Chapter 437: This young master kills without mercy
Forgot to bring the antidote? How could that be?
Poison and medical practitioners alike had the habit of taking along antidotes. This was especially true for the former, who brought along poisons and antidotes alike. He was one such example. Aside from poisons and antidotes, he even kept previous antidote ingredients like the Bear chuan on hand in case he was robbed.
This black-robed man had to be fooling with him.
“You’re playing tricks on me!” Jun Yixie was so angry that he forgot about his stomach pain!
Gu Qishao admitted it openly. “That’s right, this young master wanted to trick you. So what?”
“You!” Jun Yixie clenched his hands into fists and almost punched the other man, but the island taboos forbade him. Those who fought on the island were considered monsters, and had to give up their own lives in exchange. The curse of violent, unnatural deaths for the offenders had already come true countless times.
Jun Yixie endured his pain and rage to heave for breath. “Just what do you want?!”
Gu Qishao sighed lightly. “Oh, nothing much. I took this special trip just to screw with you.”
“Go to hell!” Jun Yixie’s fists went flying for Gu Qishao’s face, only for him to collapse to the ground on his knees. He had never been so downtrodden in his life! His original plan was to use the taboos of the island against Long Feiye and Han Yunxi to gain an advantage over them both. But in the end, he was the one who fell prey to this very same rules.
Abominable! It was enough to set his insides on fire! To Jun Yixie, who already had a bad temper, the greatest form of suffering was being forced to hold himself in check.
“Your Highness Duke of Kang, getting angry will only harm your intestines. They’re not doing very well to begin with, so you should definitely take care!” Gu Qishao grinned cheekily, completely nonplussed about Jun Yixie’s fists. Instead, he went back to lobster fishing.
Jun Yixie crouched with one knee on the ground, his back drenched in cold sweat from the pain. He stared at Gu Qishao’s back and tried to figure out just what the man what planning. Now that he’d already given up the Bear chuan, was there something else still missing? The pain in his stomach was approaching his breaking point. Maybe he’d lose consciousness or—in severe cases—die from the torment. But there were too many things he still had to do and grand plans to put in motion. How could he die so pathetically?
He refused to accept it!
Judging from the black-robed man’s attitude, he wasn’t really intending to kill him. Otherwise, he could’ve just poisoned him fatally instead of wasting words with him. Propping up his exhausted body, Jun Yixie staggered his way to Gu Qishao’s side. He had to heaved multiple deep breaths before he calmed down. This guy reacts better to soft tactics than hard ones. If I can talk with him without any airs, things might take a turn for the better. A true man knew when to submit when he had to. He could take care of the man after his poison was cured.
Suppressing his temper, Jun Yixie began, “Fellow brother, if there’s anything bothering you, why not tell me outright? It’s better than wasting everyone’s time.”
Gu Qishao ignored him, his attention on his fishing pole. Jun Yixie took some more deep breaths until his pain subsided somewhat and tried again. “Fellow brother, if you have any requests, just say them. I’m sure you’re a man who likes to get to the point.”
“Hmm…the lobster’s almost rising to the bait,” Gu Qishao murmured. Jun Yixie was in too much pain to care about any lobsters, but since he was the one seeking help, he had no choice but to endure and shut his mouth. In response, Gu Qishao started making conversation.
“Your Highness Duke of Kang, have you ever fished for lobsters before?” His tone of voice made it sound like nothing had happened between them.
“I have not,” Jun Yixie managed with difficulty.
“Typically speaking, big lobsters like this require cages to catch them. But the ones in Illusory Sea Lake must be caught with fish hooks. That’s because these giant lobsters are as stupid as the tiny ones in rivers and streams. As long as they take the bait, they won’t let go of it easily.” Gu Qishao explained patiently, but Jun Yixie was in no mood to listen. He was about to speak up with Gu Qishao motioned him to be quiet.
His fishing line had gone taut, indicating a lobster had taken the bait!
Gu Qishao waited briefly until he was sure the lobster was eating, then slowly reeled the line in towards the shore. Then he pulled up the line and caught the lobster!
What a huge lobster! Its two front claws were the size of fists. Gu Qishao was extremely happy and laughed out loud. “Hahaha! One this big has to be very nutritious!”
So speaking, he tossed the lobster into a ice-lined bucket in a very good mood. He would never be careless with anything he was giving Poison lass. Jun Yixie sat on the side, clutching his stomach in cold sweat as he lost all hope… Forget about submission or using soft tactics. All he wanted now was for the entire ordeal to be over.
“Just what will it take for you to get rid of the poison?! Just tell me! Your lord can afford to pay the losses!” he roared.
Gu Qishao gave him a disdainful glance. “Hold on. Wait until I fish up two more and I’ll tell you. It’s not like you’ll die from a stomach ache, so what are you afraid of?”
Although his stomach pain wouldn’t kill him yet, Jun Yixie’s experience taught him that this was a slow-acting poison. To put it plainly, he could very well die from either the pain or the hunger by the time it ran its course. Have I miscalculated?
“Fine, your lord will wait!” he relented again.
