Luo Zhiheng's words were a bit harsh, but she was addressing the root of the problem perfectly. This old man was not an impulsive person, and Luo Zhiheng could only use a feigned retreat to lure him into a trap in order to give Mu Yunhe a chance to survive.
But the Poison Saint readily agreed, "Alright! It's settled then. Go see your husband right now."
A flash of wild joy crossed Luo Zhiheng's eyes. She winked at Elder Tong and the others, and amidst their stunned silence, she led this troublesome Poison Saint towards Mu Yunhe.
"That's it? What kind of crooked tricks are these? We begged him respectfully, but he was arrogant and haughty. That little girl didn't give him a kind look at all, she was practically pointing her finger at him and cursing him. And yet he's all over her?" General Murong gritted his teeth, clearly still somewhat shocked.
Old Tong smiled enigmatically: "This is what they call 'the devil is one foot tall, but the Tao is ten feet tall.'"
"No, this is called treating the symptoms, finding the vital point and attacking relentlessly!" the chess master said with a wave of his hand and a smile.
General Murong sneered coldly, "Bullshit! I think he's like a donkey—he won't budge no matter how you try to pull him along, and he'll only back down when you hit him."
232 Twenty-one deadly poisons! Do you want me to die of heartache for you?
Updated: 2013-08-05 12:49:21 Word Count: 7765
Mu Yunhe stared coldly at the stunned old beggar, then casually glanced at Luo Zhiheng, who stood to the side with an expectant look. His gaze, however, was like a chilling knife. It was enough to freeze anyone; even the pharaohs were startled by Mu Yunhe's incredibly powerful gaze. But Luo Zhiheng seemed oblivious.
"What is this thing?" Helpless, Mu Yunhe could only speak, but his voice was cold and piercing, directly confronting Luo Zhiheng.
"Huh?" Luo Zhiheng was taken aback. When she saw Mu Yunhe's slender finger pointing at the Poison Saint, her lips twitched. She quickly went over and took his hand away, whispering a warning: "Don't be so rude. He is the Poison Saint."
"Hmph." Mu Yunhe chuckled ambiguously, his tone mocking and contemptuous. "Poison Saint? Are you sure you didn't just bring back some random beggar to murder your husband?"
Luo Zhiheng's face was grim, fearing that Mu Yunhe might offend this strange old man with some insolence. She practically pressed herself against Mu Yunhe, gritting her teeth and whispering angrily, "What are you doing? I'm trying every possible way to save your life, and you're trying to risk yours? Do you admire everything I've done for you, all the painstaking effort I've put in, and think I'm an idiot? Do you want to carelessly discard and trample everything I've done?"
Mu Yunhe's handsome face turned cold, a barely concealed urge to rage rising within him. He looked at her, his gaze clear yet icy, a dark cloud gathering in his eyes like a blizzard about to fall in the dead of winter—gloomy and eerie. His cold voice sounded like a mixture of laughter and tears: "Aheng, you know I absolutely cannot bear to see you even slightly sad. If you frown, I panic for a long time. If you smile, my heart is as sweet as if I've drunk honey. If you are injured, I wish I could destroy this world! For you, I am most reluctant to see you sacrifice, yet I am willing to indulge you. What you want to do, I will never stop you, but..."
For the first time, his suppressed voice spoke words that sounded like sweet nothings—so vivid, so clear, so melodious. Yet, his brows were filled with suppressed rage and a hatred that Luo Zhiheng could never understand.
He took a breath, struggling to suppress his hatred and ferocity, and said calmly, "But how could you know that I do not want to accept the King's help, not even if I die! For me, that would be a humiliation! A sin that I cannot erase even if I die!"
What a sin! My hope of living today was bought with your body. You were forced into it, you had no other choice, you were desperate and grasping at straws, whatever your predicament, your helplessness, your desperate gamble! But I also have my own principles, my own bottom line that I cannot abandon!
How could he possibly justify trading the innocence of the woman he cared about most for a chance to live? What difference was there between him, Mu Yunhe, and a heartless beast?
Luo Zhiheng was not a fool who could remain unmoved. She could sense the helplessness and despair in Mu Yunhe, and her heart softened instantly.
“I think you must have your own unspeakable difficulties. I don’t want to force you, but Mu Yunhe, have you ever thought about your mother? That woman who is struggling so hard, why is she still persisting? I can’t see a glimmer of hope for survival in her eyes. She can still smile gently every day. What do you think she’s relying on? It’s entirely because of you!”
