Skymender narrowed his eyes in confusion. "Purple? Are you colorblind or something?"
The Imperial Scholar narrowed his eyes in confusion. "What are you talking about? I have perfect vision. Perhaps you are colorblind."
Skymender knew for a fact that he wasn't colorblind, as he had been tested at young.
He thought for a moment, before walking away. In another area, a servant hurriedly walked through the halls.
Skymender opened a door and saw him.
"Hey." He said.
The servant stopped for a moment. "Yes?"
"What color is this?" Skymender asked as he held up the vial.
"Red." The servant said as he turned and walked away even faster than before.
Skymender turned around, where the Imperial Scholar stood with furrowed brows. "What exactly is going on?"
Neither of them had the slightest answer. It seemed magical.
"Could it be that every person sees this poison differently?" Skymender asked, though he was not expecting an answer.
"In that case, what if what is different for every person is not only the color, but the effects?" The Imperial Scholar said.
Skymender held the vial with his bare hands, and he felt a cold feeling coming off of it.
He handed it to the Imperial Scholar, who saw it in a purple color.
The Imperial Scholar grabbed it and examined it. Suddenly, he felt a headache. It was very light, not enough to really impair him, but it was obvious.
"I feel a slight headache coming on." The Imperial Scholar said.
"Is it cold at all?" Skymender asked.
"Not even slightly. It is completely room temperature." The Imperial Scholar said.
After a moment, he spoke again.
"The Emperor needs to hear of this. Forgive me, but I will be borrowing this for a moment."
Skymender nodded. "As long as you can figure out what it is, you can even keep it."
At this point, Skymender was entirely confused.
They moved through the Imperial Palace swiftly, soon reaching the throne room. The Imperial Scholar signaled to the guards, who opened the door, and Skymender followed him inside.
The Emperor looked up from some papers, and seeing the Imperial Scholar walking so quickly, perked up.
"What do you need, Fei Luzi?" The Emperor asked.
As always, Sword Master Shang was standing to his side.
The Imperial Scholar held up the vial. "What color is this, your Imperial Majesty?"
The Emperor looked somewhat confused. "Black, a very very deep black."
Sword Master Shang turned his head in confusion. The Imperial Scholar noticed it.
"What color do you see, Sword Master Shang?" The Imperial Scholar asked.
He answered. "I see the color red, like the color of blood."
The Imperial Scholar turned and had the door opened. Pointing to Skymender, he spoke to a servant. "Find the one he talked to earlier."
The servant nodded. It was a vague request, but it was enough.
As the servant left, the Emperor realized just how important this was. The Imperial Scholar, though he had a calm front, was clearly not calm at all.
"Inform me."
"Skymender created this poison. It is one which nearly killed him a while back. He succeeded this time, but for some reason, every single person sees a different color. In addition, it also seems to have different effects on those that hold it." The Imperial Scholar said.
The Emperor beckoned with his hand. "Let me see."
The Imperial Scholar walked forward and handed it to him.
As soon as the Emperor held it, he frowned. "Unpleasant."
"What do you feel?" The Imperial Scholar asked.
"It is as if it is draining something from me, though so uselessly that whatever it is draining is instantly returning. Still, I don't like it at all."
He turned and handed it to Sword Master Shang.
He held it and spoke. "I feel something like loss, as if you saw someone slain on a battlefield. It is incredibly faint though, as if it is just something you read about in a short story."
Sword Master Shang's was surprisingly well described, and Skymender realized that he was actually quite good with words. As expected of someone so legendary.
It had to be noted that Skymender was currently in a room with the three greatest beings in the Empire. Though he was clearly not on the same level, nobody was treating him like a lower individual.
He naturally did not feel like he was lower than them, but for them to somewhat act like that to a 12 year old child was quite surprising.
As they discussed for a while, the Emperor and Sword Master Shang gaining interest in it, the servant Skymender had spoken to earlier came in. He was clearly terrified. He hadn't realized that Skymender was important enough to casually be in this room, and was scared that he had disrespected or offended him.
The Imperial Scholar spoke. "Hold this."
The servant did so without hesitation.
"What does it feel like?" The Imperial Scholar asked.
"It is a bit warm, sir." The servant said.
"Describe the color better." The Imperial Scholar said.
"It is red like fire." The servant said.
"Alright, you may leave."
The servant breathed a sigh of relief and left in a hurry.
At this point, it didn't seem that there was any further way to understand this poison than testing it.
After thinking, the Imperial Scholar thought of a way. Of course, he decided to see if Skymender agreed. Regardless of everything, it was his poison.
"If you let me test this, I will compensate you in every way possible, from materials used, including the antidote plant, to labor and danger pay."
Skymender nodded. "Of course."
This was all the Imperial Scholar needed.
He called a servant in.
After speaking, it was decided that a prisoner would be used to test this.
Skymender and the Imperial Scholar left.
Though the Emperor was too busy to personally attend, he requested that the results be brought to him immediately.
Skymender and the Imperial Scholar sent the prisoner to an observation room, poison vial in hand. In order to reduce his sentence by half, all he had to do was open the vial for a few seconds and close it. Considering he was in prison for the rest of his life, this was a one time deal that he would never see again.
Skymender and the Imperial Scholar stood above, behind a one way glass wall.
They could see everything happening inside the room.