Chapter 415: Qishao’s out of the loop (1/2)

Chapter 415: Qishao’s out of the loop

Mu Linger had ground the Panoptic Red Lotus into a travel-friendly powder before placing it into a small bottle. She had suffered much to find the plant, but Gu Qishao accepted the bottle easily without a hint of thanks. He really had no conscience at all!

Despite this, Mu Linger preferred this to him thanking her. She’d only find him a stranger if he actually seemed grateful. Such was love and its willingness to sacrifice indiscriminately.

“Qi gege, there’s only the Bear chuan left. Let’s steal it from the Hundred Poison Sect!” Mu Linger’s big, bright eyes looked positively devious. The last few months of work had left her thinner than before, but her mood was better than ever.

“Steal? Would this gentleman ever do such a thing?” Gu Qishao said disdainfully.

“Haha, Qi gege has a scheme planned out?” Mu Linger smiled even more sneakily.

“Of course I’m going to hunt down Jun Yixie,” Gu Qishao said carelessly. The enemy of a friend was his enemy, and the enemy of an enemy was his friend. Jun Yixie was Han Yunxi’s enemy, so he was his enemy, too. But Jun Yixie was also Long Feiye’s enemy, which made the man his friend. Although he scorned the man, he could consider him both friend and foe. Heaven knows whether Han Yunxi would disdain Gu Qishao if she knew his thoughts just then. In any case, Hu Qishao had already made his choice upon finding out that Jun Yixie had the Bear chuan.

With the ingredients in hand, it’d be easy work to trap Long Feiye. He could even give up the chance to Jun Yixie as long as the man gave him the Bear chuan!

“So does that mean going to Northern Li?” Mu Linger asked hastily. She had no idea about the blackhearted depths of Gu Qishao’s thoughts; she was more concerned with where her Qi gege was going. Gu Qishao gently stroked his chin. He and Mu Linger had remained in hiding at the Mu Clan grounds for a long time now, but neither of them had paid any attention to worldly affairs. They had completely lost themselves in hunting for the Panoptic Red Lotus!

He had no idea that Jun Yixie had been trapped on Fishery Island, nor the true reason behind his imprisonment. In his calculations, the man had to be in the Northern Li capital or at the Hundred Poison Sect. After safely storing away the Panoptic Red Lotus, Gu Qishao said, “Let’s go, we’ll have a drink before we inquire into things!”

Mu Linger was thrilled. “Alright, let’s make a night of it until we’re drunk!”

But they’d hardly left the Mu Clan and entered Medicine City when Gu Qishao caught wind of Northern Li’s Duke of Kang being trapped on Fishery Island by Tianning’s Duke of Qin. Moreover, the two countries were now on the verge of war because of that very incident. Mu Linger lay drunkenly on the table in a stupor while Gu Qishao leaned against the window, completely sober as he stroked his chin.

“Would Long Feiye really get into arms for the sake of a few fish?” he muttered to himself.

“Master, rumors say the entire Tianning navy’s on watch there. They have archers manning the island and stopped a number of Northern Li experts in their rescue attempts,” his attendant replied.

“There won’t be any advantage for Long Feiye if the two countries go to war, right?” Gu Qishao had never been interested in politics, but even he could tell that it was unusual for Long Feiye to provoke Northern Li.

“Master, shall this subordinate inquire further into the issue?” the attendant asked.

“Go dig around Northern Li’s capital city,” Gu Qishao said as his eyes turned shrewd. “Could it be that there’s a treasure hidden in Fishery Island?”

“Master, why don’t you go to Fishery Island yourself?” the attendant asked cautiously.

Gu Qishao rolled his eyes at him as he quoted a passage from Sun Zi’s Art of War. “Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated, understand?”

Cooperating with Jun Yixie was like asking a tiger for its skin—it had to be accomplished step by step. Any alliance with the man would be useless unless he had the full story. Afraid to ask any more, the attendant silently withdrew.

“Aiyaya…” Gu Qishao gave a light exhale. Those who didn’t know any better would’ve been knocked senseless by the sight of such a beautiful man sighing. But those who knew him well would only feel their hairs stand on end. The devilish eyes darting in those sockets were clearing making calculations. Though he wasn’t clear on the situation yet, he knew that this was a perfect opportunity to strike a deal with Jun Yixie while the latter was trapped by Long Feiye.

Gu Qishao sat on the windowsill, one arm resting haplessly against his knee. His languid postures and fiery red robes mixed with his jet black hair beneath the moonlight, framing his stunning profile in sharp relief. On the side, Mu Linger had already started to mumble in her sleep.

“Qi gege…Qi gege…let’s stay together forever, alright?”

Unfortunately, Gu Qishao had turned a deaf ear to her muttering. He stared at the moon in the sky, his lips curved up into a devious smile.

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