Chapter - 317 Willingly Disfigure a Handsome Face (11)

Yang Xiao said, "At that time we only know that there was a master helping our Cult in secret; how would I know that it was my old partner, good brother?" Four people broke up in laughter. Immediately Yang Xiao told Fan Yao briefly that the Ming Cult had ceased all enmity with the six major sects and joined hands to fight the Mongols together; for that reason they must rescue all the masters.

Fan Yao said, "The enemy is numerous, we are only four people; it will be difficult for us to accomplish this. The best way would be to get the antidote for 'shi xiang ruan jin san' and feed it to those stinky monks, stinky nuns and all those ox-noses; after their internal strength is recovered then we can make a surprised attack to those Tartars and then we can escape Dadou together."

The Ming Cult had never had any good relationship with Shaolin, Wudang and other orthodox sects, so in his speech Fan Yao did not have the slightest respect toward these six major sects. Yang Xiao tried to cast him some meaningful glances, but Fan Yao was oblivious to him. But actually Zhang Wuji did not mind at all; he clapped his hands and said, "That's great, Fan Youshi; but then how are we going to get the antidote for the 'shi xiang ruan jin san'?"

Fan Yao said, "Although 'Jun zhu' pays me a lot of respect, she has never discussed any important matter with me because I've never opened my mouth. When she talked and the other person did not utter a single word, how could she not be disappointed? Moreover, I came from a small country in the western region, so she could not treat me as a trusted friend. Hence I don't know where the antidote for the 'shi xiang ruan jin san' is. But I do know that this matter is very important to her, so she would guard this secret carefully. If my guess is correct, the poison and the antidote are in the hands of the Xuanming Elders; one has the poison, the other has the antidote, and they swap those poison and antidote periodically."

Yang Xiao sighed and said, "This princess is so cunning that even a man might not necessarily be better than her. Doesn't she trust the Xuanming Elders?"

Fan Yao replied, "First, distrust is right; second, it is also safer this way. Take us, for example, we want to steal the antidote; but we don't know whether it is in Lu Zhangke's hand, or is it in He Biweng's hand? Moreover, I heard that between the poison and the antidote there is no distinct color or odor differences, so unless we are really familiar with it, we might end up stealing the poison when we want to steal the antidote. This 'shi xiang ruan jin san' also has another fierce characteristic; when one took the poison, one's muscles and bones would be weakened, but one's life would not be threatened in any way. However, if that same person took the poison for the second time, even only for a little bit, immediately his blood flow will reverse and there is no cure for it."

Wei Yixiao stuck out his tongue and said, "If that's so, then we must not steal the wrong antidote."

"That's true," Fan Yao said, "But I have an idea: we steal both the poison and the antidote from the Xuanming Elders then we give it to some low level master from Huashan or Kongtong Sect. If he dies, then that one is the poison. Don't you think it is a good idea?"

Zhang Wuji realized he still had some heretical nature and did not put too much thought about other people's life. He laughed, "That's not good," he said, "What if after we painstakingly steal them, they are both poison?"

Yang Xiao slapped his thigh, "Jiaozhu is right," he said, "Last night we made such a commotion that perhaps 'Jun zhu' is scared and keep the antidote herself. I think we'd better investigate carefully who has the antidote then we'll talk about how to get it from him." He paused for a moment and then said, "Xiong di, what do those two Xuanming Elders like most?"

Fan Yao smiled and said, "Lu loves pretty face, He loves wine; what else do they like?"

"Jiaozhu," Yang Xiao asked Zhang Wuji, "Is there any drug that can make someone physically weak like the effect of the 'shi xiang ruan jin san'?"

Zhang Wuji thought for a moment and smiled, "To make someone weak and drowsy is certainly not difficult; only if you give it to a martial art expert, he would recover in less than an hour. To make something as fierce as the 'shi xiang ruan jin san', that I cannot do."

Yang Xiao smiled, "About an hour is enough," he said, "Subordinate has an idea, but I don't know whether it will work. I am asking Jiaozhu to give me your opinion. Although I said it is an idea, it might be just a worthless thought. Fan Xiongdi, you invite He Biweng to drink some wine; put the poison Jiaozhu make into it. Then Fan Xiongdi make up some trouble, pretend that he is being poisoned by He Biweng with the 'shi xiang ruan jin san'; at that time we will find out who has the antidote. Then we can steal it and use it to rescue the others."

Zhang Wuji said, "This idea is feasible; only it depends on He Biweng's temperament. Fan Youshi, what do you think?"

Fan Yao contemplated this idea back and forth and thought that although this idea was simple, it was flawless; so he said, "I think Yang Dage's idea is feasible. That He Biweng is temperamental, but he is not as smart as Lu Zhangke. If the antidote is in his hand, I think I can still deal with him even though my martial art skill is inferior to him."

"What if the antidote is in Lu Zhangke's hand?" Yang Xiao asked.

Fan Yao knitted his brows and said, "Then it is a lot more complicated." He stood up and paced back and forth on that little hill. After a long time he clapped his hands and said, "I have a way; that Lu Zhangke is smarter than average men, if we try to trick him, he might see through our deception. We must get hold of his weakness and then blackmail him; of course he will consider the pros and the cons, but he will never realize our scheme. I know that this idea is risky; we might fail, but other than this I can't think of anything else."

"What kind of weakness does this old man have?" Yang Xiao asked, "He is an old man with a young heart; what weakness of his fall into Xiongdi's hand?"

"In the spring this year Ruyang Wangye took a concubine and he invited some of us to an informal dinner in his residence," Fan Yao said, "Wangye proudly talked about his beautiful concubine; he even ordered the new bride to come out and serve us wine. I saw Lu Zhangke's lecherous eyes almost popped out of their sockets, while he swallowed his saliva; his heart was indeed burning with desire."

"Then what happened?" Wei Yixiao asked.

"Nothing," Fan Yao replied, "She is Wangye's beloved concubine; although he has guts as high as the sky he would not dare to indulge his wicked thought."

"Lecherous eyes can't be called some secret you can blackmail him with," Wei Yixiao said.

"I can't blackmail him over that matter," Fan Yao said, "But I am going to bother Wei Xiong [brother Wei]; with your 'qing gong' [lightness skill] you can go and steal Ruyang Wangye's beloved concubine and place her on Lu Zhangke's bed. I am 70, 80% sure that this old lecher won't be able to hold his desire forever. Even if he really is able to rein his horse before falling off the cliff, I will rush in. Although he has a hundred mouths he won't be able to wash himself clean, so he will be forced to hand the antidote over to me nicely."