It actually wasn’t poison.

Called the Euphoria Butterfly, it sounded like something that induced lust and passion, but it actually wasn’t that either.

“This thing has complex origins. First, there’s a flower called the Euphoria Butterfly that grows in the deep mountains at the border between Qian Zhou and Yannan. It takes three years to sprout, three years to branch, and another three years to bloom. The flower only blooms for three days with no fixed season or timing, so though not exactly rare, the flower is extremely difficult to obtain. When it blooms, it’s brilliantly beautiful like a butterfly, attracting a type of exotic butterfly to feed on its nectar and pollen. The eggs laid by this exotic butterfly afterwards are the true Euphoria Butterfly eggs. After obtaining these butterfly eggs, they’re stored in jade boxes surrounded by over ten types of unique herbs and poisons for preservation. When used, the eggs are flicked onto the target. The eggs are transparent, extremely adhesive, and tiny – completely undetectable. Once the eggs touch a person’s body, they immediately hatch and dry up like water droplets, leaving only a trace like colored light that doesn’t fade for years. This thing is said to change one’s appearance and emit fragrance, thereby making people fall in love and desperately desire an encounter, hence the name Euphoria Butterfly.”

Tie Ci said, “It sounds like some kind of gu that would exist in places like Yannan and Qian Zhou – a girl puts gu on a man she likes, and that man will fall in love with her, becoming devoted unto death.”

Glancing over and seeing Murong Yi’s eyes brighten, she immediately laughed, “What’s with that expression? Am I not devoted enough to you already?”

Chi Xue: …This public display of affection caught me off guard.

Murong Yi: …This confession also caught me off guard.

Tie Ci was someone who was never coy or pretentiously reserved, but she was also rarely passionately fiery. Sometimes in the middle of the night, Murong Yi would repeatedly ponder their relationship, always wondering if Tie Ci had too much of the realm and its people in her heart, leaving little room for love to bloom.

Only now did he vaguely realize it wasn’t that she couldn’t let go or hadn’t let go, but that she was accustomed to not displaying what she loved. The more precious something was, the more carefully she stored it in the depths of her heart, only occasionally, through wind and rain and changing seasons, lightly polishing it to make it shine brilliantly.

Murong Yi smiled.

He had once regretted that the person he loved wouldn’t write her love blazingly on her face or hang it on her lips.

But now he felt this was also very, very good.

In the calm journey walking hand in hand, occasionally when she inadvertently lifted the veil slightly, he could glimpse a secret garden, a romantic world.

The surprise of sudden encounter.

Chi Xue recovered from the silent blow, coughed once to interrupt the suddenly clinging gazes of those two and bring attention back to more important matters. “…But I obtained a medical book from Director Rong, and its records about the Euphoria Butterfly are different. The book says that because of such effects, the Euphoria Butterfly has been misunderstood through rumors, making many people think its function is similar to Yannan’s love gu, but it’s actually very different. The Euphoria Butterfly’s effect is to change appearance and body scent.”

Tie Ci heard her emphasized tone, was startled, and already sensed something wrong.

“Change, not improve. So…”

“Those with ugly or ordinary appearances can be changed to become beautiful and fragrant, naturally attracting the people they desire and achieving good results. Most people in the world have ordinary appearances, so the Euphoria Butterfly gained this reputation.”

“But actually, for those whose appearance has reached perfection with no room for improvement, the Euphoria Butterfly’s effect is reversed.”

“Right, it can make the ugly beautiful, and also make the beautiful ugly.”

“It’s just that it has rather high critical standards for appearance change requirements, so the few cases that appeared before all involved becoming beautiful, creating this reputation.”

“Or put it this way – if the target is very beautiful, it shouldn’t be used on oneself but on the target, making the target ugly so one could climb higher?”

Tie Ci frowned. This line of thinking made her uncomfortable, reminding her of Lou Xi and Di Yiwei.

Murong Yi said, “Who would be so bored?”

Though he asked, he already had someone in mind.

“No, the Euphoria Butterfly actually has another consequence that people generally don’t know about. After it’s used on someone and their appearance changes, the person’s body becomes weak, because though the Euphoria Butterfly is said to be non-toxic, it’s actually very deadly. It conflicts medicinally with many non-toxic things in this world, generating various toxicities at any time or place. Though not fatal, it destroys the person’s body, making them prone to many illnesses and disasters…”

This was quite vicious.

The price for wanting to become beautiful?

