Chapter 551: I won’t forgive you the second time around
As Long Feiye walked towards Han Yunxi, the old woman suddenly made her move.
“Watch out for poison!” Han Yunxi threw herself at Long Feiye, surprising even him with her speed. Her momentum was powerful enough to knock Long Feiye clear aside, shocking him even more.
Actually, Long Feiye had never feared poisons as long as she was by his side. Now that he’d witnessed how nimble she was, he began to consider an old idea again. It shouldn’t be too hard to teach this girl martial arts.
When Han Yunxi had wanted to learn in the past, he’d refused her on the grounds that her innate talents were too low. From then on, she’d treated herself as a waste when it came to martial arts. But if she knew the actual truth, would she…?
While Long Feiye was spacing out, Han Yunxi suddenly started coughing violently. Before he could ask what was the matter, she’d already taken an antidote from her bag and swallowed it. Instantly, the coughing stopped. When it came to poisons, Long Feiye never needed to worry. Meanwhile, the black-robed woman could only look at Han Yunxi in disbelief.
“You… You had an antidote?”
She’d scattered Double Seven Boiling powder, named such because of the seven times seven, or 49, individual poisons that made up the collective. Anyone who inhaled the stuff would die without an instant antidote on hand. How could Han Yunxi have just the right antidote on hand? What coincidence was this?
Han Yunxi was about to answer when Long Feiye said coldly, “Han Yunxi, you still haven’t answered your lordship’s question!”
The old woman had another fright at his voice. Isn’t His Highness Duke of Qin worried about me using poisons again? Am I that little of a threat? I’m still considered a high-ranking poisons master of the Chu Clan!
Afraid to meet Long Feiye’s eyes, Han Yunxi hung her head. If she knew that the old woman was armed, she never would’ve run further into the tunnel. She was even planning to get taken captive so she could use poison in close quarters. Who knew that her assailant was equipped with a long-distance weapon?
“Answer your lordship’s question,” Long Feiye had thoroughly lost his temper.
How should Han Yunxi answer? Everything was already done and over with. There was no use explaining in detail. She was about to speak when the old woman suddenly attacked with another bout of poison powder! With a wave of her hand, Han Yunxi canceled the effects of the powder in the air, leaving the old woman speechless. Long Feiye didn’t even bat the powder an eye, his focus wholly on Han Yunxi. If it wasn’t for him, Han Yunxi would never be able to counter the old woman’s poisons as she pleased. If it wasn’t for her, Long Feiye would never be able to fight so easily and in the open. The two of them were a perfect match.
But the old woman couldn’t accept this. This time, she used five different poisons at once, setting off Han Yunxi’s temper. She whirled towards the clouds of powder, too lazy to even physically use antidote as she started up her detox system to take care of the toxins.
Coldly she said, “You have a total of 32 different poisons on your body, 15 of which are fatal. The rest are less dangerous, but still considered hypertoxic poisons in their own right.” Then she threatened her, “If you try to attack us again, I promise I’ll make you eat all your poisons in one breath!”
Anyone who dares to use poison on Long Feiye while I’m around is just someone sick of living! Sure, I might be a little useless, but no one should dream of beating me in poisons!
The old woman was stunned beyond words. She didn’t see Han Yunxi use any antidotes this time, but the woman was still unharmed. Finally, she lost the nerve to try anything else. If she really took all 32 poisons at once, she’d die a wretched death. It was much better to be ignored.
Han Yunxi exhaled before turning back to face Long Feiye. Her aggressive air instantly shrivelled up. Meanwhile, Long Feiye was still standing with his hands folded behind his back, the fingers trembling with fear from the thought of what could have happened if he was even one second later.
“Speak!” he commanded coldly.
Han Yunxi gave a start before admitting, “I thought I’d die faster if I ran the other way.”
“You!” Long Feiye fell into gloom. “You underestimate your lordship that much?!”
Actually, she was more worried that she’d burden him and get him hurt from distraction. She was about to explain when Long Feiye roared out, “Han Yunxi, your lordship will never forgive you!”
Only then did she realize just how fearful his rage could be. There was that line again, the second time he’d ever said it. Would there ever come a day when he stopped forgiving her for real? She couldn’t help but feel her heart ache as she ran forward to hug him. For a long time, he didn’t move, so she finally managed to murmur, “Long Feiye, don’t be mad anymore. I know my wrongs.”
Long Feiye was ready to throttle this stupid woman to death, but all of his fury dissipated in a low sigh. He hugged her tight and said, “There won’t be a next time.”
Privately, he resolved not to teach her martial arts after all. If she was already so daring without any skills, wouldn’t she run even faster in the wrong direction once she actually learned some basics? There won’t be a next time weren’t words for her sake, but for his own.
The black-robed woman stared at the hugging couple and wanted to make a move, but dropped the idea after a while. She still didn’t dare. One of her hands was already gone and bleeding nonstop, while Long Feiye’s sword still pinned her to the ground. Under these circumstances, her own path to survival was to beg for mercy. She could only wait for the two to finish their embrace.
In the end, it was Long Feiye who let go first. In truth, Han Yunxi felt even more afraid than Long Feiye and wished even more that she could learn some martial arts. But could a waste like her ever find a way to get better? When they went to Celestial Mountain in the future, maybe she could consult its master for some advice.
Long Feiye next looked coldly at the black-robed woman. “You’re from the Chu Clan?”
