Lu Jianwei followed the flower-selling girl around the street corner.
Uncle Zhang and Xue Guanhe naturally didn’t stay put, sprinting off to find Han Xiaofeng.
"You don’t seem worried at all," Lu Jianwei said gently. "They’re going to the Mystic Mirror Bureau. Aren’t you afraid of being rounded up in one fell swoop?"
The flower girl paused mid-step, turning to gaze at her with dark, fathomless eyes.
"You don’t seem worried either."
"Your methods of dealing with people are limited to poison. You should know I’ve already cured it."
"You’re impressive," the flower girl admitted. "My master named it ‘Fickle Lover’—meant to rid the world of heartless men."
"Jealous Blossoms," "Fickle Lover"—these names reeked of resentment.
Lu Jianwei chuckled lightly. "Does your master aspire to be the next Lin Congyue?"
"Who’s Lin Congyue?" The flower girl looked puzzled.
"You know of ‘Jealous Blossoms’ but not Lin Congyue?"
The girl nodded. "It’s a formidable poison. It took me years to devise an antidote."
"Lin Congyue was the creator of ‘Jealous Blossoms,’" Lu Jianwei said with genuine admiration. "For you to neutralize it, you must be an expert in antidotes. If you’ve encountered ‘Jealous Blossoms,’ how have you never heard of Lin Congyue?"
"So that’s her name." The flower girl stared ahead into the narrow, shadowed alley. "Master never mentioned her."
The path grew increasingly desolate. Ahead lay the slums, home to society’s dregs—chaotic, filthy, and lawless.
Lu Jianwei suddenly halted.
The flower girl stopped beside her.
"No further?"
"Tired of walking. Let’s rest a moment." Lu Jianwei arched a brow. "The road is long. We might as well chat."
The girl hesitated, then glanced down at her flower basket.
"You cured ‘Fickle Lover,’ so you must be deeply knowledgeable about toxins and pharmacology. Have you heard of a certain insect? It secretes a fragrant toxin to lure passing beasts, then injects them with venom, driving the animals to hunt for it. Once the insect is satiated, the beasts—now useless—succumb to the poison and die."
"You’re describing the Corpse-Driver Bugs of the Soulbreak Ridge in the southwest. Their venom puppeteers animals, much like corpse herding—hence the name." When Lu Jianwei first learned of this creature, even she felt a chill.
The world was vast and full of wonders.
"If the enslaved beasts wish to break free, they must find an antidote. But by then, they’ve lost all will, reduced to mere puppets of the Corpse-Driver Bugs." The flower girl paused. "Shopkeeper Lu, those bugs don’t let prey escape their cages easily."
Lu Jianwei sighed softly. "You’re an antidote master, yet you can’t cure your own poison."
The girl lifted her dark, depthless eyes.
"Can you, Shopkeeper Lu?"
"I don’t know," Lu Jianwei answered truthfully.
Their delay had given Han Xiaofeng enough time to encircle the area with his men.
Lu Jianwei’s senses were sharp; she noticed but remained unruffled, stepping forward calmly.
"Let’s go in. I’d like to see how your master welcomes me."
The flower girl: "..."
"To be frank, I initially suspected you’d sneak into the Feng residence tonight to verify the antidote’s efficacy," Lu Jianwei said, stepping over a bamboo pole strewn across the path. "But your master is more direct than I imagined—luring us into a trap on her own turf."
"Knowing that, you still dare to enter?"
A voice, laced with internal energy, grated against her ears—hoarse, scorched, and unsettling.
Lu Jianwei smirked. "I neutralized your poison so swiftly. Why should I fear?"
"Hahaha! You think I only possess one rare toxin? How naïve."
"I don’t know how many poisons you’ve concocted, but I do know you couldn’t cure ‘Jealous Blossoms.’ Your skills are far inferior to Lin Congyue’s."
"Bullshit!" The voice turned shrill. "What kind of master is she? I, Hu Jiuniang, am the greatest poison expert in the martial world!"
Lu Jianwei’s earlier probing had confirmed her guess.
When the flower girl said her master never spoke Lin Congyue’s name, it was clear the three syllables were taboo.
Taboos stem from two roots: reverence, where one avoids sullying a cherished name, or shame, where the name becomes an unbearable shadow.
A woman who poisoned innocents was unlikely to harbor the former. Thus, Lu Jianwei wagered on the latter.
