First the horse race had been interrupted due to the sudden appearance of an assassin, and then horses of students of the Imperial College had run wild, leaving many injured. The succession of incidents had demoralized all participants in the horse race, especially students of the Imperial College, some of whom lost their fight the moment they mounted their horses and naturally underperformed.

The principal sitting in the stands watched one round after another, a scowl on his face.

Ling Zhang swung himself onto his horse. He and Snowflake were still the focus of attention in the racecourse. Miao Shiba and the other bodyguards, along with Ling Zhang himself, all found themselves tensing their backs after Ling Zhang mounted. They were all poised to rush to Ling Zhang's help at the first sign of anything.

But curiously enough, nothing had happened from start to finish. Everything was so normal that it seemed as though this was going to be an utterly uneventful day.

Ling Zhang felt that something was not quite right. Had he made a wrong guess, by any chance?

Speculations exploded in his mind, but it didn't change the fact that nothing unusual had happened. Ling Zhang couldn't help but look around the whole racecourse. His eyes raked faces of all people in view and even the mound on the side but still didn't spot anybody who might be an assassin.

He himself, however, had performed pretty well on the back of Snowflake despite his injured arm and broke into the top ten with ease.

So far, all today's occurrences had struck Ling Zhang as unexpected, and the quieter the current situation, the more strongly he felt that something was wrong.

After returning from the track, Ling Zhang dismounted, his face somewhat pale. Though Snowflake had run very fast as usual, he was still recovering from his arm injury after all, and the jolt had given him a hard time.

"Childe Ling," Xie Shi walked up and supported him off his horse. "Your arm needs nursing, and it's inadvisable for you to subject it to another bumpy ride."

"There's one more round. I've already gone this far. It'll be a shame if I give up at this point," said Ling Zhang.

The main reason was that he kept feeling something was not quite right – he had finished so many rounds, but there had still been nothing unusual, which left him rather worried.

Right at the time when Ling Zhang was talking to Xie Shi, he noticed out of the corner of his eye someone walking over. After finding that it was a groom, Ling Zhang wasn't really on the alert, for after each round, some grooms would help the students groom, feed and water their horses to make sure that the horses were in fit states.

Although Snowflake didn't like it when strangers approached it, all grooms of this racecourse were very experienced. They knew where the limit was and never crossed it while tending Snowflake, which was why Snowflake had been fairly cooperative so far. Ling Zhang had gone several rounds in a row, and it had been the same groom who served him.

Ling Zhang had observed this groom some time ago. After a couple of rounds, he had found that this groom was dutifully doing his job, so he didn't stop him from approaching Snowflake.

But this time around, at the moment the groom passed him, Ling Zhang suddenly sensed a murderous air. This feeling was very subtle and even made his scalp prickle somewhat. As if something dangerous was imminent, he instantly tensed his muscles and almost at the same instant heard a whizz coming from behind him and unhesitatingly dodge aside!

"Die!"

The assassin thought that his attack was soundless and Ling Zhang had let his guard down, so it was impossible for Ling Zhang to sidestep this blow of his, but unexpectedly, his saber missed the target. His nondescript face instantly went murderous and the dagger in his hand abruptly jerked shooting at Ling Zhang from a direction that made this dagger attack very difficult to defend against!

Ling Zhang, after dodging the first strike, had come to realize that the assailant was the groom. Though he had narrowly escaped death, it was evident that this groom was a kung fu practitioner. The dagger followed him in a second attack like his shadow and the tip of it was within an inch of reaching Ling Zhang's clothes!

Bang!

When Ling Zhang had dodged the first blow, Xie Shi standing opposite him had reacted. Though that broom was very quick, Xie Shi still managed to parry the second blow in time by giving him a kick on the arm which deflected his dagger.

Ling Zhang, taking advantage of this opportunity, left the striking distance of the groom and finally turned around to face him.

The groom's kung fu was not as good as that of Xie Shi. After his first and second blows were dodged and parried respectively, he had no more chance to make an attempt on Ling Zhang. Miao Shiba and other bodyguards had quickly clustered around Ling Zhang, keeping a weather eye on possible accomplices of the groom.

