Chapter 1791: "Conspire To Murder (5)"
"But he's afterall still too young and no matter how meticulous that mind of his is, he's still too green. He might have been able to avoid the punishment, but hasn't he still ended up eating that bun spiked with poison? Haha....." Elder Yue was feeling mighty pleased with his scheme.
To make someone die without a trace, he had many methods at his disposal.
"Poisoned bun? But Purple Spirits by themselves possess a certain level of resistance against poison....." Yue Yi's heart was already filled with fear, his fists secretly clenched up but not allowing his face to show the slightest bit of nervousness.
As one's spirit cultivation grew higher and higher, the spirit power that infused the entire body's organs provided them with a strong protection, where even if they were to ingest poisoned things, the effects of the poison would be greatly weaker than it would be for regular people.
The reason why Purple Spirits are considered to be highly powerful, besides the fact their battle prowess was greatly elevated, would be the many other minute changes that came together with it. The extension of their lifespans and the transformations in their bodies' constitution were be the more obvious changes among them.
Hence, to want to kill a Purple Spirit, if one seeked to succeed in it with poison, would only stand a chance only by finding a highly lethal poison, or otherwise, all regular poisons would not be enough to kill a Purple Spirit at all!
Elder Yue glanced over at Yue Yi, and said with a sneer: "Do you think I will not know that? What I gave him, isn't any regular poison, but something that is concocted with the Soul Severing Flower. Not to mention that he is merely a Purple Spirit. Even when a Silver Spirit ingests that drug, would not be able to walk out of that dungeon alive."
"Soul Severing Flower....." Yue Yi's eyes quaked with shock!
The Soul Severing Flower was a poisonous flower that grew in the Middle Realm. Not only its petals were poisonous, even its roots contained lethal poison. No need to even talk about ingesting such a flower, even if one had only swallowed water that had its petals soaked in them before would cause a person to bleed through the seven orifices to result in death!
In the place where the Soul Severing Flower grew, besides anything of the same species to the Soul Severing Flowers, no other plant life could survive. One would only need to plant one seed on Soul Severing Flower within a forest, and it would not take long before all plant life closest to the Soul Severing Flower would quickly wither.....
But as this type of flower was too vicious, it was very rare even within the Middle Realm, hard to seek for, and Yue Yi had only ever heard of it himself.
But Yue Yi had never ever thought that Elder Yue would use the Soul Severing Flower to deal with Jun Wu Xie!
At that moment, Yue Yi's heart jumped straight up into the back of his throat.
"Once that Chang Huan is dead, I would like to see for how much longer Elder Ying can continue to be wrapped up in his glee!" Elder Yue said with his eyes narrowing up sinisterly. "That old dog is rather smart though, to know that he had to get Chang Huan to hide his powers, to act like a fool that deceived everyone in the palace."
From the beginning, Elder Yue had never suspected that "Chang Huan" had been switched with an imposter.
Yue Yi's mind was whirling from what he had heard and he was unable to say a single word.
"Elder Yue, the Palace Lord asks for you to go over." Right at that moment, a Shadow Moon Palace guard came into Elder Yue's study.
"I've got it." Elder Yue nodded his head, and immediately stood up.
"I'm going to see the Palace Lord. You go back and get some rest for now. Your injuries have not fully healed so don't go to Little Ye's courtyard yet, lest she gets worried when she sees you in such a state." Elder Yue ordered.
"Yes....." Yue Yi fought back the rage rising up within him, and answered in a low voice.
Elder Yue glanced at Yue Yi, and did not notice anything unusual. He then got up and followed the guard out. Elder Yue's front foot had just stepped out not long and Yue Yi was already searching frantically through the study. After managing to find a wooden box, he immediately hugged it and rushed towards the dungeon!
Chapter 1792: "Conspire To Murder (6)"
Yue Yi sprinted as fast as he could the entire way, till he reached outside the dungeon. Before he went into the dungeon, he forced a mask of calm upon his face and hid the wooden box properly away, before he went walking inside.
"Junior Yue Yi, what brings you here?" The jailor quickly hurried forward to greet, when he saw Yue Yi.
Who in the Shadow Moon Palace didn't know that Yue Yi was Elder Yue's adopted grandson?
Elder Yue had no children of his own, and only had two grandchildren Yue Yi and Yue Ye. Seeking to win the favour of Elder Yue, many people in the palace would treat Yue Yi highly politely.
Yue Yi nodded his head coldly.
"Grandfather asked me to come take a look. If there is nothing, do not let anyone come disturb me." Yue Yi said.
"Yes, yes. Junior Yue Yi, you just take your time. I will now go to the entrance and keep a lookout for you. If any of Elder Ying's people come, I will help you hold them off." The jailor thought Yue Yi had come under Elder Yue's orders, to see how miserable Jun Wu Xie was, as he quickly complied.
