Chapter 441: Already fed up with it
Han Yunxi wasn’t the only one to wonder about Jun Yixie’s skilled rescuer; Long Feiye had his thoughts as well. Beyond the question of Jun Yixie’s skills, he wanted to know of Jun Yixie’s origins, too. He had made multiple inquiries into the Hundred Poisons Sect, but it was such a mysterious organization that he’d failed to find anything useful. Last time, because Jun Yixie had used the Gu arts on Long Tianmo, Medical City had started looking for trouble with the Hundred Poisons Sect too, but failed to topple its foundations after an entire year.
Hundred Poisons Sect was one of the powerhouses in the shadows that rarely mingled with the secular world, so it remained minimally affected by Medical City’s assault. In comparison, it was Jun Yixie himself, as the sect leader, who met with tragedy instead. If they hadn’t uncovered Jun Yixie’s spies in Tianning last time, it was unlikely anyone would know he was the Hundred Poisons Sect leader now.
“His master is probably the previous leader of the Hundred Poisons Sect. Could that person be part of the Poison Sect as well?” Long Feiye asked doubtfully.
Han Yunxi simply grinned. “Your Highness, that’s a rather big pit in your brain.”
“What do you mean?” Long Feiye didn’t understand.
Han Yunxi’s smile grew more dazzling. “I’m saying that you’re thinking too much into it.”
Long Feiye grew expressionless. “It looks like you’re in a great mood?”
He was currently fuming over the fact that Jun Yixie had escaped, but this woman had the mood to smile and joke. Han Yunxi carefully withdrew her smiles and replied, “Your Highness, if it was people from the Poison Sect who rescued Jun Yixie, why would he have expended so much effort to ally with Duanmu Yao when searching the Sky Pit for the poison beast?”
“At the very least, we can’t rule out the possibility,” Long Feiye remarked.
The Poison Sect was the ancestor to all of Cloud Realm Continent’s poison groups. The earliest origins of the Hundred Poisons Sect hailed from branch of the original Poison Sect. It wasn’t until later that they turned independent and created their own group.
Han Yunxi agreed with this point, but sighed as she muttered, “If my father was really a descendant of the Poison Sect, that wouldn’t be too bad, either.” And if her father was still alive, perhaps he could even help Long Feiye with his strength. Han Yunxi’s heart was all for supporting and helping her husband.
Long Feiye glanced at her and said, “Lady Tianxin wouldn’t have left your father for no reason.”
“I just hope he wasn’t an unfaithful lover. Otherwise, I’ll definitely slaughter him for my mother’s sake!”
“Patricide?” In Long Feiye’s eyes, this woman wasn’t actually so cruel!
Han Yunxi grew embarrassed, “I’m only saying if, if it comes to that…” She wasn’t even the real young Miss of the Han Clan, so how would that even count as patricide? Fortunately, Long Feiye didn’t pursue the matter.
By now, they had already verified that Lady Tianxin was Medicine City’s Mu Clan’s Mu Xin. But the rumors of her tryst with a Poison Clan member were still unconfirmed. Han Yunxi was privately thinking that they’d need to visit the Mu Clan personally if they couldn’t find any answers soon. The two of them walked out of the ship’s hold, where Long Feiye turned his gaze to the seas.
Somewhat lost, he asked, “How would one spread poison over such a large expanse of land and sea?”
“The poisoner must be intimately familiar with the weather, especially the direction of the winds. They’d have to have a handle on both air currents and condensation, and combine knowledge of both to control the toxicity of poison left in the air.” Han Yunxi’s lips drew into a mocking curve at her words. “I can’t provide any concrete details, but I know it’d be impossible for me.”
“Wind direction…air currents…” Long Feiye muttered to himself as if recalling something.
“Mhm, anyone who wants to control such a large expanse of poison fog has to be familiar with both. Otherwise, any errant gust of sea wind would scatter the fog,” Han Yunxi explained thoroughly, missing the complex look in Long Feiye’s eyes.
“If that’s the case, wouldn’t it be nigh impossible to guard against another attack if the poisoner strikes again?” Long Feiye asked. He had to take more care when talking about unfamiliar subjects.
“Not necessarily. Such a large scale attack would require study into topography and the weather. I’m sure the person who did it studied the area extensively. If they wanted to try again, they’d have to wait a bit longer until conditions turned favorable. But the fact that Jun Yixie has such a helper at all means we can’t be careless in the future,” Han Yunxi concluded.
Soon enough, the mermaid soldier who had been tailing Jun Yixie’s escape vessel returned.
“Your Highness, Jun Yixie went on shore at one of Northern Li’s harbors. It was a young girl dressed in yellow robes who saved him. But this subordinate couldn’t tail him easily once we reached land,” the mermaid soldier reported.
“A girl?” Long Feiye was caught off guard.
“About sixteen to seventeen years old,” the soldier replied.
“The person who spread the fog must be different from the person who rescued him,” Han Yunxi hesitated, before adding, “Your Highness, it’s time to withdraw the navy.”
Since Jun Yixie had already reached Northern Li, news would spread. Leaving the ships here was pointless. Long Feiye was very unwilling and even wanted to set the Baili Navy against Northern Li instead, but now wasn’t the time. That very afternoon, Long Feiye ordered the navy to make preparations to depart. After standing here for three months, there was much to be done to ready the ships. Han Yunxi took advantage of the time to prepare medicine for the various downed soldiers. Though none of them seemed affected by the poison fog, traces of toxins still remained in their systems. The poison might not act up again, but Han Yunxi still wanted to expel it thoroughly. Long Feiye’s soldiers should all be strong and healthy, so leaving any risk behind was unacceptable.
