Should she pick right or left?
Han Yunxi was stuck between two hard choices! She would have broken down by now if not for her self-control. After all, the victims of both sides were afflicted with fatal poisons that would take their lives within a short time! How could she not be panicking?
But she couldn’t afford it. Once she did and lost her focus, the detox system’s processing speed would decrease, which would only perpetuate her anxious cycle. Didn’t people sometimes worry themselves to death?
Han Yunxi took deep breaths as she adjusted her feelings. She didn’t choose to think about why victims of both sides were both poisoned at the same time or who those people could be. She needed more data from the system before she could make her final choice. As she settled down, the detox system fed her more information. The poisoned states of both sides were very similar, making it hard for her to tell them apart. The victims had been poisoned at the same time. Even if Bai Yanqing had added poison soldiers to this matrix, there was no way he could poison Long Feiye and the others so easily. One of the victims would have been poisoned by Bai Yanqing himself, while the other...if Han Yunxi guessed right, would be Gu Qishao’s own poison! Neither Long Feiye nor Gu Beiyue had poisons of their own.
Gu Qishao was so smart that he should be able to figure out this was one way to broadcast his location to her. In other words, either Gu Beiyue or Long Feiye had falling victim to Bai Yanqing, while Gu Qishao should still be safe for now. So would Bai Yanqing be on her left or her right? And in that case, would Gu Qishao be on her left or her right?
Han Yunxi could only guess. She shut her eyes and told herself to think rationally. After dividing them up, who would Bai Yanqing chose to poison first? Without a doubt, the answer was Long Feiye. Thus, there was an 80 to 90 percent he was a victim. If Bai Yanqing wanted to kill Long Feiye with poison, he didn’t need to wait until now, much less take all this trouble. With his undying body, he could have acted as soon as he found out Long Feiye was the East Qin crown prince! Back then, they didn’t know about his special const.i.tution and had no guard against him at all.
Bai Yanqing could take any of their lives as easily as flipping his palm. Although they still didn’t know his motives, they were certain of one thing: Bai Yanqing wasn’t interested in their lives or taking over the kingdom.
Han Yunxi’s brows knit tight as she thought hard. She suddenly realized the most important thing now wasn’t to rescue the victim, but find reinforcements. If Long Feiye was in Bai Yanqing’s hands, she had no way to defeat the man on her own. She would need Gu Beiyue and Gu Qishao’s a.s.sistance. Thus, between left and right, she could only choose to hunt down Gu Qishao. While she was considering all this, her senses never stopped looking for Lil Thing, but they were too far apart for her to pinpoint its exact location like before. Her only clue now laid with the poisons.
Her a.n.a.lysis was sound, but she didn’t know that Gu Qishao had an undying body too, or that he couldn’t get poisoned at all. In actuality, Long Feiye’s trio were still together. It was Gu Qishao who had poisoned Long Feiye in hopes of signaling Han Yunxi to their location. The situation for the other victim was still unknown.
So, would Han Yunxi choose left or right?
Time was ticking. Under Bai Yanqing’s matrix formation, it would only take him minutes to find her. She had to choose fast to track down Gu Qishao and the rest. Everything would be over if she fell into Bai Yanqing’s hands, because then he’d be able to oppress them all.
“Left, right, left, right…” she muttered to herself.
If anyone tried to bet with her now, she’d refuse them without question. This was the first time she’d ever felt so unsure. Without a way to choose, she could only rely on her luck! Under these pressing circ.u.mstances, things like tossing a coin and such would only waste precious time. Han Yunxi decisively chose to go...right!
She tapped against the ground with her lightness techniques and quickly headed into the darkened woods. Although she was running very fast, nothing around her changed. She seemed to be stuck in place. If the detox system hadn’t been telling her of the nearby poisons, she would definitely a.s.sume she wasn’t moving. Soon enough, Han Yunxi saw a female sitting in front of her, but it was none other than Ning Jing!
“Ning Jing!” Alarmed, she rushed over, never expecting Ning Jing to be a victim. Hearing her cries, Ning Jing looked over and immediately shook her head. Her mouth was gagged with her hands tied, leaving her with no way to speak.
Bai Yanqing had vanished after poisoning her, so she knew she was bait for luring over Han Yunxi. Han Yunxi guessed as much too, but she didn’t fear any traps now. Since she was already caught in Bai Yanqing’s maze, at least she could see and be with Ning Jing. It wasn’t until she drew close that she saw the woman’s tear-streaked face. She had no idea what kind of tortures Ning Jing had suffered to make her so weak and thin! If Tang Li saw this, how much his heart would ache!
