In Another World, Everyone Want to Kill Me!-Chapter 271: Poison in the Night
The craftsmanship was impeccable, with no visible seam or keyhole.
It appeared to be a single, flawless piece.
He examined it from every angle—top, bottom, sides—but found nothing resembling a latch.
There was only one tiny hidden compartment and it was no larger than the nail of his little finger.
He touched it.
It was icy cold, smooth beneath his fingertip and offering no hint of how it might be used.
"What is this thing for?"
Before he realized it, the sky had darkened completely.
Gongsun Xing had already left.
Yue Mingxuan remained behind for a while longer while holding the mechanical box in his hands and lost in thought.
Sui He had called him to eat, but he had not heard a single word.
"Your Highness?"
"Ah! What is it!"
Startled out of his thoughts, Yue Mingxuan jerked upright.
Sui He’s hand was waving back and forth in front of his face.
She truly had no idea what was wrong with him.
Ever since he returned that afternoon, he had been sitting on the couch without moving about as he usually did.
When Young Master Gongsun left, he had not even noticed.
He had simply sat there in a daze, clutching to that small jade box and staring at it for the entire afternoon.
In the past, even when he found an especially interesting storybook, he had never been this absorbed.
"Sigh... what is going on with me?"
He let out a breath.
He really did not know what to do with the thing.
Just looking at it made his head ache.
In frustration, he tossed it aside and propped his chin on his hand. He then gazing at the candle stand on the nearby table.
Before long, his thoughts drifted off somewhere unknown again.
Constantly spacing out was not a good sign.
"Didn’t you say that sighing makes you age faster?"
A voice suddenly sounded beside him.
Yue Mingxuan immediately jolted in shock and leaning back too fast.
With a loud thud, the back of his head struck the window lattice. He bared his teeth and rubbed the sore spot as he looked up.
Shang Qinghua sat across from him while fanning himself with practiced flair, his posture as showy as ever.
He did not even spare Yue Mingxuan a glance.
Sui He stepped forward to serve tea.
"Hey! Scaring someone like that can cost a life! If I died just now, I’d come back to haunt you first!"
"My honor."
Yue Mingxuan: "..."
Today, Shang Qinghua was dressed in another brocade robe with dark woven patterns, gold thread embroidered along the sleeves.
He looked every bit the picture of nobility.
Staring at his profile, Yue Mingxuan could not help thinking that this man would never be content remaining a hostage prince, nor would the title of a mere prince satisfy him.
What exactly was he planning?
"You know I’m good looking. There’s no need to stare. I won’t disappear if you blink."
If Yue Mingxuan had not known Shang Qinghua’s temperament so well, he might truly have been fooled by that face.
He recalled Princess Xueyin asking him before she left whether he might one day become her royal sister-in-law.
He could not imagine what kind of tragic people would fall in love with Shang Qinghua and spend their life by his side.
Perhaps it was simply because his acquaintance with Shang Qinghua had been so coincidental that he had never entertained such thoughts.
After tidying up, the two of them sat down for dinner.
Across from him, Shang Qinghua’s every movement was elegant, refined in the unmistakable manner of royalty.
Unlike Yue Mingxuan who devoured his food like a whirlwind and utterly devoid of etiquette.
But that could not be helped.
Such habits were not formed in a single day.
Just as Moonless Cicada vaulted in through the window, Shang Qinghua had happened to pick up the mechanical box resting on the couch.
He frowned and about to speak when the window was kicked open from the outside.
Moonless Cicada tumbled straight in and crashed heavily onto the floor.
The room instantly filled with the sharp scent of blood.
At first, they thought he had simply slipped and fallen.
But the heavy metallic smell made both of them stiffen.
They exchanged a look and rushed forward.
Moonless Cicada lay sprawled on the ground covered in blood and unconscious the moment he had fallen inside.
Yue Mingxuan hurried over to check his pulse.
His heart sank.
The breathing was erratic, his internal energy and blood in chaos, flowing in reverse.
Poison?
"Quick! Help me lift him onto the bed. Sit him upright against the bedframe and don’t let him lie down!"
"Mm."
Without another word, Shang Qinghua crouched down and lifted Moonless Cicada. He then placing him against the bed as instructed.
In an instant, Yue Mingxuan drew out a silver needle and pierced an acupoint at Moonless Cicada’s wrist.
When he pulled it out, the needle had already turned black.
Highly toxic.
Damn it.
There was no telling how long the poison had been in his system.
He grabbed the small blade kept beneath his pillow and made a cut across each of Moonless Cicada’s wrists and began to drawing blood to release the toxin.
Dark, almost black blood began to flow.
Dark blood poured out in thick streams.
Yue Mingxuan dragged over the washbasin and held it beneath Moonless Cicada’s wrists to catch it.
"Sui He, hurry up!"
By the time Gongsun Xing and Wang Jian rushed in, nearly two full basins had already been drained.
Yue Mingxuan had almost begun to fear that Moonless Cicada’s blood would run dry before the poison cleared.
Only then did the color slowly shift... From pitch black to a deep proper red.
...
The sudden arrival made Gu Xiang instantly withdraw the killing intent that had been radiating from her.
Dust swirled in the air around them.
She lifted her gaze toward the plain white figure standing at the center and spoke in a low steady voice.
"Yin Su... who exactly are you?"