Yue Yi grunted in approval, and then walked himself towards the cell Jun Wu Xie was in.
In the dark and dank dungeon, a moldy smell hung in the air. This place was rather unfamiliar to Yue Yi as with Elder Yue around, he had almost never come to the dungeon before.
The path within the dungeon was clearly very short, but Yue Yi seemed to feel every single he took was pure torture. He was afraid. Afraid that he would be met with a scene that would make him crumble.
"Why have you come?" A slightly cold voice suddenly rang out within the quiet dungeon.
Yue Yi drew in a deep breath, and turned his head around to seek out the voice.
In a scorched and blackened jail cell, Yue Yi saw the shape of a familiar figure.
Jun Wu Xie wa seated upon the dry straw, safe and sound, as she stared calmly at Yue Yi.
"You're alright?" Yue Yi was slightly taken aback, as he stared at the perfectly fine Jun Wu, his eyes showing a tint of surprise.
The Soul Severing Flower poison takes effect very quickly and Jun Wu Xie should be affected by the poison by this time but he did not detect a single trace of anything unusual on Jun Wu Xie.
"What can happen to me?" Jun Wu Xie asked, lifting an eyebrow slightly as she stared at the rather pale Yue Yi.
Yue Yi immediately walked over to the bars, and squatted himself down to ask in a soft voice: "Did you eat any of the buns the jailor gave you earlier?"
Jun Wu Xie nodded.
Yue Yi took a deep breath, and immediately pulled out the wooden box he had hidden away, and pushed it on the floor to the side of Jun Wu Xie's feet.
"That jailor is one of Elder Yue's people and he took Elder Yue's orders to slip poison into your food. I know that you are skilled in Medicine but that poison isn't any regular kind of poison. It is concocted from the Soul Severing Flower and the Soul Severing Flower is lethally poisonous, where even a Silver Spirit would not be able to withstand against its effects. I do not know where he has hidden the antidote. There are many bottles here and since you know Medicine, search through them quickly to see if the antidote is there." Although Yue Yi had already lowered his voice down by quite a lot, he was still not able to hide his anxiety and nervousness.
Jun Wu Xie looked at Yue Yi's taut and highly stiffened face and then lowered her head as she opened the wooden box by her foot. A whole bunch of bottles and flasks had been stuffed into the wooden box and she opened them up one by one to sniff at them before she placed them back.
"How? Is the antidote there?" Yue Yi asked anxiously.
"There isn't an antidote, but I found the poison that you mentioned." Jun Wu Xie said as she pulled out a red medicine bottle.
Yue Yi almost fell before Jun Wu Xie's knees.
"Why would you look for the poison? You..... Is the antidote really not in there?" Yue Yi was almost frantic with anxiety as no one could be certain when the poison in Jun Wu Xie's body will take effect and he was feeling highly worried.
"No." Jun Wu Xie said with a shrug of her shoulders.
"Then I'll go back and search again. You wait here!" Yue Yi said, already about to get up.
"No need." Jun Wu Xie said suddenly instead.
Chapter 1793: "Conspire To Murder (7)"
Yue Yi stared in incomprehension at Jun Wu. [The Soul Severing Flower's poison was so strongly lethal. How could he still be so calm?]
Jun Wu Xie did not answer directly but closed the wooden box before returning it to Yue Yi.
"Young Master Jun..... What are you doing?" Yue Yi asked a little anxiously.
Jun Wu Xie then answered indifferently. "The poison has no effect on me."
"?" "no effect?" Yue Yi's eyes opened wide.
With how lethal the Soul Severing Flower's poison was, without the antidote, only the Medical Saint would be able to treat it. As for how good Jun Wu's medical skills were, Yue Yi wasn't too clear about that. But there was one point that Yue Yi knew very well. Throughout the Middle Realm, only one person had attained the rank of Medical Saint. With Jun Wu being so young, even if he possessed outstanding gift for Medicine and had learnt it from young, it would still be difficult for him to reach the realm of a Medical Saint.
"Child's play like this, is not even worth my notice." Jun Wu Xie said with a shrug of her shoulders. When she picked up the steamed bun, she had already detected something unusual about it. That a cold and dried up bun would give off a tint of sweet fragrance was not normal in the least. Moreover, Jun Wu Xie's level of familiarity towards herbs had far surpassed anyone's knowledge where with just a slight whiff, she was already able to determine what had been added into it.
Yue Yi was suddenly at a loss for words. He would never have thought that the Soul Severing Flower whose name by itself struck terror in the hearts of men..... when it went into Jun Wu Xie's mouth, it would be termed as..... child's play.....
If not for the fact he knew Jun Wu's style of doing things, Yue Yi would really think that Jun Wu was just joking with him.
"You're..... sure..... that the poison has no effect on you?" Yue Yi was still a little worried.
Jun Wu Xie nodded.
