Over the next two days , Liu Ying and the others were busy gathering peat and lime stone , a group was also allocated to extract the humic acid lead by Zhou Zilong.
By sundown on the second day ,they were officially ready to put their plan into action.
While they worked away , Li Cheng , Yang Changtian and Lv Ling , turned their attention from the 4 suspects to crazy Shaman Wu , Lv Ling tried to hypnotise her , but it didn't work , till Liu Ying reminded her that Shaman Wu was half fungi , so Lv Ling adjusted the formula and tried again , this time succeeding. They didn't get much information from her either , she just kept repeating the same things as Sister Mu , but when they asked more about the man with the tiger token she started to resist , pushing against Lv Ling's hypnosis, eventually even managing to break it , so Yang Changtian and the others could only retreat .
When the three of them stepped outside the cellar , it was almost sunset ,Liu Ying and the others were already coming back , carrying a lot of cartloads.
Yang Changtian walked over to Liu Ying and held his hand out , intending to help her down the horse; he had gotten noticeably more gentlemanly towards her , making Li Cheng and the others shudder.
Liu Ying looked at his face before moving towards his outstretched hand , sighing as she reached out and took his hand , dismounting her horse and she thanked Yang Changtian.
"Ms. Liu, I presume your day was much more productive than ours?" Li Cheng asked, walking toward them.
Liu Ying nodded , " We're done gathering all the required things , and we just have to extract the humic acid from this batch of peat , we'll be ready to put our plan into action the day after tomorrow. How about you gentleman ? Found anything new ? ".
Li Cheng and Yang Changtian both shook their heads.
" Ms. Liu , that crazy shaman managed to break through the hypnosis , " Lv Ling explained feeling somewhat disappointed.
" Hmm , did you try adjusting the prescription again ? ".
Lv Ling shook her head , " I used the maximum amount that can be used on a human."
" But technically she isn't a 'normal' human , so I presume a higher dosage wouldn't be harmful, " Liu Ying pointed out.
Lv Ling thought for a while and nodded , " I'll try again later , we better give her time to cool off completely though."
"Ms. Liu, come, let's go have some dinner," Yang Changtian said, leading the group to the dining area. Liu Ying sat down with Lv Ling and Jin Wei on her sides, but Yang Changtian noticed Song Lian walking over to the spot across from Liu Ying, so he hurried over and plopped down right in front of her, making Song Lian choose another seat. Li Cheng almost laughed at his childish behavior while Lv Ling rolled her eyes.
Liu Ying was oblivious while Jin Wei and Da Xiong acted like they didn't see anything.
After they finished eating , Liu Ying went on a stroll , Li Cheng and Yang Changtian joined her.
The three of them walked upstream, eventually coming across a curious rock formation , Liu Ying climbed and settled down on a smooth and comfortable looking rock, Yang Changtian also settled down next to her , and the three of them began to chat about random stuff.
" Ms. Liu , when did you join the Detective Department ? " Li Cheng asked.
" Since I was young I always liked to observe and analyse things , I always felt that what happened to my family was intentional , someone wanted to kill us . So when I came of age I sneaked out of the house and went over to investigate myself . On my way there I encountered Brother Lu , who happened to be stuck with a murder case. Naturally I was unable to hold back , so I lent him a hand , and after we solved that case , he offered to accompany me back to my ancestral home. It had been years so I didn't find anything , but when we returned to the capital , he requested my assistance in establishing a new department . I agreed to help him , and after we established ourselves completely , I stepped back to take on a more passive role , acting as the Internal analyst and archive manager of the department."
Li Cheng nodded , " Then if you don't mind me asking . Why were you dispatched onto this mission ? I heard it's been years since you joined a field mission ."
Liu Ying nodded , " Indeed I have not been in the front lines for a while , but when His Majesty heard about this situation and informed us ,Brother Lu and I both agreed that it was fishy. So I volunteered to come here and check it out . "
" Is that all ? ", Yang Changtian asked, staring at Liu Ying intensely.
Liu Ying looked startled for a while before recovering , she sighed and shook her head , " Actually no , some strange things have been happening in and around the capital for years now , and they all point towards a mysterious group of people who carry a tiger token , like the one old woman Mu described , and this particular issue coincided with the disappearance of General Lim and the recently increased attacks of the Barbarians outside the wall , so I came to investigate if there was a connection ."
" You mentioned that there were other instances of these people causing trouble ? " Yang Changtian asked.
Liu Ying nodded , " Yes , while I can't tell you what happened directly , I can tell you what cases they were. The ghost fire at the West shipping company warehouses , the ghost whispers in the LianJing mountain range , the massacre of the ship crew of Mermaid's pearl ship and the patricide and matricide of the Jing family . They all left a tiger token there , as if it was some sort signature
Li Cheng sighed and leaned back , lying down on the cold smooth stone , staring up at the stars , " These people are a massive headache."
