What?
There was actually someone who brought Seven Stars Caterpillar Grass to trade for the Life Blood Pill? And they'd arrived before them? Long Feiye and Han Yunxi exchanged glances at the unexpected news. What seemed like an easy victory had suddenly encountered something like this. But one thing worth rejoicing over was that Gu Qi Sha hadn't handed over the Life Blood Pill yet. Otherwise, they would have came for nothing.
"How does His Excellency Pill Fiend plan on choosing?" Long Feiye asked.
"Aiya…Duke of Qin, what do you think?" Gu Qi Sha's sighs were very light, but still made one's hairs stand on end for no reason because it sounded like the noise was right next to one's ears.
"Very simple, trade with your lordship," Long Feiye finished coldly, displaying the poison python snake dan while ignoring that Seven Stars Caterpillar Grass.
At that moment, a cold look passed over the faceless Pill Fiend before a pair of narrow, bewitching eyes revealed themselves. They were staring at the object in Long Feiye's palm like some sort of prey.
A fox!
This was Han Yunxi's first thought. What a beguiling and devilish stare! This Excellency Pill Fiend, wasn't he already very old? Why were his eyes so puzzlingly ominous? At this time, a flippant laugh sounded from one side.
"Your Highness Duke of Qin didn't even ask before deciding for this crown prince."
Following the voice lead one to an exceptionally domineering-looking man, his features deep and profound. Tall, bold, and fierce, he was dressed in a pitch-black robe with gold hems that showcased his respectability and mystery. The man strolled leisurely over, his arrogant gaze resting on Long Feiye before wantonly gazing towards Han Yunxi. He seemed to know who she was, and a flicker of surprise shone in his eyes before it quickly disappeared.
Han Yunxi hated these type of haughty, rude inspections and gave him a cold look. From his words, she knew he was a crown prince, but not the country where he came from.
"Does Crown Prince Ye[1] disagree?" Long Feiye spoke.
Long Feiye's cold rendition of 'Crown Prince Ye' seemed to have been spoken for Han Yunxi's sake alone, so she could know the identity of this man.
So it's him!
Han Yunxi had heard of this name before. This was Western Zhou Country's crown prince Duanmu Baiye[2], whom people called Crown Prince Ye. Unlike Tianning's crown prince, this one from Western Zhou was well known in Cloud Realm Continent for being arrogant and lofty, sinister and cruel. He hadn't even inherited the throne yet, but he'd already wiped out his dissidents in court.
Western Zhou Country was west of Tianning Country and allied to it by marriage. Strictly speaking, Duanmu Baiye and Long Feiye should have been on good relations, but the sight before her proved that they didn't get along. Duanmu Baiye was around 180cm tall, not much different from Long Feiye. He approached Long Feiye and lightly pressed on his shoulder, his voice painstakingly slow. Word by word, he spoke.
"I. Don't. Agree!"
These words elicited a violent force from Long Feiye's shoulders that shocked Duanmu Baiye off. He couldn't stand on his feet and backed up a couple of steps, eyes narrowing.
"Long Feiye, do you understand what 'first come, first served' means?"
"Your lordship doesn't understand!" Long Feiye sounded even more arrogant and aggressive in comparison. In a flash, he appeared before Duanmu Baiye to try and snatch away the Seven Stars Caterpillar Grass. Han Yunxi was stunned by the sight at first, then she grew delighted. Long Feiye was being savage and forceful, but she liked it! Once he stole the Seven Stars Caterpillar Grass, what would Duanmu Baiye use to trade with Pill Fiend?
That shock with the shoulder already proved that Duanmu Baiye wasn't Long Feiye's match. He immediately retreated, dodging as he cried. "Long Feiye, you're petty!"
The winner was a king and the loser a crook. Who was petty and who was noble was something only the victor could decide. Long Feiye didn't stop as his moves grew more and more brutal, his speed so fast that Duanmu Baiye had no time to waste on words. Han Yunxi spectated from the side with a thrill in her heart, seeing Long Feiye miss his target time and time again. Above them, His Excellency Pill Fiend sat lazily in his chair, his eyes narrowing as he watched on with relish.
