Chapter 20: Drinking poison to quench thirst
The morning mist had not yet dissipated. Yun Yuan, holding her golden silk armor and eagle claw gloves, was already waiting at the stone steps. She looked at the closed door, her thoughts in a tangle.
When he detailed the mysteries of life and death, she was skeptical; when he gave her the black gold eagle claws and the golden silk soft armor, she was surprised. But when the strange gust of wind blew away the arrow at the end, she believed it was him who did it - but why didn't she see him when she left the valley?
Although she knew that according to the rules, the young master of the Feng family could not interfere with the trial in Qianren Valley - but how could that gust of wind be such a coincidence?
"So early?" Feng Jiu approached, sword slung across his shoulders, his leather boots breaking the thin frost on the steps. "That saves me the trouble of looking for you." He pulled two scrolls from his pocket. "This is the pharmacopoeia, and this is the poison compendium." He handed them over one by one. "By 3:45 PM tomorrow, you must chew up the solutions to these hundreds of poisons and herbs and swallow them."
Yun Yuan looked towards the attic screen window: "Sir, do you have any other instructions?"
"No. The young master only said that this level tests memory and understanding, and he has no guidance." He thought for a moment and said, "Originally, the only book on poison identification was 'Sad Wind Devouring' from Huiminglang, but the young master added 'Bai Cao Xuan Jian' from Mo Yuntang. I guess there is some deeper meaning to it."
Yun Yuan handed over the soft armor and gloves in her hand: "This golden silk soft armor and..."
Feng Jiu folded his arms and said, "The Master said yesterday that since you've worn it, he doesn't want it anymore. You can pawn it or cut it up to make insoles. It's up to you."
These words made the two rare treasures seem like coarse linen rags sullied by a lowly slave. Seeing the shock in Yun Yuan's eyes, he suddenly put his fist to his lips and coughed softly, revealing a hint of forced embarrassment. "And... the Master has ordered us not to disturb his peace."
Seeing Yun Yuan's eyes dimmed slightly, he whispered, "Instead of wasting time here, why not return and prepare? This second level is no easier than the Thousand Ren Valley. It's also a test of life and death." He tapped the "Bai Cao Xuan Jian" in Yun Yuan's hand with his fingertips. "This pharmacopoeia is obscure and difficult to understand. I'm afraid it will take some time to study it."
Yun Yuan could only turn around and leave.
Feng Jiu looked at the girl's back as she left with the book in her arms, and couldn't help but sigh softly.
Last night, when he returned to Mulan Pavilion to report, he found the young master half-leaning on the jade couch, cold sweat spreading across his silver-patterned robe. Most horrifying were his eyes—his pupils, once clear as glass, were now bloodshot like spiderwebs, like coral exploding beneath the surface of ice. The young master hadn't explained why, and the doctor had simply attributed it to excessive internal energy. He suspected Yun Yuan had something to do with it. But the young master had insisted she not notice.
At noon the next day, Feng Jiu led Yun Yuan through the triple iron gates of Haofeng Courtyard. Moss covered the bluestone corridors. As they passed the Taihu rockery, they saw two brown-clad servants carrying a green-faced corpse. It was the burly man she had first encountered in Qianren Valley.
Feng Jiu glanced at her expression and sighed, "They said it was a life-or-death test. But according to the rules, there are seven poisons and one medicine, so they dare not tamper with it. You must make sure which bowl is the medicine."
The eight coiled dragon pillars of the Lake Center Pavilion are wrapped with tussah silver threads.
Xi Ran, her sleeves embellished with golden sparrow patterns, stood among them. Feng Wu stood behind her, arms folded, and sneered, "The people from Yuanfengyuan are truly capable. They picked up four wind tokens effortlessly. This way of passing the level is quite novel."
"The little girl is quite lucky, fifth brother, thank you for the compliment." Feng Jiu ignored the sarcasm in the tone and smiled.
Feng Wu snorted coldly.
"These two rough guys always fight each other when they meet." Xi Ran smiled sweetly, stepped forward and held Yun Yuan's arm affectionately, saying, "Nice to meet again. How are you, Yuan'er?"
Yun Yuan didn't want to engage in hypocritical pleasantries with her, so she just said, "Poison please."
Xi Ran was stunned for a moment, then just smiled and said, "My sister is also impatient."
She said no more. Her slender fingers brushed across the gilded table, and she swiftly took out a spoonful of powder, dropping it into the medicine cup one by one. She then picked up a wooden spoon and scooped soup from the soup bucket beside the table, filling the medicine cups one by one.
"Eight cups of throat-soothing soup, please." Xi Ran smiled with her crimson lips.
Yun Yuan picked up a lamp and raised it to her lips without hesitation.
Feng Jiu's pupils suddenly shrank - she actually passed by the bowl of medicine and took a lamp of highly poisonous crimson pearl grass!
“That’s…!”
While Feng Jiu was exclaiming, the girl had already finished drinking the red soup in the cup and was slowly wiping the medicine from her lips.