"Because you are still alive, she has to persevere. She knows that if she dies or gives up, her son will immediately follow in her footsteps. She can't bear to leave you, so even though there is the arrogant Consort Li, the cold-hearted prince, and the servants who are outwardly compliant but inwardly defiant in that palace, she still perseveres so strongly." Luo Zhiheng hugged him in his arms, his gentle voice also showing weariness.
"So please, even if you're unwilling and resentful, try to live on. Even if it's not for me, can you really bear to let your mother, with her white hair, bury her black hair? How could my Mu Yunhe be such a heartless person? And please look at me. If you really can't bear to part with me, then please think about how I've come this far for you, every step of the way, how hard and difficult it has been. It hasn't been easy for us to get to where we are today, how can you bear to see me sad?" Her voice was already choked with sobs. Luo Zhiheng was unwilling to play the emotional card with Mu Yunhe unless absolutely necessary, but once this card was played, she couldn't help but be moved by it.
Mu Yunhe remained frozen in her arms, his body cooling down inch by inch. Cracks appeared in his gloomy eyes—cracks of heartache, despair, and unspeakable guilt and embarrassment.
When Ah Heng was advising him on behalf of her mother, how could he have the face to tell her that the gentle mother in her heart had already condemned her for the greatest taboo in a woman's life: infidelity, a crime deserving of death!
The two women he valued most in his life appeared at different times, but Luo Zhiheng ultimately came out on top, and there was a reason for that. Mu Yunhe's willingness to risk everything for Luo Zhiheng was not unworthy. Her kindness and tolerance always made Mu Yunhe feel ashamed.
When his mother said that this daughter-in-law was unclean and unacceptable, Luo Zhiheng said again, "For your mother's sake, you must live on."
A devastating pain spread through his heart. Mu Yunhe closed his eyes tightly, using darkness to bury all his struggles and hatred. When he opened his eyes, Mu Yunhe was still the little lamb that Luo Zhiheng liked to tease. His eyes were clean, but the innocent purity that once filled his eyes could no longer remain.
"Aheng, you're right."
"You agreed?" Luo Zhiheng asked in surprise as they parted.
Mu Yunhe smiled, even though he was only a year older than her, his eyes were full of doting and indulgence: "I agreed to cure the poison not because I want to live, but because I can't bear to see you sad."
Two people who know nothing of love, at this moment, their eyes meet, revealing the purest, untainted purity, untouched by the ugliness of worldly life, the most fervent and sincere childlike hearts. They can reach the deepest recesses of each other's hearts in an instant, without any force or hindrance. They bury each other in each other's hearts, perhaps for a moment, perhaps for a lifetime.
Luo Zhiheng's lips couldn't help but curve upwards, and a warm light flowed in her eyes. His gentle words of reluctance warmed her heart and body, and she felt her face burning. Under his almost direct gaze, she felt a strange shyness, but she was unwilling to look away from him.
"Ahem, that's enough already. I know you two are very much in love, but you don't have to be so attention-grabbing. There's a child here, don't set a bad example for the little brat." Murong Qianxue's disdainful voice interrupted their tender moment quite inappropriately.
Princess Yu's angry voice immediately rang out: "I'm not a little kid, no, no!"
Luo Zhiheng reverted to her powerful, nonchalant demeanor, ignoring the Jade Princess who had been loitering there for the past few days, and asked the Poison Saint, "Can you cure him now? If not..."
"Who says it can't be! I've never seen such a handsome man before. That bastard Qin Yinshi will definitely have impure thoughts when he sees him! How could you let this monster out to harm people?" Poison Saint suddenly became very agitated, pointing at Mu Yunhe and yelling, as if he was afraid of something.
In the eyes of the Poison Saint, Luo Zhiheng saw jealousy and fear.
Why would an old man be jealous of a young man?
"You, tell me, what is your relationship with Qin Yinshi? Are you also her concubine? What exactly is your relationship!" Poison Saint suddenly went berserk and rushed towards Mu Yunhe, roaring and shouting with bloodshot eyes. He, who had been cursing at the World King, seemed to hate Mu Yunhe at this moment.
