Chapter 405

Cao Cixiu: "I have a matter, Your Highness, please excuse me."

What's the matter?

Cao Cixiu snapped his fingers, the window shut with a sound, then he said: "I have already found the eavesdropping device placed on the valley."

"What is it?" Pei Si asked, interested.

"This is it." He said, pulling a strange animal from the sachet at his waist.

Like a mouse, but with a rabbit's head.

"What is this?" Pei Si gazed at the tiny creature, already on its last breath and no bigger than a girl's palm, and asked Cao Cixiu.

"This is an ancient creature called an ear mouse recorded in the Classic of Mountains and Seas; its tail can carry it to fly, legend says eating it can cure a hundred poisons, and there is also a legend that it possesses extraordinary hearing, able to hear the faintest sounds." Cao Cixiu said.

Pei Si leaned in to the ear mouse, stroking his chin, pondering: "According to what you say, is Androlo specially training these ear mice to eavesdrop on the valley's secrets?"

"That's likely; he or someone around him must be skilled in animal languages."

"Only one?" Pei Si looked at Cao Cixiu.

"I have already interrogated it; it said it has no accomplices."

"Do you believe it?" Pei Si again locked eyes with the weak ear mouse; this little thing trembled, looking at him with a pitiful gaze.

Cao Cixiu: "Such a legendary creature is hard to find; I have never seen one, but its credibility is not low."

"Hmm..." Pei Si licked his lips, thought a while, then said: "Take it to the princess and them."

"Your Highness, won't you study it yourself?"

Pei Si shook his head: "If you can catch it, others can catch it someday; it feels useless."

"Isn't it because I am too useful?" Cao Cixiu retorted.

Pei Si laughed: "That could also be said; sending it to the princess adds another layer of sincerity to our palace."

I'll go then.

When Cao Cixiu went to find Mu Yuanzhi, the Qilin happened to be there, saving him from having to explain again; he told them the whole story of the ear mouse.

Gu Rongjin leaned in, clicking his tongue in amazement: "I never expected to see a creature from the Classic of Mountains and Seas here; your hometown must not be the Black Sea, right?"

The ear mouse still trembled, eyes wet as it looked at Gu Rongjin, weak, pitiable, helpless.

But no one felt pity for the spy; everyone responded coldly to its silent plea.

Gu Rongjin couldn't understand the ear mouse's words, but the dog-like barking sound amused him, and he kept teasing it to bark.

Mu Yuanzhi asked Cao Cixiu to translate; Cao Cixiu said it was all pleas for mercy, nothing worth translating.

"Qilin, what do you think?" Mu Yuanzhi asked the Qilin.

Qilin: "I've recently been researching a new Symbiotic Gu; it happens to be usable."

"What kind of Symbiotic Gu, is it similar to the one you had with Pei Shangling before?" Mu Yuanzhi asked curiously.

"No, I want to see if the Gu and a person can coexist." Qilin said.

Cao Cixiu: "Sounds beastly."

"My Gu was originally meant to deal with beasts; using human methods to treat humans is quite reasonable."

I don't know if the ear mouse understood these people's words; anyway, it cried again, trying to awaken humanity's soft heart.

"Why are you crying? If you become my Symbiotic Gu, you still have a half chance to live."

Mu Yuanzhi, thinking, suddenly said: "Qilin, it can cure a hundred poisons; maybe it can cure what's on you!"

Because Cao Cixiu was still present, Mu Yuanzhi did not say all that outright.

One word woke the dreamer; the Qilin clapped: "Exactly!"

"Let's study this ear mouse together; maybe we'll soon find a solution!"

Cao Cixiu: "Shouldn't you first dispel the miasma? That's the root cause."

He glanced at the sky, then made an excuse: "It's getting late; I should return to report. Farewell."

After Cao Cixiu left, Mu Yuanzhi said: "What Cao Gongzi said makes sense, but the only way to completely dispel the miasma is to go to the bottom of the Flame Pool, which ordinary people simply cannot do."

"Exactly, you can't rush it; using ice to freeze the Flame Pool is possible, but where would you get an ice palm that could freeze it thoroughly in one strike? Even Yuan Yan can't do that." Qilin said.

Gu Rongjin: "Maybe Androlo knows the method, after all this miasma's mutation is related to him."

"Capture him alive." Qilin said, "Just wait for him to come to our door."

Gu Rongjin: "So you should still study this thing first."

"By the way, I have a favor to ask of the Qilin Valley Master!"

Cao Cixiu went and then turned back, yet no one stopped him to report.

The Qilin knew it was this person bypassing the servants to come and go unhindered.

What's the matter?

If it weren't for seeing their repeated help, he wouldn't be so easy to talk to.

Cao Cixiu: "I want to borrow some things from the Valley Master, mainly for my test subjects."

The test subjects are none other than Xiao Yichen and Ruohua.

Fine, what do you want to borrow?

Cao Cixiu successfully obtained the several kinds of extremely poisonous Gu he needed.

When the Qilin and others previously handed Xiao Yichen over to Pei Si, they only said one thing: "Or better yet, it wouldn't matter if he died."

So Cao Cixiu let loose, just to achieve his goal.

When he arrived before Xiao Yichen with a small ceramic jar, leisurely walking through the courtyard, it was already a day later; that day Xiao Yichen had not eaten, his condition was poor, but his spirit was still okay, he could endure.

Ordinary people would feel dizzy, weak, and blood-deficient after a day without food, but Xiao Yichen is a martial practitioner; three days without food would be fine, yet he has been bound here, lacking water for two days, so he looks terrible.

These past two days I've been busy, I forgot to attend to Master Xiao.

Xiao Yichen weakly lifted his head; in his unfocused gaze was Cao Cixiu's beaming smile, he curled the corner of his mouth and asked: "Where is Ah Zhi?"

"All this and you're still acting like a lovesick fool?" Cao Cixiu chuckled, looking at him, "The princess has long since gone back with her Prince Consort, a family of four living happily together—what business is it of yours?"

He found that nothing could make Xiao Yichen lose his composure more than bringing up these matters; each time he mentioned them, Xiao Yichen would go berserk.

This time was no exception; he was like a mad dog, emitting beast-like sounds from his throat, his eyes bloodshot.

Xiao Yichen was less and less like a noble young master; perhaps due to some mishap, or perhaps he had gone completely mad, he was like those lunatics who need to be locked up in an asylum—except that he could usually maintain the appearance of a normal person, and any slight stimulus would trigger an attack.

Cao Cixiu liked to watch the show, so he would always provoke him into an episode; watching him bare his fangs and brandish his claws, helpless yet, was like raising a mad dog that could please people.