Chapter 65 Past Events of Nan Yue: Xue Qingshu
But why should she be content with that?
"What exactly do you want to do!"
The elder, dressed in traditional southern Xinjiang attire, slammed his fist on the table in fury, his eyes red with anger.
Yueying, however, leaned lazily against the table, twirling a silver bell lightly with her fingertips, completely ignoring his anger.
"That's a strange thing to say." She raised an eyebrow, a chill in her smile. "Isn't she perfectly fine and alive?"
"Alive?" The elder laughed in anger, as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world. "Yes, merely alive!"
He took a sudden step forward, his chest heaving violently: "If it were just a sword through her chest, that would be one thing, but you also twisted it in her heart! You still dare to say you didn't want to kill her?"
His eyes were filled with barely suppressed rage. He pointed at the blind old man meditating beside the bed and said with a pained expression, "If it weren't for the Holy Maiden's strong constitution, which allowed her to retain a breath, and Elder Mu's desperate efforts to protect her heart meridian, as well as the countless rare medicines from the Southern Frontier that kept her alive, she would have died at your hands long ago!"
Yueying's expression remained unchanged; she merely raised an eyebrow lazily, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
"Elder Yuexi." Her voice was extremely gentle, yet it carried a chilling sarcasm. "I brought her back safe and sound. Do you think things will turn out as you wish?"
"What do you mean?" the elder glared at her.
Yueying tapped her fingertips lightly on the table, making a crisp sound. She sneered, "Don't forget who made the Southern Frontier delegation lose face in the Great Xia; who destroyed the Beauty Market that we had been planning for many years; and who even almost solved the epidemic in Xia Nan this time."
Her smile vanished instantly, her eyes turning as cold as frost: "You really think she's stupid? That she'll obediently listen to you? She already guessed her identity and is certain we wouldn't dare kill her. If we don't teach her a lesson, do you really think she'll lead us into that blood pool?"
"You—!" The elder slammed his hand on the table in anger, nearly knocking over the teacup, just as he was about to retort.
Yueying waved her hand lazily, coldly cutting him off: "Now that you've been rescued, instead of wasting your energy taking it out on me, you should make proper arrangements for what's to come."
The elder's chest heaved violently; he couldn't suppress his anger and stood up, about to speak again.
"Alright." Old Mu sighed deeply, his voice hoarse and weary.
Those gray, cloudy eyes seemed to have seen through everything. "Arguing now is pointless. We must be cautious about opening the Blood Pool."
The elder snorted coldly upon hearing this, and finally turned away with a flick of his sleeve.
As she reached the door, she turned back, her voice icy: "Yueying, if you dare to lay a hand on the Holy Maiden again, I will personally take your life!"
With Yueying's cold laugh, the door slammed shut with a loud "bang," and the room fell silent instantly.
After a long silence, the blind old man finally spoke in a hoarse voice, his lifeless eyes looking in Yueying's direction: "You actually really want to kill her, don't you?"
That piercing chest wound, those deliberately ravaged organs—it shouldn't have been a life-threatening situation...
Yueying smiled slightly, gently shaking the bell pendant between her fingers, producing a clear and melodious sound. She murmured with a sigh, "Yes... she really has a lucky life."
"Why do you hate her so much?" The old man still couldn't understand. "Isn't finding Yue Qimeng and restoring Nan Yue our pursuit?"
Yueying did not answer.
Her gaze fell on Tang Yu on the bed. Her once lively and charming face was now pale and lifeless, her chest was wrapped in thick bandages, and her breathing was so weak that it was almost imperceptible.
Yueying's eyes were filled with barely concealed hatred, but even stronger was an emotion called jealousy.
After a long silence, she finally spoke, asking, "Don't you know that while she was still alive, there was no way to overthrow the country?"
The old man paused slightly, then explained, "Yue Qimeng can manipulate all kinds of Gu, and is the only one who can enter the Holy Land. She is also the symbol of our Southern Moon..."
"Enough!" Yueying interrupted coldly.
She naturally understood that using the Holy Maiden to overthrow the country was much faster than lying low for many years and slowly building up power.
But why should she be content with that?
For many years, he had painstakingly planned and struggled in the mud and darkness, doing all sorts of dirty and despicable things for Nan Yue.
But Tang Yu only needs to appear.
With the identity of "Moon Dream," one can achieve their expectations and attract everyone's attention.
The air was heavy and oppressive.
After an unknown amount of time, Yueying coldly withdrew her gaze, turned to the maid beside her, and changed the subject: "Has everything been searched?"
