FOR A LONG TIME, Cui Buqu said nothing.
He'd hurried all the way here, and his breathing was still ragged. He stood half-hidden in the shadows, his chest on fire, his blood roiling as if it might surge up his throat and out his mouth at any moment.
He thought he'd been careful to hide it, but he couldn't fool Feng Xiao's keen ears. Feng-er clicked his tongue. "Look at yourself! I was only away a moment and you've tormented yourself into this state. Give me your hand."
"Do you understand how serious your situation is…?" Cui Buqu's cold and furious words had barely left his lips when he was seized by another fit of coughing. The sound reverberated through the cold, dark cell like the haunting cries of a ghost.
A hand emerged from within the cell, gripping his wrist and pulling him closer. True qi flowed into his meridians, soothing the turmoil in his chest. The tightness in his throat and chest gradually eased. As his breathing stabilized, his nose caught the metallic stench of blood, faint but unmistakable in the chill air of the prison. Cui Buqu looked up. "You're injured?"
The candle on the wall cast a feeble glow, throwing flickering shadows that obscured Feng Xiao's figure and concealed any injuries hidden beneath his dark clothing.
Feng-er withdrew his hand and stood up under the dim light. Slowly he began to loosen his garments.
Considering the circumstances, Cui Buqu didn't think Feng Xiao was playing around. His expression grew harsher as he watched, until it was sharp as a freshly unsheathed blade, cold enough to freeze anyone unfortunate enough to get too close.
On Feng Xiao's chest, near his heart, was a bloody hole the size of a thumbprint.
Cui Buqu couldn't tell how deep it was, but the purplish-black blood crusted around the wound told him Feng Xiao had been poisoned—and with what. His heart sank. "Gu?"
"On my way to the Prince of Qin's residence, I met a man by the name of Tu'an Qinghe. His martial arts originated from beyond the borders. Unless I'm mistaken, he's a descendant or disciple of Hulugu, once the greatest martial artist of the Göktürks. Fo'er was hailed as the Göktürks' foremost martial artist, but he was far inferior to this Tu'an Qinghe. I never fought Hulugu, but Tu'an Qinghe's martial arts must be comparable to his. I imagine he planted the gu during our duel."
"I also never met Hulugu," said Cui Buqu. "How did this man's skills compare to Xiao Lü's?"
"Slightly superior," said Feng Xiao.
"If you were to fight him with everything you had, what are your odds of winning?"
"Around fifty-fifty."
Although Feng-er was often dismissive of others, his skills were undeniable. Scant few in the world could earn such a remark from him. Cui Buqu knew the various sects of the jianghu like the back of his hand, yet he had never heard of anyone named Tu'an Qinghe. Against that caliber of martial artist, Feng Xiao must have given his all. He wouldn't have anticipated that his opponent would use their battle to poison him with gu.
This gu poison had devastated Yandang Mountain Estate. Pei Jingzhe, too, had also almost fallen victim to it and was only saved by his companions' quick action. If the victim released their true qi before the gu was discovered, the worm would burrow much deeper than a shoulder. Chances of recovery were slim.
Cui Buqu took a step closer. The prison was too dim. He couldn't tell from the wound if the gu was still inside Feng Xiao. Could this be the reason Feng-er had gone berserk at the Prince of Qin's residence?
"The gu," he said. "Have you forced it out?"
Feng Xiao was silent for a moment. "While we were fighting, my focus was entirely on his martial arts. It wasn't until I was on my way to the Prince of Qin's residence that my hand began to itch, as if a living creature crawled beneath my skin. By then I had already used my true qi. The gu worm followed the flow of my blood from my hand to my chest. I've been circulating my qi for a while now, but it's only growing more active. I can feel that it's burrowed from my skin into my muscles. This wound is self-inflicted."
His tone was flat, yet it seemed to conceal an endless and indescribable agony.
So the gu was still inside. Cui Buqu frowned. His throat began to prickle again, but he lowered his head and swallowed his coughs. When he spoke, his voice was hoarser than ever. "Is there nothing else you can try?"
He couldn't imagine it: The proud Feng Xiao succumbing to the gu as it invaded his bones and meridians, becoming like the victims from Yandang Mountain Estate and the spy from the Zuoyue Bureau—driven to madness, slaughtering indiscriminately and harming themselves, then dying a miserable death. The brilliant phoenix with its wings clipped, plummeting from the heavens to be tainted by the dust and grime of the earth, reduced to a wretched mortal.
Feng Xiao merely sighed, but his silence spoke volumes.
Cui Buqu closed his eyes.
His mind was in turmoil. Never before had it been so hard to think. Yet he'd met with scenarios more chaotic and harrowing than this and managed to find a way out. He would this time too.
"I'll summon Qiao Xian back at once. She can help stabilize your injuries, and then we'll go find Fan Yun. When he left Liuli Palace, he took many valuable items with him. Whatever conditions he demands…" Cui Buqu paused. "I'll make sure he cures you."
Feng Xiao looked at him. His eyes blazed like fire in the darkness. "What about the Prince of Qin? And Xiao Lü? You're just going to leave them?"
"This case has already drawn a great deal of attention from the imperial court." Cui Buqu's tone was cool. "The Ministry of Justice will lead the investigation; the Zuoyue Bureau will merely assist. Great Sui is home to a wealth of talent; whether I'm here or not will make no difference."
Feng Xiao sighed. "Cui Buqu. You're willing to say all that nonsense, but you can't simply say 'nothing matters more than your safety'?"
"What difference does it make whether I say it or don't?"
"Of course it makes a difference. If you say it, I'll tell you something important."
Cui Buqu stared at him. "You lied to me?" His tone was suddenly icy. "You motherfucker. You did, didn't you? You weren't poisoned." Though he spoke quietly, it was obvious he was truly furious.
"I was poisoned. What, you think I'd poke holes in myself for fun? I simply discovered the gu in time. It took some effort, but I managed to force it out. I didn't lie to you," Feng Xiao said innocently.
"I'll give you seven minutes to explain the situation from start to finish," said Cui Buqu coldly.
How unfortunate, thought Feng Xiao. Just a little more and he'd have extracted a confession. Even if Feng Xiao had indirectly confirmed his feelings, it lacked a certain something. Still, if he provoked Cui Buqu into spitting up blood in anger now, it'd be him that ended up channeling him true qi.
"I didn't kill anyone," he said.
Feng Xiao had incredible willpower. Poisoned by the gu and further influenced by the fragrance and the music, he'd momentarily lost his senses and hallucinated—but only for a moment. When he regained consciousness, he found himself with a sword in his hand. The sword belonged to one of the crown prince's bodyguards, who was lying injured on the ground a short distance away.
"I examined the guard's wound before I was arrested. He'd been slashed across the back. But when I awoke, there were three or four people between us. One of them was the crown prince, but he was unharmed—why would I have spared him to kill the guard behind him instead?"