Yue Yi fell silent for a while before he said: "Then you just be careful yourself. Elder Yue is seeking to have you dead. Having failed today, he will surely think of more ways to make another attempt in the days to come, so you must be careful. I can see that Elder Ying is rather protective of you and it is said that he said quite a few good things about you before the Palace Lord. The Palace Lord wants to let bygones be bygones and most probably would not pursue you to take any responsibility. Ask Elder Ying to get you out of here as soon as possible or Elder Yue will definitely scheme up more ways to get rid of you."
"If he possess that kind of capability, he can come try it anytime." Jun Wu Xie said calmly.
Jun Wu Xie's calm had an effect on Yue Yi's heart. The anxiety and fluster he had been feeling gradually dissipated under Jun Wu Xie's influence.
"Yue Yi." Jun Wu Xie said suddenly.
"Hm?"
"Who tends to the flowerbeds in your younger sister's courtyard?" For some unknown reason, Jun Wu Xie suddenly asked about this.
Yue Yi was taken aback and he thought about it a moment before he said: "Those flowerbeds were initially taken care of by the Shadow Moon Palace's gardeners but as Yue Ye has been rather weak from young, she mostly does not leave her courtyard all that much at all. She has always liked flowers and plants so she started to tend to those flowerbeds from a few years ago. Young Master Jun should have seen it yourself. The plants and flowers in those flowerbeds in her courtyard are a little messy, filled with all kinds of variety. She had planted all those by herself."
When speaking about his sister, Yue Yi's eyes became a lot more gentle.
Jun Wu Xie just listened quietly, her eyes looking so deep her thoughts were completely indiscernible.
"Alright, I should be getting back as well. Elder Yue was summoned by the Palace Lord and I brought this here while he was not around. I have to bring it back before he returns." Yue Yi saw that Jun Wu Xie was fine and his heart became more relieved.
Jun Wu Xie nodded. Yue Yi thought he should not stay any longer and he kept the wooden box away, bringing it along with him as he left the dungeon.
Chapter 1794: "Taken Ill (1)"
In the Shadow Moon Palace Lord's sleeping chambers, a heart tearing coughing reverberated within the vast chambers as the slight scent of blood tinged the air.
"My Lord!" Elder Yue came rushing inside, led by a disciple, his heart turning cold a notch when he saw the scene within the palatial chambers.
The Shadow Moon Palace Lord was lying upon the bed and coughing very hard, the water within the bronze basin placed by the bed already stained the colour of blood, and more blood stains dotted the floor as well, a highly shocking sight to look upon.
The Shadow Moon Palace's physicians were all watching over the Palace Lord at the side, their faces nervous and anxious. Besides the sound of that vehement hacking cough, no other sound could be heard in the palatial chambers.
"My Lord, what happened to you?" Elder Yue went forward anxiously.
The Shadow Moon Palace Lord had just wanted to open his mouth to say something when that life sucking cough struck once again to interrupt the words he had not yet spoken.
Elder Yue's brows furrowed together as he raised his eyes to stare at the bunch of physicians standing at the side.
"You bunch of good for nothings! Having treated it for so long, why is the Lord's condition not showing any improvement?"
With that roar from Elder Yue, all the physicians within the chambers immediately fell to their knees in a neat row, their bodies shaking in fear and their faces pale.
"El..... Elder Yue, we have tried our best. But my Lord's illness strikes highly unpredictably and relapses often. We really..... do not know of a better way." An elderly physician began to say in a stutter.
To treat this illness for the Shadow Moon Palace Lord, in the eyes of the bunch of physicians, definitely posed to be a great deal of psychological pressure on them, as the slightest bit of carelessness might very well cost them their very lives.
"An entire bunch of useless trash!" Elder Yue glared angrily at all of them.
The Shadow Moon Palace Lord's illness was strange to say the least. He was supposed to be at the prime of his age, and his spirit power cultivation was not low in anyway. It could be said that the current Palace Lord had Elder Yue watch him grow up, and he had not suffered from much illnesses or calamities. He had enjoyed robust health all this while but for some unknown reason, starting from just the recent past few years, the Shadow Moon Palace Lord's health had been deteriorating by the day, where he frequently coughed till he vomited blood. But at the times when the illness did not strike, the Shadow Moon Palace Lord would be like someone perfectly healthy, besides just the pallor of his face not looking too good, there weren't any other problems. And when it struck, no matter how much medicine was used, it was extremely hard to suppress it in the slightest.
For that, Elder Yue had brought in quite a number of famous physicians but they had not been able to locate the cause.
The whole bunch of white haired physicians trembled violently from that shout.
"Hadn't it gotten better for some time already? Why has it now suddenly relapsed?" Elder Yue's face was enraged. Because the Shadow Moon Palace Lord had been unwell, hence everything from food, clothing, residence to places he went were given the utmost attention. The food and cuisine was prepared by specialized disciples daily and only the best ingredients from the best sources were picked. Even the incense that used to be burnt in the Palace Lord's sleeping chambers had now been thrown out.
