With oneās time on earth, there are always some things that you must do no matter how dangerous and difficult you know them to be ā¦
But what can he do?
Early summer wind rustles through the trees, and a smattering of sunlight reflected off the glossy leaves sways this way and that over Duan Ling.
If someone is to ask him what he wants to do right now, all Duan Ling wants is to know where Li Jianhong is buried so he can go have a talk with his father.
He sits there staring into space thinking about the poison Lang Junxia added to his food. Again and again heās faced imminent death but in every instance heās survived; with one near-death experience after another, heās never managed to actually die, so can he even try to commit suicide again?
Should he leave Xichuan and roam far and wide, hide his name beneath a pseudonym and become someone that nobody knows? But whatās the point of doing that? Heāll never forget all of this. Perhaps heāll never come to terms with it all, not even until the day he dies.
And if he doesnāt leave, what can he do? Stay here?
How did Li Jianhong die? Where did he sacrifice himself?
For the entire afternoon Duan Ling sits there thinking, and slowly he comes to a decision. He canāt die just like that, nor can he leave just like that; he still has a lot of things that he wants to accomplish. Even though doing these things are no less difficult to him than moving the mountains to fill the seas, he no longer has his father to shield him and to plan out everything for him ā he can only rely on himself.
Iāll just have to play it by ear.Ā Duan Ling tells himself that if he ever gets to a point where he really canāt hold on anymore, it may instead be a kind of deliverance.
When Wu Du comes back, he tosses Duan Ling two pieces of cooked beef like heās feeding a dog. Duan Ling catches them and after glancing at it briefly, begins to eat. Wu Du gives the room a once over, and rather satisfied with the state of it, sits down in front of the table and once again starts reading his Book of Medicine.
āCan you read?ā Wu Du asks.
Duan Ling nods. Without bringing up what happened last night, Wu Du hands him a prescription. āWeigh these out accordingly.ā
Duan Ling can tell itās a formula for poison, and he has no idea who itās for. He weighs and dispenses each ingredient; this is something heās long since gotten used to doing during his stay in Luoyang. But Wu Duās formula is quite distinctive ā ingredients for āgreat coldā and āgreat heatā are mixed together in the same formula, and there are a lot of minor, concealed poisons in it as well.2
āWhatās this for?ā
Wu Du stops what heās doing and shoots Duan Ling a glance. Duan Ling realises that he shouldnāt have asked.
āIf you ask one more question, when itās put together Iāll try it on you first.ā
Duan Ling doesnāt reply, and it occurs to Wu Du that this kid isnāt even afraid of dying, so of course heās not going to care. He heaves a sigh as he feels he really canāt do a thing to him after all.
Once Duan Ling finishes weighing out all the ingredients, he grinds them down into a powder, mixing in honey to make pills before hardening them with heat. He surmises that this is a hidden poison; the one whoās taken it may not even have noticed theyāre poisoned, but theyāll need to take the antidote periodically, otherwise the poison will take effect and kill them.
āAre you perhaps thinking that since youāre not even scared of dying, of course youāre not scared Iād poison you to death?ā Wu Du gives Duan Ling a casual glance and adds, āI have plenty of ways to make you wish you were dead.ā
Duan Lingās lips twitch ā he wants to sayĀ Iām not thinking that, but the slight upward tilt of his mouth seems to infuriate Wu Du. He sets his brush aside and grabs Duan Ling by the lapel. His voice is cold. āWhy are you laughing? What are you laughing at?ā
Startled, fear surfaces in Duan Lingās eyes. Wu Du suddenly gets the feeling that heās seen this gaze somewhere before, but he canāt quite remember where.
Thankfully most of the time Wu Du is only mean on the outside and soft on the inside, and he does nothing more than give Duan Ling several threatening remarks before letting him go again, ordering him to get to work. As long as Duan Ling doesnāt go out of his way to provoke him, Wu Du is not about to give him any grief for want of anything else to do.
For an entire day, Duan Ling is thinking about what heās going to do next. Recalling the conversation between Wu Du and the old man named He, they mentioned a ācrown princeā, which means that after fatherās death, Great Chen got a crown prince. Itās unlikely that this crown prince is his brother, and if Duan Ling ties this conjecture to Lang Junxia poisoning him ā¦ he suddenly has a theory, and this theory makes a chill go down his spine ā¦
Can it be possible that Lang Junxia has found someone to pass for Duan Ling after fatherās death? Does Mu Kuangda know of this? If Mu Kuangda is conspiring with Lang Junxia, then Duan Ling mustnāt let Lang Junxia know that heās in the grand chancellorās estate. But if Mu Kuangda knows about this, then why didnāt Lang Junxia hand Duan Ling over to the chancellor when he came looking, but chose to poison him and get rid of his body instead?
