Autumn nights are deserted.

The kitchen is dimly lit, like a thin wave of sparks, and the next moment it will be swallowed up in the raging night.

The woman stood in front of the door, her camellia yellow dress was blown by the wind, and the hairpins on her sideburns were fresh and tender, watching the person in front of her slowly speak.

"It's really audacious to break into a private house late at night for no reason, and not even wear a face towel."

She paused, looked at the other party's eyes, which became more and more round due to horror, and continued: "If it weren't for the old acquaintance, I would have thought that the medical hall would be a thief tonight. ”

Duan Xiaoyan, a young man sitting on the ground, swallowed his saliva, and felt a little weak.

"Doctor Lu."

Before he could figure out what suitable reason to deceive the person in front of him, he heard the person in front of him calmly ask: "After following me for a day, I don't know what Duan Xiaogongzi has to do?" ”

Duan Xiaoyan's face changed, and he looked at Lu Tong suddenly.

How does she know!

Early this morning, Pei Yunyao went out, Duan Xiaoyan was depressed after looking at the male corpse of Chunshan last night, and it happened that he should not be on duty today, so he left the house and planned to go to Fang Market to relax and relax.

Not far from Fang City is the mansion of the Fan family, Duan Xiaoyan passed by here, thinking that he had lost his purse here, and his steps couldn't help but slow down.

This slowness bumped into Lu Tong talking to a man at the gate of Fan's mansion.

That man Duan Xiaoyan is no stranger, Fan Zhenglian's unlucky intimate subordinate Qi Chuan, named a confidant, actually completed the housemaid's purchase of the housekeeper and the matter of the nurse. It's a pity that he has no talent, and in the end it's just a nameless little record.

Lu Tong talked to Qi Chuan at the gate of Fan's mansion.

If this had been put in the past, Duan Xiaoyan would not have taken it to heart. However, I just experienced being framed by the purse last night, and not long ago I heard Pei Yunyao's warning to stay away from Lu Tong. Duan Xiaoyan now looks at Lu Tong's every move, and he feels that it is quite meaningful, and he has a lot of backhand.

Lu Tong and Qi Chuan parted without saying a few words, Duan Xiaoyan stood in place and thought for a moment, and decided to follow Lu Tong.

He wanted to see if there was really something wrong with this Dr. Lu.

The next day, Duan Xiaoyan's legs were about to break.

Lu Tong did not go back to the medical hall directly, but lingered in the market. Duan Xiaoyan guessed that she might be meeting someone in private, so she stared very carefully.

When Lu Tong and Yin Zheng watched the miscellaneous drama, his eyes widened and he stared meticulously.

When Lu Tong and Yin Zheng watched the craftsman step on the rope, he held his breath and stared intently.

When Lu Tong and Yin Zheng were sitting under the stage shed watching the movie, he looked at Lu Tong more seriously than Lu Tong watched the play, and stared intently at everyone sitting next to Lu Tong, trying to find traces of Lu Tong's connection with them.

Lu Tong and Yinzheng tasted fish pockets and fried fish rice at the Nanshi restaurant, and when they drank sand sugar beans, he squatted under the corner of the street and swallowed his saliva, staring intently.

In the end, Lu Tong and the others went to see the bead shop.

Duan Xiaoyan didn't understand, she didn't buy anything, and she could watch it for so long? Don't you feel like you're wasting your time?

In short, at the end of the day, Duan Xiaoyan felt that both of his eyes were about to fall out of their sockets, and nothing happened to Lu Tong. It's as if they're just hanging out in the neighborhood and having fun.

Duan Xiaoyan didn't know if other women had such good physical strength when they visited the market, anyway, in his opinion, Lu Tong and Yinzheng had fun today, and they didn't feel half tired. There are a lot of people in the market, if he is not a guard in front of the palace, if he is an ordinary person, he can't keep up for an hour, and he will be left in the flow of people.

Duan Xiaoyan thought that he had done it seamlessly, and followed Lu Tong all the way back to the medical hall, and he was going to leave when he saw that nothing had happened, but who knew that she was wandering in the small kitchen against the black jar, and was aroused by curiosity, so she touched it after someone left.

