Long Feiye broke into a sneer. âBai Yanqing, you canât even deal with us four with an undying body and resort to poisons again. If youâre not a gutless coward, who is?â
PfftâŠ
Gu Qishaoâs eyes brightened as he added hastily, âLong Feiye, why are we talking with a âseedlessâ man? Even if he uses poison, weâre not afraid of him!â
Bai Yanqing could tell they were provoking him on purpose, but he couldnât stomach his temper. Immediately, he gave a whistle and retreated towards the venomous snake swarm. None of them realized Han Yunxi had already pinpointed their location with aid from the detox system and the snakes. Moreover, she was almost on her way there until the snakes scattered, screwing her sense of direction once again.
She was stuck slowly groping about once more.
Bai Yanqing fumed. âFine, this old man wonât use poison! Are you lot fighting me one by one or all at once?!â
Long Feiye was waiting for these very words!
If Bai Yanqing didnât use poison, he was much safer. Even without Han Yunxi, he could keep Bai Yanqing at bay.
âWeâll go one by one. That way, you wonât say we were ganging up on you when you lose,â Gu Qishao laughed in a good mood.
âLunatic ravings!â Bai Yanqing didnât understand where these young men found the nerve to say such things. Are they trying to trap me here? What a far-fetched dream.
He suddenly flew towards Gu Qishao, who didnât bother to dodge. He raised his sword to strike back, not willing to miss a chance to injure the man even if he couldnât kill him!
You canât die, you say?
Thatâs perfect! I can keep you alive and torment you slowly!
Gu Qishao slashed at Bai Yanqingâs arm with his sword, leaving a deep cut. Bai Yanqing didnât budge as his hand lunged for Gu Qishaoâs neck. Naturally on his guard, Gu Qishao hastily moved out of the way and aimed his fist at Bai Yanqingâs face. Bai Yanqing turned aside to avoid the blow and stabbed towards Gu Qishaoâs gut.
Alarmed, Gu Qishao evaded the blade and patted his chest. âYou scared me to death!â
Bai Yanqing didnât give him a chance to catch his breath as he chased after his prey. Once again, Gu Qishao stabbed back, but Bai Yanqing allowed the weapon to pierce through his stomach as he aimed for Gu Qishaoâs heart. As Gu Qishao prepared to flee, Bai Yanqing suddenly sped up. The sword in his abdomen was buried to the hilt as he instantly closed the distance between them. Taking out a dagger from his sleeve, he aimed at Gu Qishaoâs heart, freezing the other man in his tracks.
âYou lost,â Bai Yanqing said coldly.
Gu Qishao ignored him. His gaze turned frosty as crazy vines rose to encircle them both.
Bai Yanqing laughed out loud. âYoungâun, you think these vines can trap me inside?â
âCanât they?â Gu Qishao grinned. âLet me go or else Iâll trap you here for a lifetime.â
Bai Yanqing snorted, then used his sword-wielding hand to cut through a swath of vines. âThis old man can leave you with an intact corpse as long as you admit youâre an abomination.â If he didnât want the last word in their argument, heâd never bother entangling himself with Gu Qishao for so long. Heâd be attacking Long Feiye instead.
Gu Qishao looked at the shredded remains of the vines, then at the dagger pressing against his heart, and feigned fear. âThisâŠOld Bai, actuallyâŠitâs Long Feiye who wants you dead, not me.â
âStop yapping! Are you saying the words or not?â Bai Yanqing had no patience.
âIâll say it, Iâll say it! Can you let me go if I say Long Feiyeâs the abomination?â Gu Qishao asked âdesperately.â
Bai Yanqing had hardly reacted when Long Feiyeâs eyes flashed with killing intent. He raised his sword and emanated a wave of intense sword qi as he cleaved at Gu Qishaoâs head. âGu Qishao, youâre courting death!â
It was impossible to block such a potent onslaught! Even Bai Yanqing was affected by the blow. If he hadnât been holding onto Gu Qishaoâs sleeve, he would have been knocked backwards. Meanwhile, all the vines surrounding them fell to the ground.
Bai Yanqing was floored. What was all that about?
Long Feiye actually raised his sword against Gu Qishao? Heâs the only member of their team that understands poisons. Has Long FeiyeâŠlost his mind?
Tang Li, who knew nothing of the truth, was stunned as well. âBig bro, youâŠâ
Fresh blood flowed down from Gu Qishaoâs scalp and trickled past his long eyebrows to drip on the ground. As silence fell upon the scene, Bai Yanqing gaped at Gu Qishao in astonishment, momentarily lost for words. Still, Long Feiyeâs temper was still raging.
If I donât give Gu Qishao a few slashes, heâll only get more and more daring. I can forgive him for not dealing with Bai Yanqing quickly, but he actually has the time to curse me.
âGu Qishao, there wonât be a next time!â Long Feiye snapped before sending another blast of sword qi at Gu Qishaoâs head.
âBig bro, are you crazy?!â Tang Li hollered.
Gu Beiyue only leaned against the wall, head bowed in a helpless smile. Meanwhile, Gu qishao was forced to crouch on the ground in pain after bearing two attacks in a row. To Bai Yanqingâs eyes, he had collapsed out of exhaustion. Glancing at the angry Long Feiye, he prepared to speak but saw the man had raised his Profound Frost Sword for the third time.