Having avoided any possibility that could have brought about the illness, the chances of a relapse of the Shadow Moon Palace Lord's illness still had not decreased, seeing it happen once or twice every single week.
"This..... We really do not know why....." The bunch of physicians were almost frightened into tears.
Elder Yue's demeanor did not warm up in the slightest as his gaze swept one round within the sleeping chambers, suddenly discovering a little tiny figure that had been all but forgotten by everyone.
Yue Ye had her head shrunk in her shoulders timidly as she stood in a corner of the sleeping chambers. Because everyone else was busy attending to the Shadow Moon Palace Lord's illness, no one had noticed that there was this little figure still within the vast sleeping chambers.
Elder Yue's gaze glanced around and saw all the physicians had their heads lowered, even daring to make a single sound. He then went walking without attracting any attention towards the corner that Yue Ye was at.
Chapter 1795: "Taken Ill (2)"
Elder Yue's gaze glanced around and saw all the physicians had their heads lowered, even daring to make a single sound. He then went walking without attracting any attention towards the corner that Yue Ye was at.
Yue Ye saw Elder Yue walking towards her and her face paled, quickly lowering her head.
"Why did the Palace Lord suddenly suffer a relapse?" Elder Yue asked in a suppressed whisper.
"I..... I don't know..... My Lord was perfectly fine at first, and I do not know what happened when suddenly....." Yue Ye bit her lip, her tiny frame trembling in fear.
"At that time, besides you and the Palace Lord, was there anyone else in the sleeping chambers?" Elder Yue asked as he looked at Yue Ye. From the time he sent Yue Ye to the Shadow Moon Palace Lord's palace, Yue Ye had not left here.
Yue Ye shook her head.
"Did the Lord eat anything just before the relapse?" Elder Yue went on to ask.
Yue Ye shook her head.
"Alright. There nothing here you can do. Go back first. Do not tell your elder brother you came to the Palace Lord's chambers. Understand?"
Elder Yue's voice was tinged with a slight chill.
Yue Ye nodded her head obediently. Under Elder Yue's instructions, she quietly retreated from the Shadow Moon Palace Lord's sleeping chambers.
For the entire way as Yue Ye left the Shadow Moon Palace Lord's chambers, she kept her head lowered and did not lift it.
Disciples of the Shadow Moon Palace who were passing by secretly stared at Yue Ye as she passed before them, their gazes subtle.
"Little Ye, why are you..... Here?" Having just put the wooden box back to Elder Yue's study, Yue Yi had not thought that he would bump into his younger sister on his way back.
Yue Ye jumped slightly in surprise, not expecting it.
"Big Brother." Yue Ye called out softly.
"Why? Are you not feeling well? The colour on your face doesn't look good." Yue Yi noticed that the pallor on his younger sister's face was a little strange and he could not help but ask in concern.
Yue Ye shook her head.
"It's nothing. I was just thinking of asking for some seeds from the gardeners. I just cleared up a little space a few days ago and was thinking what I should plant there." Yue Ye said with a sweet smile upon her face, which almost melted Yue Yi's heart.
Knowing that his sister liked all these plants and flowers, Yue Yi did not think any further about it, but just said indulgently: "If there is any kind of seeds you want, just tell me and I'll help you get them. Your body's a little weak, so don't move about so much."
Yue Yi's gaze was filled with concern under that care and concern, it was underlined with a tinge of worry.
As Yue Ye grew in age, although not yet blossomed fully into a young lady, she already showed small signs of becoming a beauty that would bring down nations. And as to what kind of a place the Shadow Moon Palace was, Yue Yi knew it better than anyone else. Not just Elder Yue alone, but a large number of the Shadow Moon Palace's disciples were not all that decent in the least. Yue Ye was still so young, and if she came to be bullied by any of them, there was not much she would be able to do against them.
Unable to bear having her own sister suffer any kind of hardship, Yue Yi's heart was constantly wrecked with worry.
"Mm! Big Brother just came back from the Pure Grace Palace not too long ago and needs to get some proper rest as well. Do not push yourself too hard or Little Ye will be worried." Yue Ye said as she lifted up her tiny face, to look at the elder brother who was the only person they had to mutually rely upon in this life.
Yue Yi nodded his head. With a sister like this, how could he not want to strive for a better life for the two of them? He was feeling very grateful that he had met Jun Wu as Jun Wu was the one who had enlightened him, to not let himself to continue to dwell in despondency.
He still had people she wanted to protect, and he needed to remain strong to live on!
The siblings spoke for a little while more before they went along on their separate ways.
After Yue Ye walked away for a distance, she turned her head back to look at Yue Yi's back, and a strange look flashed briefly within her clear eyes.
