Qi Ning's face was quite solemn, and he turned around and walked out of the room, and Bai Shenghao followed closely behind and closed the door with his hand.

"When did you find out?" Qi Ning put his hands behind his back and turned his head to look at Bai Shenghao.

Bai Shenghao said: "In the evening." At the agreed place with the gray crow, I followed the instructions of the Hou Ye, laid down the manpower, yesterday evening, a brother heard the movement outside the door, immediately alert, when the door was opened, it was found that the gray crow was seriously injured, leaning outside the door. ”

"Someone sent him there?"

Bai Shenghao shook his head and said: "No, judging from the signs at the time, the gray crow rushed to the agreed place by holding on, and there were blood stains left by him in the alley, so it can be judged that he found the door by himself." ”

"In other words, the gray crow had a fight with people before he arrived at the agreed place." Qi Ning groaned slightly, and then asked, "What did he say?" ”

Bai Shenghao said: "When we found him, he was already dying and unconscious. My brothers immediately reported that I had heard their description of the situation of the gray crow, and knew that the gray crow had been poisoned, and I was about to send Zhong Li away. ”

"What poison did the gray crow get?" Qi Ning asked.

Bai Shenghao said: "I can't know for sure for the time being, but Zhong Ya should be clear." Yesterday we secretly transported the gray crow here, when the gray crow was blackened all over, and he couldn't live, if it wasn't for Zhong Li's timely action, now the gray crow is already a corpse. There are a total of six wounds on the gray crow's body, but these six wounds are not fatal, and the fatal thing is that two of them contain poison, which should be quenched by the enemy's weapon. ”

"So, the Grey Raven's opponent wasn't alone? If the opponent's weapon is poisonous, every wound should be poisonous. Qi Ning's face was solemn.

Bai Shenghao said: "Yes, it can be judged from the wound that the gray crow was facing at least two people at that time. We transported the gray crow here, and Zhong Li began to detoxify him with silver needles, first controlling the toxins in his body to invade his heart, and then slowly detoxifying him. After a pause, he said: "At present, Zhong Li has almost controlled the invasion of the toxin on the heart of the gray crow, but he has not been able to find the antidote to the poison. ”

"In other words, the gray crow has not said a word so far, and you don't know what happened?" Qi Ning asked.

Bai Shenghao said: "Zhong Ya means to wait for the Hou Ye to come back. Zhong Ya said that he could use a silver needle to pierce several acupoints of the gray crow, so that he could wake up for a short time, but it would not last too long, but it should be able to reveal a clue. The toxins in the body of the gray crow, if it were an ordinary person, it would be impossible to hold on, Zhong Li checked, after the gray crow was poisoned, he should have quickly taken drugs to protect the heart and veins, which could barely last for a period of time, and fortunately, before the medicine disappeared, Zhong Li prevented the toxin from invading the heart in time. ”

"In their line of work, half a foot in the ghost gate, there will always be some way to save your life." Qi Ning sighed: "What's the situation on the side of the Prince of Eastern Qi? ”

Bai Shenghao immediately said: "Don't worry, Master Hou, after Elder Vermilion Bird knew what Lord Hou meant, he not only sent people to monitor near the post house, but also personally sat in the town. After the emperor left Beijing, the people of the Shenhou Mansion had been arranged around the post house, and the Tiger God Battalion also transferred soldiers and horses to guard the streets around the post house. ”

Qi Ning bowed slightly, and said, "It seems that the imperial court is also worried that someone will take advantage of the opportunity to be unfavorable to the prince of Eastern Qi." "I thought that since the Shenhou Mansion already knew that it would do its best to protect the safety of the Prince of Dongqi, then if the Shadow Mouse wanted to assassinate the Prince of Dongqi, there should be no chance to face an opponent like the Shenhou Mansion.

Suddenly, I saw the door open, Zhong Ya came over and said, "Master Hou! ”

Qi Ning arched his hand to Zhong Ya and asked, "Mr. Zhong, how is the situation of the gray crow?" ”

"There is no fear for my life for the time being." Zhong Ya said: "But the situation is not good, at the moment I can only prick the acupoint with a silver needle to protect his heart." But if the venom in the body is not understood, it is impossible to talk about turning the crisis into safety. Even if it is a silver needle to protect the heart, it will not last long, three days is already the limit, and within these three days, I can't leave an inch. ”

"In other words, if he can't find the antidote within three days, he will definitely die?"

Zhong Ya nodded slightly: "That's true." The shadow rats walked the rivers and lakes, and the poison they used was always very vicious. From the injuries on the gray crow's body, it can be concluded that when he was fighting fiercely with people, he was injured by the opponent's weapon, and the toxin invaded his body. ”

"The White Helmsman said that Mr. has a way to wake him up temporarily?"

Zhong Li bowed slightly: "This is also a helpless method, the silver needle into the brain can stimulate his brain meridians and make him regain consciousness for a short time, but how long it lasts, even I can't be sure, maybe only three or five sentences." After a pause, he said: "Master Hou, according to my guess, the shadow mouse should have known the other party's plan, and then looked for a chance to get out, but was discovered by the other party, and then sent someone to kill him. ”

Qi Ning thought for a moment before saying, "Without further ado, I would like to ask Mr. Zhong for help." ”

Zhong Ya didn't talk nonsense, turned around and entered the house, and Qi Ning and Bai Shenghao also followed.

