Sueños Florales en la Ciudad

Capítulo 261

Zhu Huihui told him, "Great hero, there are eight corpses here. But only Mu's three servants were hacked to pieces by the blades. The other five corpses, three men and two women, are completely unharmed, as if they were asleep, with very peaceful expressions..."

Feng Xuese pondered for a moment, then raised her eyebrows: "There are a total of 327 people on Xuan Yue Water Island, of whom 43 are first-rate fighters; 106 are slightly weaker but still second-rate masters; and the rest, even the ordinary servants, are skilled in martial arts—Huihui, if you want to get rid of these people, what would be the simplest and quickest way?" He had been managing Xuan Yue Water Island for Fang Jianwu for days and knew its strength very well.

"Me?" Zhu Huihui paused for a moment, then answered naturally, "Why be so polite? I'll just poison the water and kill them!"

Upon hearing this, everyone had the same thought: Zhu Huihui is truly wicked! Her idea is exactly the same as the murderer's!

Nishino En said, "The incident at Xuan Yue Shui Yu happened around dinnertime, so—"

Yan Shenhan said, "—So, the poison wasn't put in the water, but in the food!"

Chief Steward Qin had already received reports from the "Fang, Xin, Wu, Ji" pairs of guards among the Seven Constellations of the Azure Dragon, and had a very detailed understanding of the matter. He further explained: "A total of 344 corpses were found on Xuan Yue Water Island. Of these, 296 were poisoned, and 58 were easily killed by different weapons. None of them showed any signs of resistance. The wounds on the three friends from Bei Kong Valley were more serious, with different shapes and sizes of wounds. It is speculated that they were attacked and killed by multiple people. There are also 14 corpses of men in black, who were killed by Young Master Xi Ye."

More than three hundred lives were lost on Xuan Yue Water Island, not a single one was spared! Feng Xuese's killing intent burned fiercely, forcing her to take a deep breath to calm herself before slowly asking, "What kind of poison is that?"

Everyone looked towards dawn and dusk.

These five corpses, judging from their clothing, belonged to two guards, a cleaning maid, a servant, and a cook. They were found lying in different locations on Xuan Yue Water Island. The reason for bringing these corpses back was to examine them to see if the poison inflicted on the people of the manor was the same.

Not to mention that west Yeyan, Yan Shenhan, and Chief Steward Qin were all highly knowledgeable, even Liu Yue's subordinates were all elites who had examined the body before it was moved.

The five corpses had almost identical external characteristics: dark blue spots resembling copper coins on their bodies, duck egg blue whites of their eyes, blue blood droplets on their pupils, dark blue blood clots the size of beans bulging on the blood vessels under their tongues, and blue lunulae at the base of their fingernails.

Although everyone knew these people died of poisoning, there are countless poisons in the world, and none of them were experts, so they didn't know what kind of poison it was. Since ancient times, medicine and poison have had some similarities, and perhaps the divine healer from the Valley of Sorrow can enlighten them.

Suppressing her grief, Chen Muwan gestured for Zhu Huihui to help her examine the other five corpses. After examining them for a while, she looked up and said, "Although I've never seen this kind of poison before, I once heard my mother say that in a foreign land, there is a rare plant called 'Tianyi Lotus,' with purplish-blue petals and snow-white stems. If you take its stamens and mix them with medicine, you can obtain a highly toxic crystal that is no different in color, shape, or taste from table salt. The blood of the poisoned person will slowly turn dark blue—the characteristics of these five corpses are exactly the same as the 'Tianhai Ning Shuang' poison that my mother described!"

Looking at Qin Diao, Shu Ying, and Feng Jueya, she said sadly, "Uncle Feng and the others all carry antidotes made by my mother. Although they may not be the right remedy, even the most potent 'Heavenly Sea Frost' may not be as strong as my mother's medicine—"

Everyone suddenly realized why the three people in Beikong Valley died in different ways: they had taken the antidote in time, and when the enemy saw that they were not poisoned, they swarmed at them and killed them in a fierce battle.

Zhu Huihui tilted her head and thought for a moment: "I know. The enemy infiltrated the kitchen and put 'Heavenly Sea Frost' in the food. Then the food was sent to various places, and most of the people in the village ate it and were poisoned. A few people didn't eat it for various reasons, but the poison took effect slowly. Before these people realized that their companions were poisoned, they were killed by the enemy—" Suddenly she stared at Xiye Yan, "How come you're not dead?"

