Chapter 142 You Must Not Die

Weishaolangyu’s expression carried a hint of wickedness.

Huangfu Chen suddenly felt that Weishaolangyu’s appearance bore a certain resemblance to his own. In this world, aside from him, probably no one else dared to speak to Xuanyuan Ran in such a manner.

Weishaolangyu did not care how others thought of her or how they viewed her.

However, according to what Meiji had told her, more than twenty years ago, Xuanyuan Ran had humiliated Princess Yuan, Xuanyuan Yuan, with this exact same arrogant disdain.

Being overly kind made one look easy to bully. Ever since she came to Liyue, Weishaolangyu had only ever bullied others. Apart from Feng Jinye, no one could ever make her submit obediently.

For decades, aside from being publicly rejected in marriage by Prince Yuan back then, Xuanyuan Ran had never suffered such utterly humiliating disgrace. Even during her past days in the Xuanyuan family, she had merely swallowed her grievances and buried all her hatred deep within her heart!

Huangfu Chen stepped in front of Weishaolangyu and Yun Ming. Driven mad by Weishaolangyu, Xuanyuan Ran’s exceptionally furious eyes were filled with a sinister malice, their fierce hostility almost intense enough to slice Weishaolangyu into a thousand pieces!

No longer able to control the raging fury within her, Xuanyuan Ran relaxed her tightly clenched fists and viciously gripped the grand preceptor’s robes across her chest...

With a crisp rip, the long robes were torn to shreds by Xuanyuan Ran. She grasped the Xingyuan Sword concealed beneath her garments, drew the blade, and launched a fierce, venomous attack straight at Weishaolangyu!

Weishaolangyu stared unblinkingly at the Xingyuan Sword in Xuanyuan Ran’s hand!

In the dream she had recalled, it was with this very Xingyuan sword that Xuanyuan Ran had pierced her mother’s throat. Even though Weishaolangyu now knew that Madam Weishao was not her biological mother, her hatred continued to grow with each passing day!

Weishaolangyu knew very well that she was no match for Xuanyuan Ran...

Seeing Xuanyuan Ran lunging forward with her sword, Huangfu Chen stepped in front of her. Weishaolangyu had a premonition that Xuanyuan Ran would not care at all about her maternal ties with Huangfu Chen!

Instantly, Weishaolangyu yanked Huangfu Chen aside and threw herself forward, preparing to take Xuanyuan Ran’s sword blow head-on...

To defeat someone as ruthless and vicious as her, one had to be even more ruthless than anyone else!

Similarly, to defeat a madman, one had to be even madder than the madman!

Weishaolangyu understood this principle all too well. Seeing that Weishaolangyu neither dodged nor evaded, Xuanyuan Ran sneered, "This Grand Preceptor will not kill you, but I will certainly make you wish you were dead!"

Weishaolangyu sneered back. The broken-blade dagger from her sleeve slid into her palm, and right before the Xingyuan sword could pierce her right shoulder, Weishaolangyu’s dagger stabbed viciously into her own left shoulder first...

Xuanyuan Ran’s sword tip halted directly pointing at Weishaolangyu’s shoulder, and she asked coldly, "What kind of trick are you playing?"

"Grand Dowager, have you ever heard of the poison used by the Prince of War two years ago to break the Poison Palace of Xiyan..." Weishaolangyu deliberately paused, the cold sneer lingering on her face...

"Upas... tree!" Word by word, with absolute clarity, the name fell from Weishaolangyu’s lips.

Xuanyuan Ran looked at Weishaolangyu in disbelief.

Huangfu Chen and Yun Ming looked at Weishaolangyu with equal disbelief...

On the outskirts of Guanlin City, not far from the small hillside where Weishaolangyu had taken Feng Jinye to cut bamboo, stood a towering, ancient tree...

Feng Jinye had repeatedly instructed Weishaolangyu never to approach it...

Every time Weishaolangyu saw that tree, a sense of deep awe would naturally well up in her heart. Feng Jinye had said the tree was called the Upas tree, but Weishaolangyu knew it by another, even more chilling name: "Seal the Throat at First Blood."

The Upas tree was the most venomous tree in the world. Among the common folk, there was even a saying: "Seven steps uphill, eight downhill, nine down to the ground." Those poisoned could walk at most seven steps going uphill, eight steps downhill, and nine steps on flat ground before losing their lives!

