Chapter 278: This Time, We're Really Doomed
Chapter 278: This Time, We're Really Doomed
Translator: StarveCleric Editor: GaiaNove
Seated on a stool in the hall, the Great Herb King wiped the cold sweat off his face.
Liao Xun wasn't the only one who had questioned him. The second and third Vice Hall Masters had sent men to interrogate him as well. If not for the words he had prepared beforehand, he would probably have been overwhelmed by the situation.
The pressure was just too great!
He was just a spokesperson. It was one thing for him to put on a mighty act outside, but to lie to the poison masters here... It was something which he had never dared to think of.
If not for the other party having saved his life and the Poison Hall being so ungrateful, he would have refused to get involved...
But now, there is no path of retreat.
The moment Physician Bai is exposed, it is highly likely that he would die along with him.
The three Vice Hall Masters would poison to death everyone who knew that they were duped by a physician and failed to recognize the real envoy.
If such a humiliating matter were to spread out, they would find themselves too ashamed to command their subordinates and vie for the Hall Master position.
They would definitely slaughter a few people here and there to quell their anger.
Thus, if the Great Herb King wanted to live, he had to convince everyone that Physician Bai was the true envoy. This way, they wouldn't dare to lay their hands on him.
And from the looks of it, it seemed to be quite effective.
At the very least, even though the three Vice Hall Masters had their own doubts, they didn't dare to act recklessly.
"I wonder what Physician Bai wants from the Poison Hall. He should hurry up and get on with it so that we can leave quickly..."
Upon recalling Physician Bai, the Great Herb King shook his head.
The other party hadn't told him the reason why he had to come to the Poison Hall at all cost, but he had his own guesses; it was probably a treasure or something he needed. If that's the case, he should quickly look for it... What was he up to running over to the book collection vault?
The book collection vault contained only books of relation to poison masters. Since any poison master in the Poison Hall could enter freely, it was impossible for any treasures to be hidden within.
Or did he really risk his life to come here... to look for a certain book?
If that was the case, then the situation was too darned!
"Forget it. He should be well aware of the danger too, so he wouldn’t stay here for too long..."
Just as the thought flashed through the Great Herb King's mind, a commotion could be heard outside. Countless poison masters headed straight for the entrance of the city.
The Poison Hall has been closed to outsiders for countless years, and poison masters usually remain in their stations and mind their own businesses. It is rare to see such huge movement within the city. What is going on?
"Poison Master Han, what's going on?"
Standing up, the Great Herb King pulled a poison master aside and asked.
"You don't know? They're saying that another person claiming to the envoy has arrived, and everyone in the Poison Hall is expected to welcome him!" Poison Master Han said.
Since Physician Bai is an imposter, can it be that... this is the real deal?
If he is indeed the real one, then we are in deep trouble!
To think that they would possess such incredible luck as to meet the real one under such circumstances. To make things worse, they were trapped in the Poison Hall...
The Great Herb King saw everything before him turn dark and grim.
"That's right. Let's go and take a look. It's rare that the headquarter send anyone down, why would it send two envoys at the same time?" Poison Master Han was perplexed. As he said so, he pulled the Great Herb King toward the entrance.
"I..."
The Great Herb King felt his both legs convulsing. Shaking his head profusely, he panicked, "I... I think I'll pass!"
They had just barely managed to scrape by, and the true envoy had to appear now. Heavens, you must be playing with me!
"Let's go!"
Not allowing the other party to reject him, Poison Master Han pulled him, and it didn't take long for the duo to reach the entrance of the city.
By the time they arrived, the entrance was already filled with countless poison masters. The three Vice Hall Masters and all of the elders stood in front of the crowd.
Two figures stood before them.
"Butler Lu?"
With a single glance, the Great Herb King recognized one of the two figures.
It was Butler Lu from his residence.
He once brought Butler Lu here, but the other party merely waited for him at the entrance to the Poison Hall then. To think that he would still remember the directions.
He must be the one who led the way here. Otherwise, it would be difficult for even the envoy to find the Poison Hall which was hidden amidst the mountains.
