Crowned by the Treacherous Big Shot
Chapter 73 She Recognized Yin Hu

Chapter 73: Chapter 73 She Recognized Yin Hu

Meng Qianqian went to Lu Yuan’s tent.

Qing Shuang, Yu Zichuan, and Lu Lingxiao were all present.

Yu Zichuan looked at Meng Qianqian and let out a surprised "Huh, Meng—"

Qing Shuang grabbed a pancake from the table and stuffed it into his mouth.

Lu Yuan glanced at the back of his hand. "Qing Shuang, take Yu Zichuan out to treat his injuries."

"Yes."

Qing Shuang dragged the astonished Yu Zichuan out of the tent.

Meng Qianqian adjusted the mask on her face. Yu Zichuan had actually recognized her.

Was her disguise that poor?

Lu Yuan said, "Little Nine, aren’t you going to come over?"

"Yes!"

Meng Qianqian responded in a deliberately lowered voice.

Lu Lingxiao instinctively looked toward Meng Qianqian.

Meng Qianqian was clad in armor, her hair tied like a youth’s, and she wore a mask. At a glance, it was hard to tell her gender, but when she had just spoken, it was clearly a woman’s voice.

He had only seen Qing Shuang before and didn’t recall a second female guard accompanying Lu Yuan on the journey.

Meng Qianqian walked past Lu Lingxiao with composure and stood at Lu Yuan’s side.

Lu Yuan said to Lu Lingxiao, "General Lu, please continue."

Lu Lingxiao recounted the events of rescuing the Yin Hu Guards in meticulous detail.

Three days ago, they had left the pass. The Beiliang Army Camp was heavily guarded; they waited a full day and night before seizing an opportunity to infiltrate. It took another full day to find the wounded and battered Yin Hu Guards in the armory, and by nightfall, they had brought them out.

The entire operation did not alarm the Beiliang Army.

The success was due to two reasons: first, an inside informant had sent the court a map of the camp’s layout; second, Yu Zichuan deserved much of the credit.

Lu Lingxiao hadn’t expected that someone as young and seemingly inexperienced as Yu Zichuan had such extraordinary Qinggong skills.

On the journey, Yu Zichuan always carried a bow, stopping frequently to practice archery. Lu Lingxiao had assumed he was merely an archer.

Lu Yuan’s entourage seemed to harbor hidden talents. The plan his father had devised for assassinating Lu Yuan probably wouldn’t be so easy to accomplish.

Lu Yuan said nothing, tapping his slender fingers on the table a few times. "Where are they?"

Lu Lingxiao turned to the outside of the tent and commanded, "Bring in the Yin Hu Guards!"

Two soldiers carried a stretcher inside.

Lu Yuan picked up a portrait of the Yin Hu Guards from the table and compared it to the unconscious person’s face.

Meng Qianqian’s gaze fell on the unconscious Yin Hu Guard, sweeping from head to toe.

The two soldiers moved the stretcher closer to give the Grand Commander a clearer look.

"He’s a Yin Hu Guard," Lu Lingxiao said.

He had already matched the face to the portrait back at the camp. If he hadn’t been certain, he wouldn’t have gone to the trouble of bringing the person back.

He turned his face away coldly.

Suddenly, the Yin Hu Guard on the stretcher sprang up and delivered a fierce palm strike toward Lu Yuan.

Meng Qianqian darted in front of Lu Yuan in a flash, raising her fist to meet the attack head-on.

But the attacker grinned wickedly, twisting his palm and pulling a gleaming dagger from his sleeve.

Meng Qianqian had put all her strength into her punch; it was already too late to withdraw.

As she saw her hand about to be pierced through by the dagger, Lu Yuan suddenly yanked her back and caught the blade barehanded.

Without hesitation, Meng Qianqian pulled out the Brocade Spring Saber and drove it straight through the attacker’s chest!

The attacker bit down on a poison bag hidden in his mouth, loosened his grip, and collapsed to the ground.

Everything happened so fast that Lu Lingxiao was utterly stunned.

He quickly walked over, crouched down, and checked the man’s breath. "Dead."

