Chapter - 319 Willingly Disfigure a Handsome Face (13)

Ku Toutuo pulled out the gourd's cork and poured three bowls full of wine. The wine was golden yellow in color and it was rather thick like diluted honey; as soon as it was poured, a sweet aroma greeted their nostrils. Sun and Li two people cheered, "Good wine! Good wine!"

Fan Yao silently mused, "I wonder if the Xuanming Elders are home; if they are out and not back yet, then what I am doing right now is useless." He took the wine bowl and held it above the pot on the stove; while the dog meat was boiling, the steam rose up and warmed up the wine, making the wine aroma stronger.

Sun and Li two people were drooling over the wine; they were going to drink the wine cold, but Ku Toutuo signaled them not to do that, he told them to warm the wine before drinking it. Three people took turn warming their wine over the boiling soup; the aroma spread out everywhere. If He Biweng was not in the temple complex, then that was the end of it. Otherwise if he was around the courtyard would be impossible for him not to smell the wine and come over. And sure enough, the door of the 'bao xiang jing she' across the street opened up and He Biweng was shouting, "Good wine, good wine! Hey, hey!"

He was not shy; so he crossed the courtyard toward their door, he pushed it open and walked in. He was startled to see Ku Toutuo along with Sun and Li two people gathered around the stove, drinking wine and eat the dog meat, with the soup dripping everywhere. He Biweng laughed and said, "Ku Dashi, I didn't know you like eating and drinking too; we have the same taste."

Sun and Li two people busily stood up and said, "He Gong-gong [grandfather, respectful term toward someone older], quickly drink some wine, this is Ku Dashi's good wine, not everybody can drink it."

He Biweng sat opposite Ku Toutuo, it was as if they were having an eating and drinking competition; Sun and Li two people ended up became their servants, busily serving them meat and pouring them wine. Four people were all in high spirits, they ate and drank for half a day and were 60, 70% drunk. "Now I can make my move," Fan Yao thought.

After pouring wine on his own bowl until it was full, he laid the wine gourd horizontally on the table. Turned out his wine gourd's cork was hollow. He put the powder made by Zhang Wuji inside the cavity and wrapped the cork with two pieces of cloth. When the wine gourd stood upright, the powder did not fall down, so what the four of them drank was ordinary good wine. But once the wine gourd was laid on its side, the wine would wet the cloth and diluted the powder, so now the wine became poisonous. The bottom of the wine gourd was round, so it did not matter whether it was standing upright on lying down on its side; besides, they had been drinking for a good long while, so nobody paid any attention. They were drunk and felt entirely carefree.

After He Biweng drank the bowl in front of him, Fan Yao pulled the cork and handed the gourd over to him. He Biweng poured a bowlful of wine for himself, and then he also poured some wine in Sun and Li's bowls. Because Ku Toutuo's bowl was still full, he did not pour any wine for him. Four people lifted the bowl to their mouth and 'glug, glug' they emptied their bowls. Other than Fan Yao, the three of them had drunk the poisoned wine.

Sun and Li two people's internal strength was not too deep; once the drug entered their system they immediately felt their limbs weaken and their bodies get sick. In a low voice Sun Sanhui said, "Si di [fourth brother], there is something wrong with my tummy."

"I … I … I think I am poisoned," Li Sicui also said. By this time He Biweng also felt something was wrong; he tried to circulate his internal strength, but failed. His expression changed drastically.

Fan Yao stood up; his face was full of anger, he grabbed He Biweng's collar and grunted some 'Heh, heh' noise, but did not say anything. Sun Sanhui was scared, "Ku Dashi, what is it?" he said. Fan Yao dipped his finger in the wine and wrote 'shi xiang ruan jin san' five characters on the table. Sun and Li two people knew that the Xuanming Elders were in charge of this poison, and so it seemed Ku Toutuo and the two of them were being poisoned with this drug. They looked at each other and knelt down in front of He Biweng, "He Gong-gong," they pleaded, "We two brothers do not dare to offend you, Senior; please don't punish us too severely." Both of them thought that He Biweng was trying to attack Ku Toutuo, and they happened to be there, so they suffered as innocent bystanders; if He Biweng meant to harm them, he did not need to use any poison.

He Biweng was also greatly shocked; this month it was indeed his turn to be in charge of the 'shi xiang ruan jin san', which he hid inside his left crane-beak pen. This pair of weapons had never left his body even for a single step, so it would be impossible for anybody to steal it without his knowledge. But as luck would have it, he could not exert the least bit of internal energy, so without a doubt he must have been poisoned with the 'shi xiang ruan jin san'. Actually, although the drug Zhang Wuji made was also potent, but it was greatly inferior to the 'shi xiang ruan jin san'; the effect felt by the victim was not the same. But He Biweng only knew that the victim of 'shi xiang ruan jin san' would lose their ability to exert their internal energy, he had never taken the poison personally; therefore, although the difference was great, he was not able to distinguish between the two.

He saw Ku Toutuo look flustered and angry, while Sun and Li two people did not stop imploring him to have mercy; his doubt was gone, he said, "Ku Dashi, please don't be angry; we are brothers here, how could I have an ill intention to harm you? I am also poisoned; I feel weak all over my body. I don't know who is playing dirty trick on us. It's really strange."

Fan Yao dipped his finger in the wine again and wrote on the table, 'Quickly give us the antidote.'

He Biweng nodded and said, "That's right, we must take the antidote first, then we'll find and deal with the traitor who played this trick on us. But the antidote is in Lu Shige's [martial (older) brother] hand. Ku Dashi, please come with me."

Fan Yao was secretly delighted; he did not expect Yang Xiao's plan worked flawlessly, without too much trouble he found out where the antidote was. Holding up his left hand he grabbed He Biweng's wrist, deliberately making his steps falter. They crossed the courtyard together, walking toward the 'bao xiang jing she'.

He Biweng was secretly happy to see Fan Yao staggering, he thought, "This Ku Toutuo's martial art is supposedly very high, but he has never contended against us, two brothers. Looking at his flustered condition after being poisoned, it seems like his internal strength is way below ours."

Two people walked over the hall's gate. He Biweng's room was against the south wall, while Lu Zhangke lived in the room against the north wall. The door of the northern room was tightly closed. "Shige," He Biweng called out, "Are you home?"

Lu Zhangke answered from inside the room. He Biweng stretched out his hand to push the door open, but it was bolted. "Shige, hurry up and open the door," he called out, "This is important."