Chapter 43 Attendant Eleven
Shinju returned to the carriage of the King of Zhen, only to find that the King of Zhen was not in the carriage, but standing beside it, with a gyrfalcon perched on its arm, its sharp, steel-like claws deeply embedded in its arm armor.
Shinjuku felt it looked very familiar, especially its full chest hair...
At this moment, the gyrfalcon seemed to sense something, suddenly turned its head to stare at Shinjuku, and then flapped its wings and swooped down at Shinjuku.
Both the King of Zhen and the General who was reporting were startled. The General in charge of hawk training hurriedly blew the bone whistle, but it was too late to stop them.
The gyrfalcon nearly lunged at Shinju's face, its sharp claws aimed straight for his throat. However, at the last second, Shinju raised his hand and caught the gyrfalcon in mid-air, its chest feathers stopping just two inches from his face.
The gyrfalcon shook the fluffy, snow-white fur on its chest and let out a low growl of discontent.
Amidst the stunned silence of those around him, Shinju snapped out of his daze, realizing he shouldn't have revealed his skills—it was too conspicuous. So, feigning panic and confusion, he quietly released his grip on the gyrfalcon, letting its soft breast feathers press against his face.
"Achoo!" Shinjuku rubbed his nose.
"Damn it! Come back now!" The falconer was sweating profusely and blew his bone whistle at the gyrfalcon, but it was to no avail.
Just as a clear and melodious whistle rang out, the gyrfalcon shuddered, spun around and flew up, then gently landed on the Poison King's arm, folding its enormous wings.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
The falconer looked at the King of Zhen with admiration, then knelt down and begged for forgiveness, saying, "Your Majesty is mighty! This falcon is wild and untamed. I failed to discipline it properly. I beg Your Majesty's forgiveness."
The King of Poison didn't look at him, but instead walked past the crowd and looked straight at Shinjuku, pointing to his temple.
Shinju raised his hand blankly, then felt a feather, white with a hint of brown, near his temple. He smiled sheepishly, silently brushed the feather away, and the tips of his ears unconsciously turned a light red.
The King of Zhen's eyes darkened. He stared at the report for a few moments before turning his gaze away and continuing to listen to the military report.
"The advance troops have just sent back news that they have obtained support from Ba City, but it will probably take another day or two to deploy troops and set up defenses. If they continue north to Lang City and arrive smoothly without any unexpected incidents, it will also take three days."
"All the wounded have been taken care of. Four of the lightly injured have returned to their units, while the rest are receiving treatment in Wuzhen. The bodies of the deceased have also been handed over to the town's garrison for handling. Sixteen new horses have been purchased to replace the old ones, but they are slightly less powerful, leaving a shortage of nine horses. In addition, all the overturned carriages have been repaired."
After listening, the King of Zhen crossed his arms and nodded. "Well done. As for the shortage of horses, we can have them rotated, or leave a small team behind to wait for reinforcements to arrive. The generals can make the arrangements accordingly."
"Your subject understands."
"If there is nothing to report, then you may leave..."
Before the King of Poison could finish speaking, a group of soldiers suddenly emerged from the grove, carrying two full hands of water. They shouted with joy, "We've found a spring for our brothers! Are you all thirsty? Quickly, fill up the water for the soldiers! We'll follow you!"
Many soldiers and officers cheered.
Shinjuku, who had put down his writing brush, ink, paper and inkstone on the carriage, couldn't help but peek out from under the curtain after hearing the sound and curiously looked towards the source of the noise.
"Why are there flower petals in this water?" someone suddenly asked.
"We'll filter it out later. There are peach trees planted by the spring where we fetch water; it's so beautiful," the soldier fetching water explained with a smile.
So the soldiers set up pots and started fires, added alum to the spring water to settle the impurities, filtered it again with fine linen cloth, and finally boiled it in the pots—this was the ironclad procedure for handling wild water in the army. Once the steam rose, everyone carried their gourds or water bags and lined up to fetch water.
Shinjuku stared intently at the ink-like substance swimming freely in the water. Despite meticulous processing, the ink hadn't faded; instead, it had become evenly distributed. This caused him to clench his fists, his brow furrowed with displeasure.
Who could possibly poison the water and commit such a heinous act?
