Chapter One Hundred and Four: Poisoning

“It’s you!” Flora’s gaze darkened as she looked at Windchaser.

“Tsk, tsk. I’ve lived this long and never once seen a woman as stubborn as you, one who refuses all advice and insists on her own way.” Windchaser gave her a lazy once-over, his eyes glinting with amusement.

“...”

Flora fixed him with a wary stare.

“Come on, follow me. If you keep wandering like this, you’ll only keep going in circles. You won’t get out.”

Flora said nothing. Windchaser was right. She could not find her way out, or else she would not have been stumbling around here and wasting so much time.

But if she followed him and fell into his hands, if he meant to deal with her, it would be effortless. In a place where she knew nothing of the enemy’s strength, caution was still best.

Her life could not simply be placed in the hands of someone she had only met a few times.

“All right. Since that’s the case, I’ll go with you.”

Windchaser smiled. “That’s more like it. A sensible woman.”

“You’re Windchaser, yes?”

“Mm?”

Taken aback by her question, Windchaser paused, then smiled and nodded. “Yes. Windchaser.”

“Who exactly are you? Why did you appear here, and why are you so familiar with this place? And why are you helping me?” Flora asked coldly.

In the treacherous imperial palace, she had long since learned this truth: no one acted without gain. Along the way he had shown no malice, which only meant he hid it too well.

Anyone who stayed close to him was surely scheming something.

“Heh.” Windchaser laughed. “Woman, you’re far too guarded. As you already saw, I’m nothing more than another unlucky soul who fell into Ghostwood Forest, same as you. What dark intentions could I possibly have?”

He paused, his eyes narrowing.

“If I really had one, it would only be to give the little beauty a home.”

“You!”

Flora flushed with anger and shame. This man had no shame at all.

Windchaser found her reaction thoroughly entertaining. This woman was far too easy to tease, and that only made her more interesting.

“Fine, fine, I won’t tease you anymore. With your little frame, flat in front and flat in back, who would even fancy you?” He deliberately let his gaze sweep over her from head to toe, his meaning unmistakable.

“You! Who are you calling flat?” She usually spent her days in the palace sparring with those women in wit and nerve; she never expected to meet someone this infuriating out here. Truly...

Heaven had never spared her. If the Lord of Fate were listening, could he please take a look at her? Her lot was miserable enough already. Why did everyone have to bully her?

“Hah.” Windchaser looked at her and gave a low chuckle.

Then his pupils suddenly contracted, and he yanked Flora sharply into his arms.

“Windchaser, what are you doing?”

The sudden turn of events caught Flora completely off guard. She did not even know what madness had seized him.

Only the next moment did the man draw in a sharp breath.

Then a long bamboo viper was flung far away.

Flora could not even imagine it. If Windchaser had not acted, that snake would very likely have bitten her. At the thought, she could not help shivering violently.

“Windchaser?”

Flora looked up. His face had gone very ugly.

“Woman, look at me. Isn’t my heroic rescue of the fair maiden pretty impressive?”

Flora was at a loss. At a time like this, he still had the heart to joke.

“You were bitten,” she said with certainty.

Windchaser fell silent. His expression had already given him away.

Flora took hold of his arm. The wound left by the snake’s bite was right before her eyes.

Her expression tightened. This snake was no ordinary beast. It was a venomous bamboo viper.

If the poison was not drawn out, it would spread through his body in less than two hours. By then, even if the heavens themselves came down, no one could save him.

At once, Flora bent without hesitation, intending to suck out the venom.

Though she had been suspicious before, this was now a matter of life and death. There was no time left for hesitation.

Her lips touched his arm, carrying a trace of a maiden’s warmth, light as a feather as they brushed his skin, and then, as if they had fallen upon his heart.

Windchaser stared at Flora, his eyes deep and unreadable.

“Is it better now?” Flora wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and asked.

Windchaser turned his face away, looking distinctly unnatural.

“It’s a little better. Woman, don’t think that just because you saved my life, I’ll repay you with my body. You? I’m not interested.”

“But...” He paused, and in the process, one of his ears turned half red. “I’ll remember this favor.”

“Windchaser, can you stop being so full of yourself? You don’t fancy me, and I don’t fancy you either.”

“...”

Windchaser said nothing.

...

“Green Willow, are you going to speak or not?” In a residence on the outskirts of the capital, a man in white wore a grim expression as he questioned Green Willow.

“Replying to Your Lordship, this servant truly does not know!” Green Willow said that, but her eyes kept drifting away to the side.

Could he have found out something? No, impossible. I handled everything flawlessly. Even if he did uncover it, that bitch Flora is probably already dead by now. He can’t do anything to me.

Green Willow, do not be afraid. As long as you endure this, you win.

“I’ll ask you one last time. I’ll give you one final chance. If you still refuse to tell the truth this time, I...” The white-robed noble’s eyes turned colder. “I will not spare you.”

“Even if you do not care for your own life, what about your family?”

Green Willow’s heart lurched. She looked up abruptly.

The young master’s face was icy. “What, have you decided to speak? The Ministry of Justice should have more than enough ways to make someone wish they were dead without actually killing them.”

“Would you like to try?”

His face was as cold as frost as he stared at Green Willow.

She could not help trembling.

In ordinary moments, the young master was too gentle and jade-like; she had forgotten that in truth he was a bloodthirsty man, cruel to the bone.

Green Willow clutched her skirt with both hands, her knees on the floor already damp with sweat.

“And you should know this very well: if I want to find out something, do you really think there is anything that can be hidden from me?”

At that instant, her last line of defense collapsed completely.

She slammed her head into the ground again and again. Blood and tears smeared across her face.

“Your Lordship, this servant was wrong! I know I was wrong! I should not have left Lady Flora alone in Ghostwood Forest. I should not have disobeyed your orders. This servant was wrong! I beg Your Lordship, for the sake of this servant’s years of loyal service, spare my family. They are innocent...”

“What did you say? Say that again!” The man in white crushed the teacup beside him in his hand, his voice suddenly ice-cold.

“Servant... servant...”

“You said you left her there all alone in Ghostwood Forest?”

“Yes... but I was only momentarily bewitched and lost my mind. That is why I did it. Please, Your Lordship, forgive this servant.”

Green Willow kept kowtowing madly, but it did nothing to quell Nightdust’s fury.

“Hah. Bewitched and lost your mind.”

At that moment, he seemed less like a man and more like an envoy from hell, his entire body radiating a bone-deep chill.

“I do not care whether someone ordered you to do it or whether it was your own idea. Since you harmed her, you will pay the price.”

He forced a pill into Green Willow’s mouth.

“Take her away.”

“That is a Heart-Devouring Pill. It will not kill you, but it will make your life worse than death. Every day your heart will twist with unbearable pain. As for your family, I will not spare a single one.”

His white robes swept behind him as he strode away, his brows tightly knit.

Watching the maple leaves drift down one after another, he felt for the first time such panic.

Flora, wait for me.