Chapter 798: Endless Toxicity

Xiao Yuanhang, holding Tuan Tuan, returned to the tent: "Xiao Er, gather the commanders."

"Yes." Xiao Er took the order and left.

Xiao Yuanhang placed his daughter on the bed, took off her little shoes, pulled back the quilt and covered her: "Good girl, sleep for a while; after you wake, we'll play."

"Mm." Tuan Tuan answered, and Xiao Feifei sneaked in mischievously.

It ran to the foot of the bed, lifted its two little paws to the edge, and chirped at her twice.

Xiao Yuanhang scooped it up in one hand and placed it by his daughter's pillow: "Xiao Feifei really can't be away from you for a moment."

Tuan Tuan hugged Xiao Feifei tightly: "It's good, Daddy."

Xiao Feifei curled into a ball, rested its little head on Tuan Tuan's arm, and closed its eyes.

Xiao Yuanhang brushed the stray hairs from Tuan Tuan's face: "Good, sleep now."

Seeing Tuan Tuan also close her eyes, Xiao Yuanhang rose and gently left the bed.

He went to the front; the commanders had already arrived.

Xiao Yuanhang pointed inside, then placed a finger to his lips and made a silencing gesture.

The others understood, Tuan Tuan was asleep, so they all sat down quietly.

Xiao Yuanhang handed the Conquest General's Order to Xiao Ningchen and gestured toward the others.

Xiao Ningchen nodded, read it, then passed it to his third brother.

Xiao Ningxun glanced at it and passed it to Xiao Ran; the others read it in turn.

Xiao Ningchen said softly: "So the war in the Eastern Sea is organized like this; evidently their samurai are scattered across the lands and only gather when such a general's order arrives."

Chen Hao said: "They even promise money in advance; how amusing."

Zheng Wucheng nodded: "That's right; the Eastern Sea's nation is all capital city, where their emperor resides."

"But the real political power lies in the hands of the shogun of Kamakura Castle."

"That is, the current Conquest General of the Genji clan."

"Samurai only go on campaigns for silver or land; otherwise no one shows up."

"Emperor?" Xiao Ran snorted, "A tiny speck of land, yet such grand ambition; the name sounds more imposing than Father Emperor's."

Xiao Ningxun smiled faintly: "'Within three days from the receipt of this order, lead your troops to Kamakura to serve the king.' No wonder that benevolent circle needs three days of rites."

He looked at Xiao Yuanhang: "Father, what's the plan?"

Xiao Yuanhang smiled: "Hold position, wear them out for three days."

"Later, kill all the samurai who captured the king, leave the city's people unsure whether reinforcements will arrive, then launch another assault on the city."

Xiao Er nodded: "That's the proper course; otherwise, once fighting starts, our army could be caught in a pincer."

Xiao Yuanhang inclined his head slightly: "Today is the second day; after tomorrow they should realize hope is thin."

"The day after tomorrow, siege the city."

"Deploy all Heavenly Fire Tubes, first burn the city gates."

Xiao Ningchen replied: "Fine. Once the gate is destroyed, they'll send cavalry to charge first; the many spear‑swords Feng Zhou brought will be just right."

Feng Zhou heard this and smiled smugly.

"When their cavalry is spent, our cavalry should rush in."

"Father," Xiao Ningchen asked, "should we hang the samurai heads outside?"

Xiao Yuanhang shook his head: "No need; that would only spur their resistance."

"Just as now, quietly, leaving them baffled, hoping reinforcements might arrive."

"We must give them hope, lest they fight a desperate last stand; then our troops will suffer fewer casualties."

Xiao Ningchen, convinced, said: "Father, you're right; son takes your lesson."

Everyone silently nodded.

Zheng Wucheng rose, clasped his fists: "Prince, this junior officer volunteers to lead the first batch of Goryeo troops into Kamakura Castle!"

Xiao Yuanhang nodded: "Fine."

Feng Zhou said: "Since the siege is the day after tomorrow and Goryeo's craftsmen are seasoned at making shield carts, I'll forge more shield carts for contingency; Prince, what do you think?"

"That'll do; ten will suffice."

Feng Zhou replied cheerfully: "Yes!"

Xiao Yuanhang surveyed the commanders: "Send the orders down; for the next two days, except for the troops with Zhang Wu'an clearing samurai outside, everyone else need not train."

"Let me eat well and sleep well, restore my vigor, and await the siege!"

"Yes!"

That night, in the Yin‑Yang Hall.

