Chapter 346

Although she is a noble born in the Royal Capital, Eleanor is absolutely no innocent pure-white flower ignorant of the scheming of those seeking higher position; indeed, because she often peruses the church's archives, her understanding of this aspect could very well be deeper than Ji Ming's.

But people care about face, let alone those who have food and clothing worry‑free; their sole goal in life is to work hard to appear impressive, especially nobles who love to gild themselves.

So as long as one doesn't get involved, dig deep, or follow others' rhythm to party at secret manors and private islands, such things won't actively pop up to dirty her eyes.

Who would have thought the frontier nobles' ways could be this wild; when they get excited they grab handsome old guys and stuff them into side rooms, too lazy to even open the door for individual checks, which is practically helping Eleonore fill in this practical observation lesson she never dared to take.

Although only a part is audio segment, friends who often listen to ASMR know that if a high‑quality voice actor is paired with a high‑quality script, it usually yields an effect greater than the sum of its parts compared to video; excellent examples include Yang Xiangkui, Akino Kaede, and …

Ah, I went off topic; to avoid ruining everyone's reading experience I won't continue listing them one by one, after all this article has already engaged in deep technical cooperation with major search engines and large model AIs; since I've opened the first door, please feel free to explore and research the rest yourselves.

In short, this immersive auditory experience gave Eleonore a great mental shock, to the point that Ji Ming had no choice but to prescribe her some calming medicine according to the prescription.

Helpless, after searching three times with no result, Ji Ming could only release Eleonore's slightly warm head, pretend nothing happened, and change direction to ask.

……

「Um…」

「What's wrong? 」

As a rigorous medical professional, Ji Ming did not be vague on this life‑or‑death matter, but instead took out the poisoned blood he had specially collected as an important sample and evidence, placed in a magic crystal tube.

Having said that, he added a pressuring remark while encouraging.

Afraid of stimulating Eleonore into fainting again, Ji Ming carefully weighed his wording, changing "Yes, and he was holding onto the wall" to ……

Ji Ming was almost laughing in anger, thinking: could it be that the toxin belongs to Weizhen Tian? Having won the Minor Revival Tournament twice, now it's preparing to become a Jingpo Tian‑style Impure World Reincarnation?

You don't know, but I'm actually quite cautious in my actions, so although I don't have any particularly reliable friends in the Royal Capital, I also don't have any enemies.

? ？？

「I… I don't know when my leg got injured… ah… it really hurts… ah! 」

After Ji Ming completed the entire process of rinsing and applying medicine, and let Eleonore take another bottle of SpiritGathering Liquid to consolidate, even wound suturing became unnecessary; she healed completely at a speed visible to the naked eye.

「So quickly recall who you've interacted with before, especially those who were close enough to have a chance to launch a close‑range assassination; tell me every single one without omission, they're all suspects. 」

「Oh oh. 」

Upon hearing that, Eleonore quickly stood up and jumped in place twice, discovering there really was no problem at all.

「Much better……」

Therefore she was actually quite looking forward to this homecoming trip that was early by over four months, after all who would willingly suffer if they could have something good? Sleeping in a warm bed, enjoying the good life of maids bringing food to mouth and stretching out hands for clothes— isn't that great?

Who would have thought that just as she got off the vehicle, right after finishing a painful social ordeal, and before she could even digest the new knowledge she'd learned, a loud clang tore open a bloody gash in her worldview; it hurt so much that, were it not for wanting to save a bit of face, she would have burst into tears on the spot.

Eleonore's little face slowly scrunched up, she desperately leaned against the sofa in despair, and rare for her, she spat out a profanity.

"For every effect there is a cause; you've just returned to Radiant Light, and someone could use such vicious means to assassinate you, and even want to threaten you or simply let you die as a confused ghost— this must be a deep‑seated enemy, so deep you couldn't possibly miss them, and who holds considerable influence in the kingdom. Think— who could it be?"

Unfortunately, only the poisoning was easily resolved; Eleonore actually encountered a silent assassination at a banquet attended by so many big shots— this is tonight's biggest problem.

「……」

What came back instead was Eleonore shaking her head again, and she answered with full confidence.

For example…… it's still worn on his hand, and who knows when it will pop out to sting someone—a hidden dragon spur.