But what was rather surprising on this occasion was that the groom was the only assassin and was soon restrained by Xie Shi.

Xie Shi took the dagger away from the groom. All this had happened too quick; many students were watching the horse race with rapt attention, and Snowflake was blocking the view of people in the stands, so when some people finally noticed, the incident was already over.

A supervior of the Imperial College came over and asked, "What happened?"

Ling Zhang said, "This groom was trampled by my Snowflake and hurt his leg. It was my fault. I should've kept Snowflake under better control. I'll take him to see a physician right away and cover the medical expenses as well."

Seeing the groom was pale-faced and supported and indeed seemed to have trouble walking, the supervisor didn't suspect anything after hearing that the groom had been wounded by a horse and that Ling Zhang was willing to take him to see a physician. Besides, he had heard much about Ling Zhang's reputation and didn't want to cross him, so he said, "All grooms in the racecourse are subordinates of the General Zhongwu (AKA the General of Loyalty and Valor). You need to inform the supervisor of this place first before taking him to see a physician."

"I see. Thank you for reminding me, supervisor," said Ling Zhang.

The supervisor, seeing Ling Zhang was fairly respectful to him, felt somewhat pleased, turned around and left.

Ling Zhang winked at Miao Shiba and the others and with that Miao Shiba took that groom away.

Watching the groom being supported away, Ling Zhang was secretly relieved, thinking, 'No wonder it had been quiet all along. It turns out danger had been lurking right by my side. Also, this assassin is so cunning – he managed to attack me from close quarters instead of trying to assassinate me from a distance like the last one did in the hunting ground that day. And it was very smart of him to unnoticeably gain my trust first before making his move. Had I not sensed the murderous air, I would have wound up either dead or seriously injured.'

The assassin had been captured, and Ling Zhang who had been tense all along finally relaxed in the knowledge that he had turned the corner. Moreover, they had caught that groom. In order to prevent that groom from poisoning himself as the assassin in the hunting ground had done, Xie Shi had dislocated the groom's lower jaw and blocked some of his acupoints, so the situation should be perfectly under control now, and all they needed to do was interrogate the assassin and find out who had sent him.

But since the assassin had posed as a groom, Xie Shi and the others were keeping a close watch on all other grooms of this racecourse and he had even personally talked with the one in charge of this racecourse sounding him out. They found that all these people were behaving in a very normal way and none of them seemed to have any knowledge that that groom was an assassin.

Xie Shi secretly sent out a message to inform Yuwen Tong hiding in the dark of what had just happened in this place.

Yuwen Tong had been staking out the racecourse all along, and naturally he had seen the incident. The groom had been brought to him immediately after Miao Shiba took him out of the racecourse, and all staff members of the racecourse were now under surveillance of Yuwen Tong's men.

Students in the racecourse were not alarmed, and the horse race was still going on as planned.

Ling Zhang was in the last round. Though the assassin had been caught just now, he was still on the alert. Eventually, by dint of Snowflake, he finished in second place. It was because his arm was wounded and he had to spare some attention guarding against possible attack that he missed the championship. But all people present were aware that he was still recovering from his arm injury. Seeing he had come second with an wounded arm, every one of them was green with envy.

Ling Zhang didn't have the time to dwell on these people's opinions, and there hadn't been a second assassin attempting to kill him until he left the riding track. Yuwen Jin and the others all excitedly gathered around him.

A while ago, when the assassin had made his move, Yuwen Jin had happened to be riding in the track, and Ji Feng and the others had gone to the other side, so none of them was aware of what had happened earlier on this side.

Yuwen Jin said, "You're so badass, Brother Zhang! You came in second with an injured arm!"

Ling Zhang, seeing they were rapturous and unaffected by the incident, also felt happy. He said, "Pity the title was taken by someone of the Oriental Rite Academy."

"That's because you're still recovering. Otherwise you'd have won the title," said Yuwen Jin.

