Chapter 400: Poison Fiend in Action
The poison was colorless and odorless, making it very difficult to detect. Even someone with a bit of knowledge about plants and vegetation wouldn’t easily notice it. Only someone who had specifically studied the dao of poison would have the instincts necessary to detect it.
For example, Xu Qing. He noticed the poison instantly, and frowned imperceptibly. It was a type of poison he’d never seen before, and he couldn’t deduce the ingredients from the aroma alone. However, he could tell that the poison was contained in tiny globules, and that it was a complex mixture that wouldn’t do much on its own.
It needs to be combined with another poison to be effective.
Xu Qing’s expression was the same as ever, but inside, his guard was up. Though he didn’t fear poisons, and also had plenty of his own poisons on hand, he was a cautious person in general. Therefore, he flicked his finger casually to scatter some of his own poison around him. It was just a precaution. Just in case this poison had some unusual properties, Xu Qing needed to be ready. With that done, he focused on the teacher.
The other swordsages exchanged awkward glances in response to Ailing Ghost coughing up blood. However, Kong Xianglong sat up straight in his chair, a respectful look on his face. Being familiar with Ailing Ghost, he secretly circulated his energy and blood in a way that activated certain internal defenses.
There were a few others who reacted similarly, but not many.
Meanwhile, Ailing Ghost coughed over and over again. Looking very weak, he wiped the blood from his mouth.
“It’s nothing,” he said. “Years ago I was on an undercover mission in Holytide territory when my cover was blown. Those bastards left me with a recurring injury, but that’s all. It won’t kill me.
“Now, about that swordsage secret storage magic I mentioned. It has many uses. Later on, you’ll be going on missions, fighting battles, and participating in other activities that will require intelligence gathering and the transportation of important items.
“Whether you’re undercover in an enemy camp or killed in action, you need a way to make sure that whatever items you’re carrying don’t get discovered. This secret magic will enable you to create a small dimensional space that belongs solely to you.”
Though Ailing Ghost’s voice seemed weak, he spoke in such a way that everyone could hear him very clearly.
“The dimensional space will require a secret key to open. Every person’s secret key will be different and unique. You’ll be the one to decide what it is. By the way, remember to make a backup key. Don’t worry, in all of the Swordsage Palace, only the palace lord is qualified to know the details about each swordsage’s secret key. Others will only be given that information if it’s relevant to a particular mission.”
Xu Qing was intrigued by what he was hearing. This way of secretly storing items was different than anything he was used to.
Sitting in front of him was the Captain, whose eyes were shining. Only the palace lord will know my secret key? Hm. What if I make the key a catchphrase like ‘defend humankind!’ That might be a quick way to make a good impression!
As the Captain pondered such matters, Ailing Ghost continued speaking.
“The backup key is to be used in case you die in the line of duty. That way, other swordsages will have a way to open your dimensional space and access your final will and testament, as well as anything else you have stored there.”
The Captain blinked a few times. Having come to the conclusion his previous idea wasn’t a very good one, he cast it aside.
The general description was now done, so Ailing Ghost went on to explain the details of the technique. Though he didn’t permit anyone to ask questions, his explanation was extremely detailed. He meticulously went through every step. Throughout his lecture, he continued to occasionally cough up blood, and even sway back and forth in his chair. By the time the class was over, it was already late in the morning. Some of the new swordsages were already testing out the technique.
“You’re dismissed,” Ailing Ghost said. “You can go back and work on your cultivation now.” With that, he stood. However, he had apparently stood too quickly, as blood oozed out of the corners of his mouth. Wiping it off casually, he walked to the door. Just before he was about to leave, he suddenly turned and looked back at the class. He smiled.
“Oh, right. This class wasn’t just about teaching you that secret magic. I also wanted to teach you an object lesson. You need to learn quickly that, as swordsages, you always have to keep your guard up. Didn’t any of you notice that I’m not wearing a swordsage uniform? Have you noticed anyone walking around the Swordsage Palace without swordsage uniforms on? Given that, wouldn’t you expect this class to be taught by a swordsage? Were you on guard? Were you ready? Have you forgotten three titles, six subtitles, and sixty-nine chapters of swordsage law you learned about before swearing your oath?
“Whenever you encounter plainclothes swordsages, the standard procedure is for that swordsage to state their identity. It was a simple test. And that simple test has proven... that some of you are still very inexperienced.”
With that, Ailing Ghost waved his hand.
Instantly, about a dozen of the fifty-one swordsages flopped to the ground unconscious. The rest of them remained in place, looking at Ailing Ghost. The Captain, Qing Qiu, and Kong Xianglong were among them.
Ailing Ghost looked at those who had not fallen. He smiled. “If I really was an enemy infiltrator, then those people would be dead. This round of swordsage training really is different from usual. That said, none of you seemed to notice my unusual clothing, and therefore, none of you are up to standard either.
“Those who fell unconscious earn a score of ‘substandard.’ The rest of you earn a score of ‘average.’ Those are your test results.”
Ailing Ghost flicked his sleeve, and his clothing changed, transforming into a swordsage uniform. Then he took out some medicinal pills which he distributed to the unconscious swordsages. Finally he looked at Xu Qing and the others with an enigmatic smile.
“Hmm. Apparently a few of you do meet the standard. Whose eye is this?” Ailing Ghost reached behind his back and pulled his hand back out with an eyeball in it.
The Captain cleared his throat.
“And whose melon seed is this?”
“And who does this strand of evil ghost will come from?”
“And where did this hair suddenly appear from?”
“And what about this strand of smoke? Did one of you little punks actually enslave a Smokewight?”
Ailing Ghost looked at the Captain, Duskspirit, Qing Qiu, Sir Mountain-River, and Wang Chen one after another.
