Taking the guqin Song Yehai sat down and placed it on his lap before he plucked a string, the music evocative and spellbinding, more pronounced and fluid than how Wu Xingyu played. Mr Shu's spirit shrunk into an orb of wisp and light, like a firefly shrouded in mist. As Song Yehai played the next notes similar glowing orbs emerged from every other corpse in the town. Wu Xingyu fixated on those long fingers, calloused but lithe with clean nails and fluid in their movements, musing how perfectly shaped they were for playing the guqin.
The orbs hovered slowly and orderly in long, undulating chains that encircled them. Some of them began to emit a red aura. Song Yehai's brows creased. Sensing his distress, Wu Xingyu brought his xiao back to his lips, joining smoothly with the guqin. The red aura dissipated, the souls soothed and coaxed into forsaking all mortal attachments before slowly sank into the earth.
Song Yehai's lips curved upwards as he plucked the last note and then rested his hand on the board. "All the souls of this town have moved on. I must return to the Sea Dragon Sect now to check on my disciple."
"Maybe I can be of help to curing your disciple?" offered Wu Xingyu. "I know how to create the antidote, but I should check on Wu Yi's condition first."
A tinge of surprise, excitement and relief leaked out of Song Yehai's formerly emotionless face as his passive eyes lit up. He was about to request for the Snow Phoenix Grandmaster's assistance when Wu Xingyu offered it first.
"Let's get to the East Seas then. There," Song Yehai pointed at two horses, a sturdy stallion and an elegant mare, standing beside a pile of cargo scattered by Mo Xuecheng's tornado. "Let's borrow those horses."
They untied the straps from the wagons, leaving only the saddle and the rider's reins, mounted the beasts of burden and pulled on the reins so that horses galloped eastward at their fastest with Tai Ying flying closely from behind. The late afternoon had become dusk by the time the horses were tired and they finally arrived at the entrance of a towering temple with golden tiles carved to resemble tides and intricate, story-telling motifs etched on its walls.
A dragon statue stood watch from inside, its scales glinting in the soft light and its head reaching the ceiling. Proud and serene, the creature was both an imposing and awe-inspiring creation. A bronze plaque at the claws of the dragon had the inscriptions, "Temple of the East Sea Dragon".
Legends often spoke of the East Sea Dragon as a bad-tempered tyrant who brought floods and chaos upon those who failed to make the demanded sacrifices of small, healthy children or young, pretty women. In this temple, however, he was deified as a benevolent bringer of rain during periods of drought and poor harvest by sneezing in the clouds.
Farmers and fruit vendors regularly visited this temple to revere the golden dragon statue it enshrined with offerings of fresh food and handfuls of incense to implant into the small pot of soil at its feet. Fishermen also came seeking to receive favourable weather conditions that would allow them to catch more fish. Besides the East Sea Dragon's abode, there were also smaller shrines built for the dragon's brothers from the other three seas and his sons.
The strong smell of salt and intermittent splashes indicated to Wu Xingyu that they were close to the sea. Listening to its increasingly turbulent movement he began to understand Song Yehai's earlier statement about their lightness skill being rendered ineffective.
The East Sea Temples that stretched along the cliffs like a palace made of pagodas and pavilions was managed diligently by members of the Sea Dragon Sect. Every three years around a hundred new disciples were recruited, the batch gradually filtered to around twenty disciples through strict grading, spiritual training and disciplinarian teaching. Some were expelled, some left on their own accord, some transferred to other sects and some died fighting demons. Initially those who were eliminated or left the Sea Dragon Sect were never allowed to set foot in the East Sea Temples again until the current leader amended the law such that they may re-enter as a freshman for two more chances at most.
"Grandmaster Song," greeted a disciple in light blue uniform that indicated his junior ranking. He was sweeping up the leaves and twigs at the main entrance with a straw broomstick. Lifting his head, he quickly took note of the guest Song Yehai had brought with him. "This is..."
"The Snow Phoenix Grandmaster Wu Xingyu from the White Phoenix Sect," Wu Xingyu introduced himself, his name instantly drawing awe and admiration from the disciple's eyes.
"Oh, Grandmaster Wu! It's an honour to meet you!"
Another disciple arrived, carrying a large, woven basket to collect the swept leaves.
"Grandmaster Song," he addressed brusquely without giving a glance to Wu Xingyu. With uniforms of darker blue and carrying an uptight and scholarly vibe, he was a disciple of the Sect Leader Song Yefeng.
