Chapter 1: Deadly Poison 01
Spring waves rippled like wine, and along the willow-lined embankment, a young maiden with twin hair buns walked forward leading her horse by the reins. Water light shimmered at her side, the lake surface vast and broad. Pale sunlight came from the east, casting her long shadow upon the ground—her figure graceful and supremely beautiful. Her surname was Zhong, given name Chunji, and she was the disciple of Xue Xianzi. Xue Xianzi held an extremely high position in the martial world, and through her master’s prominence, the disciple gained renown. Though she had wandered the martial world for less than two years, everyone in the jianghu knew of Xue Xianzi’s beautiful female disciple who acted with chivalrous justice, accomplishing many heroic deeds that even grown men could not achieve.
Yet though spring’s beauty was limitless and she had gained fame in the martial world at such a young age, she seemed unhappy. Leading her renowned steed “Meihua’er” (Little Plum Blossom), she walked slowly along the embankment of Xiaoyan Lake. The scenery of Xiaoyan Lake was pleasant, with lakeside willows like mist, but to her it was all passing clouds—she looked at nothing, her heart thinking: He… he… alas…
The “he” in her heart was Wanyu Yuedan, the Palace Master of Biluo Palace. Xue Xianzi’s whereabouts were unpredictable; even she could hardly see him more than a few times a year. The Xuetu Manor where she lived was located beneath Maoya Peak, a place rarely visited by people. She had grown up in Xuetu Manor from childhood, extremely lonely. In recent years, the mysterious Biluo Palace of the martial world had moved to Maoya Peak, becoming her neighbor. Thus she came to know Wanyu Yuedan. He was gentle and refined like jade, his conversation making one feel like bathed in spring breeze. Since age fifteen she had harbored feelings for him, but though the falling flowers were willing, the flowing water was heartless. She heard he already had a wife, yet she had never seen this Lady Wanyu. Having wandered the martial world for nearly two years, she only hoped she could forget him, but traveling alone made her ever more lonely, and the lonelier she became, the more she thought of him.
And he would surely not think of her even half a moment, would he? Zhong Chunji smiled bitterly and raised her head. She saw the wave light like a dream, with a fishing boat catching fish on the lake—the scene peaceful, others’ lives quite fulfilled. She continued leading her horse forward. After walking about ten zhang, she suddenly noticed another set of hoofprints on the ground, along with cart wheel tracks—clearly not long ago a horse-drawn carriage had passed this way. Zhong Chunji’s elegant brows furrowed slightly. Xiaoyan Lake was in a remote location with rough terrain, unsuitable for carriage travel. Who had such great ability to drive a carriage here? Being a disciple of a famous master, she examined briefly and could tell the person in the carriage was from the martial world. Curiosity arose, and she mounted her horse to slowly follow the carriage tracks.
The carriage traces followed along the lakeside, the hoofprints somewhat scattered. The further she went, the more puzzled she became. Could it be that the person in the carriage had no driver, letting the horses wander freely along the lakeside? After a short while, she saw a carriage stopped beneath a cliff beside Xiaoyan Lake. She dismounted and used her riding whip to lift the door curtain, suddenly startling with shock. The person inside had collapsed on the seat, a throwing knife plunged into his chest right to the handle. The blade was snow-bright with a silver ring—it was the “One Ring Crossing Moon”! Zhong Chunji looked around, feeling somewhat strange. This “One Ring Crossing Moon” was the signature weapon of “Sky Cloud” Chi Yun. She had heard this person had an eccentric temperament, traveling alone. Though he was from the dark path, his reputation was quite good. She wondered why Chi Yun would kill this carriage owner. Could this person be a corrupt official? Or did he carry some rare treasures stolen from somewhere, which Chi Yun then robbed? But Chi Yun, when robbing wealth and goods, never killed people. Why would he strike so heavily against this person?
She gently lifted the corpse’s face with her whip handle, and saw the corpse’s face was covered in red spots, extremely horrifying. Yet the features were proper, quite young, and somewhat familiar-looking. “Shi Tinghe?” Zhong Chunji was greatly shocked. This dead person was actually the young martial hero Shi Tinghe, who had defeated “Sword King” Yu Qifeng two years ago! She had met Shi Tinghe once. After this person defeated Yu Qifeng, he became famous throughout the land, killing remnants of the Blood Sacrifice Society, breaking into Bingzhu Temple to kill the Five Butterfly King, accomplishing many earth-shaking deeds. He had seemed poised to replace Jiang Nan Feng as the new Martial Arts Alliance Leader. How could he suddenly die here? “Sword Saint” Shi Tinghe dying under Chi Yun’s blade would surely be a major event that would shake the martial world, but why… why would Chi Yun kill Shi Tinghe? Could his martial arts be even higher than Shi Tinghe’s? She put down Shi Tinghe’s corpse and reached toward his neck to check if he still had body warmth. If the corpse was not yet cold, Chi Yun might still be nearby… Just as she was reaching out, suddenly someone above coldly said, “Touch him once, and tomorrow you’ll be exactly like him.”
