"Hey, someone's trying to harm you? If you don't leave now, you really won't be able to." After kicking the waiter away, that young master immediately urged them to leave quickly.
"Since someone wants to harm us, we can't leave. I want to see who in this imperial capital dares to lay a hand on me." Ye Lanshan didn't take the people he mentioned seriously at all.
"They've already poisoned the food. When the poison takes effect, they'll burst in and catch you all in one fell swoop."
"If you leave now, you can still slip away before they react. Otherwise, if they really find you, it'll be over." That young master hadn't expected that someone could remain so calm—even arrogant—after hearing they were about to be killed.
"Heh, if you're going to make up a story, at least make it believable. We have an alchemist here—how could we not detect poison?" Ye Lanshan's gaze sharpened as she looked at him. "Spill it. Who sent you?"
That young master stammered for a long time without explaining clearly, sweating all over in panic. Suddenly, as if struck by an idea, he slapped his thigh and said, "They're all from the Sun family. The Sun family has a poison called Hidden Mystery Powder. It's said that once this powder is used, your mystic power will fade away bit by bit without you even noticing."
After a long silence, Ye Lanshan finally said, "That's Sun Chenbo's doing. But how do you know this, and why are you telling us?"
"I'm a friend of this restaurant's owner. I overheard it by chance while passing the kitchen. As for why I'm telling you—it's because I admire you. I don't want you to die so senselessly. If you have to die, it should be on the battlefield." The young man stomped a foot on the stool, speaking with dramatic fervor.
Watching his fanatical attitude, like a modern-day fanboy, Ye Lanshan suddenly had another idea.
"Are you interested in becoming a member of my intelligence agency?" Ye Lanshan propped her chin on her hands, a glint of cunning in her eyes.
"Really? Working under you would be my honor." That young man suddenly became excited.
"Ah, wait—no, you need to leave now, or you really won't be able to later." Remembering what he'd just said, he grew anxious again.
"No rush, no rush. Sit down and have some tea first." Ye Lanshan indicated there was no need to panic. After all, as a cultivator from another realm, she didn't care even if she lost her mystic power.
But Lan Youli and Liu Jing were different—they were locals born and raised. The moment they heard about losing mystic power, they panicked.
Liu Jing tugged at Ye Lanshan's sleeve and whispered, "Maybe we should leave now. I can already feel my mystic power fading. If they come to kill us when it's gone, we'll have no way to fight back."
Ye Lanshan smiled to reassure them, taking Liu Jing's hand. "Trust me. As long as I'm here, nothing will happen. I just want to capture a witness to take back for my plan. Since they're delivering themselves to me, why would I refuse?"
Lan Youli was still a bit worried, but he chose to trust Ye Lanshan, believing she could handle the Sun family even without mystic power.
What he needed to do now was find an antidote for this poison. Though rare, he remembered hearing about it once—when an elder in his clan had been poisoned, and his father had spent a long time developing the cure.
He recalled there might be some of that antidote in his storage space. After searching for a while, he realized he'd left it at home during his last visit.
Just as that young man was about to say something more, three black-clad figures burst into their private room.
The young man immediately stepped forward, trying to buy them time to escape. But Ye Lanshan acted as if she didn't understand his intent, remaining utterly composed.
Just as the young man was about to be overwhelmed, Ye Lanshan made her move. She quickly slapped talismans onto each of the three black-clad figures, and instantly, they froze, unable to move.
"What is this? So amazing?" Everyone stared at the talismans with great curiosity.
"This? I'll explain later. For now, help me think of a way to get them to the Ye residence without alerting anyone." Ye Lanshan had no idea what to do with these three statue-like people.
"Hmm?" That young man crossed his arms and suggested, "How about we dress them in ragged clothes, put masks on their faces, and say they're servants bought from the black market?"
"That works." Ye Lanshan sat back down and said, "But we can't take all three out ourselves. The Sun family surely knows our details—they'll know this room only had three people."
"Easy. You said earlier you only need to keep one, right? I'll call a waiter, have him swap clothes with one of the black-clad men, and then I'll take him out." The young man clapped his hands and immediately came up with this idea.
Ye Lanshan thought for a moment, then asked the three black-clad figures, "If any of you tells me why the Sun family wants to kill me, I'll let you go. You heard me—only one of you can stay."
Under Ye Lanshan's pressure, one of them finally broke. "I'll talk, I'll talk! Miss Sun sent us to kill you, to avenge what happened at the tea party last time."
"I thought I'd get something useful. Turns out it's just Sun Yulu's people." Ye Lanshan instantly lost interest.
"So... do we still take them out?" That young man asked cautiously.
Ye Lanshan didn't answer. Instead, she pulled out a dagger and slit all three black-clad men's throats.
The remaining three were stunned, shocked by Ye Lanshan's ruthless efficiency.
"Just... just killing them like that? Isn't it too cruel?" Lan Youli, after all, had been too sheltered by Lan Yexin. Though he'd been hunted before, he'd never seen anyone act as cleanly as Ye Lanshan.
"If you don't kill them, they'll kill you. I shouldn't have to repeat that logic." Seeing how naive Lan Youli still was, Ye Lanshan couldn't help worrying about his future.
"I know, but—"
"Stop. It's okay if you're not used to it now. You'll adapt." Ye Lanshan cut him off. "If you don't want to end up like when I first met you, you need to toughen your heart."
"What do we do with them now? No matter what, this is a restaurant. We can't just leave three bodies here." Liu Jing was more practical.
"That's easy—burn them." Ye Lanshan pulled more talismans from her storage space and stuck them on the three bodies. Ignoring the curious stares, she used true samadhi fire to incinerate them completely.