Shinju strode towards King Juzu, bowing his head and saying, "Your Majesty, such a great accident has occurred today, yet I have done nothing to help and have been unable to do anything. I am truly ashamed. The soldiers are so exhausted right now, why don't I distribute the water to them?"
The King of Zhen certainly didn't think that Shinju was useless, but seeing how enthusiastic he was, he didn't want to discourage him. So he blinked slowly and said casually, "Go."
The general had been secretly observing from the sidelines; in fact, he had been extremely curious about this attendant since the previous night. This young man was clearly a close attendant of the emperor, yet he showed no servility in his interactions with the monarch. Moreover, the emperor didn't seem to mind his overstepping his bounds and treated him with great intimacy. The two were vastly different in age and social status, yet their every move seemed to reveal a secret, unspoken understanding. This made him unable to remain indifferent.
Therefore, the general volunteered to take Shinju to the front of the soldiers and asked them to hand over their long-handled spoons, which were then given to Shinju.
Some soldiers were pleased to be relieved of their duties and began to rest under the trees. However, a few soldiers who had specifically returned with water glared at Zhen Su, their eyes filled with hostility and cold smiles. They thought to themselves: "He's always absent from the easier tasks, but he shows up for the most crucial part. If we just praise him a bit before the Emperor, we can claim all the credit. Those eunuchs are all incredibly eloquent, yet they serve the Emperor closely. Unlike us, we can only toil away, with no connections or connections to claim credit."
The soldiers' resentment was almost materializing, but Shinju couldn't care less about such things. He opened his divine sense and ran his hand over the water buckets and hot pots one by one, absorbing the toxins. Then, feigning accident, he touched the chests of two soldiers who were hurriedly stealing water, causing the two burly men to show expressions of shock. They were stunned for a moment before hurriedly raising their hands to cover their chests, looking ashamed and indignant as if they had been molested.
"..." Shinjuku turned his head away, avoiding their burning gazes.
He didn't want this to happen! Who let the poison get there? If he hadn't taken it in time, something terrible would have happened. The poison's ink color was perfectly pure; it was like that even before it entered his mouth.
As Shinju lowered his head to scoop water, he suddenly felt an unusually piercing gaze from another direction, as if it were stabbing at him. The moment he looked up, he met the gaze of the Poison King, who was several feet away. The Poison King's eyes, as black as lacquer, were half-hidden beneath his dark eyelashes, making his gaze appear not only dark and gloomy but also chilling and cold, as if capable of freezing everything within a hundred miles.
Masakatsu felt inexplicably guilty. He didn't know why he felt guilty in front of the King of Poison, since he wasn't touching the King of Poison.
When the soldiers waiting to fill the water bags saw that Shinju had suddenly stopped moving, they urged him on. Shinju quickly scooped a spoonful for him, and then took the opportunity to pretend to be busy and continue distributing water to the soldiers.
The scarred soldier glanced sideways at the men around him as they drank from the spring, a barely perceptible smile playing on his lips. However, after a long while, the large pots and buckets were all empty, and the soldiers' water pouches were refilled, yet not a single person showed any unusual behavior.
Just then, a soldier not far away suddenly staggered a few steps, coughed heavily a few times, and his face turned ashen in an instant.
The scarred soldier's eyes lit up immediately, and he stared intently at the man.
Suddenly, the soldier straightened up and waved to the people who were comforting him, saying, "I'm fine. I just choked on my rations. How embarrassing." Then he picked up his water bag, took a few sips, and his expression immediately softened.
"..." The scarred soldier's temples bulged with veins, his eyes filled with disbelief and resentment. Why? Why hadn't anyone been poisoned?!
Shinju noticed the scarred soldier who hadn't touched water at all, and slowly walked towards him, asking, "Why don't you drink, sir?"
Before the scarred soldier could say anything, the group of soldiers fetching water immediately surrounded him.
They yelled at Shinju, "What does it matter to you whether Brother He drinks water or not?!"
"Brother He led us to this water, how could we not love drinking it?"
"It's clearly not a water issue. Could it be that someone has spoiled Brother He's appetite?"
Mayuki hadn't expected their tone to be so aggressive. He narrowed his eyes and looked at them for a moment before his gaze returned to the scars on the soldier's face. He smiled and asked, "Is it that you don't want to drink, or that you're afraid to drink?"