Zhong Chunji was greatly startled and immediately leaped back. Looking up, she saw a person in snow-white clothes, sitting cross-legged on Shi Tinghe’s carriage, looking at her sideways with disdain. “The dagger ‘Little Peach Red’ at your side—you must be Xue Xianzi’s disciple? Didn’t Xue Xianzi teach you to look but not touch others’ belongings?” This person also wasn’t very old, perhaps twenty-seven or twenty-eight, tall and slender, quite dashing and elegant, yet he called her “little girl.” She wasn’t angry either, pointing at Shi Tinghe’s corpse. “Don’t tell me this dead person belongs to you?” Looking at this person’s temperament and dress, he should undoubtedly be “Sky Cloud” Chi Yun.
“This person was killed by me, so naturally he belongs to me,” Chi Yun said coldly. “If you killed wild chickens and ducks in the mountains, wouldn’t those chickens and ducks belong to you?” Zhong Chunji said, “Shi Tinghe was a distinguished young hero—why did you kill him? And what strange poison did you use on him? Martial world legends say Chi Yun is an upright and honorable man despite being from the dark path. I think that may not be true.” Chi Yun said coolly, “Whether I’m upright and honorable or despicable and shameless is not for you, yellow-haired girl, to judge. Shi Tinghe took forbidden medicine and poisoned himself until he looked neither human nor ghost. I killed him out of necessity—otherwise wherever he went, the poison would spread. Who could bear it?” Zhong Chunji asked in surprise, “Took forbidden medicine? What forbidden medicine?” Chi Yun said, “Scarlet Ghost Nine Heart Pills. I suppose you, girl, don’t know what that thing is either.” Zhong Chunji said, “I truly don’t know. With Young Master Shi’s great reputation, why would he need to take forbidden medicine?” Chi Yun said coldly, “If he hadn’t taken forbidden medicine, how could he have defeated Yu Qifeng?” Zhong Chunji was stunned and said no more. She heard Chi Yun continue, “After taking ‘Scarlet Ghost Nine Heart Pills,’ a martial artist’s power increases by more than double. However, when the poison takes effect, it makes your face bloom with spots, both ugly and itchy, and your power decreases, causing unbearable pain. If you don’t take more of this poison, even the Great Golden Immortal couldn’t survive. Hehe, the frightening thing is that when the poison flares up, the poisoned person’s whole body becomes toxic. If others touch even a bit, they become exactly the same. ‘Scarlet Ghost Nine Heart Pills’ are extremely expensive. Even for the foremost talent of the martial world, the rising star Shi Tinghe, to take this poison, he inevitably had to burn, kill, rob, and plunder, doing criminal and lawless things…” Zhong Chunji said, “That’s not necessarily so…” Chi Yun said coolly, “Why do you think he killed the Blood Sacrifice Society remnants and broke into Bingzhu Temple?” Zhong Chunji said, “Naturally to rid the martial world of evil.” Chi Yun spat, “This young hero robbed jewels and wealth from the Blood Sacrifice Society and Bingzhu Temple totaling one hundred thousand taels of silver, and spent it all. Today he ran to Member Chen’s place in Yan Town to rob wealth. I happened upon him, followed him here, and killed him with one blade.” Zhong Chunji’s elegant brows furrowed slightly. “This is all your one-sided story—how can I believe you? If you killed Shi Tinghe, the Central Plains Sword Association will surely not let this matter rest.”
Chi Yun rolled his eyes. “If I were afraid, I would have killed you earlier to silence you.” He leaped down from the carriage. “Little girl, move aside.” Zhong Chunji stepped back. Chi Yun flicked his sleeve, and a lit tinder fell onto the carriage top, igniting the oil cloth. It burst into flames with a whoosh. She was secretly shocked—Chi Yun’s movements were so swift. In the moment she was stunned, he had already sprung up. She saw only a white shadow flash a few times on the mountain cliff before disappearing.
What swift skill! She stood beside the flames watching Shi Tinghe’s corpse catch fire, then suddenly gathered some dead wood and weeds from nearby and threw them into the fire to strengthen the flames. Gradually the corpse turned to ashes. She sighed softly—even if there really was poison, it should be harmless now, right? But was what Chi Yun said about the “Scarlet Ghost Nine Heart Pills” true or false? If this was real, and everyone sought to obtain supreme martial arts, wouldn’t it be extremely terrifying… Leading her horse, she slowly walked back, thinking: if he… if he were here, what would he do? Yuedan was such a clever person, yet why did he seclude himself on Maoya Peak, growing old without entering the martial world? He was still so young.
