Chapter 22
The heavy smell of blood, mixed with gunpowder smoke and the stench of river water, clinged to the wrecked ship, barely afloat in the center of the canal. The hull tilted, a massive gash torn open on the port side by a crossbow. Muddy water gurgled in, and the hold was half a foot deep in cold water. Every step made a teeth-grinding gurgling sound. A few dead lanterns hung on the remaining pillars of the hold, their dim light slicing through the thick mist and smoke, illuminating the devastation.
Several wet corpses lay side by side in the makeshift clearing at the stern. There were pirates in water jackets, their faces grim, and Shadow Scale, his black robe stained with blood, clutching his short blade until his death. The bodies were covered with scraps of canvas they could find, and dark red bloodstains continued to seep and expand, winding across the cold, slippery deck.
Mo Ya knelt on one knee beside the corpse of a pirate. The sleeve of his left arm had been torn, revealing a deep, bone-deep cut running from shoulder to elbow. Flesh and flesh were twitching, and though the bleeding was barely stifled by wound dressing and bandages, every slight movement unleashed a piercing pain. His expressionless face remained frozen, as sweat mixed with blood dripped from his forehead, dripping into the pool of blood beneath him. In his right hand, he held a sharp knife, as thin as a willow leaf. The tip of the knife carefully scraped a few sticky, rice-sized dark green particles from the corpse's clenched fingers.
Gu Linzhi stood aside, his hands behind his back, the hem of his dark uniform immersed in the icy water, unmoved. The shallow scratch on his face, left by the flying sawdust, had hardened into a dark red scar, making his gaze even more serene and profound, like a still well reflecting the flickering lights and the devastation. He quietly watched Mo Ya's movements, the few dark green particles held up by the tip of the knife.
"It's not an ordinary poison." Mo Ya's voice was hoarse, weak from blood loss, yet still clear and precise. "It smells sweet with a hint of rancidity, and it doesn't dissolve in water." He carefully picked up a pellet with the tip of his knife and held it close to a nearby lantern. In the dim light, the pellet seemed to have a faint, oily sheen. "There are residues under the corpse's fingernails, on its gums, and even deep in its ear canal. They must have been left behind by the violent struggle and scratching before death."
Gu Linzhi's eyes swept across the corpse's distorted face, which was frozen in a ferocious expression of extreme pain and frenzy. His eyes were bulging, and his lips were bitten to pieces. "Symptoms?"
"According to the brothers who fought on the deck," Mo Ya stated in a rigid manner, "these pirates charged fearlessly, like mad tigers, with immense strength and little reaction to pain. But after being stabbed, they collapsed to the ground, convulsing and bleeding from all seven orifices. Their death... was extremely painful."
"Hallucination? Arousing murderous intent?" Gu Linzhi's voice was low, like an undercurrent beneath the ice.
"More than that." Mo Ya put down his knife and pulled a flat silver box from his bosom. He opened it, revealing several silver needles of varying lengths. He picked up the thinnest needle and, with extreme caution, stabbed it into a dark green particle. Almost as soon as the needle tip touched the particle's surface, the originally shiny silver needle quickly, at a speed visible to the naked eye, took on a strange, bluish-black color.
Mo Ya's pupils shrank slightly. "Please look, Your Majesty. Silver needles used to test for poisons will turn black when exposed to substances like arsenic. This substance's poison... is more than ten times more potent! And this bluish-black color..." He brought the silver needle closer to the light, "... has a faint blue sheen, which is not the type of poison commonly found in the Central Plains."
"Soul-Separating Powder." Gu Linzhi slowly uttered the three words, a cold light gathering in his deep eyes like a needle. "This is a secret concoction from the Snow Spider Pavilion of the Northern Di royal court. Upon consumption, it's like being drunk, euphoric and manic, with increased strength and decreased pain. Then, the five senses become confused, hallucinations swarm, and ultimately, internal organs rot, blood boils, and death occurs. Its toxicity is so potent that no medicine can cure it. Only the poisoner holds the key to relief." He paused, his gaze settling on the dark blue silver needle. "When this poison enters the body and comes into contact with silver, it turns a dark blue-black color. This is its true signature."
"Snow Spider Pavilion..." The muscles on Mo Ya's stern face tensed. "The canal interception and the crossbow attack are the obvious ones, but this 'Soul Separation Powder' that controls the enemy and fights for their lives is the real killer move!"
"Yeah." Gu Linzhi nodded slightly, his gaze turning to the mess deep in the cabin that had been shattered by the crossbow. "Where is the body of that mute servant?"
