Where did Han Yunxi learn her poison skills?
Aunt Ru had already asked Long Feiye this question once, but his answer of some 'expert' hadn't hoodwinked her at all. Tang Li looked at Aunt Ru, then at Long Feiye, feeling rather helpless. Both him and Long Feiye had no idea. Ever since Han Yunxi had saved Mu Qingwu, they'd been doing investigations. All they found out so far was that Lady Tianxin, her mother, had come from Medicine City. They were uncertain about anything else.
Since they weren't in the poison grounds anymore and didn't have to rely on Han Yunxi's skills, Aunt Ru wasn't as patient as before. She turned towards Tang Li with a stern expression and asked, "Still not talking?"
Frightened, Tang Li quickly replied, "An expert taught her, but they told her not to tell."
These words were exactly the same as Long Feiye's. They hadn't agreed on this phrase beforehand, but knew what to say on based on their shared instincts.
"Who else has the skills to teach her besides someone from the Hundred Poison Sect or our own Tang Clan?" Aunt Ru asked with interest.
Both the Hundred Poison Sect and the Tang Clan's poisons arts originated from the Poison Sect. Once the Poison Sect was destroyed, the Tang Clan's poison arts declined. Though the Hundred Poison Sect still existed, it hadn't made any major moves over the past few years.
"The Hundred Poison Sect and the Tang Clan's poison arts are two major branches of the original Poison Sect. There has to be other smaller branches we're unaware of…" Tang Li replied urgently, too quickly for Long Feiye to stop him. Halfway through, he shut up.
Because he'd said the wrong thing!
Aunt Ru sucked in a cold breath. "So, you two don't know who her master is either?"
Tang Li didn't dare to answer. He'd rather slap himself to death this instant. His bursting bladder must have affected his brain.
Aunt Ru suddenly slammed the table and exclaimed, "Ye'er, you left the Perplexing Butterfly Illusion to a woman with unknown origins? Just what do you mean by this? If your mufei knew you were so confused by a woman, she wouldn't be able to die content!"
Long Feiye quietly undid Tang Li's bonds without a reaction. Tang Li felt stifled by his silence and wanted to speak up, but then hesitated.
"Ye'er, have you ever thought of why your mother had to die? How could you…" Aunt Ru was about to say more, but Long Feiye suddenly turned to look at her with an ice-cold gaze. It made her break out into cold sweat from fear. She was left with her mouth hanging open, unable to say another word.
After undoing Tang Li's bonds, Long Feiye simply turned to walk away without another word. Tang Li couldn't be bothered with Aunt Ru and hurriedly chased after him. However, Long Feiye didn't leave at all. He simply sat on the roof of the room next to his before lying flat with his arms pillowing his head. If he wasn't so preoccupied, he might have discovered the abnormality in the room below him long ago. Unfortunately, he didn't.
Tang Li landed by his side and joined him in looking at the sky. He didn't dare say much. He had framed Han Yunxi so that Aunt Ru could intervene on Long Feiye's behalf. As long as Long Feiye was still wavering, Aunt Ru could make the decision for him. Even if Han Yunxi was a rare helper, her fuzzy origins meant that there was no way Long Feiye could keep her by his side, much less harbor feelings for her.
After a while had passed, Tang Li discovered that Long Feiye didn't look like he was going to ask for payback. Thus, he opened his mouth and said, "Big bro, why don't you take back the Perplexing Butterfly Illusion?"
Long Feiye didn't reply.
"Big bro, since you won't explain to her about Duanmu Yao, aren't you simply seizing the opportunity to reject her? Since you've already done that, why don't you just let her go?"
It was the bystander that saw the whole picture. Tang Li had been taking note of Long Feiye's contradictory actions the entire time. It was clear that he'd rejected this woman, but he still forcibly kept her by his side and silently treated her well. This wasn't like him at all!
When Long Feiye still didn't reply, Tang Li's voice grew cold. "Big bro, if she's really the descendent of the West Qin imperial clan, the Tang Clan will kill her beyond a doubt!"