Understanding this, he turned to look at the person standing next to him.
He was a middle-aged man dressed in a dark-red cloak. His hands were behind his back, and his chin was tilted upward. His face had a bizarre expression which made it impossible to discern whether it was a smile or a furious one.
"That is... poison master emblem... 3-star poison master?"
The Great Herb King's eyes fell upon the other party's robe, and his mouth twitched.
There was a poison master emblem hanging on the other party's chest, and the three stars on it shone brightly.
Even the old Hall Master, the greatest expert of the Poison Hall when he was still alive, was merely a 3-star primary poison master. After his death, the position as the strongest was taken over by Vice Hall Master Liao Xun, a 2-star pinnacle poison master. The fact that the other party was a 3-star poison master...
Initially, the Great Herb King had suspected whether the other party could be fake. However, upon seeing his emblem, that sliver of hope he held was crushed.
Even if he weren't the envoy, as a 3-star poison master, no one in the Poison Hall would dare to offend him. Otherwise, it was likely that the hall could be reduced to a hornet's nest through his poison in an instant, and they probably wouldn't even realize how they died.
Those who are able to reach 3-star possess a cultivation of at minimum Zhizun realm. Even if he didn't resort to poison, he was able to easily destroy the entire Poison Hall with a flip of his palm.
"This..."
Liao Xun didn't expect another envoy to appear, and a 3-star poison master at that. His attitude turned polite immediately, and clasping his fist, he greeted, "May I know how I should address you? If it's convenient, can you show me your [Golden Poison Heart Token]? It's not that I am doubting your identity, but it's a rule from the headquarter. An envoy has to flash the token representing his identity before we can welcome him in!"
He spoke the same words that he said to Zhang Xuan when he first arrived.
The envoy didn't reply. Instead, he flicked his wrist, and a golden heart-shaped token appeared in his palm. He threw it over casually.
Catching it hastily, Liao Xun and the others examined it quickly. With a single glance, their eyes narrowed, and they came to a conclusion.
"It's real!"
The Golden Poison Heart Token was something that only an envoy could possess and it represented the Poison Hall headquarter. There was a unique distant aura infused within it, allowing people who look at it to immediately discern its genuity, even if they hadn't seen it before.
"He is a 3-star poison master and possesses the Golden Poison Heart Token... If that's the case, it's impossible for him to be a fake. Then, the one before..."
Gedeng! Upon seeing the token of identification, Liao Xun and the others' hearts skipped a beat simultaneously.
If this one is real, the one before is likely to be a fake.
Otherwise, why would he refuse to show the Golden Poison Heart Token?
"Why, is there a problem?"
Seeing the rapidly changing expressions in the crowd, the envoy's own expression darkened. Even though there wasn't a hint of anger in his tone, his words seemed to possess an authoritative quality.
"That's not it..."
Liao Xun hesitated for a moment before explaining, "Another envoy arrived right before you. That's why, when we heard of your presence, we were astonished!"
"Hm?"
The envoy frowned. "The headquarter has only sent me over to determine the new Hall Master, as well as to retrieve that object, which should have matured by now. It didn't send anyone else. An envoy who came before me? What do you mean?"
"It's like this. Two hours ago, a man came claiming that he's the envoy. He is currently browsing through books in the book collection vault!"
Liao Xun explained.
"He claimed that he's the envoy? Then, does he have the Golden Poison Heart Token?"
The envoy’s eyebrows shot up.
"That..." Liao Xun hesitated for a moment. "He didn't show us the golden token!"
"Preposterous!" The envoy flung his sleeves, and an overwhelming aura gushed into the heavens. "How can he be the envoy without the Golden Poison Heart Token? Bring me to him! I would like to see the one who is so brazen as to impersonate an envoy of the headquarter!"
"Yes! Envoy, this way please!"
Liao Xun and the others ushered him in toward the center hall of the Poison Hall hastily.
Watching as the group left, the Great Herb King's body swayed, as though the energy in his body had been sapped dry.