"Deliver this message to your master," Song Yehai passed an envelope to him. "Ask him to get it done for me as soon as possible. Also, take care of the two horses outside. Set them free once they've recovered their energy. They should be trained to return their homes on their own."
"Yes Grandmaster Song," he obliged before swiftly heading off.
"Xingyu, let's head to the Cold Night Hall first."
Wu Xingyu followed Song Yehai down a winding trail of stepping stones that snaked through the grasses. Being a rocky shortcut passing through the thick greenery and filled with all kinds flying bugs especially during summer, it was not as often used as the main walkways that led straight to the Great Hall. But Song Yehai, being someone who enjoyed a low profile and as little attention as possible, always used this shortcut to avoid a many people as he could and to get to his residence as fast as possible.
The Cold Night Hall comprised of the main hall in the middle of an even larger garden that had a pond and a small number of trees. Several small rooms were adjoined to the main hall via long hallways, the entire architecture structured in a star network.
The sliding door of the main hall was half-open. Bookshelves that reached the ceiling lined all three walls on the inside with most of the shelves half-emptied out. Scores of opened books and unfurled scrolls scattered disorderedly on the table at the centre and on the floor. At a quick, cursory glance of the words he saw on the open pages Wu Xingyu surmised them all to be focused on medical and medicinal matters.
Meng Qi had searched tirelessly for anything he could find about the Colourless Poison but being an extremely rare poison and having very little documented cases, his persistent search went unfruitful. Flipping through the pages and skimming over the words, he was interrupted in the middle of his reading when two shadows emerged and darkened the pages. He lifted his head to see who had entered the Cold Night Hall.
"Master, you're back!" he stood up to properly greet him and the guest he brought. "Master, this is..."
"I am Wu Xingyu from the White Phoenix Sect," introduced Wu Xingyu.
Meng Qi's eyes widened a little. He raised his hands in respectful salute. "Grandmaster Wu, it is an honour to meet you."
"No need for formalities for now. Let's check on the one who got poisoned."
"Is Wu Yi in her room?" asked Song Yehai.
"Yes master!" answered Meng Qi.
Song Yehai rushed down one of the hallways with Wu Xingyu and Meng Qi tailing closely from behind. Reaching the room at the end end they found Wu Yi lying on a small bed against one of the walls. Her breaths were erratic as though she was in great discomfort or experiencing a bad dream.
Wu Xingyu turned to Meng Qi, "Song Yehai said that your martial sister has been poisoned by Mo Xuecheng?"
"Yes! With the Colourless Poison."
Song Yehai grabbed Wu Yi's wrist and checked her pulse.
"Doctor Zhen has already checked on her," said Meng Qi.
"What did he say?" asked Song Yehai.
"He said that the Colourless Poison will spread through her veins and arteries from the point of infection to her head and stomach over a span of two days. During this time she'll only feel dizzy, nauseous and sleepy whenever she wakes up."
"Alright. Where is the old gentleman with the sprained ankles?"
"He's in Doctor Zhen's care."
"The Mo Xuecheng you and Wu Yi battled was a puppet corpse."
Meng Qi creased his brows a slight. "What's that?"
"It's a corpse that's controlled by someone else," explained Wu Xingyu. "Mo Xuecheng implanted a piece of his own soul into that body and manipulated it into killing the entire town, fighting you two and poisoning Wu Yi."
"The body belonged to a man named Shu Yong who was that gentleman's nephew," said Song Yehai. "Shu Yong was killed and imprisoned in his own body. Before his soul passed on, he wanted to thank you and Wu Yi for saving his uncle's life."
"He's too polite," said Meng Qi modestly. "If only we stronger, we could've saved more lives."
"Meng Qi, no need to be so hard on yourself. You two did very well," Song Yehai put down Wu Yi's hand. "What did Doctor Zhen say will happen to Wu Yi after five days?"
"He said that the poison in her stomach will cause her to want to throw up any food she eats. The poison in her head will block all five senses."
"Four and a half, actually," said Wu Xingyu.
Meng Qi looked at Wu Xingyu with a perplexed expression. "What does four and half senses mean?"
"You mean she won't entirely lose one of her senses, right?" guessed Song Yehai correctly. "I'm presuming it's the sense of touch."
"That's right. She will still be able to respond to the things that she touch. She just won't be able to feel pain and heat. In the past, most victims of the Colourless Poison have either died from starvation, overheating, overexposure to the cold, or from an injury of which they were unaware of. Some have even unintentionally bitten off their own tongues in the middle of eating or sleeping."
