Chapter 726

Xi Yan sat by the window, arms resting on the table, hands supporting her cheeks, gazing at the dark night outside, quietly listening to the sound of rain on leaves, dazed.

The little palace maid said, "Princess, are you hungry? Should I have the kitchen send some late-night snacks?"

"No need, Cai Lan, go pour me a cup of tea."

The little palace maid nodded, soon brewed tea and brought it over: "Princess, please have some tea!"

Xi Yan lifted the teacup, took a sip at her lips, and softly said, "Good tea, Cai Lan, these tea leaves are a piece of cloud from Xichuan, aren't they?"

The little palace maid Cai Lan laughed, two shallow dimples appearing on her cheeks, looking extremely cute: "Princess, you are well-informed and knowledgeable; indeed, today the Empress Dowager had someone present it."

Xi Yan smelled the tea again, her expression somewhat intoxicated, her beautiful eyes flickering as she said, "I really want to go there and have a look!"

"Princess, you've never been to Xichuan?"

Xi Yan shook her head: "Never been!"

Cai Lan said, "I've heard the scenery there is beautiful with clear mountains and clear water."

Xi Yan said, "Probably..." her delicate body swayed slightly: "I feel a bit dizzy."

Cai Lan said, "Princess, you're too tired; let me help you to the bed to rest."

"All right!" Xi Yan stood up, handed her hand to Cai Lan, took a step, but clearly staggered; fortunately Cai Lan held her up, otherwise she would surely have fallen to the ground.

Cai Lan helped her sit on the bedside, Xi Yan said, "I... I feel dizzy and light-headed, my chest feels tight... Cai Lan... I... I wonder if I've been poisoned..."

Yet on Cai Lan's cute little face appeared a cold smile, and she softly said, "How could that be? Princess, just rest well."

Xi Yan covered her throat: "... you... what did you put in the tea..."

Cai Lan softly sighed, "Princess, you needn't fear; in this world there's nothing easier than death. Just think of it as sleep—once you fall asleep, there's nothing to fear."

Xi Yan's face showed a look of inexplicable terror: "You... you... why do you want to harm me?"

Cai Lan said, "Don't blame me; blame only your ill fate." She swept her right hand across her face, revealing her true appearance before Xi Yan. She should be about thirty years old, well-maintained, yet the mature charm she displayed was worlds apart from a young girl's innocence. She softly said, "Being able to die at the hands of Gu Sanniang is also a kind of fortune."

Xi Yan nodded. Her originally frightened gaze turned into a fierce killing intent; her delicate body, which had been about to collapse, suddenly straightened, and her beautiful eyes fixed steadily on Gu Sanniang as she said, "Do you think a mere withered bone and red beauty can take my life? Can't I smell what's in it?"

Gu Sanniang never expected such a change; she was stunned, frozen in place. She wanted to speak, but felt discomfort in her throat and could not make a sound. Something seemed to wriggle on her hands; looking down, she saw two multicolored centipedes slowly crawling on her palms. A creeping sensation also came from behind her ears and neck. Gu Sanniang felt as if she had fallen into an ice cellar, her whole body stiffened. She dared not move, not even breathe.

Xi Yan sighed, "No matter how one changes her appearance, the eyes cannot be altered. Although you strive to look innocent and pure, I can still see the vicissitudes and scheming in the depths of your gaze. Moreover, your disguise technique is hardly skillful. Do you think wearing a human skin mask can fool heaven and cross the sea? Gu Sanniang? You sound somewhat notorious; I truly don't know how the old monster of Beize trained you lot of pus-filled disciples."

Gu Sanniang could not speak, and dared not move a muscle, fearing the poisonous insects would bite her. Her eyes pleaded.

Xi Yan said, "I know even if I asked you, you wouldn't tell, so it's better to avoid the trouble." She waved her right hand; a white light shot toward Gu Sanniang's throat, but it was a white snake that sprang from her sleeve and bit her throat in one snap.

Gu Sanniang collapsed without a sound, her eyes wide open, obviously dying unwillingly. She had thought she had succeeded, but never imagined that Princess Anping would see through her scheme.

Xi Yan looked at Gu Sanniang's corpse and shook her head, took the human skin mask from her body, collected the poisonous insects. Then she stripped Gu Sanniang of her clothes, placed the mask on her own face, examined it carefully in the bronze mirror, channeled her inner power to shrink her bones and muscles somewhat. Now she resembled the little palace maid Cai Lan in stature; with the mask, outsiders should not notice any flaw.

After everything was ready, Xi Yan picked up a lantern and slowly walked to the door, opened it and stepped out.

Having taken just a few steps, she saw someone rushing in through the rain; Xi Yan stopped, quietly watching the figure in the rain—it was Yang Xuan.

Yang Xuan entered the corridor, shook off the rain from her body, and gave Xi Yan a glance.

Xi Yan harbored secret resentment; it seemed Yang Xuan was also in league with Gu Sanniang.

Seeing Xi Yan give no response, Yang Xuan stepped forward and lowered her voice: "How is it?"

Xi Yan said nothing, just nodded.