She immediately sucked in a cold breath like someone who'd seen a laborer's fright, limped into the small private washroom in the reception room, lifted her layered skirt to take a look, and only then discovered that a narrow, deep blood opening had appeared on her thigh at some point, and its surface shone with a metallic, oily black luster; had she not changed into a slightly more complex dress for the banquet, the soaked bloodstain would have been visible outside.

"Sorry, because I'm not yet clear on its specific effects, I can't give you concrete advice, but considering the extremely high risk of assassinating a royal, what's inside this probably isn't top‑quality caramel."

Toxin: "Hey buddy, did I just break heavenly law?"

"Please, I've already drunk three bottles; that should be enough, right?"

No, this seems not to be an exaggeration……

However, for Ji Ming this isn't a big problem— if Rejuvenation Liquid isn't enough, use SpiritGathering Liquid; if a teaspoon isn't enough, use a whole bottle; if the therapeutic effect is poor, it's surely because the dosage is too low, nothing to say about it— just keep increasing the dosage!

"Come on, I've already given you three limiting words; if you still can't think of a clue, then you really have no excuse."

"Ji Ming, thank you so much just now; if it weren't for you, I might…… "

No, even if it's a grueling game, the first level should also lower the difficulty a bit, yet I managed to clear everything at the first stop in Radiant Light!!

"Get up and walk two steps!"

One motive is to avoid personal suspicion, letting Eleonore succumb to poison later in the banquet or even the next day, while the assassin slips away unnoticed during the chaos, achieving the happy ending of getting both the reward and keeping his own life.

Damn!

Still the same old line—I've just arrived in Radiant Light, I haven't even seen tomorrow's sun, and you want to exterminate me completely?

Seeing Eleonore lift her head with reddened eye sockets, Ji Ming pulled out the cushion behind him as a prop and stabbed upward with his hand like a knife.

Furthermore, judging from the wound's trajectory, it should have been when you were chatting with others, the assassin came up behind you unnoticed, silently stabbed from that angle, immediately retracted the blade after success, swiftly fled, the motion smooth and seamless— definitely a professional killer.

Feeling the chill behind her gradually fade, Eleonore finally steadied her ragged breath, tidied her messy bangs, and her voice trembled.

Thinking of this, Ji Ming unconsciously glanced at Eleonore beside him; at that moment she was putting on the shoes and socks she'd just taken off for easier treatment, while humming indistinctly.

"Oh well, this…… "

"Sorry, I can't do that."

All ready for red bean paste smoothie, but upon seeing the wound, they realized the situation was far worse than imagined.

But given the importance, Ji Ming didn't believe in that superstition, so he had to resort to some unconventional means, politely and modestly glancing through Eleonore's earlier memories.

"Don't believe me? Look— the fresh blood flowing from your wound is indeed black."

Please, the guests she just chatted with numbered more than two digits; such a complex, dense social network already leaves her dizzy, so where could she possibly find a suspect now? She can only shake her head in regret.

"First hear me out: when I was cleaning your wound I examined it carefully; given my rich experience performing nearly a hundred wound‑cutting suturing surgeries, I think the weapon that could cause such a wound shape is probably not a regular dagger‑type tool; if one must find something similar, it would be some kind of short weapon that can be hidden in a sleeve."

Sensing something amiss, Ji Ming quickly walked to the door.

After all, when he just prescribed her medicine, even though the main ingredient was a calming drug, Ji Ming still habitually slipped in a bit of Rejuvenation Generation Four; besides, this stuff has no side effects, so using it as a broth base to assist treatment is most suitable.

"Damn!"

Ji Ming let out a long sigh, rubbing his forehead covered in fine sweat.

"Good heavens, it's black!"

Indeed, its effect isn't strong; it's not the kind of lethal poison that kills on contact, but its ability to take root in the host's body and continuously disrupt bodily functions is deadly, mainly manifesting as it actually being able to suppress the healing effect brought by the medicine.

So with this thing present, if it were an ordinary wound it should have healed long ago; how could it possibly be like now, with continuous bleeding not to mention, not even showing the slightest sign of improvement?