The scarred soldier's pupils contracted sharply, and his trembling hand secretly rested on the hilt of his sword.
The soldiers who were fetching water had initially been startled by Masakuni's glare, but upon hearing this inexplicable question, they couldn't help but burst into laughter: "What's there to be afraid of drinking? Everyone's already had some, what could possibly happen? Is the lord picking a fight? Bullying us lowly soldiers, isn't that funny?"
These people were called soldiers, but those who could be temporarily summoned by the King of Zhen were no ordinary people. They were not necessarily sons of powerful and wealthy families, but at the very least, their ancestors had produced talented generals. At the very least, they had considerable wealth, otherwise, how could they have stayed in the capital to guard the city?
Ignoring their sarcastic remarks, Shinju pressed on, saying, "Then, Master Bing, why don't you take a sip? If you really drink it, I'll do anything for you, and you can ask for anything."
The scarred soldier was drenched in sweat beneath his armor, his heart filled with apprehension and uncertainty. He knew for certain that the water was poisoned, though he didn't know why everyone else had drunk it and remained unharmed. But what if the poison hadn't worn off, but simply hadn't reached its full effect yet? He dared not gamble; that gamble would cost him his life!
Seeing their brother being forced into this situation, the people around them couldn't help but feel indignant and said things like, "I'll drink for Brother He," and "What's there to be afraid of? Brother He, drink up!"
But soon, the crowd's agitated and mocking expressions began to falter. They noticed that the scarred soldier, holding the water pouch, remained motionless and silent for a long time.
In the distance, the King of Zhen leaned against his carriage, a knowing glint in his eyes.
The lieutenant general asked in a low voice, "Your Majesty, shouldn't we go and help Lord Qing?"
The King of Zhen glanced at him and said, "Does that kid look like he needs me?"
How was he supposed to answer that? The general looked distressed and cursed himself for being too talkative.
The King of Zhen didn't care about the answers from others. He pondered for a moment and then ordered the General of the Central Army, "Go find a local from Wuzhen."
The general was extremely efficient. While the situation on the other side was still at a stalemate, the general quickly brought back a townsman from a nearby house and presented him to Masakatsu and the others.
"A Wuzhen native? Why is he here?" the soldiers asked, puzzled.
"Bringed here on His Majesty's orders." As the Lieutenant General explained, he looked up at Masakuni.
The crowd was buzzing with discussion, but Shinju had already figured out the King of Poison's intentions, so he asked those who had fetched water to recount their search for it.
These soldiers had lost their previous arrogance and their hearts wavered like a flag. Moreover, they dared not offend the general, so they had no choice but to tell him everything.
Upon hearing the words "peach blossoms" and "spring," the people of Wuzhen were immediately horrified and stammered, "You, soldiers, you wouldn't... have drunk that spring water, would you?!"
A bad feeling immediately arose in everyone, and they asked hesitantly, "Is there something wrong with this water?"
"Oh no! That's a notoriously poisonous spring!" The people of Wuzhen stamped their feet in distress. "Didn't you see a stone tablet when you went there? Didn't it say 'Do not drink from the poisonous spring'? We may be illiterate, but surely the soldiers could read it?"
Everyone fell silent.
"Then...the spring water is crystal clear, how could it be poisonous?" someone asked, unwilling to give up.
"Oh dear! There are two huge oleander plants over there, soldier. Do you think they're poisonous? The sap from their flowers and leaves can kill you with just one drop!"
Everyone was truly dumbfounded. "Oleander? It's actually oleander?!"
Many people began to feel unwell due to psychological factors, but most remained completely unaware, and thus retorted, "You're talking nonsense! We all drank it and we're perfectly fine, right, brothers? This isn't some poisonous spring, we're perfectly okay after drinking it! You dare to lie to the Emperor?"
"How could this be alright... We don't know! But we really didn't lie. Soldiers, spare us! Soldiers, if you don't believe us, you can ask the town mayor! That stone tablet was erected by the town mayor!" The man from Wu Town knelt down in desperation, but then suddenly remembered something and said, "Wait, drinking from the poisonous spring but being unharmed... Could it be, could it be the spirit of Yun Guang Taoist Temple manifesting itself?!"
"Yun Guang Taoist Temple?" Zhen Su's ears twitched slightly.
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Author's note: Almost 400 comments! So happy! [milk tea emoji]
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