Poison Genius Consort (Web Novel)
chapter-973

Falling through the darkness felt like plummeting into an endless abyss. It seemed as if they’d never stop. Their surroundings were too dark. Even as Han Yunxi opened her eyes wide, she failed to see a thing, like she’d gone blind. Only Long Feiye’s embrace banished the uneasiness in her heart. No matter where they went or what they faced, at least he was by her side. At least he hadn’t let go of her hands.

Han Yunxi had no idea that Gu Qishao and the rest were all following behind thanks to Long Feiye’s foot. Nor did she realized that as soon as they came in, Gu Qishao and the rest had disappeared to parts unknown. Wind whipped past their ears, sending their hair and robes flapping. Han Yunxi wanted to talk to Long Feiye, but the gale blew the words right out of her mouth, so she gave up. She leaned against Long Feiye’s chest and made the best of it, dismissing all thoughts from her mind to hug him quietly.

Still, she couldn’t help but feel that something was wrong. However, she couldn’t put her finger on what. Perhaps only women were capable of detecting such things, like an indescribable sixth sense.

After what seemed like an eternity, Han Yunxi and Long Feiye finally saw light beneath their feet. In the end, they landed in a stone room. Four walls surrounded them on all sides, along with one sealed stone door. Han Yunxi silently exhaled. She was really afraid that she’d ended up seeing the world 3,000 years later. Turning to Long Feiye, she smiled and said, “It’s not bad here, huh?”

“Mm,” Long Feiye smiled faintly back.

Han Yunxi looked her him before turning back completely to ask, “Long Feiye, what’s wrong? Are you uncomfortable?”

Long Feiye seemed to finally get some energy back as he gave her a doting smile. “I’m fine!”

The stone room was empty except for the two of them. Han Yunxi looked around before asking doubtfully, “Gu Qishao and the rest...they didn’t come in, right?”

“They shouldn’t have,” Long Feiye said as he straightened himself out and led Han Yunxi to the stone door. He pushed against its surface, but it didn’t budge.

“Would the switch to open the door be nearby?” Han Yunxi started searching the walls with Long Feiye joining in. Eventually, he hit upon something that caused the door to gradually open up.

“Shall we go out and see?” Long Feiye asked.

Han Yunxi nodded. Long Feiye went out first, leaving Han Yunxi inside the doorway. She gave a start, but quickly hurried after him.

Before them was a high palace hall. Enshrined inside was a statue of a deity with a wolf’s head and human body. The head of the wolf was identical to that on the wordless stele in her dreams. The statue itself was ten stories tall, looking powerful and mighty. Besides that, there was nothing else in the space. Four empty walls surrounded them on all sides, devoid of any carvings or writings found in typical palace decor.

“What kind of monster is this?” Han Yunxi said. Her voice echoed in the space, causing her hairs to stand on end. If Lil Thing ever turns into something like that, I won’t be able to take it.

“There’s no door here,” Long Feiye observed.

Han Yunxi shifted her eyes from the statue and realized the same problem. “Shall we search for another switch?” she asked. She had a feeling that everything was somewhat strange, and that none of this was real.

After searching in a circle and finding no switch, Long Feiye looked up at the statue and intoned, “Would it be the statue?”

Han Yunxi looked at the statue and didn’t budge, but Long Feiye abruptly flew up to land on its shoulders. Then he began to grope about its body. Han Yunxi looked at him with a complicated expressions. With her current lightness techniques, it was possible to fly up as well, but she still refused to move. All she did was watch and stare…

Long Feiye looked down at her and asked, “Are you coming up?”

Before Han Yunxi could answer, the statue suddenly broke into pieces. Long Feiye took to the air while Han Yunxi hastily backed away. Who knew that the pieces of the statue would suddenly change into a fiercely burning flame that soared to the skies as a fire dragon to attack Long Feiye?!

Not expecting this, Long Feiye was soon surrounded by the fire dragon. The flames were soon licking up his body until they sent him crashing back to the ground. The fierce fires hemmed him in tightly as it ate at his form. He knelt on one knee, stretching a hand towards Han Yunxi.

“S…save me! Yunxi….save me…”

Han Yunxi stared at him blankly but didn’t move. How was she supposed to save Long Feiye? This sealed room had nothing. Even if she wanted to, she didn’t have the skills! Moreover, even if she had the skills, she wouldn’t necessarily save him!

Like this, she watched the flames burn at Long Feiye while remaining indifferent.

“Yunxi, come over here… Yunxi…”

“Han Yunxi….save me….”

