Chapter 75: The King of Hell Writes
As the Far Wind Guards galloped west of the city, chaos reigned outside Wanlifang. The deafening rumble still echoed in the crowds, drawing more and more passersby to stop, daring neither to approach nor to leave, each one craning their necks to peer into the alley.
Feng Jiu rushed into the shop and saw the clothes that Yun Yuan had left between the cracks in the floor.
It wasn't difficult to pry open the trap door, but the sight behind it made everyone gasp—the entire tunnel had been completely sealed off by a massive dragon-breaking stone. Feng Jiu slapped the stone, his cries echoing through the tunnel, but received no response.
The Far Wind Guards tried every trick they could. They wedged iron pickaxes into the cracks in the stone, and several strong men took turns swinging their hammers. Sparks from the collision of the iron weapons flew across the dim tunnel, leaving only a few white marks on the stone surface.
Feng Jiu straightened up, panting, and looked at the setting sun that dyed half the sky red.
"Have you reported this to the Master?"
"The message has been delivered, but the palace seems to be in the middle of a meeting. I'm afraid it won't be delivered for a while..."
Feng Jiu frowned, "Even if the young master came in person, I'm afraid he wouldn't be able to do anything..." He stared at the motionless Broken Dragon Stone, "If we force it to explode, it might collapse and hurt the people inside."
"But there's been no movement for so long... could that girl still be alive?"
"shut up!"
Before Feng Jiu finished scolding, he heard a clear female voice behind him: "He's alive."
Everyone turned around in shock, only to see Yun Yuan standing in the courtyard. The setting sun cast a golden hue on her, even the tips of her hair danced with tiny glints of light. Though her clothes were stained with dust, her eyes were startlingly bright.
"Yuan'er!" Feng Jiu was surprised and delighted, and took two steps forward. "How did you get away?"
Yun Yuan's lips curled up slightly. "How could someone as fearless as Luqi be willing to take her own life? I assumed that since she dared to release the Dragon-Severing Stone, she must have left a way out. Sure enough, she found another trap. Who would have thought the exit would be on the outskirts of the city?"
"Where is that witch?"
"She's been intoxicated by my aphrodisiac and is sleeping in there right now. I can't drag her out." Yun Yuan glanced at the Broken Dragon Stone. "We can't get in here. Come with me over there to get the others. I've also tucked some clothes into the cracks in the ground."
Feng Jiu laughed loudly: "What a skill! I heard that Luqi is the best at using bewitching incense, I didn't expect that I would go against your plan today."
Yun Yuan just smiled and said nothing. Feng Jiu had no idea that not only Lu Qi, but even his son Yuan had suffered from the effects of her special blinding incense.
At dusk, the Prince of Huainan received a tip-off that the Yuanfeng Guards had captured Luqi. The Prince was stunned and surprised: "You, this little pharmacist, are truly extraordinary."
In fact, King Huainan never took Luqi seriously.
From the very beginning, he welcomed her into his house as a guest, but it was only because she was quite famous and he couldn't refuse her like he politely rejected that young boy Mei Hanchuan.
But he couldn't see through her purpose.
Although the King of Huainan spent lavishly on his retainers, the two beautiful women, Qin Se and Shuang Jiao, were known for their ability to earn a fortune. She had plenty of easy ways to make money, so why bother getting involved in the fraught disputes between powerful families? Therefore, ever since Lu Qi entered the palace, she had never even entered the inner courtyard, let alone made any moves. She could only act as a cover for Wei Qianji, as she had done that day.
At the moment, King Huainan was only very curious about the owners of these noodles.
Unfortunately, Luqi had only been to this dark room once, witnessed the art of disguise and the rejuvenation powder, and met a withered "old man"—they said he was the current leader of the Guitou Gang, nicknamed the "Living King of Hell." He was immune to all poisons, possessed the secret of rejuvenation, was skilled in the art of recreating human form, and wielded the Judge's Pen. They also said that with a single stroke of his pen, even a Golden Immortal would lose his soul.
