"Junior Brother, how did you get in here?" Upon seeing Yan Xiaosong also climbing over the wall, Qiao Yongshou asked with concern.

The two companions who had entered earlier had vanished without a trace. It was clear there was something terribly wrong with this estate. Until they understood the situation, Yan Xiaosong, as the Sect Leader's son, had no business taking such risks.

"I was worried about you," Yan Xiaosong said.

He didn't reveal the whole truth. While he was alone outside, he'd had a strange feeling of being unsafe, as if a venomous snake was watching him from the shadows.

"This estate is no worse than my own home!" Yan Xiaosong looked around Su Xuan's courtyard and was momentarily stunned again. He knew this wasn't the time for sightseeing, so he turned to Qiao Yongshou. "There are a lot of rooms. Should we search them one by one?"

"Yes!" Qiao Yongshou nodded. "But let's not split up. We'll search together."

So, the group of four began to search the rooms one by one. But something horrifying happened almost immediately.

After searching two rooms, they suddenly realized one of their men hadn't come out.

"Let's go find him!"

The trio returned to the room, only to stand there aghast, a chill running up their spines. Their companion was on the ground, convulsing nonstop. He opened his mouth wide, trying to cry for help, but only white foam sputtered out. At the same time, a green shadow flickered past the doorway and vanished.

"It's a venomous snake!" Qiao Yongshou had excellent eyesight and had clearly seen the green shadow was a snake. He quickly took out an antidote pill and fed it to his companion.

"Using venomous snakes for a sneak attack? He's not very skilled!" Yan Xiaosong narrowed his eyes and swallowed an antidote pill himself, just in case he encountered other poisons. The others quickly followed suit.

They also began to relax. Since Su Xuan didn't dare to confront them directly and only resorted to such despicable sneak attacks, he clearly wasn't much of a threat.

Next, they continued searching the other rooms.

But then, the unexpected occurred again.

WHOOSH!

One of their companions had just walked up to a window when it suddenly flew open, and he vanished right through it! It was as if a fish had been suddenly yanked away by a hook.

"What?!"

Yan Xiaosong and Qiao Yongshou rushed to the window, and the sight that met their eyes made them break out in a cold sweat. They saw their companion hanging from an elegantly shaped ornamental tree in the courtyard, his legs dangling in the air like a piece of clothing...

This time it wasn't poison. He had been inexplicably taken from the room and hung from a tree.

Never mind Yan Xiaosong; even Qiao Yongshou's heart pounded with fear. Even with his own abilities, he could never manage such a feat! Clearly, there was an expert hidden in this estate!

"Now there are only two of us left!" Yan Xiaosong said, his voice trembling.

They had come with six people. The first two had vanished silently in the courtyard. Then one was poisoned, and another was hung from a tree. Now, only he and Qiao Yongshou remained.

Yan Xiaosong and Qiao Yongshou exchanged a look, each seeing the terror in the other's eyes.

"Let's get out of here!" Yan Xiaosong whispered, then immediately climbed over the windowsill and darted into the courtyard.

Just as Qiao Yongshou was about to follow, the hair on his neck stood on end. He suddenly felt a hand grab his collar from behind and yank him back hard.

Qiao Yongshou frantically turned to look, his pupils shrinking. He saw a face. It didn't look human; it was dehydrated and shriveled. A pair of eyes swiveled in their sunken sockets, an incredibly ghastly sight. The figure also wore a set of red armor that emanated a chilling aura.

The strength of its grip was far beyond his ability to resist.

"Junior Brother, don't worry about me! Run!" To avoid disappearing silently like the others, Qiao Yongshou shouted and thrust his palm toward the figure.

The strange figure in red armor didn't even try to dodge. Still holding Qiao Yongshou's collar, it yanked him backward and slammed him onto the ground.

THUD!

Qiao Yongshou was smashed into a daze, his internal energy thrown into chaos, and he nearly coughed up blood. But he was indeed a strong fighter. He quickly took a deep breath, slapped the ground with his palm, and launched himself back toward the window.

But then, the unthinkable happened.

His vision blurred, and another red-armored figure appeared at the window, blocking his path. This new stranger raised its hand and thrust a blade straight at him.

SMACK!

Caught in mid-air, Qiao Yongshou had no time to dodge. He hastily clapped his hands together, trapping the cold blade between his palms and narrowly avoiding being impaled.

Just as he felt a wave of relief, something happened that terrified him to his very soul.

The first red-armored figure suddenly shoved his back, pushing him forward, while the second figure kept thrusting the blade toward him.

SPLAT!

With his hands still trapping the sharp blade, Qiao Yongshou could only watch in horror as the tip slowly pierced his body. A blood-curdling scream immediately followed.

"Protector Qiao!"

Already in the courtyard, Yan Xiaosong heard the scream and his face went white with terror. The whole exchange, though long to describe, had happened in a mere instant. The strongest of them, Qiao Yongshou, had fallen. And he had no idea how it had even happened.

Run, run, run!

With no time to think, Yan Xiaosong sprinted toward the courtyard wall. He took a running leap, attempting to vault over it and escape.

But then, something completely unexpected happened. A black-and-white shadow suddenly appeared in front of him and slammed into him.

CRASH!

He was knocked out of the air, stumbling as he hit the ground. After regaining his footing, he looked closely and was shocked to see that the black-and-white shadow was a giant panda.

"This... this..." Yan Xiaosong's mouth twitched violently. What in the world is going on? Never mind why there's a panda in this estate; in all my life, I've never been attacked by one! Besides, who would even believe me?

The panda, seemingly also stunned by the collision, rolled on the ground for a bit before huffing and shuffling to one side.

He followed the direction the panda had gone and his jaw dropped. "You... you..."

He saw the man who was even more handsome than himself: Su Xuan.

Su Xuan paid no attention to Yan Xiaosong. He crouched down, patted the head of the panda, Da Bai, and smiled. "I didn't tell you to get involved. Is your head okay?"

Da Bai rubbed its head against Su Xuan's face, snorting excitedly.

Yan Xiaosong's eyes widened again.

He saw two small children dragging his poisoned companion out of a room. Then, he saw two red-armored figures emerge, carrying an unconscious Qiao Yongshou. Finally, a gray-haired old man walked out of another room, smiling with his hands tucked in his sleeves. The man approached Su Xuan and said, "Master, tonight's guests weren't up to much, were they!"

Su Xuan laughed. "Well, there were only four of them... Huh?" He suddenly looked surprised and asked Yan Xiaosong, "Hey, how many people did you bring?"

Yan Xiaosong's jaw was slack. "Six, including me!"

Su Xuan asked, "Then where are the other two?"

Yan Xiaosong looked like he was about to have a breakdown. "You don't know?"

Su Xuan shook his head. "No idea."

How could two people just disappear? What was going on?

An eerie atmosphere began to spread through the courtyard...

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