From the Qin Dynasty onwards, he eked out a living among the heavens.

Chapter Twenty-One: The Storm

A moment of silence fell over the main hall as Nongyu's fingertips unconsciously plucked the strings of her zither. The music was sometimes clear and bright, sometimes soothing, like the calm before a storm.

When Zi Nu walked out of the side hall, her expression had returned to its usual calm and composed state, but the faint blue marks under her eyes were still there.

Han Fei pushed the map of Xinzheng Market in front of him toward the center of the table, pointing his finger at the location of the palace. "Something happened in the palace this morning."

Zi Nu paused slightly in her hand holding the teacup. Nong Yu's zither music stopped. Xu Huang looked up and glanced at her.

"This morning during the morning court session, Yan Lingji stormed into the main hall. In front of King Han and all the officials, she said to Ji Wuye, 'General, it's time to settle the old scores with Baiyue.' Before leaving, she also said, 'Tianze has prepared a grand gift for everyone present at the Crown Prince's residence.'"

Han Fei's tone was calm, but the knuckles of his fingers holding the teacup were slightly white. "My father immediately ordered the guards to check on the Crown Prince's residence. The guards couldn't even get through the gate. The residence was filled with poisonous fog, and everyone who tried to break in fell unconscious upon approaching."

"My father immediately issued an edict, ordering the Ministry of Justice to rescue the Crown Prince within three days. My fourth brother, Han Yu, recommended me in court, saying that I was a young talent and that the position of Minister of Justice was rightfully mine, and that no one was more suitable than me to rescue the Crown Prince."

Han Fei put down his teacup. "Han Yu is pushing me out. He didn't mention a word about Ji Wuye's dereliction of duty, only about me. If we save him, he gets half the credit; if we fail, he blames me for everything."

"Are you planning to accept it?" Xu Huang leaned back in his chair, his gaze shifting from the old locust tree outside the window.

"Receive it, not for Han Yu, but for the Crown Prince." Han Fei straightened his cuffs.

Just then, light footsteps sounded outside the hall. A young man stepped across the threshold; he was tall and slender, with delicate features and a composed, scholarly air about him—it was Zhang Liang. He bowed to Han Fei, his gaze sweeping across the hall before pausing slightly when it landed on Xu Huang.

"This must be Brother Xu?" Zhang Liang smiled and sat down next to Han Fei. "Every time the Ninth Prince mentions you, he says you are unfathomable. After meeting you today, I can see through you indeed."

Han Fei smiled and introduced the two men: "This is Zhang Liang, grandson of Zhang Kaidi, my most capable strategist. This is Xu Huang, whom I've mentioned to you before."

Xu Huang nodded to Zhang Liang, a perfectly timed look of realization on his face: "I've heard so much about you."

Zhang Liang smiled slightly, not caring whether he was genuinely impressed or just being polite.

Han Fei tucked the map into his sleeve, stood up, and said, "Everyone's here, let's go."

Han Fei, Wei Zhuang, Xu Huang, and Zhang Liang left Zilan Pavilion, crossed the South Street of the city, and slowed down when they were still one street away from the Crown Prince's residence.

The torches surrounding the Crown Prince's residence formed a continuous line, their light reflecting off the iron armor of the guards, whose breastplates bore the emblem of the Han royal family.

"The Royal Guards," Zhang Liang said in a low voice, "the Royal Guards only obey the King's orders. Tianze has set up such a large formation at the Crown Prince's residence not to wait for Ji Wuye, but to draw everyone's attention here. The fact that the Royal Guards have surrounded the residence means that the palace is already empty."

Han Fei stopped and looked in the direction he was pointing. The royal insignia of the Han dynasty was clearly visible on the breastplates of the imperial guards in the firelight, and his pupils contracted slightly. "A diversionary tactic. Tianze has drawn the imperial guards to the Crown Prince's residence, leaving the Cold Palace unguarded—that's where he was imprisoned. Rescue the people at the Crown Prince's residence first; we'll deal with the Cold Palace later."

The four men circled around to the alleyway directly opposite the East Gate and hid in the shadows to observe. In front of the East Gate tower stood a giant man over nine feet tall, with bluish-gray skin, muscles that were bulging like the roots of an old tree, and his bald head covered with Baiyue shamanistic patterns.

The west gate was shrouded in a thick, almost solidified, toxic fog, and a pungent, fishy smell wafted from afar.

Beneath the old locust tree at the south gate, a barefoot woman leaned against the trunk, eerie blue flames flickering and dancing around her fingertips. The north gate was deserted, but deep within the main hall directly opposite, a tall, slender figure sat indistinctly.

"When besieging an enemy, leave a gap." Zhang Liang spoke very quickly. "Defend three sides strictly, but leave the north gate unguarded, forcing them to take the route he has chosen. The north gate leads directly to the main hall, and both sides are ambushes by the corpse-driving demons."

"Then I'll deliberately avoid the North Gate." Wei Zhuang's cold gaze fell on the massive figure at the East Gate. He slung his Shark Tooth Sword over his shoulder and walked straight towards the East Gate. "The East Gate is mine."

Han Fei solemnly cupped his hands in greeting: "Brother Wei Zhuang, I beg you."

Wei Zhuang didn't turn around, but just let out a very soft hum from his nose.

"The South Gate is mine." Han Fei straightened his cuffs and walked towards the South Gate.

