Ye Jiu had a bad feeling when he first heard the thumping sound.
Sure enough, as soon as the sound began, Sikong Mo’s battling figure instantly slowed down a notch.
Ye Jiu looked up in the direction of the sound and saw a figure in a cloak, wrapped tightly in black, standing on another rooftop not far away.
They were at a medium distance, holding a small drum the size of a palm in their hand, striking it with varying degrees of force.
With each strike, the small drum would offer a fierce resistance, and the thumping noise was produced by something hitting the inside of the drum.
As the thumping grew louder and more intense, Sikong Mo seemed to become increasingly uncomfortable and eventually knelt on the ground, clutching his chest with one hand.
In an instant, the cloaked figures attacked in unison.
Seeing the situation turn bad, Ye Jiu immediately pulled out several pills and threw them down.
Then, the figures who were charging up suddenly became groggy, staggering around, and one by one, they fell to the ground like dumplings.
Meanwhile, Sikong Mo had already collapsed unconscious on the ground.
Ye Jiu sensed that the small drum, which had stopped being played by the cloaked figure in the distance, must be very important to Sikong Mo.
Since Ye Jiu was lying on Ye Bai’s back and well hidden in the dense foliage of the tree, Dashu, the cloaked figure had not noticed Ye Jiu at all. Blindsided, they had not understood why everyone had suddenly fallen down.
Ye Jiu watched as the cloaked figure exerted their energy towards where Sikong Mo was, but before they could land, they were completely overwhelmed by the Sleeping Drug and fell from mid-air with a thud, causing the solid marble to shake slightly.
I thought he was a big shot, but it turns out he was such a rookie.
He went down as soon as he entered the scene!
Ye Jiu signaled Ye Bai to fly down, and then he climbed off his back.
Ye Jiu cautiously approached the cloaked figure, first giving them a kick with his foot. Finding no reaction, he gave them two more kicks, and the person still didn’t move, confirming that they had indeed passed out and were not feigning unconsciousness.
Ye Jiu took the small drum still clutched in the figure’s hand, examining it closely, but he could see nothing through the drumhead.
Upon shaking it, he heard something moving up and down inside, as if it was a living creature.
However, noticing Sikong Mo’s furrowed brows as he began to regain consciousness, Ye Jiu realized there was something different, so he held the drum firmly in his hand and dared not shake it anymore.
He discovered that the creature inside the drum seemed to be restraining Sikong Mo, preventing him from making any rash moves.
Walking over to Sikong Mo, Ye Jiu took out an antidote and put it into his mouth; within seconds, Sikong Mo sluggishly woke up.
As soon as he woke up, Sikong Mo quickly restrained Ye Jiu with a reflexive counter-grab, his hand pressing on Ye Jiu’s throat.
However, this action didn’t last long, and upon removing Ye Jiu’s veil, he saw Ye Jiu’s face, hesitated for a moment in surprise, and then let go.
"Jiujiu..." Sikong Mo murmured.
Then, Sikong Mo embraced Ye Jiu’s body, his weight leaning heavily upon her, and it took quite an effort for Ye Jiu not to fall over.
"Master Sikong..." Ye Jiu, finding it difficult to breathe under the pressure, called out and offered up the drum in his hand, "I took this from that cloaked figure’s hand, and I saw just now that you seemed to be in great discomfort every time the drum was played. I don’t know if it could be of any use to you."