The smell of firecrackers and gunpowder smoke filled the air. Carrying Zhi Wei on his back, Zong Chen beelined out of the city.
“Pucheng is all but completely locked in right now.” Zong Chen said, “All the channels that can be used to relay news have all fallen under our control.”
“But as long as Prince An (Jin Siyu) is alive.” Feng Zhi Wei’s posture was a bit strange, her head was quite far away from Zong Chen’s back, seemingly afraid that her breath would blow onto his hair as she said slowly, “then there are still a lot of variables.”
Zong Chen fell silent then finally let out a sigh after a while, “I am sorry, I couldn’t kill him. Even though I aimed for his heart but I still couldn’t kill him.”
“It wasn’t your fault.” Feng Zhi Wei pursed her lips, her head tilted to the side, a small bruise peeking out from her slightly messed up hair, “If he was so easily killed, I would’ve done it when I was dressing him. He is wearing protective body armor. Your dagger could be counted as a legendary weapon but even it wasn’t able to pierce the armor completely.”
“Well…Fortunately, he should have already been poisoned.” Zong Chen said after a while, “He will die sooner or later.”
Silent for a long moment, Feng Zhi Wei suddenly asked softly “Sir, do you think I should die early or die late?”
Zong Chen’s body jerked in shock, turned his head abruptly, and opened his mouth but nothing came out.
“Your medical skill is the best in this world so it’s impossible that you haven’t been able to tell what’s wrong with me.” Feng Zhi Wei smiled, “A poison that even you couldn’t do anything about, what kind of poison it must be.”
“Since I gave my all to save you, I naturally have the confidence to save you.” Zong Chen asked in a grave tone, “Do you still not trust me?”
“I didn’t distrust you, sir.” After a moment of silence, Feng Zhi Wei suddenly pulls out something “Sorry sir, I found a small booklet in your pocket a while ago.”
She shook a thin booklet out and waved it in front of Zong Chen’s eyes. The thin booklet only has a few pages with “The Legends of the World” on the cover.
Zong Chen’s back stiffened again.
“This is not poison.” Feng Zhi Wei looked through the contents of the booklet and said softly, “This is a twin poisonous insect (we will shorten it to “gu” from this point on. Gu is a straight translation of the Chinese name. Gu is a way of breeding poisonous insects. These Gu insects can do all sorts of crazy things such as control someone’s actions and thoughts, or kill them.) This is a legendary gu that has long been lost in history. It’s is said it was from the tribe of Fu Feng. The first queen of Fu Feng tribe never married and devoted her life to creating this gu. No one has ever seen it nor knows of a way to create it or destroy it. The only rumor is that this gu is named twins, to prosper together to dwindle together, once separated, the one with gu planted inside would become poisonous to others… According to legend, the queen didn’t make this gu to harm or save people but it was simply to relieve the loneliness that will never be relived inside her… Before she died she said, even if a gu can be twins, but how many people in this world can really be willing to die together? Rumor has it that she destroyed this gu…but who knew…it still existed…”
“It’s been lost for hundreds of years…” Zong Chen was silent for a long time before he said bitterly, “Even I didn’t recognize it at first. We all had some doubts in our hearts regarding why Jin Siyu would be so assured? Why would he dare to marry you? I admit that he was already very careful, giving us no obvious reason to be suspicious but I always felt we should be more careful. It wasn’t until when I went to assassinate him in the water. My dagger actually could’ve penetrated his armor but at that moment I saw a greenish-blue hue on his temple.”
Feng Zhi Wei listened quietly, her smile a bit cold.
“I suddenly remembered the legendary Fufeng Twins. I vaguely remember reading it in a book. This type of Gu has no color nor smell, it has no obvious signs at all other than after it becomes cold enough it will turn into greenish-blue spots. So I hesitated and that allowed Jin Siyu to escape. Afterward, the more I thought about the more puzzled I became. I went back to find the book and was finally certain after seeing the same spots on you.
Feng Zhi Wei let out a small sigh.