“Yunxi, come here...I’m almost at my limit. Y-you come here...let me see you, see you for the last time…”

Han Yunxi was afraid to meet Long Feiye’s eyes, but instead of stepping forward, she backed away.

Long Feiye lost his temper. “Han Yunxi, are these your loyal feelings to this crown prince?! You said you’d stand by me!”

“Han Yunxi, I originally though...hehe, I thought that even if we couldn’t live together, we could die together. Hahaha, looks like I was too stupid!” As he spoke, Long Feiye threw back his head and laughed. His figure looked incomparably desolate and wretched amidst the blaze. But Han Yunxi remained unmoved. Instead, her expression was nothing but ruthless.

Faced with Long Feiye’s accusations, she didn’t say a thing besides backing further and further from him. Abruptly, Long Feiye roared, “Han Yunxi, I, Long Feiye, vow to never love you in any life again!”

Finally, Han Yunxi had enough. She yelled back, “You’re not Long Feiye! You’re not! You don’t have the right to swear in his name!”

Before they’d even landed, she’d sensed something wrong. After touching the ground, she began to suspect, because Long Feiye had let go of her hand. How could he ever do something like that in a place like this? Moreover, Long Feiye had been the first to leave the room after the stone door opened, leaving her inside. She had to hurry after him. Although he’d taken her hand afterwards, it was a completely different feeling than before.

When they first came to the poison depot, he had entwined his fingers with hers. Every time they held hands after that was the same.

But the Long Feiye before her eyes had done no such thing! In fact, he didn’t even ask how she was feeling after they landed. Actually, the so-called sixth sense of women was merely their memory for the fine details. Once memory became habit, it left a mark in their consciousness. If anything showed up that didn’t fit the mold, the woman would sense something amiss even if she couldn’t voice the reasons. Once the feeling grew stronger, women would start searching for discrepancies in the little details.

Han Yunxi was certain that this man wasn’t Long Feiye despite looking absolutely identical. How could he ever ask her to throw her life away like that? How was that possible?

“You aren’t him! You’re not!” Han Yunxi shouted. She didn’t even want to look at the fires anymore, much less that fake Long Feiye. She was afraid that if she lingered on him any longer, she wouldn’t be able to bear it. After all, they looked far too alike.

She looked at the walls around her and cried, “Long Feiye, where are you! Long Feiye! How could you let go of my hand! Where are you?!”

Something strange occurred after her shout. The raging inferno behind Han Yunxi and the burning Long Feiye within it all disappeared. When the heat vanished, Han Yunxi’s head whipped back and saw a door appear in the wall in place of the statue. The palace hall had disappeared too, to be replaced with ordinary stone walls.

“An illusion?” she muttered to herself. What else could have vanished so quickly? Thus, she must have stepped into an illusion to hallucinate such things. Then, where was Long Feiye now?

Was he too, undergoing a similar illusion? Would he be able to recognize it all as false? Han Yunxi couldn’t afford to speculate, so she shook her head to clear her thoughts. If this really was all an illusion, then it was important to remain rational. There was no telling who or what she’d meet with next. It was better to track people down.

Very soon, she found another switch by the stone door to open it up, but she gave a start when she saw Long Feiye standing right outside! For a while, she didn’t move or make a sound. She couldn’t be sure that this Long Feiye wasn’t a fake as well. Just then, the other Long Feiye was intent on seeing her dead. That was a fatal illusion capable to taking one’s life by seizing advantage of one’s feelings!

The Long Feiye outside the door seemed taken aback as well. He too, remained silent and motionless. Just like that, the duo stood staring at each other for a long time. After some hesitation, Han Yunxi prepared to test him when Long Feiye abruptly strode inside. She involuntarily retreated, but he didn’t stop walking until he was standing right in front of her.

They were so close that they could practically touch. Han Yunxi still wanted to withdraw, but Long Feiye suddenly reached over a hand to stroke her hair. Alarmed, she stared at him as her heart beat fast. Could it be...could it be that he’s the real one?

She quickly took his hand and entwined their fingers together. Long Feiye squeezed back in response, then pulled her into his embrace.

What a familiar, domineering action!

What a familiar embrace!

Han Yunxi held him tight and cried, “Long Feiye, it’s you! It’s really you!”

Long Feiye hugged her for a long time before he gave a long sigh. “Han Yunxi, I was scared!”

Just then, he’d ran into an illusion of Han Yunxi being burned alive by a wolf-head god statue. She had wept and cried for him to save her from the flames, but he couldn’t do it. He felt something wrong as soon as he took her hand. This woman before him was the real Han Yunxi!

After breaking through the illusion, he’d searched for her like a madman through countless stone rooms until he ended up here.