Chapter 1796: "Taken Ill (3)"
Over that night, the Shadow Moon Palace Lord's condition did not show any improvement and the big group of physicians stood watch within the sleeping chambers throughout the night, not daring to take a single step away. The various Shadow Moon Palace's Elders heard the news and came rushing in, similarly keeping watch within the sleeping chambers as well.
That night, the entire group of people who held great power and high authourity within the Shadow Moon Palace could not sleep soundly.
Meanwhile, in the dungeon, Jun Wu Xie was enjoying a sound and restful sleep.
Till a slight slight sound rang out, and Jun Wu Xie who had been leaning her back against the wall to rest opened her eyes within the dim candlelight.
"Young Miss." It was not known from when that Ye Sha came into the dungeon.
"Hm?" Jun Wu Xie stretched her neck a little, as she sat herself up.
"The item that Young Miss ordered your subordinate to find has been found. Will Young Miss please have a look at it." Upon saying that, Ye Sha then took out a brocade box and put it in Jun Wu Xie's hand.
Jun Wu Xie had given the jade piece that Elder Ying had handed over to her to Ye Sha earlier in the day and asked him to go to Elder Yue's residence to look for clues, never thinking that Ye Sha would act so fast to locate the item in just half a day.
Jun Wu Xie opened the brocade box and found two incomplete jade pieces lying inside, where the two separate pieces could be joined together perfectly. No matter whether it was by the quality of the jade or from the carvings and lines upon it, the two pieces of jade were originally whole.
"You found it in Elder Yue's room?" Jun Wu Xie took the two pieces of jade out and inspected them within her hand. Because of the Soul Calming Jade, Jun Wu Xie had developed a kind of interest towards jade artifacts and the fact that Elder Ying paid so much attention to the jade told her that there must be a special reason.
Unfortunately, after looking over it for a while, she did not discover anything peculiar about it.
The jade, was just an ordinary jade ornament. Besides the fact that the jade was of an extremely high quality, it was no different from any other piece of jade.
"Yes. Elder Yue did not go back today, and it made it highly convenient for your subordinate to search through the place." Ye Sha admitted truthfully. Actually, with his skills, even if Elder Yue was around, it would still be highly difficult for him to detect Ye Sha's presence but with him not around, Ye Sha was able to conduct search without any worry.
Jun Wu Xie nodded her head, and then suddenly stood up from the bed of straw.
"Young Miss, Lord Jue had something he needed to go attend to and he told your subordinate that if Young Miss needs to find him at any one moment, he would immediately rush back." Ye Sha said.
Jun Wu Xie sighed lightly. Towards Jun Wu Yao's quiet arrivals and soundless departures, she had grown accustomed to it.
For Jun Wu Yao to have rushed here from the Lower Realm, Jun Wu Xie knew that he must have abandoned many important things behind, and she would not ask for him to remain by her side at every moment. Just like it was for herself, she had things she needed to deal with, it would be very much be the same for him as well.
"Then what does Young Miss intend to do from here on?" Ye Sha asked.
Jun Wu Xie kept the jade pieces away properly, and the corners of her mouth curled up into a chilling smile.
"Since I have the item in my hands now, I should naturally hand it over to the person who has a need for it." She had not forgotten what Elder Ying had promised her, and she believed that the two jade pieces could very well bring her some unexpected rewards.
"Young Miss really thinks Elder Ying can be trusted?" Ye Sha asked curiously.
"Do not suspect the people you use, and do not use people you suspect." Jun Wu Xie said, lifting up an eyebrow.
Jun Wu Xie then blatantly walked out from the dungeon, as Ye Sha remained hidden within the shadows to protect her.
The jailors guarding the dungeon had already fallen into a deep sleep and were drooling as they lay sprawled across the table, not noticing in the slightest that Jun Wu Xie who had been imprisoned inside was walking out unhindered right before them.
It was deep into the night and Elder Ying was sitting alone in his room. While the entire group of Elders went to watch over the Palace Lord, only he alone chose to disregard it.
Chapter 1797: "Zhan Family Clan (1)"
Outside the window, the moon shone bright and clear and Elder Ying sipped lightly at his drink as he gazed at the moon, the corners of his lips tightened stiffly, his eyes deep.
At that moment within the Shadow Moon Palace Lord's sleeping chambers, the large number of Elders were crowded before the Palace Lord's bed eagerly ingratiating themselves. However, among all those people, Elder Ying was not included.
Admiring the view of the moon outside, a shadow of a figure suddenly appeared in Elder Ying's sight.
"You've come." Elder Ying's mouth curled up into a smile, as he swirled the wine in his cup, not surprised in the least by the person who appeared.
Jun Wu Xie went walking inside silently and sat down on a chair beside Elder Ying, to place a palm sized brocade box upon the table. With a light push of her fingertips, she pushed it right across to Elder Ying.
Elder Ying's eyebrow lifted. "You've found it?"
"Have a look and you'll know." Jun Wu Xie did not answer directly.
