Chapter 418: Unexpectedly, the situation turns urgent
It was impossible for the detox system to perfectly replicate Baili Mingxiang’s physical conditions to create a perfect sample. Otherwise, Han Yunxi could simply treat her poison right now instead of waiting for the Beauty’s Blood to mature. The quasi-Beauty’s Blood looked unusually red in its little bottle. Han Yunxi brought out her supplementary antidote placed a portion in a separate bottle. More empty bottles were placed around the first one before she grabbed a small white mouse to simulate the poison and antidote process.
Other women would definitely have musical instruments, chess sets, calligraphy, paintings, or embroidery samples in their study, but Han Yunxi’s room was different from the rest. Two of the walls were covered in bookcases, while a third was nothing but medicine chests. There was a large work table in the middle of the room that was currently covered in an array of different bottles. It neither looked like a female study nor a doctor’s study, but something altogether strange.
Su Xiaoyu had an unusual degree of curiosity about this study, but she had scant few chances to come inside. Esteemed wangfei had left orders that no one was to go in while she was out. No matter how curious she was, she still wouldn’t break the rules so easily. Her sole motive for slipping into the Duke of Qin’s estate was clear enough, so there was no need to indulge other curiosities. She was currently walking inside with a plate full of snacks, just in time to see Han Yunxi secure the little white mouse on the table by its head and four limbs. Then she carefully applied a needle to the creature’s thigh.
Seeing this, Su Xiaoyu couldn’t help but be curious. She set down the snacks and lingered a while to watch. Han Yunxi’s attention was wholly focused on the mouse, so she didn’t notice Su Xiaoyu. However, Lil Thing had already noticed from its perched at the edge of the table. Its bright black eyes were filled with caution. Lil Thing had always had good intuition, and it sensed that Su Xiaoyu was no good! When Su Xiaoyu realized that Han Yunxi still hadn’t noticed, she carefully took a step closer, only to have Lil Thing suddenly gave a sharp squeak!
Han Yunxi hadn’t managed to feed enough quasi-Beauty’s Blood to the little white mouse, which was why she was injecting the poison into its veins now. Her concentration on the needle was wholly ruined by Lil Thing’s squeak, which caused her hand to slip and stick the needle in sideways!
“Lil Thing!” Han Yunxi glared at it, catching a glimpse of Su Xiaoyu standing on the side at the same time. She didn’t take it to heart, but lost all her temper at Lil Thing. “Bad thing, are you seeking death?”
Her pet peeve was anyone disturbing her while she was treating or administering poisons. Now that her needle had gone in wrong, her efforts on this mouse were all wasted. Lil Thing whimpered pitifully and took the chance to jump onto the medicine chests before Han Yunxi could lose her temper. It was only trying to tell Mama Yunxi that Su Xiaoyu had come in. Now that Mama Yunxi knew, it’d take her anger along with its own grievances. Who made it unable to communicate with humans in the first place, anyways?
Han Yunxi was too lazy to chase after Lil Thing for a lecture since she had more important things to do. She ignored Su Xiaoyu, since it was common for her and Zhao mama to bring in snacks to this room. Both of them knew better than to disturb her. After disposing of the first mouse, Han Yunxi brought out another one and began her tests anew. Su Xiaoyu didn’t dare to dawdle any longer, but hastily beat a retreat out the door. But Han Yunxi suddenly darted a glance at the door after she finished preparing her mouse.
Strange!
In the past, her experiments with the mice had scared everyone except Lil Thing. Even Zhao mama had been frightened by the sight. But a child as young as Su Xiaoyu isn’t afraid at all? Aren’t little girls supposed to be terrified of mice? Moreover, I even tied it up for experiments, which should be nothing short of horrific. But Su Xiaoyu didn’t show a trace of fear!
“This child…” Han Yunxi felt a knot in her heart. At this moment, Lil Thing cheeped a few times from its perch on the medicine chests, as if reminding her of something.
“You think it’s odd too?” Han Yunxi asked. Lil Thing didn’t understand, so it just cheeped a few more times. Han Yunxi made a mental note to make some inquiries later when she had more time. But right now she was too busy. It really was a pain when her tests were interrupted midway! After organizing her thoughts, Han yunxi went back to work.
The mouse was given a shot of poison, which quickly began to react in its body. Slow-acting toxins like these wouldn’t kill anyone on their own, but their mutual reactions would definitely prove fatal! Black blood began to pour from the seven orifices of the mouse, who was on the verge of death. Han Yunxi decided quickly and injected it with a dose of her prepared antidote. That was the fastest way to produce a cure, but she still had to wait for three minutes before it took effect.
Han Yunxi bit her fingers as she stared unblinkingly at the mouse. Short as they were, these three minutes were filled with tension. If the effects of her antidote were too weak, then she’d be in trouble. Producing an entirely new antidote in the span of ten days might not be enough time. To Han Yunxi, it felt like ages before time was up. The image of Baili Mingxiang’s wan, pale face rose unbidden in her mind, wearing her thin smile and open resignation.
