Chapter 180 Mystery In Stone Valley Part 10

Walking through the courtyard and past the many servants who were working in the courtyard, Bi held on to the hem of her clothes and meandered forward in the courtyard to avoid bumping into the servants. When Bi entered the last door, she found Yue sitting at the table with two other maids, drawing pictures. 

"My lady," Bi said loudly as she approached Yue. 

Yue didn't look at Bi but dipped the paintbrush into the paint cup on the right. "What's wrong with you? Making noise so early in the morning," she said as she continued to draw the flowers on the branches. "You know, father doesn't like noise in the morning." 

Bi took a deep breath and said, "My lady, lady Yun." 

Yue put down the brush and said, "You two can go." 

The two maids bowed and left the courtyard, leaving only Yue and Bi sitting on the table. 

After the two maids left, Yue looked at Bi angrily and said, "How many times have I told you not to speak about her in front of others." 

"Sorry...I was too eager to let you know," Bi said. 

"What do you want to talk about?" Yue asked, turning to look at Bi. "It's better be some good news or I'm going to punish you for ruining my morning painting." 

Bi said, "Today, Lady Yun and I went to the market together and met some people we have never seen before." 

Yue shook her head contemptuously and picked up the brush again. "What's so special about this? New people come in every day in the market every day," Yue said while continuing to paint. 

Bi said, "But these people look unusual. Lady Yun is very interested in the owner who sells hairpins." 

"So, it has nothing to do with me. If she is interested in the hawker, that's her problem," Yue said. 

Bi said, "Lady Yue probably wants to gain credit and take revenge on you because of her marriage to Lord Lixin." 

Yue put down her brush again and said, "It's not my fault that the He family decided to change brides." She thought for a while. "If she gathered valuable people and got the pure phoenix egg... does this mean she will become the Phoenix General?" 

Bi looked at Yue with a smile and said, "That's exactly what I mean." 

Yue stood up suddenly and hit the table hard. "I will not allow such a thing to happen. No matter what, I am the eldest," Yue said angrily. "Take me to these people. I won't let her take credit without me saying anything." 

Bi smiled at Yue and said, "I know where to find them." 

Memories flashed before her eyes, Yue sat opposite Yul and Yun, feeling uneasy. Her heart trembled, and the convulses in her heart spread through the blood vessels coiling inside her, but she still hugged her composer, bravely poured herself a cup of water, and drank slowly, her eyes continuing to stare Yun in disbelief while sitting across from Yun at the same table. 

Yue turned to look at U-ri and said with a smile, "Sir U-ri, you are a courage doctor who dares to try to fight fire with fire." 

U-ri said, "Like I said, I didn't know this would work. After all, this success is entirely because of Lady Yun. Without Lady Yun, I wouldn't have known that the poison in Scattered Forest can take over other poisons." 

Yue looked at Yun and smiled. "You must be very hungry when you wake up," she said. "Bi, let the maid bring us some food." 

Bi smiled and said, "Yes, my lady." 

Yun quickly reached out and took Yul's hand, holding it tightly. Yul looked at Yun, and he found that Yun's expression changed from fear to fright. 

"U-ri... why don't you go with Lady Bi," Yul said. "Besides, Hajime has been gone for a while." 

Bi said, "Sir U-ri does not need to go. The kitchen is dirty and is not the place for dear gentlemen." 

U-ri said, "Lady Bi is right. I don't know much." 

"U-ri," Yul said firmly. "You and Lady Bi go to the kitchen together, and you go find Hajime." 

Yul's voice was firm, and suddenly U-ri realized that Yul might want U-ri to confirm something, but since there were many people sitting around the table, it might be difficult for Yul to tell U-ri. 

"Alright... alright... after all, I'm thirsty too, and I know you're worried about Hajime," U-ri said, standing up. "I'll go find Hajime, make sure he's okay, and bring him back. Gee... I hate running errands for my lover." He continued to complain as he and Bi walked out the door. 

"Who are you?" Hajime said, staring at the three men in black, while the maids continued to retreat to the kitchen. "You stare at me like you know who I am. Who are you?" 

Hajime noticed that the three people were dressed differently from the men who had fought Yul earlier. The three of them were wearing black leather clothes. Each was wearing long black cloaks, and large hoodies covered their heads. Due to the black clothes and darkness, Hajime could not tell whether the three people standing in front of him were men or women. 

The three people in black did not answer Hajime but continued to walk towards Hajime, forcing him to enter the kitchen with the maids. 

Hajime knew the kitchen was a death trap. If they go in, they have nowhere to escape; the solid stone wall makes it difficult for them to escape if the trio blocks the doorway, so if they want to escape, now is the time because once inside, their chance of escape chance will drop to zero. 

