After exiting the maze, Mo Xi asked in confusion, "Why weren't there any traps or mechanisms?"
Tang Huan laughed and said, "We've encountered at least eighty-one kinds of poisons."
Mo Xi was speechless for a moment. I thought Tang Sanzang's journey to the West involved eighty-one tribulations. After a while, she asked, "So you're immune to all poisons even without the Jade Pearl?"
"No, that's not it. But just in case, I'm wearing ice silk armor."
"..." Mo Xi thought to herself: So this guy is wearing a multi-functional jacket underneath that's impervious to swords and spears, fire and water, and immune to all poisons. Everything else aside, the fact that his skin doesn't get wet while diving is so enviable.
"It's a pity that this ice silk armor has already recognized my blood, otherwise I would feel more at ease letting you wear it."
"What if we didn't have the Ice Silk Armor? Would you still be afraid of those eighty-one kinds of poisons?"
I'm not afraid, but I need to bring enough antidotes, at least thirty kinds.
"..."
The two fell silent for a moment, intently examining the small glass palace once more.
After a while, Mo Xi said, "If we're talking about water, there's only water in the pool. Let's dive down and take a look."
"Um."
The two then jumped into the water and began to examine the pool walls.
Suddenly, Tang Huan noticed a valve with the same structure as the small valve in the boiler room. The moment they turned it, the two of them clearly felt a suction force generated by the gushing water. They exchanged a glance, nodded, and Tang Huan swam out through the open door first, with Mo Xi following closely behind.
Stepping out of the pool, however, was not the expansive view I had imagined. It was utterly dark above.
Mo Xi guessed that they might be in a body of water at the bottom of one of the Tang Clan's buildings.
The two barely needed to move before being swept forward by the swift current.
After rushing for about a thousand meters, the current became increasingly turbulent, and the two were almost out of control of their own bodies, so they relaxed their limbs and drifted with the current.
Suddenly, after a small waterfall-like drop, the water flow gradually calmed down, and the sky overhead became bright.
The two quickly surfaced, only to find themselves in Lingbo Pond!
Mo Xi and Tang Huan exchanged a glance and said, "This river is truly full of wonders!"
Tang Huan looked at Mo Xi's face, which was paler than usual due to being in the water for a long time, and smiled, "Thank goodness it was a close call." After a pause, he added softly, "You've had a hard day. Go back and change your clothes quickly. If you're hungry, I'll have someone prepare a meal right away."
After washing up, Mo Xi arrived at Qinghui Pavilion. Seeing the dishes laid out, she looked on with longing. Tang Huan found it amusing and said, "I always feel happy watching you eat."
Mo Xi casually replied, "I guess the memory of being hungry when I was a child is too vivid, so I feel very happy every time I eat."
Tang Huan was speechless for a moment after hearing this.
The two had expended a great deal of mental and physical energy exploring the underground palace, and having not eaten all day, they were eating quite quickly, though not wolfing down their food.
After the maid cleared away the cups and saucers, Mo Xi said, "I guess someone will come looking for us soon."
Tang Huan nodded and said softly, "She followed us for a short while after we came out of Lingbo Pond."
"She must have been asking about our whereabouts quite a bit these past few days."
"Yes. Tang De is keeping an eye on it."
After a moment, Green Cloud came to report: "Fourth Young Master, Miss, Miss Ouyang has arrived and says she wants to have a chat with you two."
Tang Huan and Mo Xi exchanged a glance, thinking to themselves: They're here.
The newcomer was dressed in a moon-white long dress, which made the five-petaled plum blossom between her brows appear even more vibrant; it was Ouyang Hui.
She smiled before speaking, and only after sitting down did she say, "I'm here to apologize on behalf of my younger sister."
Mo Xi smiled slightly and said, "Your sister used the dagger given to her by Miss Ouyang to commit the crime. Miss Ouyang should indeed have come."
Ouyang Hui's expression changed slightly, but she quickly became apologetic and said, "I really didn't know that my sister would take my dagger without permission to harm you, Miss. I hope you will forgive me."
Mo Xi looked at her with a half-smile and said, "Your good sister gave your younger sister a poisoned dagger. I wonder what your intentions are." She thought to herself: Ouyang Hui is quite good at dealing with people. Even at this point, she still wants to clear herself of any wrongdoing.
