He knew?

Hearing Xuanyuan Lige’s question, Ziqing was momentarily startled—what exactly did this man know?

Only someone immune to all poisons could cultivate poison within their body over a long period!

Though startled, Ziqing kept her composure, flatly denying it. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, young master Xuanyuan. If there’s nothing else, please excuse me.”

“Do you have any idea how dangerous what you’re doing is?” Xuanyuan Lige said coldly, rarely so sharp with Ziqing.

Ziqing simply ignored him, turning to leave.

But Xuanyuan Lige grabbed her arm, saying earnestly, “Do you understand that if you don’t take enough antidote, or if the timing of the detoxification is off, you could die!”

Ziqing froze for a moment, then immediately understood—this man thought she was using the method of “cultivating poison in death agents”!

Fortunately, fortunately, he had no idea of her immunity to all poisons, no idea of her connection to the isolated island—the fewer people who knew of her true origins, the better.

At present, only Consort Li, Chu Feiyan’s faction, and Situ Cheng knew.

Ziqing glanced at her arm, held tightly in his grip, and said flatly, “Young master Xuanyuan, men and women ought to keep their distance—such handling isn’t quite proper, is it?”

At these words, Xuanyuan Lige’s hand stiffened, then reluctantly released her. “Ziqing, this is extremely dangerous. It’s not worth it.”

Even after being rebuffed time and again, he still looked directly into her eyes—he knew exactly what kind of constitution this woman possessed!

What worried him wasn’t that she might be poisoned, but that this method of hers would eventually attract unwanted attention from those with ill intentions!

“And what about you?” Ziqing suddenly asked in return.

It had been a while since she’d last asked him anything directly.

“You yourself instantly poisoned those vines to death as well—though, in my view, that didn’t seem like true poisoning at all. It seemed more like… being killed by medicine!”

Since the subject had already come up, she might as well ask him outright.

A flicker of evasiveness crossed Xuanyuan Lige’s eyes, but it didn’t escape Ziqing’s notice. “Young master Xuanyuan, your blood carries a substantial amount of medicinal residue. You’ve taken medicine since childhood, and in no small quantities. Am I right?”

Rather than saying those vines had been poisoned to death, it would be more accurate to say they’d been overwhelmed by the sheer potency of the medicine within his blood!

When medicinal potency reaches a certain concentration, doesn’t it become poison as well?

Medically speaking, this man’s body must contain some underlying condition capable of neutralizing the medicinal potency in his blood—otherwise, he’d have poisoned himself to death with his own medicine long ago!

Seeing Xuanyuan Lige remain silent, Ziqing continued, “Earlier, when you suddenly fainted on the cliffs of Wuxie Ravine, and couldn’t take your medicine in time—that illness has been with you for quite a while, hasn’t it?”

Xuanyuan Lige didn’t answer, only smiling faintly.

“Am I wrong?” Ziqing asked.

Xuanyuan Lige smiled brilliantly. “Ziqing, you truly are clever. It’s a terminal illness—a few more years, and no amount of medicine will be able to save me.”

Ziqing’s heart gave a slight start, and she quickly asked, “What happened?”

“A terminal illness I’ve had since childhood, kept in check with medicine all this time,” Xuanyuan Lige said, still smiling.

“I’m not joking with you—what happened!” Ziqing pressed, growing anxious.

Seeing this, Xuanyuan Lige truly wished he could reach out and smooth back her bangs, yet he kept his hand clasped behind his back instead, saying with a faint smile, “Silly girl, I was just teasing you!”

Ziqing frowned at him, not believing it at all.

“It’s a strange illness—as long as I take enough medicine, I’ll be fine. Don’t worry,” Xuanyuan Lige said with a smile. She still worried about him, after all—that alone was enough, wasn’t it?

At the very least, she wasn’t an enemy, not someone who wished him dead.

“I wasn’t worried,” Ziqing said, secretly relieved, immediately denying it.

Seeing her anxious expression, Xuanyuan Lige couldn’t resist the urge to tease her further, saying earnestly, “Yes, you were.”

“You’re imagining things,” Ziqing said, her voice suddenly turning cold, striding off toward the lively zither banquet.

Xuanyuan Lige kept smiling, yet the smile couldn’t quite hide the bitterness lurking in his eyes.