Elder Ying raised a hand and pressed it upon the brocade box, his gaze fixed upon Jun Wu Xie.
"I was thinking that you would still need a period of time before you would be able to locate the thing that I want, but you have come back here so soon?" Elder Ying was slightly taken aback. Elder Yue kept a very tight rein over the security of his courtyard. Elder Ying had thought up all kinds of ways in the past and it was even with the assistance of Chang Yuan with such deft hands but they had still not been able to find the item he wanted in Elder Yue's courtyard. Every time a chance came up, they were always unable to complete the task due to having insufficient time.
He would never have thought that Jun Wu Xie would use just half a day's time to resolve a problem he had faced for many years.
"Aren't you going to take a look?" Jun Wu Xie asked, her head tilted as she looked at Elder Ying.
Elder Ying took the item but was in no hurry to open it up to see it. The hand he had pressed upon the brocade box might seem nonchalant, but Jun Wu Xie could feel his anxiety.
He seemed to be afraid of the item in the brocade box.
That jade pendant to him, must hold great meaning to him.
Elder Ying took a deep breath, his gaze fixed upon the brocade box, his knuckles turned slightly white from tension as he slowly opened up the brocade box.
In the brocade box, two jade pieces neatly cut apart lay quietly within. The two jade pieces had been placed joined together, leaving only a thin line through the middle where it was cut apart.
With just one glance, the blood faded from Elder Ying's face completely, his deep eyes hiding the surging tide within, his breathing becoming sluggish.
This was a reaction that people showed when they were under extreme shock or rage.....
"Ha..... Hahaha..... What a great Shadow Moon Palace, what a great Elder Yue..... Hahaha....." All of a sudden, Elder Ying threw his head back and laughed. Not the slightest bit of joy in that laughter could be heard, but just rage that chilled a person's heart.
When one goes beyond rage, one laughs instead, as it was usually said.
Elder Ying grasped the two jade pieces within his hand, gripping them tightly within his palm. He continued to laugh out loud, his hand tightening its grip little by little, and bright red blood droplets dripped from his hand.
After continuing to laugh for a long while, Elder Ying's laughter suddenly stopped. He lowered his head, his eyes turned bloodshot, that glaringly red pair of eyes staring unwaveringly at the blood stained jade pendant in his palm, those frightening eyes of his hiding grief and despair underneath.
"Kid, do you know the origins of this jade pendant?" Elder Yue's voice was a little hoarse, sounding highly repressed.
"I do not know." Jun Wu Xie had studied the jade pendant, but she did not find anything peculiar about it, and even Ye Sha had not known anything about the jade pendant.
"Do you know of the Zhan Family Clan?" Elder Ying lifted his eyes, to look at Jun Wu Xie.
Jun Wu Xie shook her head.
Elder Ying then said with a bitter smile: "My real name is Zhan Miao, the Zhan Family Clan's current Family Head. Our Zhan Family Clan had been in existence from a few thousand years ago in the Middle Realm and the successive generations of people in our clan had witnessed with their own eyes the changes the Middle Realm had undergone."
Chapter 1798: "Zhan Family Clan (2)"
The Zhan Family Clan was one of the oldest clans in the Middle Realm that had enjoyed grandeur for a time when even before the Nine Temples and the Twelve Palaces had been founded, they had gained a little fame for themselves. With the passing of time, the Zhan Family Clan had over the long winding river of time's passage accumulated through generation after generation of its descendants, a highly impressive collection of treasures in their possession. And it was because of the large number of secret treasures they had, that the Zhan Family Clan had a unique cultivation method for spirit powers, where few within the Middle Realm dared to antagonize them.
Although the Zhan Family Clan was not able to dominate the Middle Realm, they still possess the ability to protect themselves.
After the Nine Temples and the Twelve Palaces were founded, the Middle Realm fell into endless fighting and strife, where wars were waged incessantly. The Zhan Family Clan only protected themselves, taking a detached stance and did not partake in any fighting.
The Zhan Family Clan had once had its time of glory but after that, their numbers grew thin and when it reached Zhan Miao's generation, he was the only heir among three generations, where even his grandfather's generation only had his father as the only heir, without having even one sister.
The Zhan Family Clan had always maintained a low profile but for some unknown reason, the generations of Family Heads had died before they were advanced in age and the offsprings they left behind were few. When it came to Zhan Miao, he enjoyed conjugal bliss with his wife for more than ten years and it was when he reached close to forty before he had a son, and his wife had passed away due to complications during childbirth.
Leaving behind only one son, Zhan Qu.
Zhan Miao had not remarried as he still missed his deceased wife and he focused only on bringing up and teaching his son Zhan Qu.
"Zhan Qu is my only son, and the future successor of the Zhan Family Clan. Our Zhan Family Clan has a family rule, that we are not to join any other powers, and are not to have any dealings with other powers....." When speaking till that point, Elder Ying's gaze unconsciously sank downwards.
