Night always turned people impulsive.
Lurking beneath the silence were turbulent waves. Han Yunxi could even hear her own heart pounding wildly as she waited for an answer.
Why?
His every word and action had always been reasons solely for himself. He had never needed to explain them to anyone else.
Long Feiye looked at the woman before him, his gaze as dark and deep as the seas. Still, his face remained as expressionless as ever. A complicated emotion flitted past his eyes, too fast for anyone to see.
"There's no 'why,' it's simply an order," he finally said.
"I refuse to obey it," Han Yunxi said without the slightest hesitation.
"You don't have the right to refuse. Get out," his voice turned cold.
Han Yunxi felt depressed. "Long Feiye, living here is very…"
But before she could finish, she came to an abrupt stop. Her eyebrows creased together. Why was this happening? Without any reason, wave after wave of dizziness washed over her head. She almost couldn't stand straight.
"What's wrong with you?" Long Feiye noticed something peculiar right away.
Han Yunxi held her head and forced herself to look at Long Feiye. She was the bull-headed type. Either she wouldn't ask at all, or ask until she got the answers. Ignoring whatever was going on, she was determined to get his reason tonight after coming this far. Angrily she demanded, "For what reason? Answer me!"
Yet as soon as she finished, her vision turned dark and she toppled forward. Long Feiye hastily supported her with his arms. When he saw that she'd already fainted away, he hastily picked her up and rushed towards the bed while yelling for an imperial physician.
—
When Imperial Physician Li arrived, he was scared stiff by His Highness Duke of Qin's worried expression. In all his years at the Duke of Qin's estate, he'd never seen the Duke of Qin do as much as crease his brows, even when Grand Concubine Yi was ill to the point of death! He didn't dare delay, but quickly went to take the pulse. But after two earnest tries, he didn't find anything amiss. Everything was normal.
"What happened?" Long Feiye asked coldly.
"Your Highness, esteemed wangfei's pulse is firm and steady, her vigour plentiful. This shouldn't have…" Imperial Physician Li was puzzled despite his pondering.
Without sparing him a glance, Long Feiye said impatiently, "Zhao mama, go invite Gu Beiyue over immediately!" Hearing this, Imperial Physician Li could only retreat resentfully. If it was anyone else, he wouldn't be convinced, but he had no words to say against Imperial Physician Gu.
Gu Beiyue hurried over by night. He originally thought he was going to Leisurely Cloud Pavilion, but Zhao mama actually took him to the main sleeping quarters. After walking through the long, dim covered walkway to the distant lights beyond, he saw Han Yunxi lying quietly on the bed behind a screen of curtains, Long Feiye sitting by her side as a guard. Time seemed to condense into eternity as the scene spread out like a painting. Gu Beiyue silently took it all in as his steps unconsciously slowed.
"Imperial Physician Gu, walk faster. His Highness is impatient!" Zhao mama urged in a low voice.
Gu Beiyue instantly quickened his steps and walked past the heavy curtains. Long Feiye didn't make a noise when he carefully took Han Yunxi's hand and placed it on a pillow so the doctor could examine her. It was a movement that was even gentler than Gu Beiyue, who carefully took her pulse. Only then did Long Feiye speak up.
"You've examined her before, it should be the same old ailment."
Last time, Han Yunxi had passed out for a few days in Medicine City. After she returned, Long Feiye had Gu Beiyue over, who determined that she had been over exhausted and frightened. But in this case, fright wasn't a factor. The guts of this woman were enough to take a scare. As for exhaustion, she couldn't have tired herself out just from the estate's affairs in the past month.
Gu Beiyue released Han Yunxi's hand and asked, "Your Highness, may this official be allowed a glance of esteemed wangfei's complexion?"
Only then did Long Feiye lift a corner of the curtains. Gu Beiyue stood up and took a few glances before sitting back down and taking her pulse again.
"How is it?" Long Feiye asked anxiously.
"May Your Highness keep calm and allow this official to take a more meticulous look," Gu Beiyue said in a low voice. At his reminder, Long Feiye grew aware of his own anxiety. He looked away without speaking further.
Though the pulse seemed normal, Gu Beiyue could sense that Han Yunxi was indeed completely unconscious. Her entire body was taut as if something was consuming all of her energy. Other doctors wouldn't be able to tell at all, but Gu Beiyue could. Still, he couldn't explain why it was happening. In the end, he let go of Han Yunxi's hand and mildly intoned, "Your Highness, esteemed wangfei's pulse is normal and free from illnesses. However, esteemed wangfei seems to have something weighing on her mind. She's taken something to heart and spent anxious nights consuming her energy and mental facilities on the issue, resulting in her collapse and coma now."
Long Feiye seemed to recall something as he turned back to Han Yunxi without a word.
"Your Highness, cases like esteemed wangfei's are extremely rare. These are but conjectures from this humble official. One will have to wait until esteemed wangfei wakes before asking her in detail to verify the cause," Gu Beiyue was very prudent.
"Zhao mama, take Imperial Physician Gu to the western wing to rest," Long Feiye ordered in a low voice. This meant that Gu Beiyue had to stay until the patient woke up. Besides the palace, this was probably the only other place that could compel him to stay. Of course, Gu Beiyue was very willing to do so. He was about to leave when Long Feiye suddenly asked, "Gu Beiyue, I heard you were injured by assassins one day at the Han estate?"
