Only by the time that those men left did Secret Guard No.3 look up and say: “My Lord, look out for those guys.”

Raising her brows, Ye Li asked: “Why? Do you know them?”

Secret Guard No.3 nodded then shook his head as he said: “I know that sickly bookish man.”

“Well?” Looking at Secret Guard No.3, Ye Li was curious why he would know someone like that since he seldom left the capital. “It seems that sickly bookish man is really somebody.”

Secret Guard No.3 nodded as he spoke: “His nickname is Sick Scholar. Besides, no one knows his real name, not even Tianyi Pavilion.”

Ye Li recalled how that man looked like. He didn’t seem like a master-hand nor was there anything special about him. Why did Secret Guard No.3 know who he was?

Secret Guard No.3 said: “He is the third master of the Hall of Darkness. In the past few years, almost all assassin groups including Hall of Darkness have accepted offers to kill His Highness. Many secret guards have been killed by the Sick Scholar. But his heart was damaged by His Highness with one blow. Since then he has become a real sick scholar. Have you noticed his left hand, My Lord? He is good with poisons so the color of the nails of his left hand are different. People think he has got that because of his illness. However, he has got that before he was injured by His Highness. His nails are different because of all the poison he used over the years and his left hand is extremely poisonous itself.”

Ye Li remembered the scholar’s left hand, most of which was hid in his sleeve. The part that was left in the open was crimson. “Getting his own hand poisonous, isn’t he afraid that he’ll poison himself?” She was confused and didn’t see why he would do that. Nobody was completely immune from poisons. One could only develop resistance to most poisons. If someone who was plagued by poisons could live to an old age without any danger, Shen Yang didn’t have to take all the trouble to treat Mo Xiu Yao.

After breakfast, Ye Li took a walk around Yong Lin and learned more about the situations of Nan Zhao and Scattered Snow Pass. When she returned to the inn in the evening, those four men were sitting at the same table, having dinner. Obviously, they didn’t leave today. The Sick Scholar nodded nicely at Ye Li and Secret Guard No.3. Ye Li nodded back with a smile and prepared to go upstairs.

“Hey, when do we have such a beautiful young lord in Yong Lin?”

Before taking the stairs, she heard someone speak in a rude and obscene tone. Tilting sideways, she saw a withered and skinny young man dressed up in Nan Zhao clothes gazing at her impudently, with eyes as small as those of a rat’s and full of ill intent. She can’t help frowning since she had never seen anybody as ugly as this one including those criminals, drug traffickers, and terrorists she dealt with in her previous incarnation.

Secret Guard No.3 suddenly turned around and looked at that young man coldly. His menacing stare was a warning. If this bastard dared to speak one more word, he was going to kill him. Who was this scoundrel to profane Princess Ding?

However, taking Secret Guard No.3’s warning as a provocation, the young man was even smugger. His obscene gaze lingered on Ye Li as he sneered at Secret Guard No.3 aggressively: “What are you looking at? Was I wrong? Sleek-haired and creamy-faced, men of your country look like females. This boy is more attractive than a woman.”

To be honest, Ye Li’s disguise was very successful. Though she looked more beautiful than most women did, her age, move, and demeanor would invite no suspicion that she was a woman. Therefore, Secret Guard No.3 didn’t waste his breath with that scoundrel. Drawing his sword with a whoosh, he went directly at him.

Clearly, the man didn’t expect Secret Guard No.3 to strike without any warning. He was stupefied when it seemed that he was going to be stabbed in no time. Someone beside him hurriedly took him aside, and with a lift of hand, something charged at Secret Guard No.3. Secret Guard No.3 snorted coldly and wielded his sword. In two moves, that thing was cut to three parts and fell on the ground. It was a poisonous snake. Though its breed was unknown, its high toxicity could be told from its bright-colored body.

Secret Guard No.3 raised his brows in disdain. He had learned about Nan Zhao’s common tricks since he was going to Nan Zhao.

Those men from Nan Zhao turned pale. That vulgar man was the only one who was still shouting: “How dare you! Do you know who I am?”

Curling his lips, Secret Guard No.3 sneered: “Acting so unbridled in Great Chu, I don’t think you are the prince of Nan Zhao, are you, since the emperor of Nan Zhao only has two daughters.”

The man wanted to say something but didn’t since he saw Secret Guard No.3 wielding his sword. Timidly, he took a few steps back and only shouted when he was back among his crew. “Kill him!”

His men were clearly divided and mumbled something at him.

Ye Li stood at the head of the stairs and listened to them with her eyes gazing at the floor. It sounded like they were speaking a dialect of a minority group in Yun Nan and Gu Zhou from her previous incarnation. Since she used to travel around that area, she knew a thing or two about those dialects. Apparently, those subordinates were trying to persuade their master that it wasn’t a good idea for them to kill someone in broad daylight in Great Chu. However, the man wouldn’t listen to them and insisted that they kill Secret Guard No.3 and take Ye Li. After ineffective communication, those men looked at each other with resignation then came up to Secret Guard No.3 and Ye Li.

Seeing that a fight is on its way, those in the hall scattered like birds and beasts. Sick Scholar and the middle-aged man were the only two left at their table. The old innkeeper was so scared that he already hid himself behind the counter.

Ye Li said with a frown: “Throw them out and don’t damage anything in the inn.”

Secret Guard No.3 answered happily: “Yes, My Lord.”