At this time, the gray crow's whole body was covered with silver needles, Zhong Ya moved his hands, holding a thin silver needle in each hand, looked at Qi Ning and said: "If Master Hou has anything to say, when he opens his eyes, ask immediately, don't delay." ”

Qi Ning nodded slightly, Zhong Ya approached at this time, his hands reached out, and the silver needle shot out, almost piercing the temples on both sides of the gray crow at the same time.

The silver needle entered his brain, and the body of the gray crow, which was originally motionless, suddenly moved violently, Qi Ning quickly approached the past, and suddenly heard the gray crow take a deep breath in his throat, and his eyes had already opened, Qi Ning naturally did not forget Zhong Li's instructions, and quickly asked: "Gray crow, where are those shadow rats now?" ”

The gray crow's eyes looked at Qi Ning slightly, Qi Ning was disguised to see him before, and today with his true face, the gray crow was naturally very unfamiliar, and asked with a weak breath: "..... Who are you? ”

"We are the beggars." Bai Shenghao immediately said: "Gray Crow, you were injured, we have rescued you, hurry up and tell us, where are the shadow rats?" ”

"Beggars ......!" The gray crow's lips moved slightly: "You..... You are Bai Shenghao......! ”

Bai Shenghao was very anxious, "I'm Bai Shenghao, Gray Crow, where is Duan Qingchen's gang?" What do they want to do? ”

"Duan Qingchen?" The gray crow's eyes suddenly lit up, as if he wanted to raise his hand, but as soon as he raised it, he couldn't hang down: "They...... Emperor...... The Imperial Tomb .......! There was a "cluck" in his throat, a whirring sound, and then he breathed rapidly, Zhong Li's face changed slightly, his right hand reached out, and he pierced two needles into the heart of the gray crow.

At this time, the gray crow had closed its eyes, its body twitched slightly, but it had stopped talking.

"Imperial Tomb!" Qi Ning's heart sank, and when he saw the gray crow close his eyes, he hurriedly asked, "Mr. Zhong, can he still speak?" ”

Zhong Li shook his head and said: "Master Hou, the silver needle is a last resort, the meridians of his brain have been forcibly stimulated, and he has been slightly damaged, at least within twenty-four hours, he can't move a single bit, otherwise it will be easy to completely damage his brain, and he will be like an idiot from then on." ”

Qi Ning's expression was solemn, and Bai Shenghao had already said beside him: "Master Hou, the gray crow mentioned the imperial tomb, is it ..... Will the target of those shadow rats be the Imperial Tomb? ”

"There shouldn't be anything wrong with that." Qi Ning frowned and said, "It's just that what are they going to do in the Imperial Tomb?" The Imperial Tomb has now been sealed off inside and outside, and those shadow rats have no chance to sneak in.......! His face was grim and thoughtful, and after a while, his body suddenly shook, and he lost his voice: "Not good! ”

"Master Hou, is it ......!" Zhong Li also thought for a while, and came up with a look of surprise: "Could it be that those shadow rats have infiltrated the imperial tomb?" ”

Qi Ning's heart was cold.

He believed that there would be no mistake in the clues revealed by the gray crow, and the ultimate goal of that group of shadow rats was indeed on the side of the Imperial Mausoleum, with the current strict guards of the Imperial Mausoleum, not to mention the shadow mouse, I was afraid that even a real mouse would not be able to penetrate into it, since this was the case, then the shadow rat was likely to have been mixed in.

The number of people who entered the imperial tomb this time was really quite a lot, in addition to two or three hundred officials of all sizes in the court, there were also eight hundred elite soldiers of the forest, the guards stationed in the imperial tomb, the eunuchs and palace maids added up to one or two hundred, and there were also monks and Taoists who chanted scriptures, adding up to no less than two thousand.

The number of shadow rats is not large, according to speculation, there are at most a dozen or twenty people, these people are good at assassination, and disguise and concealment are also their forte, if there are unscrupulous people in the court secretly helping, then these shadow rats are hidden in this group of people, it is not too difficult.

Although there are a lot of shadow rats, if they really make a sudden move at the sacrificial ceremony, the consequences are really unimaginable.

"If they really sneak in, there are thousands of people participating in the sacrifice ceremony this time, how can they be found?" Bai Shenghao's expression was solemn: "If you send someone to search for it, it will inevitably make a big splash, and it will definitely cause a commotion at that time, but I am afraid that the consequences will be more serious...... ”

Qi Ning's eyes were like knives, he was silent for a moment, and finally said: "Lord Bairudder, Mr. Zhong, the prince of Eastern Qi can't take it lightly, you still pay attention to that side, the imperial tomb, I have my own plans." He glanced at the motionless gray crow and said, "This person keeps his promise, and he can be regarded as a man, Mr. Zhong, you are here to save his life and try your best to save it." ”

Zhong Ya said: "If Master Hou doesn't command, I will do my best." ”

"Take care, two of you." Qi Ning didn't say much, hurriedly went out, Qi Feng had been waiting outside the door, and when he saw Qi Ning coming out, he immediately greeted him, Qi Ning didn't wait for him to speak, he had already said in a deep voice: "Qi Feng, there is something to do, you can do it immediately, there can be no delay!" ”