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

Tao'er was half asleep when she suddenly heard footsteps outside the artificial hill.

The sound was very soft, like stepping on fallen leaves, or like deliberately slowed breathing.

Tao'er felt a chill and opened her eyes. In the dim light, she could only see the uneven stone patterns on the top of the cave.

She listened intently; the footsteps drew closer, then suddenly stopped.

It's past midnight, who would come here?

Since drinking the spiritual spring water in the space, Tao'er's hearing has become exceptionally sharp. At night, she can hear the rhythm of water dripping from the eaves in the distance and distinguish the highs and lows of different insect chirps.

If she hadn't experienced it herself, she wouldn't have believed that such a miraculous spring water existed.

She used to envy the spiritual spring water in short dramas and novels, never imagining that one day she would be able to experience it in real life.

She turned her head and glanced at Ayan, who was fast asleep beside her. The child was curled up and breathing evenly.

Tao'er slowly got up, trying not to make a sound, and groped her way towards the cave entrance.

The footsteps stopped when they reached the entrance of the artificial cave.

All was silent, as if everything that had just happened was merely a dream.

Alarm bells rang loudly in Tao'er's heart.

This is so strange, it's like someone deliberately lured her out, and then quietly left just as she was about to appear.

She held her breath, pressed her back against the cold stone wall, and listened carefully to the sounds outside the cave.

There was only the sound of the wind and the occasional chirping of insects in the distance.

After waiting for a while and confirming that there was no danger, Tao'er cautiously poked her head out and walked out of the cave.

The moonlight was obscured by clouds, allowing only a faint glimmer to shine through.

The nightlight in Tao'er's hand emitted a soft glow, barely illuminating a few steps ahead.

She had only taken a few steps when she suddenly tripped over something and almost fell.

Tao'er steadied herself, her heart pounding. She raised the nightlight and shone it down, only to find a person standing there.

Judging from her figure and clothing, she is a young woman.

Tao'er's heart jumped into her throat.

Why would a girl be lying outside the artificial cave in the middle of the night?

Recalling the strange footsteps from earlier, Tao'er felt a pang of anxiety and immediately suspected that someone had deliberately abandoned her there.

With trembling hands, she knelt down and used a nightlight to illuminate the girl's face.

When the light fell on that pale yet familiar face, Tao'er gasped.

It's mallow.

What is Dongkui, the one who risked her life to deliver the message, doing here?

"Oh no..." Tao'er muttered to herself, Li Nanyu's mean face flashing through her mind.

Could it be that Dongkui was discovered when she tipped her off, and then that wicked woman Li Nanyu harmed her?

"Winter Okra! Winter Okra!" Tao called out in a low voice, her hand trembling as she checked Winter Okra's breath.

I could feel a faint but continuous flow of air at my fingertips.

Thank goodness, thank goodness, he's still breathing, he's still alive.

Tao'er was almost scared to death; she didn't want to cause the death of an innocent life.

Tao'er breathed a slight sigh of relief, then quickly checked Dongkui's body, lifting her sleeves and collar to examine her.

Strangely, Dongkui had no obvious external injuries, and her clothes were intact; she was simply unconscious.

Upon closer inspection, Tao'er noticed that Dong Kui was tightly clutching something in her hand.

It was a letter.

Tao'er gently pried open Dongkui's fingers and took out the letter and another neatly folded piece of paper.

By the light of the night lamp, she unfolded the paper and discovered that it was actually Dong Kui's indenture.

Tao'er was stunned, then realized something and quickly opened the envelope.

Inside was only a single sheet of paper with a few words on it, but the handwriting was sharp and ruthless:

"The prey is dead, the Li family is destroyed!"

The inscription at the bottom reads: Seven Kill Pavilion.

Tao'er's hands trembled.

The Seven Kill Pavilion is a notorious assassin organization in the martial arts world. It is rumored that they are elusive and ruthless, and they never fail once they take on a job.

But she clearly only entrusted them to steal the indenture, how could this be...?

Does "The prey is dead" refer to Li Nanyu?

What does "the Li family has been destroyed" mean?

Tao'er's mind was in complete chaos.

She only wanted to escape Li Nanyu's pursuit, but she never thought of destroying the entire Li family.

Could it be that the Seven Killings Pavilion wiped out everyone in the Li family?

That's too cruel!

Such a massacre would definitely attract the attention of the government, wouldn't that just bring her a lot of trouble?

And Dongkui, why did they knock her unconscious and bring her here?

Does the master of the Seven Killings Pavilion like to act on his own?

Tao'er felt a wave of weakness and put the letter and the contract of sale into her personal space.

However, as expected of the Seven Killings Pavilion, they found her whereabouts so quickly. Fortunately, they were not her enemies.

She looked down at Dongkui, who was still unconscious on the ground, sighed, and shook her head.

We can't just leave the okra here unattended.

It took Tao'er a lot of effort to half-drag and half-support Dong Kui into the artificial cave.

Ayan was still fast asleep, completely unaware of all this.

Tao'er took some spiritual spring water and carefully dripped it onto Dong Kui's lips.

A few drops of water were added, and Dongkui's eyelids twitched, and she slowly woke up.

When Dongkui opened her eyes and saw Tao'er's face, she was stunned for a long time, her eyes filled with confusion and bewilderment.

"Peach... Peach Sister?"

"Am I dreaming?" Dongkui's voice was weak and hoarse.

"Where...where am I?"

How did I get here?

Tao'er shook her head: "I don't know either."

I heard a noise outside, so I went out to check and found you unconscious at the cave entrance.

She paused, then took out the indenture from her bosom—or rather, from an empty pocket—"This is what I found in your hands."

Dongkui took the contract of sale and, by the light of the night lamp, saw the words on it clearly. Her eyes widened instantly, and tears welled up in her eyes.

"Little Peach Sister..."

Dongkui's voice choked with emotion.

Tao'er quickly stopped her, "Shh..."

Keep your voice down, Ayan is sleeping.

What exactly happened?

How did you end up here?

Tao'er helped Dongkui sit up, let her lean against the stone wall, took a coat and put it on her, and then fed her a few sips of water.

After drinking a few sips, some color returned to Dongkui's pale face.

"The Li family...the Li family is gone."

Dongkui said, her voice trembling, tears streaming down her face.

"The master, the madam, the eldest daughter... they're all dead."

Tao'er was startled. Although she had a premonition, hearing it with her own ears still sent a chill down her spine.

She ordered the killing of Master Li and his daughter Li Nanyu, but not the others...

"Don't rush, tell me slowly." Tao'er held Dongkui's cold hand.

Dongkui took a deep breath and began to speak haltingly:

"I don't know what happened tonight, but Grandpa was suddenly killed!"

The lady, accompanied by Granny Wang, arrived heartbroken and ready to confront them.

She believed that the young lady had killed the master, but the young lady vehemently denied it!

Then………"

"And then what?"

Of course, Tao'er wouldn't tell Dong Kui that she was the one who sent the assassins to kill Master Li.

Dongkui's voice trembled violently, and Tao'er could feel her hands shaking.

"Then the madam said that you killed the young master, and called the young lady a jinx, an ingrate, and an unfilial daughter."

They say she let the wolf into the house and caused the young master's death.

The young lady was very angry, and then she started arguing with the madam.

The lady slapped the young lady twice, and the two argued more and more fiercely.

Then, during the scuffle, the woman fell and hit her head on the corner of the table, dying instantly.

And then…”

"ah………

Did Li Nanyu kill Madam Li?

As a result, nearly three of the Li family's masters have died.