Poison Genius Consort

Why wasn’t Han Yunxi talking?

She had a stomach full of things to say that she’d hidden for seven to eight days. But she couldn’t speak, and seeing Long Feiye awake stole away everything except the desire to ask him how he was doing. Seeing his doting look, she quickly wrote down that her throat hurt, so she couldn’t make any sounds.

Actually, if Han Yunxi was her usual self, she would have noticed the peculiarity of his question already. Long Feiye’s first reaction was to touch her throat and ask why aren’t you saying anything instead of what’s wrong with your voice? He had long realized that she’d gone hoarse. But how did he know after being unconscious for so long?

Perhaps he really knew the truth; perhaps he knew to guess. In any case, Han Yunxi didn’t think much of it. More than anything else, her heart was filled with joy and gratitude that he was alive and awake.

“Why does it hurt?” Long Feiye asked next, his weak voice soft enough to melt her heart. She never knew how wonderful it’d be to hear him talk. Han Yunxi thought it over before writing again.

‘It’s inflammation.’

Long Feiye knit his brows and looked at her. A long time later, he broke into a helpless smile and gently brushed against the corners of her eyes. “Silly. You were crying, weren’t you?”

Han Yunxi looked away and didn’t answer.

“I’m not dead yet, but you’ve already cried yourself to this. If one day, I really...”

Han Yunxi glared at him to tell him to shut up. But Long Feiye didn’t stop.

“If I really die one day, what will you do then?”

Instead of writing an answer, Han Yunxi opened her mouth and soundlessly voiced, “If you really die, then I won’t cry anymore.”

Each word brought her pain despite not voicing a thing. Even so, Long Feiye could read her lips perfectly.

“You won’t cry?” Long Feiye thought it over for a while before he remarked, “If you won’t, then what will you do? Will you roam the world with Gu Qishao again? Aren’t you afraid that your lordship will really go and break his legs?”

Han Yunxi immediately wrote down a flurry of words. ‘You don’t have the skills right now!’

It was rare for Long Feiye to bring up Gu Qishao without getting angry. He meant to tease Han Yunxi, but she washed her hands of him. It was true, he didn’t have any strength to break Gu Qishao’s legs now. He had no idea how long it’d take to recover from his internal injuries, but hoped that he could recover before mid-autumn arrived. And it was only Han Yunxi could make him smile instead of angry with her dismissal–so much that she felt like she’d been defeated at his hands. She ended up looking at him until she too, broke into a smile. It had been days since she last grinned.

“Come here and let your lordship hold you, quickly?” Long Feiye grew anxious.

Han Yunxi immediately bent down. Afraid to hurt him, she propped her hands on both sides of his body, but he simply wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close fiercely.

“Do you believe me? I could hear you crying over the past few days, but...I just couldn’t wake up.” He had suddenly grown serious, enough to stop Han Yunxi from struggling. Before she could process his words, he spoke again.

“Han Yunxi, if I’m not here in the future, don’t cry, alright?” His words were whispered right by her ear, low and soft yet irresistible. “Wait until I’m awake–until I’m here. Then cry, okay? I’ll give you my shoulder so you can cry as much as you want.”

“I’m afraid–I’m scared that you’ll never come back...” Han Yunxi suddenly spoke, her voice raw and raspy as fresh sobs overtook her.

“Sillyhead. I haven’t even brought along an eight-men sedan chair to marry you properly. I haven’t kicked its door and carried you through my gates or performed the marriage ceremony with you. Why wouldn’t I be back?” Long Feiye was very sincere.

Han Yunxi hadn’t wanted to cry, but her tears wouldn’t stop. She had never talked to him about their marriage or made any note of it, but she’d never forgotten. He too, had never brought it up, so she assumed that he wouldn’t care. But who expected him to know exactly what he owed her? He too, remembered everything.

“Fine, I’ll remember all that. You have to give me what you owe me. No tricks! Otherwise, I’ll marry someone else!” she declared.

As soon as she finished, the arms around her abruptly tightened their grip. She almost lost her breath, but her words were firm. “Then it’s set!”

Anytime Long Feiye dared to haggle with her, he always lost. Even when she wasn’t hurt, he’d ache for her sake. In the end, he released her helpless and brushed his fingers against her throat. “Don’t talk so much. If you really ruin your voice, then I’ll be guilty of a huge crime.”

She sprawled on top of him, still reeling. How did she live through all those years? Even now, this moment felt like a dream that she could lose control of at any second.

“I’ll go find the grandmaster to take a look at your wounds!” She wanted to get up, but Long Feiye wouldn’t let her go.

“Be good, don’t talk. Let your lordship hold you for awhile.”

Han Yunxi buried her head in his chest, missing the guilt shining from his eyes.

Gentleness never lasted long. Soon enough, the sword sect master entered and rejoiced at the sight of a conscious Long Feiye. He wanted to take his pulse, so Han Yunxi tried to move away, but Long Feiye wouldn’t let go of her hand.

“Your pulse!” she muttered.

Long Feiye held her with his left hand while giving the sword sect master his right.