Ouyang Hui wanted to speak kindly, but Mo Xi pressed her relentlessly, so she could only say with a wronged tone, "There must be some misunderstanding. But in any case, I came here with good intentions for Miss Mu." She paused, biting her lip, looking as if she was reluctant to speak, before resolutely saying, "Does Miss know that she has been poisoned? That dagger was stained with my blood and cut you, and by some twist of fate, I'm afraid it has implicated you. To be honest, I was poisoned by an extremely potent aphrodisiac, which I thought was incurable. However, I heard that the Tang Clan had a treasure that could cure this poison, so I shamelessly followed my sister to the Tang Clan. Unfortunately, as a young lady from a respectable family, I have always felt ashamed to speak of such a poison, and thus I have delayed mentioning it to the Tang Clan leader. But now, due to my sister's unruly behavior and my negligence, Miss Mu has also unfortunately contracted this poison, and I feel deeply uneasy, which is why I have come to apologize."
Tang Huan feigned ignorance and asked anxiously, "I wonder what kind of treasure the Tang Clan has that can cure this poison?"
While observing the expressions of the two, Ouyang Hui tentatively asked, "It is the Langya Staff, one of the four treasures of the Tang Clan."
Mo Xi smiled slightly and said, "You are a descendant of 'Pink Rakshasa'." Seeing that she didn't answer, Mo Xi didn't bother to beat around the bush and continued, "Back then, 'Pink Rakshasa' should have been Tang Xin's maid. She stole her master's 'Soul-Stealing Incense' and became famous in the martial arts world for her stunning beauty. But she knew that once she used the 'Soul-Stealing Incense,' she couldn't fall in love, otherwise, there would be no way to reverse the situation. So she repeatedly went to cause trouble for her former master. However, because her martial arts were inferior, she never managed to obtain the martial arts skills within the Langya Staff that she wanted." "Pink Rakshasa" resembled Tang Xin in every gesture, so she must have been very familiar with her. Otherwise, even if they were sisters, the one in front of her would be quite different from Ouyang Jin. Moreover, it's very likely that this maid was ashamed of her maid's background and deliberately imitated Tang Xin when she was traveling the martial arts world.
Ouyang Hui's expression changed drastically at this moment. She could no longer pretend and simply turned cold, saying bluntly, "That's right. Since you already know, why not do me a favor? Headmaster Tang, please copy the martial arts from the Langya Staff for me. I can then put in a good word for you with my father and get you the formula for gunpowder. I can also persuade my sister to back out, so that you two can have a happy ending."
Mo Xi laughed and said, "Miss Ouyang Hui is so 'sincere' towards your sister, how do you know she won't repay you in full?" Seeing Ouyang Hui's uncertain expression, she added fuel to the fire and continued, "How do you think I know where the dagger came from, and that it was actually your good sister who gave her this clever method?"
Seeing that Ouyang Hui remained silent for a moment, Mo Xi knew that she had figured it out.
Tang Huan suddenly interjected, "How about this, as Miss Ouyang said, once Old Master Ouyang agrees to give the Tang Clan the formula for gunpowder, the martial arts within the Langya Staff will be presented immediately."
Ouyang Hui was at a loss for what to do, and with Mo Xi recognizing her identity, she lost her composure and could only grow colder, saying in a resentful voice, "It's a deal!" before turning and leaving.
Tang Huan asked, "When did you start to suspect her?"
"When Ouyang Jin said the dagger belonged to Ouyang Hui, I began to speculate about her motives. Later, when we read Tang Xin's last words in the underground palace, I noticed that Tang Xin said that people who were poisoned by 'Soul-Destroying Incense' would have a bit of cinnabar between their eyebrows. I immediately thought of the five-petaled red plum blossom between Ouyang Hui's eyebrows. She instigated Ouyang Jin to cause trouble for me so that I would be poisoned and forced you to take out the Langya Staff. I guess she originally wanted to wait until you took out the Langya Staff before taking action in secret, but the Tang Clan's defenses were too strong, and she dared not cross the line. So she had to appear as a warning while pretending to be weak to gain sympathy."
“I was unaware of the ‘Pink Rakshasa’ incident back then, so I didn’t realize that Ouyang Hui was her descendant who came to find an antidote. It seems that back then, ‘Pink Rakshasa’ stole ‘Soul-Destroying Incense’ and thought that the martial arts in ‘Langya Staff’ could cure the poison, but she didn’t know that this was just a story Tang Xin used to deceive Meng Tao. Her descendants have passed this misunderstanding down from generation to generation.”
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