After killing the demons and monsters, Luqi was chased by the evil ghosts from the Guitou Gang all the way to the bank of the Feishui River. She jumped onto a small boat in panic. When the ferry reached the shore, she saw thirty-six evil ghosts holding poisonous weapons already lined up waiting for her.
The gray-robed old man, who had been resting with his eyes closed, now slowly raised his withered fingers. A black iron judge's pen slid out from his sleeve, a drop of thick ink dangling from the tip.
"Don't panic, my lady."
Before the hoarse voice had even fallen, the ink drop from the pen tip had already shot into the air. The eyes of the first three evil spirits suddenly bulged out, black blood seeped from their orifices, and their bodies convulsed. As the rest of the group retreated in horror, the tip of the pen had already pierced the air, a single drop of ink striking the Guitou Gang leader directly between his eyebrows. The demon who had dominated the underworld for twenty years had been killed by a single drop of ink.
Luqi leaned against the side of the ship, watching the once ferocious demons trembling and crawling on their backs. She knew clearly: this was not a chivalrous hero doing good, but the arrival of the King of Hell.
That night, the banners of the Guitou Gang's headquarters were replaced with ink-brush totems, and the name of the Living King of Hell spread from then on.
Of course, Luqi knew Feng Yanhao had a close relationship with the King of Hell, so she could guess his identity. But she only glanced at Feng Yanyuan out of the corner of her eye and didn't say it out loud.
Feng Yanyuan listened in silence, feeling for a moment that this uncle was completely different from the one he remembered, the one always hunched over and offering a fawning smile. Yet, the drug tester's methods—the familiar, cruel methods—were exactly the same as before. This cruelty alone made him worthy of the title "Living King of Hell."
"This man's skill in using poison has reached perfection," Feng Yanyuan's voice deepened. "If he were to be used by King Zhao, he would become a grave threat."
He never revealed the man's identity.
Feng Xiaoming had "died" eight years ago. Now that he had re-emerged, he naturally no longer bore the reputation of hiding in a dunghill and hiding for eight years.
Feng Xiaotian had already drawn a clear line between himself and the Feng family.
In Feng Yanyuan's heart, that so-called uncle should have died ten years ago. Erasing the name Feng Xiaoming from the family tree was the thing he most recognized his father for.
King Huainan said, "If we can recruit Luqi, we might be able to trace this person. However... this woman is not an ordinary person. Fame and wealth cannot sway her heart, and the interests of her country cannot shake her determination. She is alone, coming and going like the wind, and has no ties to burden her."
The prince looked up at Yun Yuan and said, "Pharmacist, you've been following her for days. Have you figured out why she's willing to serve the King of Hell?"
Yun Yuan said, "Although she hasn't mentioned it, there is something that might tempt her. Your Highness might want to give it a try."
The King of Huainan raised his eyebrows slightly, a smile in his eyes: "Pharmacist, do you have another brilliant plan?"
Yun Yuan pulled out a jade medicine box from her sleeve. The box was engraved with a black crane pattern - it was the medicine she had personally mixed, a jade paste that had been condensed after a day and night.
Luqi was soon released from prison.
Before leaving, the attendant respectfully presented the medicine box: "This is the 'Jade Face Rejuvenating Cream.'" The attendant bowed and said, "The prince specifically ordered me to bring it here. This will heal the scars on your face and make your skin look like a newborn's. The prince also said that if you remember anything else, please let me know."
Luqi put the medicine box into her sleeve with doubt.
Three days later, a carrier pigeon tied with a red string landed on the eaves of the palace.
Unfolding the letter, the handwriting was as graceful and charming as its owner: "Thanks for the miraculous medicine, my beauty has been restored. Recently, I suddenly remembered something strange. Previously, the King of Hell ordered me to throw the 'antidote' into the inner courtyard. There is something strange about it. I hope Your Highness will carefully examine it..."
"Antidote?!"
These two words struck Feng Yanyuan and Yun Yuan's ears like thunder.
The King of Huainan frowned slightly, his gaze flickering between Feng Yanyuan's distraught face and Yun Yuan's trembling fingertips. He was puzzled as to why the word "antidote" had caused them both to lose their composure, and even more puzzled as to why Yun Yuan was so determined to examine the packet of powder Wei Qianji had thrown into the kitchen.