On this foundation Duan Ling works his way to an extremely brazen hypothesis. And though it seems utterly insane, itās actually not far from the truth: Lang Junxia had managed to pull the wool over everyoneās eyes to bring back a fake crown prince, and Mu Kuangda has no inkling of Duan Lingās existence. From here Duan Ling deduces that after his fatherās death, Mu Kuangda thought he had full power over the imperial court and could dominate the government as long as he controlled fourth uncle, but to his surprise, the sudden appearance of a crown prince has thrown the game board into confusion. So who exactly is this poison made for?
Duan Lingās mind goes through a number of possibilities in mere moments ā if the truth is just as he hypothesised, then the chance of his survival will be quite high. After all, even if he stays in Xichuan, if Lang Junxia ever finds out he hasnāt died heās not about to risk barging into the chancellorās estate brashly to commit murder.
Staying by Wu Duās side is presently the safest choice he has, and now he must confirm his guesses before deciding on his next course of action.
Once Duan Ling is clear-headed again his mind moves rather fast, and he runs through myriad possibilities in his head as he grinds the ingredients into a powder. Heās even considered the possibility that the crown prince may be a real one. Letās say his father fell for someone after he returned to the imperial court and left behind a posthumous heir, that may be possible ā¦ no, not really. Setting his fatherās moral character aside, even if there is a crown prince he must still be a tiny little baby so thereās no need to make such a fuss and poison him. And besides, this is clearly a poison made for an adult.
While heās thinking all this, a young man shows up at the front gate.
āWu Du!ā The young man looks startled when he sees Duan Ling, and shoots him several more curious glances.
Duan Ling notices the young manās delicate, pretty features and his high-class clothes, and comes to the conclusion that heās probably someone important. Thereās no young servant with him, so heās probably here to ask for something.
Wu Du goes outside and says to the young man, āMister Mu.ā
That young man would be Mu Kuangdaās son, Mu Qing; he looks over Duan Ling before he turns to Wu Du with an arrogant air, and orders, āIād like you to fill this prescription.ā
āWithout orders from the chancellor I canāt fill a prescription for you. If you want to use any poison, youāll need a written slip from the chancellor or have him give me a verbal order directly.ā
Mu Qing produces a prescription, but Wu Du simply doesnāt take it from him. Mu Qing frowns, displeased. āYou really wonāt fill it?ā
Wu Du doesnāt say anything, standing quietly before the gallery. Without minding where it lands, Mu Qing tosses out the sheet of paper. The prescription flies this way and that until it falls onto the ground. āThink it over. Iāll give you three days.ā
Mu Qing doesnāt bother waiting for Wu Duās reply before he turns around and leaves.
Wu Du is so angry heās shaking. A moment passes before he bends down to pick up that prescription and throws it onto the table.
Meanwhile, Duan Ling is hardening the pills over heat, and after he wipes his hands clean he goes to take a look at the prescription. At first heās wondering what kind of prescription canāt simply be filled out at any apothecary, but sure enough, itās an extra strength aphrodisiac.
āWill you fill it?ā Duan Ling asks.
Wu Du sits back on the daybed, and picks up the teapot to pour a cup of tea. He says frigidly, āScram.ā
And so Duan Ling files the prescription away, and when he finishes hardening the pills, Wu Du tosses him a wooden box. Duan Ling separates and packs the pills away properly, and leaves the room as usual.
A stroke of lightning flashes across the horizon. At night it begins to rain, and the roof in the courtyard house is leaking as well.
Halfway through dinner, a servant comes to inform Wu Du that the chancellor would like to see him, so Wu Du can only put his chopsticks down to go see Mu Kuangda. He comes back soaked like a drowned rat and leaves again as soon as he picks up the wooden box.
Duan Ling gets several basins to catch water all over Wu Duās room; the drip-drop of water on basins clinks and clanks, making quite the commotion. Thunder rumbles, and Duan Ling curls up inside the woodshed. Some time later, Wu Du pushes the door open.
āIāve been calling you. Did you not hear me?!ā
Wu Du is bare to the waist, his sturdy shoulders and back covered in water; all heās wearing is a pair of thin white pants, soaked through and sticking to his thighs, turning a shade of skin.
āWhat?ā Duan Ling asks blankly.
This chapter is scrapped from readlightnovel.org
āI told you to get in here!ā Wu Du says furiously.
Thus Duan Ling follows him all the way inside at a half run. Wu Du tells him, āDry the clothes and books by the fire.ā
Duan Ling hangs up several items of clothing by the stove, wiping down the water stains, and dries the boots by the fire for him. Quite a few books were right up against the wall and thereās water dripping down the walls as well. Duan Ling pulls the bookshelf a little ways from the wall, and opens up the books, flattening the pages carefully to dry.
āSleep over there.ā Wu Du points at a corner to let Duan Ling know that he doesnāt have to go back to sleep in the woodshed. Duan Ling helps him make the bed first before making his own, and he lies in the corner listening to the sound of water falling into basins and gradually falling asleep. In the middle of the night, Wu Du throws something over at him, startling him awake.