“If Your Highness Duke of Qin agrees to spare my life, I’ll tell you everything,” the old woman laid out her terms.
Long Feiye only said coldly, “How is this lordship supposed to estimate your worth when you haven’t told us anything yet?”
“I’m certain Your Highness must be curious about the Chu Clan’s purpose in coming to the Poison Sect’s forbidden grounds,” the old woman replied.
“Fine, your lordship can spare your life,” Long Feiye agreed easily.
Delighted, the old woman spilled everything. “I’m one of the Chu Clan’s poisons masters. One year ago, I accepted orders to stand guard here to lay traps for your arrival.”
“How did Chu Tianyin know we’d come back?” Han Yunxi grew curious.
“Because of the Earth of Ten-Thousand Poisons. Young Master Yin brought a few poison masters who found the earth in the secret tunnels. He discovered you hadn’t taken any of it away, only blocked the way with rubble, so he guessed you’d come back,” the old woman explained.
Actually, this was all a misunderstanding. Han Yunxi and the rest didn’t even know this was Earth of Ten-Thousand Poisons when they came here last. If they did, they would’ve taken everything with them already. But instead of revealing that, Han Yunxi only asked, “Chu Tianyin knows about the Earth of Ten-Thousand Poisons?”
Even she wouldn’t have known without Gu Qishao telling her about it first. This tidbit hadn’t been recorded in any of the poison scriptures. Perhaps it only existed in Cloud Realm Continent. The old woman only shook her head. She’d only heard rumors herself. “I’m not clear. It’s possible that the Witch Aunt1 told him.”
“Witch Aunt? Who’s that?” Long Feiye asked.
“Young Master Yin’s most formidable poisons master,” the old woman revealed.
Han Yunxi seemed to faintly recalled a record of this name in the biographies of Cloud Realm Continent. She never expected Chu Tianyin to have connections with Tianning’s inner workings and its poison circles as well. That man’s quite ambitious. His background’s extraordinary as well!
“Why did you guys set the fire?” Long Feiye asked. This was the one thing he hadn’t figured out. There was no need for flames with all these other traps here.
The old woman fell silent.
“Are you telling us or not?!” Long Feiye was impatient.
“Your Highness Duke of Qin, I can tell you everything, but you can’t go back on your promise,” the old woman was still afraid in the end.
“Your lordship won’t go back on my words!” Long Feiye said coldly.
Only then did the old woman relax. “It was Young Master Yin who set the fires! He happened to be here when Gu Qishao entered the tunnels, so he set fires first to cut off Gu Qishao’s exit, then to lure you all here…”
Long Feiye suddenly narrowed his eyes. “So Chu Tianyin’s still hiding in these underground rooms!” He’d killed all the archers, but hadn’t seen any sign of the man. As it turned out, he’d hidden himself away.
“This is the best place for attacking with fire, may Your Highness Duke of Qin take caution.” For the sake of preserving her life, the old woman was quite willing to cast everything aside and help Long Feiye instead. When she saw his icy expression, her heart filled with dread as she hastily added, “There’s a third reason as well, to destroy the Earth of Ten-Thousand Poisons. The Witch Aunt’s said it before, if the rock and soil temperatures exceed a certain threshold, all of the toxicity in the dirt will disappear.”
As soon as she spoke, a tongue of flame surged out from the depths of the tunnel. Someone was attacking with fire! Greatly alarmed, Long Feiye prepared to take Han Yunxi and run, but the person outside had used a particular fuel to feed the fire so that it quickly expanded. The space they had was limited, so it was impossible to bypass the flames. Even Long Feiye had his moments of misjudgement! It was likely Chu Tianyin had already slaughtered his crack troops stationed outside while he was on his way to rescue Han Yunxi. Now the fire was here to block their own way out.
The old woman grew alarmed, because the fire trapped her here as well. Abruptly, Long Feiye pulled out the sword stuck through her foot and swiped upwards, killing her abruptly. Forget about promises made in good faith. Even if he was labeled a liar, he’d never forgive anyone who threatened his woman’s life! As Long Feiye stared at the rising flames and considered rushing through them, Han Yunxi cried out.
“Gu Qishao’s going to jump!”
She’d almost forgotten about the man after Long Feiye arrived, but remembered again once the old woman mentioned the Earth of Ten-Thousand Poisons.
“Long Feiye, Gu Qishao’s over there. He’s got the Earth of Ten-Thousand Poisons with him! Quick! Stop him!” Han Yunxi pulled Long Feiye’s hand and pointed below them, revealing the deep cliffs that waited at the end of all of the tunnels. Although it was hard to tell from a distance, both of them could see the speck of red standing by the cliff’s edge, getting ready to jump.
Is he planning to protect the Earth of Ten-Thousand Poisons this way? As the thought flashed through his head, Long Feiye shouted, “Gu Qishao!”
But the winds were too strong and carried his voice away. Right now, Gu Qishao really was planning to jump. He had the Earth of Ten-Thousand Poisons hidden in his mouth but could still feel the intense heat assaulting him. If he didn’t jump down to escape the flames, there would be no more Earth of Ten-Thousand Poisons in this world.
“Gu Qishao! We’re over here! Over here!” Han Yunxi was desperate to the point of tears.
Without a choice, Long Feiye could only….
1. Witch Aunt (巫姨) – Wu yi, in which Wu is a surname that also means “witch, shaman, wizard.”