Yang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief. At that moment, two figures emerged from the fountain pool before the artificial hill—one tall and thin, the other short and stout. They had apparently been hiding in the pool for a while, then leapt out one after another. The short, stout, bald-headed man strode up to the two, clasped his fists, and said to Xi Yan, "Junior sister, where is the corpse?" This man was Li Yishui, the fifth senior brother of Gu Sanniang, the Poison Monk.

Xi Yan feared that speaking would expose her, so she glanced toward the room.

Li Yishui said to the tall, thin man, "Third senior brother, quickly! Put her corpse into the water channel." The man he called third senior brother was Peng Yijiang.

Hearing this, Xi Yan frowned slightly, wondering if the Star Residence Palace still had a waterway connecting to the outside. No wonder these people could come and go without anyone noticing. Compared to these two, she hated Yang Xuan even more—for betraying her by colluding with external enemies.

Peng Yijiang's gaze swept over Xi Yan's face, then lingered briefly on her neck as he said, "Junior sister, you've worked hard."

Xi Yan smiled.

Yang Xuan urged, "Anything else can be said later; don't delay the opportunity."

Peng Yijiang said, "Junior sister, please lead the way ahead."

Xi Yan stepped forward, watching her back, Peng Yijiang's eyes flashed with a cold killing intent; suddenly he raised his right hand, revealing a black needle tube hidden in his sleeve—whoosh! whoosh! whoosh! —poison needles shot without warning toward Xi Yan's back.

Li Yishui clearly hadn't expected Peng Yijiang to attack his junior sister, exclaiming, "Senior brother..."—but his shout came far too late compared to Peng Yijiang's speed. The volley of steel needles struck Xi Yan's back completely; she collapsed silently to the ground.

Yang Xuan was also startled; Li Yishui stared in disbelief, "Senior brother, she is Seventh Sister!"

Peng Yijiang's face darkened with a frosty glare: "I won't mistake her!" He and Gu Sanniang had long been secretly involved; this affair had continued underground, unknown even to their fellow sect members. Earlier, when Gu Sanniang infiltrated the Star Residence Palace, they had made an agreement: upon meeting, they would use a secret signal. Xi Yan, of course, knew nothing of their pact. Although she had fully disguised her appearance and figure, she still inadvertently revealed a flaw before Peng Yijiang. Peng Yijiang was cunning; even if he had seen through it then, he did not immediately expose her, but waited until she led the way to launch a sudden attack.

Peng Yijiang did not immediately approach to check; instead he waved his hand, and two blood-red vampire bats flew from his robe sleeves, flitting to Xi Yan's side, circling once behind her neck without attacking. These were his poisonous pets, the Bloodthirsty Heavenly Bats, which crave human blood but never consume corpses. To be cautious, he first released the Bloodthirsty Heavenly Bats: if Xi Yan were still alive, the two pets would surely rush forward to bite her neck vessels; if she were dead, the bats would not even touch her.

After this test, Peng Yijiang concluded that Xi Yan must surely die; a grim smile curled his lips as he stepped closer, turned her body over, and reached to lift the mask from her face. As his fingers barely touched her visage, Xi Yan opened her eyes, parted her lips, and puff! —a blue light shot forth, the poison needle hidden in her mouth striking Peng Yijiang's eyes. Though his martial skill could easily dodge such a needle, he was so close to Xi Yan, and he trusted his perception of the Bloodthirsty Heavenly Bats implicitly, believing she must die, so he took no precautions. He never expected that Xi Yan would first be hit by the poison needle, then evade the bats' inspection.

Peng Yijiang's eyes flared with excruciating pain; he screamed, and in an instant his vision went black. His body recoiled backward at once—retreating was his only chance of survival. As he withdrew, he waved his arms, and the two Bloodthirsty Heavenly Bats emitted a shrill screech, lunging at Xi Yan.

Xi Yan's body darted forward like a spirit snake, toes touching the ground, her delicate frame nearly parallel to the floor at about a foot's height, skimming along. She flicked both hands, each releasing a pellet that burst with a puff in midair; instantly the corridor filled with smoke and mist.

The two blood-red Bloodthirsty Heavenly Bats were not hindered by the smoke; they vibrated their fleshy wings, bared their fangs, and shot toward Xi Yan like lightning.

Xi Yan's delicate body twisted and already floated into the courtyard, the night rain drearily sprinkled onto her body, Xi Yan's pair of beautiful eyes gave off a Lan dim light, gazing at the pair of blood-thirsty bats flying toward her, she shook her hands, two green light beams shot respectively into the air, intending to slay the blood-thirsty sky bat in the void.

The blood-thirsty sky bat was a poisonous pet raised for many years by Peng Yijiang, He spent a lot of energy on this pair of poisonous pets, starting training from when they were young beasts, Moreover, to increase their toxicity and lethality, he sought many poisonous substances to feed them, If one speaks of the sects most skilled in using poisons under heaven, there are two, One is the northern Variegated Gate, the other is the southern Wuxian Sect, Although these two major sects have little contact with each other, they also harbor no grudge. (To be continued~^~)