Chapter 1689: A Question
That old woman walked up to w.a.n.g Wuxie and asked, “Who are you?”
“I am… w.a.n.g Wuxie…” w.a.n.g Wuxie replied in a mechanical monotone, his expression completely vacant.
“You need to obey me in the future and do whatever I tell you to do,” the old woman named Wu Wuyan said in her gravelly voice.
“I…” w.a.n.g Wuxie began, struggles visible on his face. His entire body trembled continuously. It was clear that even though he was in such a muddle-headed state, he still wasn’t willing to become the slave of another.
When she saw that, Wu Wuyan took out the straw doll again. She bit the tip of her finger and sent a drop of her blood onto w.a.n.g Wuxie’s forehead, then smeared another drop over the straw doll’s head. Then, she muttered a string of cryptic words to herself. Black runes surrounded w.a.n.g Wuxie’s entire body. Then, his gaze became completely empty.
Wu Wuyan once again said, “From now on, you will listen to me.”
The expressionless w.a.n.g Wuxie replied woodenly, “Understood.”
…
The others watched the whole process with fearful expressions. These shamans’ methods were too frightening! Even though w.a.n.g Wuxie had been seriously injured already, and Feng Wuchang had even collected hair, astrological details, and personal items and offered them to Wu Wuyan to achieve such a result, this was still w.a.n.g Wuxie! The glorious number one of the daoist sects had actually become Wu Wuyan’s puppet!
No wonder w.a.n.g Wuxie’s first reaction when he saw her had been to try to end his own life. He had clearly understood that he would be restrained after being weakened, but he was still a bit too late.
They all wondered whether, if they were in his place one day and ended up in the clutches of a shaman, would they also be turned into puppets through a similar method?
When she saw their expressions, Wu Wuyan snickered sinisterly. She said, “Don’t worry, we only managed to deal with Mister w.a.n.g because all of the conditions were just right. This old one doesn’t have the ability to restrain all of you too.”
The others’ expressions eased up a bit when they heard what she said.
Wu Wuyan gave Feng Wuchang a look. She took out a pitch-black porcelain bottle and gave it to him, saying, “Peak Master Feng, I’ll leave the rest to you then. Add this gu poison to the other peak masters’ food. I believe you should be capable of doing that.”
Master Jian Huang said in confusion, “The heavens value virtue. This gu poison won’t take their lives, will it?”
“Old monk, you really are hypocritical,” Wu Wuyan said with a harrumph. “Don’t worry, it’s just a drug that will prevent them from causing trouble and ruining our plans. It won’t take their lives.”
Master Jian Huang put his hands together and said, “Very good, very good.”
Feng Wuchang took the black porcelain bottle, then reached out his palm again, asking, “Where’s the antidote?”
Wu Wuyan narrowed her eyes and asked, “What are you going to do with an antidote?”
Feng Wuchang harrumphed. “I need at least some guarantee of safety, right? Otherwise, what if you fed me some of this poison? Wouldn’t I meet a tragic end then?”
Guan Chouhai commented, “Brother Feng’s misgivings aren’t completely unfounded. Elder Wu, you should just give it to him.”
In reality, with their cultivation, normal poison wouldn’t be able to hurt them at all. However, if it was poison made by a shaman elder, they would no longer have such confidence. If not for the fact that they had their statuses to think about, they would have considered asking for the antidote themselves. Now, through Feng Wuchang, they could have some preparation against the poison.
Wu Wuyan harrumphed, then handed over two red pills before saying, “Use them carefully. I don’t have any more.”
Feng Wuchang’s expression changed. He asked, “This is it?” There was no way that he would trust her a hundred percent, so he had to secretly find someone to test the antidotes out. But there were only two, so he wouldn’t necessarily be able to confirm if they worked.
Wu Wuyan chuckled and replied, “If I gave you more, what if you decided to secretly give all of the peak masters the antidote?”
Guan Chouhai and the others nodded. She had a right to her misgivings too. Their plan was extremely important, so they couldn"t tolerate any mistakes.
Feng Wuchang’s expression changed several times. In the end, he put the antidote away and didn’t push the issue anymore.
“Right, what about that Emptiness Isle girl? Did you all capture her?” Li Changsheng asked as she looked at Wu Wuyan and Xuan Bajing.
“What girl? Our plan was to take care of w.a.n.g Wuxie and our biggest concern was him discovering our plan ahead of time. Why would we do something troublesome like that?” Xuan Bajing replied. Wu Wuyan also shook her head.
Guan Chouhai and Li Changsheng exchanged a look, wondering, “Could it be that it really was done by the Devil Sect’s Yun Jianyue?”
Master Jian Huang said seriously, “There seems to be a third force hidden on Violet Mountain. All of us need to be careful.”
Guan Chouhai nodded in agreement and said, “It would be best if we continued to investigate in secret. With the main event at hand, we have to eliminate any unpredictable variables.”
The others all nodded. After discussing some more things, they went their own ways.
Wu Wuyan took out a little bell and shook it gently. w.a.n.g Wuyan’s expression gradually returned to normal, and he silently hurried back to Pure Yang Temple. Many disciples saw him and greeted him along the way, and he always nodded in return like usual. There seemed to be nothing strange about his demeanor at all.
