painting, depicting only a portrait of a man.
The man in the portrait was handsome, dressed in a military uniform, and looked strikingly familiar.