Feng Yin Wan arrived at the imperial prison just as Song Qing An was coming out.
With guards stationed strictly on both sides, they noticed her presence. Song Qing An paused, then sidestepped the crowd and approached her quietly.
"Wan'er?"
He was surprised to see her here.
Feng Yin Wan nodded, observing their surroundings as she spoke.
"Has anything unusual happened here?"
Her solemn expression made people nervous.
Song Qing An hesitated for a moment, then shook his head. "The person captured last night hasn't spoken yet. I was just interrogating him in the prison and didn't notice anything amiss."
The imperial prison was small and heavily guarded. If there were any disturbances, they wouldn't escape his notice.
Hearing this, Feng Yin Wan's brows furrowed silently.
She hadn't found any trace of the mysterious person on her way here. Judging by the time, that person should have arrived before her and already taken action.
But Song Qing An said nothing happened… Could her deduction be wrong? Was that person's target not the imperial prison?
As she pondered, a sudden commotion erupted from within the prison, faint but undeniably originating from inside.
Song Qing An's expression instantly stiffened. Their eyes met, and he instructed her,
"Wait for me here."
With that, he quickly retreated. Feng Yin Wan couldn't show herself under the gaze of the guards. She waited outside for a moment. The sounds of intermittent fighting echoed from within the prison; Song Qing An had engaged the assailant.
The guards adjusted their formation, blocking the exit. However, the force from within was too powerful, shattering the prison gate and even sending the guards at the door flying.
A gap opened in their formation, and the assailant intended to escape. Seeing this, Feng Yin Wan immediately threw a hidden weapon from her sleeve.
Her position was concealed, and her throw was precise. The assailant was caught off guard and struck in the left knee, stumbling instantly.
Feng Yin Wan's eyes flashed.
From their previous encounters, she had determined that although this person's physique was not imposing, his flesh was as hard as stone, and ordinary sharp weapons could not harm him at all.
This hidden weapon was secretly crafted by her using the Feng Wu Xi technique. Though there was only one, its lethality was extremely potent, and it was coated with a secret soft-bone powder from the Xuanmen sect. Anyone struck by it would be unable to escape!
She remained hidden in the darkness, but the assailant seemed to sense her presence and yanked the hidden weapon out, flinging it towards her.
The speed was incredibly fast. By the time Feng Yin Wan perceived it, the glint of steel was already upon her.
Song Qing An pursued from behind. Seeing the situation, he cried out in alarm,
"Be careful!"
Without a moment's hesitation, he lunged forward, shielding Feng Yin Wan.
In an instant, the hidden weapon pierced his armor and became firmly embedded in his flesh.
Feng Yin Wan froze for a moment, then immediately reached out to support him.
"Yu Zhi!"
The commotion here distracted some of the guards. Meanwhile, the mysterious person, who had been struck in the left knee, seized the opportunity to escape.
Feng Yin Wan's eyes flickered with unspoken emotion. She had no choice but to take the unconscious Song Qing An away before the others could surround them.
The hidden weapon had been forcibly pulled out by the assailant. Even incomplete, its potency remained immense.
All the way back to Jiuzhou Xiangxie, she carried the unconscious Song Qing An, her palm almost completely soaked with viscous blood.
Her gaze fell upon the black blood seeping between her fingers, and Feng Yin Wan's heart lurched in alarm.
Black blood meant poison.
But the soft-bone powder, while causing weakness, was not poisonous.
Why had Song Qing An been poisoned?
Without daring to delay, she laid him on the bed and began to remove his soft armor. However, the moment her fingertips touched it, he clutched her hand.
"Don't…"