The name Naihe Xiang, once heard, elicited the feeling of bringing
out a thousand sufferings all at once. The aroma smelled like early
summer — bright and soothing; however, in truth, it was a drug used
to provoke a man into becoming irrational, a drug that messed with
the mind.
Its lethality was not enough to claim a person's life, but as the effects
took place when continually inhaled into the body, the victim would
be drowned within the haze and become addicted. A day without the
drug, their breath would be ragged, and their body would go weak,
their minds would start having hallucinations. Three days without the
Naihe Xiang drug, and they would feel knives in their bones. Five
days without the Naihe Xiang drug, it could be said that they were
due an appointment with the afterlife.
That was how the Naihe Xiang drug got its name.
Cui Buqu waited in that void of a place for five whole days.
The other chose an opportune moment. If he was incredibly tired,
bouncing between consciousness and unconsciousness, only then
would they send him food and water. When Cui Buqu regained his
consciousness, he reached out to feel his food and water beside
him.
He was merely given a little bit of food and water, just enough to
keep him alive. However, lack of food and water was not the worse form of torture, but the infinite quietness, not knowing whether it was
day or night.
After the darkness, there was more darkness and a void of eternal
silence.
Cui Buqu could only use four fingers and twelve finger joints to count
the hours; and make himself comfortable. He recited Daoist scripts,
from Confucianism to Daoism, then from Daoism to Buddism, to
expel all the dark thoughts from his head.
However, his sense of hearing gradually grew better. If rats
scampered around, or even if there was water leaking somewhere,
he could hear it as clear as day. However, he knew not what
methods Feng Xiao had used to make this manor feel as if it was
abandoned. If it hadn't been for constantly receiving meals, Cui Buqu
would have wondered if he had been forgotten.
An average person would not have been able to withstand torture
like this. Three to five days would be enough to drive one mad, let
alone half a month, and let alone the fact that Cui Buqu possessed a
weak body. Every time the season changed, he would fall ill. When
the third day came, it was apparent to him that he was starting to be
affected — his mind falling into a frenzy, his stomach hurt from
starvation, and his arms and legs were beginning to feel weak, his
body becoming cold. He knew that after this was over, he would fall
ill again. He stopped reciting Daoist scripts, solely using his mind to
keep himself sane.
At that moment, a sweet aroma drifted into the room.
It gave off the feeling that it was both present and not at the same
time. It smelled like the lotus garden when he visited the capital a
year back. Faint and sweet, clean and pure, fragrant like the lotus. After a while, the capital became crowded. The rich and wealthy
would decorate their homes to welcome important guests. They
loved keeping cooked lotus and white fungus in urns and storing
them for at least half a day to be taken out once the guests arrived.
First, the guests would sip something warm to allow it to sit in their
stomach, before drinking a bowl of cooked lotus and white fungus
soup. The warmness and flavour would spread from their throats to
their stomach, expelling all the heat energy from their body.
Such a manner of treating guests was something Cui Buqu had
gotten used to.
He blinked extensively.
His eyes adjusted from the darkness back to the lightning.
The fragrance was still there, but this time, it was not a hallucination.
Amidst the darkness, his eyebrows twitched; he gave a stiff laugh.
The Naihe Xiang drug.
Although this drug was poisonous and terrifying, it was also
challenging to find. It was difficult to believe that Feng Xiao would
use such a thing on him, what a waste.
Within this manor, he could not leave. He could not stop breathing
either. He could only imitate a drug addict, inhaling the scent.
If one possessed excellent martial art skills, perhaps they would
have manipulated their energy and suppressed their breathing for
some time, but in the case of Cui Buqu, the Naihe Xiang drug would
only escalate the process of breaking his body, making him plead for
death. It seemed that Feng Xiao did not have the intention to kill him. He
was only using the drug to get sincere answers from him. However,
this was like using a surgery knife to kill a cow.
Nonetheless, the members of the Jiejian Bureau would not have
guessed that he was used to this sort of scent. Truth be told, Cui
Buqu had managed to live past ten days without the drug. Even
though during that time, he was essentially half-dead, he still
managed to remain conscious and did not allow himself to succumb
to the enemy's favour. Even his tutor at that time, Fan Wei, was
shocked beyond words. His body was incompatible for training in
any form of martial arts, but he was determined in his heart.