Another possibility is more malicious: they intend to let the toxin take deep root in her body, leaving her with no cure, then threaten Eleanor with the antidote to make her obey; or it could be like in some movies, using the antidote as a carrot on a stick, making Eleanor a pig that can only chase after the carrot.

Tsk……

Hey!

Hey, don't cry, crying does... no, I mean, crying now is useless!

Although I don't know the exact situation, based on Ji Ming's rich clinical experience, she is obviously afflicted with some kind of chronic toxin.

Probably; it seems the background of Jueqiao Pass isn't a monolith either.

It's a pity that soul magic can be as clear and thorough as reading a hard‑drive file, but if the owner of the memory never saw something, how could it possibly be recorded?

So although there are many suspicious guests, possibly having touched a stone hammer and with ample time to commit the crime… the only suspect turns out to be myself? And I just happen to be carrying a suitable weapon on me.

Eleanor, who was continuously trembling, fell silent for a few seconds upon hearing that, and then… she actually burst into tears.

Thus Ji Ming showed no joy on his face; after seeing Eleanor was unharmed, he sat on the long sofa and reviewed the whole sequence of events, trying to pull out all potential clues and doubts, at least to have a direction for investigation.

Eleanor's body jerked violently along with her heart, and she curled up, hiding her cheeks.

However, just as he was about to unleash a bucket of SpiritGathering Liquid to turn Eleanor into a super slime person and fully explode the toxin, she suddenly turned her head.

But my father has many enemies, and they are all connected to his death!

To be frank, although she voluntarily asked to go to a sufficiently harsh place for training, possibly holding out in Sunshine City—a filthy land even dogs avoid—and also working and studying very diligently, for a noble girl who has basically never left the Royal Capital, this already counts as iron‑clad will.

Oh, my goodness……

How is it?

Haha, you wouldn't be trying to tell me the assassin is actually a clumsy oaf, jealous of my looks and talent, originally sneaking up with a hidden blade to stab me, but then slipped, his hand shook, and he accidentally stabbed you instead, would you?

However, Eleanor hadn't finished speaking when, while Ji Ming was muttering to himself, she added another sentence.

The pain that had been overlooked seemed to be retaliating double, surging like a raging tide, making Eleanor's speech ever more difficult.

???

……"Ah? Ah! Right! Yeah……"

Hearing the slap of Eleanor slipping and falling again due to the pain, even Ji Ming got confused—how could there be one wave after another without a break?

Looking at the cotton ball clamped in Ji Ming's tweezers, Eleanor, with her mouth slightly open, could only keep pressing down her skirt.

Ji Ming, if I hadn't met you in the toilet earlier, hadn't been frightened into a daze by them, and hadn't drunk the calming potion laced with Rejuvenation Liquid, would I… really have died??

……

Moreover, he originally thought he might have accidentally bumped into something while carrying her, after all he was in a hurry, and when passing the doorway he seemed to indeed hear a bang from the door frame.

This, this is……

Wuu wuu QWQ~

So…… Kluo and Wenster really……

First, the assassin certainly created the wound to administer poison; since the poison used is not the kind that acts instantly to kill the target on the spot, but a slow‑acting secret poison that silently takes life, the purpose of doing this can only be two things.

……

I let you drink it for free, and you're still being polite? Come on, I've already opened it for you—grit your teeth and finish this bottle too.

Under the pressure of the surging SpiritGathering Liquid, the toxin that had been flowing along the blood meridians to circulate throughout the body was simply held back by the vigorous life force, forcibly squeezed out of Eleanor's body, turning into thicker foul blood that floated on the wound's surface.

But just as she said this, her voice cut off abruptly, replaced by heavy breathing that almost wrote panic into the air.

Mm, that's settled then; rest a while.

How come it really does hurt a bit!

Hiss~

Hey, it seems no matter the reason, this internal turmoil isn't just in Jueqiao Pass, but in the whole Hui Guang Kingdom……

Ji Ming was thinking that before setting out he had read the Hui Guang Kingdom's royal chronicles; the current Sun King has already been on the throne for over thirty years, right?

However, compared to suspecting false information in the church library, Ji Ming would rather believe……

Oh, so your father is the former king? Then…… truly befitting of royalty, their means of preserving…… the seeds of civilization are quite impressive.