# Chapter 2747: Follow Your Heart
Without exposing him, Xu Huo accepted all of his hints without question until the end, when he stood up to see the scholar out.
After this door closed, no one else came knocking. Xu Huo turned off the lights and sat alone on the balcony for a while. Before long, someone in the manor quietly slipped out of their room and headed toward the nearby Rose Garden.
The botanist first rummaged through the garden for a while, found nothing, then entered the greenhouse. But no sooner had he gone in than he came flying back out. Following that, a burly figure emerged from the shadows of the greenhouse. Lady Tiwei, who during the day appeared somewhat stooped and hunched, now stood tall and straight, a full two meters in height. She looked down at the botanist kneeling not far away, her gun firing continuously—specially modified firearms could deliver devastating lethality without making too much noise. For a moment, the garden was filled with the sound of flower stalks falling to the ground.
With Lady Tiwei pinned down here, the others in the manor weren't idle either. The photographer had been waiting for an opportunity ever since the botanist left the manor, and had now entered Lady Tiwei's room.
Most of the rooms in the manor were built with ordinary materials, not specially reinforced, so Xu Huo could clearly perceive everything inside even from outside. However, Lady Tiwei's room, the butler's room, and the third-floor area where Mr. Wen operated had all been treated. Relying solely on spatial control couldn't reveal what was inside, and the third-floor rooms had monitoring instruments installed outside. Probing with spiritual power would easily leave traces, so he had to give up for now.
But since the photographer had opened Lady Tiwei's room, he could follow along and take a look.
Lady Tiwei's room was very large, but aside from the basic bed, chairs, and table, almost every other space was covered with hooks. Whether inside the room or on the enclosed balcony, birdcages hung everywhere.
All kinds of birds huddled inside their cages. When they sensed someone entering, they didn't chirp but merely fluttered about in their cages.
The photographer quickly scanned the room and headed straight for the birdcage by the bed. Inside that cage was a hummingbird with red feathers on its head.
This was clearly the hummingbird he was looking for, but he didn't simply take it and leave. Instead, he replaced it with another red-feathered hummingbird.
After completing this series of actions, Lady Tiwei, who had sensed the commotion in the room, had already returned.
The photographer raised his hand and waved, slicing open all the birdcages in the room. The birds flew up in a cacophony, obscuring vision while also providing him cover.
Lady Tiwei dodged the chaotic flock, teleported to the doorway, and blocked the gap before the photographer could escape. At the same time, her right hand pressed downward, and a powerful oppressive force descended from above, directly crushing the photographer to the floor!
But as Lady Tiwei stepped forward, the photographer's body slid along the floor, moving directly to the balcony, then crashing through the glass and flipping outside.
Once he was out, he vanished without a trace. Lady Tiwei walked to the window, glanced outside, then turned back into the room. Her figure gradually shrank, and after a moment, she began cleaning up.
On the other side, the disguised photographer returned to his own room and immediately took out the hummingbird, drawing a syringe and injecting it into the bird's abdomen.
"Why are you giving it an antidote?" Xu Huo's voice suddenly rang out in the room.
The photographer reflexively activated a defense item. The expanding defense barrier pushed aside all the furnishings in the room. His intention was also to create distance, but he didn't expect the barrier to break and disappear before it even reached Xu Huo, not even stirring the hem of his clothes...
Looking again at this man who was casually half-leaning on the sofa armrest, the photographer's nerves were stretched to the breaking point.
However, Xu Huo merely raised his hand, his black glove tracing an arc through the air as he said, "I'm not going to kill you. Relax. Answer my question."
How could the photographer relax? He had a handful of items hidden behind his back, but he didn't dare act rashly. Watching Xu Huo warily, he slowly said, "The birds Lady Tiwei keeps are all poisoned. If you take them out, they'll die within three days. And this bird has an important role to play after two more scenic spots. A dead one won't work."
"I see," Xu Huo turned to him. "So this isn't your first time getting this kind of hummingbird."
"The one you put in the cage was a fake?"
The photographer's gaze darkened slightly. "Yes. The red feathers on that bird's head were dyed."
Xu Huo raised his hand, signaling for him to release the bird.
The photographer hesitated for two seconds but still let go. However, the hummingbird that had been lively just moments ago now shrank motionless in his hand.
"What's going on..." As he was about to examine it, he saw the red feathers on the hummingbird's head suddenly fall off, followed by blood trickling from its eyes. It stiffened and toppled over.
Xu Huo looked at him again. "Are you sure you injected the antidote?"
The photographer wanted to retort, but meeting Xu Huo's gaze, he swallowed his words and immediately began testing the hummingbird's condition. The result was both unexpected and expected—the bird's poison had indeed been neutralized, but it had still died, just like the one he had caught before, and even lived a shorter life.
"Could it be that this kind of hummingbird itself carries poison?" In an instant, he thought of another reasonable explanation. Otherwise, there was no accounting for why a detoxified hummingbird died more easily than a poisoned one.
"Test what kind of poison it is," Xu Huo said.
The photographer immediately took a sample of the blood from the hummingbird's eye socket, but in the end, he could only confirm that it was toxic, not what specific poison it was.
"After all this trouble, the problem was here all along..."
The photographer was silent for a few seconds before continuing, "Did you come for the red-feathered hummingbird too?"
Xu Huo didn't deny it, but he didn't answer directly either. Instead, he asked, "You've dealt with Lady Tiwei before. What kind of person is she?"
"An old woman who won't listen to reason," the photographer said with strong antipathy. "No matter who tries to get close to her, it's useless. Anyone who approaches the greenhouse is unwelcome. She even complains to the manor owner and drives out players who sneak in disguised."
"Haven't you seen this kind of red-feathered hummingbird anywhere else in the manor?"
"There are plenty of hummingbirds, but the red-feathered ones are only the one Lady Tiwei keeps in her room. And when the hummingbird is gone, she quickly raises a new one." The photographer frowned deeply. "I'm afraid the poison used to raise the birds is something she carries on her person."
When Lady Tiwei had fought with the player earlier, she had used instruments. It couldn't be determined whether she had closed her player panel. If she hadn't, finding it would be difficult.
"Doesn't anyone know why Lady Tiwei keeps red-feathered hummingbirds?" Xu Huo asked again.
Clearly, the photographer had thought about this too. "The only servant in the manor who's familiar with Lady Tiwei is the butler. If you can pry his mouth open, you can ask him."
Xu Huo gave him a light glance, and the photographer's previously outward emotions immediately retracted. He changed his tone and said, "Like I said, it's hard for you to get the souvenir alone. Let's cooperate. Since the bird is gone, she'll raise another one soon. At worst, you take it first, and I'll take it later."