Although he was incredibly smart, Fan Wei also knew that even
though Cui Buqu did not know martial arts, he was still capable of
being above the world.
Some people were not meant to live a regular life.
All the pain in the world, to him, was only honing his character for his
future.
When all the soil was removed, the only thing that was left would be
gold.
Cui Buqu continued to close his eyes.
The Linlang Guild's auction was still ongoing. He refused to believe
that Feng Xiao would be patient enough to wait for ten days before
he would hurry back.
…..
"So what of it?" Feng Xiao stared at Pei Jingzhe who had not uttered
a word since and felt a little impatient. Linlang Guild's auction had begun four days ago and would be going
on for six days. Tomorrow would be the final day, and during the first
few days, particularly rare medicine and exquisite materials would be
sold.
During these few days, everything was very crowded, and there
were many successful barters; many people filled their cargos as
they returned home. Yet, a lot of people also had their eyes on the
last auction. Even though they might not be able to afford the
treasures, they wanted to see them for themselves so that their trips
would not be in vain.
However, Feng Xiao was incredibly dissatisfied.
Because these few days; their plans were not going smoothly. Wen
Liang and his people were still in prison, so the Linlang Guild dared
not create any mischief. On the other hand, there were myriads of
crowds of people appearing every day before his doorstep; begging
for mercy. Feng Xiao refused them all. He made Pei Jingzhe check
on Cui Buqu frequently so he could attend the auction. The Qin
family did not show up, as if amongst the crowd, the Jade of
Heaven's Lake was utterly lost.
Feng Xiao knew that even if the jade reappeared; it would be on the
last day of the auction. On the contrary, as he thought and thought,
he felt as if he had missed something and felt unsettled.
Ever since he succeeded the Jiejian Bureau, everything he did had
gone well. He did not remember the last time he was met with such a
difficult situation. It was as if he was a chess piece being placed
where the player wanted, among the others. Initially simply watching,
he now felt as if he was lured into a mind game himself…
Feng Xiao was stunned for a moment as if he figured out something,
but then it was gone in an instant. Pei Jingzhe said, "Earlier, you had ordered me to give that person
five days' worth of the Naihe Xiang drug, I was afraid that he would
not be able to stand it, so I dared not use much. Presently, when I
went to take a look, he was already in a daze. I used a bucket of well
water to wake him up and made use of the interval to ask him some
questions, but he insisted that he had nothing to do with the Qin
family. So I think that Master Daoist Cui has to be innocent."
If this person was not innocent, then he had a heart of steel,
achieving a degree that even the Naihe Xiang drug could not do
anything to him.
But is this possible?
Let alone such a sickly and weak person, even if he was a master of
the fighting arts, Pei Jingzhe had also never seen any of them able
to withstand the power of the Naihe Xiang drug.
Feng Xiao asked, "Where is he now?"
Pei Jingzhe replied, "Sleeping in the East Wing."
Feng Xiao furrowed his eyebrows, "Has he been released?"
Pei Jingzhe laughed bitterly, "My dear Second Commander, do you
think that everyone is just like you, withstanding the Naihe Xiang
drug for so many days and still being able to stand up? He has a
fever, and let alone speaking, whether he can recover from his
current situation is still being discussed at length."
Feng Xiao snorted, "As long as he is still useful, make sure he
remains alive. Use any form of medicine."
Hearing this, Pei Jingzhe immediately thought Feng Xiao was going
to use another drug and quickly said, "The physician said that right
now, he cannot withstand any more forms of torture!" Feng Xiao did not counter this response.
He followed Pei Jingzhe to the East Wing and saw for himself the
sight of Cui Buqu sleeping on the bed. A few days ago, those two
cheeks that were distinctly pale; were now even paler. His fingers
stuck out from underneath the covers; looking vaguely green.
Feng Xiao stood next to the bed and looked at Cui Buqu for nearly
half a day. Cui Buqu felt that he was being watched, his eyebrows
rose as he slept uncomfortably.
Pei Jingzhe, "My Lord, are you planning to expel the poison from his
body? If not, he will never be alright."
Feng Xiao shook his head, touching his chin; his gaze never left Cui
Buqu, who looked as if he was fighting in his dream, and he found it
rather fascinating.
After a while, he said abruptly, "Do you think he might be a member
of the Zuoyue Bureau?"