Feng Wu knocked his black iron wrist guard against the hilt of his sword and sneered, "Just because you haven't mastered the art yet, you can yell at me?! Yuanfeng Academy really treats the rules like dregs!"
He was just basking in his pride when Yun Yuan began to speak slowly, "This medicine is so strong it burns my throat unbearably." Before she finished speaking, she had already raised the second cup to her brow, the icy blue liquid making her eyes sparkle. "This one might quench my thirst." She tilted her head back and drank, her throat moving slightly as she savored the liquid. After a moment, she raised her eyelids slightly. "It's a perfect match. Even after the seventh breath, there's still a sweet aftertaste."
This time, not only Feng Jiu, but even Feng Wu was stunned. Although the rules allowed them to drink as much as they wanted, who would drink poison as if it were sugar water?
But the girl's trembling hands picked up the third lamp, took a sip with her purple lips, and then put it down.
"It's so thick... it's like the ink in your inkstone. I'll just take a sip, please don't blame me."
Xi Ran looked at her calmly for a while, then asked faintly, "How do you feel, sister?"
Spider-web-like black lines appeared on the girl's neck. Her breathing was stagnant and she gasped slightly. After a moment of rest, she suddenly raised the corners of her ink-stained lips and said, "I'm tired." She raised her eyes and glanced at Xi Ran and Feng Wu. "Can we go back and rest now?"
Xi Ran stood up and bowed: "Goodbye, sister. I'm sorry I can't see you off."
Yun Yuan gathered her sleeves in return, her plain skirt sweeping across the scattered white fluff on the bluestone steps.
Feng Jiu stared at the girl's back as she walked out of the pavilion in the middle of the lake before he reacted and hurriedly took two steps to catch up with her.
Feng Wu was so angry that veins on his forehead bulged, "Did you do anything?"
Xi Ran picked up her round fan and waved it gently. "Fifth Brother, what you said is ridiculous." She tapped one of the yellow-glazed teacups with her jade finger. "According to the plan, this single bowl of medicine was the 'Gentle Breeze Jade Dew,' a poisonous combination with impermanence. But she didn't drink it herself, and instead drank these three bowls of poison. What can I do?"
"If it was three bowls of poison, how could she be safe and sound?!"
Xi Ran's eyes flickered as she looked towards the shimmering lake. "Fifth brother, have you ever heard of Mo Yuntang's 'Mysterious Mirror of Herbs'?"
"Mo Yuntang? The Mo family that was wiped out by the Queen?"
"This 'Mysterious Mirror of Herbs' was originally a secret manual kept by the Mohist school, but somehow it's been passed down to the world. It contains a forbidden recipe for fighting poison with poison: Crimson Pearl Grass burns the heart, Ice Toad Marrow locks the soul. These two poisons can attack each other, but if they clash, it will damage the lungs. Poison Feather Dew can be used to soften the body." Her eyes swept over the three poison bowls one by one. "This recipe breaks two extraordinary poisons, but it doesn't specify the dosage or the right temperature. Countless poison masters have tried it over the years, but only ended up dead. Who would have thought she would be an exception?"
"This recipe has vitality?!" Feng Wu only understood this part and immediately shouted angrily: "Then why are you still using it?! What the young master wants is..."
"Young Master wants a perfect dead end," Xi Ran interrupted him, "First, Third Young Master must be unable to find any flaws. Could it be that..." She suddenly glanced sideways, her eyes with molten gold at the corners meeting his, shocking him, "Fifth Brother wants to make Young Master break the Feng Family's ancestral precepts by exhausting him?"
Feng Wu's throat choked - how could he not know that it was these two words "ancestral teachings" that hindered the young master in every way!
"And this recipe was personally reviewed by the Young Master yesterday." Xi Ran poured the remaining poison into the wooden barrel. "This is the end of the hurdle. The next one depends on Fifth Brother."
The dusk dyed the blue bricks of Yuanfeng Courtyard into pigeon blood brown.
Yun Yuan sat alone in the corridor, the bluestone bench was soaked in the evening coolness. She lowered her head and stared at the "Baicao Xuanjian" in her hand, her fingertips gently stroking the faded red seal on the cover - the three words "Mo Yuntang", which were slightly hot in the dimming sky.
Suddenly, she heard the door creak. She looked up at Mulan Pavilion and saw Ruyue stepping over the threshold holding a gilded medicine cup. She then gently closed the door, leaving only a wisp of medicinal fragrance wafting in the wind.
Her nostrils twitched and her brows furrowed slightly: "This medicine is for internal injuries. How could he have internal injuries when he was fine?"
She took a step towards Mulan Pavilion, but then stopped and turned to look at the bitter apricot tree outside the corridor: What does it have to do with her? It’s more important to think about this third gate of hell.
Just as Yun Yuan calmed down, she heard the sound of Mulan Pavilion's door opening - Feng Jiu came out of Mulan Pavilion and walked straight towards her.
He first handed over a black iron token.
