Tang Dynasty Bandits

Chapter 175 Temptation
Upon entering her body with the deadly poison, Kao Yu-ti found her vision rapidly blurring.

The numbness spread rapidly along Youdi's veins, and her body trembled involuntarily, like a leaf drifting in the wind.

Yu Di's nostrils flared, her breathing became rapid, and her chest tightness and shortness of breath caused her face to turn pale quickly.

The fact that the toxicity took effect so quickly can only mean one thing.

The poison that Lan Suting was given was not the same as the poison that You Di was given!
Yu Di breathed heavily, her tone finally losing its usual gentleness: "Little girl, what tricks did you use..."

Lan Suting did not answer, but her eyes suddenly brightened as she looked at Zhu Wen and Tian Jun.

Because Youdi was holding Lan Suting hostage from behind, it was not easy for him to notice Lan Suting's gaze from his position.

Zhu Wen and Tian Jun made their decision in the blink of an eye.

Only decisive action can increase the chances of successfully rescuing hostages.

With swords and spears drawn, Zhu Wen and Tian Jun became afterimages, as if shrinking the distance to an inch, instantly passing through the breach in the courtyard wall and closing in on You Di.

The paralysis and weakness caused by the poison made it difficult for You Di to activate his strange demonic movement techniques.

As luck would have it, the screen wall in the courtyard blocked Youdi's retreat.

The way she was holding Lan Suting hostage made it even more difficult for her to fight back.

In a split second, Youdi also made a judgment.

She could have used the short sword hidden in her left sleeve to slit Lan Suting's throat, but instead chose to use her last strength to throw Lan Suting's frail body away.

As Zhu Wen and Tian Jun knocked away You Di's right-hand soft sword and pressed their spears against You Di's neck, Lan Suting was caught by You Di's accomplices outside the courtyard.

Several swords and blades were aimed at Lan Suting's vital points from different directions.

“There’s no need for you all to be so wary of Su Ting, a girl with no special skills and bound hand and foot.” Lan Su Ting raised her head and met You Di’s subordinates’ gazes without backing down.

"As for the Flower King's problem, Su Ting can now provide an answer. The venom of the mountain wind snake is digested when ingested, but it is a deadly poison once it comes into contact with blood. As for what happened to me, it was just ordinary arsenic."

The mountain wind snake is known as the king of snakes because of its extremely potent venom.

The wax pill that Lan Suting bit into actually contained a mixture of poison from the mountain wind and arsenic, along with an auxiliary drug to accelerate the onset of the poison.

"Impressive, absolutely amazing!" Youdi gasped, his chest heaving, as he praised, "I truly underestimated you..."

Because of the venom of the mountain wind snake, a trace of saliva dripped from the corner of her lips as she spoke.

Although her disheveled appearance did not diminish her beauty, it gradually made her expression stiff, making it difficult for her to display her usual alluring charm.

"Untie me," Lan Suting ordered You Di's subordinates. "I'll detoxify myself and then prepare the antidote for the Flower King."

He then said to Zhu Wen, "General, you will exchange the Flower King for me, won't you?"

Zhu Wen held the blade to You Di's throat, signaling Tian Jun to tie You Di's hands behind her back: "Of course, you can kill this slut You Di whenever you want, but I only have one Zhi Zhen."

If Flower Queen Youdi hadn't thrown Lan Suting out in time, her throat would have been slit by Zhu Wen long ago.

Youdi's subordinates obediently followed Lan Suting's orders and untied her, as if they were Lan Suting's servants.

However, Lan Suting did not know martial arts, and even though she was surrounded by more than a dozen swords, she was not worried about where she could escape to.

Lan Suting calmly took out several packets of antidote from a hidden compartment in her clothes, mixed them together in a certain ratio, and drank them with water, thus curing her arsenic poisoning. She then handed the remaining powder to You Di's subordinate: "Take this and give it to the Flower King."

"The poison that Kao suffered from was not just arsenic..."

“I don’t know how to use poison, and the antidote was prepared by Sister Duan, so naturally it can cure both.” Lan Suting blinked and said seriously, “If it can’t cure me, then just kill me.”

If You Di were to die from poisoning, the hostages held by Zhu Wen and Tian Jun would become corpses, and You Di's subordinates would indeed no longer need to be a threat.

Only living hostages pose a threat; grasping this point can sometimes turn the tables. For example, during the Chu-Han Contention, when Liu Bang's father was captured by Xiang Yu, Liu Bang feigned indifference, saying, "We were sworn brothers; if you cook my father, please share a cup of soup with me." Xiang Yu became hesitant and dared not kill Liu Bang's father, who was later rescued.

After understanding this, a pretty maid under You Di reached out and took the antidote, then stepped into the courtyard: "Please, Lord Zhu Wen, give the antidote to the Flower King."

