Chapter 316: Unexpected Meeting (1/2)
It was a palm-sized token Nan Xun couldn't be more familiar with - he had one very similar to it. He'd commented on how unique the tokens of House of Heavenly Fiends were - like a patch of delicately crafted cloud. From the dirt acc.u.mulated over the token, it was clear it'd been here for a while. He trembled and sweat in debilitating dread, collapsing to the stone stairs like all strength had drained out of his body.
He debated over if he should give the token another look. Maybe he'd misjudged. Maybe it wasn't Jun Huang's.
The mistress hadn't gone to bed yet when the maid arrived at her residence. Normally, she wasn't allowed to visit her master so late at night, but her nervous expression gave the caretaker pause. The caretaker told the maid to wait outside and entered to notify the mistress.
The mistress put down a Buddhist prayer beads bracelet when the caretaker entered. The beads were polished from years of handling and shone prettily under the candlelight.
“What's the matter?” the mistress asked with a glance at the old caretaker and took a sip of tea.
“It's the maid serving our esteemed guest, madam. She said she had something important to tell you. She seems genuine, so I came to notify you immediately. If the mistress doesn't want to see her, I'll dismiss her.”
The mistress paused and decided to hear the maid out. “Tell her to come in.”
The old caretaker nodded and walked away. Soon, the maid entered the room. She looked nervous as she knelt and bowed to the mistress. “Madam, I heard someone talking in her room tonight.”
She told the mistress everything. The mistress's face clouded. The maid got more and more nervous as she spoke, worried that the mistress would punish her.
The mistress wasn't an unreasonable person. She nodded and said, “Good. You did the right thing by telling me. Go back and keep a close eye on her. If you hear anything else, don't let her notice. Just tell me about it.”
The maid nodded and left. The mistress thought back to how Jun Huang had acted these days. She hadn't realized it before, but once she put some thought to it, she started to see the warning signs.
She finished her cup of tea and put on a smile that didn't reach her eyes. She had to keep a closer eye on Jun Huang.
She a.s.signed more people to Jun Huang under the guise of keeping her safe, but Jun Huang wasn't fooled. The mistress must have noticed her wariness. The added guards were to keep her under control.
She huffed. The mistress was more cautious than she'd expected. The webs of manipulation around her were starting to manifest, but she couldn't yet get the big picture. Unfortunately, the best she could do was to wait for an opening.
Days pa.s.sed without Jun Huang seeing Yin Yun. They exchanged messages every day. Finally, the opportunity presented itself.
Without hesitation, Jun Huang jumped out of the window. She had thought she'd get hurt, but she landed on her two feet easily. Before she had the time to question that, Yin Yun had come and threw her a look. The two disappeared into the bushes.
There was a path hidden in the overgrowth. Jun Huang crouched down and followed Yin Yun to the back of the Grand Chancellor manor. He stopped her from advancing when they reached their destination.
Yin Yun pointed at the approaching guard and sighed in relief. He snuck past the guard and made sure no one else was around before beckoning Jun Huang over.
They carefully made their way to the entrance of the back building. The door was shut with six guards stationed in the area. They had their arms crossed and were clearly well trained. Jun Huang and Yin Yun had to act smartly.
“There are too many of them,” Jun Huang said calmly with her back to the wall. “If we just barge in, many will be alerted to our presence. Then we won't be able to get Jun Hao out even if we find him, and we'll be in great danger. We should first find out if there are more guards in the building.”
Yin Yun nodded in agreement. “But the guards are a problem. They're split into pairs and covered the entire area. We don't have a chance to get inside.”
“We have to figure out something.” Jun Huang forced herself to calm down, but no solution came to her. Her forehead creased in contemplation.
“Ah, I remember seeing another entrance leading into the building,” Yin Yun said suddenly, slapping his forehead. “It's big enough to fit a person, and there's only one guard there. We can easily take him down.”