Riding past the picturesque Xiaoyan Lake, the fishing boat on the lake had disappeared. She applied the whip and shouted, spurring her horse to gallop toward the mountains.
In the woods beside Xiaoyan Lake, two young men in gorgeous clothing were roasting fish. Seeing Zhong Chunji’s Meihua’er gallop past, the one in azure clothes laughed, “Xue Xianzi is too difficult to deal with. We shouldn’t provoke the girl he raised either.” The one in purple clothes said indifferently, “Hua Wuyan has always been tender toward women.” The one called “Hua Wuyan” in azure clothes said, “Ah? I’m tender toward women, but why didn’t you kill her? I know Cao Wufang is no match for Chi Yun. Hahaha.” The purple-clothed “Cao Wufang” said, “Since you know, why speak it aloud? It damages my dignity.” Hua Wuyan said, “Yes, yes, yes. But today letting Zhong Chunji see Shi Tinghe’s poisoned death—if we don’t kill her, when we return to report to our Lord, it might be hard to explain.” Cao Wufang took a bite of roasted fish and said indifferently, “That’s simple. After she leaves this place, when Chi Yun isn’t around, I’ll kill her with one stroke.” Hua Wuyan laughed, “Kill her with one stroke—I can’t bear that. Better I poison her with ‘Dream Drunk,’ guaranteeing absolutely no pain.” Cao Wufang closed his eyes. “Whether you poison her or drown her, if she’s not dead by the third watch tonight, I’ll kill her with one blade.”
Zhong Chunji rode swiftly out of Yan Mountain. When it was near noon, she saw a tea shop by the roadside not far away and dismounted. “Shopkeeper, do you have steamed buns?” There was only one middle-aged man wiping tables in the tea shop. Seeing such a lovely young woman leading a horse approach, he was startled, thinking to himself: could she be a fox fairy? In broad daylight, in these remote mountains, where could such an immortal lady come from? “I… I…” the shopkeeper stammered, “This shop doesn’t sell steamed buns, only noodle soup.” Zhong Chunji smiled slightly, “Then give me a bowl of noodle soup.” She found a stool to sit on. This tea shop was at the village entrance; not far beyond was a village. With spring warmth and blooming flowers, people came and went in the village, very peaceful. She sighed softly in her heart. Common people who knew no martial arts lived quietly in these mountains farming and weaving their whole lives, yet they had far fewer worries than people of the martial world.
The shopkeeper brought her a bowl of noodle soup. She picked it up and took a sip, suddenly feeling something amiss. Setting it down, she said, “Shopkeeper, this soup is mixed with rice porridge. What’s the matter?” The shopkeeper exclaimed, “I’ll change it right away. The pot just finished cooking rice soup—probably my wife didn’t wash it thoroughly. I’m so sorry, Miss.” Zhong Chunji smiled slightly. She could taste the soup contained no poison and didn’t mind this mere bowl of noodle soup. “The shopkeeper has an infant at home—no wonder the preparation is insufficient.” The shopkeeper said awkwardly, “No, no, my wife and I are both in our forties or fifties. That’s rice soup Master Tang from the inn asked my wife to help cook.” Zhong Chunji was somewhat surprised. “Master Tang?” The shopkeeper said, “Master Tang from the capital, traveling with a four or five-month-old child. Unlike us rough folk, he’s a scholar. Hehe, he looks quite well-matched with you, Miss.” After talking with Zhong Chunji for a few sentences, he felt familiar with her. Country folk had no particular taboos and spoke whatever came to mind. Zhong Chunji knew he meant no offense and only smiled slightly. After finishing the noodle soup and paying for tea and food, she asked, “Which way to the village inn?”
“There’s only one road in the village,” the shopkeeper laughed. “You’ll see it when you walk over.” Zhong Chunji patted her horse and led Meihua’er. Indeed, after walking less than twenty zhang, she saw the village’s only inn, called “Immortal Guest’s Arrival.”
Such a dilapidated little inn also had such an elegant name. She entered the doorway. There was only one middle-aged woman of about forty in the inn, squatting on the floor washing vegetables without looking up. “Innkeeper, I want lodging.” Zhong Chunji’s brows furrowed slightly. “Innkeeper?”
“She’s an idiot—are you also an idiot?” Suddenly a familiar voice came from within the room. “How is it that I encounter you, little girl, wherever I go?” Zhong Chunji immediately stepped back several paces. She saw the room curtain lift and someone stride out—white-clothed and elegant, clearly Chi Yun himself. “You…” She was truly shocked, her face somewhat pale. “How are you here?” Could Chi Yun travel faster than her on horseback?
