The passageway was dimly lit, with only an occasional faint stone lantern placed along the road. At this moment, a stone lantern was right by You Yuji’s feet, its weak light casting a soft glow on her light purple dress.
Just before You Yuji looked up, Si Que averted his gaze and continued walking forward.
Feeling a bit anxious, You Yuji hugged Baisui tightly and quickened her pace.
After walking in the dark passage for a long time, You Yuji didn’t expect there to be another level. Holding Baisui protectively in one hand and lifting her dress with the other, she carefully stepped down the vertical wooden ladder.
When she finally reached the ground, You Yuji glanced curiously at the master of the Poison Pavilion. Had she seen wrong? It seemed that when she descended, the master of the Poison Pavilion had deliberately stood aside, as if worried she might fall. It was so dark here; perhaps she had misseen. How could the master of the Poison Pavilion be so kind?
With a “pop,” Zhanxue lit a wall lamp. She continued walking, lighting wall lamps as she went. The corridor gradually became brighter.
“Madam, this place feels very dangerous,” Zhuo Wen whispered.
How could a place like the Poison Pavilion not be dangerous? Before coming, You Yuji had already prepared herself mentally. Before she could speak, Zhanxue, who was walking ahead, chuckled and said, “The Poison Pavilion is indeed a dangerous place. Everything here is soaked in poison. You might already be carrying deadly poison.”
Zhuo Wen didn’t respond, only lowering his voice to grumble to You Yuji, “This girl isn’t just sharp-tongued, she has sharp ears too.”
You Yuji also lowered her voice, gently admonishing, “Cause less trouble. Don’t provoke the people of the Poison Pavilion.”
“Naturally,” Zhuo Wen quickly replied.
Before long, the sound of footsteps came from behind.
“Is someone catching up?” Zhanxue frowned.
She glanced at a young boy beside her and instructed, “Siqi, go and check.”
Siqi nodded and immediately ran back.
The others quickened their pace and continued forward.
However, the footsteps behind them only grew closer.
You Yuji couldn’t help but speak up, “Master, could the imperial court’s people be waiting ahead?”
“Up ahead is a dead end.”
You Yuji stopped in her tracks. A dead end? Were they running into a dead end?
Si Que turned sideways to glance at her, his voice hoarse, “What, Madam, do you wish to turn back and surrender?”
You Yuji struggled internally. Even if she turned back, ensuring her life wouldn’t be difficult. She could easily say she was just here to buy medicine from the Poison Pavilion. Given her status, the imperial court’s people wouldn’t subject her to harsh interrogation. Even if they questioned her, it would be done politely.
Turning back seemed like the safer choice to You Yuji.
However, if she turns back now, she will surely lose the trust of the master of the Poison Pavilion. If he suspects she has divulged information to the court, he might no longer sell her the fake death medicine. The preparation of the fake death medicine takes a month. Will the master of the Poison Pavilion still see her after a month? It is rumored that the master of the Poison Pavilion is a capricious and suspicious person.
You Yuji’s steps faltered there, struggling internally.
Si Que’s face under the mask pulled into an amused smile. He turned and continued walking forward, no longer waiting for You Yuji.
You Yuji’s mind flashed with Si Que’s obedient smile. Time was pressing; the Empress Dowager would soon return to the capital. By then, she could leave the Jinnan Prince’s residence openly, but the concubines whose contracts were not in their hands could never leave openly. She must settle the concubines before she leaves. Especially Si Que, who was already a criminal and pitifully weak. If he were forcefully summoned by Chen Anzhi and his male identity discovered…
You Yuji looked up at the master of the Poison Pavilion, who had already walked far ahead. She sighed softly, hugged the cat in her arms tightly, and quickly followed. Seeing this, Zhuo Wen and the other two guards followed as well.
Si Que heard the footsteps behind him and slightly slowed his pace.
Before long, a stone door appeared in sight. With a heavy sound, accompanied by some dust flying, the stone door was opened. Zhanxue lit the lamp inside, revealing a stone room that was evidently a storeroom. Inside, rows of stone shelves were lined up, filled with various medicine bottles.
As soon as You Yuji stepped inside, she smelled a strong medicinal odor, somewhat unpleasant.
She suddenly thought of the spider that had turned to ashes on the lacquered jade table.
“Do not touch anything here,” Si Que said as he casually picked up a few medicine bottles from the stone shelf to inspect them. The medicines here were not concocted by him.
The world knew the master of the Poison Pavilion was a master of poisons, but few knew the Poison Pavilion was a vast organization. The master had many disciples. For instance, Siqi, who had just returned to check, was known as Four-Seven, his code name indicating he was the forty-seventh disciple of Zhanxue.
Zhancue’s master was Tingyun.
You Yuji stood quietly to the side, not daring to move anything here, nor even to walk around more than necessary. She frowned as she watched the master of the Poison Pavilion among the stone shelves. His face was hidden behind a blood-red mask, so she couldn’t see his expression, but his unhurried manner in examining the various poisons showed no sign of worry; he even seemed somewhat leisurely.
You Yuji felt somewhat reassured, thinking the master of the Poison Pavilion could handle the people outside. After all, the Poison Pavilion should have ample experience dealing with enemies over the years.
But after two quarters of an hour, You Yuji heard the imperial soldiers arriving outside the stone door, using something to batter it. When she was young, she had accompanied her father to the army, so from the orderly sounds outside, she could tell there were many people.
“Is this really a dead end?” You Yuji asked, unwilling to give up.
Si Que lifted his eyes and looked at the stone door. The blows from outside grew stronger with each hit, causing some dust to gently fall.
“Open the door,” he said irritably. His already hoarse and piercing voice became even more sinister and unpleasant.