"What are you doing? Get out of my way!" Luo Zhiheng roared in fright, slashing out with her cane, forcing the Poison Saint to pause. She roared like a madwoman, "I won't treat him! You and Qin Yinshi, you adulterous couple! You deserve to die a horrible death! You actually deceived me! Qin Yinshi actually dared to deceive me into treating his little lover! Die, all of you! I'll poison you to death!"
Luo Zhiheng's pupils constricted, and she quickly shouted, "You've misunderstood! Mu Yunhe is my man, my husband! I will never allow the Prince to touch my husband! There is absolutely no relationship between them!"
The Poison Saint seemed to calm down a bit after hearing this. Ignoring the tense atmosphere around him, he asked breathlessly, "Really?"
"More real than pearls! My man, Luo Zhiheng's man, naturally cannot be coveted by others. Anyone who dares to provoke what's mine, I will destroy them. Not even the Prince Shi! You can rest assured, not everyone will be interested in the Prince Shi. He's not a god or Tang Sanzang, he's not that universally loved." Luo Zhiheng said ruthlessly.
The Poison Saint seemed to believe her words, but then looked at Mu Yunhe with a critical eye. Seeing his calm expression but the chilling glint in his deep eyes, the Poison Saint felt a sudden chill rise from the soles of his feet, instantly sobering him up. He even dared not look Mu Yunhe in the eye, coldly snorting, "Then you have to promise that you don't like the World King and will never be with him before I'll give you the antidote."
"I have no need to make any promises to an old madman. You can solve it or not, if you don't want to, get out and don't get in my way." Facing a strong old madman, Mu Yunhe remained calm and composed. Wasn't his contemptuous tone a powerful display of confidence?
"Hmph, just because you can't guarantee it doesn't prove that you have Qin Yinshi in your heart! You're also coveting to marry Qin Yinshi and become a princess, aren't you? You're dreaming!" Poison Saint roared.
"Get out!" Mu Yunhe suddenly roared in a low voice, his eyes snapping open with a murderous aura that seemed to contain the force of a thousand armies. Clearly, the Poison Saint's words were an insult and a sign of contempt to him.
Poison Saint subconsciously took a step back, a sharp pain shooting through his chest. It was a strange feeling. He wasn't afraid of the old men in the room, all of them seemingly powerful. He wasn't afraid of the little girl holding an imposing cane. He wasn't afraid of the woman beside him whose body contained profound internal energy. Yet, this man, who appeared to be the weakest among them, possessed a single glance that instilled in him a chilling power that felt as if his very soul had been pierced.
At that moment, facing Mu Yunhe's gaze and roar, a feeling called fear surged within him.
The Poison Saint fell silent. Just when people thought he would go even crazier, he quietly walked up to Mu Yunhe and coldly snorted, "Give me your hand."
"I said I don't need you." Mu Yunhe withdrew his aura, lazily not even lifting his eyelids.
"That won't do. This girl says I can't cure your poison, but I'm going to show her what I'm capable of. I'm not going to be a coward." The Poison Saint was as serious as a child.
Mu Yunhe looked at Luo Zhiheng with a half-smile. When he saw her raise her eyebrows and wink at him ingratiatingly, Mu Yunhe softened and said to the Poison Saint, "You are not allowed to say anything about what happened between the Prince Shi and me. If I could, I would like to chop that scum Prince Shi to pieces with one stroke."
Such ruthless and hateful words were spoken by Mu Yunhe so casually.
Poison Saint's eyes lit up; he seemed quite pleased that Mu Yunhe wanted to kill the World King. He then moved even closer to Mu Yunhe to take his pulse, while everyone in the room watched them nervously. Time ticked by, and no one dared to breathe, their gazes fixed on Poison Saint's face. Then, their expressions froze as Poison Saint's face gradually darkened.
The Poison Saint's pulse diagnosis was strange. He not only checked the pulses of both hands, but also felt the feet, almost examining Mu Yunhe's entire body. He almost felt Mu Yunhe's anger before letting go and walking to the side with a thoughtful and conflicted expression, looking out the window as if he was thinking about nothing more.
Luo Zhiheng felt like she was about to stop breathing. The old man was unfathomable and didn't say a word, so she didn't dare to ask. But Mu Yunhe was the most relaxed of them all, as if this matter of life and death had nothing to do with him. He reached out and beckoned Luo Zhiheng: "Aheng, come here."
Luo Zhiheng sat down beside him, and he immediately wrapped his arm around her and pulled her into his arms. He chuckled softly in her ear and murmured hoarsely, "Scared? Don't be afraid, I'm alive and well now, aren't I?"
