Chapter 142
Chapter 142
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 142
Chapter Title: Sweet Lips, Poisonous Heart [Honey Hiding a Gallbladder-Like Heart] (2)
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"Do you trust me?"
It was a sudden question from Four Thousand Four.
"What... do you mean?"
"I'm asking if you trust me enough to do whatever I say."
"Will that create a way out?"
"It might."
"Then let's try it."
"Let me ask again. Do you trust me?"
Zhuge Soso looked at Four Thousand Four.
He kept asking if she trusted him because it was something that could only be done with true faith.
Could she trust Four Thousand Four?
She could. It was true they were facing each other as enemies. Their paths to survival were different too. But in this moment, he wouldn't do anything to harm her.
"I trust you."
"Will you entrust your life to me?"
In that instant, Zhuge Soso realized something.
"Are you planning to take me hostage? That won't work. Don't forget the Poisoners have North Name. Ordinary tactics won't get through."
"Whether it works or not, we'll only know once we try... That's why I'm asking if you can entrust your life to me."
Zhuge Soso bit down gently on her molars.
Four Thousand Four truly intended to endanger her life. It wasn't a bluff—he meant to kidnap and use her for real.
What if North Name refused the demands? He'd really kill her. She had to consider even that possibility. A fake kidnapping wouldn't fool North Name, but a real one changed everything.
North Name's goal was clearly her.
"Fine. Use my life."
Four Thousand Four merely nodded once.
Zhuge Myeong stepped forward, glaring at Four Thousand Four as he spoke.
"If anything happens to Soso..."
Four Thousand Four raised a hand to silence him.
"From now on, take care of yourselves."
"What?"
"Figure out how to escape this forest on your own. Don't worry about my actions. And as for what you just said... if something happens to Lady Zhuge... handle it as you see fit."
"You bastard!"
"You can strike now if you want."
Four Thousand Four drew a dagger and gripped it tightly. Then he pulled out a cloth and wrapped it around his hand and the blade. It meant even if he lost consciousness, he wouldn't let go.
Four Thousand Four was prepared for a desperate fight.
Zhuge Myeong looked at Zhuge Soso, his eyes asking what to do.
"Just stay put."
Zhuge Soso whispered softly.
Shh! Thwack!
Four Thousand Four swiftly scooped up Zhuge Soso's waist. Then, like a flying bird, he launched his body into the air.
Tat-tat-tak! Ta-ta-ta-tak!
The pressure point strike came after he leaped.
His rigidly extended fingers struck over a dozen times in an instant, and Zhuge Soso went limp without any resistance.
"What the hell! That's too much!"
Zhuge Myeong bellowed. But his shout echoed into empty air. Four Thousand Four had already shot off into the forest depths.
Screeech!
He dashed through the woods.
Deathly branches? He ignored them. Poison mists? He didn't even glance. Lone poisons? What of them?
He let every kind of toxin batter his body.
"Ugh! Keuk!"
Finally, Four Thousand Four's movements slowed.
No one blocked him. It was the price of charging through the poison-sprayed forest like it was empty wilderness.
The toxins invaded, and their effects began to manifest.
"Moving like this, you'd need ten lives to survive..."
Zhuge Soso opened her mouth in disbelief. Taking her hostage was fine, but what came next was the problem. Charging through the poison grove like this would poison even a divine immortal. At that moment,
Sst! Stab!
Four Thousand Four raised his hand and stabbed her.
A dagger was bound to his hand. So it wasn't his hand that touched her—it was the blade piercing in.
"Gasp!"
Zhuge Soso couldn't finish her words. She let out an involuntary gasp. It was an utterly unexpected attack.
Stab! Stab!
The dagger tore into her side, sinking in up to the hilt.
Sst! Spurt!
When Four Thousand Four yanked his hand back roughly, the bloodied dagger came out too. A fountain of blood sprayed forth.
"Withdraw the poison! Next is the throat!"
Four Thousand Four shouted into the air.
"Huh! Th-that guy!"
The Poisoner jumped in surprise, eyes widening.
He wasn't shocked that Four Thousand Four had kidnapped Zhuge Soso. It was the precise, lethal strike he'd just performed. Four Thousand Four's attack carried true killing intent.
He really meant to kill Zhuge Soso.
"Th-that bastard! He's really going for it?"
The Poisoner said, looking at North Name.
North Name had seen the strike too. Like the Poisoner judged, he recognized the killing intent.
'A blade that leads to death...'
Four Thousand Four's killing was akin to 'the path that guides to death.'
Sometimes it was euthanasia, but other times it killed perfectly healthy people. It wasn't reserved for those near death. Occasionally, it took the lives of the hale and hearty without reason.
Ask why, and they'd invariably claim it was the most peaceful way to usher one to death.
Death Verdict... Did they fancy themselves gods?
In any case, those who trained in Death Verdict treated death lightly. They even sanctified killing by attaching the absurd rationale of guiding souls to the afterlife.
One thing was certain: their blades never erred.
North Name spoke.
"Withdraw the poison."
"Hm!"
The Poisoner groaned.
He knew what Death Verdict was. He knew how its practitioners viewed killing. Next is the throat? He'd definitely sever it.