Suddenly, Long Feiye grabbed Duanmu Baiye's wrist with one hand and the box in his palm with the other. But right at this moment, with everything hanging in the balance, His Excellency Pill Fiend abruptly hollered, "Stoooooop…"
He intentionally drew out the word with an indolent air. Long Feiye was distracted, giving Duanmu Baiye enough time to duck away and speak. "Your Excellency Pill Fiend, since when has your Pill Fiend Valley allowed outsiders to do as they please?"
Pill Fiend Valley had its own regulations that prohibited outsiders from attacking as they wished.
"Heheh, this excellency just wanted to see your fighting prowess. Crown Prince Ye, you've disappointed me a bit," Pill Fiend heaved a sigh.
"You!" Duanmu Baiye took an angry step forward, but Pill Fiend extended a skeletal hand from his robes that looked resembled one from a thousand-year-old goblin. Resting within the palm was a few glittering gold butterfly darts.
This was obviously a warning.
A strong dragon still couldn't suppress a snake in its own haunts. Duanmu Baiye could only stifle his rage while a flash of unhappiness flitted past Long Feiye's eyes. He withdrew his hand and coldly asked, "Pill Fiend, who are you trading with?"
"Your Excellency Pill Fiend, there's more than one poison python in the world. But there's only one Seven Stars Caterpillar Grass. It resembles a grass and a bug, but it's neither grass nor bug. Think it over clearly. And also, this crown prince arrived first," Duanmu Baiye reminded in a hurry.
"There's plenty of poisonous pythons, but there's only one 500-year-old poison python," Long Feiye reminded on his side.
"Aiyaya…"
His Excellency Pill Fiend heaved another sigh, the sound faint and ominous as if it came from the depths of hell itself. Han Yunxi couldn't help but shiver in trepidation as she stared at his hand. No matter what, she couldn't see how it matched his beguiling eyes.
Neither Long Feiye nor Duanmu Baiye spoke as Pill Fiend sighed. Han Yunxi watched from one side and realized she couldn't guess who the man would pick. Eventually, Pill Fiend took on a strange smile.
"Heheh, your excellency wants them both. Why don't you two keep fighting?" He turned to give Long Feiye careful instructions. "Duke of Qin, your excellency allows you to steal, but whatever you steal will belong to your excellency, how's that?"
Han Yunxi nearly spat at the words. This unprincipled old man was too greedy and devious! But she liked it fine. It didn't hurt them much if Long Feiye had to exert more energy on their behalf. Duanmu Baiye's face turned white as he clenched his fists in anger. "Gu Qi Sha, do you want to break the rules of Pill Fiend Valley yourself?"
Only now did His Excellency Pill Fiend seem to come to a realization. "We can't break the rules. How's this, you two can fight outside the valley?"
These words made Duanmu Baiye want to spit up blood, but Long Feiye just shrugged his shoulders. "That's fine too."
Yet right then, a melodious voice carried into the room. "Big brother, are you inside?"
Big brother? Whose little sister was looking for her brother?
Han Yunxi was puzzled as she saw a white-robed female walk in with brisk steps. Her beauty was beyond that of the mortal world, more like a celestial maiden on Earth. The dimples framing the corners of her lips gave her a lively, girlish spirit. She was the perfect combination of ethereal beauty and spritely charm. Han Yunxi immediately knew her as Duanmu Baiye's little sister. She was skilled in the three aspects of fine arts, martial prowess, and appearance in Western Zhou, popularly known as the Princess Changle[3], Duanmu Yao.
It was said that after this princess became of age, her suitors grew year by year to ask for her hand in marriage at Western Zhou's imperial palace. But she had set her sights high and refused all of them. Han Yunxi knew that she'd never seen this princess before, but why did her figure feel so familiar?