Just as he was thinking, a thin wind blew from outside the courtyard, causing a layer of goosebumps to grow on his back, Duan Xiaoyan came back to his senses and looked at Lu Tong.

“…… You've long since found out? ”

Lu Tong was silent.

In the years of Luomei Peak, most of the time she lived alone in the mountain. A teenage girl is not as bold as she is now.

Fear of wild beasts, snakes, insects, rats and ants, sudden natural disasters, and wicked people with bad intentions.

Sometimes when I wake up in the morning, there is no one on the mountain, and there is a dead silence all around, and there is a sense of loneliness and fear that I am the only one left in the world. She hid poison powder and scissors on her body, ready to fight for sudden danger at any time.

Presumably, people who have lived in fear for a long time will have an instinctive intuition about danger. Or maybe Duan Xiaoyan's methods of stalking people are still too green, and his eyes are too hot, so it's hard to ignore them.

Almost immediately, she spotted the sight behind her.

Lu Tong's gaze moved to Duan Xiaoyan's elbow.

At the young man's forearm, blood was dripping, and in the blurred blood, two sharp tooth marks were clearly visible.

That's a snake bite mark.

She noticed the gaze behind her in the market, someone followed her closely, never leaving for a moment, but there was no other action, as if waiting for something.

The other party was slow to make a move, so she changed her mind.

Lu Tong bent down, and in the young man's suspicious gaze, picked up the soft long worm in front of the door.

The snake was dead, and the black corpse of the snake was wrapped around her pale yellow silk sleeves, like a dead thread climbing around the fresh flowers, and the darkness shone with coldness.

Duan Xiaoyan looked at it, and felt that the forearm that had just been bitten began to swell and hurt again.

Lu Tong stretched out his fingers, brushed his fingertips over the rough snake's head, and spoke softly.

"This is called Seven Steps, I asked someone to find it for a long time, and I only put it in early this morning, but I didn't expect to be found by Duan Xiaogongzi."

She glanced at the wound on Duan Xiaoyan's forearm, and her expression stopped talking.

Duan Xiaoyan was horrified by her, and couldn't help but ask, "What is Seven Steps?" ”

"Doesn't Duan Xiaogongzi know?"

"Qibu San is a highly venomous snake, and those who are bitten by Qi Bu San will definitely be scattered within seven steps."

As soon as these words came out, there was a moment of silence in the room.

Suddenly, Duan Xiaoyan had a white face and stammered: "Let's talk and laugh, Doctor Lu doesn't want to trick me." ”

Lu Tong smiled "poof".

"Why is Duan Xiaogongzi scared like this, there is no snake in the world that can make people fall in seven steps."

When Duan Xiaoyan heard this, he breathed a sigh of relief, and was about to laugh, when he heard the person in front of him continue to speak.

"An hour."

He was dazed: "What? ”

Lu Tong looked at him, the smile on his face gradually faded, and his tone was calm and waveless.

"Bitten to the point of poison, an hour."

She said: "There is no antidote for an hour, Duan Xiaogongzi, and the king of Hades can't save you." ”

……

The night breeze is cold, and in the lights under the eaves, the black dog lies in the yard, and its figure blends with the night.

When Pei Yunyao returned to the palace marshal's mansion, it was almost time.

The vases in the division are full of freshly folded fresh cinnamon, and the hall is full of osmanthus fragrance. Tomorrow is the fifteenth, and the division has a public holiday, and the guards have left a lot.

Early this morning, he entered the palace, looking at the male corpse of Chunshan, saying that it is not big, but if it is small, he is stuck in the case of the Ministry of Tribute and Rites, and it is inevitable to teach people with a heart to make a fuss.

The relationship between the three yamen is delicate and not mentioned, and it is impossible for the Privy Council to let go of this good opportunity, but fortunately, the emperor has no time to take care of the palace secretary now, and the matter will be revealed.

Pei Yunyao sat down in the room, lifted the teapot on the table and poured himself tea.

