Chapter 988: A dagger called sQi Sha” (2/2)
“Anyone with the guts to threaten a certain someone is a true man! This old man likes it!” Gu Qishao said. Immediately after that, Long Feiye’s teacup went flying at his head, but he quickly dodged out of the way. The lethargic Long Feiye then slowly raised his hand. Gu Qishao clearly felt an intense pressure rushing towards him. Privately alarmed, he realized that Long Feiye’s internal energy had increased to terrifying heights in just the span of a few days.
Could this be the power of the Lustbite energy?
Gu Qishao wanted to test just how powerful it was, but Han Yunxi stopped him.
“Gu Qishao, did you find any clues on the Fire of Ten-Thousand Poisons from your past searches?”
They could leave Northern Li in Ning Cheng’s hands, but they had to quickly find all the separate ingredients to deal with the Perplexing Butterfly Illusion. Otherwise, even the best preparations would be for naught against Bai Yanqing. These three months were crucial!
At the mention of Perplexing Butterfly Illusion, Long Feiye stopped fighting with Gu Qishao and demanded, “What about the Metal of Ten-Thousand Poisons? How were you searching back then?”
Gu Qishao was energized at the very mention of their goal. “I don’t have a speck of clue about the Fire of Ten-Thousand Poisons, but I heard something regarding the Metal of Ten-Thousand Poisons. Still, I don’t know if it’s trustworthy.”
“What is it?” Long Feiye asked quickly.
“Qi Sha,” Gu Qishao grew serious.
Qi Sha? (七煞) [1]
“A star?” Han Yunxi blurted out.
The Qi Sha (七煞) she knew was also written as Qi Sha (七杀), or “seven kills.” In Chinese numerology, it was known as a cruel and unlucky killing star.[2]
Gu Qishao gave Han Yunxi a deprecating look before he replied, “It’s a dagger, one with an evil curse. Supposedly anyone stabbed by it will bleed to death from his or her seven apertures, no matter where the injury is. Thus, the dagger earned the unlucky name of Qi Sha.”
Gu Qishao had heard this legend a few years ago and recalled it when thinking of the Fire and Metal of Ten-Thousand Poisons. Of the five elements, “metal” was written as jin (金), which meant “gold,” but included all things with metal properties. Whether the Qi Sha dagger was made of Xuan gold, Xuan iron, or bronze, all of them counted as metals.
Han Yunxi was very surprised. She never thought such a mystical weapon existed and asked, “You think that the dagger might have poison? And that its victims died not from the stab, but through intoxication?”
Gu Qishao nodded. Long Feiye and Gu Beiyue remained silent, but they agreed with this theory. Everyone was caught up in discussing its potential, so Long Feiye sent his subordinates to go find information related to the Qi Sha dagger. Only Tang Li remained silent and unhappy as he sat on one side thinking of his Jing Jing.
For the next few days, Han Yunxi’s group waited for news from Myriad Merchant Hall while searching for clues about Qi Sha. They found out that a waterside town in Jiangnan had once witnessed the dagger’s appearance. Thus, they planned to wait until Myriad Merchant Hall received Ning Cheng’s true intentions before finishing up affairs at the black market and setting out.
If Ning Cheng had mentioned in the letter that he was being poisoned, perhaps Han Yunxi’s group might have changed their plans about going south so far from the Three-Way Battlefield. Unfortunately, this was the only thing he failed to include in his letter.
Long Feiye and Han Yunxi’s reply soon reached the hands of Bai Yuqiao’s subordinates via the Kangan branch bank. She made sure the envelope was properly sealed before delivering it to Ning Cheng that very night. She was patient enough to wait until the man finished reading its contents before saying, “I’ve finished my task, may Master Ning be satisfied.”
“Not bad,” Ning Cheng praised.
Bai Yuqiao silently exhaled. “Then let’s talk about how to save little Yu’er.”
But Ning Cheng only said, “There’s no rush.”
Bai Yuqiao immediately scowled. “Ning Cheng, what do you mean by this?”
“Help me send out a few more letters and we’ll talk things over,” Ning Cheng said coldly.
“You’re not keeping to your word! Just what are you planning?” Bai Yuqiao was furious.
“You can refuse, but I can also promise you won’t see Su Xiaoyu the very next day,” Ning Cheng smiled frostily.
Bai Yuqiao gave a start and couldn’t help but tremble. She realized then that Ning Cheng was a wolf--a vicious, evil one. How could she have agreed to work with him so carelessly? Ning Cheng now held her in his thrall. He wasn’t aiming to help her, but extort her!
1. Note that this Qi Sha is written differently from Gu Qishao’s name as Pill Fiend, Gu Qisha (古七刹)
2. It’s impossible to explain this stuff in brief so you can look up more information on the “killing star” here, here, and here. It seems to be related to Chinese fortune telling/astrology, specifically the Four Pillars of Destiny, among other things….I’ll leave it for curious readers to figure it out themselves!