NOVEL NEXT Chapter 18: Poison
The group travelled to the mountain, taking breaks in clearings that are easier to defend.
"Hold!"
"Ngou?!" Yin Xiao stopped abruptly as those in front stopped. His forehooves raised up at the sudden command before he huffed as he stood upright again.
"What's going on?"
"Don't tell me there's another attack?!"
"Hey, what's going on upfront?"
The cultivators began murmuring while the magicians mixed in the group could feel the cold chill in the air, as if the breath of death itself blew towards them.
"Let's go see" She told Yin Xiao, stroking his the side of his face.
Yin Xiao huffed and strode to the front slipping through the various mounts that are disgruntled from the sudden stop.
There before her was a wall of mist as thick as the walls of the capital. Towering above them as if reaching the sky itself. Carcases of beasts and animals lay scattered where it touches. The mist, white as the clouds, was pulsing, as if breathing, whispering through the air secrets it holds. The ground is as baren as the desert despite it being in the middle of a forest.
Those around them began talking in confusion, murmurs aroused, since there wasn't supposed to be any mists at all.
Dangerous as this place might be, it has boundless treasures and bountiful harvests for cultivators and magicians alike. So, many had explored these areas before despite the looming danger.
"What do you think is it?" Feng Jiao Xue asked Yin Xiao only to be responded with a bleath as confused as her.
"A formation?" A grizzly bearded cultivator besides her theorises.
"No" A magician frowned, stepping forward but still keeping his distance. "I don't sense any magical signature of the ground"
"Flames that engulfs all that dares to oppose, heed my call and obey my command, Firenzie!" A female mage casted, a ball of flame half her size built up from her palm before it flew towards the mist.
The blazing ball striked through with astonishing speed. Evaporating the mist as it pierced through it however as they watch the flames fly farther and farther into the mist, it slowly vanishes as the wall of mists reforms once more before they could even see the other side.
"Stop!" One of the cultivator's barrated the girl. "Are you crazy? Don't attack until we fully understand what is going on!"
"Han Qing, what is going on here?" Liang Feng asked as he stepped out of his carriage.
Feng Jiao Xue noted the leader's name in her memory as she is aware that he is not just any guard but the personal knight of the prince.
Glancing at the side, Feng Jiao Xue discreetly observed the said knight silently assessing the situation.
Han Qing is the embodiment of icy detachment. Towering with a lean, sinewy frame, he carries himself with a rigid, disciplined poise, as if always prepared for an impending battle. His sharp, angular features are framed by long, jet-black hair that falls straight down his back, unadorned and impeccably neat. His piercing dark eyes are cold and calculating, as though he's perpetually assessing threats and opportunities, leaving no room for warmth or familiarity.
His attire is stark and utilitarian, dark robes of deep charcoal with minimal ornamentation, save for the faint emblem of the crown prince's house stitched subtly on his chest.
"I don't know, master. It's like trying to pierce a transparent film that wouldn't budge. My spiritual perception can't go through" Han Qing's voice is low and measured, each word delivered with an almost cutting precision that leaves no room for misunderstanding.
"Huang Jin De, can you see through?" Feng Jiao Xue asked through their mind link.
"Yes, don't step though the mist. Its a poisoned miasma. Nothing but corpses inside." He replied. "Want me to blow it away?" He offered already knowing the answer.
"No, your too conspicious" She denied.
"Young master, we cannot proceed farther" Han Qing informed the prince respectfully snapping Feng Jiao Xue back to the real world.
"Can we go around it?" Liang Feng suggested with a frown, his chest rising and falling more and more noticeably as he covered the lower half of his face with his hand.
"Young master!" A servant girl immediately supported Liang Feng as stumbled as his feet reached the ground.
Liang Feng took out his handkerchief and coughed fervently.
Frowning, Feng Jiao Xue walked towards them, pausing when a sword was pointed on her neck.
"I know a little bit about medicine. I want to check on him" Feng Jiao Xue told them calmly.
"Ah, Feng Xue you're here too" Liang Feng smiled weakly, a hint of fatigue showing on his eyes as he stood upright."Let her, Han Qing. It's fine"
"Young master..." Han Qing frowned in disapproval but still let her through, his brows furrowing as he blocked her path momentarily. Despite his reservations, he stepped aside, his sharp eyes observing her every move.
Feng Jiao Xue ignored the scrutiny, her cold gaze fixed on the figure before her. Without hesitation, she reached out and grasped his wrist with practised precision, her fingers cool against his skin. Closing her eyes, she focused, her aura steady as she analysed the faint traces of energy coursing through his veins.
Feng Jiao Xue took his wrist and checked his pulse. She first checked the right before taking his left wrist.
She focuses on the thrummed under her thumb, the pulse on first check is strong suggesting strong vitality but... his veins pulsed an irregular rhythm, like the banging of drums without a beat. It creates a strange and uneven pulse that may puzzle inexperienced healers.
Feng Jiao Xue's lips thinned for she is familiar with such a pulse. It is often created by poisons of her own creation. To hide its presence as it gnaws away at the life force of its victim.
"Poison" She concluded as she felt the pulse to be faint at the deepest level, suggesting a poison that lingers within his very core.
Those around the prince looked at Feng Jiao Xue warily. Even Liang Feng's eyes flashed with defence.
It's clear that though he sees her in a favourable light, he is no fool to fully trust a stranger.
"Oh?" The prince asked lightly. "How can you tell?" he asked doubtfully. Not at her diagnosis but on how she came to that conclusion.
"Isn't your 'esteemed self' already aware of the answer?" Feng Jiao Xue replied coldly neither outrightly informing the prince that she knows who he is but dropping a hint that she might create the illusion that she is more than she lets on.
This move can work two ways, the prince become wary of her and see her as potential enemy or try and make her an ally or at the very least, a useful tool.
'What will it be, my prince?' Feng Jiao Xue wondered silently despite a congesture already forming in her mind.
The prince's eyes swirled with inner conflict, like a storm brewing under the once bright sky before he sighed.
He is very much aware of what is going on in his body no matter how many physicians may diagnose him as healthy.
"Heh" The prince laughed in self-ridicule. "Indeed, no one is more aware than myself." He slumped weakly on the carriage before looking up at her, a glimmer of something in his tired and worn eyes.
"Just who are you?" He asked curiously.
"Feng Xue" She simply replied.
"Snow Phoenix" He translated the meaning of her name. "It suits you and another thing that is close to hers" Liang Feng heaved a heavy sigh.
For a moment, Feng Jiao Xue's heart panged as her soul wavered but still, she kept quiet.
The prince was silent as those around them withdrew to give them privacy.
Finally, the prince spoke. "Can you help me?" he asked, his tone weak and weary while his gaze, his eyes ablaze with defiance to his fate. A glimmer of light beneath the shadows that those bright eyes hide.