"Old master..."
Upon seeing the old master's state, Butler Lu hurried forward to support him.
"What's going on..."
The Great Herb King sent a telepathic message to Butler Lu.
"A day after you and Physician Bai left, that man appeared and demanded for you to lead him to the Poison Hall. Without a choice, I could only bring him up the mountains. I rushed all the way up so as to catch up with you, but... it turns out that I am too late!"
Butler Lu was also on the verge of tears.
A total of four people knew that Physician Bai was going to impersonate the envoy, and they were the Great Herb King, Butler Lu, Physician Bai, and Mo Yu.
Mo Yu had already left for Tianwu Royal City, so only the three of them were left.
That person has already verified his identity, so Butler Lu wasn't in the position to turn him down. As the Great Herb King was absent, he could only lead him up the mountains himself. Initially, he planned to catch up with the Great Herb King and Physician Bai so as to inform them that there was no need for the latter to pass off as the envoy anymore. But... despite rushing the entire road, he wasn't able to catch up with them.
"This time... we're really doomed!"
After hearing Butler Lu's explanation, the Great Herb King's mouth twitched. Blood welled up in his chest, and it felt as though it would spurt out at any moment.
If Butler Lu and the envoy had come a little later, Physician Bai could have got what he wanted and left the Poison Hall. Even if he was discovered to be a fake later on, there was nothing the others could do about him once he took off his disguise.
If Butler Lu and the envoy was a little earlier, they would be able to catch up with them. If they knew that the envoy was already on his way to the Poison Hall, there would be no need for them to impersonate as him. They could simply follow behind the envoy and enter the Poison Hall just the same.
But... Physician Bai had just claimed that he was the envoy, and the other side had already believed his words. Yet... the true envoy had to arrive at this moment...
It was like having a naked beautiful lady beside you. Even if you said that you didn’t do anything to her, no one in the world would believe it!
Being caught in the act, no explanation would work!
He knew that it was a bad idea to pass off as the envoy...
But to think that it would be that bad of an idea!
It looked like the life which he had just retrieved with insurmountable difficulty would have to be forfeited...
"Old master, what do we do now?" Butler Lu had also arrived at the same conclusion and his face warped with worry.
"I don't know..."
The Great Herb King shook his head, "Looks like we can only wait for our deaths..."
Tearful, he scanned the surroundings. Numerous poison masters had their eyes set on him, so it was impossible for him to escape. Thus, he could only follow behind the crowd toward the hall.
"Right... It seems that Physician Bai is still unaware of the arrival of the real envoy!"
After taking a few steps forward, the Great Herb King suddenly thought of something and his expression changed.
If the other party knew of the matter beforehand, he could at least start thinking of a solution. Given that he was in the dark, he would definitely be caught off guard when the others challenged him all of a sudden...
However, the Vice Hall Masters and elders were walking in front of him and the envoy was present as well. It was already too late to inform Physician Bai.
His thoughts were still running wild when the group arrived at the main hall.
"Elder Blackeye, I trouble you to invite that envoy out!"
After taking a seat, Liao Xun waved his hands and instructed.
"Yes!"
Elder Blackeye walked in a hurry toward the book collection vault.
It has already been more than two hours since Zhang Xuan's arrival, and he had finished reading through all of the books in the book collection vault. Seeing that the other party was here inviting him over, he tagged behind him toward the main hall without questions.
"Why? Are you done preparing already? If you're done with your preparations, we can start now!"
Upon reaching the hall, Zhang Xuan placed his hands behind his back and glanced impassively at Liao Xun and the others.
"Are you the one who claimed that you're the envoy?"
Before Liao Xun and the others could speak, the envoy stood up and stared at Zhang Xuan with narrowed eyes.
"Who do you think you are?"
Zhang Xuan's eyebrows shot up. Carrying the same unopposable authority in his voice, he spoke sharply, "Did I allow you to speak?"
"The heck!"
Blood spurted from the mouth of the Great Herb King, "We're really doomed..."