Aside from Mu Linger, everyone else present recognized this voice, but none of them expected the speaker to be in the Sky Pit. Gu Qishao's eyes brightened before he looked towards the darkened path. In disbelief, he muttered to himself, "Poison lass came too."
It wasn't easy to bypass the hundred or so poison traps to capture the poison beast. The last trap was the most dangerous one of all, so he hadn't taken Han Yunxi with him. This lass didn't even know martial arts, so who did she come with? Thinking up to here, Gu Qishao couldn't help but glance below his feet. Long Feiye and Tang Li were still trapped below, so how could the friendless and family-less Han Yunxi find anyone else to help her in Medical City?
As soon as she heard 'Poison lass,' Mu Linger's cherry lips pursed in unhappiness. Unfortunately, nobody paid attention to it. Soon enough, Han Yunxi emerged from the darkness, followed by a white-robed man wearing a face veil. Han Yunxi's steps were calm and steady, while the white-robed man's steps were light and unhurried. He emanated the air of an April breeze, gentle and warm. Nobody would ever think that he had kidnapped Han Yunxi, but that he was acting as her bodyguard instead. Actually, though Han Yunxi had been following the white-robed man the entire way, she hadn't suffered any difficulties at all. Their entire journey had been extremely smooth. The white-robed gentleman was going to take them on another path when her detox system had sensed the multiple sources of poison here. A lot of them were ancient poisons that the detox system only had records of, but no samples. She said she wanted to take a look. When the white-robed man actually agreed, she gave up all pretense of politeness and went right on. Who knew that the first thing she'd find was Gu Qishao being threatened by those other two?
Duanmu Yao wanted to endure, but the sight of Han Yunxi made that impossible. Coldly, she said, "Han Yunxi, it seems that enemies are bound to meet on a narrow road."
Duanmu Yao had kept tabs on how Han Yunxi had played her at Pill Fiend Valley and humiliated her in Tianning's capital city. She was a closed door disciple of the Celestial Mountain Sword Sect and Western Zhou's princess born from the first wife. But this woman of humble birth had belittled her every single time, even ruining her marriage alliance. Now that they were here with no Long Feiye in sight, how could she simply let the matter go?
"Since when has Western Zhou's princess started carrying on with Northern Li's Duke of Kang? Does Western Zhou's emperor know?" Han Yunxi really was surprised.
When she recalled Tang Li saying how a white-robed woman with formidable sword skills had rescued Jun Yixie, she figured that he meant this woman right here. Western Zhou and Tianning were allied countries through their relations by marriage! Both of them had always been on the same side against their common enemy, Northern Li! Even if Duanmu Yao couldn't marry Long Feiye, Western Zhou and Tianning still managed to sign an agreement to guard their borders together. Were Duanmu Yao's actions now just a personal choice, or an indication of some secret agreement between Western Zhou and Northern Li?
"Once I silence you, he'll never know!" Duanmu Yao said fiercely, her attitude all aggression. Judging by this, she'd probably decimate Han Yunxi if Long Feiye didn't exist.
When Han Yunxi heard these words, she knew that Duanmu Yao had teamed up with Jun Yixie for personal reasons. Unwilling to be outdone, she said, "If you can't silence this wangfei, this wnagfei will make sure all of Cloud Realm Continent knows about this matter."
"Try me!" Duanmu Yao raged as she raised her sword. But Jun Yixie actually strode forward and blocked her behind him with a warning glance. Duanmu Yao might have been cooperating with Jun Yixie, but she still dreaded his existence. With a light sniff, she stopped speaking.
"Han Yunxi, just what kind of poison did you use on your lordship?" Jun Yixie asked coldly.
"It's the same as Bone Poison, a type without an antidote." Han Yunxi's serious expression made Jun Yixie's entire person unwell. His original motive for coming to Medical City was also for the poison beast. This time he'd come early because there was no way to cure the poison in his arm, much less convince Han Yunxi to treat it. Risking his life to find the poison beast's blood was his only choice.
"Since that's the case, then there's no need for your lordship to spare your life," Jun Yixie had truly turned ruthless this time. He'd been like this since childhood, choosing to destroy the things he couldn't get his hands on! The Frost Moon blade was raised in the air again, its edges glinting with a cold, shocking light. Seeing this, Duanmu Yao made to take out her sword as well.
"Duke of Kang, leave this woman to me." Although she'd been away from Tianning's capital city these few months, she'd been keeping tabs on Long Feiye and Han Yunxi. She knew all about Han Yunxi's poison skills and assassination weapons, but she'd never taken either seriously. She was certain that as long as she didn't give Han Yunxi a chance to sneak attack, the woman wouldn't be her match!
"No! Your lordship wants to kill her personally." Jun Yixie's eyes reflected Han Yunxi's image as if he could swallow her whole. Such a gaze made Han Yunxi realize that his killing intentions were real. Her poisons couldn't threaten either of them.
"If you can't get the poison beast's blood, then no one else besides myself can save that hand of yours!" she warned coldly.
"Your lordship is determined to win the poison beast's blood!" Jun Yixie was very self-confident. As soon as he was conscious of Han Yunxi's caution, he took steps to walk towards her. At the same time, Gu Qishao prepared to pull Han Yunxi aside. He was just about to grab her hand when she disappeared from his eyes.
Where did she go?
Gu Qishao unconsciously turned around, only to see that the white-robed man had already pulled Han Yunxi behind his back to shield her.
What speed! Gu Qishao silently marveled in his heart, but Jun Yixie actually stilled his steps. "You're from the Shadow Clan?"
