Soulbound: Chronicles Of A Shadow Assassin-Chapter 31: Poisoned [II]
Busy slurping on the content of the cup in his hand, Jiang Yichen failed to notice the look in Mingyu’s eyes when he had glanced at him. Finishing the content of the cup, he smacked his lips in satisfaction. "What are you going to do now?" He suddenly popped up the question from nowhere.
"What do you suggest I do?" Mingyu asked instead.
"You can continue to be Yinzhi, my manservant." Jiang Yichen answered, "That’s all I can do for you."
"You are wrong." Mingyu said, facing Jiang Yichen to lock eyes with him. "You can do much more than that."
Jiang Yichen looked at Mingyu in confusion, his brows furrowed. "How do you mean?"
"I want you to be my Crystal Cove Lake." Mingyu gave an answer that only served to make Jiang Yichen even more confused.
Why is this sounding like a love confession? Jiang Yichen’s eyes widened when the thought crossed his mind.
"You risked your life by getting close to me, an assassin, just so you could get yourself a master. You also risked your health by breaking that damn Raven’s statue, and getting punished all night, just to save me." Mingyu spoke while looking at Jiang Yichen with a gaze that reflected genuine gratitude.
Jiang Yichen was speechless. He didn’t know what to reply to Mingyu’s sudden heartfelt words.
Mingyu’s tone suddenly turned serious as he added, "You just have to do it one more time."
A very intense internal heat suddenly erupted in Jiang Yichen’s chest area. His chest began constricting, that it felt like he was being choked.
Mingyu placed a hand on Jiang Yichen’s shoulder and then said, "It will be pretty painful for the both of us, but I assure you, it’s going to be worth it."
Jiang Yichen got red all over and the cup he was holding fell to the ground, clattering into pieces. "W-what did you put in it?" He choked out, confusion written all over his face.
"One of the poisonous herbs I found." Mingyu answered before picking up the other cup, bringing it closer to Jiang Yichen’s lips.
Jiang Yichen wanted to resist, and push the cup away, but he found that he was suddenly too weak to do so. He could only helplessly sit there as Mingyu made him drink the content of the second cup, hurt flashing in his eyes.
"This will help calm the unease you are currently feeling. You will fall asleep in about a minute or two." Mingyu explained, "I’m betting everything on you, Jiang Yichen. I know you will survive, and once you do, I’ll become your master."
Jiang Yichen was still as confused as ever with what was happening. First, Mingyu was expressing his gratitude, then it turned out he had poisoned him, and now he was talking about becoming his master? Make it make sense!
But then, just like Mingyu had said, Jiang Yichen’s discomfort slowly subsided until he could not feel anything at all. It was like he was totally numb.
The sound of footsteps approaching them caught Mingyu’s attention, and he quickly leaned closer to Jiang Yichen, whispering, "Trust me, and just play along." before he then stood up to face the two men that just arrived.
"Yichen!" Lin Xiaoyan called out when he noticed something amiss with Jiang Yichen from a distance. He, and Master Zhang rushed to Jiang Yichen and held unto him.
"Why is his body so hot?!" Master Zhang exclaimed when he felt Jiang Yichen’s temperature.
Jiang Yichen began coughing and wheezing, despite no longer feeling any pain, making them worry even more.
Mingyu, who was standing at the side, watching them, couldn’t help smiling when he saw that Jiang Yichen was indeed playing along.
"What’s wrong with him." Master Zhang asked Mingyu in worry.
"He ingested poison." Mingyu answered nonchalantly.
"Heh?!" Both Master Zhang and Lin Xiaoyan exclaimed, looking at Mingyu with shock written on their faces.
"Poison?"
"What poison?" They both asked, simultaneously.
"His heart will stop beating in the next three hours." Mingyu announced, instead of answering their questions.
Jiang Yichen, who continued to cough, suddenly stopped as his eyelids began to feel heavy. His consciousness slowly faded until his eyes eventually gave in, his body going limp in unconsciousness.
"Yichen, try to stay awake." Lin Xiaoyan continuously patted Jiang Yichen’s face in an effort to keep him awake, but to no avail.
"I said what poison was it?!" Master Zhang yelled at Mingyu in a fit of panic, already pissed off.
Mingyu simply shrugged his shoulders, and said, "It would be too late to make an antidote before three hours lapses. There is only one way to save him." There was a brief pause before he added, "You must perform the Resonant Purge spell."
Lin Xiaoyan and Master Zhang looked at Mingyu, with their mouths opened in astonishment.
Resonant Purge spell was a spell which involves the combination of the spiritual powers of two Mages in order to purge out impurities from one of them. In Jiang Yichen’s case, the impurity is the poison, and to get it out from his body, a Mage has to combine their spiritual power with his.
"That’s impossible. Jiang Yichen’s spiritual core is sealed." said Master Zhang.
"That’s the point." Mingyu said, looking at the two men like they were fools. "Remove the damn seal from his spiritual core. Remove it, unless you want him dead."
....
"Zhenyu!" Lin Xiaowei called out as he ran to Feng Zhenyu, who was busy studying at the library.
Feng Zhenyu immediately stood up when he saw the state of urgency Lin Xiowei was in. "What’s wrong?" He asked, bewildered when Lin Xiaowei even went as far holding unto the collar of his robes, while looking like he was about to shed tears.
"Yichen ingested poison. They say he’s going to die!" Lin Xiaowei finally managed to say.
"What?" Feng Zhenyu exclaimed, "H-how come?"
"Yinzhi said he was the one who gave it to him, but he insists on not telling us what kind of poison it was. My uncle is torturing him right now as we speak.