Two Shadow Scale members immediately dragged a small, slender corpse from a pile of broken wood. It was the mute boy who had detonated the gunpowder between the ship's planks during the chaos. His body was now charred black, half torn apart by the explosion, emitting a pungent odor of burning. His death was a gruesome sight.
Gu Linzhi approached, his gaze like the most precise probe, scanning the shattered, charred corpse. He squatted down, disregarding the filth, and stretched out two slender fingers to push aside the corpse's tangled, burnt hair, revealing a patch of relatively intact skin at the back of the neck. His fingertips carefully pressed and rubbed it.
Mo Ya endured the pain and held the lamp close to illuminate the area. Under the dim light, he could see a strange purple bruise beneath the charred skin where Gu Linzhi's fingertips pressed. The bruise wasn't a burn or bruise, but rather one that had seeped deep into the flesh like a birthmark.
Gu Linzhi's eyes focused, and he exerted force with his fingers. He used his nails to move along the purple edge, and very carefully... peeled off a layer of "skin" that was as thin as a cicada's wing and was burnt to a crisp and curled state!
"Hiss..." The "Shadow Scale" member holding the lamp next to him took a breath.
Beneath the peeled, charred skin revealed not flesh but another layer of relatively intact skin! This skin was white and delicate, forming a startling contrast with the charred surroundings. Even more disturbing was the distinct, thumb-sized pattern branded on the back of the white neck—a bizarre, ferocious, venomous insect resembling a cross between a spider and a scorpion! Its eight sharp claws, and its tail tipped with a venomous hook, were the hallmark of the Northern Di "Snow Spider Pavilion"!
"A human skin mask." Gu Linzhi's voice was icy cold as he threw the brittle disguise to the ground. "The 'Painted Skin' technique of the Snow Spider Pavilion. This mute... is fake." His fingertips landed on the hideous poisonous insect mark. "Anyone who could bear this mark must be a core member of the Snow Spider Pavilion."
"A core assassin? Disguised as a mute servant, lurking on the official ship, just to ignite that gunpowder?" Mo Ya's eyes flashed with murderous intent. "This price... is too high! Just to kill the Prime Minister?"
"No." Gu Linzhi slowly stood up, his gaze penetrating the burning wreckage as he looked towards the still dense, silent reeds on both sides of the canal. "His goal might not just be to kill." He pointed to the charred face of the corpse. "Look at his face."
Mo Ya, swallowing the pain, leaned closer, carefully examining the corpse's charred face in the light. The explosion and flames had destroyed most of the flesh, but on the edge of the right cheek, which hadn't been completely burned, a faint trace of a suture line could be seen, almost obscured by the scorch marks! On the left side of the face, although charred, the bone outline appeared too soft.
"Yin Yang face?" Mo Ya's voice was rigid and filled with a hint of doubt. "Half real face, half mask?"
"Is the 'Painted Skin' technique unfinished, or..." Gu Linzhi's gaze was sharp as a knife. "Is there a part of his original face... that cannot be seen in public? Or perhaps, it cannot be seen by others?" He paused, his voice lowering. "This corpse itself is the clue. It's a provocation left to us by the 'Snow Spider Pavilion'... and also a mark."
He stopped looking at the charred corpse and turned to the cabin's only remaining intact porthole. Outside, thick morning fog, like a white veil, still enveloped the murky canal, obscuring the view. Deep within the mist, the outline of Hangzhou City loomed in the dim morning light, like a giant beast lurking in the hazy vapor.
"Clean up all traces and change boats." Gu Linzhi's voice was calm, yet filled with unquestionable determination. "Wrap the bodies, especially the remains of the mute, in oilcloth and take them away. The secret on his face... someone in Hangzhou will be able to uncover it."
"Yes." Mo Ya accepted the order in a deep voice and immediately directed his men to take action.
Gu Linzhi stood alone by the window, his dark figure standing out in the hazy mist, looking especially lonely. His fingertips unconsciously brushed the shallow scar on his cheek, a slight stinging sensation. His deep gaze pierced the thick fog, as if locked onto the misty towers and the city shrouded in turbulent undercurrents.
The bloody waters of the canal hadn't yet cleared, but the chessboard of Hangzhou, amidst the smoke of his escape from the attack, had already quietly laid a deeper, deadly plot. A soul-destroying poison, a ghost with a painted skin, and the manipulator hidden behind the fragrant mist of wisteria... The waters of Jiangnan were truly unfathomable.
He narrowed his eyes slightly, and in the depths of his cold eyes, a very faint sharp light, like the quenching of a knife blade, flashed by.
The boat slowly sailed towards the hazy city in the thick fog.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