“I can be wherever I please,” Chi Yun glared at her. “Why are you here?” Zhong Chunji steadied herself. “I had an appointment with Jiang Cheng to meet at Xiaoyan Lake.” Chi Yun said, “He won’t come.”
“‘Letter Goose’ Jiang Cheng always keeps his word and would never break an appointment without reason.” She calmed down and looked Chi Yun up and down, secretly guessing why he would be here. She noticed his clothes were spotted with traces of rice soup, finding it amusing: could he be the “Master Tang” the tea shop owner mentioned?
“‘Letter Goose’ Jiang Cheng naturally wouldn’t break an appointment without reason. He was already chopped into four fucking pieces by Shi Tinghe and kicked into Xiaoyan Lake.” Chi Yun said coolly. “Jiang Cheng’s appointment with you must be to seek help from that immortal Xue Xianzi. If this matter was related to Shi Tinghe, he would naturally kill to silence witnesses. What’s so strange about that?” Zhong Chunji was shocked again and cried out, “What? Jiang Cheng is dead?” Chi Yun said impatiently, “Dead as dead can be—his corpse has already fed the fish.” Zhong Chunji paled. “He said he had urgent business to see my master. I… I still don’t know what great matter it was.” Chi Yun sneered, “Most likely also about the Scarlet Ghost Nine Heart Pills. Anyway, I’ve already killed Shi Tinghe for him—he needn’t mind anymore.” Zhong Chunji said angrily, “How can you speak like that? From your actions, you don’t seem ignorant, yet you’ve gained such a great reputation. How can your words be so callous?” Chi Yun rolled his eyes. “Little girl speaks without proper respect. I won’t lower myself to your level.” He flicked his sleeve and was about to return to his room. Zhong Chunji hurried forward. “Wait, did you see Shi Tinghe kill Jiang Cheng…” Before finishing her sentence, she suddenly caught sight of the situation inside the room and froze.
In this simple, shabby guest room with only one bed and one chair, someone sat on the bed, with an infant sleeping beside the bed. The person half-sitting on the bed was a young gentleman, no more than twenty-one or twenty-two years old, with fair skin, refined and gentle appearance. If not for a faint scar on his left eyebrow, he could be considered an elegant young master, but unfortunately the blade scar broke his brow, giving him an unlucky appearance. She saw him with eyes closed, hands folded on the quilt, brows slightly furrowed, as if something was causing him discomfort. A baby slept on the bed, only four or five months old, born plump and fair, exquisitely adorable, sleeping with a very contented expression. The scene in the room—one a patient, one an infant—made her unconsciously hold her voice and step back. Who was this patient? And whose child was this?
The slightly sickly young gentleman in the room slowly opened his eyes. “A guest has arrived—Chi Yun, serve tea.” Chi Yun said angrily, “How can you order me to pour tea for this little girl?” The young gentleman said peacefully, “A guest has arrived.” Chi Yun clenched his five fingers into fists, gritting his teeth. After holding it in for a long time, he forced out a “Yes!” and turned to the kitchen to fetch tea. Zhong Chunji was both shocked and amused. This Chi Yun was arrogant by nature, yet there was actually someone in the world who could order him around and treat him like a servant. Truly one thing conquers another—but who exactly was this person?
“My surname is Tang,” the patient on the bed smiled. “Chi Yun always speaks arrogantly and with cruel malice. He must have angered you, Miss.” Zhong Chunji couldn’t help asking, “I don’t know what relationship Master Tang has with Chi Yun…” That Master Tang took something from his bosom and shook it slightly. Zhong Chunji saw clearly and cried “Ah!” with mixed laughter and tears. It was actually a contract of sale—Chi Yun had been sold to the Tang family at age eight to be a book attendant. This Tang family of the capital was quite famous, being the current National Uncle’s mansion. National Uncle Tang Weiqian held office in the Ministry of Revenue, ranked among the Three Dukes, and his daughter Tang Yun was enfeoffed as Imperial Concubine Yun. Since this young master surnamed Tang, he was naturally Tang Weiqian’s adopted son from over three years ago—Tang Lici, Uncle Tang. Although Chi Yun had long since gained fame throughout the martial world and traveled alone, when meeting his former young master, he remained in his book attendant status. No wonder Tang Lici would order him to serve tea, but… but with Chi Yun’s status, temperament, and supreme martial arts, why would he still obey Tang Lici’s orders? She felt strange but didn’t dare speculate wildly. She saw that though Tang Lici smiled, his brows always carried a trace of pain. She couldn’t help asking, “Where does the young master feel unwell?”