“We’re blocking his way. Don’t make a fuss,” Han Yunxi reminded him. She was getting anxious in front of the sword sect master. Even the tips of her ears were turning red. But Long Feiye wouldn’t let go. Without a choice, she could only withdraw to one side to sit by the bed, thus squeezing out a space for the sword sect master. He saw all this but pretended to notice nothing. Without a word or a smile, he quietly took Long Feiye’s pulse.

“You have to thank the Honored Elders for their true qi. Otherwise, you really would have lost your life,” the sword sect master sighed.

“How long do I have to recover?” Long Feiye was only concerned with the pragmatics.

“If you take your time, then a year. Even the quickest time would need six months. You won’t be able to leave the mountain this autumn,” the sword sect master said truthfully.

Long Feiye didn’t speak, but Han Yunxi hastened to say, “Your body is important. Take care of yourself for a year! Northern Li’s situation is still uncertain. If Jun Yixie can bring back those battle horses, Ning Cheng definitely won’t be able to head south.”

Long Feiye nodded before changing the subject. He asked the sword sect master, “Have you tried Cang Qiuzi yet?”

“He’s been locked up in the prisons. Once we put him on trial, the Poison Sect’s matters...” the sword sect master was in a tough spot.

Everyone knew about Cang Qiuzi’s scandal, while the Poison Sect news had made things even more wild. There were plenty of rumors off the mountain, but none had been set since he as the sect leader had yet to make a decision.

“Let’s...reject the Poison Sect rumors for now!” Long Feiye said.

“How is that possible? So many people saw the Poison Beast that day,” Han Yunxi challenged.

“We never say we deny it, just that it’s currently under investigation.” Long Feiye’s words made the sword sect master chuckle. Tactics like these were all too familiar to him. Even if he himself recognized Han Yunxi as a Poison Sect descendant in front of the Depository and Courtyard disciples, so what? He hadn’t told the rest of the world or proclaim any public announcements. News had reached beyond the mountain through gossip channels. With Cang Qiuzi defeated and the two Depositories decreased in power, which Celestial Mountain disciple would have the gall to step forward and admit that they were the ones to spread the news? In this world, there were truths that remained rumors as long as they weren’t publicly proclaimed. Although Han Yunxi hated tactics like these, she had to admit that it was an excellent idea.

Long Feiye had won against Cang Qiuzi and killed He Yilian, then showed off such a powerful sword strike that the Lockheart Courtyard’s rebels had just about shriveled up. A few days ago, scouts had reported that the Heretical Sword Sect’s forces had scattered from the foot of the mountain, too. Celestial Mountain had stabilized, but Long Feiye was still injured in the end. Moreover, the sword sect elder had lost his internal energy. If anyone found out about these things, the consequences would be unthinkable.

Thus, Celestial Mountain’s situation was still quite grim. Long Feiye originally wanted to use its strength to publicly face off against Medical City, but now that plan had to be delayed. Under these circumstances, he couldn’t force a fight. He could only use outflanking tactics.

Using “still under investigation” as an excuse, they’d be able to buy time for Long Feiye’s recovery and help Gu Beiyue and Baili Yuanlong hold out at the commander-in-chief’s estate. As long as Celestial Mountain didn’t admit it, Medicine City would have ample excuses to keep supplying Pill Fiend Pharamcy goods. Gu Beiyue could also have full rights to shut the mouths of the clan heads back in South Ning.

Han Yunxi sighed. “At the very least, those doctors with consciences will keep practicing medicine there.”

Medical City’s absolute orders told Medicine City to stop supplying medicine and encouraged the South Ning’s established families to dismiss her status as wangfei, but neither of these were as horrifying as the implications for South Ning’s various pharmacies and clinics. They could be told to withdraw from the prefecture entirely. Asking a patient when one was ill was as necessary as eating for survival. Although you didn’t need to see a doctor everyday, they were just as important as food.

Imagine if all of the doctors left South Ning. The citizens would have no one to go to to treat their ills. What a terrifying thought! Han Yunxi had always known Medical City was powerful on Cloud Realm Continent, but all she’d heard were rumors. She had never experienced its might for herself and was even starting to doubt it, having no way to understand the extent of their powers.

In terms of soldiers and fighters, Medical City lacked both. In terms of wealth, it didn’t even rank amongst the top three. She couldn’t tell how having a hold over the continent’s medical community could ever put them in the top echelons of power.

Now she knew! Without medicine or treatment, a single epidemic could wipe out an entire nation–an entire civilization! Medical City’s strength was on par with the most frightful of plagues. Her experience had taught her that medical science had no national boundaries, even during times of world war. Doctors from different corners of the Earth would always flock to battlefields of their own will to treat the sick and dying beneath the guns and bullets. Cloud Realm Continent’s medical academy was simply an exotic existence amongst its business circles!

But that made Han Yunxi curious. “Why did the medical academy want to destroy the Poison Sect? Just what kind of terrible things did they do? Or....they did just eliminate them because they held different views?!”

The sword sect master glanced at Long Feiye before he intoned, “Have either of you heard of...undying humans?”

Translator’s Note: Another nice long teaser, yay. Today’s song of the day with (very) rough translation below~ \o/ (click to expand)