At this moment Gu Qishao, the man who shouldâve knocked out by now, rubbed his head and leaped to his feet. He spat on the ground and hissed, âLong Feiye, are you done cleaving me? It really hurts!â
Although Gu Qishao wasnât knocked unconscious, such an action made him seem like a corpse who had suddenly come back to life. As Long Feiye and Gu Beiyue knew the truth behind his constitution, they didnât react, but Tang Li and Bai Yanqing were given a frightâespecially the latter.
He froze in place and gaped at Gu Qishao as a sense of fear crept into his heart.
Could it beâŠ
Gu Qishao wiped the blood off his face and glanced at Long Feiye. âTwo strikes, this old man will remember them!â
âTry and talk nonsense again!â Long Feiye didnât fear him.
Gu Qishao immediately turned towards Bai Yanqing and flew at him. By the time Bai Yanqing recovered, it was to quickly back away while demanding, âGu Qishao, just what kind of human are you?â
âIf you admit youâre an abomination, then this old man will tell you!â Gu Qishao snorted.
âKeep dreaming!â Bai Yanqing immediately went on the offensive. He absolutely refused to believe that Gu Qishao had an undying body as well. Long Feiye must have hidden some tricks in his sword attacks! He himself had long used up all the ingredients needed to nurture a Poison Gu human. The rest needed thousands to years to grow to maturity, so there could be no second specimen on this Earth. Definitely not!
He was the only one!
Gripping a dagger, he threw it directly at Gu Qishaoâs heart. âDie!â
Gu Qishao allowed the dagger to penetrate him as he gave him a scornful look. From up high, he kicked him aside and mocked, âIf you can kill this old man, Iâll call you great-grandpa!â
Staring at the fresh blood pouring from Gu Qishaoâs wound, then at the man himself standing steadily on his feet, Bai Yanqing had trouble accepting reality.
Furious, he demanded, âJust who are you? Why are you like this?!â
âIâm your great-grandpa!â Gu Qishao didnât hesitate. He gripped Bai Yanqing by the shoulders as twin vines grew from his arms to entwine the man in its clutches. Alarmed, Bai Yanqing tried to struggle free but failed. Then he poisoned the vines by scattering powder from his imprisoned form, which fell on both Gu Qishao and his plants.
âItâs not use!â Gu Qishao snorted. He backed away and used more vines to wrap Bai Yanqing up until he was securely pinned in place.
Bai Yanqing couldnât believe it! He never expected this counter-plot and stopped struggling to stare at Gu Qishao. He didnât want to believe his eyes, nor was he willing to accept the truth.
Long Feiye suddenly broke the silence. âGu Beiyue, take Tang Li to search for secret switches and save the hostage!â
To ask Bai Yanqing for their locations was equal to wasting their time. It was best to find the hostages themselves. Tang Li and Gu Beiyue prepared to leave when smoke suddenly began pouring out of the gaps in the walls.
âNo good, itâs poison!â Gu Qishao shouted.
Long Feiyeâs trio held their breaths as a swarm of venomous snakes appeared on both sides. Thy were the same snakes who were releasing poisonous gases a while back.
âThere are so many snakes!â Gu Qishao turned solemn.
Leaving aside how long Long Feiye and the rest could hold their breaths, just the sheer number of snakes made it impossible for them to win. Moreover, who knew what other toxic methods Bai Yanqing had lying in ambush!
âAbomination, you said you wouldnât use poison!â Tang Li cursed.
Bai Yanqing didnât budge. If he knew Gu Qishao couldnât die, he would have used poison ages ago! For the sake of this day, for the sake of East and West Qin falling into chaos, heâd waited for ages! No matter what, he wasnât going to lose today!
Gu Qishao couldnât decipher the type of poison in the air, much less dissolve its effects. He knitted his brows at Long Feiye, waiting for him to make a choice.
âYou guys better hold out. As soon as youâre poisonedâŠthis old man guarantees youâll die in the time it takes to brew a pot of tea!â Gu Qishao warned.
Long Feiye was hesitant as well. What was the point of trapping Bai Yanqing here if they all lost their lives in the end? Abruptly, Tang Liâs eyes widened as he started gesticulating wildly to Gu Beiyue and Long Feiye. Although Long Feiye couldnât understand him, Gu Beiyue realized it immediately. The princess was still in the maze. As long as they held out a little longer, she would definitely track them down via poison. With so many venomous snakes and all this gas, sheâd be able to find them very quickly.
As long as she was here, Bai Yanqing couldnât do anything against them.
They would wait!
This was the only way to solve their problem and everyoneâs path to survival!
Long Feiye didnât get it, but seeing Gu Beiyueâs expression made him realize they could keep up the delay. At this moment, one of the snakes suddenly flew towards Long Feiye as the others attacked en masse. Gu Qishao couldnât move because he was keeping Bai Yanqing in check, so Long Feiye used his sword to cut through swarms of snakes. Gu Beiyue and Tang Li quickly attacked as well, both using Tang Liâs shadow needles.
They had to maintain a certain distance from the snakes to avoid being poisoned after their deaths. Seeing this, Bai Yanqing only smiled coldly. Gu Qishao rushed at him and snarled, âThis old man will make your life worse than death!â
As he prepared to act, Tang Li raised a hand and suddenly discovered the skin on the back was turning black.
âBig bro, Iâve been poisoned.â So saying, Tang Li gave up on holding his breath.
Seeing this, everyone grew alarmed. Only Bai Yanqing maintained his smirk. How could his poison be avoided by something as simple as holding oneâs breath? He grinned at Gu Qishao and said, âThey donât have much time left. All of their lives are in your hands, you know.â