Chapter 198

Fang Yue muttered unconsciously: "It must be a weird thing, who else could it be…"

Suddenly, Fang Yue felt something was off.

"Wait! From what you're saying, it wasn't a weird thing that hurt you—but someone else? Back then on the village path, no outsiders were around, so it was someone from the team who hurt you?"

"No… that doesn't make sense. No one would want to kill you, unless it was a shapeshifting weird thing that changed its form to attack you… Never mind, tell me everything you know!"

If we knew exactly what happened back then, we could deduce whether it was a weird thing or a traitor in the team—and that weird thing hasn't struck again since injuring Ma Ling'er, which is truly suspicious.

Now it seems Ma Ling'er knows something.

"A weird thing?"

Ma Ling'er gave a cold smile.

"It was indeed a weird thing—but not an ordinary one! That thing was lurking…"

Creak!

Just as Ma Ling'er said this, the door suddenly swung open.

In the moonlight, a man entered the room carrying a bowl of herbal decoction; his gaze landed on Ma Ling'er in bed, and he immediately showed a look of confusion and shock.

At the same moment, Ma Ling'er's pupils shrank, and her words cut off abruptly.

"Lurking? What do you mean by lurking? Explain!"

Fang Yue pressed urgently, but Ma Ling'er's face turned pale; her mind raced, her expression shifting several times before she forced a smile.

"N-no lurking at all—I just made it up to get your attention… Deputy Captain Yeye, since the escort team set out, you've barely cared about me at all. Now that I'm injured, you're willing to stay by my side—I'm so happy. Can you stay with me all night?"

As she spoke, Ma Ling'er suddenly grabbed Fang Yue's wrist with both hands, gripping tightly.

Honestly, Ma Ling'er was surprisingly strong—no wonder, given her build; she was, after all, the blacksmith's daughter.

An Shenyi handed the decoction to Fang Yue and said to Ma Ling'er: "You're awake? Your physical constitution is much stronger than I estimated. Most girls wouldn't survive such a high fever. Have you secretly trained Martial Arts?"

Ma Ling'er's face flushed red; she nodded shyly: "My father made me learn some crude Martial Arts forms, just for self-defense."

As she spoke, Ma Ling'er tilted her head slightly, trying to lean closer to Fang Yue, but he gently sidestepped, causing her body to stiffen slightly—she seemed annoyed but quickly suppressed her emotion.

Ma Tiejiang held high status in Gu Yue Cun; obtaining crude Martial Arts wasn't hard. Fang Yue and An Shenyi paid it no mind.

Seeing Ma Ling'er change her story, Fang Yue still harbored doubts but said nothing more; he picked up the decoction and said: "Drink it first, then tell us in detail what happened when you were hurt."

"Mm, I'll do whatever you say!"

Ma Ling'er blinked her eyes, rubbing Fang Yue's hand against her side, acting affectionate.

Amid An Shenyi's disgusted expression, Fang Yue awkwardly pulled his hand away and said: "Drink your medicine first, then we'll talk."

But Ma Ling'er didn't take it; she just stared at the decoction, as if thinking and hesitating.

"Ma Ling'er?"

"Huh?"

"Drink your medicine—what are you staring at?"

"Mm, mm-hmm."

She gritted her teeth, as if drinking the medicine required a monumental decision.

She blew on the steam, then gulped the decoction down in one go.

"Finished!"

She turned the bowl upside down, showing it to Fang Yue and An Shenyi.

Fang Yue was speechless—why is this woman acting so weird? Just drink it and be done with it, why show us the bowl…

No!

There it was again! Fang Yue's eyes sharpened once more!

"Wait! Yeye, your gaze suddenly turned sharp…"

"Shut your mouth!"

Fang Yue suddenly snapped.

"I'll count to three. You leave for five minutes—I'll talk alone with Ma Ling'er."

"...???!!"

An Shenyi looked utterly bewildered.

"Are you okay?"

"Ah, An Shenyi, don't worry about it—just leave. I need to talk to her alone."

Fang Yue pushed An Shenyi toward the door.

Hearing this, Ma Ling'er's eyes lit up—this man wasn't a blockhead! He figured it out!

An Shenyi glanced between Ma Ling'er and Fang Yue, as if imagining something unhealthy; he sighed.

"Young people, practice restraint—your kidneys are important. If you get weak later, let me know—I'll prescribe you some tonic."

What the hell is this even about…

After pushing An Shenyi out the door, Fang Yue closed it and returned to Ma Ling'er's bedside.

"Ever since An Shenyi came in, you've been acting strange. Now he's gone, if you've got something to say, say it now—I promise I won't tell him."

Ma Ling'er glanced at the shadow outside the door, then at Fang Yue, weighing risks and benefits.

She didn't know if Fang Yue could protect her life.

The weird thing didn't kill her the first time doesn't mean it won't now.

The first strike might've been a warning—the next one would be fatal…

Ma Ling'er didn't want to die, but having such a weird thing lurking beside her was like handing her own heart to someone who could crush it anytime.

This was too dangerous!

Taking a deep breath, Ma Ling'er knew she had to take a risk for fortune.

"Deputy Captain Ye, I can tell you what happened earlier, but you must keep it secret! Only after ensuring my absolute safety will I quietly eliminate that Possession!"

Hearing Ma Ling'er's words, Fang Yue's expression grew serious.

Just as I thought—she's hiding something!

【63】 Indeed, she was hiding something!

"Speak! I guarantee your life!"

"Fine, I'll trust you once!"

Ma Ling'er glanced at the shadow outside the door—no movement—then lowered her voice.

"During the day, I was severely injured when Divine Doctor An drove one hand straight through my waist! It wasn't an illusion, nor a transformation-type Possession—it was… Possession!"

"Divine Doctor An has been possessed! I don't know why this Possession can shift so freely between possession and stealth states, but there's no doubt—it's possessing Divine Doctor An!"

"Its ability is… Memory Erasure! I don't know why it didn't erase my memory—maybe it thought I was dead already, so it didn't waste its power."

"Deputy Captain Ye, that's all I can say. Be careful! Even more careful! From now on, you must pretend to know nothing, then distract Divine Doctor An, ensure my safety, and summon more people… By the way, we're in the village now, right? Go get the Village Captain to help—take down Divine Doctor An!"

What!?

Divine Doctor An has been possessed!

And its ability is this bizarre Memory Erasure?

No wonder… no wonder it could severely injure Ma Ling'er without anyone noticing—if memories were erased, how could anyone remember these events!

Perfect stealth… This is a perfect stealth assassination ability!

Fang Yue's emotions churned; what he found hardest to accept was that Divine Doctor An had been possessed.

This meant… Divine Doctor An was certainly doomed!

Clenching his fist, Fang Yue asked coldly: "Are you certain it was Divine Doctor An's Possession that injured you? Don't speak recklessly—if I find Divine Doctor An innocent, I will cut off your head to atone to him, and even Ma Tiejiang won't save you!"

(End of Chapter)