Han Ziqing, oh Han Ziqing—if not for this illness, this fate of mine, I would never yield to Jun Beiyue, not even a single step!

Soon, all the honored guests had arrived. Atop the massive suspended zither platform, distinguished guests filled every seat—the two Qinse elders occupying the seats of honor, Xuanyuan Lige seated just below Elder Qin, followed by the various figures from the Longyuan continent; the Gu family seated just below Elder Se, followed in turn by the Bai family, the Yu family, and the other clans of Liuxian Island.

At the center of the banquet stood a full hundred zithers and a hundred se instruments, all played by men—disciples of Qinse Valley, every one of them.

This was Qinse Valley’s grandest banquet of all. Aside from those disciples guarding critical posts, every disciple of the valley was permitted to attend—honored guests occupied the central platform, while the surrounding viewing platforms on both sides were filled entirely with disciples! The scene was lively and magnificent beyond compare.

A zither banquet, after all, was a banquet for listening to music.

After an opening piece of harmonized zither and se music, the musicians rose together, offering toasts to all the guests. After several rounds of wine had been poured,

Bai Feiyao was the first to grow impatient!

“Elders of Qinse Valley, I recall my father once mentioning that Qinse Valley’s zither banquets include a tradition of drinking games tied to the music—is that so?”

Elder Qin immediately laughed heartily. “Look at that, can’t even wait, can he!”

“Young people these days just can’t hold their patience—they’ll only learn restraint after suffering a loss or two,” the Yu family patriarch said with a laugh.

Ziqing eyed this with suspicion—judging by the tone, this business of drinking games tied to the music didn’t sound like anything good.

“Brother Yu, it’s no fault of the young for not understanding these things—but why didn’t the elders make it clear to him?” Patriarch Gu immediately spoke up. After such a spectacular victory in the opening bout, who on Liuxian Island didn’t now favor the Gu family?

Patriarch Gu’s words came just short of naming the Bai family outright.

A flicker of displeasure crossed Bai Feiyao’s eyes, saying coldly, “The young have no intention of playing games with you two useless old men—what are you two nagging about?”

Ziqing couldn’t help but frown—this Bai Feiyao really was arrogant. The phrase “useless old men,” though aimed elsewhere, inevitably struck a blow at the two Qinse elders’ dignity as well!

Looking at the two elders, both their faces had turned a shade of green.

Ziqing secretly smiled to herself—with the tide on Liuxian Island having turned so dramatically now, what grounds did Bai Feiyao still have left for such arrogance?

Without question, his only remaining leverage lay in killing the Gu family’s young master, Jun Beiyue.

What scheme was this fellow trying to pull now, making such a grand show of things?

“Slap!” The Yu family patriarch immediately slammed his palm on the table, rising to his feet. “Bai Feiyao, who exactly are you calling useless!”

“Whoever gets defensive, that’s who I’m talking about,” Bai Feiyao said, entirely at ease.

“You!” the Yu patriarch roared with fury, immediately blowing a long, piercing whistle!

Patriarch Gu watched coldly. Unlike at the gathering’s opening, when he’d had to step forward himself, now there were plenty of others eager to speak up on the Gu family’s behalf!

In moments, a fierce, piercing cry split the sky. Everyone looked up to see a flock of vultures already circling overhead, seemingly ready to dive down at any moment!

The two Qinse elders remained composed throughout—the gathering had, after all, been designed partly to let the great clans of Liuxian Island test their strength against one another, to see how much progress had been made over these fifteen years.

Suddenly, several vultures dove down. Yet at that same moment, Bai Feiyao pointed a finger skyward, and instantly countless vines shot out from all around him, surging up into the clouds. Moments later, several pained shrieks rang out as the vultures fled in panic, scattering countless feathers as they went!

The Yu family patriarch’s face showed clear embarrassment, glancing toward Patriarch Gu—unmistakably seeking help.

Bai Feiyao picked up a stray feather, then turned a cold gaze toward the Yu family, provoking their young master directly, “Yu Xiao, if you have the nerve, stop hiding under the old bird’s wings and step out—let’s have a drinking game between the two of us!”

Ziqing was faintly startled—she’d originally assumed Bai Feiyao would target the Gu family again, never expecting he’d instead set his sights on the Yu family’s young master.