“For Xueshi?”
“Yes.” Poison Master Moru replied without the slightest trace of embarrassment.
The Third Prince gave Poison Master Moru a look, signaling for him to continue.
“In order to save Young Master Xue, Sun Ye took the poison I carried on me. Not only did it kill more than half the bandits on Miwu Mountain, it also affected both him and Young Master Xue.”
After hearing Poison Master Moru’s words, the Third Prince lowered his eyes slightly and stared at him.
“You mean you came here to detoxify Xueshi?”
“That is precisely my intention.”
The Third Prince remained silent for a long while. After glancing at Su Ruhan, he finally said calmly to Poison Master Moru, “Yesterday, Su Ruhan and I were there as well, along with Sun Ye. Why is it that only Xueshi was poisoned?”
“Huh?” Poison Master Moru looked genuinely surprised before explaining, “I was unaware that the Third Prince was there yesterday. I never expected to implicate both Your Highness and Guard Su.”
Perfect. If all of you were poisoned too, then my contribution becomes even greater. Though Poison Master Moru’s face was full of guilt, inwardly he was blooming with delight.
“How did Sun Ye learn that Xueshi was on Miwu Mountain?” Su Ruhan asked from the side.
After hearing the question, Poison Master Moru pondered for a moment before replying leisurely, “That is a long story. I would prefer to detoxify everyone first before explaining.”
“Wait.” Su Ruhan interrupted again. “Then why were all the bandits left unconscious while the few of us remain completely unharmed?”
Although Poison Master Moru’s expression did not change, his heart became uneasy. Could he have noticed something? Why is this man so obsessed with getting to the bottom of everything? He’s truly difficult to deal with…
“I assume it is because all of you possess exceptional martial arts. This poison affects everyone differently.”
“Then why is Xueshi unaffected?”
Poison Master Moru froze for a moment before gritting his teeth and replying, “If Guard Su keeps asking questions, Young Master Xue may truly end up in danger.”
The sword within Su Ruhan’s scabbard instantly flew to Poison Master Moru’s throat, while his gaze turned colder than ice.
“Are those words really yours to say?”
Poison Master Moru sneered inwardly. Go ahead and kill me. If you do, the Third Prince will never know peace for the rest of his life.
“Enough.”
That single indifferent word eased the tension between the two men slightly, and both turned toward the Third Prince.
“How am I supposed to trust that the antidote you bring us is not actually poison?”
A sharp light flashed in Poison Master Moru’s eyes as he answered solemnly, “I bear no grudge against Your Highness or anyone here. Why would I harm you without reason?”
Even if I wanted to rescue Sun Ye, I wouldn’t use such a stupid method!
The Third Prince slowly paced a few steps before stopping beside Poison Master Moru.
“You may not wish to harm me, but you could use this opportunity to coerce me. What if we were never poisoned at all, and instead you used this chance to infect us with gu poison? Across the entire world, there might not be another person capable of curing it.”
Poison Master Moru stood stunned.
That’s actually a brilliant idea. Why didn’t I think of it at the time? The Third Prince truly overestimates my intelligence. That possibility never even crossed my mind.
“Your Highness worries too much. If you do not trust me, I can test it on myself first.”
As he spoke, Poison Master Moru reached into his sleeve.
“There is no need. You were never poisoned. Why should you be the one to test it?” The Third Prince said lightly. “I happen to have a criminal here who was also poisoned. Let him test it. If it is not an antidote, then you will simply have done me the favor of killing that traitor.”
Poison Master Moru’s heart clenched instantly. It felt as though he were hanging in midair waiting to be smashed to death. Though he forced himself to remain calm, his eyes continually drifted toward the doorway, desperately hoping the person the Third Prince referred to was not Sun Ye.
It turned out to be completely different from what Poison Master Moru had expected.
Following behind Su Ruhan was Sun Ye, looking completely unharmed. In fact, his complexion seemed even better than it had been in recent days.
Could this be a fake Sun Ye? A deliberate attempt to test me?
The moment Sun Ye saw Poison Master Moru, he froze briefly. Then his expression became complicated, and he turned his head away without looking at him again.
Poison Master Moru immediately abandoned his earlier suspicion.
He had experienced this kind of cold shoulder far too many times. The feeling was so familiar he could recognize it instantly. If this was not Sun Ye, then who else could it be?
“Since Your Highness does not trust me, I can only comply with your wishes.”
