Chapter 1042: It’s not so simple after all (1/2)

Han Yunxi looked towards Aunt Ru, only to see her gaping at the empty Fire Spring, utterly astounded. She didn’t react until Han Yunxi flew out of the pit, upon which her stare turned to disbelief.

This damned girl, what did she just do? Why is that entire spring gone? And did she just fly up here? Isn’t she a waste who can’t learn martial arts?

Han Yunxi stopped just to serve Aunt Ru with a look of scorn. Although tactics like these were a bore, she could still be a tsundere and crush Aunt Ru!

“The rest will be up to you guys,” Han Yunxi withdrew with her arms crossed, calm and composed.

Long Feiye unsheathed his Profound Frost Sword while Gu Qishao called out the Moye sword spirit. It would be easy work for the two of them to dig through the earth. Seeing them, Aunt Ru quickly got out of the way. Despite her reluctance, she still ended up approaching Han Yunxi to ask, “Princess, just then...how did the water in the Fire Spring disappear?”

Han Yunxi stared straight ahead without a word.

Aunt Ru found it awkward, but raised her voice to try again. “Princess, how could all the water disappear from Fire Spring? All of it’s poisonous.”

Slowly, Han Yunxi turned to face her and said, “I don’t know either.”

Even an idiot could tell that Han Yunxi didn’t want to tell Aunt Ru, much less waste words with her. She was left both embarrassed and humiliated as she walked off to one side. I shouldn’t have invited that snub! But she really was curious, and looked towards Tang Li next. Unfortunately, he just turned away and acted like he never noticed.

Meanwhile, the air was filled with the aura of sword qi as Long Feiye and Gu Qishao cleaved through the dirt. Their sword awns made it impossible for one to keep their eyes open. Soon enough, everyone heard the loud tremors of an earthquake filling the air. Even Han Yunxi was a little struck by the results. This was the combine strength of sword and men. Whoever said men couldn’t win over the Heavens at times?

As the sword awn faded away, everything resumed its former calm. A “十” shaped scare was left in the bottom of the dried-up spring, the center deep and wide enough to allow two people passage.

“Gu Qishao’s sword skills suddenly got much better?” Tang Li was shocked.

In actuality, it was the ancient sword spirit Moye giving him a boost. However, Han Yunxi had no time to explain. She quickly went to the center of the spring. Long Feiye and Gu Qishao were close behind. Before Tang Li and the rest could catch up, Han Yunxi stopped them all.

“There’s poison here. All of you step at least ten paces back!” she declared.

The crowd was forced to withdraw while Han Yunxi activated her detox system to pinpoint the origins of the poison. It wasn’t far down, but located at a depth the height of a common human. The temperature of the earthly fire differed from that of celestial fire. The latter was simply heat, while the former carried toxins with the flame. Anyone who got in contact with it would risk being poisoned. If they had open injuries, the poison would spread even faster.

Although she was protected by the poison storage space and immune to hundreds of toxins, she still remained cautious and soon retreated to the edge of the spring.

“Long Feiye, the Earthly Fire Kun Furnace should be right down there,” Han Yunxi said.

Hearing this, Long Feiye raised his sword and slashed at the ground again, causing the 十-shaped scar to cave in. As the ground collapsed, everyone expected the furnace to come into sight. After all, the Celestial Fire Qian Furnace was around ten stories tall. The Earthly Fire Kun Furnace couldn’t be any less. But none of them saw any signs of it in the bigger, deeper hole. They only felt waves of heat sifting out, all of which carried poison! Before, the poison had been contained by the spring water. As long as one didn’t fall in, they would be safe. But there was nothing standing between them and the poison flame’s heat now. It soon mixed with the air and began to scatter as heatwaves.

This was akin to poison gas!

Sensing the poison approaching, Han Yunxi immediately ordered everyone to keep drawing back. Long Feiye would be worried for her in any other place, but he could set his cares at rest within the Tang Clan. Even the antagonistic Aunt Ru was no threat, for he was certain she hadn’t laid any traps. Moreover, Han Yunxi was no longer the woman who couldn’t even fight properly at the Duke of Qin’s estate.

She had her own unique set of abilities and nerves.

Long Feiye and the rest kept drawing back until he simply leaped into a tall tree and stood on a branch. Gu Qishao chased after him to sit by his side. Perhaps his loss at the drinking contest had been a big blow; perhaps it was because the Tang Clan was Long Feiye’s turf, but Gu Qishao had been quiet this whole time. The two men fell into silence as they watched the woman they both loved from a distance. Han Yunxi was probably the only source of commonality between them.

Han Yunxi soon finished surveying the spread of poison from the fissure in the ground. She felt that it was strange: the source she’d found before was much further down now, meaning it had sunk with the cave-in of dirt.

How come? If the Earthly Fire Kun Furnace is similar to the Celestial Fire Qian Furnace, then the source shouldn’t be this small. Nor should it sink down with the dirt. All these treasured furnaces were extremely heavy objects. It shouldn’t have shifted places just because some dirt moved around.

While Han Yunxi didn’t fear poisons, she dreaded fire. Carefully, she braced herself against the heatwaves and stepped into the deepest part of the fissure. There was the source of the poison! At the entrance, she found an unexpected sight: a tiny furnace. If her eyesight hadn’t been so good, she never would have spotted it at all. The furnace itself looked more like a metal handwarmer used during the winter months, or perhaps a container for burning incense on tea tables. But the poisonous heat waves had emanated from this very object, so it had to be the Earthly Fire Kun Furnace! It really was a world of difference from the Celestial Fire Qian Furnace.

Han Yunxi jumped down and hauled the furnace up. Like its celestial kin, it gave off waves of heat despite not being hot to the touch. There were no marks from any flames, either. If Han Yunxi didn’t have the ability to sense poisons, she’d never believe this dusty little thing was the Earthly Fire Kun Furnace and might even treat it as an antique curio. She held it in one hand while waving to Long Feiye and the rest, indicating that she’d found it.