Whether Sun Yixie and Chun Kong's operation went smoothly need not be told for now. Our tale branches in two, turning back to earlier that night... around three quarters into the Hai hour.
Huang Donglai followed You Jing out of the Tianqi Gang headquarters and headed straight for Bugui Tower.
At this hour, few pedestrians remained on the streets, and the two encountered neither person nor incident along the way.
Several times along the road, Huang Donglai tried striking up a conversation with You Jing to fish for information. Yet the man brushed him off with perfunctory non-answers like "Mm," "Yeah," and "I wouldn't know."
Huang Donglai understood that You Jing was the type who was impenetrable to needles and impervious to water—a man exceptionally adept at keeping secrets. Prying information from his mouth through ordinary means was out of the question. Of course, Huang Donglai had never expected it to be easy in the first place...
When Sun and Huang were hatching their plan, they had already deduced that the Venerable Master would very likely send someone tonight to take Huang Donglai somewhere and dose him with drugs under the guise of fetching medicine or treating him. They simply had not anticipated that the destination would be Bugui Tower, nor that their guide would be You Jing.
Still, things having come to this, Huang Donglai could only play it by ear.
Before long, Huang Donglai followed You Jing to the entrance of Bugui Tower.
As mentioned earlier, business at this tavern flourished best at night. Though the martial heroes who attended the Heroes Banquet could not patronize the establishment tonight, the ground-floor hall was still more than half full.
Fortunately, neither Huang Donglai nor You Jing was conspicuous to begin with. Moreover, ordinary folk who had no ties to the jianghu did not recognize Huang Donglai anyway, so as they crossed the hall and climbed to the second floor, hardly anyone paid them any heed.
Once they reached Zhixian Pavilion on the second floor, Xue Tui would not come out to greet guests without someone announcing them first, and Yuan Fangzhi and Zhang Ergui back in the kitchen certainly would not come out either.
Thus, You Jing led Huang Donglai straight up to Sihui Dwelling on the third floor.
Why had this floor been given such a name? Quite simply, it was Gu Qiying's way of reminding himself that what he did was fundamentally filthy, the kind of vicious, underhanded business most despised by the people of the jianghu.
The craft of gu arts was unlike the use of poison. Poison was meant only to kill or injure, which was no different in essence from harming someone with martial arts or hidden weapons. But gu arts were meant to leave a person unable to live, unable to die, wishing for death yet denied a peaceful end... truly contrary to basic humanity.
To make an analogy, the former was like using weapons to fell enemy soldiers in war, while the latter was like torturing prisoners of war to death with atrocious cruelty.
Bai Ruhong was a living example. If someone like him were defeated one day and fell into the hands of his enemies, they would at most slay him with a sword or stab him a few extra times to vent their fury. Yet the state he had been tortured into now was a vicious cruelty that even members of evil sects would never stoop to inflict.
Yet Gu Qiying and Shen Youran were capable of doing such things, purely because they had raised high the banner of "vengeance," gradually turning it into something akin to a religion. In doing so, without even realizing it, they had convinced themselves that anything was permitted...
And this name, Sihui Dwelling—the Dwelling of Pondering Filth—was nothing more than an empty formality. It was like an emperor issuing an edict of self-reproach: a way to dupe one's own conscience while putting on a show for others, as if one had genuinely admitted wrongdoing, as if one had truly paid a fitting price.
"Brother You, why is it so dark up here?" Upon reaching the third floor, Huang Donglai immediately asked.
At the same time, he understood why You Jing had told him not to put down the lantern in his hand after entering Bugui Tower.
"This is the master's arrangement." You Jing did not explain the specifics; that single sentence sufficed. The moment he finished, he pivoted smoothly. "Young Master Huang, I shall go fetch your medicine. Please wait here a moment."
"Ah, sure, go ahead," Huang Donglai replied casually.
You Jing gave him another look, then turned and walked deeper into the third floor.
Because both he and Huang Donglai had carried a lantern when leaving, Huang Donglai still had light to see by after You Jing departed. Otherwise, in the dead of night and in a place like this, he truly wouldn't have been able to see a thing.
Yet in truth... being able to see was useless anyway.
The layout of the third floor was divided into three main sections. The first was the space immediately at the top of the stairs—essentially an open buffer zone devoid of furnishings, without even a seat in sight. Huang Donglai stood here now.
The second section was the room belonging to the proprietor—namely, Gu Qiying. Its door sat right at the edge of the first section. Gu Qiying was not here right now, so the door was naturally shut. As for what lay inside... even You Jing wasn't entirely sure. Whenever he went in to deliver meals or empty the chamber pot, he was always in and out quickly, never lingering or daring to let his eyes wander.
