“You…!” Luo Hou’s heart was about to jump out of his throat. He suddenly felt a burning sensation all over his body, and his throat and stomach felt like they were on fire. In a fit of anger, he stood up, and a dagger silently slid from his sleeve into his hand.
Mo Yi, dressed in a white robe, took a sip of wine and said calmly, “Sit down if you don’t want to die.”
Luo Hou was seething with murderous intent. He suppressed the urge to kill Mo Yi and sat down. He knew that even if he killed Mo Yi now, it wouldn’t do him any good. He had been poisoned, and he was going to die anyway.
Mo Yi glanced at Luo Hou and shook his head with a sigh, his eyes conveying the meaning of “You’re just a naive kid,” which only fueled Luo Hou’s rage.
“What kind of poison did you give me?!” Luo Hou asked ominously. He observed Mo Yi’s hands. The smooth skin told him that the man in white had no martial arts skills, and he could easily take him down. But what Luo Hou didn’t know was that six Bone Tempering experts, three Blood Refinement masters, and a Primordial Master were hiding in the courtyard. With ten people watching, killing someone was practically impossible.
Mo Yi continued to drink, oblivious to Luo Hou’s gaze. Even after downing glass after glass of white wine, his face didn’t turn red. He said calmly, “Wu You Poison. The victim will die without any pain or awareness within a day and a half if they don’t have the antidote. Hence, the name Wu You – Worry-Free.”
Luo Hou gripped the dagger handle beneath the table with his right hand. If the handle wasn’t made of hard cold iron, a regular wooden one would have already been crushed. “What do you want from me?”
Seeing Luo Hou’s rage, Mo Yi smiled and said, “Divine Destiny.”
Luo Hou leapt to his feet, stabbing at Mo Yi with his dagger. The moment he heard the words “Divine Destiny,” a plan formed in his mind: kill Mo Yi, search for the antidote, and flee under the cover of night. His life was precious, but Divine Destiny was worth even more!
“The antidote isn’t on me. Sit down if you don’t want to die!” Mo Yi shouted angrily, slamming his hand on the table. The wine jug and cups on the table rattled slightly.
Luo Hou’s dagger stopped ten centimeters from Mo Yi’s neck. At the same time, if he looked up, he would see a long sword with a black blade, clearly coated with poison, hovering five centimeters above his head.
The Primordial Master had been hiding in the high part of the pavilion, using the Turtle Breath technique. Even if Luo Hou was about to break through to the Blood Refinement realm, he wouldn’t be able to sense the Primordial Master’s presence. If Luo Hou’s dagger had moved forward even a centimeter, the Primordial Master would have struck.
“You…” Luo Hou’s face flickered quickly, before he reluctantly sat down. Mo Yi had him completely under control. From the beginning to the end, the man’s expression had remained calm and composed, as if he didn’t care about life or death. Who would trade their life for that of someone who was willing to die?
“Very good.” Mo Yi nodded. “You’re wise. You know what to do.”
Luo Hou’s face was constantly shifting between anger and uncertainty. He stared at the clean table, silent for a long time.
Mo Yi didn’t say anything. He was waiting, waiting for the guy who had a high probability of being a fellow time traveler like himself to set an example.
“Clap.” A jade pendant was tossed onto the table. It slid across the smooth surface, coming to rest in front of Mo Yi.
Mo Yi didn’t reach out to take it. Instead, he sipped his wine and gazed at the moon.
Luo Hou’s voice was hoarse as he spoke, “Where’s the antidote?”
Mo Yi smiled silently and quickly rattled off a long list of ingredients, “Five hundred-year-old ginseng, Cordyceps militaris, red dates, white kidney bean, chrysanthemum, nutmeg, and a thousand-year-old Ice and Fire Grass.”
Luo Hou listened quietly, secretly making up his mind. As soon as Mo Yi finished, he would strike and kill him. He had no mercy, his only goal was to advance further on the path of strength. But when he heard the last ingredient, he froze.
“Ice and Fire Grass?”
Mo Yi nodded. “It’s a herb I personally cultivated. There’s only one in the world.”
A look of astonishment crossed Luo Hou’s face. The guy in front of him had seen through his thoughts and turned the tables, completely outmaneuvering him!
“Go collect the first six herbs. When you’ve gathered them, I’ll have the Ice and Fire Grass delivered to your doorstep.” Mo Yi said casually, pouring himself another glass of white wine.
Luo Hou stared intently at Mo Yi. After a while, he spoke slowly, one word at a time, “You! Are! Not! Mo! Yi!”
Mo Yi sneered, replying in the same manner, “You! Be! Happy! With! It!”
Luo Hou stood up and angrily swept everything off the long table, including the jade pendant. The pendant flew through the air and landed on the grass. Under the moonlight, it radiated a strangely beautiful glow.
Mo Yi, holding the surviving wine cup, watched Luo Hou’s figure as he stormed off. He smiled faintly and finished the last of his white wine.
As Luo Hou disappeared from sight, the Primordial Master descended from the pavilion. He bowed respectfully to Mo Yi and said, “I’ve heard that Young Master Mo Yi is a frivolous playboy, but tonight, I’ve witnessed a strategic genius who can achieve victory without violence! Mo Family handing over the management to you, Young Master, is truly the best choice.”
Mo Yi nodded slightly. “Go retrieve the jade pendant for me. Don’t breathe a word of what you heard tonight.”
The Primordial Master leapt and retrieved the jade pendant, placing it in front of Mo Yi. As he was about to leave, he turned around, his face filled with curiosity. “Young Master… I have a few questions I’d like to ask.”
Mo Yi played with the pendant, saying nonchalantly, “I’m feeling generous, so I’ll make an exception and answer your questions. Ask away.”
The Primordial Master bowed to Mo Yi before asking, “My first question is, Young Master, how come you can drink so much without getting drunk?”
Mo Yi tossed the cup to the Primordial Master. “Smell it?”
The Primordial Master took the jade cup, brought it to his nose, and sniffed. His face changed, and he bowed to Mo Yi once more.
Mo Yi’s cup had always contained plain water. Only Luo Hou’s cup had been filled with wine.
“My second question is, what is the Wu You Poison? I consider myself knowledgeable, but I’ve never heard of it,” the Primordial Master asked.
“Oh, that? I made it up. There’s no such poison,” Mo Yi replied casually.
The Primordial Master furrowed his brow. “Then why does the Luo boy look like he’s been poisoned, with his whole body burning and his body being restless?”
Mo Yi scratched his eyebrow. “I gave him some of the old man’s five-hundred-year-old Daughter’s Red, a rare vintage. Even a normal person would feel dizzy after just smelling it. That guy gulped it down in one go, so of course, he’d be burning up, his stomach hurting, and his body convulsing.”
The Primordial Master’s eye twitched. He bowed once more. “Then, I dare ask, is the antidote real or fake?”
“Real,” Mo Yi said with a smile. “White kidney bean, chrysanthemum, and nutmeg are good for hangovers. The five-hundred-year-old ginseng and Cordyceps militaris were just for fun, to make him work hard and search for a while. As for the Ice and Fire Grass? I’ll send him a dyed dog’s tail grass the next day.”
The Primordial Master was speechless. He hesitated for a moment before bowing deeply, at a ninety-degree angle.
Mo Yi ate his melon seeds, gazed at the moon, and sighed, “Life is truly as lonely as the snow.”