Chapter 542: Toxic teardrops again (1/2)
Chapter 542: Toxic teardrops again
“Han Yunxi, Long Feiye, just you wait!” Ouyang Ningnuo shouted at the skies, but he was still feeling stifled inside. He had always been able to rein in his temper and win or lose with ease, but this time he’d lost too miserably!
Once he became associated with the Hundred Poisons Sect, he’d never be able to do business with Cloud Realm Continent’s mainstream circles! The most profitable medicines would stop going through his hands while other troubles would come knocking on his door. It was very possible that the entire Cloud Realm Trade Consortium might come to ruin because of him. But he wasn’t the only owner of the consortium and couldn’t afford to shoulder that burden. While Ouyang Ningnuo was fretting over his options, a few veiled women dressed in black flew towards him from the skies. These were none other than Cloud Realm Trade Consortium’s top level retainers, the Black Robe Maidens.
The leader of the Maidens respectfully intoned, “Young Master Nuo, master has already sent Miss Jing1 over. You should…return.”
Ouyang Ninguo creased his brows and started to speak before he stopped himself. In the end, he left together with the Black Robe Maidens.
—
It wasn’t long before Han Yunxi and the rest got news from Wang Gong that Cloud Realm Trade Consortium had dismissed Ouyang Ningnuo from his post as “proxy president” of the association. A girl named Ouyang Ning Jing2replaced him to apologize to the Council of Elders on his behalf. She also expressed that all profits in business dealings between the consortium and Medicine City would favor the latter with 20% for the next three years.
“They sure move fast!” Gu Qishao smiled coldly. After all, they had just departed the jail cells for the inn. “Ouyang Ningnuo, a ‘proxy president?’ What a joke!”
As the name implied, a ‘proxy president’ was only an empty title for someone who wasn’t in charge of anything. The true power still laid in the formal president of an association. That position had always been held by Ouyang Ningnuo, but after his offense, they were calling him a ‘proxy president’ instead? Why didn’t the Cloud Realm Trade Consortium just call him their ‘temporary worker’ instead?
Han Yunxi was dissatisfied as well, but she knew that it would be impossible for Medicine City to break off all relations with Cloud Realm Trade Consortium so soon. The two organizations had worked together for decades, so the threads of business and profitable dealings were liked a tangle, complex web. If they severed all ties immediately, Medicine City wouldn’t be able to afford the loss. The one-year deadline that Long Feiye had proposed to Wang Gong was already demanding enough.
Still, she was happy that they’d taught Ouyang Ningnuo a sound lesson this time.
“Ouyang Ning Jing? As expected, Cloud Realm Trade Consortium didn’t belong to Ouyang Ningnuo alone,” Long Feiye’s lips rose into a cold smile. Without a doubt, this was a breakthrough to Cloud Realm Trade Consortium’s inner workings. Gu Qishao had no interest in Ouyang Ningnuo at all. He was constantly thinking of the Perplexing Butterfly Illusion, because the faster they could solve its mystery, the sooner Long Feiye could help him take revenge against Medical City.
“Poison lass, hurry and take out that Ten-Thousand Year Blood Jade! Fool around with it a bit!” he urged.
Han Yunxi and Long Feiye hadn’t forgotten about the jade. Long Feiye had Chu Xifeng and Tang Li go out to stand guard before personally shutting the doors. Han Yunxi took out a collection of porcelain bottles containing Perplexing Butterfly Illusion, Beauty’s Blood, Water of Ten-Thousand Poisons, a few Beauty’s Tears made from combining Perplexing Butterfly Illusion with Beauty’s Blood, a mixture that was PBI and Water of Ten-Thousand Poisons, a mixture that was Beauty’s Tear and Water of Ten-Thousand Poisons, and a mixture that contained all three ingredients.
Long Feiye was a little dazzled by all of the different combinations. As a layperson to the art, he only found all this troublesome, but Gu Qishao could identify each item by eye. He took the bottles and poured each of them out one by one, allowing Han Yunxi to see the differences between them. The combination of Perplexing Butterfly Illusion and Water of Ten-Thousand Poisons had actually solidified to a pearl-like object reminiscent of Beauty’s Tears. She’d combined the duo during her last stay at the black markets but had only paid attention to its toxicity, not its physical shape. Now she looked carefully at the other combinations, but found nothing unusual there. Meanwhile, Gu Qishao was observing the same things.
The two of them finished their inspection at the same time and tacitly met gazes. Han Yunxi then placed the Ten-Thousand Year Blood Jade on a clean porcelain plate before dripping a drop of Perplexing Butterfly Illusion on top. A strange phenomenon began to happen. The firm and solid jade actually began to corrode away beneath the influence of PBI, releasing white mist in its wake. As the smoke dissipated, the former jade that was the size of a thumbnail had shrank into a small red orb the size of a teardrop.
When the Water of Ten-Thousand Poisons, Beauty’s Blood, and Ten-Thousand Year Old Blood Jade were all mixed with Perplexing Butterfly Illusion, they all maintained their toxicity levels. They were just less corrosive than PBI alone. Han Yunxi quickly placed all three poison teardrops side by side, but there was no reaction. They neither repelled nor absorbed each other.
“Could it be that we need all nine types of poison teardrops before we’ll get an answer?” Han Yunxi asked doubtfully.
The water, blood, and jade had all shown similar results when mixed with PBI. By that assumption, the remaining six types of poison should also turn into toxic teardrops.
“We’ll know once we get them all. There’s no use speculating,” Gu Qishao helped Han Yunxi clean up as he chuckled, his mood quite good. He was right—thinking about things like this were useless. Unless they had all the ingredients, they wouldn’t be able to solve the mystery. Once everything was put away, the three toxic teardrops took up a porcelain bottle of their own. Samples of PBI were taken from the other combinations can stored together. Han Yunxi witnessed Gu Qishao’s cleaning speed first hand and suddenly felt that it’d be better to have Gu Qishao as an assistant than Baili Mingxiang and Su Xiaoyu combined.
Of course, she’d never let Long Feiye know what she was thinking. Nor had she noticed Long Feiye’s expression growing progressively darker from the side. As a layman, he had no idea what was going on with the poisons, but he didn’t like how she and Gu Qishao could come to tacit understandings so easily!
Han Yunxi placed her two organized bottles into her medical pouch and said lightly, “Thanks!”
“Tsk tsk, when have you gotten so formal with me?” Gu Qishao grinned.
Han Yunxi rolled her eyes at him. As expected, it’s impossible for this fellow to act too respectably.
“Poison lass, there’s nothing else to do in Medicine City anymore. Come, let’s go to Medical City now!” Gu Qishao was eager to search for the Earth of Ten Thousand Poisons in the Poison Sect’s forbidden grounds.