Zhanxue activated a mechanism, and suddenly, another stone wall slid to one side, revealing a dark passage. The passage was very narrow, only allowing one person to pass at a time.
“My lady, I will go first. Follow closely. If anything goes wrong, call for me immediately,” Zhuo Wen said.
“Follow me,” Zhanxue entered the passage first, followed by Zhuo Wen, then You Yuji’s two guards.
You Yuji had just stepped into the passage when she couldn’t help but look back at the master of the Poison Pavilion. He was still in the stone chamber, his back to her, seemingly not intending to enter the passage immediately.
She couldn’t look any longer and turned to move forward. She heard the stone door behind her being smashed open with a loud crash. The creature in her arms, Baisui, squirmed uneasily. She hugged it tighter, gently pinching its neck to soothe it.
The narrow passage was dark and damp, making it almost impossible to see anything. She could only make out the faintly swaying figure of Zhuo Wen ahead. In the pitch darkness, she couldn’t help but recall the spider that had turned to ashes.
…Could there be many poisonous creatures here?
She couldn’t think about it.
She frowned and closed her eyes tightly.
In the total darkness, her other senses became heightened. She listened carefully to every small sound and felt the passage continue to slope downward.
After what felt like a long time, some light finally appeared ahead. Exiting the narrow, oppressive passage, the space before her opened up, and the pressure dissipated. You Yuji let out a sigh of relief.
The scene remains in a basement, the floor paved with jade, and night pearls illuminating the stone walls.
You Yuji observed the surroundings and noticed several jade doors without knowing where they led.
“Just wait here,” Zhanxue said as she sat down, poured herself a glass of water, and gulped it down. Then she smiled and said, “You better not drink, anyway. You wouldn’t dare touch anything from the Poison Pavilion.”
You Yuji softly asked, “Miss Zhanxue, how do we leave here?”
“I don’t know. We’ll have to wait until the Pavilion Master kills everyone outside.”
You Yuji was astonished. One person killing so many? How long would that take?
The next moment, footsteps echoed behind them. You Yuji turned to see the Poison Pavilion Master in black descending the stone stairs. She almost blurted out, “Are they all dead?”
She immediately pressed her lips together.
Si Que sat down on a stone bench and said, “Wait for an hour. The stinking corpses will all turn to water by then.”
For an instant, You Yuji envisioned a terrifying scene of corpses piled high, gradually melting away.
Her face turned pale.
Si Que stood up, pushed open a jade door, and entered a room.
Zhanxue said, “The rooms are empty. You can rest in any of them.”
“Thank you,” You Yuji replied, but she didn’t leave.
Zhanxue took a gourd from her waist, poured out a red spider, and stabbed it with a hairpin she pulled from her hair.
You Yuji immediately decided she didn’t want to stay any longer and entered a jade room. Inside was simple: a stone bed and basic furniture. Zhuo Wen and the other two guards stood watch outside.
In the next jade room, Si Que was coldly shaking a glass cup, preparing medicine. The decoction that changed his voice had a time limit, and he needed to prepare another dose.
As he finished drinking a cup of medicine, terrified screams echoed outside. Si Que picked up his mask, put it on, and walked out quickly.
Zhanxue lay weakly on the table, Zhuo Wen and the other two guards collapsed at the door of the next jade room. You Yuji stood at her door, pale. She had just emerged from her room, stunned by the scene, not knowing what had happened.
Si Que walked up to Zhanxue, picked up the gourd, glanced at it, then turned to You Yuji and asked, “Did you see the spider?”
At the mention of the spider, You Yuji’s face turned ashen. The next moment, she saw the red spider crawl out of Zhuo Wen’s collar. She turned pale and quickly retreated into her room, trying to close the door to keep the spider out. However, the door wouldn’t close, instead hitting a wooden shelf by the entrance. A few bottles on the top of the shelf slid to one side and crashed, shattering.
You Yuji immediately smelled a pungent odor.
Inwardly, she knew this was bad. Enduring the sudden dizziness, she looked at the Poison Pavilion Master outside and urgently said, “I’ll buy the antidote, any price.”
As the headache grew unbearable, You Yuji heard the Poison Pavilion Master’s sinister laugh and a faint murmur. Just before she lost consciousness, she realized the Poison Pavilion Master’s words were — “Quite wealthy indeed.”
You Yuji awoke in pain.
Opening her eyes, she saw the jade-colored surroundings. She suddenly realized she was lying on the stone bed in the jade room. Turning her gaze around the room, she saw the Poison Pavilion Master, dressed in black with a red belt, standing at a table not far away, back turned, fiddling with some medicines.
The next moment, an indescribable pain tore through her.
You Yuji couldn’t help but cry out in pain.
“Endure a little longer,” Si Que said without turning around.
You Yuji didn’t have the strength to speak. She barely managed to lift her hand and saw that her arm was covered in red spots. Years ago, You Yuji had encountered a beggar woman with similar festering red spots that emitted a foul odor. Lady Jing had told her it was an unclean disease.
The unusual pain from below left You Yuji horrified. Could she have contracted that unclean disease?
Si Que held a snow-white pill between his fingers. This poison wasn’t his creation, but creating an antidote wasn’t difficult for him.
Si Que turned and walked towards You Yuji, holding the freshly prepared pill.
Seeing him approach, You Yuji felt a slight relief, thinking there was still hope for her. By the time Si Que reached the bedside, You Yuji had managed to sit up with some difficulty. Then, her face stiffened as she realized, in shock, that her skirt had been removed while she was unconscious. Her face turned a mix of red and white in embarrassment and distress as Si Que lifted her leg and inserted the medicine.