Fujiwara Yoshinobu sat with a dark face in the front hall, Liu Guiyan beside him.

The Yin‑Yang Assistant reported: "The Master's spellcasting exhausted him; after returning he will retreat to seclusion to rest. Please wait a moment, sir."

But that wait lasted over an hour; the deeply slumbering Anbei Taixin finally opened his eyes, arriving late.

Upon entering, he dismissed the Yin‑Yang Assistant: "Go out. No need to keep anyone at the door; I have urgent military matters to discuss with Lord Fujiwara."

"Yes."

Anbei Taixin, still weak, slumped down: "Lord Fujiwara comes here again to ask about my spellcasting?"

Fujiwara, seething, retorted: "What does the Master think?"

Anbei Taixin sighed: "Sir, please do not press further."

Fujiwara Yoshinobu furrowed his brows: "What does the Master mean by that?"

Anbei Taixin replied: "That Immortal Envoy's fortune is sky‑high; whatever spell is used on her, it rebounds onto the caster."

"That war god Prince Ning stays by her side constantly, leaving no way to… "

He looked at Liu Guiyan: "No wonder your husband met this fate."

Liu Guiyan's face darkened: "Master, are you admitting defeat?"

Anbei Taixin pointed at his own eyes: "See, this is the backlash of my eye spell; now looking at things is laborious."

He then pointed at his right arm: "This is the backlash of my finger spell; now I can't even lift a cup of tea."

"Also my internal organs are suffering the backlash of the name‑calling spell; even the most Meiwei food causes a lingering pain when swallowed, I can't even eat a meal!"

He said angrily: "Admit defeat? Yes, I admit defeat."

"Tomorrow I will report my crime to the General; at worst, the Anbei clan will no longer hold the position of Chief of the Yin‑Yang Bureau!"

Tengyuan Liangxin grew increasingly alarmed: "That Immortal Envoy of the fiery nation is that powerful?"

Anbei Taixin nodded: "Indeed."

Liu Guiyan glanced at the two: "Master Anbei, what about joining forces with me?"

Anbei Taixin shook his head: "It's not that I haven't considered allying with you; I've also seen Madam Cheng's methods."

"But you only know how to use poison."

"Forgive my bluntness, you are still far from that Immortal Envoy of the fiery nation; if your poisons were useful, you wouldn't have had to cross the seas to Japan."

"Madam Cheng seeks revenge for her husband alone, which has nothing to do with me; do whatever you wish."

Liu Guiyan's complexion turned completely black.

She sprang to her feet; the blood color on her face vanished instantly, a faint gold spread across her visage.

Then her pupils and lips gradually turned blood‑red.

Anbei Taixin exclaimed in shock: "What is this?"

Tengyuan Liangxin shuffled backward, retreating two steps.

Liu Guiyan slipped her hand into her bosom and slowly drew it out.

A golden little snake coiled in her palm, no thicker than a thumb, no longer than her forearm, its body like molten gold.

The snake's body was evenly covered with blood‑red ring patterns, as if drawn stroke by stroke with cinnabar.

Its head was triangular, its pupils blood‑red like droplets, and it lifted its head to coldly scan the room.

It hissed twice, "hiss—hiss," and spat out a blood‑red seed as fine as a hair.

Liu Guiyan raised her hand, and her fingertip lightly tapped the snake's head.

The golden snake's vertical pupils narrowed, its golden scales subtly opened, and the blood‑colored rings writhed between the scales.

Tengyuan Liangxin and Anbei Taixin stared dumbfounded.

"Madam Cheng," Tengyuan Liangxin swallowed, "what is this snake?"

Liu Guiyan gently stroked the golden snake's head: "This snake is the world's number‑one exotic poison."

Her voice was calm as water: "Every ten days, I exchange blood with it."

"My blood nourishes it, its blood nourishes me. It has never ceased for years."

She extended a finger, letting the golden snake coil around her wrist.

"If it bites even once, death is immediate; even an Immortal cannot save you."

Her fingertip slid down the snake's spine: "But the truly dangerous part is its blood."

"Contact with it injects lethal poison into the body."

"Within a few hours, skin, flesh, tendons and bones will rot inch by inch."

"If anyone touches a blood‑stained person, they too will be poisoned, and the toxin will spread endlessly."

She paused, looked at Anbei Taixin: "Master, if we join forces to make that Immortal Envoy of the fiery nation meet such a death, avenging your today's backlash, would that be acceptable?"