Yang Changtian also nodded and leaned back on his arms , in this half sitting half lying down posture , " This is becoming more dangerous by the second , I honestly thought this happened because of the miasma when I came here , but we unearthed such a huge conspiracy. "
Liu Ying sighed and shook her head softly , " You know , the worst thing is they're just getting started, " Liu Ying replied, also leaning back to lie down.
They spend time in the comfortable silence , just enjoying each other's company. After a while Yang Changtian sat up straight , " I don't know how far they're willing to go , but I know one thing , I won't stop fighting , " he said softly .
Liu Ying and Li Cheng also sat up straight and nodded back , agreeing with him , " I won't stop either ," Liu Ying whispered back , soft yet determined.
Li Cheng smiled and extended his hand , Yang Changtian smiled back and placed his hand over Li Cheng's and the both of them turned to look at Liu Ying , who snorted softly before placing her hand on top too.
Yang Changtian broke out in a smile , he coughed to hide it and stood up , " Come on now , it's getting so let's go back."
Liu Ying and Li Cheng both followed him down , Li Cheng beat Yang Changtian to help Liu Ying down earning him a dirty look , and the three of them walked back to camp. When they were walking back , Li Cheng and Yang Changtian busy chatting with each other , Liu Ying slowly fell back and once she was a considerable distance away from them , she slowly pulled two needles from her sleeve and threw them towards a bush nearby , two small thuds reverberated from behind the bush .
Li Cheng and Yang Changtian whipped around hearing the thuds , they were surprised to see Liu Ying with her hand extended , staring at a nearby bush coldly.
" Liu Ying ! What is it ? " Yang Changtian asked, rushing over. Li Cheng following closely behind.
But Liu Ying stopped them , " There are hidden assailants , you two go back to the camp immediately ! I'll handle the ones here."
Yang Changtian and Li Cheng felt their blood run cold. Liu Ying had to yell at them again to make them rush back , Yang Changtian didn't want to leave her alone , but he had to go back and she was more than capable of fighting these people.
When Li Cheng and Yang Changtian left , a cold smile bloomed on Liu Ying's face , making her look somewhat demonic. She reached inside her sleeve and pulled out more needles and began to throw them , each hitting a target perfectly , before they assailants could recover , she rushed forward ,using her fists to target the critical points in their bodies , a simple fist to the neck and followed by a kick right above the calf and knee , immobilized the assailants .
When the final one went down, Liu Ying heard a sharp swish approaching her from behind , before she could step aside , an arrow grazed her cheek. She turned around slowly , blood tickling down from the scratch. A tall masked man was aiming a wrist crossbow at her.
Liu Ying used her hand to wipe at the warm blood trickling down her cheek , she stared at her thumb that had a streak of blood on it , her already cold smile becoming colder. Thinking this was his chance , the man aimed and shot again , Liu Ying didn't even bother to look up , the man didn't even see what happened , one second she was right in the trajectory of the arrow , next she pulled her swords out and sliced the arrow in two , and appeared behind him , slicing the jugular in his neck.
The man grabbed his neck as he bled out , making the occasional choking sound.
Liu Ying stood over this man , watching him bleed out and die , she spotted the Mo family token on his waist so she pulled it off and clenched in tightly. After the man succumbed , she observed the surroundings to check if there were anymore left , she had to make sure no one escaped.
She turned around and walked over to the other four , she pulled out a metal box from her sleeve and used sedative laced needles to prick each one of them , ensuring they didn't wake up till someone came to get them.
After she was done , she rushed back to the camp to see how it was over there.
Jin Wei and Da Xiong were fighting two assailants , they just finished two of them off when , they saw Liu Ying walking in , her expression was cold , and her hand was tightly clutching something. But the most eye-catching was the crimson scratch on her cheek , which contrasted with her pale skin and features to give a hauntingly cold image.
Jin Wei and Da Xiong immediately rushed over , " Senior ! " they screeched.
" Senior ! My God , I will kill those bastards . Take me to them ! " Jin Wei began to rage.
" Don't worry , I already killed him , " Liu Ying sneered , she handed the token to Jin Wei.
Jin Wei clenched the token tightly , " They're obviously trying to cover their tracks up , that despicable snake," he hissed.
Da Xiong also glanced at the token and shuddered .
Liu Ying smirked , " Since he wants to play, we'll play. Da Xiong I want you to go upstream , I immobilized 5 assailants , they're alive , bring them back and throw them in a cellar. Bring the dead body back too , but make sure you remove all traces linked to the prime minister. Jin Wei , gather people and protect the women. I'll go help Li Cheng and Yang Changtian."
Jin Wei and Da Xiong nodded before rushing off.