The third section, which occupied the largest portion of the third floor, connected to the first via a corridor in the corner. Following that corridor inward past the master's quarters led to several larger chambers stocked with all manner of materials and apparatus needed for breeding gu. In addition, there were two rooms akin to workshops: one kept constantly heated by a stove, the other chilled by thousand-year ice.
Where You Jing was heading now was a storeroom containing various finished gu. The "Baishun Pill" that Gu Qiying had instructed him to feed Huang Donglai was actually called the "Hundred Devouring Gu." Once infected, the victim had to take a specific antidote at regular intervals, or suffer the agony of a hundred insects devouring the heart.
The effect of this gu was not as formidable as that of the Bliss Gu. Moreover, its finished form was a rather large pill with a pungent smell, which under normal circumstances no one would swallow willingly. Under the pretext of "curing Huang Donglai's bodily abnormality," however, it could be administered quite naturally.
Before long, You Jing returned holding a palm-sized white porcelain medicine bottle. Huang Donglai was still standing in the same spot, looking as though he had not moved an inch.
"Young Master Huang, the medicine is here," You Jing said, holding out the bottle.
Huang Donglai casually took the bottle, uncorked it, rolled out a pill, brought it to his nose, and sniffed. "Holy! Shit!"
His sudden loud curse startled even You Jing.
"What the hell is this smell? Fishy and foul—you couldn't mix this rank a stench even if you tossed fish mint with garlic!" Shaking his head vehemently, Huang Donglai continued, "No way, no way... A pill this big with a stench like this? Swallowing it dry is out of the question. I might choke to death."
"Uh..." Hearing this, You Jing thought the point was fair enough. To say nothing of Huang Donglai, even he would struggle to swallow it. So he replied, "My apologies, an oversight on my part. I shall go fetch tea for the young master at once."
Saying this, he turned to leave, but then caught himself...
Wait... Could this brat be trying to lure the tiger from the mountain so he can swap the medicine behind my back? At that thought, You Jing halted in his tracks, not daring to take his eyes off Huang Donglai.
Yet nominally speaking, he was under orders to procure medicine to treat Huang Donglai's condition; he had no overt reason to guard against him like this. Besides... there was no sign that Huang Donglai was on guard against him. If his odd behavior ended up arousing suspicion instead, wouldn't he be outsmarting himself?
Just as You Jing was torn with indecision, something unexpected happened...
"Hey, why make a special trip just for tea?" Huang Donglai surprisingly bailed him out on his own initiative. "It's pitch black up here, and there isn't even anywhere to sit. Can't we just head downstairs together?"
You Jing thought, That's right! Why do I have to force him to swallow it up here? Besides, I was going to head downstairs to pour the water anyway.
"Oh! Yes, Young Master Huang makes good sense." Seizing the way out, You Jing nodded hurriedly. "Then... after you, Young Master Huang..."
"Sure." Huang Donglai agreed, then raised his hand in an entirely natural motion, about to slip the bottle into his robes.
"Wait!" Seeing this, You Jing panicked again and cried out instinctively.
"Hm? What is it?" At that instant, Huang Donglai's hand had already moved halfway, and half the bottle was tucked inside his lapel. Hearing You Jing shout, he stopped just before the bottle slipped completely out of sight.
"That medicine bottle... perhaps I should hold onto it for the young master," You Jing blurted out, thinking on his feet. "Lest the foul stench rub off on your clothes."
"Ah? Oh, true!" Huang Donglai put on a look of sudden realization, pulled the bottle out with open disgust, and shoved it back into You Jing's hands. "Right, right, right... Here, you take it. When I'm ready to take it down there, just hand me one."
You Jing took the bottle and examined it closely. It was indeed the exact same bottle. Coupling that with Huang Donglai's reaction, he breathed a sigh of relief, thinking: Looks like the kid truly isn't on guard. I was overthinking it.
With that, You Jing stowed the bottle inside his robes and gestured forward.
Huang Donglai unhurriedly passed him and headed down the stairs to the second floor, with You Jing following close behind.
Soon, the two arrived at the small reception parlor on the second floor.
Huang Donglai picked a chair and sat down casually, while You Jing dashed off to pour tea. Hot water was already on hand, and You Jing returned in less than two minutes.
"Young Master, your tea... It's not too hot." You Jing poured Huang Donglai a cup, not forgetting to add a subtle nudge urging him to take the medicine quickly.
Huang Donglai replied, "Oh, good. Brother You, have a seat too."
"No, no, I am merely a servant... standing is appropriate." Even though You Jing's martial arts were far superior to Huang Donglai's, he showed no arrogance, maintaining a courteous demeanor. After all, his orders from the master were only to drug Huang Donglai, not to turn hostile or silence him.
