Before the house was raided, the maidservant of the Prime Minister's residence absconded with t

Several days passed in the blink of an eye, and Ah Chen's injuries had healed.

He seemed to be in a much better mood.

Elder Li has been working day and night these past few days to finally concoct the antidote for Xiao Yihan's poison.

After taking the medicine, Xiao Yi also underwent acupuncture treatment while soaking in the medicine.

He could feel the subtle changes in his body: his fingertips were no longer cold, and the cold poison had not flared up on the fifteenth of this month.

He was secretly delighted, thinking to himself that the antidote was indeed effective.

Tao'er and Ayan have been quite busy these past few days.

Elder Li was very fortunate to have accepted them.

Tao'er and Ayan are both incredibly promising.

Ayan has a good memory. Others would have to repeat the dry names, properties, and meridians of medicines three or more times to remember them, but this guy can remember them almost instantly.

In just a few days, he has already been able to accurately identify more than a hundred kinds of medicinal herbs.

Elder Li tested him by casually grabbing a handful of dried roots from the medicine drawer. Ayan glanced at it and said, "This is Scrophularia ningpoensis. It tastes sweet, bitter, and salty, and is slightly cold in nature. It enters the lung, stomach, and kidney meridians."

Elder Li stroked his beard and nodded, a barely perceptible hint of approval flashing in his eyes.

Tao'er learned very quickly, and in just a few days she learned about many poisonous herbs.

Elder Li taught her to recognize Gelsemium elegans, Aconitum carmichaelii, Strychnos nux-vomica, and Datura stramonium. She looked at them one by one and memorized them one by one. Far from finding it boring, she was very interested.

"Master, these Gelsemium elegans and honeysuckle look so similar. If we accidentally mix them up, how can we tell them apart?"

Elder Li then taught her to carefully distinguish the veins of the leaves and the stamens of the flowers.

Tao'er is studying diligently and has already learned some simple methods of making poisons from Elder Li.

Although it was just basic work like grinding, measuring, and refining, she did it meticulously, and even Elder Li said she had talent.

That evening, Elder Li called his two disciples to him, praised them for their good learning, and gave them a day off.

It just so happens that the city is holding a lantern festival, and the streets are bustling with activity.

Tao'er felt that everyone had been working hard lately, so she suggested going to see the lanterns.

Ayan nodded quickly, his eyes brightening slightly.

Winter Mallow naturally agreed wholeheartedly.

When Dongkui wanted to go, Qingfeng immediately responded and went to protect them.

Ah Chen also said that he had been cooped up in the yard recovering from his injury and was feeling quite stifled, and that they should go to the lantern festival together.

Xiao Yi doesn't usually like crowds, but he'll definitely go with Tao'er, Ayan, and Qiaoli.

Moreover, since Young Master Chen is going, how could he not go?

So the group went out the door.

Xiao Yi walked beside him, with Dong Kui following behind. The five of them chatted and laughed as they walked along the long street toward the night market.

The Lantern Festival was indeed lively.

The entire street looked as if the Milky Way had been poured in from above, with colorful lanterns hanging on both sides.

There are lotus-shaped lanterns, rabbit-shaped lanterns, lanterns that slowly rotate and depict the Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea, and huge dragon lanterns coiled on bamboo frames with a bright red bead in their mouths.

The flickering lamplight casts a warm glow on the faces of passersby, bathing each person's eyes and brows in a gentle light.

The air was filled with the sweet aroma of roasted chestnuts, the smoky fragrance of roasted lamb, and the wisp of steam rising from the steamer of osmanthus cakes.

The cries of vendors rose and fell, some selling candied hawthorns, some selling clay figurines, some breathing fire, some breaking large stones on their chests, and so on.

Children carrying paper lanterns weaved through the crowd, their laughter ringing out like scattered silver coins.

Tao'er stared wide-eyed, looking left and right, wishing she had two more eyes.

Ayan was dazzled by the sight, unable to suppress the smile on his face.

Dongkui followed beside Tao'er, occasionally whispering a few words, her face bearing a rare relaxed smile.

Ah Chen walked slowly at the back, looking at the bustling street, and felt much more at ease.

After strolling around for a while, the group stopped in front of a stall selling sugar figurines.

Tao'er was choosing which pattern to get when she suddenly heard a loud shout from ahead.

"Thief!"

There's a thief!

Don't let him get away...

The shout was urgent and sharp, and the crowd immediately erupted in chaos.

Some people dodged to the east, others to the west, and the once orderly street suddenly turned into chaos.

Exclamations, screams, and footsteps mingled together as the crowd surged forward like a tide.

Tao'er was pushed forward a few steps by the crowd. She turned around to call out to Ayan, but was swept away by the flow of people and could not control her own body.

Dongkui was also bumped hard on the shoulder by a reckless man, and staggered a couple of steps before regaining her balance.

"Which reckless person..."

Dongkui frowned and cursed, then turned around to look, only to find that she was all alone.

Ayan has disappeared.

Ayan, who was just standing to her right, seemed to have vanished into thin air; not even a shadow could be seen.

"Sister Tao'er, Ayan is missing."

Dongkui cried out, almost in tears.

Tao'er noticed it too, and her expression changed immediately. "Sister Dongkui, there were probably too many people just now, which scattered Ayan."

We called out as we searched.

For some reason, Tao'er felt uneasy, and her eyelids kept twitching.

The two of them shouted at the same time: "Ayan..."

Ah Yan…”

But it was too noisy all around, with people, lights, and shouts everywhere. Their voices were like pebbles thrown into the ocean, not even making a splash.

Just then, Ayan heard Tao'er and the others' voices and wanted to respond, but he no longer had the chance.

Because at the very moment they were separated by the crowd, a hand reached out from the shadows and quickly and accurately covered Ayan's mouth.

Before Ayan could react, everything went black and a thick burlap sack was slung over his head, encasing him completely.

Someone hoisted him up by the waist and carried him like cargo, striding into the alley.

Ayan tried to shout, but a wad of cloth was stuffed into his mouth. It was rough and hard, pressed against the back of his tongue, and he couldn't make a sound.

He struggled desperately, kicking and punching, but how could a half-grown child break free?

The man was incredibly strong; he held down the man's leg with one hand, and the man was unable to move.

The burlap sack was stuffy and dark, with a musty smell that hit my nose.

Ayan's heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was about to burst out of his chest.

He heard the footsteps of the person carrying him were hurried, making rapid "thump-thump" sounds on the bluestone pavement, and occasionally turning left and right, making him dizzy.

He tried to calm himself down, silently counting his steps and remembering the direction.

I turned left three times and right twice, seemingly passing through several alleys, and then walked along a dirt road for a while, the sound of my footsteps becoming muffled on the muddy ground.