Chapter 7

The rain was falling harder and harder. The moment they entered the courtyard, the sky was suddenly torn apart by a silver light, and thunder fell, bringing a rumbling roar. Qu Yan stepped into the room, water dripping from the edge of her umbrella onto the floor, soon forming a small puddle.

The man lying on her bed remained in the same sleeping position, not even changing the direction of his fingertips. Qu Yan put down the clothes she was carrying and placed the back of her hand on his temple.

His body temperature was lower than that of ordinary people, his complexion still pale, with only a layer of bloody scabs covering his lips, looking somewhat desolate and beautiful.

But fortunately, no other signs were found. After habitually taking his pulse, Qu Yan opened the notebook she usually wrote in and recorded his symptoms truthfully.

The Ten-Day Powder in his body wouldn’t act up for now, but yesterday’s Cold Leaf was a hidden danger. With the slightest carelessness, it would seize the opportunity to take his life.

Solving the poison of these two wasn’t difficult. The difficulty lay in finding all the periodically acting poisons in his body to confirm what exactly the Ten-Day Powder had merged with. This process was like unraveling silk, extremely taxing on the mind.

And the time she had was only before his next poison attack.

The ink-dipped brush stopped in the air. Qu Yan looked at the prescription on the table, pondering for a moment, then added another herb before putting down the brush and tidying up the table.

The sound of rain outside was pattering, disturbing one’s peace of mind. Qu Yan closed the window panels and took out a brocade quilt to cover him. Then she soaked a cloth in water. Perhaps because the cloth was a bit cool, as soon as Qu Yan placed it on Qi Ying’s slightly swollen lips.

His raven-black eyelashes trembled, and the next moment he opened his eyes. In his eyes was the coldness Qu Yan had seen before. At the same time, his left hand came out from under the covers, accurately gripping Qu Yan’s pulse point. He must have been an extremely skilled martial artist before, and clearly, he hadn’t yet recovered from the state of having lost all his martial arts.

Qu Yan lowered her eyes to look at her wrist. His fingers were slender, with distinct blue veins on the back of his hand. This hand was indeed beautiful, only the fingertips and the tiger’s mouth had a layer of calluses. Now he was exerting force on her wrist, the feeling was quite obvious.

“Have you felt enough?”

Qu Yan suddenly spoke, her expression calm, with a hint of indistinct laughter in her voice.

Qi Ying’s fingertips trembled. He seemed to suddenly come to his senses, that oppressive aura instantly dissipating. There was a moment of bewilderment in his eyes, then he quickly withdrew his hand as if burned, and a layer of pale pink actually appeared on his pale face.

“I…”

He hurried to explain, but ignored the cloth on his lips. As he spoke, it moved the cloth, just so happening to press Qu Yan’s fingertips squarely on his lower lip.

Qi Ying’s words stopped, his eyes widening slightly. Qu Yan simply pressed harder, wiping the blood from his lower lip before looking up at him and saying calmly, “Did I wake you?”

Counting the time, he had only slept for two hours in total. Last night he had just gone through a torment, yet he slept so lightly, which indeed surprised Qu Yan.

Qi Ying looked at the bloodstained cloth in her hand, habitually biting his lower lip, only to taste a familiar rusty blood flavor. Seeing Qu Yan turn to look at him, he averted his gaze and answered, “No.”

Qu Yan nodded, concluding for him, “Then you must usually sleep lightly and briefly. I should prescribe you more calming medicines.”

Qi Ying was about to refuse, but saw her get up and bring a chair over, helping him sit up before sitting face to face with him.

“Have you considered yesterday’s matter?”

The rain outside grew more torrential. Even with the doors closed, the sound was still impossible to ignore. Qi Ying was silent for a moment, “Why should I believe what you say?”

Qu Yan chuckled lightly, shaking her head and speaking softly, “Why don’t you look down at yourself? It can’t get any worse anyway, so you might as well take a gamble with me. If you win, you’ll no longer be controlled by others, living freely in this world. Isn’t that what you desire?”

As she spoke, she kept observing the man’s expression. When she said a certain word, the corner of his lips flattened for a moment before relaxing. People like them, controlled by others their entire lives, all they seek is nothing more than freedom.

Qu Yan curled her lips, putting on a gentle and kind appearance.

Qi Ying’s hand hidden under the covers was clenched tightly. Now he lowered his head to look at the quilt, making it even more impossible to see through his thoughts.

He had grown up in the Futu Tower since childhood. As soon as he became conscious, he was sent to a secluded courtyard where there were hundreds of children about his age, wearing the same clothes as him. The only difference was that most of them were referred to by numbers, while only Qi Ying had a name and surname. He had thought he was different.

The one who taught him basic martial arts was a young woman. She was strict and obsessive. As long as someone slightly misbehaved, they would be dragged out to kneel under the scorching sun as punishment. Qi Ying stayed there for five years, and those who came out with him were not even half as many as there were originally.

Qi Ying would forever remember that day. Under the scorching sun, they stood in a line on the training ground. Many black-clad people with covered faces came to select one among them to take away. He was only twelve years old then, not tall, as thin as a bamboo pole, inconspicuous among the crowd. He waited for a long time, until the sun set in the east and the sweat accumulated on the ground evaporated, but no one came to take him away.

Useless waste was to be put to death, he knew this principle from a very young age. Just as Qi Ying closed his eyes waiting for death to come, someone took his hand.

“How come no one wants you? Then come with me.”

A pair of smiling eyes looked down at him. This would be Qi Ying’s future master, only in his twenties, yet already the only male Grade A shadow guard of the Futu Tower.