āKeep it down,ā Wu Du says, āYouāre so noisy I canāt get to sleep.ā
Duan Ling is confused for a moment before he suddenly realises that he may have been talking in his sleep, and the thought of it scares him so much his back is all at once covered in a sheen of sweat. He gets up to pour out the water accumulated in the basins.
The rain lasts for a full three days; Duan Ling has no way to go out, and Wu Du is shut up in his house all day long. He canāt go out in the rain, and Mu Kuangda doesnāt summon him either. Aside from two meals delivered daily heās largely left to do nothing on his own. Wu Du never had much money to begin with, and when Zhao Kui fell from grace what little savings he had was confiscated by the imperial court, which Mu Kuangda seems to have no interest in helping him recover. All he has to his name is the bit of honorarium given him when he pledged his services to Mu Kuangda.
Today, Duan Ling spies Wu Du counting his money ā one tael, two taels, three taels, four taels ā¦ adding up all his silver bits he doesnāt even have ten taels in total, and Duan Ling thinks to himself,Ā Wu Du is so poor. Duan Ling has never earned any money, but because heās experienced hardship in Shangzi before, he can understand the importance of money somewhat.Ā A single copper confounds even a hero, and he has to buy medicinal ingredients as well; money in, money out, so there isnāt much left over.
A visitor comes to call while Wu Du is calculating his life savings, and he grabs the silvers and puts it away properly in his money purse.
āThis roof really ought to be patched.ā The visitor is Chang Liujun holding up an umbrella. Mu Qing is beneath this umbrella too.
āDid you fill the prescription?ā Mu Qing asks.
āWithout the Grand Chancellorās orders, I canāt fill a prescription for you.ā
Mu Qing turns to look at Chang Liujun. Chang Liujun and Mu Qings stand in the courtyard without coming in. Neither does Wu Du go outside.
Chang Liujun says, āJust do it. Why bother with all these rules? Once you put the medicine together weāll get your roof patched.ā
Wu Du stares at him in silence.
Mu Qing says, āIāll give you another two days. Do as you see fit. Iām leaving.ā
Duan Ling watches Wu Du from the corner. Outside, Chang Liujun and Mu Qing have gone, and so Duan Ling goes to the table to fill Mu Qingās prescription.
As soon as Duan Ling opens the drawer, Wu Du gets up all of a sudden. Surprised, Duan Ling tries to get out of the way, and he bumps into the table in the confusion and knocks it over. Wu Du picks up a vase and raises his hand as though heās about to smash it over Duan Lingās head, but before the vase even hits him Duan Ling is already screaming. In that instant, Wu Du stops moving, his hand hanging in the air. For a long time, the vase doesnāt come down.
Duan Ling has his eyes squeezed tight but he doesnāt feel pottery cracking over him, and he turns his head to look at Wu Du. So disgruntled he can barely stand it, Wu Du puts the vase down and makes sure itās not going to fall over, and still holding Duan Ling by the lapel, he drags him to the medicine cabinet. āGo on. Fill the prescription. Letās just see what you end up with.ā
Duan Ling just stands there. A heartbeat later, Wu Du howls at him angrily, āDo it! If you make a mistake Iāll kill you!ā
Duan Ling quivers, pulls the drawer open, and grabbing the ingredients from memory he brings it over for Wu Du to look over.
āItās just these,ā Duan Ling says, āyou have all of them.ā
āGo get the metal file and make a powder out of it,ā Wu Du says.
Duan Ling follows his instructions and grinds them down to powder. Wu Du beckons to him. āCome over here.ā
Duan Ling senses danger and backs away, but Wu Du takes one step forward and forces Duan Lingās mouth open with his left hand, pouring the entire packet of powder into his mouth.
Duan Ling canāt stop shaking; his mouth is filled with that aphrodisiac, and he knows if he swallows itāll definitely kill him. Fortunately Wu Du doesnāt try to make things more difficult for him beyond that, and Duan Ling runs off frantically to rinse his mouth.
When heās finished raising his mouth, Wu Du has gone to lie down on his bed to take his afternoon nap. Duan Ling puts away everything, taking a lot of care to be quiet so as not to wake Wu Du, and closes up the mouldy books. As he cleans up he finds a book called āBook of the Medicine Sageā with lots of plants heās never seen nor heard of, and he begins to read; he reads until the sun sets and Wu Du gets out of bed.
Wu Du opens up the drawers and starts filling a prescription personally. One glance tells Duan Ling that itās the same extra strength aphrodisiac he filled earlier at noon, and he thinks,Ā arenāt you just making more work, doing it again yourself?
Finally, Wu Du finishes up and tosses a small packet to Duan Ling. āGo deliver it. You know who to give it to.ā
Duan Ling doesnāt really dare go out, but heāll probably get a beating if he doesnāt. Itās one thing to get a beating, but what worries him more is that it may make Wu Du suspicious if he refuses to go, and so he picks up the packet and runs out in the rain to see Mu Qing.