Sure enough, Hu Jiuniang couldn’t resist declaring her supremacy, even at the cost of exposing herself.
Her psyche was warped—all she craved was recognition.
"You boast of being number one, yet you used ‘Jealous Blossoms’ to harm others. Isn’t that self-contradictory?" Lu Jianwei referred to the Niu Xiaoxi poisoning.
Hu Jiuniang sneered. "If I’d had enough ghostweep sap, I’d never have resorted to ‘Jealous Blossoms.’ I heard you cured it—proof that Lin Congyue’s toxins are mediocre, easily unraveled."
"Why target a child?"
Hu Jiuniang scoffed. "Abandoning his ‘wife’ and ‘child’ at such a tender age? I made sure he tasted despair."
Everyone: ???
A child—how could he have a wife or child?
Equally baffled, Lu Jianwei looked to the flower girl.
The girl explained, "He was playing house. His role was the heartless husband who deserted his family."
Everyone: "..."
Lu Jianwei: "..."
What kind of deranged logic was this?
Lu Jianwei decided reasoning with madness was futile.
She strode to the crumbling gate of a dilapidated courtyard, pretending to retrieve a palm-sized sandbag from her sleeve. With a flick of her wrist, she lobbed it over the wall, then triggered a hidden dart launcher. The tiny dart pierced the bag midair, detonating it into a cloud of powder that rained down into the yard.
The launcher was a shop purchase, strapped to her forearm. The powder mingled two agents: a potent muscle relaxant and an internal-energy suppressant.
The latter had already humbled over two hundred martial artists. Even major sects like the Blackwind Fort and Thousand-League Tower had begged renowned physicians to no avail. She was curious—could Hu Jiuniang crack it?
Hu Jiuniang inside the courtyard: "..."
She’d laid traps, yet this woman struck first with underhanded tactics!
Once inhaled, the powder would cripple one’s energy and limbs—how could she fight back?
Hu Jiuniang held her breath.
A fifth-rank warrior could last fifteen minutes at most without air—unless trained in breath suspension.
Time wasn’t on her side. Unable to speak, she seized a nearby woman, vaulted onto the roof, and clamped her claws around the hostage’s throat.
The woman, likely drugged mute, made no sound. Her face purpled, eyes bulging from asphyxiation.
The message was clear: retreat, or the hostage dies.
Lu Jianwei laughed coldly. "What a fitting ‘greatest poison master’—faced with an unknown drug, your first instinct is to flee. Truly awe-inspiring."
"..."
“You’ve made such a grand spectacle—do you really think this is child’s play, where you can kill at will and escape whenever you please? Or are you just a seasoned criminal? Successful too many times, so arrogant you’ve nearly forgotten who you are.”
“……”
“Hu Jiuniang, if you flee today, you’ll only become a laughingstock. When people speak of you, they’ll say,” Lu Jianwei’s voice dripped with mockery, “‘Oh, that lunatic who boasted of being the greatest poison master in the martial world but couldn’t even cure someone else’s knockout drug? She’s not worth mentioning—she doesn’t hold a candle to Lin Congyue, not even a single strand of her hair.’”
Lu Jianwei nearly laughed aloud.
She had expected a cunning murderer, but instead found an egomaniacal madwoman.
No sense of accomplishment at all.
She taunted again, “Don’t tell me the poison from Ghost-Weeping Wood wasn’t even your discovery? Using Lin Congyue’s toxins to harm children is bad enough, but even your serial killings rely on someone else’s poison. And you still call yourself the best in the martial world? What a joke!”
Something in her words must have struck a nerve. Hu Jiuniang’s face twisted with fury as she finally spat out, “Who the hell are you?!”
Han Xiaofeng was stationed outside—she didn’t dare kill the hostages outright.
She had been too overconfident. Her past successes elsewhere had made her believe no one could stand in her way.
She would remember this infuriating face! Remember her name!
Lu Jianwei smiled coolly. “The weak and incompetent don’t deserve to know.”
A single sentence, sharp as a blade, shattered Hu Jiuniang’s fragile pride.
“I’ll kill you!” she shrieked, charging at Lu Jianwei with a hostage in tow.
Lu Jianwei didn’t move an inch. Hu Jiuniang’s full-force strike, fueled by fifth-level inner energy, never reached her—Han Xiaofeng intercepted it effortlessly.
He stood with his blade drawn, deflecting the attack before countering.
Hu Jiuniang screamed, “Why aren’t you moving?!”