“All five of you earn a score of ‘above average’!”
Around that time, footsteps echoed into the study hall from outside, and four individuals appeared, pulsing with somber, killing auras. Their swordsage uniforms were slightly different from the normal type, as they had black swords embroidered on their collars. They were obviously from the Law Enforcement Department.
One of them, a middle-aged man, coolly said, “Ailing Ghost, someone saw through your ruse. They contacted Law Enforcement and called us here to arrest you!”
“Oh? Who was it?”
As Ailing Ghost looked over the swordsages with a smile, Kong Xianglong stood and clasped hands.
“Well done, boy. Despite being familiar with me, you cast aside personal feelings to determine what was really going on. The test was harder for you considering you knew me. Your score is ‘excellent’!”
Ailing Ghost nodded approvingly at Kong Xianglong, then turned to leave.
Before he could, the Captain cleared his throat apologetically. “Exalted one, I still have one more eye left....”
Stunned, Ailing Ghost looked over at the Captain.
“In your bag of holding.” The Captain blinked a few times.
Ailing Ghost looked down, checked his bag of holding, and then pulled out an eyeball. He examined it with glittering eyes, then sized up the Captain.
“Very well done. The fact that you got that in there without me noticing is impressive. It’s a somewhat cheap trick, but still effective. You also earn a score of ‘excellent’. By the way, what’s your name?”
“Chen Erniu...” the Captain replied cautiously.
Ailing Ghost looked at him deeply but didn’t say anything further. He had obviously heard the name. Shaking his head, he turned again to leave.
Xu Qing hesitated as he looked at the feeble Ailing Ghost, surrounded by poison. It seemed obvious that Ailing Ghost was skilled in the dao of poison. Presumably, his internal injury produced a poisonous energy that he had turned into a weapon of sorts. Back when he had been coughing up blood, Xu Qing had taken precautions by scattering his own poison. However, he wasn’t sure if there might be any unexpected reactions between his poison and that created by Ailing Ghost’s injury.
Not wanting to take any chances, Xu Qing stood. “Exalted one.”
Ailing Ghost yet again stopped in place and turned to look at Xu Qing. He had been paying attention to Xu Qing the entire time, assuming that someone with a 30,000-meter pillar of light would be impressive. In the end, he had been a bit disappointed. Although it was good that Xu Qing didn’t fall for the poison trick, it was a big negative that he didn’t notice the situation with the incorrect clothing, and also didn’t unleash any secret moves. That indicated to him that Xu Qing wasn’t adaptable and quick-witted.
However, now that Xu Qing had called out to him, he suddenly felt anticipation. “Did you manage to secretly put something on me, Xu Qing?”
Xu Qing nodded.
“What exactly is it?” Ailing Ghost asked, curiously checking himself up and down, even his bag of holding.
“Poison...” Xu Qing said apologetically.
Ailing Ghost’s jaw nearly dropped.
“A lot of poison. All mixed together. I’m not sure if it will cause a problem for your injury, exalted one. What’s more, I don’t know what interactions could result from those poisons mixing with yours.”
Ailing Ghost was visibly stunned.
“Exalted one, I think... you should go find someone to purge the poison. Also, I should probably mention to my fellow colleagues that they’ve also been poisoned. I apologize. That said, none of them have internal injuries, and since the poison hasn’t been activated, it can be removed easily.”
With that, he took out a large number of antidote pills and handed them out to the shocked swordsages. Then he clasped hands and bowed in apology to the astonished Ailing Ghost.
“Exalted one, my poisons have already been activated in your body by your own poisons, so I have no antidote that can treat them. You should really hurry up and find someone skilled in the dao of alchemy to help you....”
Silence reigned. Everyone was looking at Xu Qing, astonished. That included Sir Mountain-River, Wang Chen, and even Kong Xianglong. Everyone. Only the Captain didn’t look the least bit surprised, and simply popped antidote pills into his mouth one after another.
Then Ailing Ghost opened his mouth to speak, only to vomit up a huge glob of black blood. Then his face started turning greenish-black. The four law enforcement swordsages rushed over to support him as he left to find one of the Swordsage Palace’s alchemists.
The hall went silent again.
Then the sound of people swallowing pills could be heard. Slowly but surely, the swordsages who had passed out regained consciousness. When they were told the situation, they quickly began consuming antidote pills. Next, scraping sounds could be heard as everyone near Xu Qing dragged their desk away from him. Even Kong Xianglong did so, although not as quickly as Qing Qiu did.
Xu Qing sat there quietly. He was used to being alone. Besides, at least he still had his Eldest Brother.
The Captain seemed to be taking it all in stride. Ever since getting to know Xu Qing, he had made it a practice of keeping a lot of antidote pills in his bag of holding. Popping them like candy, he glanced over at Kong Xianglong.
What’s the big deal? These people clearly need a few lessons on strategy.
When Kong Xianglong saw the Captain looking at him, he grinned wryly. Bracing himself, he dragged his table back to its previous spot. Laughing heartily for Xu Qing’s benefit, he took out some antidote pills and started consuming them.
Xu Qing didn’t say anything.
The atmosphere in the study hall was quiet but also strange. Many of the swordsages were glancing at Xu Qing out of the corners of their eyes. It was easy to imagine how quickly rumors about this event would spread in the Swordsage Palace....
Before long, they heard more footsteps outside the study hall. Then another swordsage entered.
He was an old man, but not Ailing Ghost. He gave off an impression of immense strength, but at the same time, seemed grim and sinister. As he walked, his loud footsteps made it obvious how explosively powerful his energy and blood was.
Upon entering, he turned and looked coldly at everyone seated at the desks. Finally, his gaze came to rest on Xu Qing.
“Are you the one who poisoned Ailing Ghost?”