Chapter 22-Part 1

After Jue Sheng and Qi Zhi left, Lin Chengyou raised his arm to look at his wound.

The injury on his arm was minor, and falling into the water could be attributed to Teng Yuyi’s carelessness.

What truly bothered him, however, was her set of hidden weapons.

He had already examined them earlier, and each one was exceedingly sinister.

Take the hairpin that struck him, for example—sharp at the tip, with countless tiny barbs at the end. Once pierced by it, the pain was a hundred times worse than from an ordinary weapon, especially since it was poisoned. The damage was compounded; whoever got hit by this weapon would endure agony that only they could fully understand.

But that wasn’t the worst part.

When Teng Yuyi pulled it out, she intentionally twisted the barbs around in his wound a few more times.

On the surface, the wound seemed small, but it was much deeper than it appeared.

Soaking in the water only made it bleed again.

Frowning, he tore a piece from his inner sleeve and bound his arm.

At first, he thought the weapon might have been custom-made by the Teng family.

But considering that Teng Shao had been stationed at the border for years, he would hardly have the time or inclination to create such a malicious and odd weapon for his daughter’s self-defense.

More likely, this was Teng Yuyi’s own ingenious idea.

He had been suspicious of her ever since she tricked Jue Sheng into stealing the itching bugs for her, and her actions tonight only confirmed his doubts.

Think about it—her release of the hidden weapons just before she lost consciousness was so swift, so decisive, clearly the act of someone who had done it many times before.

She was likely prepared to harm someone at any moment.

If she were from the martial world, this wouldn’t surprise him.

Living in constant danger, self-defense was often necessary.

But she was a noblewoman, living in a heavily guarded mansion, surrounded by powerful servants when she went out.

Her companions were other ladies from prominent families, spending their time leisurely in places like Yangzhou and Chang’an.

How could someone in such a comfortable environment have developed the habit of carrying such deadly weapons and wielding them so ruthlessly as she did?

She was said to have just come of age, yet already she was putting so much effort into crafting these cruel tools.

Unless she had a wicked heart, it was hard to think of another explanation.

After pondering for a moment, he looked at the quiet door in front of him.

Earlier, when she was detoxifying him, she had smiled pleasantly while playing dirty tricks behind his back, and she did it so smoothly that no one could even tell.

Deceitful and malicious—Teng Yuyi embodied both qualities.

No rush, though.

What exactly does she want to do with the itching bug?

So far, there is no clue.

Instead of alerting the snake, it is better to wait and see.

If she truly intended harm, there would be time to make her pay for her cruelty later.

He smiled meaningfully, glancing at He Mingsheng and E Ji, who were both standing dumbstruck.

He intentionally said a few words to them, and it took them a moment to respond.

Perfect—he didn’t have to worry about them messing things up.

To deal with a villain, you need to use methods that suit them.

No matter what poison was in Ge Jin’s body, after hearing what he said earlier, Teng Yuyi must be frightened out of her wits.

Hopefully, the poison in Ge Jin was indeed viper venom.

If so, once scared, Teng Yuyi might behave herself for a few days and harm fewer people.

Thinking this, Lin Chengyou carefully locked the door from the outside to ensure it couldn’t be opened from within, then calmly descended the steps.

He examined the courtyard as he walked.

The Caifeng tower was concave on the inside and convex on the outside, resembling a shallow well.

If gold toads were buried around it, it would naturally become a treasure basin.

This place was extremely shady and fertile, not ideal for suppressing evil spirits.

Why had they chosen such a place back then? It was puzzling and apparently quite effective, as it had held for over a hundred years.

He wondered why the formation had suddenly failed.

Was it only because the stone slab had been shattered underground…?

He crouched down for a closer look, but just then, a sharp scream came from inside the room.

A glint of amusement flashed in his eyes.

He deliberately waited for a while before standing up and dusting off his hands.

When he reached the door, he knocked.

“Young master Wang?”

Still no response from Teng Yuyi.

Could she have fainted from fear?

Lin Chengyou kept the smile from showing on his face and feigned concern.

“Young Master Wang, are you alright?”

Still no answer.

Lin Chengyou figured it was time, so he raised his hand and opened the door.

He had expected to find Teng Yuyi cowering under the table, trembling, or perhaps disheveled and pale with fear.

But instead, there she was, standing calmly by the desk.

His smile froze for a moment as Teng Yuyi bent down to pick up the brush holder that had fallen on the ground.

She smiled, “Sorry, I dropped this just now, and it startled me.”

Lin Chengyou glanced at the bed.

Ge Jin lay there, still asleep and fully dressed.

Teng Yuyi was lucky—there was no viper venom in Ge Jin.

Teng Yuyi casually walked over to Lin Chengyou and said, “There is indeed a mark on Ge Jin’s chest, a golden one. The shape is something like this. I’ve drawn it. Since there’s no gold sand here, I had to use ink instead.”

She looked perfectly composed, her cheeks rosy, with no sign of having been frightened.

Lin Chengyou quietly watched her approach and suddenly smiled.

He accepted the slip of paper she handed over and said, “Thank you, Young Master Wang.”

Teng Yuyi smiled back, eyes gleaming.

“It was nothing.”

Inwardly, though, she sneered.

She knew exactly what Lin Chengyou was up to.

If this had been any other time, she would never let herself be treated this way.

But for now, she had no choice but to bide her time.