Their morning meal proceeded in dour silence. Tao Geming had refused to attend, and Ling Ling was not very persistent in her persuasions, mistakenly assuming that the man's absence would have improved the mood.
The mind of the Golden Witch seemed to be elsewhere. She stared off at nothing in particular, but her yellow eyes seemed almost anxious, so engrossed she was in her own thoughts.
Lady Ouyang refused to even look at her guests, her disdain seeping right through her unflappable outer shell.
Ling Ling reluctantly held her tongue, afraid of displeasing her master. Bai Guo, likewise, had no idea how to defuse the awkwardness. The eyes of the two disciples wandered about until they eventually met. Bai Guo showed an exasperated smile. Deriving some amusement from their mutual anguish, Ling Ling couldn't stop herself from smirking as well. She briskly turned back towards her bowl.
Their gathering soon dissolved to the relief of everyone involved.
The Golden Witch wordlessly dragged her disciple away to a secluded section of the old mansion.
"Bai Guo, I need you to do something for me tonight." She spoke in whispers.
"Yes, master?" He asked in the same hushed tone.
"Don't sleep tonight. Keep a lookout. If you notice somebody moving between the rooms, tell me."
"Very well... But may I ask why?"
"I want to make sure that nobody is poisoning Tao Geming in secret."
Bai Guo raised an eyebrow. "Should I be telling sir Shen about this?" He asked his question with a leading tone, already suspecting what the answer would be.
The golden haired woman paused before replying somewhat uncertainly. "No."
Bai Guo nodded. "Am I to take it that we'll be staying here a while after all?" He sighed.
"We can't leave until Tao Geming is gone."
"...And he might be disinclined to leave before figuring out who it is that keeps poisoning him and how." Bai Guo sighed again. "But, master, what exactly are we going to do if we figure it out before he does? If it's sir Shen doing it, then obviously we can't tell him, but if it's the others..."
"As long as we figure it out first, we'll figure out what comes next." The Golden Witch carried herself with an air of severe determination.
"Is there anything else I can do to help before night time, master?"
She began to ponder his question. Bai Guo followed up. "Master, do you have any guesses about what's happening to Tao Geming?"
"I do have a theory... Well, just think about it. If you were trying to poison Tao Geming in secret, how would you go about it?"
"Well, I'd poison his food... But I guess since sir Shen said it's not an option, then... I have no idea..." Bai Guo scratched his head.
"That's right. Tao Geming isn't just anybody. His senses are as sharp as mine even if he's one short. So even when he's asleep, do you really think you could catch him off-guard?"
"But, master, just because the Five Venoms Devil isn't the one poisoning his food, doesn't mean someone else couldn't have done it."
The Golden Witch placed a finger on her chin. "But Ling Ling told us she was the only one being taught the poisoner arts."
"But that still leaves at least two people with the skills to do so, namely sir Shen and Ling Ling herself. And there's also that old nun who's never spoken a word. There's no telling what she can do."
"No, she's not a martial artist. Her internal energy is not cultivated at all." The Golden Witch asserted.
"Even so, master, you don't need any particular cultivation or even training to pour poison into someone's drink or food. Even those little girls could have done it. It's not like they would have to make the poison themselves."
"That's true..." She admitted almost begrudgingly. "But it looks like Tao Geming will be solving that mystery himself - he's not taking their food anymore."
"Then I guess there's not much to do for us but wait and see..." Bai Guo shrugged. "Though I worry that he might do something drastic if he can't figure it out fast enough. He could hurt them, or worse. In fact, I'm surprised he hasn't started doing so already. Hard to imagine patience is one of his strong points."
"If you had said all the things he said, like how poison doesn't matter to you at all and anyone using it is a weakling, would you really so readily eat your words and admit that you were wrong by acting out?"
Bai Guo was momentarily stumped by her logic. Yet she spoke as if it was the most natural thing in the world, to risk one's life over such a petty reason. Moreover, it appeared that her question wasn't rhetorical. She awaited his answer.