Luo Zhiheng wanted to glare at him, but the words that came out were self-comforting and very firm: "I will live well from now on!"
Mu Yunhe chuckled noncommittally, touching her face. He didn't shy away from anything; to him, every day he lived was a blessing from heaven. He wanted to live each day with ease and freedom, casting aside the carefree attitude of the past years, and living only for Luo Zhiheng. He cherished every single moment they spent together.
Therefore, Mu Yunhe's embraces and caresses, which might be seen as flirtatious, teasing, and inappropriate in the eyes of the world, were staged more than once or twice in front of people. Mu Yunhe was carefree because he had seen through it all, and Luo Zhiheng was used to being generous and didn't feel ashamed. But others couldn't do it, especially Princess Yu.
Staying here for a few days has nearly driven Princess Yu to the brink of madness. On one hand, she finds the two incredibly bold, and on the other hand, she finds them so romantic and sweet. Emotionally, she's a complete novice; influenced by her favorite couple, she even believes that married couples should be as intimately connected as Mu Yunhe and Luo Zhiheng. Her views on marriage are being subtly and unconsciously influenced by them.
"This..." The Poison Saint remained silent for a long time, then suddenly turned around, his face showing unusual distress, and said, "Huo Yun's examination said there were more than ten kinds of poisons? My examination results show that he has at least twenty-one kinds of deadly poisons in his body!"
His words instantly stirred up a massive uproar!
Luo Zhiheng's head suddenly went blank, as if it had been hit by something. Only a numb, dull pain reminded her that she was still alive and that what she heard was not a hallucination!
"How is this possible?!" Old Master Tong was probably the most shocked person. His aged face was filled with utter astonishment. Looking at Mu Yunhe's calm and collected demeanor, Old Master Tong's heart sank deeper and deeper, his whole body turned ice-cold, and even his words were chilling: "Twenty-one kinds of deadly poisons? This is impossible! Even one kind of deadly poison can kill a person, let alone twenty-one kinds? How could the young prince still be alive and well today?"
There were some things that Elder Tong didn't say. He wanted to know: who on earth dared to lay such a cruel hand on Mu Yunhe? He wanted to know: if these deadly poisons truly existed, when and how were they used to poison Mu Yunhe? Did the Princess Consort know nothing about it? Did the Prince never notice anything?
The discovery came too suddenly. The truth is always brutally cruel, and uncovering the conspiracy behind Mu Yunhebei's murder always requires immense courage. But who has that kind of courage?
"Why is it impossible? He gradually added potent poison, not much, just a little bit. Each poison has its own toxicity, and when used properly, it can even save a life. I don't know whether to say he was lucky or that the poisoner was cunning. In short, each time the poison in his body existed, it was a perfect counteraction. Each poison was potent, but they all countered each other, maintaining their potency without harming the victim, and yet, because of the counteraction, the poisoned person wouldn't die immediately! Do you understand what I'm saying?" the Poison Saint said solemnly.
None of the people here are fools. This answer coming from the Poison Saint is a heavy blow, yet it cannot be ignored! How could the answer be so cruel?
"I don't believe in such a coincidence. In other words, someone deliberately poisoned Mu Yunhe, but didn't want him to die immediately, so they tortured him like this for so many years?" Luo Zhiheng suddenly looked up, her cold voice filled with a tense sense of suppression and anger, her eyes red.
"The clouds are all begging." The Poison Saint's eyes flashed, and he nodded subconsciously: "It seems so. After all, I don't believe in such a huge coincidence, a coincidence that he can still live after being poisoned by every kind of deadly poison. If it weren't for intentional and informed circumstances, such a coincidence would be impossible."
A wave of utter horror washed over everyone, a suppressed fear and rage rising within them. Who could have poisoned the only legitimate son of the Prince's mansion without being discovered? What was their motive? What was their purpose?
"Can you tell the time? When was the poison administered? How long has Mu Yunhe been poisoned? How many times was the poison administered? Can you tell any of this?" Luo Zhiheng gripped Mu Yunhe's hand tightly, her fingertips turning white. His hand was large, yet the knuckles of his hand, enveloping hers, were so prominent, the bones digging painfully into her. She could hear a tremor in her voice, a tremor that seemed to come from the depths of his pain!