“That’s not all. After Euphoria Butterfly eggs hatch, they’re contagious. The more contact one has with the infected person, the more likely one is to also be infected. Though the effects diminish, different people’s constitutions might produce different reactions.”

Hearing this, Murong Yi suddenly retreated three steps, then his eyes darkened.

When he first heard he was infected with the Euphoria Butterfly, he remained unmoved. Now hearing it would also affect Tie Ci, he immediately became truly angry.

Tie Ci’s expression also looked bad. The Tan family really were troublemakers!

This matter was ninety-nine percent Tan Xiuyue’s doing. Tan Xiuyue had been on the rear ship all along, and her only opportunity was when Murong Yi searched the ship and dragged her out.

Tie Ci somewhat regretted that she shouldn’t have drawn that picture as a joke that day, disturbing Murong Yi’s composure. Otherwise, with his perceptiveness, no matter how undetectable the Euphoria Butterfly was, he should have discovered it.

But the problem was, though Tan Xiuyue came from Xi Zhou, neighboring Qian Zhou and Yannan, Euphoria Butterfly eggs were so rare that the Tan family and she herself couldn’t possibly obtain such a thing.

Murong Yi smiled and asked Tie Ci, “Do you mind if I kill your cousin?”

“Don’t rush. Killing her won’t get us the antidote…”

“There is no antidote.”

Both looked at Chi Xue, who held up the book. “That’s what the book says.”

“Go tell Dan Shuang to take people to the rear ship and quietly control Tan Xiuyue and her servant,” Tie Ci said. “Especially that little servant…”

Before she finished speaking, all of them heard distant commotion and splashing sounds of someone falling into water.

The moment they rushed out of the cabin, they heard people on the rear ship’s deck running and shouting, “Someone rowed away the small boat! Someone fell in the water!”

Tie Ci looked and saw the lifeboat from the rear ship had been rowed away, with a black figure on the boat frantically rowing.

Behind the boat, someone was floundering, desperately trying to grab the boat while screaming, “Take me with you! Take me! I’m the one who helped you find the boat!”

It was Tan Xiuyue and her little servant.

The little servant kept his head down rowing, completely ignoring Tan Xiuyue chasing behind him and shouting.

Suddenly the commotion behind ceased, even Tan Xiuyue’s voice disappeared. The little servant instinctively looked back and saw a figure standing on the rear ship’s mast.

Tall and elegant, robes fluttering in the wind, with the vast blue sky behind him and a cold, hazy moon. He gazed down from afar, cooler than moonlight.

The little servant vaguely saw his lips curve.

Seemingly intentional, seemingly heartless.

The little servant’s heart went cold.

The next instant, his bottom also went cold.

Looking down, his pupils contracted.

Somehow, a piece of the boat’s bottom was missing, and water had already risen above the gunwale!

This lifeboat had already been sabotaged to dissolve upon entering water!

The next instant, fierce wind howled, lake water split like a chasm, and a long arrow broke through the air. Blood flowers burst forth.

The little servant toppled headfirst into the boat.

When the flying arrow came, it also swept past Tan Xiuyue’s head. She just felt her scalp go cold, and looking up, saw black hair scattering in mid-air.

She was so frightened she couldn’t even scream.

Someone flew over from behind and grabbed her.

When they went to grab the little servant next, his body suddenly sank silently below the surface.

Mu Si, who had come down, frowned and threw Tan Xiuyue aside to pull up the little servant.

The one who provided the poison had to be him, and the antidote would also depend on him.

The person was pulled out of the water easily enough, but was completely limp and motionless.

Mu Si checked his breathing and his face darkened.

The man was already dead.

It had clearly only pierced his shoulder.

To actually kill and silence someone right before his eyes in such a brief moment…

He was furious and was about to dive into the water to hunt down the bastard who dared silence someone under his nose.

From above, Murong Yi shouted, “Mu Si, come back!”

Mu Si ignored him.

Dan Shuang was still watching – he had to save face!

A figure flew down from the ship’s bow, swimming toward him.

Mu Si turned back and immediately roared angrily, “The water’s cold! What are you coming down for!”

Dan Shuang said nothing, charged onto the boat dripping wet, grabbed his collar, and dragged him away.

The stubborn temper that even his master’s shouting couldn’t move was dragged away by Dan Shuang’s grab.

Above, Murong Yi laughed coldly.

Damn it, men turning outward.

He’d package him up and send him to Dan Shuang later.