The young man smiled awkwardly. "Though you sometimes act otherwise, you're pretty well versed in the ways of the jianghu, master..."
It was the Golden Witch's turn to be confused. "Thanks." She said uncertainly.
"So what was your theory, master?"
The Golden Witch brushed her sleeve and looked away. "I don't wish to share it now. You're right, we should gather more information first."
Impatience pricked the disciple's heart like a needle.
As she began to walk away, she told him, "Just take it easy until tonight. I need to take a look around."
Left to his own devices, Bai Guo struggled to come up with a plan of productive action.
He wandered outside, and found Ling Ling working in the flower fields. His offer to help was met with cries of alarm, her voice muffled by a cloth covering her mouth and nose.
"Please don't step any closer!" The girl exclaimed, and, with both of her hands clad in thick mittens, gestured at him to stop. "It's dangerous!"
"It's because of the poison, right?" Bai Guo guessed. "I had to deal with something similar when I was looking for your junior martial brother, you know..."
Ling Ling was immediately intrigued, but still concerned.
Bai Guo continued. "Do you have any spares of those gloves you're wearing? I can't just eat your meals for free without putting in some work. Let me help."
The girl soon relented and equipped him at a nearby shed.
As they worked at removing the destroyed flowers and digging up the tainted soil, Bai Guo told the story of his meeting with Cui Shen.
Ling Ling's eyes welled up with tears as she listened to his tale. Kneeling in the grass, she paused her work and brushed her face with her sleeve. The girl's reddened eyes were filled with fury.
"I'm glad you helped him kill that villain." Her expression then softened. "And I'm grateful you brought him back here."
"It's my master you should be thanking, really." Bai Guo said as he helped her up to her feet. "How about we take a little break?"
"It's about time for me to go cook anyway..." She muttered.
"Let me help you with that, too." Bai Guo offered.
"You've already done so much! I can't let you do that." Ling Ling protested. They took off their gloves and face wrappings and dumped them in a nearby basket. "And besides, I heard men are no good in the kitchen, so you don't need to force yourself..."
Bai Guo seemed hurt by her words. "Who told you that?"
Ling Ling, surprised by his reaction, found herself at a loss for words.
"I'll have you know," Bai Guo huffed up his chest. "Back at my uncle's inn, I used to help out in the kitchen all the time, and we've never received a single complaint from the customers when I was working!"
"Really?" Ling Ling remained doubtful. "Well, I don't know... I just don't think mistress Ouyang would be happy to find you in our kitchen..."
Bai Guo sighed. "I guess that's true."
"But we could... That is to say, after the meal, there's still work to be done here, so..." She trailed off.
"Well, I've got nothing better to do. I'll help."
Ling Ling nodded and left so quickly she practically ran away.
Tao Geming had missed that meal, as well as the meal after that. The Golden Witch visited the eastern wing and sensed him sitting in his room, the poison once again absent from his body.
After they had all retired for the night, the woman lied in her bed, her yellow eyes open wide. While the guests were quite far out of the way, the mansion's other residents were all close enough for her to perceive with her extraordinary sense. Though the Golden Witch perceived no movement from any of them the night before, because she was fast asleep, she was riddled with doubt over the validity of her findings.
Feeling restless, she stood up. Moments after she had done so, the old lady Ouyang sprung up from her bed as well and silently strode over to her closed door. She pressed her head against it.
Their rooms were directly opposite each other. The Golden Witch had been intending to leave, but suddenly found herself at a loss. Her room had no windows; there was no other way out.
No matter how long the Golden Witch had waited, lady Ouyang remained where she was. The woman sat back down onto her bed. Shortly after she had done so, the mistress of the house had finally relented and slowly returned to her own bed.
The Golden Witch was about to try again, but a thought had suddenly crossed her mind. "If she has some way of knowing when I've gotten off this bed, then if I start experimenting with it, she might realize that I can tell when she's getting up as well. It's bad enough that Tao Geming knows about my special sense; I don't want her to figure it out too."