"You dare!" Finally, Long Feiye spoke.
Since Tang Li had already gone so far, he went ahead and risked the rest. "If she is, you should kill her more than anyone else in the Tang Clan. Don't forgot how your mufei died!"
This was the second time in one day that Long Feiye had heard such words.
How mufei had died.
Long Feiye narrowed his eyes and glared coldly at Tang Li, his entire being emanating a frightening killing intent. Tang Li held no fear, but stared back with self-assurance on his side. He too, admired Han Yunxi and wished that she had no connection to the Shadow Clan. He had hoped that Han Yunxi could enter Long Feiye's heart, but–the existence of the Shadow Clan made all of that impossible.
"There's a 80 to 90 percent chance that she's the West Qin orphan!" Tang Li was very convinced.
And yet, Long Feiye suddenly moved to grab him by the throat, warning him word by word, "Whether or not she is, she's still your lordship's wangfei. She has to stay by your lordship's side! Go tell Aunt Ru to stop making schemes. Otherwise, I won't be polite!"
Isn't it just a woman? Did he have to be so stubborn?
Tang Li shoved his hand aside and said icily, "Long Feiye, have you passed the test in your heart?"
If he had, why did he need to hide the facts about Duanmu Yao? Why did he keep disappointing Han Yunxi?
Long Feiye gave a minute start. He didn't answer, but turned to head for the medical academy. Tang Li chased after him a few steps, yelling out loud, "Long Feiyie, Han Yunxi isn't the kind of woman you can force to stay by your side!"
Naturally, Long Feiye heard him. But he didn't look back. As he saw it, Han Yunxi should be packing up her things by now. Unfortunately, he was wrong.
Han Yunxi didn't have much things to pack up in the first place. As soon as she went back to the medical academy, it was to seek out Gu Beiyue and the rest. Predictably, Gu Qishao and Gu Beiyue had come back first when they couldn't find her. Although Gu Qishao could be petty at times, he was quite the gentleman this time. He didn't abandon Gu Beiyue alone in the poison grounds. Currently, the three of them were in Luo Zuishan's courtyard.
"Who saved you two?" Han Yunxi probed. She couldn't be sure that Gu Qishao hadn't seen Lil Thing and recognized it as the poison beast.
Gu Qishao furrowed his eyebrows. "I'm not sure what happened, but all of those Man-Eating Vines suddenly shriveled up."
There were plenty of poisonous bugs to begin with in the poison grounds. Everything had its superior, so perhaps something had eaten the Man-Eating Vines? Gu Qishao didn't place much importance on this and went on to tease, "Poison lass, you were coldhearted enough to leave with Long Feiye instead of worrying about our lives?"
It looks like Lil Thing hadn't been exposed after all. That was excellent.
"Whether or not you live or die has nothing to do with me," Han Yunxi replied with a grin, secretly patting her medical pouch at the same time.
Lil Thing felt its master's tender care through the medical pouch and was intoxicated with happiness. It remembered seeing the red-robed man trapped in the Man-Eating Vines while looking for its master that day. It could admit that it'd hesitated then. Should it let the Man-Eating Vine devour the pretty looking man, then eat the vines afterwards? After all, the vines would be more nutritious that way. While it was still trying to figure out the relationship between its master and the red-robed man, the white-robed gentleman had used a tiny flying dagger to silently cut through all of the Man-Eating Vine's roots. Thus, it hid away until the two men left before beginning to eateateat. It didn't know why its master was suddenly stroking it so tenderly, but it was good that master liked itself.
On the side, Luo Zuishan's face turned black from Han Yunxi's reply. But Gu Qishao didn't get angry. His eyes creased into a grin as he said, "Then how do I get about doing something with you?"
He was completely shameless!
