Chapter 8: Playing God and Pretending to be a Ghost
To avoid alerting the enemy, Qi Xiao didn’t openly dispatch his troops. Instead, he secretly summoned a few of his trusted men to pose as inn servants. Meanwhile, Fu Yunzhi had obtained several packets of special medicinal powder from Zhou Yiqing.
The moon had set, the stars scattered across the sky. It was another night of waiting. Fu Yunzhi and Qi Xiao had no intention of sleeping. They sat on their respective beds, Fu Yunzhi reading a book while Qi Xiao polished his sword.
Qi Xiao’s sword was a family heirloom passed down from his father. It was simple and unadorned but could slice through iron like mud. Qi Xiao took meticulous care of it, so focused on polishing the blade that he didn’t even lift his eyes. But his nose caught a strange fragrance…
Qi Xiao turned his head and saw Fu Yunzhi leaning against the headboard, a book in one hand and a wine jug in the other.
“…”
Seeing Qi Xiao staring at him, Fu Yunzhi said unhappily, “If you want a drink, go downstairs and buy your own.”
“That’s not it,” Qi Xiao said. “Why have you been drinking so much these past few days… It’s bad for your health.”
“None of your business.”
Qi Xiao put down his sword and said sternly, “Yunzhi, watch your tone. Stop drinking.”
“…”
Fu Yunzhi pursed his lips and finally, reluctantly, put down the wine jug.
Thump!
He slammed the jug down on the table, fully displaying his current displeasure.
Fu Yunzhi wasn’t actually an alcoholic, but he hadn’t been able to resist the temptation of Lan Niangzi wine during Qi Shaoling’s wedding. For the past few days, worried that the Gu in his body would act up, he had been constantly drinking to delay the onset. Although this would make the flare-up more painful when it finally came, Fu Yunzhi would absolutely not allow himself to look unsightly in front of Qi Xiao.
Seeing Fu Yunzhi’s face full of dissatisfaction, Qi Xiao sat down beside him. “Alright, don’t be angry. Let’s talk about business. Later, if those people playing God and pretending to be ghosts show up again, you must protect yourself and stay by my side. If my lieutenants can’t handle them, I’ll go help, but I’ll still leave one or two men with you…”
“Do you see me as that weak and helpless?!”
“…” Yes, I do see you as weak and helpless.
Fu Yunzhi rolled his eyes at Qi Xiao, then couldn’t help but rub them.
Strange, why am I suddenly so sleepy…
Forcing his mind to work and think to dispel the drowsiness, he asked Qi Xiao, “Could the mastermind behind this incident be the Red Longevity Peach?”
“No,” Qi Xiao said decisively. “I almost forgot to tell you, Shaoling sent me another letter. He said he has already dealt with the Red Longevity Peach, and that he won’t be causing any more trouble.”
“Dealt with?”
“I don’t know how he did it. We’ll ask him when he gets back.”
The sound of the night watchman’s gong echoed from the street, signaling that it was now midnight.
Qi Xiao gripped his sword. “It’s about time.”
“On the contrary,” Fu Yunzhi said, “I think with all the preparations we’ve made, those people probably won’t come.”
“It’s hard to say. After all, we’ve done everything in secret.”
…
…
“Yunzhi?”
Qi Xiao whipped his head around and saw Fu Yunzhi, eyes closed, slumped silently on the bed.
Did he fall asleep?
No.
Qi Xiao hurried to the bedside. Fu Yunzhi’s posture was extremely unnatural. It looked less like he was sleeping and more like he had… suddenly fainted.
“Yunzhi! Yunzhi!”
Qi Xiao shook him repeatedly, but Fu Yunzhi didn’t stir.
“Shadow Guard!”
The next moment, a black figure appeared in the room—one of the Qi family’s elite, sworn bodyguards.
Suppressing the anxiety in his heart, Qi Xiao ordered, “Get a physician! Immediately!”
After the Shadow Guard left, Qi Xiao pulled Fu Yunzhi into his arms.
It’s okay… it’s okay…
The physician arrived in less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. The poor old man had been dragged from his bed by the Shadow Guard and carried all the way using lightness skill, so he was still out of breath, staring in terror at the Shadow Guard and Qi Xiao as if they were human traffickers.
After Qi Xiao explained the situation, the physician stammered, “I… I came in such a hurry, I didn’t have time to grab my medicine box…”
The Shadow Guard behind him raised a hand, his face impassive. “I brought it.”
“…”
Although the physician was terrified, his duty as a healer took over, and he diligently took Fu Yunzhi’s pulse.
After checking his pulse and observing his tongue, the physician said, “This young master is fine. He’s just asleep.”
“Asleep? Then why can’t I wake him?”
