Chapter 121: Disappointment, so that’s how it is (1/2)

Chapter 121: Disappointment, so that’s how it is Original and most updated translations are from volare. If read elsewhere, this chapter has been stolen. Please stop supporting theft.

On Gu Qishao’s side, the black-robed assassins fell one by one. Mu Qingwu and Guard Shangguan weren’t stupid; they knew that they needed to capture a live prisoner. But the assassins had been thoroughly trained to kill themselves with poison once they saw no way out.

Long Feiye looked on from a distance. If this was the past, he’d be furious. Weren’t these men useless if they couldn’t even capture a live prisoner? Yet right now he was looking straight forward, preoccupied with other things. Not long after, he withdrew his gaze and turned back to Han Yunxi, only to see her fiddling with her medical pouch while crouched on the ground. Her deathly pale face was filled with concentration despite lacking any color.

It wasn’t the first time that Long Feiye had seen her concentrate, but this time he couldn’t shift his eyes away. This woman’s beauty had surpassed his expectations, but her look of concentration even exceeded her own beauty. As he watched, Long Feiye unconsciously raised a hand to touch the corner of his lip where she’d touched him before.

Finally, Han Yunxi differentiated the three types of poisons and found the appropriate antidotes within her detox system for direct consumption. There was no need to use needles to expel the poison this time. She took three pills from her medical pouch, verifying each in person to make sure she hadn’t made a mistake. Heaven knows how nervous she was, and how worried. If there was one, even just one, poison in Long Feiye’s body that she didn’t recognize and couldn’t treat, like the case of the spider darts, then Long Feiye would be in danger. A good thing that these three poisons were all commonplace toxins for her. Poisons like the one from the spider darts should be a seldom-seen weapons-based toxin, probably.

As soon as she got the antidote, Han Yunxi sprang upright and held out her hand. “Long Feiye, here. Antidote!”

Only then did she raise her head to meet his deep, intense stare. Han Yunxi gave a start, only feeling that there was a tangible emotion piercing her from Long Feiye’s eyes.

What was wrong with him?

Her hand, which had been in the middle of giving him the three pills, suddenly turned stiff. Long Feiye hadn’t expected this woman to stand up so fast and swiftly averted his gaze, resuming his usual cold expression. He cast a glance at Han Yunxi’s palm and said, “You’re certain this is antidote.”

Han Yunxi gave him a doubtful look, but hastened to say, “Absolutely, hurry and take them. You’re already spitting up blood, so I’ll have to resort to incision next if you don’t use it.”

Long Feiye nodded and swallowed the pills in one gulp. Only then did Han Yunxi relax to give a long exhale, patting her heart in the meantime. Long Feiye stared and asked, “What is it?”

“Fear in hindsight. If I couldn’t treat your poison, it’d be disastrous,” Han Yunxi grinned as she spoke easily.

But Long Feiye took her words to heart, his gaze growing deeper. “What are you afraid of? Scared that your lordship will die?”

Scared?

Han Yunxi didn’t think about all that. She was just anxious and grew frightened back then. She met his questioning gaze and abruptly felt ill-at-ease. This fellow was so strange today, not like his usual self. She pursed her lips before teasing, “You risked your life to save me, so of course I need to save you too.”

But Long Feiye only coldly replied, “You’re thinking too much. Your lordship trusted that you could treat the poison, that’s all.”

If he didn’t know she had exceptional poison treating skills, why else would he charge through the poison powder to rescue her when he so cherished his own life? After all, poisons were his greatest weakness.

Risking his life to save her? This woman wasn’t worth that much to him yet.

Of course, Han Yunxi knew that he’d saved her because of his certainty in her skills. Actually, she was already satisfied enough that he discovered the poison mosquito swarm and followed it to rescue her. As for risking his life, she wouldn’t dare to make such an excessive demand.

Ignoring the slight sense of misery in her heart, Han Yunxi gave a soft smile. “Chenqie knows Your Highness believed in chenqie to treat the poisons. That’s why I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to cure you for your needless sacrifice.”

Seeing Han Yunxi smile so brilliantly within her indifference, Long Feiye felt a sense of indignation that he couldn’t express. He expected this prideful woman to rebut his words, but she actually belittled herself and turned humble.

“Why did you run off to the south mountains if there was nothing to do?” Long Feiye switched topics. If this woman hadn’t gone to the southern mountains, the assassins wouldn’t have had a chance to move and cause so much to happen.

“I heard that their Red South Peak wasn’t too bad, so I wanted to try some,” Han Yunxi was still smiling.

Long Feiye cast a glance down at her and spotted a whip injury on her arm. He didn’t ask much, but said, “Did those assassins say anything? Leave behind any clues?”

“That masked man is the real master behind the scenes, they call him their lord. His direct subordinates are someone called Heisha and Qingyi, both females. They were extremely tight-lipped, so I couldn’t get any info out of them. I just know that Qingyi should be the head of all the spies hidden within Tianning, while Sister Snake was her direct subordinate. Qingyi was the one who created the young general’s Ten-Thousand Snake Poison,” Han Yunxi said truthfully.

As she saw it, the greatest pity this time wasn’t the masked man’s escape, but the failure to capture Qingyi! She paused for a bit before adding, “I suspect…that Qingyi has hidden herself in the capital.”

Long Feiye’s gaze turned vigilant as he queried, “Do you have someone in mind?”

Although Han Yunxi was reluctant to say it, she still had to. This matter involved many different aspects; in addition, it was difficult to hide anything before Long Feiye.

After some hesitation, she opened her mouth to speak. “Qingyi is a middle-aged female, taciturn and prudent in nature. Combined with the clues we’ve gathered around the Ten-Thousand Snake Poison, I suspect she may be Han Family’s Third Madame Li, Li Mingmei[1].” After which, she hastened to add, “Of course, this is only speculation since we don’t have evidence of the Ten-Thousand Snake Poison. At most, it’s all conjecture.”