Chapter 11: Man

Those who can afford it are all high‑ranking officials and noble families, and the Prime Minister's Residence is one of them.

In this life, there are many who hope to profit from the nation's calamity; I cannot save everyone, but now the space can grow food, so my family will not lack food and drink. When the time comes, the twenty‑thousand dan of grain can be used to aid disaster victims, and it will also prevent food prices from soaring absurdly, so people won't be unable to afford it. It can be said that I have not wasted the chance of rebirth the heavens gave me, which also granted me this treasured space.

Chi Nan Yi glanced at the sky; it was midnight, so no one should notice her. She was just about to leave when a blood‑stained handprint appeared on the front gate, and a black shadow slowly emerged.

Chi Nan Yi was startled; could this courtyard really be haunted?

The blood handprint was still dripping, making it clear it had just been made.

At that moment, a whiff of blood reached her nose; Chi Nan Yi furrowed her brows, cold‑eyed watching the black silhouette taking shape. She realized she had already been seen; trying to slip into the space now would be too late, and entering it would expose her secret.

"Who's skulking over there?" Chi Nan Yi said in a low voice. "If you have the guts, come out; stop playing ghost."

"Ha, you're bold," a man's voice rang in her ear. Before Chi Nan Yi could recover, a flash of silver streaked, and a long sword thrust toward her throat.

Chi Nan Yi instinctively dodged to the side, but the man's figure was uncanny; the sword in his hand moved like a maggot on bone, each swing grazing her throat.

A few times, had she not dodged in time, the blade would have sliced her neck.

Chi Nan Yi kept retreating until the man forced her into a corner.

"Damn, I never expected this wounded man to still have such high martial skill." Chi Nan Yi's heart sank; the man was clearly a practitioner with deep internal force. Though she was an agent, her previous life's training was all combat techniques, and beating him was almost impossible.

The lab had no usable poison; the only thing left was sulfuric acid.

If that fails, I'll have to use the acid to survive.

Just as she was about to pull out the sulfuric acid for a desperate gamble, the man's movements suddenly slowed; by moonlight, Chi Nan Yi saw clearly a continuous flow of fresh blood streaming down his clothes.

It seems his wounds are indeed serious!

Take advantage of your illness to take your life!

Chi Nan Yi's thought flashed, and a scalpel appeared in her palm.

She flickered, her steps light, and within a few breaths evaded his sword, closed in on the man, and drove the scalpel swiftly toward his throat. The man sensed the danger, flipped his sword, and the back of it struck her scalpel, the huge force making Chi Nan Yi's palm go numb.

He's truly a hard nut to crack.

It seems that dealing with him is not an easy matter.

She tightened her grip on the jar of sulfuric acid.

Just then, the man vomited a mouthful of fresh blood, staggered a few steps, and finally, unable to keep his strength, leaned against the wall to gasp for breath.

The scalpel in Chi Nan Yi's hand glimmered with a cold light, slowly closing in on the man's throat.

"Ha, you really are heartless."

Hearing the man say that, Chi Nan Yi furrowed her brows. What did his words mean?

Despite her inner confusion, she did not let her guard down, staying ready to sever the man's throat at any moment.

"A dignified Miss of the Minister's Residence, dressed as a man in the dead of night, appearing in this haunted house."

The man's words shook Chi Nan Yi to her core.

How could I have exposed my identity so easily!

…How could this be possible?

At that moment, a voice resembling that man's echoed in Chi Nan Yi's mind.

He wore a mask, and Chi Nan Yi could not see his face, but the voice was exactly the same as the man she had encountered at the Meng Family's back gate that day.

He… he is…

"You owe this young master a favor, and now you still want to take my life, Miss Meng Family, you truly have no conscience!"

"What are you saying? I don't understand."

"Ha, can't understand?" The man's lips twitched, and a trace of amusement crossed his eyes. He flickered, his body leaving multiple afterimages; in the blink of an eye he was already at Chi Nan Yi's side, his fingers gripping the wrist that held the knife and pulling her forward, throwing her off balance so she was about to collapse into his arms.

Scoundrel.

A flash of silver light glimmered from Chi Nan Yi's hand, and a silver needle flew from her fingertip, true and straight, landing precisely on his shoulder.

A muffled grunt sounded, and the man released her hand, stepping back a few paces.

"You're truly skillful."

Chi Nan Yi's face tightened, and she looked at the sky; in two more hours daylight would come. If she continued to tangle with him, she feared she would run out of time.

"I'm too lazy to waste words with you." Chi Nan Yi turned to leave, and at that moment a thud of someone collapsing sounded behind her.

Chi Nan Yi's steps paused briefly, and when she looked back, she saw the man lying on the ground, his lips slightly blackened.

His death would be just right; if he dies, my identity won't be revealed.

Chi Nan Yi thought for a moment, then moved silently to the man's side, extending a hand to check his breath. She had already decided that if the man didn't die, she would see him off.

At that moment, a massive hand grasped her wrist and pulled her forward, and Chi Nan Yi collapsed onto his body.

Before the silver needle in her hand could enter his throat, he mumbled, "How nice, we can meet again."

Meet again?

She felt the hand that held her wrist gradually loosen, and when she looked at the man before her, she saw his eyes tightly shut; he had already passed out.

Who is this person?

"Meet again?" What does that mean?

Chi Nan Yi reached out, just as she was about to pull off his mask, when a hurried set of footsteps came from not far away.

"It should be right there, search fast!"

It must be the ones who gravely injured him.

From the sound of footsteps, there must be a sizable group; there's no way out.

She looked at the man behind her and whispered, "Consider this a return of the favor."

With a swing of her arm, Chi Nan Yi ushered him into the space.

In the next instant, a dozen men dressed in black entered the courtyard; the yard was empty and didn't appear to be a place that could conceal anyone.

"Boss, no one here."

"No one? How could that be? I clearly saw him come here—search again carefully!"

More than a dozen people searched the courtyard for a while, yet they didn't see a single person.

"Boss, he must have already fled; we should leave." A black-clothed man looked around: "This place is the infamous haunted house of Jingcheng."

"What's wrong with the haunted house? You idiot, do you really believe there are ghosts here?"

Just then, one of them discovered a bloody handprint on the door.

"Boss, what is that?" Upon hearing the voice, everyone looked over and saw a bright red palm print on the door.

"Boss, this… this…"

"Shut up!" the leader of the black-clothed men said in a low voice: "What's there to make a fuss about? He must have gotten it on when he fled in here."

As his words fell, the door shook a few times; in the next instant another bloody handprint appeared, bright red blood flowing down from the print, making everyone's scalp tingle.