The poison of the Upas tree was incurable. Xuanyuan Ran refused to believe Weishaolangyu would use it on herself!

Sensing Xuanyuan Ran’s doubt, Weishaolangyu spoke up, "I can detoxify this poison within a quarter of an hour. Believe it or not, as you wish!"

The venom of the Upas tree, the moment it made contact with a wound, would paralyze the victim's heart, seal their blood vessels, congeal their blood, and cause death by asphyxiation, claiming the victim's life within a quarter of an hour to half an hour!

Weishaolangyu knew very well that at this moment she should remain completely motionless and not say another word, but she had no choice: "Bring me Lu Yanran and the guiding parasite capable of curing the cold gu..."

"Or else the Princess of War shall be decapitated, the Grand Preceptor of Liyue will have murdered the Heavenly Maiden, and Prince of War Feng Jinye will trample Yue Capital to the ground!"

"Choose!"

Huangfu Chen looked at Weishaolangyu with horrified eyes. He knew all about the Upas tree; back then, when Feng Jinye dealt with the Poison Palace of the Xiyan Kingdom, it was he who had suggested using the Upas tree...

"Call the imperial physicians!" Xuanyuan Ran clearly did not believe Weishaolangyu.

She longed for Weishaolangyu to die, yet she could not afford to let Weishaolangyu die!

Feng Jinye was not someone to be underestimated; keeping Weishaolangyu alive could be used to keep Feng Jinye in check, not to mention that Weishaolangyu was the Heavenly Maiden she was determined to possess!

There were imperial physicians among the accompanying convoy. Today, being on guard against Feng Jinye, she had not only brought Xingyuan, but had also brought Lu Yanran and the guiding parasite to ensure absolute safety...

She had never expected to be humiliated and threatened by a mere young girl like Weishaolangyu...

Sitting inside the carriage escorting the Heavenly Maiden's entourage, Lu Yanran listened to every word and action of Weishaolangyu with profound shock. Weishaolangyu truly was an unadulterated madwoman...

The imperial physician hurriedly finished taking Weishaolangyu’s pulse and reported to Xuanyuan Ran, "Grand Preceptor, the Heavenly Maiden's blood is gradually congealing. She will surely perish before a quarter of an hour passes!"

Hearing the imperial physician’s report, Xuanyuan Ran let out a cold huff, suppressed her rage, and swung her right hand holding Xingyuan. The sword Qi cleaved one of the carriages in the convoy in half...

Sitting inside the carriage, a surge of sword Qi broke through the pressure points that had previously sealed Lu Yanran’s meridians, and then Xuanyuan Ran’s icy, vicious voice rang out: "Get over here!"

Lu Yanran instantly looked toward Weishaolangyu’s direction not far away. Huangfu Chen and Yun Ming, on guard against Xuanyuan Ran, shielded Weishaolangyu behind them...

Yet if Xuanyuan Ran truly decided to strike, none of them would be able to block her...

Weishaolangyu also looked at Lu Yanran, seeing her hurry over, presumably worried that she wouldn't have time to be cured.

Weishaolangyu felt serene within her heart. Lu Yanran was the true Heavenly Maiden Xuanyuan Ran actually wanted; the day the truth came to light, Xuanyuan Ran would surely vomit blood and die of fury!

An instant later, a pang of sour sorrow welled up in Weishaolangyu’s heart—Lu Yanran was the actual daughter of her father, Weishao Zhantian...

Only a moment passed before Lu Yanran reached Huangfu Chen, glanced at Weishaolangyu, and drew the guiding parasite that Huangfu Chen had given her before his departure from her sleeve...

Huangfu Chen opened it to inspect it. It was indeed the bottle he had left for Lu Yanran; he had marked both the bottle mouth and body so there was no mistake. Huangfu Chen nodded toward Weishaolangyu...

Seeing Huangfu Chen nod, Weishaolangyu knew the initial plan had succeeded. The next step depended entirely on Huangfu Chen!

Weishaolangyu immediately signaled Yun Ming to find a bottle of herbal juice from the jars and vials inside the carriage’s medical chest.

Weishaolangyu tilted her head back and drank it down in one gulp, then smashed the bottle to pieces...

All things in nature mutually generate and restrain one another; the red-backed bamboo-pole grass grew right near the Upas tree and was the sole antidote to the poison...

This high-stakes gamble was truly a wager on Weishaolangyu’s own life!