“This young master is in a very deep sleep,” the physician added. “He won’t be waking up anytime soon. I believe he has ingested Butterfly Dream. Butterfly Dream is an excellent remedy for insomnia, but I do not recommend it. It is, after all, a poison and is bad for the body! You should advise this young master to take less of it…”
Butterfly Dream?
Qi Xiao remembered that this was the powder Fu Yunzhi had gotten from Zhou Yiqing. He had chosen it because it was extremely sticky, hard to remove once it touched something, and the fine particles were difficult to detect.
Fu Yunzhi had told him to sprinkle the powder on the beams, window lattices, and other places to help track the movements of the troublemakers. But how could he have ingested it by mistake?
Qi Xiao thought for a moment, then handed Fu Yunzhi’s wine jug to the physician. “Physician, could you please check this wine?”
“Butterfly Dream is a poison. It is colorless and odorless when dissolved in water, but it can be detected with a silver needle.” With that, the physician took out a silver needle and dipped it into the wine. In a moment, the needle turned stark black.
Qi Xiao frowned, took the silver needle from the physician, and handed it to the Shadow Guard. “Go investigate the source of this wine.”
“Yes, sir!”
After paying the physician double his fee and sending him off politely, Qi Xiao sat by the bed, holding Fu Yunzhi, and waited for the night to pass.
The night was quiet, with only the sound of cicadas. Qi Xiao discovered that if you truly loved someone, you could watch them for an entire night and never grow tired of it.
Around three in the morning, a commotion broke out on the ground floor of the inn. A lieutenant came to report that a member of the Shahan delegation had died. The body was found hanging upside down from a beam, which, in Shahan culture, was said to be a curse from their goddess Tataliya. To make matters worse, the deceased was the Shahan priest.
Damu and Shali clamored to see Fu Yunzhi but were blocked at the door.
Fu Yunzhi didn’t wake up until nearly nine in the morning. By then, the sun was high in the sky, and the room was bright. He opened his eyes to see Qi Xiao sitting by the bed.
Fu Yunzhi blinked, looking a little confused.
“Your wine was laced with Butterfly Dream,” Qi Xiao said. “You fainted after accidentally drinking it last night.”
Fu Yunzhi stared blankly at the ceiling. It took half an incense stick’s time before his mind was truly clear again.
The after-effects of Butterfly Dream are really strong, Qi Xiao thought. But Yunzhi looks so cute when he’s dazed like this.
Fu Yunzhi propped himself up on the edge of the bed. “What happened last night?”
“It was very quiet. Nothing happened at all.”
Fu Yunzhi pondered for a moment. “That proves there’s a mole in the Shahan delegation. They knew we had realized the ghostly acts were man-made, so naturally, they wouldn’t walk into a trap.”
As he was speaking, a figure appeared in the corner of the room. It was the Shadow Guard. He had been waiting for a long time but knew his master wouldn’t be in the mood to listen to a report while Fu Yunzhi was still unconscious, so he had stayed hidden.
“What have you found?” Qi Xiao asked.
“The deceased is named E’na, the Shahan priest,” the Shadow Guard reported. “His body was discovered last night around three in the morning, hanging upside down from a beam in his room. Upon investigation, it was found that he was poisoned with ‘White Cloud’ in his wine.”
White Cloud poison caused its victims to hallucinate, making them feel as if they were floating among white clouds. In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the victim would die within the illusion.
The Shadow Guard continued, “This subordinate has already checked the deceased’s window lattice. The Butterfly Dream powder is gone.”
Fu Yunzhi opened his fan. “From this, we can deduce that the murderer climbed through the window into the deceased’s room and poisoned his wine.”
“Did you check who has the powder on them?” Qi Xiao asked.
The Shadow Guard hesitated. “This subordinate was unable to observe at close range, so there may be an error…”
“It doesn’t matter. We can investigate further to confirm.”
Hearing Qi Xiao’s words, the Shadow Guard no longer had any reservations and said decisively, “Shali.”
As if remembering something, Fu Yunzhi said, “Shali gave me that wine yesterday.”
“Why did you take wine from Shali?”
“I was in the kitchen yesterday when Shali was also drinking. He offered to pour some for me. I think because the mouth of the wine vat was large and the jug was small, the wine passed through his hands, which is how the Butterfly Dream got in.”
“Since we’re almost certain that Shali is the one playing God and pretending to be a ghost, or is at least the mole for the mastermind, why would he do it?” Qi Xiao asked. “He’s General Damu’s deputy, and Damu seems to trust him completely.”
Fu Yunzhi waved his fan gently. “We know the Shahan people admire and respect their king. We know General Damu is the king’s most trusted general. We know Damu is a brave and loyal subject. But we know nothing of the inner workings.”
“But now, at least we have a target.”