Her next thought was to put something heavy on the bed, but the room had only a small table for furniture. With a sigh, the Golden Witch accepted her fate and laid her head on the pillow.
"This was originally Ling Ling's room, wasn't it...?" She wondered.
As she kept vigil, she also considered her next actions. A few loose ideas began to take shape.
The next morning, master and disciple reconvened in Bai Guo's room. Both of them had heavy eyelids.
"Tao Geming changed rooms before going to sleep. Nothing else happened." The tired Bai Guo's report was brief.
"Good work." She replied, stepping out into the hall.
Bai Guo tried to point out the room for her, but she already knew which one it was.
The Golden Witch stopped before the door, her hand grazing the handle and bouncing right off as if she had grabbed something hot. With a reluctant sigh, she knocked.
"Get lost!" Was the reply from within.
Her pool of courtesies dried up right away. She swung the door open with a frown. Tao Geming was sitting on an unclothed bed, a potted plant on the floor.
"It's back again, isn't it?" She asked, but the smugness in her tone betrayed her certainty.
"It's back again. The yellow feathered harpy, that is." He spat.
Her frown deepened. "What are you going to do next, Tao Geming? It's obvious that the five venoms are more than you bargained for."
The man only scowled at her.
"It's not the food." The Golden Witch glanced at the leafed stalk beneath his feet, which hadn't wilted like the many flowers outside. "It's not the air. And I'll just tell you right now, it's not any of the people, either. Shall I lend you a hand?"
"I don't need your help." He hissed through gritted teeth.
She glared at him with disdain. "Is that so? Well, you should have thought about that before you stuck your nose where it wasn't needed. Now I'm simply returning the favor!"
Tao Geming scoffed. "All poison is the same. I can unravel this stupid little trick on my own, using nothing but my internal energy, just like I've done a hundred times before! Just wait and see!"
"Then keep at it for as long as you want!" She exclaimed, turning away. "But come to breakfast. No point starving yourself anymore, is there?"
Tao Geming fumed in silence as he watched the Golden Witch leave.
When the time had come for the morning meal, she was the last to arrive.
"Lady Ouyang." The Golden Witch addressed the lady of the house. "I'd like to issue you a challenge."
Most of the people present gawked at her. The old woman raised her eyes without much interest.
The Golden Witch declared, "I will cure Tao Geming of your poison. And if I succeed, you'll teach me everything you know."
Something resembling amusement sparked in lady Ouyang's eyes. "Our esteemed guest has gotten poisoned again? My, my..."
Her voice was thoroughly sardonic. As she looked at the livid martial artist in question, she continued. "But there should be no issue, right? He is invincible, after all."
Tao Geming slammed the table, giving most of the crowd a jolt. He glared at the old woman, but spoke to the one behind him. "You yellow eyed jester! You've made a mockery not only of yourself, but of me as well! What nonsense are you spouting? When did you become an expert on poisons?"
Lady Ouyang cast down her eyes. "As laughable as this challenge may be, I can't turn it down so easily. I'll accept with one condition. It's quite simple. Should you fail, you will ingest whatever I will tell you to ingest. Are you still willing?"
Bai Guo paled as he heard her terms. Ling Ling stared in shock, her mouth covered with her hands.
"Certainly." The Golden Witch replied without hesitation. "I won't need more than a year to get this done."
At those words, lady Ouyang could not contain herself any longer. Her face contorted into a grin so vicious that for a moment she resembled a snarling hyena.
"There's no need to fuss over a time limit, girl." The old woman chuckled. "I would only like to suggest that you aim for the miracle cure within the next two months, give or take. Or you just might find yourself having lost through no fault of your own."
Not oblivious to the provocation in her words, Tao Geming clenched his fists, forcing a smirk of his own. "Well said! You just might lose by default, Yellow Fox, because I'll be rid of this crap without your help. And don't expect me to lie on your behalf! The credit will be mine alone."
The gazes of the two elders had met again. This time, it was Tao Geming who looked away first. He began to shovel the contents of his bowl into his mouth with sudden alacrity. With his meal finished in mere moments, he walked away.