Duanmu Yao came inside and froze at the sight of Long Feiye and Han Yunxi. She didn't expect for her senior brother to be here, too–and he even brought Han Yunxi along! Envy flitted through her eyes. She pretended that none of her unhappiness with Long Feiye had ever happened and strode forward, intentionally knocking against Han Yunxi on the way.
Her voice was pleasantly surprised when she spoke. "Senior brother, why are you here too?"
Only now did Han Yunxi realize this was the suicidal white-robed female from Snake Gorge! So she was Long Feiye's junior sister who dove towards the poison gas in Snake Gorge to provoke her senior brother. Seems like she really was a jealous type!
The appearance of Duanmu Yao turned Duanmu Baiye calculative. He smiled and said, "Yao Yao, your senior brother wants to snatch the Life Blood Pill from us. How about you two have a spar?"
Duanmu Yao was astonished as she frowned. "Senior brother, is this true? What do you need the Life Blood Pill for?"
Long Feiye looked impatient and wanted to speak, but Han Yunxi beat him to it. She took a step to stand by his side and raised her eyebrows at Duanmu Yao with an earnest tone. "Your highness, chenqie must have the Life Blood Pill!"
These words astonished Duanmu Yao further. How could this be? Senior brother was fighting over something for the sake of a woman? And for her, of all people?
No, she definitely wouldn't allow this.
Moreover, she couldn't take the fact that Han Yunxi was using chenqie in front of her senior brother.
"Senior brother, the Life Blood Pill is mine! I finally found the Seven Stars Caterpillar Grass to trade for it, so you can't snatch it from me!" Duanmu Yao was literally ordering them around, sounding both overbearing and spoiled.
Long Feiye acted as if he hadn't heard. Neither did he pay attention to Han Yunxi, looking coldly at Duanmu Baiye instead as he spoke. "Crown Prince Ye, since this is His Excellency Pill Fiend's idea, why don't you two go out and spar a round?"
If this was before, Duanmu Baiye might have agreed, but after exchanging a few blows he was very clear that he didn't have an advantage. His gaze turned treacherous as he smiled. "Since Yao Yao's here, you senior brother and junior sister should swap pointers with each other in a round. As I see it, it's just comparing notes, so there's no need to leave the valley to fight." He looked towards Pill Fiend. "What do you think, Your Excellency Pill Fiend?"
Pill Fiend gave an eerie, gurgling laugh. "Senior brother and junior sister comparing notes, heheh, this excellency likes it very much!"
Hearing this, Duanmu Baiye promptly gave the Seven Stars Caterpillar Grass to Duanmu Yao and told her about Pill Fiend's terms. Though surprised, Duanmu Yao immediately tightened her grip on the box of grass.
"Your Excellency Pill Fiend…" Long Feiye wanted to retort.
But Pill Fiend laughed loudly. "Your Highness Duke of Qin, this excellency holds high expectations." He ordering a servant to make him some tea and prepared to enjoy the show.
This meritless thing, Long Feiye narrowed his eyes dangerously while Han Yunxi cursed from the bottom of her heart. Duanmu Yao had shown up, but this relationship between senior brother and junior sister was still unclear. Now that they were about to fight, both the process and results would be hard to guess.
Duanmu Yao seemed set on risking her life to protect the Seven Stars Caterpillar Grass. Would Long Feiye yield before her?
Although he treated Duanmu Yao coldly, he was extremely proactive in Snake Gorge. His anxiety clearly stemmed from worrying that Duanmu Yao would get hurt, enough to even throw Han Yunxi aside to meet her death.
Han Yunxi couldn't help but cry in her heart. That's why she ended up throwing caution to the wind and provoked the other woman. In any case, she was only responsible for treating the patient; whether or not they got the Life Blood Pill wasn't part of her job.
-o-
[1] Crown Prince Ye (???) – ye taizi, in which Ye means 'firelight/sunlight' or 'bright.'
[2] Duanmu Baiye (????) – again, Duanmu is a two-character surname. Bai means white, Ye means the same as footnote [1] above.
[3] Princess Changle (????) – changle gongzhu, in which Changle means 'long happiness/cheer/joy.'