Chapter 493: Do I need to explain my actions to you?
Gu Qishao knew that there were hidden guards at the Han Estate, or else he wouldn’t have charged in so openly. He gave Chu Xifeng a belittling smile. “You think the likes of you can block me?”
“Gu Qishao, if you really have the skills, go track down the assassins instead. Stop causing a ruckus here!” Chu Xifeng huffed.
Gu Qishao laughed out loud at that. “You’re saying that Long Feiye doesn’t have the skills to find those assassins himself?”
“You’re the one who has no skills!” Chu Xifeng retorted huffily.
“So His Highness Duke of Qin has already caught the culprits?” Gu Qishao feigned astonishment.
Chu Xifeng couldn’t best him in a verbal spar so he simply unsheathed his sword. Gu Qishao’s eyes turned cold before he kicked the weapon aside. “Poison lass’s wound hasn’t been treated yet. This old fellow will take care of you some other time!”
Esteemed wangfei’s been hurt? She didn’t treat it yet?
Now Chu Xifeng was frantic as well. He followed behind Gu Qishao as he knocked on the door, but nobody answered their calls. Naturally, Han Yunxi heard them from inside, but she couldn’t be bothered to deal with them, as she was too busy puzzling over the injury in her shoulder. Someone had finished an amazing treatment over the wound. The injury had been deep, the arrowhead almostly completely buried in three inches of skin, but the person who treated her didn’t even need to unclothe her to heal her! Even more astonishing…was the fact that they hadn’t even cut apart her clothes around the wound.
Who in the world has skills like that?
Han Yunxi quickly took off the covering of gauze on her shoulder, then the clothes underneath, before seeing the wound in all its clarity. The sight only amazed her all the more. Whoever had treated her wound hadn’t even bothered to stitch her up! Even so, the wound didn’t fester or bleed.
“How did they manage to take the arrow out?” Han Yunxi muttered to herself. She suddenly realized that her stitching skills on Gu Qishao were really weak in comparison!
Although she wasn’t bleeding, the wound still ached, so Han Yunxi quickly re-bandaged it and got dressed. Only then did she notice the bottle of medicinal powder and the crossbow bolt wrapped in a white cloth at the head of her bed. The medicine in the bottle was none other than the famous Jade Coagulation Powder, a precious item used to encourage thrombus production. The Han Estate had no such goods. She next examined the piece of white cloth, which resembled a face veil. There were no signs nor markings on the fabric, leaving her momentarily at a loss.
Who treated my injury?
Her head right now felt somewhat heavy, but it wasn’t as dizzy or distracting as yesterday. Han Yunxi felt her forehead and realized she’d just passed through a high fever. Did I lose consciousness from the fever, or did someone drug me unconscious on purpose? Otherwise, how could she have slept through treatment of such a deep wound? She definitely would have woken up. She looked at the white fabric again and thought of the white-robed man, but were his medical skills really this good? Treatment like this was on par with Gu Beiyue’s skills!
While she was still feeling puzzled, someone kicked open her door. Gu Qishao, Chu Xifeng and Lady Helian all came pouring in as a crowd. Han Yunxi gave a start at the same time they did. The trio had assumed something had happened when she hadn’t answered the door.
“Esteemed wangfei, how’s your injury?”
“Poison lass, did you take care of your wound?”
Both Chu Xifeng and Gu Qishao were very anxious, but Lady Helian was sharp-eyed enough to see the items at the head of the bed. “Esteemed wangfei, you’ve already taken care of it?”
With her words, Han Yunxi was now certain that none of the Han family members had been the one who treated her injury. Suspicion grew in her heart before she silently hid away the white cloth and murmured, “Mhm, it’s all been treated. The injury was but a minor one and fine now, you may all leave.”
Gu Qishao took a look and saw real traces of the treatment before he felt relieved.
“Esteemed wangfei, you should come back to the Duke of Qin’s estate with this subordinate. His Highness is already at home,” Chu Xifeng urged.
He still hadn’t told her about His Highness’s injuries, but esteemed wangfei should be able to guess that Long Feiye was in trouble if he’d already gone back Otherwise, his usual personality would have him at the front lines investigating the assassins, not dawdling at home. Unfortunately, Han Yunxi didn’t even seem to hear him.
“Seventh Madame, you and Guard Chu should leave.”
She wasn’t an idiot, she was simply too smart for her own good. With the city gates locked, there was no way the assassins would escape. If she was Long Feiye, she’d go home to drink tea and sleep. Long Tianmo and Mu Qingwu had already blown up the event into epic proportions so that it was now some unprecedented threat against the imperial palace. Naturally, it would fall to Emperor Tianhui to take care of the mess. The assassins and gunpowder explosions had happened nearly concurrently, so the emperor naturally had his suspicions. He would definitely kill off an innocent rather than risk letting the culprits go.
“Esteemed wangfei, you’re only leaving Gu Qishao with you?” Chu Xifeng suddenly gave a grim laugh. There’s a 80 to 90 percent chance that esteemed wangfei fell out with His Highness because of Gu Qishao. But she’s still leaving the two of them alone in the same room?
Does she really not realize what this looks like, or is she simply a fickle woman with each foot in a different boat?
Chu Xifeng’s expression made Han Yunxi unwell all over. First, Long Feiye suspects me, now his subordinates do, too?!
“Do I need to explain my actions to you?” She had always been someone who persisted in her own ways. Back at the medical academy, she’d refused to yield an inch even with the Council of Elders threatened her. In both her lives, she’d never explained her actions to anyone except Long Feiye, but did he even bother to listen?