Fortunately, she had the detox system to help her prepare medicine for over 1,000 men; otherwise, she’d busy herself to death. The entire afternoon saw her busying about with her work, with Long Feiye nowhere to be seen. But at dinnertime, he showed up with a pot of giant steamed lobster.
Han Yunxi gaped at the sight. “Your Highness, you went lobster fishing?”
Now was the prime season for Illusory Sea Lake lobsters, but fishing for them was a difficult task, so few people cared to try.
“The mermaid soldiers sent them over. There’s an entire basket of them, perfect for nourishing your body,” Long Feiye said calmly before lifting his robes to take a seat. When he saw Han Yunxi still standing there, he patted the seat next to him, indicating that she should sit.
“Aren’t the mermaid soldiers afraid of exposing themselves?!” Han Yunxi was surprised. Without ice, it was easy enough for the mermaid soldiers to dive under and catch lobsters, but it’d be a big deal if anyone caught them in the act.
“There’s nobody on the island,” Long Feiye said, before picking up a fat, pink piece of lobster with his chopsticks. He was about to put it in Han Yunxi’s bowl, but seeing that she was about to speak, stuck it in her mouth instead.
At the first bite, Han Yunxi found herself mesmerized by the flavor. Illusory Sea Lake’s lobsters certainly lived up to their name. The meat was fresh and tender, its texture chewy yet tough. Ordinary lobsters couldn’t hope to compare to the taste. Well, as long as there’s plenty, I’m not complaining. Forget about everything else. Han Yunxi soon got into her lobster while Long Feiye watched on in satisfaction.
He really hadn’t caught these lobsters, it was the work of the mermaid soldiers. However, he had spent the entire afternoon standing guard by himself on the shores of Illusory Sea Lake.
Han Yunxi had already eaten multiple pieces before she asked, “Your Highness, you’re not eating?”
Long Feiye shook his head. “I don’t like them very much.”
Han Yunxi was a foodie, but Long Feiye was not. She loved meat, while he preferred vegetables. It was a tragic fate for a foodie to meet someone not interested in food at all, because there was no one to share in her joys! Still, Han Yunxi couldn’t feel bad in this case, because this uninterested fellow had found her many exquisite things to nourish her health.
Familiar with Long Feiye’s ways, Han Yunxi gave up on persuading him and more or less polished off the lobster herself. She figured that since the lobsters were so big, a basket of them couldn’t number more than five or six. Instead, she found herself eating lobster for every meal for the next few days. Not only was there steamed lobster, there was also boiled lobster, baked lobster, salt-and-pepper lobster, mala sauce lobster, garlic paste lobster, etc.
By the time she returned to Tianning’s capital city, even the sight of shrimp was enough to make Han Yunxi nauseous, much less regular lobsters! And yet, the first thing Long Feiye did when they arrived at the Duke of Qin’s estate was to toss a lobster to the kitchens and tell the cook to add it to a hen soup.
Just who had told Long Feiye that hens were good for nourishing one’s health? Please come out, esteemed wangfei promises that she won’t beat you to death!
The head chef of the kitchens held a chicken in his left hand and a lobster in his right, his face filled with confusion. He had cooked for years, but he’d never tried combining chicken and lobster in one stew! What kind of flavor would that be?
If he had no idea, Han Yunxi had even less. Still, Chu Xifeng showed up before the stew was done to report, “Your Highness, there’s been an incident at the Hidden Pavilion. It’s better if you take a trip there.”
Long Feiye didn’t ask any questions before rushing out with instructions for Han Yunxi to rest well. As soon as he left the estate, Chu Xifeng dropped his voice. “Your Highness, Pill Fiend sent word that he’s found the Bear chuan. He wants you to go pick it up personally.”
“That fast?” Long Feiye was surprised.
“I don’t know the situation either, but Gu Qi Sha wouldn’t dare to extort you this time, I expect,” Chu Xifeng paused, before adding, “Your Highness, regarding esteemed wangfei’s knowledge of these matters…”
Han Yunxi had once asked about the meeting on the 15th, but Long Feiye had simply said Gu Qi Sha was still looking for the ingredients. He hesitated at Chu Xifeng’s new question, before simply saying, “Let’s go.”
Master and servant rushed towards Pill Fiend Valley overnight, but once they were gone, Gu Qishao appeared at the Duke of Qin’s gates. This time, he didn’t jump over the wall, but carried a large parcel over his back to knock on the door. But instead of a little pageboy, it was a guard who showed up. His Highness Duke of Qin had instructed them to break Gu Qishao’s legs if the man showed up again!
Gu Qishao swept his eyes over the guard and chuckled. “This is how your Duke of Qin’s estate treats its guests?”
“You, a guest? Pah!” the guard was very rude.
Gu Qishao’s smile froze before he stuck out a leg and sent the guard flying. “If Han Yunxi wasn’t here, this old fellow wouldn’t show up even if Long Feiye begged me to!”
“Impudence!” the head of the guards roared before he appeared with ten other men behind him. Meanwhile, ten more men showed up to surround Gu Qishao from the opposite side. A few guards were hardly a match for Gu Qishao, but a whole battalion of them could at least keep him at bay. Soon enough, Gu Qishao was surrounded by over 30 men as they engaged in an all-out brawl. But it wasn’t long before Han Yunxi’s voice cut through the fray.
“All of you, stop!”
The Hibiscus Courtyard was located deep in the Duke of Qin’s estate, so no amount of chaos at the gates could reach its walls. Han Yunxi had just rejected the lobster-chicken stew from the kitchens and was hiding in Baili Mingxiang’s room. She was going to start studying her charcoal pieces again when Xu Donglin came with a report.