"It's fine. It's just the two of us right now, and besides, we both serve the Venerable Master. If you stand while I sit, won't I feel terribly awkward?" Huang Donglai said with an easy, amicable smile. "Look, Brother You, if you won't sit, I might as well stand up too..."
"Please don't, please don't... I shall sit." You Jing had no choice but to take a seat, yet he barely perched on the edge—occupying only half the stool, his upper body stiff as a board, not daring to lean back, looking ready to spring to his feet at any second.
During the ensuing silence while they waited for the tea to cool, neither spoke, making the atmosphere slightly awkward.
However, the silence did not last long. Huang Donglai finally broke it: "Brother You, it should be about ready. Pass me the medicine."
"Very well," You Jing answered and reached into his robes for the bottle. However...
"Hiss—" As his hand plunged inside, a sudden sting of sharp pain flashed across his skin. Yet being a martial artist, he could easily endure pain of this degree, so he pushed through it and drew the bottle out.
Only then did You Jing notice that the bottle's color had changed. What had been a white porcelain bottle was now a grayish-brown. The spot on his hand where he had felt the pain was stained with the same hue.
Looking down, his heart jumped—the color had seeped right through his outer garments, precisely over his chest.
"Ugh—" In that fraction of a second, he belatedly realized that his chest ached slightly as well...
"What's wrong, Brother You? Finding it a little hard to catch your breath?" Huang Donglai was exceedingly cautious. As he asked, he had already risen from his chair and backed away several paces, putting distance between himself and You Jing.
"You!" Knowing he had fallen into a trap, You Jing hastily channeled his energy, attempting to use internal energy to seal the acupoints protecting his heart.
Yet... had he not channeled his energy, he might have lingered, but the moment he did, his heart stopped beating on the spot.
In less than a minute, You Jing collapsed to the floor, dead.
Looking down at the corpse, Huang Donglai gave a cold snort and muttered to himself, "Trying to play with poison against me... Heh... Who do you think you are?"
...
Hauling You Jing's corpse back to the third floor did not take Huang Donglai much time. After all, Brother Huang was only unable to use internal energy; his physical strength as a martial artist remained intact.
After arranging the body, Huang Donglai first disposed of the poisoned bottle. Then he searched You Jing's person. The result... aside from a flexible sword hidden at the waist, he found nothing at all—not even a single key.
This was very strange...
Huang Donglai knew that the proprietor of Bugui Tower—the Venerable Master—resided here in Sihui Dwelling on the third floor. He and Sun Yixie had already learned this during their conversation with Xue Tui on the night they dined here; after all, it was no secret, known to many across the city.
Yet as the confidant who delivered meals to the boss every day, You Jing did not have a single key to any room on the third floor. This was clearly abnormal. Even if the key to the boss's personal room was kept on the boss's person, You Jing should certainly have carried keys to the other rooms. Otherwise, how had he opened the doors when he went to the back rooms to fetch the medicine just now?
Such an anomaly was not something Huang Donglai would overlook. Both he and Sun Yixie were exceptionally cautious men... especially when putting themselves in harm's way, when their astuteness and vigilance would instantly leap several notches higher.
Huang Donglai stood there pondering for a moment, then drew the sword from You Jing's waist and cleanly severed one of You Jing's hands. Once the excess blood had mostly drained from the severed hand, Huang Donglai held it in his own hand and used it to gently push against the door to the Venerable Master's chamber.
At this point, Huang Donglai did not yet know that this particular room belonged to the Venerable Master, as no one had told him. He only started with it because it was the first door visible upon reaching the third floor.
Creak—
The wooden door slowly swung open, letting out a skin-crawling groan in the darkness.
The door wasn't locked at all.
Huang Donglai reacted with lightning speed. The moment he discovered the door was unlocked, his immediate reflex was to cover his mouth and nose with his sleeve. This... could be considered basic discipline for anyone hailing from an illustrious poison clan.
When you arrived at a place that ought to house something extremely valuable, yet the entrance was neither hidden nor guarded by visible defenses, what did it mean? There were only two possibilities. First, the master of the house was an idiot. Second, there was security—you just couldn't see it.
At that moment, Huang Donglai used the lantern light to scan the room from the doorway. The instant he spotted a burning censer in the corner sending up wisps of green smoke, he knew with absolute certainty: this was a security measure, or at least one of them.
With that thought, he covered his nose and mouth, darted inside, extinguished the censer, and quickly retreated, leaving the door wide open.
Having done all this, Huang Donglai did not wait idly for the fumes in the room to dissipate. Instead, he turned down the adjoining corridor and headed in the direction You Jing had gone before, walking toward the storerooms...
Chapter 59