With perfect courtesy, Poison Master Moru removed a small medicine bottle from his sleeve and calmly walked over to Sun Ye. He poured two pills into his hand and held them out.
Sun Ye glanced at the Third Prince. Without asking what they were, he simply swallowed them.
Looking at Sun Ye standing so close before him, Poison Master Moru suddenly thought about the time they had spent together recently, and a faint bitterness rose in his heart.
The security around the small courtyard was now so tight that entering it in the future would not be easy. And this man was destined to remain here. Whether fortune or disaster awaited him from this point onward would depend entirely on his own fate.
After a while, Sun Ye’s complexion showed no adverse reaction. If anything, he looked healthier than before.
Su Ruhan took the medicine bottle from Poison Master Moru, poured out a few pills, and tested them with a poison needle. There was no trace of toxicity. They were indeed genuine medicine.
Su Ruhan nodded toward the Third Prince.
The Third Prince looked at Poison Master Moru and said calmly, “In that case, thank you for your assistance in saving Xueshi. Leave the antidote behind. As for how all of this began, we can simply question Sun Ye ourselves.”
The moment he heard those words, Poison Master Moru’s expression changed abruptly, and his voice turned cold.
“Who said I intended to hand the antidote over to Your Highness?”
The Third Prince lowered his eyes slightly and stared at him motionlessly.
“What? Do you have other conditions?”
Those icy eyes and dangerous tone would have made most people retreat several steps, yet Poison Master Moru was precisely the sort of person who enjoyed poking at the edge of a blade.
“Of course. Saving Young Master Xue was partly my achievement as well. Guard Sun Ye, would you not agree?”
Poison Master Moru suddenly raised his voice as he addressed Sun Ye.
Sun Ye glared at him. Though he said nothing aloud, inwardly he was furious.
Why won’t you just leave the medicine and go? What good can possibly come from dragging this out?
“Does Poison Master Moru no longer care about Xueshi’s safety?” Su Ruhan asked.
Poison Master Moru was already half-mad with frustration because of Sun Ye. Now Su Ruhan seized the opportunity to make things even more difficult, nearly provoking him into storming off. Yet his feet felt rooted to the floor, and he could not take a single step away. In the end, he could only grit his teeth and endure it.
“Why not tell us what your request is?” The Third Prince sat calmly in his chair, his cool gaze fixed on Poison Master Moru.
After hearing the question, Poison Master Moru paused briefly. Then his eyes suddenly sharpened, and a firm determination appeared on his face.
“I want the Third Prince to pardon Sun Ye’s crimes.”
The room instantly fell into silence.
At last, it was Sun Ye who spoke first.
“There is no need.”
The same stubborn certainty echoed in his voice, causing turmoil to churn inside Poison Master Moru.
He’s hopelessly stubborn. Such an opportunity is right in front of him, yet he refuses to take advantage of it and even undermines me instead. Is there anyone in this world more foolish than he is?
The Third Prince slowly tapped his fingers against the table, occasionally glancing at the man whose face had turned dark green with frustration.
“When did I ever say I intended to punish Sun Ye?”
Those words instantly left Poison Master Moru speechless.
Caught completely off guard, he stood there frozen, unsure whether he ought to laugh or cry.
If he laughed, it would be because Sun Ye had finally escaped this disaster.
If he cried, it would be because he had made this trip for nothing, and his final opportunity to earn merit had vanished without a trace.
“Now Poison Master Moru should hand over the antidote, should he not?”
“I can certainly do that.” Poison Master Moru raised an eyebrow and drawled, “But… could I perhaps make one more request?”
“How presumptuous!”
Su Ruhan barked a low rebuke, and the Third Prince’s expression darkened as well.
Sun Ye’s heart immediately tightened. He glared fiercely at Poison Master Moru, silently urging him to leave the antidote behind and get out of here at once.
Poison Master Moru pretended not to notice. Maintaining his calm and composed demeanor, he addressed the Third Prince, “Though Your Highness says you will not punish Sun Ye, once I hand over the antidote, if Your Highness later finds all sorts of excuses to make things difficult for Sun Ye, then whatever I say now will amount to nothing.”
“I will not,” the Third Prince replied immediately.
A trace of light flashed through Poison Master Moru’s eyes. Looking steadily at the Third Prince, he said solemnly, “I am still quite worried.”
The Third Prince looked at Poison Master Moru with an ambiguous smile and said leisurely, “You need not concern yourself with that matter. I do not intend to keep Sun Ye as my guard anymore. If you are worried, you may take him away.”