Hajime whispered to the four maids, "Once I attack them, the four of you will run as far and fast as you can. I believe they are here for me." 

The four terrifying maids nodded. 

Hajime pounced on the person in the middle, and the four maids began to run away. The other two people in black chased the maid with swords. 

The second person in black swung their sword forward and cut the throat of a maid. When the other three maids saw this, they quickly ran to the kitchen, but were blocked by the third person in black. The third person in black swung his sword and stabbed the two maids in the back quickly, then kicked the last maid down hard, sending her flying into the kitchen and knocking the chest-high bamboo fence down to the ground. 

Seeing that the four maids could not escape, Hajime jumped away from the first person in black. The three people in black stood in front of Hajime with swords in their hands. 

Hajime quickly reached into the cross bag and grabbed three wooden wolf figures. He threw the wolf figures on the ground, and three wolves appeared, growling at the three people in front of Hajime. 

When Hajime released the wolves, the person in the middle laughed at him, and Hajime was surprised. From the voice, Hajime knew that the person standing in the middle was indeed a man, but who. 

The man walked towards Hajime. Hajime watched the man raise the index finger of his right hand in front of him and began to write something in the air. But because it was dark, Hajime didn't know what the man was writing. But when the man put down his hand, A loud growl echoed in the night. 

The bright orange eyes slowly appeared in the darkness and slowly rose from the ground. Next to the man in black was a big red fox bigger than Hajime's wolves, growling loudly at Hajime and Hajime's wolves. The red fox stood beside the man and continued to growl, waiting for the man's order. 

Hajime looked at the man in black and said in surprise, "You... you are a mage..." 

"Hand it over," the man in black said. His voice was low, but powerful. 

"If the pure phoenix egg is what you want.... I don't have it," Hajime said. 

The man in black stared at the golden baton hanging on Hajime's waist. He knew Hajime had the pure phoenix egg. The man pointed at Hajime and said, "I can smell her scent from you. You can hand over the pure phoenix egg, or I can tear it out from your stomach, choose one." 

After hearing this, it finally dawned on Hajime that what he swallowed in that pond is the true pure phoenix egg. The various symptoms he had experienced in the past few days were indeed caused by him accidentally swallowing the pure phoenix egg. Even if Hajime wanted to spit out the pure phoenix egg and cure his symptoms, but he didn't know how to spit out the pure phoenix egg, so Hajime couldn't fulfill the request of the man in black. 

Not hearing Hajime's answer, the man in black slowly retreated, and the big red fox also slowly moved forward. 

"Don't let him pull that baton apart," the man in black whispered. He turned to look at the large red fox. "Kill." 

The large red fox rushed forward, and the three wolves also jumped forward and attacked the large red fox. The man in black and the other two people lunged at Hajime with their swords. 

Hajime knew he was in trouble, and he tried his best to protect himself from three highly skilled people who were trying to take his life, but his skills were no match for them, so he took several punches to his back and chest. But he was lucky and was not injured by the swords of the three people. As he staggered back to the kitchen, he realized he couldn't call for help because he didn't carry any distress flares. 

Suddenly Hajime felt severe pain in his shoulder. He screamed, crouching forward clutching his chest in pain. A closer look revealed that one of his wolves had been torn apart by the big red fox, which had now transformed into a tall man dressed in red, waving his nine tails in the air, and holding two swords. As he stared at the fox-man waiving his nine tails, Hajime knew that he was unable to defeat him with the power he possesses. Now Hajime was defenseless because his craft was destroyed, and he also suffered the consequences of the destruction of his craft. 

The man in black took the opportunity to pounce and hit Hajime hard in the chest. The powerful punch sent Hajime flying into the kitchen, where he hit the table and spit out a mouthful of blood. Hajime tried to stand up twice, but he felt as if the punch from the man in black had broken all the bones in front of him. Hajime fell to the floor again due to severe pain. 

Hearing voices in the distance, the three of them looked at each other. Because he didn't want to attract other people's attention, the man in black said, "The person who deserves to be alive is long gone." He gently stroked the big fox's head, and the red fox quickly disappeared. "We've wasted enough time here, and now since we can't take it back..." He sighed with a heavy heart. "Burn it." 

The second and third person in black each took out a talisman and threw it on the kitchen roof. 

The man in black raised his right index finger and quickly drew a square in the air. The small square expanded rapidly, and the sound of monks chanting could be heard in the distance. The man in black turned his head to look at the burning roof in disappointment and led the other two people into the opened portal.