Chapter 614: Concealing the facts, endless lies (2/2)
Seeing this, Long Feiye began to do his own calculations. He wanted to test whether Gu Beiyue knew that Han Yunxi was the West Qin imperial heir, but he had no idea how to start. It was hard to question someone as shrewd as Gu Beiyue. Suppose the doctor had no idea to begin with? His questions would only lead the other to suspect Han Yunxi instead. And if Gu Beiyue already knew, then questioning further would only expose himself. He too, fell silent and waited for Gu Beiyue to continue. Just like that, the two astute men stopped speaking.
Eventually, Long Feiye broke the silence first, because he couldn’t afford to wait when Han Yunxi was coming back soon. Without revealing a thing, he said coldly, “Gu Beiyue, you haven’t answered your lordship’s question yet!”
Gu Beiyue inwardly sighed at Long Feiye’s depths. It was impossible to read his thoughts with such a question, so all he could do was say, “Your Highness Duke of Qin, this one did not purposely get close to esteemed wangfei. Finding out her lineage was simply a matter of coincidence.”
“What kind of coincidence?” Long Feiye demanded.
“Does Your Highness still remember the Xuan gold door?” Gu Beiyue asked as he stalled. Every word he used against Long Feiye had to be chosen carefully. Diverting the topic was the best way to buy himself time to think. Unfortunately, Long Feiye didn’t answer beyond a nod, forcing Gu Beiyue to continue again.
“Only blood of the Poison Sect heirs can unlock the Xuan gold door. The Poison Sect’s poison beast recognize them as their masters too. That’s why the saying goes, those who open the Xuan gold door are masters of the poison beast. Under such pressing circumstances, even this one was surprised when the door suddenly opened. After some thought, I recalled how esteemed wangfei’s fingers were bleeding and realized she must have a birth secret.” As Gu Beiyue spoke, he added, “Your Highness Duke of Qin, this one originally went to the Skypit to take the venom of the poison beast’s fangs as an ingredient to enhance the efficacy of certain medicines. When I ran into esteemed wangfei,I first thought to pressure her to help me with her poison skills and capture the creature, but all that came to naught when she opened the doors herself. Because this one knows…it’s impossible to change the poison beast’s master once it’s chosen for itself.”
“Xuan gold door…” Long Feiye seemed to be muttering to himself.
“Exactly! It really was a surprise,” Gu Beiyue paused to think, before probing cautiously, “Even so, everything makes sense in hindsight. Esteemed wangfei has exquisite poison skills. She’s not carrying on the skills of Doctor Han, so they must have come from Lady Tianxin. The Han Clan specializes in medicine and has nothing to do with the Poison Sect. Lady Tianxin’s origins are a mystery, so she must be a woman of that same Sect!”
Long Feiye was surprised. He never expected Gu Beiyue to discover Han Yunxi’s Poison Sect origins just through the Xuan gold door. For now, he didn’t seem to realize that Lady Tianxin and Mu Xin were one and the same. Mute Granny had said as well, that she was the only one who knew Mu Xin’s true identity. If Gu Beiyue had no idea, then he couldn’t figure out that Mu Xin was connected with the West Qin imperial clan, either.
From another angle, if Gu Beiyue did know Han Yunxi was the imperial orphan, he would have made a move long ago. It was unthinkable that he hadn’t done anything up to this point.
After drawing his conclusions, Long Feiye accused him, “You entered Pill Fiend Pharmacy with ulterior motives!”
“Your Highness misunderstands. This one admires esteemed wangfei’s poison arts and respects her as a person. There were no other reasons. Joining Pill Fiend Pharmacy not only makes it easy to practice medicine, but also repays my life-saving debt to esteemed wangfei as my savior. If not for her please, this one would have long died at Empress Dowager Li’s hands.”
“A Shadow Clan member like you still treats a trifling Tianning empress dowager so seriously?” Long Feiye scoffed.
Gu Beiyue’s eyes glittered guardedly before he gave a helpless smile. “Your Highness Duke of Qin may be unaware, but my Shadow Clan has declined. Right now there’s no one left but this weak and sickly member. The Shadow Clan itself…hehe, has long disappeared.”
“Really? The Nether and Shadow Clans certainly put on a good show in the past to preserve the West Qin imperial heir. Now the Nether Clan’s Chu Family has already proclaimed to the world that they’re searching for the royal orphan to restore the dynasty. The Chu Clan hid themselves in Western Zhou and used their military might to revolt. Your Shadow Clan hid in Tianning and now infiltrated Pill Fiend Pharmacy on purpose. What are your motives?” Long Feiye asked coldly.
Gu Beiyue knitted his brows as his heart gave a lurch. He had no idea that Chu Yunyi had exposed the truth of the past while he was still locked up! That man deserves death! Heaven knew how would be searching for hints of the missing heir now? Resisting the pain in his leg and shoulders, he climbed off the bed and stood leaning against the bed. But Long Feiye only looked at him with cold and pitiless eyes…