As long as Zhuge Soso was in his clutches—and he intended to use the kidnapping— they had to withdraw the poison.
"Damn it! He hasn't even had a proper meal yet."
The Poisoner grumbled.
Thud!
A small pouch landed before Four Thousand Four.
Four Thousand Four picked up the pouch tossed by the short old man without suspicion. He swallowed the pills inside without hesitation. Not just for himself—he fed them to Zhuge Soso too.
"Heh heh! What if they're poison?"
Instead of answering, Four Thousand Four pressed the dagger to Zhuge Soso's throat.
"I'll hand this woman over after we exit the forest."
"Ah! That's harsh. I even gave you the antidote."
"After we exit the forest."
Four Thousand Four's voice held no emotion, like a puppet speaking. Or perhaps the final words of one resolved to die.
His mindset came through clearly.
I'm fine dying right now!
The Poisoner waved both hands hurriedly.
"Fine, fine, got it. But what about those guys? Give them antidote too?"
The Poisoner pointed to the Zhuge warriors following behind through the forest.
"Do whatever."
"What? What do you mean?"
"Give them antidote or not, I don't care. They're nothing to me."
"Heh! Heh heh! Hee hee hee!"
The Poisoner chuckled, shoulders shaking.
Before stepping forward, North Name had told him something.
If he gave antidote to the Zhuge warriors, it was fine to attack Four Thousand Four. If any shred of humanity remained in Four Thousand Four's heart, he wouldn't kill Zhuge Soso.
If he refused antidote to the Zhuge warriors, attack anyway.
Four Thousand Four would claim that kidnapping Zhuge Soso put him at odds with the Zhuge warriors. So exterminating them here without antidote was advantageous.
It was the perfect excuse to justify the kidnapping.
It made sense on the surface. But it was wrong.
Everyone who entered the forest was poisoned by the lone toxins.
Without the antidote personally refined by the Poisoner, there was no survival.
If Four Thousand Four focused solely on rescuing Zhuge Soso, abandoning the warriors the moment he took her... his excuse would perfectly justify the kidnapping.
So if he said not to give antidote, they could attack freely. Because the kidnapping was fake anyway.
There was one more possibility.
If he said he didn't care about the Zhuge warriors, don't attack.
That meant the kidnapping was real. Kidnapping Zhuge Soso made the entire Zhuge clan enemies. To do that—making the whole clan foes—while fearing a few poisoned warriors enough to withhold antidote...
With that single phrase 'I don't care,' Four Thousand Four revealed his true intent in kidnapping Zhuge Soso.
"Hey, young man. You've got a unique way of thinking. I like it. I'll open the path through the forest. But you have to leave me one last move, right?"
The Poisoner tossed a black pouch.
"Take it."
"And if I refuse?"
"Everyone dies. You, Zhuge Soso, all of you. I can't eat it, no one can— that's my temperament."
"And if I take it?"
"Hand over the woman before exiting the forest. In exchange for the antidote. Refuse, and you live but she dies. I'll give only one antidote pill. Ah, of course, if you're just using her until you exit as you said, your goal's achieved—no reason for trouble."
Four Thousand Four grabbed the black pouch without delay, took out the black pill, and swallowed it. He fed one to Zhuge Soso too.
There wasn't a speck of hesitation in his actions.
He looked truly like someone who'd kidnapped her just to save himself.
After swallowing the poison pill, Four Thousand Four looked at the Poisoner and said,
"Give me time alone with this woman before we exit the forest. Half a shichen will do."
"Alone? If you have words, why not talk on the way? I said I'd open the path. No poison worries, so chat freely as you go. Sounds good, right?"
"I need to torture her."
"Torture?"
"Heh heh! There's something I must get out of her. Poisoner, when I crossed that lake to save her, there had to be a reason. You don't think I did it because I like the Zhuge clan, do you?"
"That's what I was wondering. Why'd you come back?"
"Personal reasons."
"Hee hee! Fine. Torturing Zhuge Soso... That'll be a show worth watching."
At that moment, Zhuge Soso—clutching her side where the dagger had stabbed—chuckled softly and spoke.
"Poisoner, detoxify them."
The Poisoner blinked at her.
"I've learned today that human lives can be leverage. I'll threaten with my own life too. Detoxify them. Don't let another soul die."
"And if I refuse?"
"Then I die."
Flutter!
Her clothes fluttered in the wind. A vivid blue line appeared between her brows.
She said the same to Four Thousand Four.
"If it's a promise, I'll go. But until then, don't lay a finger on me. If you want a living hostage."
Four Thousand Four stared at her impassively.
Zhuge Soso stared back at the Poisoner with equal impassivity.
Both showed unyielding resolve, without a trace of hesitation.
"Hee hee hee! Today must be the day the name 'Poisoner' gets smeared in shit. How can there be such blackmail? Hee hee hee! Fine. I'll detoxify everyone. Hee hee!"
The Poisoner pointed at Zhuge Soso with his finger, wagging it.
He was right. In other times, other places, these words wouldn't qualify as blackmail. But now, they clearly were.
Poisoner Sima Hong spat with venom in his eyes.
"Remember this well, both of you. Before you leave the forest... say those words again. I'll show you then what happens when it's not blackmail. Hee hee hee!"