The maidservant replied respectfully, "Miss, we have searched everything."
“She’s incredibly cunning.” Yueying’s gaze turned cold as she slowly rose to her feet. “Don’t forget, this woman can use even a single strand of hair as a weapon.”
Thinking back to the time when she failed to eliminate it in the Lower City, Yueying still felt a lingering sense of resentment.
She was about to reach out and search herself when Old Mu raised his hand to stop her.
“She’s barely breathing now, and even if she wakes up, she won’t have the strength to do anything.” His tone even carried a hint of pleading. “You can wait until she’s completely out of danger before you investigate.”
This is to protect against her.
Yueying could naturally hear it.
She squinted, curled the corners of her lips, and finally chose to put her hand down. Then she turned around and began to look through the pile of items she had taken from Tang Yu.
As he flicked his fingers, he discovered that this person possessed all sorts of strange and unusual hidden weapons, a dazzling array.
"This woman is certainly well-prepared," she commented casually.
Suddenly, the fingertips stopped.
Yueying picked up the small paper butterfly, unfolded it, examined it carefully, and then let out a very soft sneer: "What a piece of junk."
With a casual toss, the paper butterfly floated lightly to the ground.
Yueying turned her head and, with a half-smile, instructed the maid: "Burn everything, leave nothing behind."
She would never give Tang Yu any more chances.
*
Thanks to Tang Yu's blood spilled on the street, Wang Shanyue and the soldiers were finally able to stabilize the chaos.
The blood-stained Gu people fell into a state of dormancy and could be easily controlled with ropes. The wildly flying Gu worms were also burned away by the flames under Xiao Fangliang's plan.
The smell of burning and blood filled the main street, making people want to vomit.
Wang Shanyue, panting heavily, casually wiped the bloodstains from his longsword with the black clothes of a Gu person, and looked around at the tragic scene.
Even though everything has returned to normal for the time being, he still can't be happy.
Xiao Fangliang said calmly, "Let the government handle it. Sister Yunxi still needs us."
Wang Shanyue then came to his senses and rushed to the side of the unconscious Wang Yunxi, using his internal energy to check her pulse. Seeing that her pulse was stable, he breathed a slight sigh of relief.
The group brought the person bound by the Gu poison back to the palace, and were about to discuss the next steps with King Xia Nan when they suddenly heard hurried footsteps outside the door.
It turned out to be Prefect Xue Qingshu, who rushed over with several of his subordinates.
Upon entering and seeing Xiao Fangliang, he immediately put on a fawning smile, bowed, and praised, "Oh dear! It is all thanks to Young Master Xiao's wisdom and courage that the people of Xia Nan were saved from danger! I, the official, have been stationed at the rear, carefully selecting batch after batch of elite troops to go to the main street to provide support. I hope they have been of some help to you?"
Wang Shanyue's face darkened. If Xiao Fangliang hadn't yet spoken up, he would have loved to rush up and stab this man with his sword.
Xue Qingshu felt a chill run down his spine from that gaze, and sweat streamed down his temples, but he still had to maintain that stiff smile.
He glanced at the Gu people being escorted by soldiers behind him, wiped his sweat, and asked, "Have all the villains been captured? That's wonderful! I...I wonder...is there anything else I can do to help?"
Seeing the prefect's smug face, which seemed to be trying to take advantage of the situation and avoid trouble, Xiao Fangliang's eyes darkened, and he sneered inwardly.
He should have guessed it long ago.
Recalling the incident with the blood well when he first arrived in Xia Nan, the King of Xia Nan was busy with everything, but the Prefect was nowhere to be seen.
Even if the emperor has granted him favors, a king of a different surname or even a different race should never interfere in the people's livelihood and criminal cases in Xia Nan.
The reason for this lies with this prefect, who, while not a great villain, is still not a capable and competent one!
More than a month has passed since the outbreak of the plague, yet there has been no news from the imperial court. It is highly likely that the prefect is avoiding responsibility and concealing the truth.
If they hadn't come here with Tang Yu, found the source of the epidemic, and come up with a solution, Xia Nancheng would probably have been completely wiped out by the time the people sent by the imperial court arrived.
However... Xia Nan is currently short-handed and the crisis is far from over, so we cannot afford to break ties with him yet.
Xiao Fangliang composed himself and a slight smile appeared on his lips: "Your Excellency, Prefect, you must be tired."
"No, no, I wouldn't dare," Xue Qingshu hurriedly waved his hand awkwardly.