Liu Ying figured that they might be aiming for Shaman Hu and the other prisoners , so she rushed over to the closest , the woodshed that held the 4 prisoners.
When she rushed over , she found Mo Ling and Song Lian fighting a group of masked men , she quickly pulled out more needles and launched them at the assailants , hitting each one perfectly , when she ran out of needles , she switched to her daggers , aiming each one at the assistant hands and legs , being careful not to kill them .
Mo Ling and Song Lian were overwhelmed on their own , but the tide changed when Liu Ying joined them. Together they finished off the assailants.
" Ms. Liu ! ," Song Lian and Mo Ling both sighed in relief .
Song Lian was shocked to see her cheek , " Ms. Liu ?! Are you okay ? ".
Liu Ying nodded and waved her hand, " How are they ? " Liu Ying asked.
The door to the wooden shed opened and Li Cheng stepped outside , " They're okay Ms. Liu."
Liu Ying nodded , " Then I'll go help Mr. Yang."
She didn't even wait for their reply , rushing off towards the cellar that housed Shaman Hu.
When she arrived she saw multiple people surrounding Yang Changtian. She was out of daggers and needles so she switched to her swords , she leaped up to the roof of the neighboring house , before launching herself off and landing next to Yang Changtian.
Yang Changtian was momentarily shocked when a blue figure leapt from the neighboring roof , but seeing who it was he sighed in relief .
" Li Cheng and the others are okay , " Liu Ying quickly informed him , stabbing at a man .
Yang Changtian nodded , " That's great , they clearly want to silence the Shaman."
Liu Ying sneered before slashing the tendons of an assailant. " They're here because she knows something."
Yang Changtian nodded grimly.
The masked men just kept coming , while the both of them were busy fighting , two of the attackers managed to sneak past them , but Liu Ying caught a glimpse of them sneaking behind them.
" Yang Changtian ! They're inside , I'll hold them off , go and save that crazy shaman ! ".
Yang Changtian hesitated , it would be hard for Liu Ying to fight against this many people.
Seeing his hesitation Liu Ying yelled out again , " I can handle them , just go ! ".
Yang Changtian nodded at her grimly before turning to head inside.
Some of the assailants tried to take this chance to attack him , but Liu Ying blocked them.
Yang Changtian rushed inside , he saw two people approaching the Shaman who was on her knees cackling loudly .
" You have come to save me ! " she screeched, obviously happy that someone was here to take her away from this hellhole.
The masked men moved closer and pulled out their swords , lifting it to decapitate the old woman. Sensing the danger , the Shaman's eyes contracted sharply and she began to struggle trying to get away.
Yang Changtian rushed over just in time to block the strike. The two men began to attack him simultaneously . Meanwhile outside , Liu Ying was soon joined by Song Lian and Mo Ling , easily turning the tide. Liu Ying slashed the final assailant before rushing inside where Yang Changtian was still fighting , she landed a kick on one man , sending him flying backwards , before the man could even stand up she was over there ,knocking him out cold.
Now that there was one left , Yang Changtian took him down easily. When he turned around , he saw Liu Ying looking at the shaman coldly. When he looked closer , something was wrong with that old hag. Feeling a pit growing in his stomach , Yang Changtian hurriedly rushed over , only to see the old woman on the floor with her mouth and eyes wide open , unresponsive.
He whipped around to look at Liu Ying , who shook her head , " No external injuries detected," she whispered back.
Yang Changtian gripped his sword tightly and walked over to one of the men and kicked him hard in the stomach.
Liu Ying came over and patted him on the shoulder , " I'll go bring Lv Ling , " she said before heading out.
Minutes later she returned with Dr. Lv , who crouched down next to the old hag to check , after a while she stood up and shook her head , " She is dead , and Ms. Liu is right , no injuries and by the looks of it she likely had a heart attack."
Yang Changtian was enraged , he walked over and began to kick the assailant again , Liu Ying had to hold him back to make sure he didn't end up killing the man.
Liu Ying grabbed Yang Changtian's hand , she clenched his wrist tightly , slowly leading him outside.
Li Cheng and the others were waiting for them outside , Liu Ying led Yang Changtian over to Li Cheng and whispered to Li Cheng who quickly nodded and took Yang Changtian from Liu Ying's grasp.
Yang Changtian looked towards Liu Ying who smiled back at his reassuringly, " I'll take care of the things here."
Incidentally , Yang Changtian happened to see the scratch on Liu Ying's face , there was no blood flowing now , but the cut was incongruous, something that didn't belong on her face , but at the same time , it made her look much alluring and fierce.
Yang Changtian slowly reached out , he wanted to touch it , but Liu Ying guessed his intentions and stepped back , reaching out to hold his hand instead. She quickly patted his hand and left , leaving Yang Changtian with a wisp of warmth on his hand and in his soul.