Unfortunately, Gu Qishao failed to catch another lobster in the next day and night. People weren’t joking when they said that the Illusory Sea Lake’s lobsters were a notoriously hard catch. During that time, Jun Yixie’s insides began to cramp up, making it impossible for him to even drink water without spitting it up. He was in a poor state to begin with, but this only left him even more half-dead. He truly had no idea that he’d end up like this one day. For the first time, he began to regret his actions. If he had known sooner, then he wouldn’t have…aye!
Gu Qishao was nothing but leisurely and carefree. He secured the pole to its spot and built up another hotpot right by the lake. Once again, there were two pots in total, one for rice, one for…droo-lworthy red-braised pork!
Enough was enough!
After he finished cooking the meat, he got a bowl of rice and ladled a serving over the grains before presenting it to Jun Yixie. “Here, eat it without worries. It’s not poisoned!”
Finally, Jun Yixie couldn’t stand it anymore. He shouted back, “F*** you, just what do you want?! If you want to kill me, then do it already!”
Gu Qishao didn’t lose his temper, but said sincerely, “It’s really delicious, you know. You sure you don’t want some?”
Jun Yixie only felt like he had punched a bunch of cotton. Despite raging to death, the other party remained completely unaffected. He was so stifled that he nearly lost consciousness from his fury. Although he had no idea who the other fellow was, he was certain that the man had to be an expert among experts! And a bastard among bastards!
“If you won’t eat, then forget it!” Gu Qishao shrugged and sat back down to enjoy his own meal. After that, he resumed fishing for lobsters. Jun Yixie stared at him wordlessly, unable to speak.
Finally, the third day left Gu Qishao with his three lobsters and Jun Yixie half-conscious and physically paralyzed by the lake. Gu Qishao packed up his lobsters neatly and fed the rest of his bait to the fish before approaching Jun Yixie. By now, Jun Yixie was teetering on the edge of collapse.
Completely despairing, he only asked a single question. “You… Just who are you? What kind of grudge…does this lord have with you?” He wasn’t even sure whether he would survive at this point, but he still wanted to know who was trying to kill him. Otherwise, he’d never die content.
Gu Qishao drew closer on purpose and lifted the edge of his face veil. “Long time no see, Your Highness Duke of Kang!”
At the sight of that bewitchingly beautiful face, Jun Yixie was shocked. It took him awhile to recover and rage in fury anew, “Gu Qishao, it’s you!”
“Exactly,” Gu Qishao grinned.
“You!” Jun Yixie roared.
“What, you’re gonna bite me now?” Gu Qishao’s smile grew more dazzling, his eyes glittering like the stars in the sky.
“Your lord has no quarrel nor grudge with you. What’s the meaning of this?” Jun Yixie still didn’t understand.
Gu Qishao’s smile ceased, to be replaced by a sinister and ruthless expression. His face changed so abruptly that it was impossible to match the charmingly smiling man with this cruel and ruthless opposite. He narrowed his eyes and said coldly, “Because of…Han Yunxi! This master will kill anyone who hurts her without mercy!”
At his words, Jun Yixie simply laughed out loud. “Hilarious! Pathetic! Gu Qishao, you’ve taken a fancy to a married woman?”
“Obviously, didn’t I just admit it?” Gu Qishao shot back. Jun Yixie had no chance of putting him down.
Jun Yixie’s lips quirked up in response. “If you have any skills, snatch her from Long Feiye instead. Why play the hero here with your lord?”
“This young master just prefers to play hero here with you, so what? Oh, that’s right, I forgot to tell you one thing. In one more day, your intestines will start to fester and ulcerate. It won’t take half a day before the symptoms spread to your internal organs.” As Gu Qishao spoke, he sighed helplessly with emotion. “Aye…the dignified and upright Duke of Kang, leader of the Hundred Poisons Sect, died thus on Fishery Island. What a pity!”
Jun Yixie had been harboring wishful thinking towards the toxicity of his poison, but as it turned out, it was fatal after all.
“Gu Qishao! You dare!” He tried to stand up, but quickly collapsed again. There was no more strength left in his body. Even if he risked everything to fight, break Fishery Island’s taboos, and die together with Gu Qishao, there was no more strength to back up his plans.
Gu Qishao simply glanced down before tossing him the words, “Go wait for your death!” Then he shouldered the three lobsters on his back and strode off without another look.
Actually, he wanted to toy with Jun Yixie a few more days, but since he’d gotten his lobsters faster than expected, he wanted to deliver them to Poison lass while they were still fresh! Nothing was more important than that. Really, it’d been ages since he paid a visit to his Poison lass in the capital.
Just like that, Gu Qishao left Fishery Island while Jun Yixie hovered on the edge of life and death. And yet that night of all nights was when a fog suddenly rose from the shores of the island! With Fishery Island’s location, such sea fog appeared occasionally, but it hardly lasted for long.
The Baili Navy, however, was well-equipped to deal with this sea fog after their three-month long vigil around the isle. Lights went up as soon as the fog appeared, while the number of guards watching the shorelines increased. Their only duty was to keep an eye out and prevent Jun Yixie from escaping, so a little inclement weather like this was nothing.
However, nobody expected this fog…to have poison!