Weishaolangyu looked toward Huangfu Chen. During their discussions in the main courtyard of Prince Yuan's estate two days earlier, all of them had figured that Xuanyuan Ran would certainly not let Yun Ming go easily, after all, failing to save Yun Ming would make things miserable for Feng Jinye!

As they discussed countermeasures, neither Feng Jinye nor Huangfu Chen could figure out how to force Xuanyuan Ran to hand over the guiding parasite and Feng Qingxuan...

Yet Weishaolangyu had declared she had a way. Feng Jinye and Huangfu Chen had naturally guessed that Weishaolangyu intended to use her own life to coerce Xuanyuan Ran, and both had repeatedly tried to stop her...

"I trust you, so please trust me!" With those words from Weishaolangyu, both Feng Jinye and Huangfu Chen had fallen silent...

Huangfu Chen recalled how solemnly Weishaolangyu had once stated: "We have an agreement, neither of us is allowed to die!"

Having swallowed the detoxifying red-backed bamboo-pole grass juice, Weishaolangyu raised her eyes to see Huangfu Chen gazing at her. Seeing right through what Huangfu Chen was thinking, she resolutely repeated, "Neither of us is allowed to die!"

Huangfu Chen smiled with enchanting wickedness: "Since we are predestined soulmates, naturally we won't die!"

Huangfu Chen’s voice was not low; he deliberately emphasized the four words "predestined soulmates." Although Xuanyuan Ran outwardly refused to believe what Huangfu Chen had previously claimed—that the wielders of Cangyuan and Xingyuan were the twin souls of Xuanyuan—deep down in her heart, suspicion had clearly taken root long ago...

Huangfu Chen’s words undoubtedly struck hard at the very core of Xuanyuan Ran’s heart once again...

With this single sentence, Huangfu Chen used a double entendre. One layer of meaning aligned with what Xuanyuan Ran believed—that Huangfu Xi and Huangfu Chen were the Xuanyuan twins, hence Huangfu Chen and Weishaolangyu would not die...

The other layer implied that Feng Jinye, who wielded Cangyuan, was one of the twins, thereby hinting that Feng Jinye and Weishaolangyu would not die either!

Consumed by intense hatred, Xuanyuan Ran bit her teeth and said coldly, "So what if you obtained the guiding parasite?"

Hearing this, Yun Ming cast a furious glare at Xuanyuan Ran. Perhaps the others hadn't paid much attention, but he had remained constantly by Weishaolangyu's side and had clearly and distinctly heard Weishaolangyu address Xuanyuan Ran as "Grand Dowager," a title Xuanyuan Ran had not denied...

His own beloved aunt had undoubtedly been murdered by Xuanyuan Ran...

Raging with fury, Yun Ming refrained from interrupting Weishaolangyu and Huangfu Chen’s plan. A habitual tacit understanding led him to believe that Feng Jinye must be taking action at this very moment!

The Feng Jinye whom Yun Ming knew was by no means someone who would allow himself to be cornered without offering the slightest counterattack!

Both Weishaolangyu and Huangfu Chen caught the subtext in Xuanyuan Ran’s words. Even if they secured the guiding parasite and cured Yun Ming’s gu poison, taking their lives would still be a breeze for Xuanyuan Ran!

The Upas poison within Weishaolangyu’s body was slowly receding, but she had yet to fully recover her strength. Xuanyuan Ran’s gaze remained locked onto Weishaolangyu, staying on guard in case she attempted any further tricks!

The standoff froze the atmosphere into absolute stillness.

Weishaolangyu knew that given Xuanyuan Ran’s petty and suspicious nature, ensuring Yun Ming and Lu Yanran could leave safely today would likely require a desperate struggle unto death!

Just as Weishaolangyu was deep in thought, she heard Huangfu Chen speak in a stern, resolute voice: "Weishaolangyu cures Yun Ming, Lu Yanran takes Yun Ming away—do we gamble, or do we not?"

It was another casual remark, yet Weishaolangyu couldn't quite fathom what Huangfu Chen and Xuanyuan Ran meant by "do we gamble, or do we not"...

Yet Huangfu Chen’s words sent a tremor of apprehension through Weishaolangyu’s heart...

Xuanyuan Ran’s ice-cold gaze swept over Huangfu Chen, her eyes missing nothing, noticing how Huangfu Chen’s words had caused a flicker of panic in Weishaolangyu...

Then she let out a cold laugh and accepted, "Very well."