The third winner was also a student of the Imperial College, which somewhat came as a surprise to Ling Zhang and the others. Though having more than once claimed that many of the students of the Imperial College were excellent riders, subconsciously they had believed that the Oriental Rite Academy would probably defeat the Imperial College in this horse race, for after all, the latter had indeed been performing rather badly in recent years.

But because of this, Ling Zhang also vaguely came to understand why the principal had been so anxious to hold this horse race – clearly he had started making preparations some time ago.

"Two of the top three are from our college. On top of that, anybody not blind knows that you would have been the champion were it not for your wounded arm, which I'm sure has brought the Oriental Rite Academy down a peg or two."

"Do any of you know the second runner-up?"

"Oh, that guy. He's the principal's nephew."

Light dawned on Ling Zhang.

"Brother Tao and his schoolmates are coming," said Ji Feng excitedly.

This time, because of Ling Zhang, their overall performance was better than that of Tao Yi and five of his schoolmates, so the Imperial College was the winner of this private competition between them.

"You guys win the bet. It happens to be about time for lunch. What do you say we go to the Taibai Tavern?" said Tao Yi crisply after walking over with his schoolmates, accepting their defeat with good grace.

Their gracefulness was just to the liking of Ji Feng and the others. Immediately, they threw their arms around their shoulders addressing them as brothers. "The Taibai Tavern it is. Let's go, let's go."

Xie Shi asked Ling Zhang, "You're going with them as well, Childe Ling? I think you should go back and have your dressing changed first."

On hearing this, all others twisted their heads around to look at him. "Your injury worsened during the horse race, Brother Zhang?"

"It was impossible for the wound to remain unaffected by a ride that bumpy. How about you return and change your dressing for a fresh one, Brother Ling?" one of the couple of students of the Oriental Rite Academy also said. Since Ling Zhang had defeated them despite his injured arm, they had all been convinced.

Ling Zhang, who didn't want to be a buzzkill, said, "That won't be necessary. I'll just have my dressing changed in the carriage."

Ling Zhang had come to the racecourse in a horse-drawn carriage in the morning, just in case, and there were all kinds of vulneraries available in the carriage.

Ling Zhang looked at Xie Shi. "I'm afraid I'll have to put you to the trouble of changing my dressing in the carriage in a while, Guard Xie."

Xie Shi, after a brief moment's thought, inclined his head. The main reason why he had asked that question was that he wanted to give Ling Zhang an excuse to take his leave. Now that Ling Zhang was in no hurry, naturally he'd let Ling Zhang make all the decisions.

The group of people arrived at the Taibai Tavern, all in high spirits, heading directly for the third floor where private rooms were. Fortunately, there were still some private rooms available, and it didn't take them much time to settle themselves in a suitable one.

"Order whatever you want, guys. None of us is going home sober today." Students of the Oriental Rite Academy seemed much more unstinting than those of the Imperial College.

Ji Feng and the others, who found these people the very kind they liked to mix with, rolled up their sleeves and started ordering dishes without any hesitation, showing no concerns whatsoever about how much students of the Oriental Rite Academy would have to pay for this meal.

Tao Yi, watching Ji Feng and the others launch into ordering dishes, pulled a wry face, squeezing his wallet and sighing in his head, 'It seems that I'm doomed to suffer a hemorrhage today.' As his eyes fell on Ling Zhang, something occurred to him and he said, "Brother Zhang, given your arm injury, I suppose it's inadvisable for you to drink liquor, isn't it?"

Ling Zhang inclined his head. "I'm not drinking any."

Though students of the Oriental Rite Academy felt it rather regrettable that Ling Zhang couldn't drink liquor with them, Ji Feng quickly said, "It's okay. We'll handle all the liquor that Ling Zhang is supposed to drink but couldn't on this occasion. None of you are to order less liquor on the pretext of this, not even a single pot."

"You may rest assured that nobody's going to find himself short of liquor today, and we will take offence if the cup of any of you is not empty at the end of this meal," said a student of the Oriental Rite Academy.

Ji Feng and the others giggled, rubbing their hands.

