Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 232 Reunion with Changying
Without hesitation, Zhou Zhao fired three coffin nails at Chen Jiyuan.

An ordinary person would throw multiple hidden weapons at the same time, but Zhou Zhao's three were aimed at three vital points simultaneously: the throat, the heart, and a man's genitals...

This move was as swift as lightning; Zhou Zhao had practiced it countless times.

The person on the other side has no time to think about which one to avoid; no matter how they try to avoid it, it will inevitably hit them.

As expected, Chen Jiyuan cried out in pain, his smile froze on his face, and his body twisted into a strange posture.

The blade grazed his neck, spraying blood as it embedded itself straight into the wall.
He barely dodged the nail aimed at his heart, but the coffin nail pierced his chest, leaving only a tiny, barely perceptible point.

The third one grazed his genitals and between his legs, and the intense pain almost overwhelmed him.

What amazing skill! And those ruthless coffin nails!
The sounds of fighting had already attracted the attention of the island's guards. "None of you will escape from here!"

Zhou Zhao succeeded in her attack and immediately flew towards the half of the island where the nobles were enjoying themselves. She raised her hand and tapped her body a few times to protect her heart meridian. Although she had avoided vital organs, the dagger wound was not serious, but the poison on it was still a major hazard.

She was already feeling dizzy and lightheaded, clearly indicating that the poison was potent and the poisoner was determined to kill her.

Thinking it over, Zhou Zhao quickened her pace. She took a pill from her sleeve and popped it into her mouth. This was a pill prepared by Liu Huang; while it couldn't cure all poisons, it could at least neutralize some common toxins.

I just don't know if it will be effective against the poison in her body.

As Zhou Zhao pondered, he glanced back and saw Chen Jiyuan in front and the pursuers behind. He heard the whooshing sound of arrows flying through the air as a dense swarm of arrows hurtled towards them.

Zhou Zhao did a somersault and hid in an alley. An arrow flew over and landed right at her feet. She didn't hear the sound of weapons clashing. When she looked closely, she saw Chen Jiyuan standing in the alley opposite her. He was clutching the coffin nail in his chest and panting heavily against the corner of the wall.

The pills didn't seem to be working very well; Zhou Zhao felt his vision starting to blur.

She bit her lip, and blood flowed instantly. The pain brought her back to her senses. Zhou Zhao pursed her lips, then suddenly gave Chen Jiyuan, who was hiding over there, a provocative smile, and threw a coffin nail from her hand at him.

Upon hearing the sound of something cutting through the air, Chen Jiyuan's expression changed. He instinctively dodged, but then heard a loud bang.

After he dodged, the black coffin nail flew past him and struck several large vats behind him. Chen Jiyuan was terrified and tried to jump over the vats to escape to the other end of the alley to avoid his pursuers, but unexpectedly, the vats burst into flames!
This is wine!
Zhou Zhao shot not only coffin nails, but also a tinderbox that had already been opened.

"Here, here!"

Seeing that the pursuers were all drawn to Chen Jiyuan, Zhou Zhao vanished in a flash onto the roof and sped away like an arrow.

Chen Jiyuan wanted to give chase, but the fire at the back of the alley was too intense to retreat from, and the pursuers at the front of the alley had already reached him with no way to escape. He gritted his teeth, picked up his dagger, and charged directly at the group of pursuers.

Zhou Zhao sped along for a while and soon arrived at the ferry crossing again. She and Ah Huang had already sunk the boat, leaving only the one that was originally meant to transport Chen Jiyuan and Sun Zhi.

If Chen Jiyuan was the mole, then what about Sun Zhi?

The group of people earlier only said that she escaped with Chen Jiyuan, so Sun Zhi was an informant planted by the islanders, and therefore not considered a fugitive. Was she captured and brought back, or was she betrayed by Chen Jiyuan and killed by the pursuers?
Or perhaps he was killed by Chen Jiyuan, and those people found Sun Zhi's body, so they didn't count him?

Because they had escaped, a large crowd had gathered at the ferry crossing. However, Zhou Zhao did not see the eunuch Gongsun Yi. Although she did not know what he looked like, there were no men with makeup on among the crowd.

Zhou Zhao waited patiently. She took out some wound medicine and applied it to the wound on her abdomen, making sure no blood dripped down and revealed her whereabouts. Only then did she look back the way she came.

She was waiting, waiting for Chen Jiyuan to distract the pursuers for her again. When she went up to the roof, she made sure he could see the direction clearly, because she knew that the ferry crossing between the two half-districts must be guarded every three steps and sentry every five steps, because they were afraid that the fugitives on this side would disturb the esteemed "guests" on the other side.

32...

Zhou Zhao leaned against the tree trunk, mentally estimating her surroundings. Her vision was becoming increasingly blurry; although the fog had dissipated considerably, her eyes seemed to be shrouded in a gray mist. She needed to find a quiet and safe place to force the toxins out.

One!

As expected, Chen Jiyuan led a group of pursuers and rushed over with a tremendous commotion. When he saw that the ferry was crowded with people, his face turned pale and he turned and ran in the opposite direction from the ferry.

The guards at the ferry looked at each other in bewilderment, and then split up half of their men to give chase.

There are far fewer people now.

Zhou Zhao took a deep breath and suddenly accelerated, leaping away.

The remaining group only saw a black shadow flash by before disappearing without a trace.

"Oh no! Someone has broken through!"

Zhou Zhao paid no heed to the cataclysmic events unfolding behind her. She staggered and landed by a secluded courtyard, then recklessly climbed over the wall.

She peered down the wall towards the main house on the second floor. The courtyard wasn't much different from Wei Ruo's previous residence. The window was open, and a guqin (a traditional Chinese stringed instrument) sat beside it. On the wall hung a red longsword, its scabbard inlaid with jewels—clearly a gaudy and useless sword.

The room was quiet, and there was no one in sight.

Zhou Zhao took a deep breath, climbed inside, and the instant she landed, she stabbed the blue fish dagger in her hand at the person hiding by the window. It was a tall man wearing a purple robe, his long hair was draped behind his head, and his robe was loose and baggy, giving him an evil aura.

Not only that, that person had a very beautiful face, and the beauty mark at the corner of his eye inexplicably added a touch of decadence and splendor to his appearance.

One glance was enough to leave only four words in my mind: revelry every night.

Zhou Zhao, however, had no mood for appreciation whatsoever. How unlucky she must have been to have chosen a small building with a master as its owner.

The dagger and the longsword clashed, and the two immediately separated.

"Changying?"

Zhou Zhao swayed and grabbed the wooden pillar beside her, only to find that she had retreated to the edge of the bed. In the corner at the foot of the bed, two people were lying bound hand and foot. One of them was a middle-aged woman dressed in rich clothes, and the other was a handsome man who looked exactly like the person by the window.

Seeing this situation, she understood everything and tentatively uttered the words.

"Oh, so you've come to the island to be the most beautiful courtesan!" Zhou Zhao chuckled teasingly. Even now, she could only see a double image of Su Changying.

Su Changying rushed to Zhou Zhao's side and supported her, "You've been poisoned?"

"The mole was Chen Jiyuan. I was caught off guard and stabbed in the back by him. The knife was poisoned."

As Zhou Zhao was speaking, everything went black. Upon seeing this, Su Changying's expression changed, and she immediately picked Zhou Zhao up and placed him on the bed.