"Thanks to Your Highness for your care. This official saw the assassin that day. It was that Qishao who showed up at Pill Fiend Valley," Gu Beiyue said openly without hiding a thing.
But Long Feiye only asked coldly, "Haven't you met him once before at Tender Fragrance Teahouse?"
Gu Beiyue didn't even think before he explained, "Yes, I've met him before. This official forgot."
"Do you two know each other from before?"
Faced with Long Feiye's persistent questioning, Gu Beiyue wasn't flustered at all. He maintained his cool self-possession as he answered, "No, it was a chance encounter. Esteemed wangfei knows him, not this official."
As to who met whom, he didn't tell the full story, or a lie, or the truth. Someone who didn't look like they could lie at all had someone managed such beautiful phrasing. Still, what Gu Beiyue faced wasn't anyone ordinary, but Long Feiye.
"How did the chance encounter happen?" Long Feiye asked.
By one side, Zhao mama felt that the atmosphere was a bit odd. Just what was up with His Highness? Where did he find the leisure time to ask about so many little details?
Gu Beiyue's eyes flitted with helpless amusement before he answered, "This official made an appointment to meet with esteemed wangfei to learn about the poison arts and chanced to meet Gu Qishao then."
After finally clearing up the matter from months ago, Long Feiye felt rather satisfied. He waved a hand and allowed Gu Beiyue to withdraw. Who knew what Han Yunxi would think if she had witnessed Long Feiye digging to the bottom of things? She'd probably forgotten about that incident long ago. Right now, she had no idea what was going on around her because she was making a spiritual tour of her detoxification system.
That's right, she was touring around the detox system in person!
In the past, Han Yunxi could use her mind to control the system and employ its abilities with a whim. She could transfer medicinal items as she liked, but everything was restricted to her mind. Now she was within the detox system herself and able to see every part of it clearly! The nightmare she had before took place inside the detox system as well. But besides the system hadn't completed its upgrades, she had the misconception that she was being pelted with medicinal ingredients.
The engineer in charge of research and development for the detoxification system had always told her this was a system as well as a dimension. Actually, Han Yunxi hadn't understood the concept of "dimension" at the start, but now she finally did. This "dimension" was a private universe exclusive to herself. Darkness surrounded her on all sides. On her right was a tremendous storehouse. When she walked inside for a look, she found all sorts of medical supplies and acupuncture needles inside, all of which had come from the present. This could be said to be the detox system's medical warehouse. It didn't take her any effort to retrieve and store things from within the detox system. This was much easier than accessing it from outside. As soon as she had a thought, the object would fly out to land in her hand.
On her left was the poison pond that she'd stolen from Medicine City. There were new strains of various poison plants growing in the water. Actually, Han Yunxi had no idea how such things would be stored in her detox system when she first drew it in. But looking at the sight before her now, she almost felt as if the poison pond was part of the ground inside the detox system to begin with, rather than a foreign entity. She hadn't stolen the pond itself, but the poison water had formed a pond of its own accord inside here. The plants growing inside the pond were vigorous and exuberant, while many of them had starting showing signs of poisonous properties. Han Yunxi stepped closer and casually plucked off a nameless flower. In response, the detox system spoke in her head.
"The flower pollen contains poison that causes itching in the skin. Itching can be relieved by scratching until blood shows. The antidote for this poison is still under development and will be complete in about six months' time. Please do not touch this plant as one pleases."
Hearing this, Han Yunxi let go in fright. Geez, this poison needed half a year before an antidote could be made!
After some hesitation, she carefully plucked another plant. This time, the detox system told her, "The toxins in this plant are still under analyzation. Full analyzation will require three months' time."
What a laughable progress rate!
Still, Han Yunxi felt stunned. In the past, the detox system had no way to determine the toxicity of the poison pond, but now it could analyze the plants that grew from its waters. Moreover, it could even self-create antidotes to them? Was this new function a result of the upgrades? Could she bring in raw materials of poisons and have the system cultivate such plants and create matching antidotes? That was Heaven-sent good news. She snatched away what Jun Yixie planned to do in the Medicine Forest for herself instead.
In other words, she had become the most dangerous person in the world of poison arts.
Thinking up to here, Han Yunxi's lips gently curved upwards to reveal a wicked smile. Part of the detox system's arsenal contained poisons never seen before in the past. Still, they only made up one section and were of a solitary type. The quantities were limited as well, such as strong anaesthetics or narcotics. Now that her detox system could raise plants, she never needed to fear not having remarkable pills on hand anymore. With the secret of the poison pond hidden, Han Yunxi could only anticipate her bumper harvest in the future.
Besides the storeroom and the poison pond, the rest of the dimension was empty. In the distance was a vast darkness that was too black to even see one's fingers in front of one's face. This place was so big. What other secrets did it hold? Han Yunxi tried walking forward, but was hit with a spell of dizziness as soon as she passed the poison pond. It was impossible to take another step. Her vision grew black, and she fainted away.
In response, her eyes flew open without warning in the real world. The first thing she saw was the luxurious canopy of the bed curtains around and above her.
Huh, where's this?
A groggy Han Yunxi looked to the side, only to see…