"The third trial requires a spy. This is the Spy Order. If you succeed, you wear it; if you fail, you surrender it." He then handed over a green bamboo slip and sighed, "It's a pity that the Haofeng Guards ridiculed you for taking shortcuts in the Qianren Valley Trial, deeming you unworthy of such a lowly assignment."
Yun Yuan took the bamboo slip and saw the ink marks on it like snakes:
It is strange that the grain store in Xicun is not in business.
She frowned slightly. "Passing the three trials is about proving your value to the Feng family. It's all about strategy." High-level trials are dangerous but more likely to succeed, while low-level ones might be safe but only in suspense—meaning you won't get the antidote.
"The master told you to be cautious and not to be careless." Feng Jiu shook his head, "But these shops..." He sighed again, "Just take a break for now."
Feng Jiu only heard Hao Fengwei's sarcasm, but he didn't know that Yun Yuan had passed two trials, not only angering the young master but also alarming the head of the family. How could she "rest" in this third trial?
The next day at noon, Feng Jiu had just returned from Xuanfeng Courtyard when he was shocked to see the master of the household sitting on his black cart, crushing flower petals on the road, and entering the gate of Yuanfeng Courtyard. Although he had come to visit the patient, within half a cup of tea, the entire courtyard was surrounded by the wind and spies, making it difficult for even a cat to escape.
At this moment, Yun Yuan had already stepped into the grain shop.
A gray-haired shop owner was lying in the rocking chair, with a palm-leaf fan covering his face.
"Three strings of corn and one dan of rice." The sound of a jar came from under the palm-leaf fan.
"The market price is only one yuan." Yun Yuan responded, his fingertips brushing across the dusty grain bucket: How can this grain shop do business?
The palm-leaf fan suddenly opened halfway, and withered yellow eyes squinted at her: "Cheap things are precious to me, and have no use in the world. Since you don't know how to use them, just don't buy them."
She was hesitant when the wooden door behind her suddenly exploded! She shuddered and dodged a corner, only to see three masked swordsmen burst in, slashing at the rocking chair with their long swords. Suddenly, the shop owner's gaunt figure sprang up like a ghost, tapping the blades with his toes, and shattered the window into the morning mist.
Yun Yuan took advantage of the opportunity and flew out lightly. Just as he ran to the street, he suddenly felt an arrow attacking his back. He turned over suddenly to avoid it, and then he saw the person coming clearly - his clothes were exactly the same as those of the people who came to smash the shop.
These people came to smash the store, why were they chasing her?
While she was stunned, the man had already put three arrows on the bow. Yun Yuan did a flying spin and narrowly avoided the three arrows. As soon as she landed, she saw the man coming in front of her and slashing down at her head with a shiny big knife.
A flash of cold light pierced her eyelashes, and the clang of metal pierced the air. When the dust cleared, the masked man fell off his horse. Yun Yuan suddenly felt a tightening around her waist. Her crane cloak billowed like a cloud, and a breeze carrying the fragrance of agarwood brushed past her ears—she was being embraced, the jade belt buckle pressing against her waist.
The horse, hearing its master's shout, galloped away, jolting Yun Yuan so hard that she felt dizzy. Above the whirring wind, she could only hear the high-spirited, playful laughter: "Little bird, are you afraid?"
"Why is Master Xuan here?!"
"Who are you expecting to come?"
Yun Yuan finally managed to sit still, clutching Feng Yanxuan's collar and urging him, "They're not chasing us anymore, Master, please put me down!"
Feng Yanxuan reined in the reins and looked back: "Looks like it's from the local knife gang. You're so unlucky, you happened to run into a knifeman who broke into the place and nearly lost your life."
"What's so strange about that grain shop?" Yun Yuan was still staring at the end of the official road where the smoke and dust had not yet dissipated.
"Isn't this your job to investigate?"
Yun Yuan jumped off the horse and said, "I have to go back!"
Feng Yanxuan sneered, "Who was the one who was so frightened just now? Now he's trying to be a hero."
"Just hide it well this time." Yun Yuan turned back, "I need the antidote."
Feng Yanxuan suddenly said seriously: "How on earth did you provoke Big Brother?"
"How dare I? I am just a rootless duckweed that has entered Yuanfeng Courtyard. If the young master doesn't have a handle, will he let me live?"
"You are drinking poison to quench your thirst." Feng Yanxuan said in a deep voice.
Seeing that Yun Yuan had already walked about ten feet, he whipped his whip to catch up, "Get on the horse! With your speed——"
Suddenly, there was a sound of breaking air!
Feng Yanxuan was startled, spun forward, and leaped, shielding the man in his arms. His sword flashed like a thread, sweeping down the starry sky. Fine iron hidden weapons were hammered into the loess, forming a killing array. Before he could even breathe, poisonous smoke gushed out from seventy-two springs.
When the thick fog cleared, Feng Yanxuan stumbled to his knees. Human figures shuffled through his vision like ghosts, but he could no longer make them out, finally falling into endless chaos.
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