Her crazed, desperate glare fixed on the flower-selling girl beside her.
The girl remained silent, only her eyes flickering slightly.
“Don’t you want the antidote?!” Hu Jiuniang, already weakened by inhaled powder, her energy draining, lashed out in panic. “Remember—your life is in my hands!”
The girl’s voice was icy. “You never had an antidote to begin with.”
“Kill her! And I’ll give it to you!” Hu Jiuniang pointed furiously at Lu Jianwei.
She couldn’t sense Lu Jianwei’s cultivation level, assuming she was just a powerless fool, easy to eliminate.
One strike from her disciple, and this woman who dared humiliate her would—
**Thud!**
A figure crumpled to the ground like a broken kite.
Hu Jiuniang never imagined Lu Jianwei’s drug would be so potent. A few breaths in, and she was already paralyzed, collapsing in disgrace.
She lay sprawled on the ground, one hand still clutching a hostage’s throat.
Han Xiaofeng hadn’t even needed to fight seriously—his job was just to prevent escape or murder.
He hadn’t expected Hu Jiuniang to be this weak.
The grand confrontation he’d braced for never happened. It felt like a farce. He almost felt… disappointed.
Holding his breath, he signaled to Lu Jianwei before hauling Hu Jiuniang away.
The hostages were freed.
The flower-selling girl, as an accomplice, was taken for questioning.
Lu Jianwei sighed inwardly. How could someone so deranged and unhinged have killed so many?
Her only weapons were fifth-tier cultivation and bizarre poisons—yet there were countless like her in the martial world.
Local constables stood no chance against them.
In remote towns where the law was lax, a few deaths might go unnoticed, unreported to the Mystic Mirror Bureau. That negligence had fed Hu Jiuniang’s arrogance.
Even the Bureau’s agents couldn’t neutralize her toxins.
“Xiao Ke, you’ve really outdone yourself,” Lu Jianwei mused.
Xiao Ke: “...You’re scaring me, acting like this.”
“Why?” Lu Jianwei frowned. “I’m praising you.”
Xiao Ke: “Exactly. That’s what’s terrifying.”
“……”
Lu Jianwei gave up and turned to leave.
Xue Guanhe and Uncle Zhang approached, their expressions odd.
The younger man couldn’t hold back. “Boss, something feels… off.”
“That the killer was caught so easily?” Lu Jianwei replied. “Because she was never extraordinary to begin with.”
Xue Guanhe blinked. “A fifth-tier martial artist who uses poison—that’s ‘ordinary’?”
“She thought so too. Fifth-tier strength, a stash of deadly toxins—enough to dominate the martial world, or at least slaughter defenseless civilians without effort.” Lu Jianwei understood the mindset.
These killers craved the thrill of playing god over life and death.
Insecure to the core, yet delusionally arrogant.
Xue Guanhe scratched his head. “So… she really was just mediocre?”
The arrest was a minor detour, hardly dampening Lu Jianwei’s shopping mood.
She wandered Moonview City’s West Market, soaking in the ancient sights, feeling worldly.
Maybe back in the modern era, she could take up historical research as a side gig.
“Manager Lu, a moment.” Feng Yan appeared, bowing respectfully. “Hu Jiuniang refuses to confess or sign anything unless she sees you. Commander Han sent me to ask—will you meet her? If not, it’s fine. The evidence is irrefutable.”
Lu Jianwei: “I’ll go.”
She had a hunch—Hu Jiuniang would spill some juicy secrets.
Worth it.
---
The county jail reeked of damp straw and despair.
Hu Jiuniang, slumped against the bars, looked every bit the broken prisoner.
Lu Jianwei settled into a chair, posture relaxed.
“You came.” Hu Jiuniang’s glare raked over Lu Jianwei’s stunning features, hatred burning in her eyes. “You fox-spirit!”
Lu Jianwei, unfazed by petty jealousy, smirked. “I wasn’t going to, but you begged so pathetically. And I’m softhearted.”
“Ha!” Hu Jiuniang’s laugh was a rasp. “Softhearted? A useless cripple who hides behind the Mystic Mirror Bureau’s enforcers—what else could you be but a seductress?!”
Lu Jianwei waved a hand. “How small-minded. A Purple-Robed Envoy? Even the Bureau’s Commander would grovel to serve me.”
Hu Jiuniang: “……”
She’d never met someone so shameless.
