Chapter 552: She said, we’ll stand by your side
Han Yunxi was even ready to jump off the cliff herself, so what was Long Feiye going to do? He had no choice but to grab her and fly towards Gu Qishao from his position. The closer they came to the cliff, the hotter temperatures got. Even the air was warm after being heated for so long. Still, both of them ignore that. Han Yunxi shot multiple poison needles as they approached until the motion above his head finally caught Gu Qishao’s attention. As soon as he saw Long Feiye and Han Yunxi, his face blossomed into a splendid smile like a flower capable of toppling entire nations.
So beautiful… Han Yunxi couldn’t help but think even in the midst of her tension. His smile had the instant effect of improving her mood. Still, she didn’t forget business. Before they landed, she’d already started up the poison storage space to absorb the Earth of Ten-Thousand Poisons. If she hadn’t been so far away to start, she would’ve absorbed the samples long ago. But the poison storage space refused her orders while the detox system sent out a warning: the toxicity of the soil here was very low and still falling. This was already their limit. In other words, they were now hardly poisonous at all.
Han Yunxi cried out in alarm. “Long Feiye, it’s bad!”
There was only one of the each Five Element Poisons. Once it was destroyed, it was gone forever! They needed them all to break through Perplexing Butterfly Illusion! But even as she spoke, Gu Qishao kicked soundly against the ground to fly upwards. What was he planning now?
Long Feiye kicked off the surrounding cliff wall to chase after him with Han Yunxi in his arms. Because of the vast differences in height and the high winds careening through the spaces, it wasn’t easy to move up or down in these cliffs. Although Long Feiye and Han Yunxi were late to follow Gu Qishao, they landed on the separate cliffside before him. It was much harder for Gu Qishao to fly upwards than for them to fly down. Moreover, the different in martial arts skills between him and Long Feiye were great. Han Yunxi observed all this and felt that Long Feiye’s martial arts skills had improved vastly since his bout with the internal injury.
“Gu Qishao, you—” Han Yunxi’s question was cut off as Gu Qishao spat out a small porcelain bottle in his mouth that held the Earth of Ten-Thousand Poisons.
“Han Yunxi, quick! Take out the Perplexing Butterfly Illusion!” he had never felt so desperate in his life.
Even without the detox system, Han Yunxi could tell that the poison in this bottle was more potent than the earth beneath, but not by much. She instantly brought out a drop of Perplexing Butterfly Illusion to drip into the bottle of dirt. All three of them fell silent to await the results, staring anxiously at the bottle. But there was still no reaction after a long time had passed.
Gu Qishao’s hands were starting to shake while Long Feiye and Han Yunxi kept silent. He murmured, “Wait a bit longer…a bit longer to see.”
But there was still no reaction after more time passed. Gu Qishao’s face was red from enduring days of roasting, but now his complexion was ashen white. He looked at Han Yunxi’s creased brows and wanted to explain himself, but found himself at a loss for words. All he could do was watch her. Han Yunxi would never blame him. She was busy analyzing the components of Earth of Ten-Thousand Poisons and their changes. The detox system could tell that something was happening, but at a microscopic level where the eye couldn’t see. After thinking it over, she brought out the Perplexing Butterfly Illusion and doubled its dose in the bottle.
This time, the Earth of Ten-Thousand Poisons began to crackle like it was breaking apart. In a blink of an eye, the round drop of wet earth turned pink and formed into a small, teardrop like object. Long Feiye silently exhaled in relief, while Gu Qishao was thrilled. He looked up at Han Yunxi and exclaimed, “Poison lass, it worked!”
His ten days of live roasting hadn’t been for naught. He hadn’t disappointed this lass, nor gone back on his words to Long Feiye.
“It was your hard work! You actually hid it in your mouth, pretty ingenious,” Han Yunxi said in delight. She stored away the fourth toxic teardrop and asked curiously, “Were you planning to jump off the cliff just then?”
“If the two of you hadn’t shown up, I really would’ve. Otherwise, I couldn’t have protected this thing,” Gu Qishao said with a chuckle.
Han Yunxi rolled her eyes at him and said, “Death seeker!”
Long Feiye didn’t speak. He knew that Gu Qishao was serious, not merely seeking death.
While they were speaking, the entire mountain range suddenly shook violently! What now?
“Look! That place is on fire!” Han Yunxi cried.
Below them, the Earth of Ten-Thousand Poisons and the poison orchid plants had all grown into a conflagration, turning the entire cliff into a raging inferno. It was likely the soil there had lost all of its toxicity by now. The soil had been an extremely rare item to begin with, so a natural disaster like this would destroy it all. As the trio watched, the mountain shook violently again. This time there were multiple aftershocks as if an earthquake was happening.
Very soon, they could see the burning cliff beneath them begin to crack and break apart like a flaming ball, its pieces falling into the abyss. The three of them came to the exact same thought and exchanged glances. The next moment, the ground underfoot shook and threatened to fall as well. Long Feiye reacted the quickest, grabbing Han Yunxi as he viciously stabbed his sword into the cliff face! Almost at the same time, four-fifths of the cliff fell away, leaving nothing beneath their feet. Gu Qishao was half a beat slower than Long Feiye, but still managed to whip out a dagger and stick it into the cliff wall. Now he was hanging next to Long Feiye and Han Yunxi’s side.