If not for the risk of smearing the Qin Wangfei name, would she even care about this world’s rules and rites, much less its rumors and slanders? She wasn’t the type to force others to honor her presence, but neither would she sell herself out to the world!
Chu Xifeng fell silent. “This subordinate exceeded my boundaries, may esteemed wangfei mete punishment.”
“Beat it!” Han Yunxi said bluntly.
Chu Xifeng was equal parts aggrieved and upset as he turned to leave. Lady Helian glanced at Gu Qishao, a little hesitant, but Han Yunxi only said coldly, “Seventh Madame, you should leave as well.”
Lady Helian had no choice but to silently withdraw. As soon as she was out, she chased after Chu Xifeng to try and say some good words for esteemed wangfei. Perhaps esteemed wangfei really did have business with Gu Qishao. However, Chu Xifeng was long gone by the time she came out. Heaven knows whether the man would report this to Long Feiye!
In truth, Han Yunxi really did have some questions to ask Gu Qishao in private.
“You’ve treated all the wounds on your back?” Han Yunxi asked.
“Mu Linger took care of it, don’t worry,” Gu Qishao would never go find Gu Beiyue. What if that man recognized Mu Linger? But he hadn’t found Mu Linger either, because his wounds eventually stopped bleeding on their own. He was too lazy to take care of them and he had drugged the girl so she was fast asleep at the inn.
Han Yunxi saw that Gu Qishao’s condition looked rather well so she set her cares at rest. She sat down and fell silent for a while before asking directly, “Gu Qishao, Gu Qi Sha, what should I call you now?”
She would remember his lifesaving debt, but she still had to settle accounts with him due to his lies. Gu Qishao had guessed she’d ask as much and sat down with a chuckle. “Calling me Qi gege is best.”
Han Yunxi was in no mood to joke around. Her voice cold, she asked, “You’re investigating my origins, too. Why did you bring me to see Mute Nanny? What kind of falling out did you have with Medical City? You know the poison arts, but is that related to the Poison Sect?”
Gu Qishao guffawed. “Lass, won’t you get tired from thinking so much?”
“Answer my questions!” Han Yunxi demanded seriously.
“Eh, Qi gege will tell you now, Qi gege already had these two identities long before I met you. Medical City keeps their eye on Gu Qi Sha, but not on Gu Qishao, understand? This is Qi gege’s own little secret,” Gu Qishao grinned.
Han Yunxi did understand. Everyone had their own share of secrets that they kept to themselves, such as her own transmigration state. She didn’t need to tell anyone about her detox system space, either. She didn’t care about such things, but she had to make sure of one thing.
“Why were you investigating my origins?” she asked sternly.
This man had first noticed her poison skills, then moved on to the Tang Clan assassination weapons, the embroidered character on her medical pouch, Lady Tianxin’s origins, and Mu Clan’s Mute Nanny. Everything came as a result of investigating her past. He might be laughing and smiling all day, but she never took him at face value. This man still didn’t know that her real father wasn’t Han Congan, but possibly a descendent of the Poison Sect. When he had first brought her to see Mute Nanny, it was because of his curiosity for her connections to the same sect. Perhaps he’d only taken an interest in her because of her possible connections to the Poison Sect via her poison arts.
Han Yunxi had once asked him why he was looking for the Poison Sect’s descendents. He had then replied that he needed them as ingredients to create an antidote. When she asked him what kind of poison it was for, he had said it was the world’s most potent poison. Han Yunxi would never take those words as a joke because she was certain he had motives for approaching her!
This time, Gu Qishao wasn’t smiling. He had a rare serious expression on his face, but he didn’t answer Han Yunxi’s question. Instead he said earnestly, “Poison lass, believe me. No matter what I do, I’d never hurt you.”
Is he just going through the motions with me?
Han Yunxi was clearly angry, but the persistent seriousness in Gu Qishao’s gaze made her unable to retort in case she hurt his feelings. Just yesterday, he’d risked his life to save hers, so why would she have an excuse to disbelieve him? Han Yunxi remained silent for a long while before she said, “I believe you. But don’t I have the right to know the truth?”
She had already accepted the burden of her new identity, yet still had no idea of all its secrets. It left her utterly defeated. Gu Qishao only saw her serious, stubborn gaze before suddenly breaking into a smile.
“Poison lass, you’re not the person I’m looking for. That thing has nothing to do with you anymore! You don’t need to know the details.”
He had been looking non-stop for remnants of the Poison Sect and its poison women. But after Mute Nanny was captured, all of his leads had dried up. The woman before him was most likely who he was looking for, but his words today weren’t completely for show—or a lie. He was telling both himself and Han Yunxi that his Poison lass wasn’t who he needed. Definitely not!
Even if she is, I’ll just pretend she isn’t!
He had plenty of other ways to take revenge on Medical City. As for that one particular antidote…
Her very existence, her smile and her frowns, her every word and phrase, were the best panacea for himself. Screw curing the poison! I can deal even if I never treat it! Han Yunxi half doubted, half believed him, but she was left with no way to retort. His words were right, she didn’t need to know about things that had nothing to do with her.
Gu Qishao rose to his feet and gave a lazy stretch. “Poison lass, Qi gege might like to joke around, but I’d never lie.”
He made to leave as soon as he finished, but paused at the door to turn around. “That’s right, Poison lass. About the last portion of antidote for the Broomcorn Millet Poison—Qi gege really didn’t claim it on the sly.”