Not only has he heard about it, he even knew that it was a bottled up secret within the Jiejian Bureau, was used upon those incredibly tight-mouthed suspects who refused to cooperate with them.
Although the legend goes that Shen Nong has savoured a hundred medical herbs, and that he has been granted many merits for this humble sacrifice, Yu Xiu has never intended to be Shen Nong himself, so he would not have used himself as a test subject for the Naihe Xiang drug.
His fury was more conspicuously shown through his mask of Khan Apa's face. Yu Xiu gritted his teeth, as if he really wanted to strangle Cui Buqu to death.
However, his damned sense of logic stopped him.
"Where is the antidode?!"
There was never any antidode for the Naihe Xiang drug, but at that moment, it was impossible for Cui Buqu to tell the other man the truth.
Blood smeared from the corner of his lips, rendering his speech practically inaudible.
"Even if you stopped breathing, there would be no use...because, the moment you came, i-it has already infused into your skin, reaching to your blood veins and spreading throughout you entire system. The more you resist it, the more it will escalate… cough cough!"
Yu Xiu pressed him against the ground, lowering his head, nose against nose, and the lower his growl became, the more intense killing aura radiated from him.
"What about you?! You have also inhaled the Naihe Xiang drug. Do you want to die with me?"
Cui Buqu smiled, "Your life is considered worthy. For me to die along with you, I am not at loss."
The hand that strangled his neck made him unable to breath, Cui Buqu could not help but to raise his head. Gentle light shone through the transluscent curtains above his head, drawing the lines of his fair figure. There was something beautiful about this.
Yu Xiu loved admiring all the beautiful things in the world, whether they were dead or alive.
Had it been a normal day, he would definitely strangle him steadily, so that he would have to raise his head even higher, then he would be able to admire the sight more.
But now, he instead released him, allowing the other to cough violently as his body curled up into a ball, panting and inhaling violently.
Cui Buqu himself was also poisoned, and it couldn't be possible for one to be apathetic to his own life, surely?
Yu Xiu watched him with cold eyes. He could not care about the rest of things, and sat down to regulate the blood stream within his own body.
Very quickly he realized that Cui Buqu did not lie. As he tried to use his inner strength to regulate the blood in his body, the more the sensation of prickling needles hurt; and very quickly, Yu Xiu could feel his chest ached like a thousand needles pricking him at the same time. His skin and every part of him felt the same, even the clothes he wore seemed to be hurting him.
For Cui Buqu who knew no martial arts at all, how could be enduring this torture?
Yu Xiu was well-trained in martial arts as he was raised. So when, has he ever found himself in a situation like this? He bit his teeth and searched Cui Buqu's body but he could only find a silk pouch with a few pellets inside that smelled of medicine.
"What is this?!" Yu Xiu suspected that it was the antitode, yet he dared not believe his judgement, so he took two pellets in his hand and forced Cui Buqu to swallow them.
As Cui Buqu was forced to swallow the medicine, he laughed.
"What are you laughing at?!" Yu Xiu felt rage surged through his body. He has long lost his composure and grace. He raised his leg and aimed a kick at Cui Buqu.
"This is the medicine that nursed my rhochi disease. You thought it was the antitode, yet you dare not believe it?" Cui Buqu coughed twice, "Even if you have many schemes up your sleeves, it would be no use. Since I've deciced to pit you, how would I carry the antitode on myself?"
When Yu Xiu saw that he looked fine after he ate the pellets, he suspected that it was the antitode, so he swallowed two pellets himself. After a while, the pain on his chest did not cease, therefore he knew that Cui Buqu did not lie to him.
"Where is the antidode?! Surrender it, or I will kill you!"
"With Feng Xiao." Cui Buqu spoke in uncompleted sentences, yet he laughed, "Didn't you ordered men to stop him? If he dies, and with the kind of person he is, he would definitely destroy the antitode so that we will follow him into the afterlife together."
Yu Xiu raised his leg, and he wanted to stomp on Cui Buqu's body again. But when he saw how he had difficulties breathing, he looked like one more kick would really send him into his grave.
Since the antidote was not in his hands yet, he would definitely not let Cui Buqu die first. Yu Xiu stomached his pain as he sat down and closed his eyes to regulate his blood once more, trying to find a catch so he could heal himself.
Yet Cui Buqu refused to remain silent. He refused to let Yu Xiu be at peace as well, "You said you are not Master One, but you are definitely one among the Yunhai Thirteen Stories. Even if you are not the leader, you might be the second, or the third."
Yu Xiu said nothing, refusing to pay him any attention.