The Poison Saint said professionally, "The poison in his body has been there for at least thirteen or fourteen years. Given the passage of time, I can't pinpoint the exact time, but it's definitely within those two numbers. I can't determine how many times he was poisoned, but I can ascertain that the first poison he was given was called Thousand Machine Powder! Thousand Machine Powder is a deadly poison that causes a person's vital energy to begin to decline. His body is most deficient in vital energy, and his vitality has been severely depleted. Therefore, I conclude that his first deadly poison was Thousand Machine Powder." 16640507
With a snap!
Luo Zhiheng forcefully snapped a piece of wood off the bed board, sharp splinters piercing her delicate fingertips, drawing blood, and a sharp pain spread from her knuckles. They say the ten fingers are connected to the heart, and she understood this deeply at that moment; otherwise, why would her heart feel a dull, aching pain, as if being struck by a blunt knife?
"Aheng!" The deep voice carried a deep displeasure and gloom, yet it couldn't conceal the anxiety and heartache beneath. Her released hand fell to nothing, but Mu Yunhe grasped her injured finger in his hand. His rough palm gently lifted her hand, patiently and carefully removing the sharp splinters of wood from her finger, causing even more blood to gush out.
Mu Yunhe frowned, lowered his head, and gently sucked on her fingers, allowing her to do so.
Luo Zhiheng felt a tingling and soreness in her fingers. She couldn't see Mu Yunhe's expression. She wanted to ask him what blood tasted like. Was it sweet and fishy? She also wanted to tell him that her heart ached too, and asked if he could lick it for her.
"Does it hurt?" Luo Zhiheng lifted his face and asked inexplicably, her eyes filled with tenderness.
Mu Yunhe looked up, his eyes flashing. Her blood stained his pale lips with a striking red, yet it possessed a breathtaking beauty. He smiled and gently kissed the back of her hand, teasingly asking in a hoarse voice, "Are you in pain? Is your finger broken? Why are you asking me if it hurts, hmm?"
Everyone could hear Luo Zhiheng's teeth chattering. Her lips trembled as she laughed. She hugged Mu Yunhe's face with her arms, and the two embraced each other. She said, "It doesn't hurt."
Mu Yunhe gave an ambiguous reply: "Yes, it doesn't hurt."
No one knew what they were saying about not feeling pain, or who wasn't in pain. Yet everyone could feel the pain emanating from both of them, shrouded in a huge gloom. Even in their suffering, only the two of them were in pain; no one else could intervene. They embraced each other, comforting one another with heartbreaking self-deception.
Perhaps Luo Zhiheng's words that it didn't hurt were just a comforting remark, so Mu Yunhe felt that it really didn't hurt.
But who could have imagined that during those long thirteen or fourteen years, Mu Yunhe grew from an innocent child to someone tormented by deadly poison? It was a kind of helplessness and despair, a feeling of being unable to control one's own destiny. He lived in the abyss of hell, unnoticed and unsalvaged. Perhaps in his childhood, he could still cry out in pain.
But what about Mu Yunhe after he grew up? Did he ever cry amidst the unimaginable and uncomprehending agony? Perhaps later, even crying became a luxury for Mu Yunhe. Perhaps his tears had long since dried up; in his childhood, when he was still like a blank sheet of paper, the blank paper was torn apart by boundless pain, leaving only an inescapable darkness. 17.
Thirteen or fourteen years ago, Mu Yunhe was only five or six years old, a child who knew nothing. The ruthlessness and cruelty of the mastermind behind the scenes controlled Mu Yunhe's life, causing his fragile life to suffer in pain. Even death was not allowed. It made Mu Yunhe taste the despair and heartbreak of being unable to live or die for more than ten years of his life!
Luo Zhiheng listened to him say he wasn't in pain, uttering words only the two of them could understand. In an instant, tears streamed down her face.
The single sentence, "It doesn't hurt," completely shattered Luo Zhiheng's strength and mental defenses. Tears, like a burst dam, fiercely pounded into Mu Yunhe's hair, drowning him, yet the scalding heat traveled to his scalp, stimulating his mind into chaos.
She held him, no longer crying hysterically like the first time. The scalding tears could not drown out the hatred and rage in her heart. Her calm gaze could not withstand the surging tears. But in the moment of her most painful crying, she understood something.
She held him close, her voice hoarse and trembling with a bitter laugh as she whispered in his ear, "Mu Yunhe, I think I should have come sooner, come to your side..."