The Zhan Family Clan's family rules were strictly adhered to by the generations of Family Heads. This one family rule was set and handed down by the founding ancestor of the Zhan Family Clan and they did not know in detail why that was so but they just followed the ancestor's will.
But when on that day Zhan Qu brought back a beautiful girl and told Elder Ying that he wanted to marry the girl to be his wife, Elder Ying was initially ecstatic, until..... Elder Ying came to know that the girl was from the Nine Temples, and he flew into a quaking rage.
Because of the family's teachings, Elder Ying was highly against Zhan Qu's marriage with the girl and tried to force them to sever their relationship completely.
Zhan Qu resisted it endlessly where in the end, he did not hesitate to sever his ties with the Zhan Family Clan and brought the girl to go far far away.
When he was leaving, Elder Ying had a big fight with Zhan Qu and Elder Ying cut through the jade pendant that was the Zhan Family Clan's heirloom handed down through the generations and the broken jade pendant was taken away by Zhan Qu.
It was several years after Zhan Qu left that the rage in Elder Ying's heart finally subsided bit by bit and when he looked at the empty Zhan Family Clan, he kept thinking back on whether he might have done wrong. Why must he force his only son away just because of the family's teachings?
Remorse spread within Elder Ying's heart and in the fifth year after his son left, people from the Shadow Moon Palace found him and also handed one half of the jade pendant over to Elder Ying.
It was at that moment that Elder Ying came to know that his son Zhan Qu had died three years ago and Zhan Qu's wife's and his child's whereabouts were unknown, or whether they were dead or alive!
Chapter 1799: "Zhan Family Clan (3)"
That piece of news, was like a bolt out of a clear sky, that caused Elder Ying's heart which had sunk so deep into remorse to completely crumble. He anxiously seeked out people from the Shadow Moon Palace to ask how his son had died, and where his daughter in law and his grandchild had gone.
The people from the Shadow Moon Palace only said that they had accidently stumbled the matter and did not know much about the cause or things that happened after. Moreover, the Zhan Family Clan had no relations with the Shadow Moon Palace at all and there was no need for them to spend too much effort to help him investigate into the truth behind it.
There was no one else in the Zhan Family Clan and even if Elder Ying wanted to investigate, he did not have enough power to do it. With the hint from the Shadow Moon Palace, Elder Ying decided to abandon his family's teachings and he joined the Shadow Moon Palace, presenting to them a whole batch of the Zhan Family Clan's secret treasures, in exchange for the Shadow Moon Palace to help him search for his daughter in law and grandchild.
That one search continued on for a stretch of ten years. In the beginning, the Shadow Moon Palace would still send people to go search. But as time went on, that matter became old news and if not for the fact that Elder Ying sent men out on his own to go search, the entire matter would have been completely forgotten by Shadow Moon Palace.
But after having search for so many years, Elder Ying had gotten nothing out of it, unable to find out anything about the death of his son.
Were it not for the fact that no one could replicate the family heirloom jade, Elder Ying would really have thought that all of that was just a scheme cooked up by the Shadow Moon Palace.
After looking into it for so long, Elder Ying was also feeling that things were rather suspicious and he turned his sights from all over the Middle Realm onto the Shadow Moon Palace itself. Surrounding the death of his son, there were just too many mysteries. How did the Shadow Moon Palace so coincidentally see it happen? And how did the Zhan Family Clan's jade pendant come to fall into the hands of the Shadow Moon Palace? And how was the Shadow Moon Palace able to ascertain the origins of that jade pendant and come to seek him out?
From the start, Elder Ying had been highly flustered by the death of his son. But over so many years, as he came to understand the Shadow Moon Palace more, he could not help but have a strong feeling that his son's death that many years ago was intricately linked to the Shadow Moon Palace.
And the thing that worried him the most, was about the daughter in law and grandchild that he had never met.
The reason that he would turn his sights inward upon Elder Yue, was because all the most insidious deeds committed by the Shadow Moon Palace were mainly all plotted by Elder Yue's hand and towards the certain kind of reprehensible habits that Elder Yue was prone to that was not know to others, Elder Yue knew about it clearly.
It was hard for him to even imagine. If his own grandchild had fallen into that monster's hands, what kind of a pitiable state it would be!
Elder Ying's heart had been highly conflicted. Although he wished to be able to find traces of a clue from Elder Yue's side, but he was also very worried that if he really discovered it, it would mean that his grandchild had fallen victim to Elder Yue's monstrous claws.
All of that, made Elder Ying highly worried and torn. But when he saw the brocade box that Jun Wu Xie brought in, the highly taut string within his heart finally snapped.
Two clear streams of tears fell from Elder Ying's eyes. He just could not accept all of this. After waiting for more than ten years, he was getting himself such a result. He just could not accept it.