“If this is all you wanted to say, I’ll take my leave.” Lu Jianwei rose.
“Wait!” Hu Jiuniang hissed. “Who *are* you? To cure ‘Fragrance Envy’—are you from the Divine Physician Valley?”
“Your disciple could cure it too. Is *she* from the Valley?” Lu Jianwei countered.
Hu Jiuniang sneered. “Her? You think she’s innocent? That viper ruined me! All fake smiles and betrayal!”
“Ruined you?” Lu Jianwei feigned surprise.
Hu Jiuniang, starved for an audience, leaned in eagerly.
“I could have killed that child that day, but she had to shout ‘someone’s coming’—all to save some heartless scoundrel. How laughable.”
Lu Jianwei followed her train of thought: “If you’d already used ‘Jealous Blossoms,’ why bother killing him yourself?”
“Because he heard my voice and called it a ‘broken gong’s croak’!” Hu Jiuniang grabbed a fistful of straw, wanting to tear it apart in fury, but her body was too weak, so she could only let go with a resentful huff.
Lu Jianwei frowned. “Face reality. Your voice *is* like a broken gong—it’s grating on my ears.”
“You—!”
“Still, her stopping you from killing that man—how does that equate to harming *you*?”
Hu Jiuniang sneered. “If that brat had died on the spot, you wouldn’t have saved him. News of you curing the poison must have reached that wretched girl, and she got ideas—daring to scheme against *me*! Disgusting!”
“So, she realized someone could counteract ‘Jealous Blossoms’ and saw it as a chance to break free from you. When you tried to kill a man who kept a mistress, she convinced you to spare the mistress—under the pretext of taking her hostage—just to trap you in an indefensible position. Or perhaps she even left clues so authorities could find the hiding place sooner. After all…”
Lu Jianwei’s eyes glinted with admiration. “…Moonview City isn’t that big. They’d have found it eventually.”
“You’re not as stupid as you look,” Hu Jiuniang muttered, begrudgingly impressed. At least she didn’t have to waste energy explaining.
“Once you were captured, she could seek me out to cure her poison,” Lu Jianwei continued. “Is that your reasoning?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” Hu Jiuniang glared coldly. “That wretched girl’s cunning. She knew long ago I didn’t have the real antidote—always scheming to escape me. Hah! As if she forgets who raised her.”
“But the poison she’s afflicted with isn’t ‘Jealous Blossoms.’ How could she be sure I could cure it? And when you say ‘raised her,’ you mean controlling her with poison?” Lu Jianwei speculated. “The only reason you kept her around was her talent for medicine and poisons. The ‘Heartless Scoundrel’ poison you used—it was her creation, wasn’t it?”
Hu Jiuniang fell silent for a moment before letting out a shrill, furious scream.
“I won’t accept this! I *won’t*! Why are all of you more talented than me? Lin Congyue was like this, that wretched girl is like this, even *you*, this fox-spirit, are the same!”
“So, the ‘Jealous Blossoms’ you used really *was* stolen from Lin Congyue.” Lu Jianwei pieced it together. “And the poison in your disciple—where did *that* come from?”
Hu Jiuniang cackled darkly. “If I die, she won’t live much longer! Do you even know how much of a fool Lin Congyue was?”
Lu Jianwei: “Oh?”
“After ‘Jealous Blossoms’ was cracked by the Divine Doctor Valley, she threw a tantrum and tried concocting a new poison. She added a rare toxin to the original formula—one even *she* hadn’t fully deciphered for a cure. Then she died, leaving behind only the poison and a half-finished antidote recipe. That antidote doesn’t cure it—just suppresses it. You have to take it every month.”
“After her death, you stole everything she had, trying to become the next Lin Congyue—to command the same fear and respect across the martial world. But you’re *not* her. You couldn’t master her poisons or her medical skills.” Lu Jianwei struck where it hurt. “You’ve lived in her shadow all this time.”
“Not *everything*! That disgusting, faithless worm stole from her too!” Hu Jiuniang’s voice rose sharply. “And I’m *not* worse than her! I trained a disciple who mastered Lin Congyue’s medical arts! She’s *better* than Lin Congyue!”
Lu Jianwei arched a brow. What a contradiction—hating the disciple yet clinging to her talent for validation.
“But she couldn’t crack Lin Congyue’s new poison. She didn’t surpass her.”
Hu Jiuniang’s madness flared again. “Lin Congyue never wrote down the modified formula! No one knows what toxin she added! Given time, Atiao *would* have solved it—she *would* have!”