Cui Buqu also did not need a reply from the other. He simply analysed the situation by himself, "You are from the Tiantai Sect, and you are also Prince Jin's men, so you are a man with a bright future, yet you chose to join the Yunhai Thirteen Stories to play a hand and send the world into chaos. This mean that since the moment you chose to pursue Prince Jin, you already have a goal. Time and time again you went against the Sui Empire, and then you caused Western Göktürk its unrest. It is impossible that the Yunhai Thirteen Stories think they could rule the world with just a few people lurking in the dark, as for you—"
His rhochi disease riled up, and added with the Naihe Xiang poison, even if he's taken two pellets of medicine to sooth his breathing, it only helped temporarily. When he spoke, it still hurt.
"Zen Yu Xiu, do you remember Luhua village?"
Yu Xiu's eyes suddenly flicked open.
Cui Buqu smiled, "It seems like I did not guess wrongly. Before you entered the Tiantai Sect, you have always lived in Luhua village. Due to bearing the blood of the Hu tribe, you were mocked and looked down upon by all. All until a company of royalty stopped by one day, and took you with them."
Yu Xiu looked at Cui Buqu and said slowly, "Cui Buqu, did no one tell you if you mouth opened at the wrong moment, it would bring you to your death?"
Cui Buqu, "Between you, Master Zen, and Feng Xiao, you are both indeed two halves of a full hero. Since both of you have been fighting for a while, why not allow me to be the middle person, so that both of you can be adopted brothers after we burned the yellow paper and drank chicken blood?"
"Once Feng Xiao's corpse is brought here, then it shall be your death. You should enjoy every minute now while you still live, otherwise, I might accidentally be provoked and strangle you to death." Yu Xiu said in a polite, calm, and gentlemanly manner. At this moment, he has completely calmed himself down. He knew that he was poisoned with the Naihe Xiang, and no matter how angry he is or how much he scolded, it would not change the result. So instead, he chose to save his strength and try to pry from Cui Buqu's mouth about the antitode's whereabouts.
Cui Buqu, "I have not managed to find out who that royalty was, but to cross check the time and your background, I think that royalty should be the one whom Emperor Wu of Nothern Zhou (Yuwen Yong) sent to an arranged marriage, Princess Qianjin."
The gaze Yu Xiu used to look at him was as if he was looking at a dead man. However, Cui Buqu was not bothered at all. Whatever he wanted to say, he would pour all those words out like water only would he stop.
"Princess Qianjin took pity on you, who has no sire nor mother, who was alone, so she brought you back to Göktürk. She taught you how to read, and allowed others to teach you how to fight. After a few years, you left Göktürk and wandered the Central Plains. After you became a monk, you joined the Tiantai Sect as a disciple. However, for such a skilled man like yourself, no matter where you go, you would not be neglected, so very quickly you emerged as an outstanding disciple of the Tiantai Sect, even to the point that you were almost chosen as the Sect Leader as well."
"However, you voluntarily declined, saying that your experiences are insufficient and that you wished to go down the mountains to gather experience. Since the Sect Leader thought of you as someone matured with a stable heart, he gave you the position of the Chieftan of Shangli Hall, so that all the resources and manpower of Tiantai Sect could be used by you, to ease your journey as you travelled. However, the first thing you did after you descended the mountains, was return to Luhua village, committed a masscare, before burning everything down."
As he reached here, Cui Buqu had to stop talking. His rhochi disease was just nused quite a bit by those two pellet of medicine, but the Naihe Xiang drug was not neutralized by an antidote. Yu Xiu knew martial arts, so he wasn't as terrible looking as himself, however, Cui Buqu could only depend on the pillar at his back to support his body, only could be manage to brave it through and continue talking.
Yu Xiu replied plainly, "It is not easy for you to investigate all the way to Luhua village. However, I felt it strange. Everyone in that village was murdered by me, so from where did you get the knowledge of all of these?"
Cui Buqu said, "The new wife of the Zhou family was married to Luhua village not long ago. Those few days she was away at her homeland visiting her relatives and friends, so she managed to escape the masscare. Naturally, you would not remember her, but through her mouth, I was able to discover your existence."
Yu Xiu coughed, "So it was a fish that escaped! But what use is there for you to know everything?"
Cui Buqu, "Naturally, there are benefits in knowing. At the very least I know that your plans, and the plans of the Yunhai Thirteen Stories, are all somehow related to Princess Qianjin. If the reason you stood in our way all these time, wanting the Jade of Heaven's Lake, even masquerading as the Khan to ruin the relationship between the Sui Empire and Western Göktürk, even Fo Er was not spared. There would be an explaination to all of this, and that is because Princess Qianjin holds a deep grudge against the current Emperor for usurping the Yunwen Imperial Family!"