Meng Qi shuddered as he listened to Wu Xingyu.
"Has Doctor Zhen given her any medicines to take?" asked Song Yehai.
Meng Qi shook his head. "No, Doctor Zhen just left for the mountains to search for some herbs. He told me to keep an eye on Wu Yi and make sure she stays hydrated. Should we tap her pressure points to slow down the poison flow?"
Wu Xingyu shook his head. "No, the Colourless Poison is not affected by a change in the rate and pressure of the blood flow. It's invisibility makes it extremely difficult to both manage and cure."
"Is there really no way to save her besides Mo Xuecheng's antidote?" fretted Meng Qi anxiously. "He said he had an antidote just after he poisoned Wu Yi. I didn't really believe him, but I tried to ask more about just in case it was true. He wouldn't tell me anything. Maybe we can break into the Killing Immortals Sect and force him to give it to us somehow?"
"The antidote Mo Xuecheng talked about will only temporarily suppress some of the effects of the Colourless Poison," said Wu Xingyu. "It's called the Half Sun Pill. One pill will allow her to regain only her sight for half a day."
"Only her sight for half a day?" exclaimed Meng Qi. "That's hardly a proper antidote!"
"Besides the Half Sun Pill, there is another way to fully cure all the effects of the posion."
Perked, Meng Qi's eyes anxiously sprung up. "What is it?"
"The Five-Coloured Poison."
Song Yehai's eyes narrowed with thoughtfulness. "The Five-Coloured Poison was one of the White Phoenix Sect's most powerful yet dangerous concoctions. I've heard that it hasn't been brewed or used for so long because of its potency in doing more harm than good."
"That's correct," affirmed Wu Xingyu. "The White Phoenix Sect and the Three Ghosts Sect used to be quite close with one another before the White Phoenix Sect was wiped out. Thanks to their teachings, we were able to invent the Five-Coloured Poison. After several years, however, our sect elders decided to seal the recipe away many years ago. Like everything else that also got sealed away, it's been lost ever since."
"Grandmaster Wu, do you intend to use poison to counter poison?" asked Meng Qi.
"Mn," Wu Xingyu nodded. "The Five-Coloured Poison is the only effective counter poison to the Colourless Poison. That was the only medical use of the poison discovered by our doctors back then."
"But putting more poison into Wu Yi, would there be any side effects?"
"There will be. But it as long as she knows the precautions she must take in the future it shouldn't be too much of a problem. Tai Ying, come here!"
Tai Ying flew towards the open window. He had to land at an awkward angle on the sill first, bring in his wings and then re-open them once he was inside, his wingspan exceeding the width of the window. Wu Xingyu raised his arm, giving Tai Ying a perch.
"The Fire Feathered Eagle!" exclaimed Meng Qi.
"His name is Tai Ying," Wu Xingyu brought the eagle a little closer to Meng Qi.
Meng Qi cupped his hands and bowed before him. "Thank you for saving Wu Yi and I from the Demon back then."
Tai Ying stared at Meng Qi with an affectionate gaze and cooed before lowering his head as though returning the bow.
"Tai Ying, I need to trouble you to return to the Flower Fruit Mountain and see if you can find the sealed recipes of our sect," said Wu Xingyu. "If you can, bring them here. And while you're there, bring back a Spinal Centipede as well, alright?"
Heeding the request, Tai Ying took off, flying out the window at a diagonal so that he did not need to retract his wings. Meng Qi watched the great eagle disappear, captivated by the beauty and eminence of the holy beast.
"The Five-Coloured Poison is made up of the poisons from the Fire Viper, the Green Spider, the Snow Toad, the Spinal Centipede and the Iron-Clawed Scorpion."
Meng Qi's jaw dropped. "These creatures you just listed, they are the most poisonous creatures on earth!"
"Getting the poisons is one thing. To make and use the Five-Coloured Poison will also involve a lot of risks. The five poisons, being so potent, are difficult combine correctly. The smallest mistake can kill the brewer. Administering it incorrectly can also kill the patient by accident."
Song Yehai suddenly fell to his knees before Wu Xingyu.
"Yehai, what are you doing?" asked Wu Xingyu in total shock. He quickly fell on his knees as well so that he was eye to eye with Song Yehai. "Please don't be like this. What's this for? Why are you kneeling to me?"