Only the Shadow Clan's shadow arts could develop one's lightness techniques to the acme of perfection! Such skills were never taught to outsiders. Once upon a time, Cloud Realm Continent had a Great Qin Empire that was divided between the two imperial clans of East Qin and West Qin as well as the Seven Noble Families. The Shadow Clan was one of those aristocratic families, charged with the sole protection of West Qin royalty. Rumors had it that the Shadow Clan protected their charges with their lives. None of them had ever abandoned their duties, much less betray their charges. After the Great Qin Empire was destroyed along with its imperial clans, the Seven Noble Families gradually laid low and disappeared. Unbelievably, he'd witnessed the shadow arts first hand again today!
As soon as he heard 'Shadow Clan,' Gu Qishao finally realized the fast speed he saw came from the shadow arts. If this white-robed man was protecting Han Yunxi, did that mean…
"So she's the orphan of West Qin?" Duanmu Yao suddenly cried out in alarm. She couldn't accept such a reality! After all, the Great Qin Empire was a legend of Cloud Realm Continent. The talented men and women of West and East Qin were the real imperial clans in the people's hearts and the true sovereigns that they worshipped! The current three imperial kingdoms were nothing compared to the Great Qin Empire. If Han Yunxi really was one of them, then her last source of pride would be trampled beneath her feet, too!
The white-robed man didn't reply Duanmu Yao directly. He looked temperate and mild, calm and good-humored, but didn't give any face to the people present. Ignoring Jun Yixie, Gu Qishao, and the rest, he turned to Han Yunxi and said mildly, "I wanted you to help me open a path, not find trouble."
Everyone released a breath at these words. It looked like Han Yunxi wasn't the West Qin's orphan after all. Otherwise, it'd be hard to touch her with the Shadow Clan as her guard. Han Yunxi had never heard of such a clan, much less East Qin or West Qin. She only knew that she couldn't let Jun Yixie and Duanmu Yao get their hands on the poison beast.
"Help me kill them, or else I won't go with you," Han Yunxi said before she nimbly slipped to Gu Qishao's side. Delighted, he quickly grabbed Han Yunxi's hand and pulled her behind him before grinning at the white-robed man.
"Kill them and I'll come with you too."
Could this man be any more shameless? Han Yunxi even felt ashamed for his sake.
The white-robed man simply treated Gu Qishao as air before looking at Han Yunxi with his soft eyes. His voice was equally mild. "I'll try."
He said he'd try?
Why did such a gentle voice and modest answer sound so aggressive when spoken out loud?
The masked man turned to glance at Jun Yixie and Duanmu Yao. Duanmu Yao instantly backed away. Though she was confident in her sword skills, she wasn't in her speed! Only speed was unsurmountable amongst the world's martial arts, while the Shadow Clan's sole speciality laid a single word called 'quick.' The shadow arts were but a foundation for further martial arts. Anything they'd learn from that would be equally fast, whether it was attacking or dodging. To put it another way, no matter how tough one's martial arts were, or how deep one's inner energy lay, it'd be impossible to beat an opponent if they were faster than you. Right now, it was still advantageous to use the terrain to escape. Duanmu Yao backed up a few more steps before turning to flee. She didn't care a bit about Jun Yixie!
"Duanmu Yao, I'll definitely tell Long Feiye!" Han Yunxi shouted. She admitted that she was being awful, because one sentence from her was enough to hit Duanmu Yao's sore spot. Of course, if Long Feiye was present, she'd never dare to shout like that. Instead, she'd only silently…keep quiet. Jun Yixie was impatient and unwilling, but he slowly started to back away as well. Since Duanmu Yao had fled, he had no choice but to retreat. His arm was heavily injured, which meant he had no certainty facing off against this mysterious, white-robed man without her help.
"Don't let him run away!" Han Yunxi exclaimed. Duanmu Yao didn't count for anything, but the Jun Yixie who'd threatened her life had to die.
Still, the white-robed man only replied, "Han Yunxi, why kill a runaway?"
Cough, cough!
Jun Yixie was still retreating, but he'd yet to run away! There was no need to humiliate him this way. This gentle man, are you sure you're not doing it on purpose?
Even Han Yunxi didn't expect him to say such words, and so seriously as well. Jun Yixie simply couldn't accept the situation. He was so angry that his nostrils seemed about to breathe fire. Raising his sword, he hacked towards the crowd, the blade glinting brightly before it send a reverberation through the entire limestone cave. Half of the area came crashing down as he took advantage of the chaos to escape.
The white-robed man's first reaction was to shield Han Yunxi. Gu Qishao wasn't as fast as him and could only watch from the side. Still, he hadn't noticed that Mu Linger had been staring at him the entire time. Fortunately, there was enough support in this cave to keep it from collapsing entirely and burying them all alive.
"Why did you let him escape?!" Han Yunxi asked. Didn't this fellow say he was going to try? Was it just a joke?
But the white-robed man was serious as he replied. "Miss Yunxi, you're a doctor. Why be so ruthless to kill?"
Han Yunxi nearly choked on her saliva at these words. The reply was too good and left her with no retory.
"May we go now?" the white-robed man was quick to withdraw his other views. He only had one motive for coming to this place. Han Yunxi stole a glance at Gu Qishao, who returned it with a grin.
"Since we've run into each other, we might as well go together."
Before the white-robed man could reply, the perpetually silent Mu Linger suddenly opened her mouth. "Qi gege, if we leave, then what's to be done about the two people below us?"