“Good!” Yun Ye nodded heavily and added, “But this venerable one has always been true to his word. Since I promised to help you find the antidote, I will never go back on my word!”
Yun Qingxue smiled faintly and said nothing more.
“From what we know now, Lan Xin is the most likely culprit behind the poisoning. But why would she administer such a vicious poison to Qingxue? And when did she betray us?
The fact that she dared to hand the poison to me so openly shows she was confident we wouldn’t discover her treachery!” Zi Qu Shengjun analyzed.
His words felt like a knife twisting in Yun Ye’s heart.
Lan Xin had once been Xue Chen’s most trusted personal maid—someone both he and Xue Chen had relied on deeply.
Over the years, most of the news he received about his daughter, Qingxue, had come from Lan Xin.
She would visit him every month or two, updating him on Qingxue’s well-being.
Because he trusted Lan Xin so completely—and because he was preoccupied with mobilizing forces against the Divine Emperor Huan Tian—he had never thought to verify the truth of her words himself.
His negligence had given Lan Xin the perfect opportunity to harm Qingxue.
Worse still, before learning the truth, he had even felt gratitude toward Lan Xin!
How absurd! How ironic! He had actually been grateful to a woman who had been poisoning his daughter for years!
Rage burned wildly in Yun Ye’s heart. He wanted nothing more than to tear Lan Xin apart on the spot.
That vile woman had dared to harm his daughter—death ten thousand times over wouldn’t be enough to atone for her sins!
“I think she exploited Shizun’s trust in her, coupled with the fact that the Suo Ling poison is extremely rare. That’s why she dared to act so boldly.
If I’m not mistaken, had I consumed the entire bottle of poison, even a deity wouldn’t have been able to save me!
However, Lan Xin probably didn’t anticipate my duel with the Beast King Cang Yan, which triggered a violent resurgence of the poison and alerted Shizun!” Yun Qingxue analyzed calmly, her tone so detached it was as if she weren’t the one poisoned.
“So, based on Qingxue’s reasoning, Lan Xin likely still doesn’t know we’ve discovered her treachery. That woman is probably still waiting for the moment Qingxue is beyond saving!” Jin Lin frowned, his thoughts aligning with Yun Ye’s—he, too, wished to tear Lan Xin apart immediately.
“Which means we can use this to our advantage—lure her out of the Flower and Wood Clan. One of us can try to extract the antidote’s location from her, while another sneaks into her residence to search for clues. A two-pronged approach will greatly increase our chances of finding the antidote!” Mo Changxing added.
“Right! Let’s do it!” Jin Lin’s eyes lit up in immediate agreement.
“But…” Yun Qingxue hesitated.
“Shizun is the only one here who’s familiar with Lan Xin. If we want to lure her out, it has to be him.
Meanwhile, Lan Xin’s residence in the Flower and Wood Clan is surely guarded by experts. Aside from Shizun, which of us three has the ability to infiltrate their heavily fortified palace undetected?”
“Actually, aside from Shizun, there’s one more person who has a close connection with Lan Xin,” Mo Changxing said, his gaze shifting to Yun Ye.
But Yun Ye looked directly at Yun Qingxue and said, “Lan Xin was one of Xue Chen’s personal maids. When Xue Chen and I fell in love, Lan Xin accompanied her and spent considerable time in the Demon Realm.
Later, when trouble arose in the Flower and Wood Clan, Xue Chen sent Lan Xin back to handle it, which eventually led to her becoming a clan elder.
Now, since your Shizun just obtained the poison from her, if he were to lure her out, she might grow suspicious.”
His eyes locked onto Yun Qingxue’s. “Girl, if I were to take charge of luring Lan Xin out… would you trust me?”
Yun Qingxue met his gaze. His eyes were dark and unfathomable, filled with emotions too deep to decipher.
Her heart stirred inexplicably, and for reasons she couldn’t explain, she nodded. “Qingxue believes Senior would not harm me.”
Yun Ye smiled. His daughter had just said she trusted him! She didn’t doubt him! The realization filled his voice with barely restrained joy. “Girl, this venerable one will not fail you!”
Yun Qingxue returned his smile, though she didn’t understand her own reaction.
She should have been wary of Yun Ye. After all, she and Yun Sisi were enemies—who was to say Yun Ye wouldn’t use this chance to eliminate her?
The position of Flower King had originally belonged to his daughter.
Yet, against all logic, she had just told Yun Ye she trusted him! Despite Yun Sisi’s repeated malice toward her, she couldn’t bring herself to resent Yun Ye—Yun Sisi’s father.
In fact, every time she saw Yun Ye, she felt an inexplicable sense of closeness.
Yun Qingxue shook her head slightly, convinced she must be going mad.
“Having Father personally intervene is naturally the best course!” Mo Changxing smiled.
Now that they had Yun Ye as a powerful ally, the group began refining their plan.
Soon, they settled on their strategy: Yun Ye alone would handle meeting Lan Xin and extracting information, while Zi Qu Shengjun and Jin Lin would infiltrate the Flower and Wood Clan to search for the antidote.
As for Mo Changxing and Yun Qingxue—since Yun Qingxue was poisoned and shouldn’t overexert herself—they would remain at Luoyun Mountain to recuperate, with Mo Changxing staying behind to care for her.
This arrangement, naturally, pleased some and displeased others.
Yun Qingxue was the first to object. Since she was the one poisoned, she couldn’t bear to sit idly while everyone else worked for her sake. She insisted on joining Zi Qu Shengjun in infiltrating the Flower and Wood Clan.
But her request was unanimously rejected by everyone present.
The second dissatisfied party was Jin Lin.
Though he hated to admit it, there were moments when he had to concede the truth.
Mo Changxing’s cultivation was slightly higher than his—so why wasn’t Shizun taking Mo Changxing to search for the antidote instead of him?
More importantly, wasn’t he the better choice to stay and care for Xuexue? Why should Mo Changxing get to be alone with her?
Zi Qu Shengjun shut down Jin Lin’s protests. “Changxing’s identity is too conspicuous—bringing him would invite unnecessary trouble!
Besides, we’re all working to save Qingxue. Is there really a need to quibble over details?”
Once the plan was finalized and all objections silenced, Zi Qu Shengjun suggested they adjourn for the day to rest and prepare.
But before they could leave his residence, a deafening shout suddenly echoed from outside.
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