*****
Inside the carriage, Ruan Yanjun continued to tease me but I kept my face blank and my mouth shut. When he noticed that I was annoyed, he changed the topic to politics, which was a subject I was always interested in. The moment he got my attention, he started teasing me again.
How many times have I fallen on that trick and yet I still have not learned my lesson? Stupid me.
The carriage stopped before a modest house in a secluded location. Ruan Yanjun told me earlier that we were going to meet a special person there.
Ruan Yanjun went out of the carriage first and I followed right after him. The place was so quiet and there was an eerie atmosphere that sent chills down my spine, but knowing that Ruan Yanjun was with me, I did not have to worry about anything.
I myself was surprised why I seemed to believe that Ruan Yanjun was being true to his words that as long as he was with me, nothing could harm me.
Maybe because so far, he had actually been protecting me. I just did not like his awkward teases and spine-chilling games. Other than that, I actually felt safe with him, even though I still had no idea what he really wanted from me.
When we entered the gate, a man met us. His head was shaved, and he spoke so solemnly, so I assumed that he must be a monk.
There were two other men with him who both dropped to their knees to greet Ruan Yanjun. Their gesture meant they were disciples of the Eternal Damnation Sect, but I could not understand why they were accompanying a monk, who was a light cultivator, while they were supposed to be enemies.
The monk invited us inside the house and we all sat down by the table.
He offered us tea. I accepted, but when I was about to drink it, Ruan Yanjun grabbed the cup from me.
"A-Fan, do you just drink anything that a stranger has given you?" he asked. "Especially from someone who has poisoned you?"
My lips parted, puzzled at first but eventually, it sank into me.
Could this monk be Han Bao?
Ruan Yanjun smirked. "A-Fan, allow me to introduce to you the former Divine Mage that you have dethroned, the creator of 'The White Vulture' that has been wreaking havoc in your internal organs."
I was frozen stiff, my fingers suspended in the air.
I could not believe that I was sitting right before the crown prince's murderer.
I heard Han Bao heave in a sigh. Even though I could not see his face, I knew he was too embarrassed to look at me.
"So how does it feel to be face to face with your surviving victim?" Ruan Yanjun taunted the monk. "The other one has already died. This one here is blind and dying. It will be such a waste if we're going to lose such a beautiful priest, don't you think so? Or is that exactly what you've wanted all along?"
Han Bao sighed again. "Priest Wei," he said to me. "I have committed a terrible crime and I do not expect you to forgive me. I've been driven by hatred, by jealousy, but I had not expected things to get this far."
"You did know that the medicine you've created is an untraceable poison, am I correct?" Ruan Yanjun asked.
"I did."
"Then how come you have not expected this outcome?"
"I made that drug under duress. I was threatened by Empress Biya and her men had been harassing me for days."
"Empress Biya of the Northern Empire?" Ruan Yanjun asked.
"Yes. She did not tell me who her intended victim was. I had not expected that they would use it to murder the crown prince of Xianru."
In my mind, I tried to make connections from what Han Bao had revealed.
I knew Empress Biya. She was the shrewd wife of Emperor Yuan of Xue Empire, otherwise called the Northern Empire. I also knew that she had two daughters, one became consort to the emperor of Wun, and the other also became a consort to the emperor of Xianru. That consort in Xianru must be Consort Xi, the one suspected by Consort Fei to have poisoned the crown prince.
"That explains how the poison had gotten into the crown prince of Xianru," Ruan Yanjun said as if the involvement of Empress Biya did not surprise him at all. I could only surmise that he had known that all along. "But it does not explain how it had gotten into the legitimate crown prince of Kan."
I turned to Ruan Yanjun. Even Han Bao was unable to speak.
Legitimate crown prince?
What nonsense is he talking about?
Who else could be the legitimate crown prince of Kan but Wei Jiayi? Why must he include the word legitimate?
Unless there is an issue that I didn't know.
"Is the crown prince of Kan poisoned, as well?" I asked.
"He is," Ruan Yanjun replied. "You should know that better than anyone else."
How could I have known? It's not like I have any access to information regarding Kan Empire.
"This monk has not heard of the news that the crown prince has been poisoned," Han Bao said. "And if he is, this monk has nothing to do with it."
Ruan expelled a sigh. "Did you two have your brains cooked in your mythical cauldrons and lost your common sense?"
Clueless about what he meant, I could not utter a word. Even Han Bao remained silent. He was probably as puzzled as I was.
Ruan Yanjun sighed again. "Never mind." He turned to Han Bao. "If you've made that poison for Empress Biya as you claimed, how come another one had found its way to Frost Mountain?"
"Empress Biya and Empress Ying of Kan are close friends," Han Bao replied. "They must have exchanged information and Empress Ying became interested."
"Are you saying that it was the empress of Kan who had come to you for the White Vulture?"
Han Bao shook his head. "It was a man. He did not tell me his name. He kept his face hidden underneath a veil, but he came to me bearing the seal of Empress Ying."
"Hmm…" Ruan Yanjun hummed pensively.
I wondered about it too.
Empress Ying of Kan had been known as a very tender woman who had never even yelled at her servants. Although she had failed to bear the emperor a child, the emperor had retained her status and had favored her among his hundreds of wives. Even Prince Jiayi's mother could never replace Empress Ying's place in the emperor's heart.
I just could not think of a reason why she would want me dead.
"Did you know as to who the poison was for?" Ruan Yanjun asked.
"Initially, no, but when the man assured me that I'll get my title back as a reward, I had surmised that it must have been intended for the Divine Mage."
"And that's why you had happily obliged," Ruan Yanjun concluded.
"I was still too bitter at that time so I accepted the deal. When I regretted it, it was already too late. They had already taken the drug."
Ruan Yanjun smirked. "It must have taken you weeks to refine that poison. Your so-called regret has taken a long time to dawn on you."
Han Bao could not speak.
"I have a question," I said, trying to retain a calm voice despite the chaos of emotions stirring inside me. "How did the drug get into me? I don't remember anyone feeding me anything."
"I'm afraid I cannot answer that question. That same man in a veil came to get it. I have no idea what they had done with it afterward."
"Were you also the one who poisoned Master Wei Yusheng?"
"I provided the pill, but it wasn't a poison, but rather… a paralyzing drug that temporarily stops the heartbeat."
I was once again shocked. "Are you saying… my master did not die at that time?"
Han Bao did not give me a response, but his silence was a louder confirmation than any word spoken.
"Is he alive?" My voice trembled along with my erratic heartbeat.
"…He is."