As the liquor was served and Ling Zhang had smelled it, he suddenly had a feeling that he indeed shouldn't have come here, for the liquor smelled so good but he could only watch others drink it. It struck him that he had made a rod for his own back.

"Wow, this is the best liquor people could find in this tavern. My goodness, it's really so generous of you to order this," exclaimed Yuwen Jin, his eyes glittering.

The couple of students of the Oriental Rite Academy exchanged glances, smiling. Though they were not studying at the Imperial College and their status might not be as high as that of Ji Feng and the others, they were definitely no less rich than Ji Feng or any of the others. One of them was even son of the richest man of a prefecture. If there was anything these people would never have to worry about, it was money.

At the sight of the liquor, Tao Yi, who was begrudging the money he'd have to pay, came to realize that his worry was unnecessary. As things stood, he probably wouldn't have to pitch in a single coin.

Ling Zhang was the only one in misery. It was virtually a torture for him to smell the liquor knowing that he couldn't drink it. Frustration was washing over his face.

All others burst into laugh at the sight of this, showing no compassion for him whatsoever. "Alas, what a pity. This liquor is so good, but you cannot drink a single drop of it, Brother Zhang."

Ling Zhang frostily looked at him, his face impassive. "Cheer up, Brother Zhang. I'll drink it for you," snickered Yuwen Jin, thrown his arm around Ling Zhang's shoulders.

Ling Zhang jabbed Yuwen Jin with his left elbow. "Beat it."

He could barely refrain from kicking his ass.

After all their courses were served, a waiter entered bringing their place settings. He walked around the table getting everything ready very quickly. Ling Zhang, who was the last one to be served and was talking with Tao Yi sitting beside him, subconsciously gave a downward glance and saw the waiter make a strange hand movement when setting his bowl and chopsticks – fingering the brim of his bowl, and whether it was intentional or unintentional was unknown to Ling Zhang.

Ling Zhang didn't get suspicious immediately and was still listening to Tao Yi, but then he flicked a look at the waiter only to find that his eyes quickly moved away after a brief eye contact with him.

Ling Zhang felt even stranger. After the waiter left, he fixed his bowl with a gaze and pondered for a few moments. Seeing Yuwen Jin and the others had started to pour the liquor, he said, "Wait."

On hearing this, all the others looked at him and were fleetingly surprised at the sight of the serious expression on Ling Zhang's face, and they all involuntarily put down their wine pots.

"What seems to be the problem, Brother Zhang?" asked Yuwen Jin.

"Don't touch the liquor yet." Ling Zhang told them to stay put and then summoned Xie Shi who was waiting outside. "Guard Xie, I want you to check my bowl and see if there's anything wrong with it."

Xie Shi's face slightly changed. He immediately picked up the bowl in front of Ling Zhang, scrutinized it carefully and even sniffed at it. After a while, with an uncertain look on his face, he simply fished a porcelain phial out of his bosom and tipped a droplet of potion of a somewhat weird color out of it onto the brim of the bowl. Instantly, the droplet of potion hissed with white bubbles where it touched the brim and a very foul odor started spreading.

"What is this?!" All the others were shocked.

Ling Zhang's face also went cold, his eyes looking at Xie Shi.

Xie Shi's also had a rather grave countenance. "Poison. It's colorless and odorless but dries very slow, which was why I perceived something weird."

"Just now that waiter stroked the brim of my bowl with his finger pulp before leaving, and he showed signs of guilty conscience when his eyes met mine," Ling Zhang informed them and then described the looks of that waiter.

Xie Shi immediately put down the bowl and said to Ling Zhang, "Stay here and don't go outside, Childe Ling. I'll be back soon."

Ling Zhang inclined his head.

Xie Shi walked out of the room, exhorted the guards at the doorway not to let anybody in and then hastened off.

"There's no telling whether your bowls were poisoned as well. Anyway, just don't touch them," Ling Zhang told the others.

It was after hearing his words that others in the room realized how serious this was. Yuwen Jin immediately rose from his seat and said with a worried face, "Why did someone try to have you poisoned?"

Ling Zhang shook his head. "I don't know what's going on either, but I'm afraid we won't be able to continue this meal."