“Zhi Wei, this gu has never been used so no one studied how to resolve it.” Zong Chen turned his head and said sincerely, “But you have to trust me, give me time, I can cure it.”
“But what about before that?” After a bit, without a hint of humor in her voice, Feng Zhi Wei laughed and asked, “A poisonous person, in your team, even she herself doesn’t know how the poison is spread. Perhaps by touch, perhaps by eating together. Maybe it’s just by her breathing…that’s too frightening. Zong Chen, we will all be wiped out.”
Zong Chen shook his head resolutely, “No, Zhi Wei, you know I am a member of the Xuanyuan family. There is no disease in the world that the Xuanyuan family can’t cure. I will tell everyone to be careful, nothing will happen.”
“No, Gu is not a disease, it doesn’t fall within the field you are best at. Plus I can feel just when we got out of the tunnel, Jin Siyu had already activated the Gu.” Feng Zhi Wei said, “That’s why I wouldn’t let Xiao Dai carry me. You are wearing waterproof clothing so I figure whatever the poison was, it probably wouldn’t pass through it. Sir, you are not completely confident, right?”
Zong Chen was silent for a while, a sense of helplessness rising inside him. The Queen of Fufeng, the country of witchcraft from six hundred years ago was the pinnacles of wizards. The girl who did not love witchcraft but loved martial arts when she was young, abruptly realized her inadequacy in witchcraft after losing her mother during a palace crisis. Afterward, she devoted herself to studying with the best wizards. She was already talented to begin with. Combine that talent with determination and her status as a queen that allowed her unlimited resources. A Gu that was created by such a person who devoted her life to it…how could it be easy to solve?
Even if his ancestor is resurrected, he might still be helpless against this Gu…
“Our people are too important. What we have to do is too important…” Feng Zhi Wei said softly on his back, “Sir, I must not allow such unnecessary sacrifice to happen.”
“No!” Zong Chen said immediately, “Are you crazy? After we finally managed to save you, it would be suicide for you to go back there!”
“It’s a Twin Gu isn’t it?” Feng Zhi Wei smiled lazily, “I was a little worried at first, but now it’s not a big problem anymore. Jin Siyu couldn’t kill me no matter what, right?”
“This Gu he gave you, he didn’t give it to you from the start.” Zong Chen said, “It must’ve been done when he decided to take you as a concubine. Don’t forget, this Gu has gone through more than 600 years of time. Who knows if it has been changed by others. I have my suspicion that this Gu could only affect you but not him. Besides, since he dared to use this Gu then he might have a way to cure it. You must not go back.” Zong Chen patiently tried to persuade her, “If you go back, we don’t have any way to sneak back in. You will be all alone, facing a more dangerous situation than last time. Everyone will certainly not agree to this. Just follow us, wear more clothes, cover up, and get everyone to keep some distance from you. The Gu may not be able to hurt anyone.”
“What if it’s useless?” Feng Zhi Wei counters “Then the tragedy would’ve happened, and everything would be too late. Sir, an irreversible eternal mistake, one experience is enough, I don’t want to experience it the second time.”
Zong Chen fell silent, Feng Zhi Wei said softly again, “I have also studied this kind of Gu. The problem needs to be solved at its source. The key to this must rest on Jin Siyu. I don’t want to be covered up like that, forever unable to get close to anyone for the rest of my life. Since he has the cure, then I need to go back there even more, to make this twin not a twin anymore.”
All text copyright @ www.Ninja-Reflection.com
OMG, what a plot twist!
Damn. Q.Q
Wow, and here was me thinking that that prince is such a dear to our heroine … what a nasty piece of work!
That was really fascinating.
WOW! The plot thickens! Jin Si Yu has more tricks than a magician. Thank you for clearing up, who the attacker was. Zong Chen was neverthought of. . This translation was a bit short with the Gu explanation added. Can’t wait for next week.
Wow, I did not put anything past Jin Si Yu, he is a snake in he grass. How long does he live in the drama.? Also the Zong Chen, the physician, was in the drama? And is she is really going back in the Lion Den, can’t wait? Would Ning Yi allow that to happen? Great translation as always.