Suddenly, the mouse on the table stopped twitching! Was it dead, or cured? Han Yunxi’s heart lurched as she went to check on its vitals.
Good news greeted her!
The mouse had simply fainted away. Han Yunxi immediately started up the detox system to do a thorough examination, only to discover that the mouse wasn’t completely cured. However, most of the poison had been dealt with, leaving only non-fatal traces in the body.
In other words, the experimental antidote she’d created from trial and research was reliable. After some minor adjustments, it’d be perfect for treating the poison! She heaved a sigh. None of her hard work over the past six months had been wasted!
“Lucky Baili Mingxiang, you’ve narrowly escaped death!”
Han Yunxi didn’t rest, but immediately set about making adjustments to her formula. She stayed in the study all night before producing an antidote capable of completely curing the quasi-Beauty’s Blood. Once the real Beauty’s Blood reached maturation, she would only need to make small adjustments with one or two ingredients to make it work. Han Yunxi was proficient enough in poison theory to trust that she’d succeed!
Everything had gone very smoothly, so Han Yunxi placed the antidote in a sealed bottle hidden next to her skin before rising to open the doors. After pulling an all-nighter, she was tired!
Unexpectedly, a dark shadow streaked in from outside as soon as she prepared to go upstairs.
An assassin?
“Someone, come!” Han Yunxi cried out, but none of the hidden guards made a move to come in. Even Zhao mama and Su Xiaoyu froze in their tracks upon rushing into the room. That was because…
…the black-robed man was none other than the master of the estate, Long Feiye. He grabbed Han Yunxi by the waist and took her away, extremely anxious. A burst of his lightness technique sent them out of the Duke of Qin’s estate in an instant. Han Yunxi few her forehead break out in sweat as she recognized Long Feiye.
“What are you doing?”
“Baili Mingxiang’s in trouble!” Long Feiye was much more worried than Han Yunxi had ever seen. If she hadn’t known about the Beauty’s Blood, she would be feeling jealous right about now.
“What happened? She was fine when I went to see her yesterday!” Han Yunxi grew anxious as well.
“Her seven orifices suddenly started pouring blood and she lost consciousness. The poison doctor at the estate said the poison flared up prematurely,” Long Feiye said as he increased his speed for the Baili estate.
If anything happened to Baili Mingxiang, then more than a decade’s worth of worth would go up in smoke. It’d be even harder to find another person with the same constitution as her. How could he be anything but frantic? By the time Long Feiye brought Han Yunxi to General Baili’s estate, Baili Mingxiang’s pulse was already extremely weak and her life was in danger.
Besides General Baili, her bedroom was filled with nothing but poison doctors, all of them panicking. But rather than concern over the woman’s life, they were more worried about her Beauty’s Blood. Baili Mingxiang lay on the bed with her eyes squeezed shut, her face deathly pale. Nobody was even wiping the blood flowing from her orifices. Seeing this, Han Yunxi’s heart clenched. She felt awful, but she quickly assumed a professional air and got down to business.
“All of you, get out!” she said simply.
“Esteemed wangfei, Miss Mingxiang’s…” the poison doctors didn’t leave, but approached her to explain the situation. Whatever the case, they could at least offer some help.
But Han Yunxi simply ordered, “Get out!”
Even a military man like General Baili was awed into silence by Han Yunxi’s icy air. When this woman gets serious, she’s just as intimidating as His Highness Duke of Qin. All of the poison doctors scattered, leaving Long Feiye and General Baili behind.
“For now, you two should leave, too.” Han Yunxi said as she took out a handkerchief to wipe Baili Mingxiang’s face. She looked calm and unhurried, but her detox system had long started scanning and analyzing the situation. She wasn’t being coldblooded—it was just that emergency situations demanded a cool head and no mistakes. General Baili was now familiar with Han Yunxi’s expertise in poisons, but figured that His Highness Duke of Qin would still stay behind. If that was the case, he could stay with him and broaden his horizons with her craft.
But Long Feiye simply turned to leave without another word, leaving General Baili with no choice but to follow him out and shut the door. Han Yunxi couldn’t fathom why General Baili was so heartless. After all, the person lying on this bed was his very own daughter!
Was the powerful Mermaid Clan loyal to Long Feiye unto death? Just what kind of cause did the Tang Clan give them to show such fidelity?
Naturally, she wouldn’t puzzle over that now. First she had to concentrate all her efforts on the detox system to analyze and understand the situation. While she kept her attention on Baili Mingxiang’s pulse, the system worked in the background until Han Yunxi came to an unbelievable conclusion.
The Beauty’s Blood is finished, so all the poisons are acting up!
Han Yunxi couldn’t believe it! She’d already planned out Baili Mingxiang’s schedule for taking poisons down to the letter, but the woman herself had decided to speed things up! The poison that originally needed ten or more days to finish had been thoroughly ingested ahead of time!
And her body could still take it, even under that dosage!
Han Yunxi was both shocked and amazed, but that didn’t affect her work. She took out the quasi-Beauty’s Blood she’d made and compared it with the one before her now. As it turned out, the results revealed…