Meng Qianqian said, "He’s not really a Yin Hu Guard at all."

Lu Lingxiao frowned. "Impossible. I examined him; he wasn’t disguised."

Before he could finish his sentence, Meng Qianqian deftly sliced off the man’s facial mask, revealing a completely unfamiliar face.

Disguise techniques vary in level. Some masks can last ten days without being discernible to the average person.

Meng Qianqian’s gaze shifted to Lu Yuan’s wound. "Black blood... the dagger is poisoned!"

She quickly pulled out three silver needles and sealed the acupoints on Lu Yuan’s arm. Then she turned to Lu Lingxiao. "Who carried him back?"

Lu Lingxiao replied, "Yu Zichuan."

Yu Zichuan’s superior Qinggong allowed him to move swiftly, avoiding detection while carrying the person.

"Grand Commander!"

Qing Shuang hurriedly lifted the tent flap, her face full of worry. "Yu Zichuan has fainted!"

Lu Yuan sneered, "No wonder it went so smoothly."

Meng Qianqian went to see Yu Zichuan. He, too, had been poisoned, with the same toxin as Lu Yuan. While carrying the stretcher through the rugged terrain, Yu Zichuan’s hand had been scratched by thorns, which were likely planted by the false Yin Hu Guard to administer the poison.

After treating Yu Zichuan’s injuries, Meng Qianqian returned to Lu Yuan’s tent.

She placed a jade medicine bottle on the table and took out a set of silver needles.

Lu Yuan glanced at the bottle and found it oddly familiar. "Where did this come from?"

Meng Qianqian said, "Steward Cen gave it to me, claiming it’s an antidote pill from the Imperial Family."

Lu Yuan sneered, "The only one of its kind in the entire Capital City, and he just hands it out!"

After a pause, he said, "Use it on Yu Zichuan."

Meng Qianqian responded with an "Oh" and said, "I’ve already given it to him."

Lu Yuan: "..."

Meng Qianqian explained, "Yu Zichuan has been poisoned for too long. The toxin has infiltrated his internal organs. Without immediate treatment, he would’ve died."

"And what about me?"

Lu Yuan asked irritably.

Meng Qianqian picked up a silver needle. "I’ve already sealed the poison in your left arm. I’ll apply acupuncture again to prolong the containment. Within three days, I’ll find the real Yin Hu Guard; he’s an expert in detoxification and will surely cure you."

"And if he can’t?"

Lu Yuan’s question wasn’t "What if you can’t find him?" but "What if he can’t cure me?"

Meng Qianqian thought for a moment and earnestly replied, "Cutting off one arm is still survivable."

Lu Yuan: "..."

Although Yu Zichuan had taken the antidote, Meng Qianqian said he would need at least three days to wake up. To ensure unified care, Qing Shuang carried Yu Zichuan into the Grand Commander’s tent.

Lu Yuan coldly snorted. "An eyesore."

Meng Qianqian removed her armor and changed into a plain white brocade robe.

In the snow-covered terrain, white clothing was the best disguise for night travel.

As she stepped out, she encountered Lu Lingxiao waiting for her outside.

She touched her mask and asked indifferently, "Does General Lu have something to say?"

Lu Lingxiao replied seriously, "This was my oversight. I’ll accompany you to find the Yin Hu Guard."

Meng Qianqian said flatly, "I’m afraid you’ll hold me back."

Lu Lingxiao choked. "You—"

That reminded Meng Qianqian of something. "If you want to come along, fine. But since even Yu Zichuan was poisoned, who knows if you have anything planted on you? I’ll need to search you."

Lu Lingxiao frowned. "You’re a woman."

"I’m a manly man!"

Zhang Feihu suddenly appeared behind Lu Lingxiao.

Lu Lingxiao stiffened and turned to bow. "General Zhang."

Zhang Feihu said, "Little Nine wants to search you. Be obedient and turn around!"

Lu Lingxiao: You, the dignified Commander of the Mounted Infantry, why are you indulging Lu Yuan’s lackeys so much?

Zhang Feihu searched Lu Lingxiao and retrieved a dagger, a coin pouch, rations, a water flask...