Qi Ying learned a lot from his master, such as methods of concealment, the differences between men and women, and the true meaning of his name. He once asked his master why he chose him, and his master only said at the time, “Made a bet with someone, wanted to see if I could train another me.”

He indeed did very well. From his first mission to working his way up to the position of Grade A shadow guard, Qi Ying only took eight years. The day he heard the news of his master’s death was the first time he ever failed.

Qi Ying raised his eyes. The woman in front of him was leaning lightly against the back of the chair, her fingertips tapping the armrest intermittently. Her head was slightly tilted to the right, looking at him with a smile in her eyes, as if victory was already in her grasp.

What she said was not wrong at all. In his current situation, how could it get any worse? He was at the mercy of others, his life and death could be decided in the blink of an eye, yet she was still negotiating with him.

The stake was still what he once dared not hope for… freedom.

“Alright.”

Just when Qu Yan thought he wouldn’t speak again, the man softly agreed to this deal. But a moment later, he raised his eyes again, quietly gazing at the woman in front of him. “If I lose, could you…”

Could you give him a quick death.

“Qi Ying.” His words were interrupted by Qu Yan. It was the first time the woman called the name ‘Qi Ying’, but she saw him suddenly raise his head. Qu Yan didn’t know why his reaction was so big, paused for a moment before continuing, “You just need to believe in me wholeheartedly, I promise there’s no such possibility.”

Qi Ying emerged from the discomfort of being called by name, no longer saying what he was about to say earlier, only nodding very slightly, neither refuting nor resisting, looking extremely obedient, much easier to persuade than expected.

Qu Yan swallowed the prepared words in her stomach, her black eyes swept over his face, emotions changing several times within, finally returning to calmness.

She told Qi Ying about his physical condition truthfully. He didn’t seem surprised, and even suggested, “I can endure yesterday’s medicine, you can continue to use it on me.”

Qu Yan’s words paused, she looked at the man sitting on the bed with surprise. For a moment she couldn’t tell if he was serious, but seeing his expression, he seemed to be very serious. Her lips parted and closed again, “Yesterday was an unavoidable last resort. If you take it again, you might as well take a sword, it would be quicker.”

Qu Yan was used to his silence and continued, “Since the Ten-Day Powder has merged with another drug, its onset pattern might also be irregular. Before the next attack, I need to know how many such drugs are hidden in your body. You must answer truthfully to what I ask next.”

Qu Yan met his pitch-black eyes, and he swallowed, softly agreeing.

She got up to fetch paper and brush, then asked, “Do you remember which year and month you took the Ten-Day Powder and the Aconite? Do you have any impression?”

Qi Ying was obviously stunned for a moment. He looked at the woman holding the brush in front of him blankly, a trace of confusion flashing in his eyes.

Qu Yan also fell silent for a moment after speaking. She had overlooked an important issue. There are thousands of poisons in the world. If placed in front of her, she could naturally distinguish what they were, but Qi Ying couldn’t. He might not even know what he had taken, let alone know the name of each poison.

Qu Yan changed her approach, “Since you can remember, roughly how many different medicines have you taken, and how did you feel after taking them?”

“…Excluding repetitions, about thirty or so.” Qi Ying paused before continuing, “The Ten-Day Powder was taken five years ago. After taking it, I only felt severe pain in my heart and lungs.”

Qu Yan raised an eyebrow. She took out a white porcelain bottle from her bosom, uncorked it and poured the pills inside onto her palm, then immediately presented them to Qi Ying, “The antidote must be taken once every ten days. Is this what you took?”

The reddish-brown pills lay quietly in her palm. When Qi Ying saw them clearly, his eyes widened instantly. He had been taking this antidote for five years, there was no possibility of mistaking it. But why did she have the antidote for the Ten-Day Powder? Since she had it, why didn’t she give it to him?

Qu Yan could tell what he was thinking from his reaction. As she withdrew her palm, Qi Ying’s gaze followed, his voice somewhat incredulous, “How do you have this?”

“I have my ways, but unfortunately it’s useless for you.” Facing Qi Ying’s puzzled expression, Qu Yan smiled somewhat helplessly, “I fed it to you during those few days you were unconscious. Do you remember the color and taste of the few medicines you took with it each time?”

…

Qu Yan put down her brush, looking at the two pages of ink-filled paper, she already had a general idea in mind. She got up to press the paper on the table, but when she turned around, she suddenly saw the two sets of clothes she had forgotten, lying lonely in the corner of the bed.

She casually picked up the clothes and sat down on her bed side, her gaze inconspicuously sweeping over the man’s lips. The swelling had not subsided, and because he had spoken quite a bit just now, the cracks on his lips had seeped out traces of blood again.

Remembering the feeling through the cloth earlier, Qu Yan narrowed her eyes, the smile at the corner of her lips deepening a bit more.

Qi Ying was half-closing his eyes resting against the headboard when he suddenly felt a figure approaching. He abruptly opened his eyes, only to see the woman’s shoulder leaning extremely close, almost pressed against his chest.

His body instantly tensed, habitually assuming a defensive posture. Then he heard the woman’s gentle voice by his ear, “Don’t be nervous, I’m getting medicine.”

Qi Ying’s body stiffened. Turning his head, he realized he had been too sensitive. Qu Yan was indeed getting medicine. There was a small cabinet embedded in the inner side of her headboard, filled with many frequently used medicines for injuries. That position was just to Qi Ying’s right. She reached out to get it, inevitably coming close to him.

The sound of bottles and jars clinking came from beside his ear. Qi Ying pressed his back tightly against the headboard. In his twenty years of life, very few people had the chance to get this close to him. Whether it was an illusion or not, he could even feel the warmth and faint medicinal fragrance coming from the woman’s body.