Chapter 643: Yunxi knows how to be wicked, too (2/2)
He was afraid that Han Yunxi wouldn’t love him as much as she did before. She was so smart, so why did she never question his motives or suspect him about Celestial Mountain or the Tang Clan? He hated suspicious women who questioned everything, but she would even be an exception there.
If possible, he’d like to control and understand everything about her. If she never asked, did this mean she didn’t actually care about those things?
As the wind grew stronger, he held her ever tighter…
—
Aunt Ru didn’t understand Han Yunxi at all. She tried to provoke her with her questions, but Han Yunxi still didn’t ask Long Feiye about a thing. Aunt Ru understood even less about Long Feiye’s special treatment of Han Yunxi. Even if he couldn’t answer all of his wife’s questions, he still hoped that Han Yunxi would care about everything related to him!
Still, even if Aunt Ru hadn’t stirred the waters, there was still an invisible chasm between them both. Perhaps it was the final stride in their 100 steps to meet in the middle. The taste of their kiss still lingered on Han Yunxi’s lips as stood in silence. Abruptly, she turned to lean against Long Feiye’s chest.
“What is it?” he asked.
“I’m a little tired,” Han Yunxi said faintly.
Without a word, Long Feiye picked her up princess style to go back and rest. But how was she supposed to fall asleep with him sitting right on the edge of the bed? She hated over thinking things and preferred to let things take their course, but her heart just couldn’t calm down today. Closing her eyes, she let her consciousness drift into the poison storage system so she could cultivate in earnest instead.
The first rank of the poison storage system unlocked poisoning storing capabilities, giving her the freedom to take and store toxic substances–even those that challenged the laws of Heaven and Earth. She had already mastered this rank and was on her way to unlock the second. Rank Two would build up her resistance. Once mastered, she’d be able to absorb any offensive poisons launched her way.
Han Yunxi hadn’t thought as far as mastering the third rank, too. First and foremost, the difficulty of breaking through to the second rank was ten times that of Rank One. It would already be good enough if she passed, to say nothing of Rank Three. Moreover, that rank focused on offensive takeover skills and gave her freedom to take whatever poison she wanted. Han Yunxi didn’t like the nature of the skill, nor did she need it. Thus, her current goals were to only unlock two ranks.
When Han Yunxi’s consciousness entered her poison storage system, it really seemed like she’d fallen asleep. Long Feiye tucked her in before silently leaving the room. Taking advantage of the fact that Aunt Ru was out, he decided to pay a visit to his late mufei. Lady Tang had lured his aunt away on purpose as a covert way to encourage the visit.
He had forgotten how many years had passed since he’d paid respects. Everything about her seem to freeze in the moment of her suicide. The Tang Clan wasn’t part of the Seven Noble Families, but they served as the equivalent of the Shadow Clan to the East Qin Dynasty in secret. Careful investigation would reveal that their standing was far lower than that of a similar clan–the Baili. However, because mufei had earned imperial father’s favor and given birth to him, the members of the Tang Clan had stronger clout to speak against him compared to the Baili.
The Tang Clan was most famous for its assassination weapons, but they also had a secret specialty in poisons. Like the Hundred Poisons Sect, their poison skills hailed from the original Poison Sect as well. Because they lacked a leader to head the division, their poison skill had gradually atrophied in the fall of the Poison Sect. His mufei was the former head of the poison division. She knew that those who possessed the Perplexing Butterfly Illusion were capable of claiming the entire world, so she’d dedicated her life to tracking it down. Her aspiration was to help imperial father revive the East Qin again. Unfortunately, imperial father passed away from sickness long before she got her hands on the poison.
Instead, she placed all of her hopes of her son. Imperial father’s ambitions and her own long-cherished wish, the grudges of the imperial clan and the wish of the Tang Clan to be nobility themselves–were all placed upon his shoulders.
She gave him his identity as the East Qin imperial prince, then helped him enter Celestial Mountain to learn martial arts. She created the Beauty’s Blood for his sake and arranged every step of his journey. In the end, she told him that she missed imperial father, that everything was now in his hands, that he had to live for her and imperial father’s sake to complete the goals that both of them had failed to achieve. Then she took out a dagger and ended her life right before his eyes.
He had never understood the concept of “love.”
In that second, he finally did–and found it utterly selfish!
—
Long Feiye silently stepped into the woods. Though his steps were aimless and wandering, they eventually led him to the back of Divine Dragon Peak. His mother, Tang Yiwan1, was buried in a cliffside cave on this side of the mountain. Actually, it was a dual burial site, because his imperial father was resting here as well. For the sake of hiding his identity, there wasn’t even a marker to indicate his grave. Only his mother had a single tombstone erected in her name.
Long Feiye leaped off the cliff to land in front of the cave, standing with his hands behind his back. He remained in front of the grave for a long time, but there was no trace of sorrow or pain on his face. He only looked expressionless. Now that his shoulders were capable of carrying everything they’d left him as well as his own dreams, he felt no rage when confronted with their resting places.
His icy eyes seemed merciless in this instant. He wasn’t a man who enjoyed reminiscing about the past, nor did he cherish old times for nostalgia’s sake. Standing there in silence, all he thought about was the future to come.
A long, long time later, he finally made three formal bows and muttered, “Imperial father, mother empress, I’m determined to have the West Qin princess! Her name is Han Yunxi.”
He paused for a while, then added. “This summer, erchen2 will take her to Celestial Mountain.”
After that, he turned and left. A little more than a month remained before summer would arrive…
—
Han Yunxi was still sleeping by the time Long Feiye returned. He resumed his seat on the edge of the bed as if nothing had happened at all. But as it turned out, Han Yunxi ended up sleeping until the very next day. When she woke up, the first thing she saw was Long Feiye leaning by the side of her bed, now fast asleep himself.
She studied his face carefully and saw traces of exhaustion there. With a pang in her heart, she brushed her fingers against his slightly scruffy chin. But the next second, Chu Xifeng’s anxious cries sounded through the doors.
“Your Highness, bad news! Aunt Ru’s in big trouble!”
1. Tang Yiwan (唐意婉) – Yi means “idea, meaning, thought, wish, desire,” Wan means “graceful, tactful.”
2. erchen (儿臣) – a formal way of referring to oneself as ‘your son,’ usually used by members of royalty when speaking to their parents.