Zhu Wen took the antidote with his left hand, but then slapped You Di across the face, causing her to bleed from the mouth.

"Swallow your own blood," Zhu Wen said, pinching You Di's chin and force-feeding the antidote into You Di's mouth in an extremely rough manner, causing You Di to cough uncontrollably.

"This is what your master deserves. Don't harm a single hair on Zhizhen's head, or I'll slit your master's throat right now." Zhu Wen's eyes were cold, giving You Di's female subordinates a great deal of intimidation.

Knowing that Zhu Wen wouldn't abandon Lan Suting, the women still felt their statuses were unequal. Furthermore, intimidated by Zhu Wen's imposing presence, even though You Di was slapped hard by him, the other women dared not do anything to Lan Suting.

After taking the antidote, You Di's stiff expression finally faded. Even though her face was swollen, her eyes were still incredibly charming: "So, when does Zhu Lang plan to use me to exchange for little sister Zhi Zhen?"

Tian Jun's expression immediately changed: "You wicked woman, how dare you call me Zhu Lang?"

You Di chuckled sweetly, "Madam Tian, ​​there's no need to be so hostile towards others. We can leave each other some leeway. Who knows, maybe one day we can even become good sisters."

Once the poison was neutralized, even though she was still in the hands of Zhu Wen and Tian Jun, this woman quickly reverted to her witch-like nature.

"A woman with such a vicious heart like you is not worthy of my esteem, Tian Si Niang," Tian Jun spat on the ground and said sarcastically.

"That's not up to you," You Di said with a smile. "Even your Zhu Lang couldn't resist someone else's temptation, do you believe it?"

Before Tian Jun could speak, Zhu Wen slapped You Di on the other cheek: "You've tried to kill me time and time again, and you still expect me to look at you? You're so confident you've gone mad."

Tian Jun found Zhu Wen's slap extremely satisfying and clapped her hands, saying, "Well done!"

You Di was beaten by Zhu Wen again, spitting out a mouthful of blood. Both cheeks were swollen, but she still looked up at Zhu Wen with her gentle and charming eyes: "Yes, she is a snake and a scorpion, which is disgusting. Besides, Zhu Wen has great ambitions, so how could he be easily tempted by beauty?"

"In this world, nothing is more real than power. But where does power come from? Mount Tai does not reject any soil, so it can become so great; rivers and seas do not discriminate against small streams, so they can become so deep."

"I want to kill Zhu Lang because you are not strong enough. If you were strong enough, I might not need any title or any false affection. I would not only give you my body as a plaything, but also let you use my wisdom to become the cornerstone of your hegemony."

As straightforward as Tian Jun was, she simply couldn't bear to listen to such blatant words. Raising an eyebrow, she angrily retorted, "You Di, how can there be such a shameless woman as you in this world!"

"Shameless?" You Di scoffed. "Aren't the morals and sense of shame in this world all defined by people? I was just stating a possibility. Why is Madam Tian so angry?"

He then said to Zhu Wen, “You raised an army with the ambition of conquering the world. However, the Salt Commander has no heir yet. Has Liang Yulang ever considered that you might be able to succeed the Salt Commander and even ascend to the supreme dragon throne?”

Zhu Wen's eyes finally twitched slightly.

You Di actually said such things in public.

Considering Zhu Wen's feelings for Huang Chao, she did not encourage Zhu Wen to betray Huang Chao, but instead focused on the fact that Huang Chao had no children.

Zhu Wen knew perfectly well that You Di wasn't sincere and was just stirring up trouble.

But this was the first time someone had so accurately captured the subtle ambition hidden deep within his heart.

A true man should live a life of luxury, but die a life of lavish feasts. Is the position of military governor truly the pinnacle of his dreams?
The glittering golden throne of the emperor is sure to evoke many thoughts.

"Look at you, your Zhu Lang couldn't resist the temptation!" You Di laughed triumphantly at Tian Jun, blood smearing at the corner of his mouth. "Beauty, money, power, they're all just means to seduce people. Since you have desires, what right do you have to mock others for being unscrupulous and heartless?"

Zhu Wen's eyes turned cold: "You also use such words to seduce others? Why should I believe you, you venomous snake?"

You Di laughed so hard she almost fell over: "When did I ever gain Zhu Lang's trust? Don't you understand the principle of using someone you doubt? Besides, men all crave to conquer strong women. If you have the means to make someone obedient and at your beck and call, wouldn't that give you an even greater sense of accomplishment?"

This witch, despite spouting fallacies, has her own set of self-justifying theories.

She certainly didn't seduce Zhu Wen; she merely used the hypothetical scenario of power to demonstrate to Zhu Wen the possibility of his desires spiraling out of control.

Zhu Wen could resist the temptation of her beauty, but for a moment, he was indeed moved by the assumptions she presented.

(End of this chapter)