260 Untitled (2/2)
Only one person on this universe had such hands and could execute such a movement.
He was devoted to medicine his whole life and was called 'Holy Doctor'. He could create the finest human skin that could be mistaken as real, make the pill that gathered the essence of all the treasures in the universe, superiorly handle the degree of heat and perform the hardest of surgeries.
All these needed a pair of intricate and nimble hands, a pair of hands that were exclusively unique.
Zong Yue.
He suddenly appeared as though he had been standing there the whole time. With the flash of a white shadow, he used those hands that could save and kill many, to pinch away the most dangerous dagger in the universe. Then, he casually threw it in the pond outside the palace.
Naturally, Tang Yiguang collapsed onto her knees. Since Zong Yue had helped to settle the dagger, subduing Tang Yiguang was only a matter of seconds.
Ignoring Tang Yiguang, Meng Fuyao looked up at the man who was clad in white cloth and whose lips were as red as cherry. He was still as calm and composed, and in the darkness, he resembled the snow that had not yet been contaminated by the dirts on earth. However, Meng Fuyao looked at him as though she did not recognise him. It was only moments later that she smiled. ”You're finally willing to take down that ridiculous mask.”
Zong Yue looked emotionlessly at her. After taking of the Shadow Blade mask, the color of his hair, eyes and lips returned to original, and even his temper seemed to have reverted to the usual demeanor of Zong Yue. He still sounded as arrogant when he spoke. ”Actually, whether I take it down or not, I will still look better than you wearing that woman's eyes.”
Meng Fuyao stared into his eyes and asked curiously, ”I can not care about the others, but how did you change your eye's color? I can't comprehend at all.”
”I also can't comprehend - when did you realise?” Zong Yue replied with another question.
But Meng Fuyao only smiled creepily. She did not want to reveal that she had actually found out about that a long, long time ago. It was when she met him in the palace, while she applied medication on him.
Back then, he must have worn something that protected his skin, which was why the arrow was not able to cause too much harm to him. His injuries were moderate burns instead of serious ones, and before she applied the medication, he went away to remove that layer of protection. That night, as she applied, she realised that his skin tone was different before and after he removed his clothes. Afterwards, she recalled that when she saw Shadow Blade taking off his clothes in the secret room, there was a difference in the skin complexion.
She could not understand at that time. However, she dreamed of Lord Yuan Bao playing in front of her, and the flashing lights made her giddy. When she woke up, she suddenly understood.
She never believed that with Zong Yue's ability, he would be easily captured by Xuanyuan Min. Furthermore, between Shadow Blade and Zong Yue, though their appearances and demeanors were different, there were some points in which they were very similar. For example, she had been testing out whether Shadow Blade was a hygiene freak, and there was also the similar texture of the human skin and the mastery in medicine. As another case in point, when the crossdresser Emperor faked death, he was likely waiting for Shadow Blade, but she ran out without any knowledge and foiled the plans. If Shadow Blade was not shot by the arrow to save her, he would have left safely after meeting with Xuanyuan Min.
Hence, the person who was implicated, was actually Zong Yue.
Since Meng Fuyao linked all these points together, with her personality, how could she bear to leave Zong Yue behind again? As such, she made up her mind to help him until the end. Whether or not he wanted it was another matter. She would just do what she felt she had to.
Zong Yue had to stay in the palace to discuss with Xuanyuan Min regarding plans to counter Xuanyuan Cheng, so she was willing to become the Empress.
As Zong Yue and Xuanyuan Min trusted and guarded against each other, she helped to warn against Xuanyuan Min.
She also knew that the list of connections that Xuanyuan Min passed her belonged to Zong Yue. Zong Yue was sufficiently prepared, after years of planning secretly, to topple the court in one strike.
If she did not guess wrongly, the fake Zong Yue that was kidnapped by Xuanyuan Cheng, was likely to be an inevitable trump card.
Actually, her goal seemed to be different from Zong Yue's… Meng Fuyao smiled at that thought. She was used to snatching the throne, but Zong Yue's priority was just to kill Xuanyuan Cheng.
She had no idea what Zong Yue's original plan was, but that plan definitely did not include borrowing the power King of Han, or having Shangyuan pressurise the country. It would easily spell trouble for Xuanyuan, and as a citizen, Zong Yue would never collude with the external enemy, no matter how messy the internal struggle was.
So… let her be the evil one.
As for the most crucial stage of fighting the ultimate boss, there was no more need for her to interfere. It was the fight for revenge between Prince Wen Yi's camp and the Regent King. This fight should be left for the Zong Yue to settle, since he had been enduring and planning for so long.
”What happens after this is up to you,” Meng Fuyao said and passed him an information scroll of the Regent King's residence. It was secretly passed to her by Xuanyuan Yun, who entered the palace a few days ago. ”I actually think that you have something similar to this, but I just like to be nosy. Whether you use it or not is up to you.”
Zong Yue took it and held it in his palm. Out of the blue, he said, ”Well, I've never thought of becoming the Emperor.”
Meng Fuyao responded. ”I think so too, but… I just like to be nosy.”
With a silent smile, Zong Yue watched as she lowered her eyelids and looked towards the ground.
Both chose not to say what was hidden in their hearts.
Moments later, Meng Fuyao frowned at the ball of fluff which was weeping by her feet. ”I haven't even cried. Why are you crying?”
”… Brother Ah Liu is going to die…” Tang Yiguang hugged Meng Fuyao's leg and wailed. ”I can't save him anymore…”
Meng Fuyao placed her hand on her forehead… She was evidently the victim, but why did it seem as though she owed something to the assassin Tang Yiguang?
Meanwhile, Tang Yiguang continued to cry and she wiped her mucus and tears on Meng Fuyao's clothes. ”Why do you refuse to die… if you don't die Brother Ah Liu will die…”