Long Feiye and the rest didn’t dread Bai Yanqing’s undying body as much as his poison skills. Seeing Tang Li’s skin turn black, Gu Qishao knew that Long Feiye and Gu Beiyue wouldn’t escape the same fate.
He glared at Bai Yanqing and growled, “Antidote!”
“Release me,” Bai Yanqing drawled back.
Tang Li suddenly remembered something and cried, “Big bro, Qishao, my sister-in-law has already escaped into the maze. She should find us very soon! As long as we hold out!”
But he hardly finished speaking before he froze and fell on his knees. The blackness spread to his face, making it impossible for him to speak.
“The poison’s reacting!” Gu Qishao cried.
Han Yunxi was indeed right in the maze. The poison was so thick that she could definitely track them down. But they didn’t have any more time! Tang Li’s life was fading fast. As Long Feiye bent down to help him up, he saw his hand turning black as well. He glanced at Gu Beiyue, who was also staring at his own hand. Without a doubt, the poison had reacted in him too.
Gu Qishao had no choice or time to waste. He looked at Bai Yanqing and said, “There are three people. Give two of them the antidote first. How else am I supposed to trust you?”
“If you want to negotiate with me, you might as well wait until Han Yunxi finds you lot,” Bai Yanqing chuckled. He knew Han Yunxi could find them, but he was happy to make a bet.
Abruptly, Gu Beiyue fell to his knees as well, leaving only Long Feiye to hang on alone. Seeing this, Gu Qishao had no choice but to let Bai Yanqing go. As soon as the vines relaxed, Bai Yanqing drew back while Gu Qishao chased after him. Bai Yanqing actually did throw out a bottle of antidote, but when Gu Qishao caught it, he only saw one pill of antidote inside.
“Bai Yanqing, you’re despicable!” Gu Qishao roared. As he prepared to attack, he saw a woman huffing and puffing as she emerged from the darkness behind his enemy. She was supporting herself with the wall as her other clutched her waist. Although her robes were wide and loose-fitting, it was clear to see her protruding belly. Besides the clueless Bai Yanqing, everyone else was stunned. Even Gu Beiyue and Tang Li raised their heads from kneeling on the ground.
Long Feiye was the most sh.e.l.lshocked member of the party. Panic and helplessness flitted across his face for the first time. This woman--this pregnant woman--was none other than Han Yunxi? His gaze rested on her face and swept downwards until they saw the round curve of her belly. Then they fixated there as if he could never pull away.
In a flash, Long Feiye forgot about their dangerous surroundings and his own poisoned state. He might have even forgotten who he was in that instant. Although he knew Han Yunxi was pregnant, it was different than seeing her with his own eyes. The fact that she was standing perfectly tall and well left him at a loss for what to say.
In the end, he started grinning like a loon.
Bai Yanqing soon sensed someone behind him and prepared to turn around when Gu Qishao’s vines arched towards him again. Thanks to his previous experience, Bai Yanqing evaded the tendrils and soon discovered that Han Yunxi had arrived.
“Dammnit!” he spat and went to attack her!
--
When Han Yunxi saw Long Feiye, her first reaction was to glomp him, but now wasn’t the time! She quickly got out of the way while tossing a bottle of antidote at Long Feiye. Gu Qishao didn’t dare to use Bai Yanqing’s antidote and threw it back at Bai Yanqing along with more vines. Just before the man reached Han Yunxi, she darted aside. Meanwhile, Gu Qishao’s vines rebounded off the stone walls and flew towards Bai Yanqing, forcing him to dodge as well.
Using this chance, Han Yunxi quickly flash-stepped to Long Feiye’s group and scattered a cloud of powder around them, repelling the snakes away. As Long Feiye took the antidote, she looked at him and muttered, “The baby and I both missed you.”
She didn’t hesitate, even for a moment of warmth, but quickly got to work feeding Tang Li and Gu Beiyue the antidote. Otherwise, both men would be dead. Moreover, this poison required time to formulate a full antidote. For now, she only gave them enough to suppress its spread in the body.
Long Feiye said nothing as she worked, but his gaze on her was warm and tender.
“Long Feiye, you guys should all sit down. I have to use needles on you right away, none of you have much time left!” Han Yunxi grew serious.
Seeing this, everyone got the cue and Long Feiye sat down as well. Han Yunxi glanced back briefly at Gu Qishao, only to see him fighting fiercely with Bai Yanqing. After the old man learned to guard against Gu Qishao’s vines, it was much harder to trap him with them.
“Don’t worry, he’s fine,” Long Feiye intoned.
Han Yunxi could cleared sense there was poison in Gu Qishao’s body too, but why didn’t it react in him like the others? But there was no time to ponder the problem. Gu Qishao couldn’t hold off Bai Yanqing alone, so she had to quickly save Long Feiye and the rest. Only she and Long Feiye combined stood a chance to defeat the man!
“Raise your hand! Right hand!” Han Yunxi said.