"Kid, what is your objective in coming to the Shadow Moon Palace?" Elder Ying's eyes narrowed to a slit. He held only hatred towards the Shadow Moon Palace.
It was now clear that the Shadow Moon Palace had come to entice him to join them, was only because they were eyeing the Zhan Family Clan's treasures and unique cultivation method. Over the years, he had taken out quite a number of his clan's secret treasures to present to the Palace Lord to show his loyalty to the palace. But only he knew the level of disgust he held hidden against the Shadow Moon Palace.
At the very moment he saw the Zhan Family Clan's jade pendant, his hatred immediately reached new heights!
Jun Wu Xie looked at Elder Ying's eyes that were filled with nothing but pure hatred, and her eyes flashed with a glint of understanding.
What Elder Ying seeked to do, had come to match her objective unplanned.
"I want to destroy the Shadow Moon Palace."
Chapter 1800: "Poisoned (1)"
"Haha! I just knew that a kid like you could not have come to the Shadow Moon Palace with any good intentions. But this time, what you seek to do is the same as me. Kid, are you willing to collaborate with me in this?" Elder Ying's eyes were flashing with hatred. The Shadow Moon Palace had deceived him for so long and his son's death coupled with how his daughter in law and grandchild had gone missing could possibly be the doing of the Shadow Moon Palace, Elder Ying knew that vengeance for the killing of his son would never allow them both to coexist under the same Heavens!
"Sure." Jun Wu Xie nodded her head. If she was able to gain Elder Ying's help, she believed that things would become much simpler for her.
"Have you been suspecting that your son's death had something to do with the Shadow Moon Palace?" Jun Wu Xie asked as she looked at Elder Ying. Elder Ying had roped in Chang Huan before this because he wanted to investigate Elder Yue and it was clear to see that Elder Ying had that guess in mind.
Elder Ying said with a cold sneer: "I did indeed suspect as such. After I came to the Shadow Moon Palace, the more I came to know about the Shadow Moon Palace, the less I believed that they would be so kind to go inform me about the matter. Although our Zhan Family could not compare to the Twelve Palaces or the Nine Temples, but the amount of treasures we have accumulated was rather significant. Back at the time when the Dark Emperor unified the Middle Realm, the various major powers presented a highly substantial number of treasures. And with the fall of the Dark Emperor, those treasures had all been buried together with the Dark Emperor. The powers had tried in every way they could to find the Dark Emperor's tomb to gain the treasures but are all still unsuccessful till today, and have hence turned their sights upon the oldest family clans in the realm."
Back at the time when the Dark Emperor unified the Middle Realm, the major powers were the ones who were most greatly affected but for the family clans who knew their place and behaved themselves, they did not suffer much threat or coercion from the Dark Emperor. Hence, in the Middle Realm, the Four Sides, Nine Temples and Twelve Palaces might harbour great hatred against the Dark Emperor, but to the various large family clans and regular citizens, they were in reality grateful for the appearance of the Dark Emperor.
It was precisely because of the unification by the Dark Emperor, that the regular citizens were able to get a breather from being caught within the constant fighting between the major powers.
As though the Dark Regions were recalcitrant, but they never harmed the innocent, where against the various large family clans and common citizens, they would never do anything to harm them without reason.
Thus, though the Dark Emperor had fallen for so many years, but many legends of the Dark Emperor were still being spread throughout the Middle Realm. Most of these legends had come from the commoners, songs raised in praise of the Dark Emperor's valor and might.
"About the Shadow Moon Palace Lord, you're the one responsible for the poisoning?" Jun Wu Xie suddenly asked.
Elder Ying was slightly taken aback as he stared at Jun Wu Xie im surprise. "You're saying the Palace Lord is poisoned? It's not an illness?"
The surprise on Elder Ying's face already told her that he knew nothing about the matter.
Jun Wu Xie then said: "The pallor on his face is a little strange and I have some knowledge in Medicine. I can be certain that his condition is definitely due to him being poisoned, and not because of any illness."
Jun Wu Xie had thought that Elder Ying's hatred had driven him to poison the Shadow Moon Palace Lord but it was obvious at that moment Elder Ying did not know anything about it.
"This..... I really do not know anything about it. Although the Palace Lord looks to be amiable and friendly, but he is actually crafty and vicious. Not to mention me, even Elder Yue is not able to have much time with the Palace Lord alone. Everything from the Palace Lord's food, lodging, clothes to travel are all overseen by his trusted aide and all the Elders are not given any authourity to interfere in anyway. Even if I wanted to do that, I would not have the chance to." Elder Ying said truthfully.
With the ongoing power struggle among the Twelve Palaces, schemes to kill the various Palace Lords were constant. Spies from other palaces were hidden within the various palaces and hence the respective Palace Lords were always highly guarded with their safety and wellbeing. Every Palace Lord would foster a batch of complete loyalists and the Palace Lord's daily life would be attended to by these people and no others would have an opportunity to stick their hand into it.