Xiao Fangliang glanced at the other party indifferently: "Xia Nan has always been a key pass for exchanges between the two countries. The outbreak of an epidemic is something that neither we nor the court want to see, is it?"
“Indeed…” Xue Qingshu swallowed.
"Furthermore, behind this epidemic lies a conspiracy and intrigue in the Southern Frontier, a matter of great importance that threatens the stability of our Great Xia." Xiao Fangliang paused, implying, "This is both a crisis and an opportunity."
He smiled slightly, "If this matter can be resolved, upon returning to the capital, I will inform my father and report to the Emperor and the other officials for their merits in defending the city. But if it is botched..."
The words ended there, seemingly casually, yet like a guillotine hanging over the magistrate's neck.
Xue Qingshu shuddered and nodded hastily, "Young Master Xiao is right! I will do my utmost! I will immediately send people to patrol the entire city and make sure this plague is eradicated!"
After saying that, he turned around and gave his subordinates a severe scolding before sending them out to run errands.
Looking at this scene, Wang Shanyue found it utterly ridiculous and was about to step forward to make a sarcastic remark, but Xiao Fangliang's gaze forced him back.
He had nowhere to vent his anger, so he could only walk to the back and kick those Gu people twice.
Xiao Fangliang also turned his head to look at the group of Gu people, his brows furrowed tightly.
At this moment, Xue Qingshu, having finished his arrangements, came over with a fawning smile: "Young Master Xiao, what are your plans... for dealing with them?"
"They have Gu poison inside them, so they cannot be killed for now."
Xiao Fangliang withdrew his gaze and said calmly, "We need to find a sealed house to prevent the Gu worms from escaping, and then burn it to ensure safety."
Xue Qingshu nodded hurriedly: "Alright! I will send someone to find him immediately!"
Having said that, he hurriedly led his men to make arrangements.
Once the group left, the Xia Nan Prince's Mansion became deserted again.
The two of them finally had a moment to spare and rushed to the inner room to check on Wang Yunxi's condition.
The doctor looked uneasy and spoke cautiously: "This young lady is physically fine, but... she's sleeping too soundly."
He carefully chose his words, "There are no signs of him waking up, and he shows no response to stimulation such as acupuncture. I apologize for my incompetence..."
Wang Shanyue's heart sank further as he listened, his face turning deathly pale: "A Liang, what should we do? Did Yueying do something to her?"
"Don't rush," Xiao Fangliang comforted, then turned and bowed to the doctor, "You've worked hard, please go back now."
The doctor felt as if he had been granted a pardon and hurried away.
Xiao Fangliang gave Wang Shanyue a wink. He immediately understood, and after checking that no one was around, he closed the door.
Seeing that everything was in place, Xiao Fangliang lowered his voice and said, "This kind of unconsciousness may be caused by the poison. Now, if we want to save Sister Yunxi, we can't rely on ourselves alone, and we can't rely on Xia Nan's sorcerer either."
Wang Shanyue's temples throbbed with veins, but he forced himself to suppress his anxiety: "Then what should we do?"
Xiao Fangliang said seriously, "Find a way to send a message to the Tang family and ask Si Huo to come over."
Wang Shanyue immediately said, "Then I will go and ask King Xia Nan for help!"
"No."
Xiao Fangliang quickly grabbed him, reaching out to tap his head, but then thought it was dirty and lowered his hand.
“King Xia Nan was merely instructing his subordinates, but who knows if they are reliable or if the news will leak out?” he calmly explained. “The more people know, the harder it will be to get the message back.”
"Then who should we contact?" Wang Shanyue asked anxiously.
Xiao Fangliang glanced at the unconscious Wang Yunxi and gestured for him to come closer so he could tell him his plan.
Wang Shanyue immediately nodded and was in a hurry to go out to do it, but was stopped by Xiao Fangliang again.
"There is one more thing I need to tell you," Xiao Fangliang said solemnly, with a hint of hesitation.
"What?" Wang Shanyue asked, puzzled.
“Tang Yu…” Xiao Fangliang sighed, “is very likely from the Southern Frontier.”
"Huh?!" Wang Shanyue exclaimed in surprise, but under Xiao Fangliang's warning look, he quickly lowered his voice, "How did you know?"
"Open the 'sachet' she gave you first and take a look." Xiao Fangliang raised his chin.
Wang Shanyue was stunned. He took off the sachet he always wore from his waist and untied it.
There were no medicinal herbs inside, only dried reeds.
Among the pile of withered grass, there was a piece of wood about an inch in size, stained with dark blood.
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