The tea was warm and bitter, he took two sips, and didn't hear the familiar noise, so he asked the guard Qingfeng.

"Duan Xiaoyan is not here?"

Qingfeng replied: "Back to the master, Duan Xiaoyan went out early in the morning, saying that he was going to go to the Fang Market. ”

Pei Yunyi drank tea and paused.

After a moment, he spoke, "When will you go out?" ”

"It's almost time to get closer."

Pei Yunyi frowned slightly.

Duan Xiaoyan went out at the time, and it was almost time now. For six hours, tomorrow the fifteenth public holiday of the division, he wants to return to the division to roll his name, but now there is no trace.

Seeing this, Qingfeng asked, "Master, do you think there's anything wrong?" ”

Pei Yunyi pondered for a moment and said, "What did he say before leaving?" ”

Qingfeng shook his head: "No." It's just that the interest is not high, maybe it's upset about the male corpse of Wangchun Mountain. ”

Wangchun Mountain......

I don't know what to think, Pei Yunyan's eyes condensed slightly.

Outside the window, the night was low, and the breeze blew the sycamores in the courtyard.

He stood up suddenly, picked up the silver knife on the table, and strode towards the door.

……

The night was getting deeper.

In the bushes in the small courtyard, a few weavers whispered. The night fireflies hanging under the eaves by Ah Cheng had long since dimmed, and only the silver wind chimes falling from the bags swirled in the wind.

The cold lamp was blown by the night wind, as if it was going to be extinguished in the next moment. The dappled light and shadow fell on the face of the person in front of the table, but her distinct facial features were reflected more softly.

The boy sat motionless on the ground, stiffening himself to look at the unhurried man at the table.

She didn't think anything was wrong, and after informing him of the poison in his body, she sat down at the table, picked up the dried herbs from the bamboo plaque, and went about her work as if nothing had happened, as usual.

He didn't care about his life or death.

Duan Xiaoyan gritted his teeth, and his words were threatening: "Doctor Lu, I am a person from the front division of the palace, and I plotted to kill the guards of the Son of Heaven, are you dying?" ”

"Murdering the Son of Heaven Guard?"

She seemed to have heard something funny, but she laughed instead, and glanced at him meaningfully: "Duan Xiaogongzi broke into a private house late at night for no reason, suspected of entering the house to steal property, but was accidentally bitten by a poisonous snake that I collected as medicine. ”

"You came to the hospital uninvited, and the jar was opened by yourself without telling you, and the thief opened the jar of a poisonous snake, thus losing his life, and when this matter spreads, everyone else will say that the retribution of heaven is unpleasant, how can you blame me, and how can you use the word 'murder'?"

Her gaze was calm, but her tone was a little sarcastic.

"Are the people in front of your palace so unreasonable?"

Duan Xiaoyan was speechless.

In all fairness, Lu Tong is right. It was he who secretly followed Lu Tong, entered the Renxin Medical Center in the dark, and watched her stay in front of the table for a long time to arouse curiosity, so he touched the porcelain jar containing the snake.

But...... This is a snake jar, why she stayed in front of the table for so long, and she looked at it very carefully, teaching people to reverie.

As if thinking of something, Duan Xiaoyan's body trembled suddenly.

He looked up and looked at Lu Tong in disbelief.

"You deliberately lured me to touch the jar?"

If she hadn't stayed on purpose and covered up in front of the desk, why would he have gone up and turned over the bamboo basket?

She was just deliberately luring him in!

Lu Tong smiled faintly: "Duan Xiaogongzi wants to splash dirty water on people for no reason?" ”

The young man was angry and sneered.

"The pharmacy of the medical hall, saving people and curing diseases, how can they secretly store highly poisonous things. Even if you didn't mean to bring me here, you must be harboring evil intentions. Waiting for the day when you want to bite someone with this poisonous snake! ”

This kind of dangerous poison was just casually found in a jar and put it, and there was not even a note to remind him, how strange it looked.

Lu Tong's action of pounding the medicine was sluggish, and he looked at the wooden jar in front of him and sighed slightly, looking a little pity.

