Chương 50: A Sudden Twist
Zhao Xing stood at the other side of the room, when she called out his name. She walked up to him with a smile.
"This…" The old man was surprised when he saw the lady before him. His eyes narrowed as he observed her.
"Ha!" He let out a laugh when he had finished doing so. "Indeed, enemies meet on a narrow path."
Zhao Xing was puzzled by his words. But then it suddenly dawned on her that he might have recognized her. "You know who I am?"
"Isn't it Xiao Qi's little sister." He said a matter-of-factly.
Zhao Xing scratch her nose, in embarrassment as she had been found out. She shrugged, and turned to the man hidden in the shadows. "Brother Mo, he recognized us, no need to hide."
Hearing this, Brother Mo really came out, and stood by her. He took a look at her and nodded, "You should have indeed asked Xiao Qi to help with the disguise."
Zhao Xing got annoyed and wanted to kick him. 'Is it now that you're saying this?'
She turned to the old man that sat on the chair that folded his arms stubbornly.
"Old Man Su ah, don't take it personally, we really only need your help."
"No, you tell me where Xi Xi is first." He had thought he was fortunate to have sent his granddaughter away first now he doesn't know anymore. "You three took my grandchild with you when you were going, how come you're here instead? And where is that Xiao Qi!"
Zhao Xing saw that the old man was irritated, and calmed down. She took a seat not far from him, Brother Mo went and stood beside her. The old Man's eyes vigilantly watched their every move.
"It was my plan, Xiao Qi doesn't know about it." She lied.
Old Man Su's brow creased. "What nonsense? How can she not know?"
Zhao Xing nodded. "I'm above her in ranks, and so she can only listen to my orders and do nothing else. What I want to do, I will do it, I don't need her consent, nor do I need her to know."
Old Man Su heard this and was shocked. He knew Xiao Qi for some time now. Those in the martial arts world knew her to be an unparalleled genius that rose up from the dust. She was a hero. And he often boasted about how he knew her to people.
He liked to engage her in discussions, they did business together as well for some time. He remembered the first time he had seen her, that day his carriage was attacked by bandits, and she happened to be passing by. He could have taken care of them on his own, but she had come and helped him, and he had been grateful. He had long married his daughter off to a merchant she had fallen in love with. He was happy for his little Meng Meng, but he no longer had a daughter around to accompany him like before. It used to be just him and his daughter that travelled around, and now it was just him. But after getting to know Xiao Qi, he grew attached to her real quick. Though she didn't talk much, and even if she did it wasn't anything the ears wanted to hear, but she would always pay him a visit, send him gifts and listen to his endless rambling. The day he learnt that Meng Meng had passed away, he was devastated. She was the first one he told. He could see that even though she wasn't experienced in consoling people it was obvious from her behaviour that she was sad on his behalf. After that day she visited him even more. Sometimes even spending up to a week at his inn. She even claimed a room and said no one was to touch it nor anything inside it.
It became a joy to see her every now and then.
But it seemed she became busier and her visits reduced significantly. It was during this period that he went to bring his granddaughter from her distant relatives.
He couldn't believe that one day he would make such discovery, that the haughty Xiao Qi he knew actually worked for people.
"Who exactly are you people?"
"We work for the empire's Crown Prince." Zhao Xing responded. Her expression turned serious.
"The Crown Prince?" How on earth did he catch the Crown Prince's attention?
Zhao Xing nodded. "We need you to look into a poison called 'Icy Heart'. If you could do this for us we'll be very glad."
It took some time for the old man to process what was going on, and after being silent for a while, he responded resolutely. "Sorry, I have already promised myself not to go back to being a poison master."
Zhao Xing had already expected this response. If it had been so easy to convince him even after mentioning the name of the person that sent them, then they wouldn't have to go through all this trouble.
"Old Man Su ah, you might have already guessed it, right? Xi Xi is in our hands, and if Old Man Su still insists on being stubborn, I'm afraid you won't be seeing her again." Zhao Xing said with an expressionless face. But her hands under the sleeves were clenched hard, as she tried to stay alert. The pain from earlier that evening had resurfaced, but at this moment she couldn't show that she was hurting.
When the old man heard what she said, his anger rose. But he laughed in spite of it. "Well I'm thankful I was prepared for this."
Zhao Xing eyebrows creased in confusion.
The old man stared straight into her eyes. "Could it be that you can't tell you've been poisoned?"
The revelation stunned Zhao Xing. She had been poisoned? When? How?
The old man scoffed. "Since the time your people have been pestering me, I have become more vigilant. The day you came, of course I wasn't suspicious because I trusted Xiao Qi. But the days you took Xi Xi out even when Xiao Qi was obviously against it, I thought it would be safer if I were to poison you just in case. If nothing strange happened throughout your stay, then I would find a way to hand over the antidote. Who would have known…?"
By the time he had finished speaking Zhao Xing was pale as a white sheet of paper. One couldn't tell whether it was the pain or the fear she felt.
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