Heavens, Third Prince, you understand me far too well! A warm current surged through Poison Master Moru’s heart. He nearly rushed over to embrace the Third Prince and weep tears of gratitude.
But the moment Sun Ye heard those words, he threw himself to his knees before the Third Prince and said painfully, “Your Highness, absolutely not! This subordinate would rather be executed by Your Highness than leave Your Highness’s side.”
That single sentence hurled Poison Master Moru from heaven into hell. The warmth that had just risen in his heart instantly turned into several feet of ice, chilling him to the bone.
He would rather die than leave here with me…
Poison Master Moru drew a deep breath. Though his face looked awful, he still respectfully handed the medicine bottle to the Third Prince.
“I shall take my leave.”
With that, Poison Master Moru turned and headed for the door.
Watching Poison Master Moru leave without even sparing him another glance, Sun Ye felt as though something inside him had suddenly gone missing.
“You may stay, but you must first endure two hundred strokes of the rod.”
Poison Master Moru stopped in the doorway. With his back to the Third Prince, he could tell the man was not joking. Gritting his teeth, he shamelessly turned back around. Since he had already decided to do a good deed, he might as well see it through to the end.
“Did Your Highness not say that Sun Ye would not be punished?”
The Third Prince let out a cold laugh. “I have not punished him. If he wishes to continue serving as a guard in the courtyard, he must bear the penalty for his failure to protect properly.”
“Exactly,” Su Ruhan added. “Ask any servant in this courtyard. Which one of them has not suffered one punishment or another? If they still have all their limbs attached, that already counts as mercy.”
Poison Master Moru recalled the month he had spent infiltrating this place. He really had seen the guards throwing corpses down the back mountain on a regular basis…
The Third Prince was simply too cunning! He had given him so many chances just now, deliberately letting him make requests, yet not one of them had hit the mark.
Now the antidotes had already been handed over. And with Sun Ye’s temperament, he would gladly die, let alone endure two hundred strokes. But forget ordinary martial artists—even a true martial arts master would be crippled if not killed by two hundred blows. And of all places, it had to be that precious spot. Poison Master Moru had never even touched it himself, and now it was going to take the full force of two hundred strikes…
“Your Highness, may I take the punishment in Guard Sun’s place? I happen to owe Guard Sun a favor. If I do not repay it now, I fear I may never get the chance.”
When Sun Ye heard Poison Master Moru’s voice and realized he had not left, he felt a complicated ache in his heart. When he heard what he was proposing, he snapped angrily, “Stop pretending to be kind. I caused this trouble myself, and I will bear the consequences.”
“But you were also the one who saved him. You deserve leniency.”
“What concern is that of yours?”
“Whether it concerns me or not is for me to decide.”
…
The servants nearby stared with their eyes wide open. Since when did people start fighting over who got to be beaten?
Meanwhile, Mu Xueshi was in the kitchen selecting pastries while babbling and gesturing animatedly with the servants. The more he was unable to speak, the stronger his urge to express himself became. Some people were stir-frying dishes, some arranging platters, some steaming buns and mantou, but the largest group was simply watching Mu Xueshi.
Mu Xueshi was eating happily when he suddenly heard the sound of repeated blows accompanied by muffled groans coming from outside. Under normal circumstances he would never have noticed, but having just been beaten himself, he was now extraordinarily sensitive to that sound.
Who’s suffering the same fate as me? Could it be someone who got dragged into this because of me?
Part worried and part curious, Mu Xueshi headed outside. Very soon he noticed that the spot where he had been punished earlier had been occupied by someone else, and the more he looked, the more familiar that person seemed…
Eh? Isn’t that my benefactor?
Mu Xueshi’s eyes widened into perfect circles. Limping as fast as he could, he hurried toward the scene and disappeared in a flash.
“Young Master Xue, try this one… Huh? Where did he go so quickly?”
…
Sun Ye stood to one side with an awful expression on his face. Watching Poison Master Moru being beaten felt as though several nails had been driven into his heart, stabbing him over and over.
Why are you doing this? Should I hate you and resent you, or should I be grateful to you all over again…
The Third Prince spotted a figure rushing toward them from inside the room. By the time he focused his gaze, that person had already thrown himself into his arms.
“Mm… nnn… that… ah…” Mu Xueshi clutched the Third Prince’s hand anxiously, trying to tell him to stop the punishment. That man had saved his life.
The Third Prince smiled faintly, pinched Mu Xueshi’s chin, and stuffed two pills into his mouth before making him sit obediently beside him.