Han Yunxi took out Ning Jing’s gag and loosened her bonds, not noticing her missing teeth. Anxious, Ning Jing only cried, “Han Yunxi, hurry and leave! Bai Yanqing’s close by! He just left!”
Han Yunxi noticed that she was speaking a little funny and looked up to see the missing front teeth! She froze, unable to believe her eyes. Actually, Ning Jing would chose to stay mute if she had a choice and never open her mouth again. But she had to speak and warn Han Yunxi of the danger!
“Bai Yanqing did this?” Han Yunxi asked with killing intent rising.
“Leave quickly! Bai Yanqing’s still closeby, hurry!” Ning Jing urged anxiously.
“Little Yu’er’s still in his hands, right?” Han Yunxi’s voice was cold enough to raise gooseb.u.mps.
“Not just Little Yu’er, but the young general of the Mu Clan. He suffered a lot for our sakes. Han Yunxi, hurry and get away, Bai Yanqing’s insane,” Ning Jing had been caught in the maze this entire time and didn’t know Han Yunxi’s group had fallen victim too. Her scream from before was because Bai Yanqing had frightened her on purpose.
“We’re all stuck in his maze and can’t get out!” Han Yunxi said, giving her the antidote as she helped her to her feet. “The only way we’re leaving is if he dies!”
“Ning Jing, Tang Li’s already taken your daughter back to the Tang Clan. If you want to see her again, you hold on for me!” Han Yunxi muttered. The woman was so weak that she didn’t know if Ning Jing would last.
Hearing this, Ning Jing’s eyes shone. Her daughter was finally home and by her father’s side. She could stop worrying about her!
“Han Yunxi, I haven’t had revenge yet so you...you don’t need to worry! I won’t die!” Ning Jing replied stubbornly.
“Alright! We’ll get revenge together!” Han Yunxi suppressed her temper with effort as she silently vowed to pay Bai Yanqing back a thousand times for what he did to Ning Jing! Definitely!
Meanwhile, the poison source on her left was moving--extremely quickly.
“Gu Beiyue!” Han Yunxi blurted out. Only he was capable of such speeds! Is Gu Beiyue poisoned? Or Long Feiye instead, until Gu Qishao saved them? Han Yunxi didn’t chase after them immediately because they were too fast and she still had Ning Jing with her. She could only observe the changes in silence.
Soon enough, Han Yunxi realized the poison was only moving back and forth. It seemed...like a secret signal to her from Gu Beiyue! If that was the case, then the others hadn’t fallen into Bai Yanqing’s hands, but were still free!
“Ning Jing, quickly!” Han Yunxi was thrilled. But before she could chase after the poison, Bai Yanqing abruptly landed in front of them.
Yes, Bai Yanqing himself!
Han Yunxi would never forget his hypocritical looks!
“Yunxi, who taught you to pinpoint poisons?” Bai Yanqing’s tone was gentle like an kindly old man. He had been observing Han Yunxi’s actions from a distance and also knew Gu Qishao had poisoned Long Feiye. By now, he could tell this la.s.s had a high apt.i.tude for locating poisons! She discovered Ning Jing and Long Feiye’s poisons at the same time and accurately tracked the former down.
He’d sensed this in their previous interactions, but now he was certain. He already knew everything about her and Long Feiye, including their dual cultivation secret, but still couldn’t figure out how she’d learned her poison skills! She had grown up in the Han estate since childhood and was never taught by anyone. Moreover, Mu Xin didn’t even know poison skills.
As Bai Yanqing drew close, Lil Thing trapped in his poison storage s.p.a.ce could sense its master too. It grew agitated, which Han Yunxi felt in turn. She could even sense Lil Thing trying like crazy to find an exit from its prison. Maybe I can take on Bai Yanqing alone if my poison storage s.p.a.ce can level up.
“Why should I tell you?” Han Yunxi retorted.
Bai Yanqing was alone. It was possible Long Feiye hadn’t fallen into his hands, either.
“I can give you time to slowly consider whether to tell me the truth,” Bai Yanqing said as he stepped closer.
“Run…” Ning Jing muttered.
“We can’t run. Let’s see what he’s up to!” Han Yunxi murmured back. Sooner or later, she’d have to face him. She’d rather meet Bai Yanqing head on than run away pathetically. As long as the man wasn’t planning to kill her, they’d have a chance to murder him.
Seeing Han Yunxi stay put, Bai Yanqing stopped moving and chuckled. “Aren’t you afraid of me?”
“Aren’t you the one afraid of me? You’ve been hiding this entire time, haven’t you?” Han Yunxi retorted.