Yu Xiu laughed and mocked him, "You are wrong. The princess has nothing to do with the Yunhai Thirteen Stories. She carried a heavy duty on herself to marry the Göktürk Khan. She would be imprisoned in Göktürk for the rest of her life, so how can she overturn clouds and rain in the Central Plains to establish the Yunhai Thirteen Stories? However, she would not need to achieve what she wanted with her own two hands. I will achieve it for her. The Yunhai Thirteen Stories' goal is aligned to mine, so why shouldn't I borrow their strength?"
"Cui Buqu ah, Cui Buqu, you are far more intelligent than any human, but why couldn't you use your abilities on the people, hm? Day by day all you know was to bicker with Feng Xiao and scheme and strategize for the Emperor, allowing a woman to marry off into the wild alone , forcing her to endure the suffering that should rightfully belong to you people!"
Yu Xiu's face was filled with incredible hatred, as if he was an overlapping of all Cui Buqu's enemies. He reached out with a hand and grabbed the other's collar, before immediately shoving Cui Buqu in front of him. With his other hand, he held Cui Buqu's neck, before his fingers squeezed themselves tightly!
Originally, Cui Buqu wanted to ask who was behind all of this, to gather more knowledge regarding the Yunhai Thirteen Stories' secrets. However, he could not have thought that he had accidentally dug up Yu Xiu's gravest and darkest secret.
This man who wore Khan Apa's skin right in front of him now, this handsome and beautiful monk, is a sentimental and loyal man in love.
And the one whom he was in love with, was the princess from the former Empire, Princess Qianjin.
After Princess Qianji was married, the Northern Zhou changed its Dynasty, and turned into the Sui Empire. The one who sat upon the throne, Yang Jian, was not just anyone, but the very father-in-law of the Emperor of Nothern Zhou. Making use of his own powers and influences, he put on the yellow Emperor's robes and annihilated all Princess Qianjin's family.
In a war fighting for power, there was never any sentiment or warmth, even if they shared the same blood. But for a princess who lost both her country and her family, how can she not hold hatred in her heart?
The reason she cultivated Yu Xiu could very possibly be just to use him, it could also be that she had fallen in love herself. However, because of her, Yu Xiu was willing to spilt mountains and leap into fire, to treat the whole world like a game of chess, to make use of the hearts of so many people.
If the Tiantai Sect had known all of these, he would have definitely be expelled, his name would crumble, and even Prince Jin would never use him him again. All these years that he used to build his name and plans would all vanish within the blink of an eye.
Even the Yunhai Thirteen Stories...
If Yu Xiu wasn't Master One, then who is the one behind this whole thing?
Was it Princess Qianjin, or someone else?
Many theories flashed in his sea of memories, the more Cui Buqu was emgrossed in his thoughts.
From the corner of his ear, he heard Yu Xiu's cold laugh, "Let me guess, that there never was any antitode for the Naihe Xiang drug. Or perhaps, the antotide was never with either you or Feng Xiao. So you have tried so hard to delay the time. You are waiting for Feng Xiao to come to your rescue, aren't you?"
Cui Buqu closed his eyes.
With Yu Xiu's cleverness, the fact that he could delay so long was already quite a good result. Sooner or later he would have found out.
Once again his neck was being squeezed, but then the other released a little, as if Yu Xiu knew for sure that Feng Xiao would never come, so he was determined to let Cui Buqu die a slow and painful death, not allowing him a quick one.
To Yu Xiu, Cui Buqu was a very complicated existence.
Although he enjoyed his battles of wites with Cui Buqu, he admired that the other's intelligence was practically on par with him, yet he also hated how the other ruined his plans time and time again. This time, he thought his masquerade of the Khan was flawless, yet the other stil managed to expose him.
Thankfully, he had long been well-prepared, to ensure that nothing would go wrong.
"I would hate to kill you. However, you cannot be allowed to live." Yu Xiu said, then stomached the poison taking effect in him as he channelled all his energy to his palm, preparing to snap Cui Buqu's neck in half.
Yet at this moment, from the outside, there were noises of loud shouting and clashing of swords.
Almost immediately, Yu Xiu snickered, before releasing his neck.
Author's Notes: Yesterday, I wanted to finish writing the whole thought process. Right now, it's good, the tension is over. However, I did not manage to write about Feng-Er, so let's continue in the next chapter!
Shen Nong has savoured a hundred medical herbs, and that he has been granted many merits for the this poisonous sacrifice: Shennong (which can be variously translated as "Divine Farmer" or "Divine Peasant", "Agriculture God") is a mythological Chinese deity in Chinese folk religion and venerated as a mythical sage ruler of prehistoric China. He is one of the Three Soverigns and Five Emperors. Once, when half of the population fell ill, Shen Nong used himself as a test subject to test medical herbs to form a cure, this was inclusive of many herbs that are poison.
Yellow paper and drank chicken blood: The ceremony when two not blood related people wanted to be bloodbond brothers.