Xu Huang stood up from the alley entrance and walked towards the west gate. His steps were slow, but each step was steady.

Last time, in the desolate village in the western suburbs, the King of Poisons sealed off the entire village with poisonous mist, and seventeen people died silently in their sleep. Han Fei said that there was a faint sound of scales rubbing against the ground in the side hall, and snake sloughs were scattered on the ground. Those were king snakes. Only by incorporating the venom of the snake king into the poison array could that effect be achieved.

This was exactly what he had been searching for. His ancient snake-medicine method could nourish the snake's body and harmonize its blood, largely retaining the medicinal effects within the snake's body. However, some toxicity always remained. He had never found the most suitable method to allow the king snake to condense its inner core during the tempering process of a hundred poisons. The Baiyue witchcraft of the Hundred Poison King lineage could perfectly fill this gap in the puzzle. Han Fei had come today to save people; that was his reason.

West Gate. The poisonous fog at the entrance of the side hall was so thick it was almost tangible, and the air was filled with a pungent, sweet-smelling odor. Xu Huang didn't stop, stepping straight into the poisonous fog. The poison was repelled by an invisible aura three feet around him, without even touching the hem of his clothes.

Three black-scaled king snakes shot out from the shadows, abruptly stopped in mid-air, fell, and curled up as they retreated. They sensed the aura in his blood that instilled instinctive fear in all poisonous insects.

That was the precious snake blood he had taken in the world of Condor Heroes years ago. Over the years, it had long been integrated into his bloodline, making snakes more terrified than any snake repellent.

In the deepest part of the side hall, the King of a Hundred Poisons sat cross-legged in the center of the poison array, his body covered with a dense mass of poisonous insects and snake molts.

He saw Xu Huang walk in through the poisonous fog, and saw the king snake he had raised for many years cowering in the corner as if it had seen its natural enemy. For the first time, fear appeared on his face, which was covered in paint.

"You, your scent~"

Xu Huang didn't give him a chance to finish speaking. He flashed to the side of the Hundred Poison King and struck him on the back of the neck. The Hundred Poison King didn't even have time to utter a sound before his body went limp to the ground. Xu Huang picked up the unconscious Hundred Poison King, and with a slight thought, his divine soul connected with the Mountain and River Map. In a flash of light, the Hundred Poison King was thrown into the Snake Valley within the map.

Deep within Snake Valley, crisscrossing streams and icy pools stretched out, their cliffs covered in slippery moss. Hundreds of Pusi snakes coiled among the rocky caves and herb thickets. Sensing the unfamiliar presence, they raised their heads, their tongues flicking and hissing. But they quickly sensed the familiar aura emanating from the newcomer and retreated back into their folds.

Xu Huang tossed the Hundred Poison King onto a flat rock, raised his hand to hold the top of his head, and as his fingertips touched the paint-covered forehead, a wisp of extremely fine internal energy seeped into the Baihui acupoint. "Nine Yin Soul-Capturing Technique," this technique was something he had obtained from a fragment of the Nine Yin Manual in the world of The Condor Heroes. It couldn't directly harm the enemy; its only use was to infuse the opponent's mind with extremely Yin internal energy, causing them to lose their self-awareness for a short period and become completely unaware of everything they knew.

The King of Poisons suddenly opened his eyes, his pupils dilated, his lips moving as he uttered indistinct syllables. Xu Huang asked a question, and he answered it. The recipe for the Poison Scripture, the incantation for the secret method of controlling snakes, and the complete method for making the Snake King condense its inner core during the tempering of a hundred poisons—each sentence fell into Xu Huang's ears.

After an incense stick's time, Xu Huang withdrew his hand, and the Hundred Poison King fell into a coma again. With this tempering method, combined with the ancient snake-cultivation technique he obtained from Liang Ziweng and his own improved cultivation methods, not only was the Snake King's inner core within reach, but the entire snake-cultivation system of Snake Valley could also advance to the next level. He moved the live king snake curled up in the corner of the side hall to another valley, then turned and left the Mountain and River Map.

When he returned to Zilan Pavilion, it was nearly dusk. Nongyu was sitting at the zither table when she saw him push open the door and pause her fingers on the strings. She got up and walked to him, her gaze sweeping from his shoulder to his hands. There were no injuries, and even the hem of his clothes had only a few wisps of pale gray mist left by Ximen's poisonous fog, which were being blown away by the evening breeze.

"Is the matter settled?" Nongyu asked.

"Mm," Xu Huang replied.

Nongyu continued, "Tianze was not found in the Crown Prince's residence. Based on the movement of the Imperial Guards in the palace, Young Master Han Fei guessed that Tianze had gone to the palace and was currently leading Sister Zinu to the ruins of a cold palace on the outskirts of the Han Palace. That place is the weakest point in the entire palace and is also the only way from the Crown Prince's residence to the palace."

Xu Huang nodded slightly to indicate that he understood, but his mind was recalling the plots he had seen in his first life.

Nongyu turned around and took out a pottery pot and two wine cups from under the table. She poured one cup and pushed it in front of him, then poured half a cup for herself and sat down beside him.

Xu Huang picked up his wine cup and took a sip. Nongyu also picked up her own cup, gently touched the rim of his cup, and took a small sip.

The setting sun cast long shadows from the old locust tree outside the window. The two sat quietly for a while, neither of them speaking.