"The powdered pine crane seeds have been tested and are not highly toxic, but prolonged use can easily lead to hysteria..."
The voice stopped abruptly, and the King of Huainan stared blankly at the girl's face which had suddenly lost its color.
"Your Highness! Please allow me to test for poison." Yun Yuan's voice trembled.
He dissolved the powdered medicine in clean water, added a specially prepared silver needle to the mixture, and then repeatedly ground and compared it with a poison-testing stone he had prepared himself. Every movement was done with great care, as if grasping at the last straw.
However, the gradually bluish-black color of the silver needle and the clear lines on the poison-testing stone all declared the same fact - this was indeed the antidote to the impermanence poison.
Then... when did the King of Huainan get poisoned?
Yun Yuan suddenly knelt down and asked in a trembling voice to take the prince's pulse.
The Prince of Huainan stretched out his arm in a state of shock, and Yun Yuan's pale fingertips gently pressed against his Cunkou pulse. Within that seemingly steady pulse, she caught a subtle, slow movement, like a glimmer of light leaking from beneath a copper bowl during a game of divination, vaguely hinting at the answer.
The poison had been lurking for at least a month, which meant that during this time, the King of Huainan had been taking the antidote without realizing it.
More than a month ago - wasn't that the Baguashan birthday banquet!
Yun Yuan suddenly realized: It turns out that this series of schemes at the birthday banquet was not only to control the various martial arts sects, but also a diversionary tactic!
It was to confuse the audience and make the King of Huainan and everyone else pay no attention to this poisonous snake with bared fangs!
But the inner courtyard of the palace is strictly guarded, so how could...
She thought of the skins in the dark room. These skins might not only represent important figures like Yue Nancang and the King of Changshan, but could also represent kitchen servants carrying water, chefs, and vegetable cutters... In such a turbulent time, who would notice the subtle changes in a lowly servant?
That's right. When the Prince of Huainan was spying in the Dianqian Pavilion, he had swiftly purged the inner court. It must have been that purge that cut off their means of secretly delivering the poison, forcing them to resort to using newly arrived retainers.
And that map was probably drawn as early as that time.
So, Feng Yanhao had deliberately let Wu Yi "hear" everything, and then deliberately let Wu Yi "escape" to report the news. Then he set up a game within a game, laying this mystery before them?
Yun Yuan looked at Feng Yanyuan's pale face.
Feng Yanyuan's chest tightened.
The lingering uneasiness from the previous map incident now turned into thousands of steel needles, piercing into his internal organs.
Yes, this is Feng Yanhao’s usual method!
The King of Zhao simply wanted to control the King of Huainan. His good brother, however, always preferred to stir up trouble. The map wasn't meant to frame him, but to inform him that the King of Huainan was already trapped, and nothing he did could stop him.
Feng Yanhao's face, full of sarcasm, suddenly appeared before his eyes, his slanted mouth filled with endless mockery: "My conceited good brother, have you finally figured it out?"
Impermanence again...
The little bit of passion that had ignited in my heart during the past few days of planning the great cause was now doused with a bucket of ice water, and the chill seeped into my bones, and even my fingertips began to numb.
"What exactly is this 'antidote'?" asked the King of Huainan with a frown.
The truth was like a knife, cutting through it inch by inch with Feng Yanyuan's suppressed voice.
The King of Huainan sat as still as a pine tree, waiting for the last word to fall before calmly asking, "How much antidote is available?"
After Yun Yuan responded, the room fell silent again. Only the sound of the copper clock could be heard, like the sound of the night drum, which reminded the soul.
"You two should return to Tingsong Pavilion and rest for now." After a long pause, the King of Huainan raised his hand and waved it gently, his wide sleeves casting a shadow in the candlelight. "This matter... should not be made public."
When the footsteps faded away, the prince sat alone in front of a solitary lamp.
The silhouette on the window paper did not move at all from the hour of Xu to the beginning of Mao, until the morning light penetrated the window screen.
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