Consider it part of his bride price to Tie Ci.

Save having him be an eyesore.

Dan Shuang dragged Mu Si with one hand while Mu Si carried the little servant’s corpse and Tan Xiuyue back to the ship.

He personally interrogated them. Tan Xiuyue saw Tie Ci from afar and loudly begged for mercy and screamed. Tie Ci looked at her, then turned and returned to her cabin.

One reaps what one sows.

Mu Si came to report after half an hour, his expression rather poor.

Tan Xiuyue knew nothing when questioned, only saying this little servant was recommended by her aunt. He hadn’t been a Tan family servant before and only joined their group temporarily before the Tan family returned home. She didn’t know his name. The Euphoria Butterfly was given to her by him. She was only responsible for using it and knew nothing about antidotes or anything else.

She even asked with a confused face, “How is this poison? I asked A Lin repeatedly, and he swore to me it wasn’t poisonous and even touched it to show me!”

Unhatched Euphoria Butterfly eggs were harmless even if eaten, so touching them was naturally no problem.

After returning to the ship, Tan Xiuyue gradually calmed down. After answering a few questions, she wanted to see Tie Ci.

Mu Si was in a bad mood from wasting effort and didn’t want to talk more with stupid people, so he locked her in the lower cabin and left.

Behind him, Tan Xiuyue clawed at the cabin crying loudly, “Let me out! Let me out! I’m the Crown Princess’s cousin. If you treat me like this, the Crown Princess will definitely hold you accountable!”

Mu Si: “Make her shut up! Feed her a mouthful of shit for every word she says!”

Mu Si had always found Qi Yuansi’s academy experience very interesting and was just worried about not having someone to give him this opportunity.

Tan Xiuyue thought it was intimidation and continued making trouble, but after someone actually brought a chamber pot, she shut up.

Above, Dan Shuang listened with a stern face.

His Highness’s defenses were already tight enough, giving the enemy no opportunities, yet Tan Xiuyue could still catch up. This wasn’t simple.

Hearing the report, Tie Ci was silent for a while, then said, “Chi Xue, send people to disembark at the next ferry crossing to find the Tan family and investigate this matter.”

Murong Yi said, “Have Mu Si send people along. Regardless of what results they find, the Tan family doesn’t need to return home. Mountain bandits or water pirates attacking – either works.”

Without waiting for Tie Ci’s response, he said directly, “The Liaodong snowfields are very suitable for them.”

The vast snowfields, with their depths almost devoid of human traces – without special assistance, one could never walk out.

There were no residents there, but there were some mineral deposits and people mining.

The Tan family could spend their lives with caves and stones there.

This was his greatest mercy.

Tie Ci said nothing. Tan Xiuyue had harmed Murong Yi, and she felt guilty.

She carefully observed Murong Yi but couldn’t see anything wrong with him.

Hope rose in her heart – maybe nothing was wrong?

Murong Yi stood up, seeming to want to touch her, but suddenly withdrew his hand.

Then he walked to the door mechanism in Tie Ci’s cabin and broke it.

Next, he pulled Mu Si’s knife from behind Mu Si.

Mu Si’s face changed completely.

“Come on, this little setback isn’t worth committing suicide over…”

Murong Yi seemed to want to kick him but didn’t. Instead, he walked to the front of the cabin and with swift slashes of the Yuan Iron blade, carved out a door exactly opposite his cabin.

His cabin originally had no door – the door was inside Tie Ci’s cabin to facilitate his less-than-proper activities. Though facts proved he was overthinking, now that he had to carve out another door himself, Tie Ci felt it looked rather pitiful no matter how she looked at it.

Murong Yi brought red paint and wrote several characters on the carved “door”: “Toxic Zone – Enter If You Want to Die.”

Then he opened the door, went in, and sounds of moving heavy objects came as the door was blocked.

Mu Si pressed against the blocked door shouting, “What are you doing!”

Murong Yi: “Ship-based self-isolation!”

Tie Ci: …Though it’s pitiful, why do I want to laugh so much?

But laughing now would be too heartless, and Murong Yi, that devil, would definitely go berserk. To prevent innocent casualties, Tie Ci could only say seriously, “Don’t block it completely – what about meals? What if I miss you?”

Inside was silent for a while, then scratching sounds came from the cabin wall, revealing a square opening about a foot wide.

Understood – meals would be delivered through this hole.

This was the rhythm of cutting himself off from the people.

