CHAPTER 655: [649] QING CHUAN CHENG WANGFEI 18 (1 MORE UPDATE)

Since she was going for a stroll in the garden, walking was inevitable, so Xiyuan changed into traditional Han attire and, leading two eunuchs, two maids, two guards, left her quarters.

This standard accompaniment was specifically instructed by Yun Mi; she had thought that nothing could possibly go wrong within the Imperial Family’s garden.

Yet, even after deliberately avoiding the northwest, trouble found her when she least expected it.

Never mind how an intoxicated Taoist managed to barge into the inner garden, what was key was that he, fueled by his drunkenness, verbally abused a palace maid, and despite her cries for help, not a single guard showed up.

It didn’t matter that Xiyuan came from modern times, no person from any era could ignore such an incident.

Thus, she resolutely ordered the guards to capture the Taoist.

Though the Taoist was drunk, he wasn’t unconscious, and mistaking her for a palace maid because of her Han attire, he became insolent.

"Let’s see who dares to touch me. If you know what’s good for you, let me go. I am an ’immortal’ specially invited by the Emperor from Henan. If you harm me in any way, can you afford to offend me?"

His words indeed made the guards of Yuanming Garden hesitate because Yong Zheng greatly favored such Taoists; going so far as to build a Taoist Temple within Yuanming Garden, which clearly showed his obsession with the creation of elixirs.

Anyone else might have hesitated, but Xiyuan, who came from the future, held nothing but disdain for such charlatans.

Especially since this Taoist appeared both sleazy and overbearing; if she let him go today, who knew who he might harm in the future!

This was the boundary of the harem within Yuanming Garden; even Yun Mi and other relatives like her hardly dared to reside directly in the harem, yet this Taoist dared to be so bold as to insult a palace maid here. If she let him off today, wouldn’t that tarnish the Imperial Family’s dignity?

This man simply could not be spared; by entering here, he was already on a path towards death, not realizing his error, instead speaking so rudely, looking so lecherous—it was truly disgusting.

"Arrest him," Xiyuan ordered, unthreatened, insisting the guards detain the man.

At this moment, she keenly noticed a flash of panic in his eyes; it seemed he wasn’t drunk at all but pretending, a motive clear to anyone.

Sensing something amiss, the Taoist inquired, "Who are you?"

Xiyuan looked at him indifferently: "Enough nonsense; take him before the Emperor to be punished for disrupting the harem!"

Just as the two guards were about to lift him and take him away, unexpectedly, the Taoist released a snake that bit one of the accompanying guards. The guard, in pain, loosened his grip, allowing the Taoist to leap into the grove and flee.

The reaction was so quick that even Xiyuan was caught off guard, especially when the guard lay on the ground clutching his wrist and wailing in agony. Xiyuan quickly crouched to check and saw apparent blackness at the wound, her eyes turned icy, "Quick, fetch a doctor; the snake is venomous."

Saving a life was urgent as a fire; without a second thought, Xiyuan bent down to suck the poison from the guard’s wrist, startling everyone present.

While she sucked out the poisoned blood and spat it, the guard’s condition did not improve; instead, he began to tremble violently. Even though Xiyuan used the cool tea brought by the maid, infused with spiritual spring water, to clean his wound, it had no effect.

An hour had passed, and the Imperial Physician arrived breathlessly, only to find that the person had already convulsed to death.

Such a vicious poison—it was even more lethal than that of the king cobra, claiming a life in merely an hour. Xiyuan suddenly felt a sense of foreboding.

She had personally sucked out the poisoned blood, and though she had rinsed her mouth continuously with tea water, she had still ingested a small amount of the toxin.

Even with the Imperial Physician there, when the time came to faint, she fainted just the same.

"You fool," Liang Tian scolded her from within the space.

Looking forlorn like a little wife, Xiyuan sat pitifully on the grass, "Am I... am I dead? Oh my, doesn’t that mean I’ve failed this task?"

"Even if you’re not dead, you’re not much better off. This poison is no ordinary one. You dare to take action without knowing anything? Don’t you know your lips are blistered?"

Xiyuan pouted with a hint of grievance, "I was just trying to save someone. If I waited any longer, the poison would seep into the bloodstream. How could I save them then?"

"Did you manage to save them?" The disdain in Liang Tian’s voice made Xiyuan feel utterly humiliated, "It was just instinct, really it was instinct. Stop scolding me, what do I do now? Is this mission over?"

"If you were to end here, it would mean the end of your mission chain. If you wish to resurrect and come back to life, I’m afraid it’s not possible. So, are you giving up?"

"No, I can’t give up. Don’t you have some sort of condition?"

"I haven’t thought of one yet. When I remember in the future, there will naturally be conditions. As for now... you can’t let yourself be poisoned for nothing, right? Just wait. You must make this poison worth the affliction it caused."

At this moment, Xiyuan naturally did not understand what "worth the affliction it caused" meant, because she had not heard any voices from the outside world since she fell unconscious—her five senses were as if they had been completely shielded, and she could no longer hear.

With Ms. Wuya’s unconsciousness, Prince Cheng was completely enraged. He not only personally went to the Taoist Temple to apprehend the Taoist responsible for releasing the snake but also dealt with the guards who were on duty nearby on that day. Even the eunuchs and palace maids around Xiyuan were taken down, awaiting punishment.

It was thought that capturing the Taoist would quickly yield an antidote; however, it turned out that the snake venom was from a mutated snake that the Taoists of the temple had recently come up with, and an antidote had not yet been found, leaving Yun Mi completely bemused.

Yet, something even more terrifying lingered on the horizon. As night fell, the guard who had died, since no antidote had been discovered and thus was not yet buried, sat up straight that evening. The eunuchs and guards on watch urinated in fear and ran out screaming.

Because the Emperor had decreed that if an antidote was not found, all the people in the Taoist Temple would be buried alive with Princess Cheng, they hoped that the revival of the guard indicated the possibility of reversing the effects of the poison. However, to their dismay, when they arrived at the morgue, they could not find the corpse in its expected place.

"Where is he? Didn’t you say he was alive?"

Terrified and trembling, the eunuch courageously followed behind and, seeing the empty morgue bed, went pale with fear.

"He, he didn’t come out. We’ve been watching outside the whole time. How could he not be there?"

No sooner had these words been spoken than a dark shadow leapt down from the rafter, standing there silently, motionless with head bowed.

"Isn’t that him? He, he really is alive. Oh heavens, this is unbelievable. The Imperial Physician said he was dead, beyond saving. How could he come back to life?"

Unfortunately, before the words were fully uttered, a Taoist emboldened by fear stepped forward, voice trembling as he asked, "Are you human or ghost?"