"Huh? What’s this?" Zhang Feihu asked curiously.

Meng Qianqian immediately recognized the Black Armor Guards’ signal firework and the Execution Order. "I’ll be holding onto these two for now."

Lu Lingxiao protested, "No way!"

Zhang Feihu handed them straight to Meng Qianqian.

Lu Lingxiao clenched a fist. "General Zhang!"

Zhang Feihu: Was it you who fought alongside me in battle? Was it you who saved so many of my men from the Rebel Army’s blade?

Zhang Feihu patted Meng Qianqian on the shoulder. "Little Nine, make it quick!"

"Got it!"

Meng Qianqian snatched Lu Lingxiao’s horse, swung herself onto it, and galloped into the night.

Lu Lingxiao was furious.

That infuriating female guard oddly reminded him of Meng Qianqian.

Speaking of which, he’d been away from the Capital City for so long. He wondered if she’d come to regret her decisions now.

Lu Lingxiao hurried to the stables to fetch another horse and set off in pursuit.

From here to the Beiliang Army Camp and back would take two and a half days, not counting the time to locate the Yin Hu Guard. There was no time to waste.

Riding tirelessly, she dashed toward Yumen Pass.

Lu Lingxiao trailed behind her, nearly losing track multiple times.

Where did this female guard come from? Her riding skills were superior to many cavalry members.

Under her command, even the horse seemed to gain strength, leaping more fluidly than usual. When crossing an icy river, she skillfully wrapped the horse’s hooves in cloth.

For the first time, Lu Lingxiao felt nauseated from riding.

"Hey, we’ve been going for a full day and night. Aren’t you going to rest?"

Meng Qianqian lashed her whip across the horse’s flank, spurring it to accelerate and leaving Lu Lingxiao far behind.

"You—"

Snow kicked up by the horse’s hooves splashed all over Lu Lingxiao’s face.

Passing through Yumen Pass was smooth, but once inside Beiliang, they couldn’t risk riding anymore for fear of alerting the Beiliang Army.

Meng Qianqian left her horse in the woods without tethering it.

Lu Lingxiao kindly warned, "If you don’t tie up the horse, you’ll regret it."

Meng Qianqian replied, "Shut up."

Lu Lingxiao’s face darkened.

Meng Qianqian pressed the hilt of her saber against his mouth and whispered, "Something’s moving."

Lu Lingxiao instantly went on high alert.

At the same time, he was surprised. This female guard’s martial arts seemed even stronger than Qing Shuang’s, and her senses were not inferior to Yu Zichuan’s.

And yet, Qing Shuang and Yu Zichuan were considered top-tier experts around Lu Yuan.

While Yu Zichuan’s poisoning hadn’t been his doing, temporarily losing him as a combatant was advantageous for his mission to assassinate Lu Yuan.

What he hadn’t anticipated was that while Yu Zichuan was down, Meng Xiaojiu had appeared.

Wait, maybe they could delay finding the Yin Hu Guard just long enough for Lu Yuan’s poison to take effect.

When infiltrating the Beiliang Army Camp later, he could intentionally take a few detours to waste time.

"Strange, the noise is gone," Meng Qianqian muttered, frowning.

Lu Lingxiao said, "You must’ve heard wrong."

See? He thought so. One Yu Zichuan was plenty monstrous; how could there be another like him?

"Move!"

Meng Qianqian barked sharply.

Lu Lingxiao suddenly felt a dangerous presence rushing toward him from behind. He sidestepped just in time, narrowly avoiding a leaf that sliced by his nose, cutting through three bamboo stalks in a row!

Using a leaf as a blade—such immense inner strength!

He hurriedly pulled out his saber.

Meng Qianqian flicked a silver needle, breaking the leaf flying toward her forehead.

But the enemy wasn’t in front of her—they appeared silently behind her.

Lu Lingxiao’s expression changed drastically. "Watch out!"

He leapt into the air but was struck down mid-flight by an invisible palm force.

A broken bamboo stalk pressed against Meng Qianqian’s head. "Don’t move, or I’ll kill you."

Meng Qianqian froze momentarily and then softly said, "Yin Hu."

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