Nishino En wasn't poisoned to death, but he nearly died of anger from her words. Apparently, she wasn't happy that he wasn't dead!

He glared at her irritably and said, "If Old Yan and I hadn't been waiting for your brother to come back for dinner, we would have been poisoned too. But don't be happy—if I die, the first thing I'll do is come back and take you away!" He and Yan Shenhan had been waiting for Feng Xuese to return, so they hadn't eaten first, which was actually a stroke of good luck amidst misfortune.

Zhu Huihui asked, puzzled, "Who is my brother?"

“Idiot!” Nishino En replied with two words.

Zhu Huihui immediately put on a big smile, put on a high-pitched voice, and called out to Xiye Yan, "Brother!"

Although the atmosphere was heavy, everyone was almost amused by Zhu Huihui and admired the quick wit of this rascal in her banter and arguments.

Nishino En put on a stern face and ignored her completely.

Chief Steward Qin clapped his hands and ordered his men to carry the corpses away. A short while later, a guard came in to report: "Sir, the blood in the bodies of the poisoned corpses that have been examined is indeed dark blue."

This confirmed Chen Muwan's prediction, and everyone sat in silence, unsure of what to feel.

Zhu Huihui suddenly remembered something: "Right, when I left, everything was fine when I went to Shuixing, so how did the fire start?" She corrected herself in her mind: Xuan Yue Shui Yu, I got it wrong again!

Everyone else was lost in their own thoughts, and no one paid her any attention. Only Feng Xuese patted her head and said gently, "The fire should have been lit by our own people!"

Zhu Huihui was full of suspicion: "It was ordered by one of our own people? Why? To cover up the crime?"

"So many people have died in the villa, and the bodies still need to be dealt with. The weather is hot now, and there is no time to arrange for burials. If the bodies decompose, there is a risk of an epidemic. Moreover, if such a large-scale casualty incident alerts the government, this matter will be difficult to handle."

"Oh," Zhu Huihui suddenly realized, "I understand! So they just burned the whole village down! Anyway, with so many people dead, the house was uninhabitable, but—"

She tugged at the hem of her maple-colored robe: "Great hero, isn't Brother Liuyue the Little Prince? And Steward Qin holds a very high position. They are government officials, aren't we already aware of that?" Actually, it would be more appropriate to ask Steward Qin directly, but she knew that the chubby man wouldn't pay attention to her, so she didn't want to risk it.

Feng Xuese smiled and said, "Once you're in the martial world, you're a martial artist. Brother Liu Yue and Steward Qin are the same. So at this moment, they are just like all of us, people of the martial world, and can't be considered government officials."

Although Zhu Huihui seemed to understand but didn't quite, she didn't ask any further questions.

Night had fallen, and the dragon boat silently pierced the water.

Chen Muwan, weakened by illness, had already gone to rest as arranged by Steward Qin. The remaining few in the cabin—Feng Xuese, Xi Yeyan, Yan Shenhan, and Steward Qin—after recounting their experiences, confirmed once again that those who had attacked Xuan Yue Shui Island that night were indeed Japanese. Everyone remained silent for a long time. The thought that the ambitious Japanese had stirred up such a storm made their schemes all too clear, and a look of worry crossed everyone's face.

The cabin was silent except for the gurgling sound of oars striking the lake.

Feeling bored, Zhu Huihui yawned softly, stretched, and asked, "Great hero, where are we going?"

Feng Xuese replied, "I think—we should go pick up Brother Liuyue."

Zhu Huihui's eyes widened: "Brother Liuyue has been gone for a long time, where did I go to meet him?"

Feng Xuese smiled slightly: "Steward Qin should have made arrangements for this matter." He beckoned: "Huihui!"

Zhu Huihui replied casually, "Yes, sir!"

"Come here!"

"Yes, hero!" She stepped to Feng Xuese's side.

Feng Xuese asked calmly, "Why did you run away from Xuan Yue Water Island earlier?"

The mention of this incident still made Zhu Huihui feel wronged. She pouted and replied unhappily, "No reason, I just wanted to go out for a walk." She was too embarrassed to say that she ran away because Feng Xuese disliked her.

Feng Xuese nodded: "So, no one provoked you, and you wanted to leave on your own?"

"You're quite the actor, aren't you? Someone as smart as you wouldn't know whether it's true or not, would you?" Zhu Huihui glared at him. "Let's say it is." A warning bell rang in her mind. He usually didn't ask questions like that. What was he up to?

Sure enough, Feng Xuese said calmly, "Then, put your hand out."