But how could Mu Xueshi possibly sit still? He had suffered through that very punishment himself and knew exactly how painful it was. And this time the rod was even thicker and the blows much harsher. The person underneath must be suffering terribly.
Instinctively, Mu Xueshi shot a fierce glare at Su Ruhan. This had to be that cold-blooded, heartless man’s doing again.
“This time, he volunteered for it.”
Hearing Su Ruhan’s words, Mu Xueshi was startled. How had he known exactly what he was thinking? Sneaking another glance at Su Ruhan and seeing that the man was indeed looking right at him, Mu Xueshi shrank back nervously and edged closer to the Third Prince.
When Sun Ye heard the word “volunteered,” it felt as though another knife had been plunged into his heart. He had volunteered. Volunteered to take the blows in his place so that he could remain here.
If it was all an act, then why would he do this? What could he possibly gain from it?
Seeing that the Third Prince was not helping him, Mu Xueshi pouted and stomped angrily toward the punishment bench. Before he even reached it, the two guards carrying out the sentence stopped.
Poison Master Moru finally managed to catch his breath. Sweat covered his forehead, though he had stubbornly refused to cry out even once. He had spent his life wandering the jianghu, carefree and romantic—how had he ended up in such a state? Being pinned to a palace bench and beaten. What exactly was he doing all this for?
The two guards administering the punishment were staring at Mu Xueshi so intently that they did not even realize he had snatched the rod right out of their hands.
Poison Master Moru also sensed something strange. Why had those two guards paused for so long?
Looking up, he discovered that the person who had occupied his thoughts repeatedly since yesterday was standing right beside him. Though the red wedding robes were gone and the makeup had been washed away, that flawless face was exactly the same as the one he had seen yesterday—if anything, it was even more exquisite.
“Continue.”
At Su Ruhan’s command, the two guards jumped and hurriedly went to retrieve the rod Mu Xueshi had thrown away.
Seeing this, Mu Xueshi rushed to fight them for it. The guards dared not lay a hand on him and could only stand there helplessly.
Suddenly, Sun Ye dropped to both knees once more and pleaded with the Third Prince in a deathly pale voice, “Your Highness, please stop. This subordinate will leave the courtyard. I know I have failed Your Highness and Young Master Xue. I will never return in the future. I beg Your Highness to grant this request.”
After speaking, Sun Ye knocked his head against the ground three solid times and waited for the Third Prince’s decision.
The courtyard fell silent. Seeing that no one was speaking and no one was fighting him for the rod anymore, Mu Xueshi became thoroughly confused, unable to understand what was going on.
Poison Master Moru’s mood underwent another complete reversal. Suddenly feeling enlightened, he ignored the pain in his body and strode energetically toward the Third Prince.
“I beg Your Highness to finish the two hundred strokes and allow Sun Ye to stay. Then… could Your Highness perhaps add another two hundred strokes and allow me to stay as well…?”
Without even thinking, the Third Prince replied casually, “If someone stays, only one stays. Otherwise, neither stays.”
“Then let me stay,” Poison Master Moru said with an elegant smile.
“In your dreams!”
Seeing the triumphant expression on Poison Master Moru’s face and realizing exactly why he wanted to remain, Sun Ye felt an indescribable emotion stir within him and snorted coldly.
Mu Xueshi, completely oblivious to the Third Prince’s reasoning, loudly applauded Poison Master Moru’s suggestion. Cheerfully running to the Third Prince’s side, he begged him to keep both men so the courtyard would become even livelier.
The Third Prince was hardly about to invite a wolf into his home. One icy glance at Mu Xueshi instantly extinguished that idea.
…
On the road out of the palace, Poison Master Moru was delighted to find that Sun Ye was not wearing his usual gloomy expression and had not uttered any of his usual cutting remarks. Growing a little too excited, he began speaking without restraint.
“The truth is, that antidote of mine was actually just a tonic. It has no effect whatsoever.”
“…”
“The truth is, none of you were poisoned. I developed that poison while staying in the courtyard. The antidote is simply the fragrance of the flowers there. Anyone who has smelled those flowers cannot be poisoned.”
“…”
“But the people outside the courtyard had it rough, especially my brother. His perfectly good wife was stolen away, and he was poisoned on top of that. I’m still debating whether I should secretly seek out Great Beauty Mu and suggest that he personally deliver the antidote to the Mountain King. It would at least repay a debt of gratitude.”
“…”
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