"The nature of the snake is upward, and it is best to use it as an inducer. The seven-step strip was bought by me to make medicine, it was very precious and hard to find, and I paid two taels of silver for the material alone. ”

"I asked someone to look for it for many days, and I finally found one, but you fell to death for no reason, and spent a month in vain."

When Duan Xiaoyan heard this, he almost vomited blood.

He is in danger, but she only cares about her two taels of silver, does she have human life in her eyes?

Lu Tong glanced at him, his gaze slowly moved to the wound on the young man's arm, and spoke comfortingly.

"Duan Xiaogongzi had better not get angry, although seven steps will not kill in seven steps, but the most taboo is to avoid qi and blood floating. Every time you get excited, take an extra step, and the snake venom spreads deeper, so don't move. ”

Duan Xiaoyan's body stiffened.

Isn't the reason why he still sits here and doesn't dare to move because he is afraid of this thing? Otherwise, with his skills, he would have stepped forward to coerce Lu Tong and ordered her to hand over the antidote.

The boy looked at the man in front of him.

Lu Tong sat at the small kitchen table, holding the medicine jar in one hand, holding the medicine hammer in the other hand and pounding the medicine hard, the pale skirt was like a budding flower under the lamplight.

Pei Yunyi's words came to his ears again when he was leaving.

"That's a madman, stay away from her. Otherwise, if something goes wrong, I won't be able to save you. ”

Is she really crazy?

If someone had said this to Duan Xiaoyan before, he would have scoffed, not believing that Lu Tong had a ghost in her heart, and he would never believe that she would really kill someone.

But now he's not sure.

Lu Tong has refused to provide him with an antidote until now, and it seems that he is happy to watch him die.

He regretted it in his heart, he shouldn't have listened to Pei Yunyi's words and stayed away from Lu Tong, and he shouldn't have followed him alone with a hot brain.

Duan Xiaoyan settled down and decided to take a different path.

He said: "Doctor Lu, in fact, you and I have no grievances, why bother to get to the point of your life and death, today's matter is not right for me, you give me the antidote, we have something to discuss." ”

As he spoke, he looked up and looked around, he went out in a hurry today, and he didn't bring a fire letter, Pei Yunyi estimated that he had returned to the palace marshal's mansion at this time, and he didn't know if he could find that he was restrained.

Just thinking about it, I heard Lu Tong speak: "Who are you waiting for, waiting for your Master Pei?" ”

Duan Xiaoyan was stunned.

Lu Tong stopped his movements and looked at him with a pair of clear eyes, as if he had seen through everything in his heart.

"Duan Xiaogongzi, why don't we make a bet."

"Bet on what?"

"Just bet on whether your Master Pei can find you?"

Duan Xiaoyan was stunned: "What? ”

Lu Tong rubbed his sore wrist, "Half an hour has passed since I was bitten, and you still have half an hour." ”

"In half an hour, if that Master Pei can find here, maybe you can live."

"Duan Xiaogongzi, do you want to gamble?"

Duan Xiaoyan trembled.

When she said this, her tone was indifferent, and there was even a hint of a smile on the corner of her lips, Duan Xiaoyan suddenly had a strange illusion, treating human life as child's play, as if he had become a powerless lamb to the slaughter, and she was a butcher who held the power of life and death, mockingly looking down at the prey and struggling.

A trace of lamplight swirled and shattered onto the table, and the frost and moon in the small courtyard were cold, and the gloom was cut.

In the deathly silence, a voice suddenly came.

"Then you might lose the bet."

Lu Tong raised his eyes.

In the distance, the felt curtain was lifted, and a figure walked in from the courtyard, and the silhouette of the young man's heroic figure became more and more distinct in the moonlight, and as he approached, there seemed to be a very light scent of blue musk deer.

He stopped in front of the kitchen door, dressed in a crimson brocade with a red treasure pattern, and the silver knife at his waist was shining with cold light.

Pei Yunyao glanced at Duan Xiaoyan, who was embarrassed, and smiled.

"Doctor Lu."

He looked at Lu Tong lightly, "I thought that before detaining my people, they should at least say hello to me first." ”