Tie Ci suppressed her laughter and said, “It’s not necessary to go this far. Look, you’re fine now, you haven’t become ugly. Besides, even if you became ugly, I wouldn’t mind.”

Inside, Murong Yi seemed comforted and asked, “What if you also get infected and become ugly?”

“Would you mind me?” Tie Ci was surprised.

“Of course not.”

“Then that settles it. We’d be a perfectly matched pair of burnt scrolls.”

Sitting in his cabin with legs crossed, Murong Yi thought that occasionally suffering a little loss wasn’t so bad – look, Shiba was actually sweet-talking to comfort him.

Naturally, he wanted to push for more, greedily saying wistfully, “But my heart hurts…”

Outside, Tie Ci was silent for a while, then also said wistfully, “If you keep talking in that tone, regardless of whether you’re ugly or not, we’re breaking up right now.”

Murong Yi: “…Nothing hurts I’m perfectly fine don’t worry I’ll just stay locked up a few days and once I’m sure everything’s fine I’ll come out we’re grown men aren’t we afraid of a little setback want me to do some push-ups to show you…”

Tie Ci had long since walked away.

She went downstairs where Chi Qingbo and his wife were waiting on deck. Seeing her, Chi Qingbo first bowed with a guilty expression, “Young Master Ye, we heard that Young Master Mu seems somewhat unwell. We had actually already discovered this matter but didn’t tell you promptly due to various concerns. We’ve come to apologize and ask if there’s anything we couple can do to help.”

Tie Ci hadn’t expected him to be so forthright and stared at him, saying, “What unwellness is Master Chi referring to?”

“It should be Euphoria Butterfly eggs. Earlier I saw what seemed like traces on Young Master Mu’s clothing.”

“Then why didn’t Master Chi say so before?”

“The Euphoria Butterfly egg traces were too faint. I only glimpsed them briefly and couldn’t be certain. Moreover, even if there were egg traces, it wouldn’t necessarily mean infection. I feared Young Master Ye would think I was grandstanding and making trouble from nothing, so I didn’t dare say more.” Chi Qingbo’s face showed deeper guilt as he said sincerely, “I was too hesitant and too selfish, missing the opportunity.”

When he spoke, A’li Teng didn’t interrupt or explain anything, only stayed close beside him, smiling as she gazed at his face. Clearly she never questioned her husband and always stood united with him.

Between this couple was a gentle yet firm atmosphere that made observers feel at peace and secure.

Especially A’li Teng – when accompanying her husband, her whole being radiated genuine happiness from within, making those who saw her feel joyful too.

If such feelings could be acted, even the Oscars would bow in defeat.

Tie Ci couldn’t help softening her expression and said, “I have someone around me who has frequently visited Qian Zhou and Yannan and recognized this Euphoria Butterfly, but whether Young Master Mu is truly infected is still unknown.”

“Young Master Ye can try testing.”

“Oh? What method?”

Half an hour later, various spices, soups, and dishes flowed like water into Murong Yi’s cabin.

Chi Qingbo said the poison generated by the Euphoria Butterfly with other substances was unpredictable, related to each person’s constitution and martial arts practiced. One man’s poison is another’s honey – they could only test item by item and avoid whatever proved problematic once identified.

People previously infected with Euphoria Butterfly poison included some who went years without episodes until passing by a pig pen one day and suddenly collapsing dead.

Tie Ci said this range was too broad, but Chi Qingbo said toxin-generating substances were basically concentrated among things that emit scents.

As for the cure, Chi Qingbo said all things in the world could fight poison with poison. Antidotes were usually found near poisons, so they needed to find where the Euphoria Butterfly was originally discovered and look for a black-and-red mushroom there. Dried and combined with several medicinal herbs, the antidote would be complete. However, such mushrooms were usually guarded by numerous poisonous insects, making them very difficult to obtain.

To know where the Euphoria Butterfly was found, they needed to know who the poisoner was, but the little servant who did the poisoning was already dead.

Chi Qingbo was quite troubled. After long consideration, he pointed out several places where Euphoria Butterflies had reportedly appeared in the past – some in Qian Zhou, some at the border between Qian Zhou and Yannan. When the ship stopped at the next ferry crossing, both Murong Yi and Tie Ci sent people to disembark and search first in Qian Zhou’s great mountains.

Chi Qingbo could have disembarked but stayed on the ship temporarily to help with detoxification.

Various common spices, soups, and dishes were sent into Murong Yi’s room, but none produced reactions.