Climbing on the Sparrow Branch – CH 795

Chapter 795: The Outer Edge

Time passed slowly inside the cave.

An Zhi sat on a rock, leaning against the cave wall, her mind still replaying Bi He’s assurance.

Bi He had said that Dowager Consort Xue had absolutely no intention of harming her.

An Zhi believed her, but being in the unknown made her feel very unsafe.

Actually, she had found something strange when Bi He found her. Bi He’s ability to find them on time was enough to prove Dowager Consort Xue’s familiarity with and control over Xiling.

But Yun Xingbang did not even spare the Empress Dowager; how could he allow Dowager Consort Xue’s men to come out so easily?

This thought sparked her suspicion.

Furthermore, Bi He’s evasive answers made An Zhi realize that Dowager Consort Xue was inextricably linked to this matter.

The light from the cave entrance above gradually faded. Binglu sat down beside her young madam and broke off a piece of bread for her. But if the light had been brighter, Binglu would have noticed that her young madam’s face was pale.

An Zhi ate a couple of bites of bread, then could not eat anymore; a sharp pain shot through her chest again.

She gritted her teeth and called out, “Yonglu!”

Yonglu sat on the other side of the cave. He knew An Zhi was having an attack, but he did not want to respond at the moment. He just wanted to make her suffer, since she had been so harsh and threatening to him earlier.

Binglu and Shuo Feng heard their madam’s trembling voice and realized something was wrong.

“Madam, what’s wrong?” Binglu asked.

“The Empress Dowager poisoned me. The antidote is in Yonglu’s body.” An Zhi tried to take a deep breath, but the pain made her wince.

Upon hearing this, Shuo Feng immediately grabbed Yonglu by the collar, lifted him up, and demanded angrily, “Where’s the antidote?”

Yonglu had tried to play hard to get, but Shuo Feng slammed him against the rock wall, squeezing his neck so tightly he could not breathe, forcing him to pull a medicine bottle from his pocket.

An Zhi’s breathing became easier after smelling the antidote.

Binglu fed her madam water, while Shuo Feng pressed Yonglu for the antidote’s formula.

But Yonglu refused to speak.

“Madam, let me take him to ask around nearby,” Shuo Feng said, unable to use harsh methods in front of his madam, but he had plenty of ways to make people wish they were dead.

Upon hearing that Shuo Feng wanted to take him elsewhere, Yonglu immediately shook his head, but his mouth was already gagged, giving him no chance to speak.

An Zhi, fearing something unexpected might happen later, agreed to Shuo Feng’s request.

After a period of interrogation, Shuo Feng returned with a sweating Yonglu. The formula had been extracted, but Yonglu knew the antidote could only delay the cure, not cure it completely.

“Shuo Feng, tie him up. Go out and see where Yun Xingbang has locked up those noblewomen.” Waiting like this was not a solution. Shuo Feng was skilled in martial arts and could easily go out and gather information.

Shuo Feng was worried about leaving his madam here, but he knew that waiting here indefinitely would put him in a passive position. Although he had sent a message to the capital, he did not know if it had gotten through.

He gave his madam a packet of poison. “Madam, I’m going out to find the others. If anything happens during this time, I will sprinkle the powder on their leader. Even a little bit will poison him. You all take the antidote first. Once they are poisoned, they will not dare harm you.”

Shuo Feng made sure to conceal the cave before leaving.

After Shuo Feng left, An Zhi told Binglu to go and get some sleep.

“Please lie down and rest for a while; I cannot sleep,” Binglu said worriedly, unable to sleep at all.

An Zhi was not sleepy either; at a time like this, how could she dare to sleep?

She sighed silently to herself, wondering what Pei Que was doing.

Meanwhile, Pei Que had already led his men to the outskirts of Xiling.

This morning, upon receiving news of the disturbance in Xiling, Pei Que initially thought it was the Empress Dowager’s doing. For An Zhi’s safety, he still led his elite troops to Xiling. On their way to Xiling, they received news that the Xu family had led troops to capture Xiling, demanding that court officials go to Xiling to exchange for their own female relatives.

Upon hearing that the Xu family had captured Xiling, Pei Que immediately suspected a trap. Because the Xu family’s location, Linshan, was over a thousand palace li away from Xiling, if the Xu family had led troops from Linshan to Xiling, the people of the capital could not possibly be unaware.

As for who was secretly behind it, he did not know, but Pei Que was certain that Xiling was in danger.

Before the people from the capital arrived, Pei Que led his men on their way to Xiling.

They hurried as fast as they could, finally arriving at Xiling just as night fell.

They were now hiding in the back mountains of Xiling, keeping watch on the guards surrounding Xiling.

Lin Feng immediately recognized them as Yun family members and whispered, “Master, they’re Yun family guards. They’ve surrounded Xiling.”

“The Yun family? Could they really be related to the Empress Dowager?” Pei Que stared intently at the group of people at the foot of the mountain.

It was already late. The guards sat in twos and threes, with only a few holding torches and keeping watch.

To find out what was happening in Xiling, they would have to go inside or capture a Yun family guard.

Capturing a guard was much easier than entering Xiling at this hour.

Pei Que leaned slightly towards Lin Feng. “Bring one back with you. Let’s ask what happened first.”

Because he did not know the specifics of the situation in Xiling, Pei Que was extremely anxious. If the Yun family and the Empress Dowager made a move, An Zhi and Madam of Cheng would be the first to be targeted. The thought of An Zhi in danger made Pei Que anxious.

The early spring night was so quiet that only the rustling of the wind through the branches could be heard.

Lin Feng crept to the edge of Xiling. When a guard went to relieve himself in the bushes, he covered the guard’s mouth and brought him back.

The guard’s eyes were blindfolded, and he trembled all over. He did not know who had tied him up. The only certainty was that he was in grave danger.

Pei Que gave Lin Feng a look, signaling him to come and ask.

Lin Feng pointed a dagger at the guard’s neck, his voice low and menacing. “I will remove the gag from your mouth in a moment. If you scream, the dagger will pierce your throat, but I will not let you die immediately. I will let you bleed to death slowly. So you’d better be sensible. If you answer my questions truthfully, I will let you go. If you agree, nod.”

The guard nodded hastily, but the action of nodding caused a small, fingernail-sized cut on his neck from the dagger, and blood immediately seeped out. This made him realize that Lin Feng truly intended to kill him.

“I ask you, what are you planning to do by surrounding Xiling?”

The guard lowered his voice, his tone trembling at the end. “Minister Yun intends to use the ladies of the court to exchange for the lives of the ministers, so he ordered us to surround Xiling to prevent any sneak attacks or… or escapes.”

“How are the people inside now?” Lin Feng continued.

“They should all be alright; after all, Minister Yun is going to use them as a bargaining chip, so they should be safe tonight.” The guard was almost crying, adding incoherently, “As long as they do not run around, they should be fine. Gentlemen, please let me go; I have elderly parents and young children to support. I cannot die!”