Han Yunxi could admit she'd lost to him, but she was too lazy to answer his question. Once she was sure that Gu Qishao and Gu Beiyue had both returned safely, she stopped worrying. "Imperial Physician Gu, you should go back with His Highness Crown Prince and Qinwang Rong. I still have business to take care of, so I won't be accompanying you."
Gu Beiyue nodded to show that he understood, but didn't ask her any other questions. No matter how close his relationship was with Han Yunxi, he still maintained the air of a subordinate without ever exceeding those boundaries.
"Are you going back with Long Feiye?" Gu Qishao asked immediately.
Han Yunxi didn't answer him directly, but simply said, "I still have some things to do." She was about to leave right then, causing a flicker of doubt to pass through Gu Beiyue's eyes. He didn't speak up, but Gu Qishao actually followed her out.
"What kind of things?"
"Private things!" Han Yunxi's meaning was obvious, but Gu Qishao was still insistent.
"What kind of private things?"
Han Yunxi would have really regretted coming in the first place if not for wanting to see Gu Beiyue. She should've gone to find Third Elder long ago. As long as Gu Qishao stuck to her side, she was sure to get pestered. Han Yunxi's eyebrows furrowed at him, but Gu Qishao only smiled instead of retreating.
"Poison lass, you still haven't told me how you treated Long Tianmo's poison."
Han Yunxi gave Gu Qishao the same reason she'd offered Long Feiye. Gu Qishao couldn't help but be suspicious. "That convenient?"
"Pardon me, but I must be leaving now!" Han Yunxi didn't dawdle as she threw out a polite excuse. But Gu Qishao insisted on tagging along. They had almost reached Third Elder's when Han Yunxi stopped. "Just what do you want to do?"
"Tell me who taught you your poison skills," Gu Qishao's ultimate goal was still this question.
So annoying! Han Yunxi was in a bad mood to begin with, but she nearly made to hit him at these words. It was right this time that Third Elder rounded the corner while walking towards her. By the time Han Yunxi looked back, Gu Qishao had already vanished, his speed astoundingly quick. This fellow's clearly familiar with everything about the medical academy, but he's always hiding about. It felt like he was afraid of being discovered. But why?
Fine, Han Yunxi didn't have the heart to worry about so many details. She had plenty of her own problems to deal with. Lady Tianxin, the Shadow Clan, and the Poison Sect were three big, unrelated names that somehow tangled themselves together when it came to her. She collected her thoughts and walked towards Third Elder, who had just come from the Council of Elders. Not only had the poison beast been stolen, but the Gu arts had revived and Xi Yubo had fled the academy. All three of these events were enough to send the medical academy into chaos. He'd managed to extricate himself from the proceedings only with difficulty so he could take a break.
As soon as he saw Han Yunxi, Third Elder grew puzzled. "Esteemed wangfei still hasn't left? Just then, His Highness Duke of Qin was here looking for you. He's just gone away, so shall I send someone to chase after him?"
Because Long Feiye hadn't found Han Yunxi at the medical academy, he assumed that she'd already gone back with her things. Thus, he retraced his steps to the inn. Han Yunxi didn't answer the question, but simply said, "Third Elder, there's something I want to ask you privately."
Original Chapter Teaser:
"Ye'er, have you ever thought of why your mother had to die? How could you…" Aunt Ru was about to say more, but Long Feiye suddenly turned to look at her with an ice-cold gaze.
Long Feiye: Instead of my mother, why don't you think about yourself instead?
Aunt Ru: Are you threatening me?!
Long Feiye: You threatened me first. I'm just returning the favor.
Aunt Ru: I. Am. Your. Aunt!
Long Feiye: Ant? Are you're suggesting I crush you beneath my heel instead?
Tang Li: Cut, cut!
Aunt Ru: Cut me?! Tang Li, you insolent little–
Tang Li: *sweats* T-that's not what I meant! Aunt Ru, there's no way Long Feiye would talk that much!
Tang Li: L…let's just keep the peace and try for something more peaceful, amirite? Hah…hahah… *sweats harder*