…
Meanwhile, in Yi Commandery, Zu An had initially planned to go straight back to Violet Mountain. However, because of Yun Jianyue and Qiu Honglei’s arrival, he wasn’t in such a rush to return after this reunion. They continued to speculate about the ident.i.ties of those who actually dared to go against Zhao Han.
Suddenly, one of Zu An’s subordinates reported, “Sir Eleven, there is a young lady surnamed Tang who wishes to meet you. She said you would agree after hearing this.”
Zu An was stunned and said, “Bring her to the lobby. I’ll go there soon.”
The subordinate accepted the order and left. Yun Jianyue remarked with a mysterious smile, “Our Sir Zu always seems to have a beauty waiting to rush into his arms wherever he goes, doesn’t he?”
Qiu Honglei looked at him with a suspicious gaze, asking, “Who is this Miss Tang?”
“Who else can it be? It’s the one from the Hub of Freedom,” Yun Jianyue said, rolling her eyes.
Qiu Honglei exclaimed in surprise, “Big brother Zu actually has such a close relationship with that woman?”
After working with King Yan for such a long time, they naturally knew about Lady Tang from the Hub of Freedom. They had competed with King Yan Manor in many ways, and this Tang Tian’er was quite mysterious. It seemed she had strong connections with both the Hub of Freedom and the Zhenyuan Merchant Group.
Zu An chuckled awkwardly and said, “It’s not what you’re thinking; we’re just friends. She probably came to talk about official business with me. Wait a bit for me, and I’ll explain it all to you two.” He apologized and left afterward.
Only then did Yun Jianyue explain Zu An’s relationship with Tang Tian’er to Qiu Honglei. After all, that was also the reason why King Yan hadn’t been able to shift the blame to the Hub of Freedom.
Qiu Honglei suddenly realized what was going on. She couldn"t help but complain to Yun Jianyue, “Master, look at what happened after you made me cultivate in seclusion! I clearly came first, and yet I suddenly feel as if all these vixens seized that opportunity!”
Yun Jianyue’s eyes twitched. She felt that she was being criticized somehow too. She retorted impatiently, “It’s your man who’s a skirt-chaser; what does it have to do with me?”
“Master, are there any drugs that can make him dead set on only loving me alone? I heard that the shamans have a love gu poison. I wonder if it works…” Qiu Honglei muttered.
Yun Jianyue was startled and said, “You absolutely cannot mess with the shamans’ gu poisons. Furthermore, something isn’t right with your thinking. That Zu guy is pretty loyal, and his relationship with Chu Chuyan and the other sweethearts is great. You can’t let this way of thinking ruin everything for you!”
Qiu Honglei gave her a strange look before saying, “Master, you used to teach me that men were just toys and that you didn’t mind just killing all men off forever. Why are you now telling me to get along with the other women peacefully?”
Yun Jianyue’s face heated up. Then, she said angrily, “As if I care about your business. Don’t ask me for help with this in the future anymore.”
Qiu Honglei quickly tugged on her elbow and said, “Master, I was joking, okay? Don’t get upset… Huh? Master, you seem to have become bigger again. How did you do it? Can you teach me?”
Zu An’s provocations appeared in Yun Jianyue’s mind. She didn’t dare to tell the truth. She replied, “You’re not that small either, so why do you care about these things?”
Qiu Honglei grumbled, “It’s that Pei girl’s fault for being too ridiculous…”
…
Meanwhile, Zu An arrived in the lobby. A beautiful figure stood within, sipping on some tea. Perhaps because she had served as the spokesperson of the Hub of Freedom for a long time, no flaws could be picked out from her bearing and etiquette at all. Even just watching her enjoy some tea was a feast for the eyes.
“May I ask what Lady Tang has visited me for?” Zu An asked.
“Hmph, you call me ‘little sis Tian’er’ when you need me for something, but when you don’t, you call me ‘Lady Tang’. Sigh, men are all just like pig feet after all,” Tang Tian’er said as she lowered her teacup. She no longer had her usual sweet smile; instead, her expression carried a hint of hidden bitterness.
Zu An’s breath caught in his throat. He could only ask, “Did you come here because of Zhang Jie? I really am a bit sorry because of that.”
Tang Tian’er shook her head and replied, “Zhang Jie wasn’t even one of my men, so why would I be upset about that?”
Zu An was stunned. According to what Zhang Jie had told him, the man had claimed to have ties with the former dynasty’s imperial clan. Meanwhile, Tang Tian’er was someone from that faction.
“Still, to a certain degree, he could be considered my ally. So, the events that transpired have left me a bit frustrated,” Tang Tian’er said. She paused for a moment before asking, “If Sir Eleven hears about our relationship, will he come to arrest me?”
Zu An said impatiently, “You’re my good friend, so why would I arrest you?”
When she heard him call her a good friend, a big smile appeared on Tang Tian’er’s face. She said, “The reason I came here today was just for one thing. Do you really intend to continue working loyally for the emperor?”