So close!
Both overhangs had collapsed, while the secret tunnels were filled with flame. There was no place for them to rest their feet. No matter how skilled he and Long Feiye were, their only choice now was to hang off the cliff over the unknown expanse of darkness beneath them.
“I’m thinking the underground palace is about to collapse!” Gu Qishao said.
“Crow’s beak!”1 Han Yunxi glared at him even though she was thinking the exact same thing.
Long Feiye suddenly gave a piercing whistle that quickly summoned a messenger hawk. The bird landed on his shoulder and clawed off a piece of his sleeve before flying off. Tang Li and Chu Xifeng should be arriving soon, so Long Feiye only hoped that they’d be able to hold until they came.
But just as the hawk flew off, Gu Qishao’s dagger abruptly slid downwards! Gu Qishao grew alarmed even as Long Feiye and Han Yunxi looked over to see that the rock he’d stuck his weapon in had split open. A dagger wasn’t as long as a sword, so the blade hadn’t gone in deep enough to support Gu Qishao’s weight.
“Gu Qishao, hold on tight!” Han Yunxi said as she offered her hand. Gu Qishao hesitated, giving the dagger more time to slip down a few inches. Just when the weapon was about to fall out, Han Yunxi grabbed him by the wrist and refused to let go.
Soon enough, Gu Qishao’s dagger slipped out of the rock, but he quickly stabbed it into a different spot. Unfortunately, that rock soon crumbled beneath the blade as well, unable to support his weight. The entire mountainside was shuddering now, and rocks of all sizes were constantly raining down from above. Even Long Feiye’s spot was surrounded by falling rocks; it was fortunate that his blade was long enough to keep its grip. The consequences would have be unimaginable otherwise.
Gu Qishao kept looking for alternative places to stab his dagger, but he was held back by his awkward position, which made it hard for him to maneuver. If it wasn’t for Han Yunxi’s death grip, he would’ve fallen into the abyss ages ago. Han Yunxi had always through she was strong, even stronger than some men, but now she realized how weak and pathetic she was. Her shoulder muscles were too weak to support Gu Qishao’s weight. She didn’t want to let him go, but her hand wouldn’t stop shaking.
“Gu Qishao, hurry and hold on tight to me, quick!” she urged him, but Gu Qishao kept looking for places to stab his dagger.
“Gu Qishao, are you listening to me? Hold onto me, hurry! I can’t keep this up any longer!” Han Yunxi was both afraid and desperate. Has he lost his wits? The rocks on the cliff were peeling off one after the other. A short dagger like his would never be able to stab deep enough into its surface. He was strong, so it’d be much easier for him to grab her hand rather than the other way around.
“Gu Qishao, hurry up already! Do you hear me? You’re seeking death!” Han Yunxi had almost gone crazy with frenzy, so much that she resorted to using both hands.
Long Feiye took note of every detail. After all, each moment that Han Yunxi and Gu Qishao affected him. In other words, he was supporting their combined weights on his own. He held on tightly to his sword with one hand while clutching Han Yunxi’s waist with the other. He too, was struggling for his life, but he didn’t say a word. He only watched as the woman in his arms did her best to save another man.
Finally, Gu Qishao gave up and tossed his dagger aside. He looked up at Han Yunxi, who rejoiced and cried, “Grab onto me, quick! I’m about to lose you!”
But Gu Qishao only said, “Let go.”
He was completely serious, all traceness of mischievous gone. “Poison lass, why are you getting more and more stupid? If you don’t let go, all three of us will die!”
Long Feiye’s sword could support the weights of two people at most. If he was added into the mix, the blade might simply snap off before it even had a chance to slide out. Of course Han Yunxi knew that, but she simply roared back, “You’re the stupid one! If you die, who’s going to help me break through the Perplexing Butterfly Illusion? You hold onto me right now, don’t act so cocky! I won’t let you die!”
Long Feiye’s eyes drooped, the pupils dimming as he hung there in silence.
Gu Qishao only smiled helplessly. “Poison lass, don’t say such temperamental things. Let go.”
How could Han Yunxi let go? She held on even tight, her voice furious. “Gu Qishao, who do you take me and Long Feiye as? Since we’ve chosen to walk together, we’ll stand by you until the end! I’m telling you now, even if you die this instant, I won’t let go of your corpse and leave your body without a resting place.”
At her words, Long Feiye raised his eyes, finally understanding her intentions. Gu Qishao only gave a start.
We’ll stand by you until the end….
He had grown up without a mother and been forsaken by his father before he reached the age of 10. When he was still a child, the medical academy had expelled him. For the past 20 or so years of his life, this was the first time anyone had said they’d stand with him until the end.
Han Yunxi, it was worth living this life to hear those words from you!
Gu Qishao laughed, the sound as clear and bright as a child’s. “Poison lass, hurry and let me go. To tell you the truth, I’m actually…”
1. crow’s beak (乌鸦嘴) – wuya zui, literally crow’s beak, it refers to a person who’s made an unlucky remark.