Yu Yi followed Ding Jingman for a while. Before reaching Tuo Feibi’s house, Ding Jingman suddenly stopped and said: “Go. Don’t come back.”
Yu Yi was surprised: “Madam? A Ju doesn’t want to leave.” The document returned to Tu Feibaí’s hand; she hadn’t yet found a chance to scan it, so how could she leave now? Although the current situation was dangerous, staying by Tu Feibaí’s side was extremely risky, but she could still try to buy a few more days. As long as she could scan that crucial document, she might be able to complete her mission.
Ding Jingman said coldly, “Do you really want to be Feibaí’s main wife? You’re young, but your ambitions are quite big! Do you think Feibaí would actually marry a country girl as his main wife? He’s keeping that position open, not for marrying a rural girl.”
“No!” Yu Yi hurriedly denied, “But A Ju still wants to serve the madam.”
Ding Jingman glared at her and snorted, “If you truly have no such thoughts, leave immediately!”
Yu Yi tried to explain, but Ding Jingman suddenly sighed.
Since he’s interested in you, if you don’t leave, even if you’re unwilling, he’ll find a way to possess you. Even if he truly likes you, after taking your body, he’ll at most make you a concubine.”
Ding Jingman removed a gold chain with a jade pendant from her neck and pushed it into Yu Yi’s hand: “This chain is worth several months of wages. Hurry and leave!” She then forced Yu Yi.
Yu Yi worried, “Won’t madam be punished by the commander for letting A Ju escape?” Although Ding Jingman wanted her to leave partly to reduce competition for favor, she was still taking a risk. Given Tu Feibaí’s ruthlessness, if he vented his anger on Ding Jingman…
Seeing Yu Yi still hesitating, Ding Jingman urged, “Go! It’ll be too late when Feibaí returns! I’ll say you suddenly ran away halfway, and I couldn’t catch up. Run quickly, and once you’re far, I’ll start shouting.”
The mission was not simply completed by Tu Feibaí’s death. Forced by the circumstances, Yu Yi had no choice but to leave. After running dozens of steps, she looked back. Ding Jingman was signaling her to run quickly.
Until A Ju’s silhouette disappeared into the night, Ding Jingman waited a while, took a deep breath, and began chasing in another direction while calling out, “A Ju! A Ju!…”
Yu Yi saw that both people looked curious, so she picked up the water kettle and smiled: “The water in the room was finished, and the commander was thirsty, so I came downstairs to refill water and check if you two are diligently on guard and not slacking off or sleeping.” While speaking, she approached the study door.
The two soldiers exchanged bewildered glances, wondering why a female servant would come to check on them in the middle of the night.
In that momentary distraction, Yu Yi suddenly attacked, striking the neck of the soldier on the right and kicking the head of the soldier on the left. With one swift move, both men let out a muffled groan and passed out, sliding softly against the walls on either side of the study door.
Yu Yi carefully pulled their gun belt straps, letting them lie down slowly to avoid making a loud noise that might alert Tu Fei Bai upstairs. Then she opened the study door and slipped inside.
The hidden room in the study looked the same as when she had last entered. Yu Yi found the document folder in the safe, still stained with a few dark red marks. She suddenly realized these were Gong Shi’s blood.
Although Gong Shi was not a good person, and his death could be considered karmic retribution, Yu Yi felt an indescribable guilt. If she hadn’t mentioned Gong Shi’s document theft in self-defense, he might not have died. She silently whispered “Sorry” and closed her eyes to compose herself before removing the documents from the folder.
She had no time to read thoroughly, so she first scanned all documents into her client, then returned the document folder to the safe exactly as it was, restoring the hidden room. She carefully opened the study door to look outside; everything seemed undisturbed, and the two soldiers were still unconscious.
Yu Yi opened her client and sought help from Tian Shen, knowing that using the client would be silent and might get a faster response than direct communication.
“What’s the matter?” Tian Shen’s voice echoed in her mind, with a hint of concern, as Yu Yi would not seek help lightly, especially for a potentially dangerous mission.
In a whisper, she asked him to erase the soldiers’ brief memory before their unconsciousness, so they wouldn’t remember her appearance at the study door or the attack. Since she only scanned and didn’t steal the documents, Tu Fei Bai would remain unaware of tonight’s intrusion.
Through the client, she could still create an exact copy of the files.
Tian Shen muttered under his breath: “You really think I’m an all-powerful god.” Implanting memories was possible, but erasing them was a different matter.
“What did you say?” Yu Yi didn’t hear clearly.
“Nothing, wait a moment.” After a short while, he said: “Found it. You can use this.”
Two bean-sized objects appeared on the ground before her, long and cylindrical, with a transparent middle section showing a light yellow liquid.
“These are subcutaneous injectors. Depending on the dosage, this drug can make people forget events from a few hours to a day or two. The amount I’m giving you will make them forget events from about an hour before their unconsciousness. Is that enough?”
Yu Yi nodded; this duration was sufficient. Too long, and they might forget Tu Fei Bai’s instructions to guard the study door. Following Tian Shen’s guidance, she pressed the injectors vertically against their neck’s posterior, firmly pressing the end so the liquid immediately entered their bodies.
“Oh, I forgot to mention, these two vials cost two hundred points. The injector is a one-time disposable item that can be buried anywhere or even flushed… cough, though expensive, it’s worth it, isn’t it?”
Yu Yi’s mouth twitched. Did he genuinely forget or intentionally wait until after she finished?
According to the divine myth, this client was truly worth every point, as if she could search for what she needed and have the system deliver it right to her, all at the cost of performance points.
Yu Yi found a small metal cutter, spending forty-nine points to purchase it. A delicate gray device about half the size of a palm appeared before her. Yu Yi picked it up, and following the client’s instructions, pressed the bright yellow button. A thin blue light emerged from the cutter’s front end, and by rotating a dial on the cutter, she could adjust the blue light’s length.
She shortened the blue light just enough to cut through the iron bars, then gently held Qiang Zi’s head and softly said: “Don’t move, I’ll saw this thing open for you.” As she carefully cut through the iron bars, the blue light sliced through the metal with ease. Soon, Yu Yi had split the iron cage in half.
She put away the cutter, and suddenly a thought struck her: this device cut through iron frames so easily, it could probably also be used as a weapon.
Although split in half, the iron cage was difficult to remove, as some sections were stuck to Qiang Zi’s jaw and neck skin. Yu Yi was afraid of hurting him and could only carefully peel it off bit by bit.
Unexpectedly, Qiang Zi suddenly grabbed the iron cage and yanked it down. Yu Yi gasped, seeing blood flow from the tear on his jaw.
She quickly took out a handkerchief to press on his wound, saying, “We need to remove it slowly. Let’s go inside and treat it first.”
“No, hurt. Must remove,” Qiang Zi said. Having been imprisoned for a long time, he spoke slowly and with unclear pronunciation. He did not cooperate with Yu Yi’s suggestion to stand up, but instead grabbed the other half of the iron cage behind his head and forcefully pulled it off, throwing it far away.