The trio did as they were told and Han Yunxi treated them simultaneously. There was simply not enough time, since sticking needles took minutes as well. If she went one by one, the last man would be dead by the time it was his turn.
That hateful Bai Yanqing, he certainly chose a fatal poison!
While tensely treating the toxin, Han Yunxi sensed sword qi aiming at her back. She darted a look back and saw Bai Yanqing slas.h.i.+ng at Gu Qishao’s head.
“Gu Qishao!” she cried in alarm.
She wanted to help him, but it was too late. The sword slashed across Gu Qishao’s forehead, sending blood streaming down. Too stunned to speak, Han Yunxi stared as her needles fell from her fingers. This was the first time she’d been so distracted while treating a patient.
“He won’t die! He has an undying body too! Treat the poison, hurry!” Long Feiye was forced to blurt out the truth.
Although Gu Qishao had once held out hope to finished off Bai Yanqing alone without Han Yunxi witnessing the act, this was now a vain wish.
“What?” Han Yunxi turned back in disbelief.
“Poison treatment, quickly! Gu Qishao can’t stop him for long,” Long Feiye said urgently.
Han Yunxi glanced back again, only to see that Gu Qishao was fine and had resumed fighting Bai Yanqing. She finally recovered her wits and shelved her feelings of shock and confusion aside. Lifting a needle, she continued her treatment.
As she worked, she muttered, “There’s only three needles left. Qishao has to hold on!”
Her heart raced as her stomach swelled with discomfort from crouching so long. Still, she stayed in her position stubbornly. Seeing this, Long Feiye felt a pang in his heart. He wished he could wrap her up in his arms right now, but he couldn’t! Not only that, he couldn’t even distract her. Staring at her body, he silently vowed to never mistreat her or the child in this lifetime, no matter what happened. Even if she betrayed him someday!
Gu Beiyue and Tang Li quickly came closer so it’d be easier for Han Yunxi to treat them. Very soon, another round of needles were stuck between the three men, leaving two needles for each of them left. She kept searching for acupoints and soon finished the second round.
One more was left!
Meanwhile, Gu Qishao used a single vine to attack Bai Yanqing from behind and trap him by his waist! While Long Feiye’s trio rejoiced, he muttered in a low voice, “Hurry, Gu Qishao’s got him!”
But Bai Yanqing then gave a vicious tug on the vine, dragging Gu Qishao towards him before gripping him by the neck. Gu Qishao allowed him to choke him as more vines flew crazily out of his sleeves and wrapped themselves around Bai Yanqing. He lifted his head and grinned haphazardly, because he had won!
Although neither of them could die, Gu Qishao had still won because he’d successfully pinned down Bai Yanqing! I can leave the rest to Long Feiye and Poison la.s.s. They’ll definitely get revenge for me!
Meanwhile, Han Yunxi took out her final needle. Long Feiye was ready to sweep her off her feet, but he wasn’t as aggressive as the past. He carefully helped her to her feet. Gu Beiyue and Tang Li flanked her on her right while he claimed her on her left.
At this moment, Bai Yanqing and Gu Qishao were stuck together as well, both of them trapped in the vines. Gu Qishao shook Bai Yanqing’s hands off his neck and turned towards Han Yunxi with a brilliant smile.
“Poison la.s.s, isn’t Qi gege amazing?”
Han Yunxi and the rest didn’t dare relax their guard. She didn’t even probe him about his body. They had to think of a safe solution to trap Bai Yanqing for good. Tang Li quickly took out a length of rope, the product of months of research from the Tang Clan’s elders. Its material was unique, similar to the shadow threads but much thicker. They were used to trap a person’s four limbs and made it impossible to escape. Lady Tang had come up with its name: Lifes.n.a.t.c.her.
Long Feiye and Gu Beiyue took the rope and prepared to act when Bai Yanqing suddenly gave a violent kick.
“Be careful!” Tang Li was the first to react and went to grab Gu Qishao’s hand. Unfortunately, he was too late!
The place where Gu Qishao and Bai Yanqing were standing abruptly caved in, sending the two of them tumbling down below! It was extremely deep, so by the time Tang Li reached the edge, the two figures had already vanished from sight.
“There are secret switches everywhere around here, everyone be careful!” Long Feiye said while gripping Han Yunxi’s hand.
“Just what’s going on? Gu Qishao, he’s…” Han Yunxi couldn’t help asking.
“Big bro, is Gu Qishao...a Poison Gu human too?” Tang Li added.
“I only know he can’t die, but you’ll have to ask him yourselves about being a Poison Gu human. Since he’s undying, he might be able to entrap Bai Yanqing for awhile. We have to track down the hostages now,” Long Feiye said.
“Yes, we don’t need to worry about Qishao at the moment. Ning Jing and Su Xiaoyu are in different directions, so it’s best for us to split up. There really isn’t enough time! Tang Clan Head, there might be more hidden rooms inside this one, so let’s hurry and search,” Gu Beiyue urged.
Han Yunxi knew the situation was pressing, but she couldn’t help staring down into the deep abyss. She was too shocked by the truth.
Qishao can’t die?