“Except you got her thrown in prison.”
“*I* forced her! I threatened her with poison! *I* killed those men—not her! She saved that child, saved those fox-spirits! She’s innocent! Let her go—release her *now*!”
Lu Jianwei observed her frenzy dispassionately.
Was it really that simple?
Hu Jiuniang had reached fifth-rank martial prowess—proof of her combat talent. Would someone like that lose their mind *just* because they couldn’t match others in medicine and poison?
She used “Heartless Scoundrel” to kill men who kept mistresses, implying romantic grievances weighed heavily on her.
If she’d lost in *both* her craft *and* love to the same person… *That* would explain the rage.
Lu Jianwei studied her expression. “The man you loved preferred Lin Congyue.”
“Bullshit!” Hu Jiuniang snapped out of her frenzy, slamming the cell bars weakly. “What are men worth? Worth *my* affection? Lin Congyue was an *idiot*—fooled by sweet talk! Pathetic!”
Lu Jianwei: ?
“You think I hate her over *men*?” Hu Jiuniang scoffed. “Fox-spirits like you see nothing beyond bedsport.”
Now Lu Jianwei was genuinely surprised.
“Then why kill those faithless men? Why target even a child playing pretend?”
Hu Jiuniang narrowed her eyes. “What good are they, except tormenting wives? Without them, women wouldn’t be shackled to ‘wifely duties,’ poisoning their minds with so-called love. Lin Congyue wouldn’t have abandoned medicine for some man, nor turned to murder after his betrayal—ending up reviled as a demon.”
*Clap. Clap.* Lu Jianwei applauded sincerely. “Hu Jiuniang, I underestimated your principles.”
“At least you’re not *completely* dull.” Hu Jiuniang shot her a haughty glance. “I killed those men to save countless women from their prisons.”
Lu Jianwei smiled. “And Lin Congyue abandoning medicine—what happened there?”
“Hah! That fool quit healing and chose to stay home breeding because her *husband* didn’t like her ‘parading in public.’” Hu Jiuniang’s face twisted with disdain.
“*I* had no medical talent—yet even *I* never gave up, even ruining my voice testing poisons! She had *everything*, yet tossed it aside for a man’s whim. The more I brooded, the more it *burned*.”
“If she chose domestic life, how did she end up… the way she did?” Lu Jianwei refrained from judging but wanted the full story.
“Curious?” Hu Jiuniang’s eyes gleamed slyly. “Then tell me who *you* are—and the name of that drug suppressing my inner energy.”
Though untalented, she knew poisons well—just couldn’t innovate beyond mediocrity.
This drug, though—she’d never seen its like. She *had* to know.
Lu Jianwei pondered for a moment and said, "This medicine didn’t have a name before. Let me give it one—how about ‘Commoner’s Bane’?"
Outlaws in the martial world relied on their strength to act recklessly, treating the lives of ordinary people with contempt. This medicine would let them experience the helplessness of being a "commoner," hence the name "Commoner’s Bane."
Hu Jiuniang asked, "And what about your identity?"
"I’m just an unremarkable innkeeper," Lu Jianwei replied with utter sincerity, without a trace of deceit.
Hu Jiuniang studied her face intently, then suddenly laughed.
"I can tell you’re different from Lin Congyue. You and I resonate—we get along quite well. If I’d met you sooner, we might have become friends."
"No, you’d only envy my talent and beauty." Lu Jianwei wasn’t fooled by her "belated kindness."
"All your words, lamenting Lin Congyue’s wasted potential, are just a cover for your jealousy of her talent. And her casual abandonment of medicine only infuriated you further. What you could never obtain, she cast aside without a second thought. You hate her."
Hu Jiuniang fell silent for a long time, the madness fading from her face as she spoke calmly.
"Yes, I hate her."
"How could she not understand? If a man betrays her while she’s pregnant, he isn’t worth loving. Yet, over something so trivial, she abandoned the promise we made—to become the greatest physicians in the martial world together."
"I hate her for being so weak. I hate her for giving up on our dream so easily. And I hate her most of all—for shattering all my hopes."
From Hu Jiuniang’s account alone, Lu Jianwei could hardly fathom the tangled web of love and resentment between them. But she could understand that, for someone like Hu Jiuniang—bereft of talent—witnessing a gifted friend rise to greatness must have been a beautiful vision.
But Lin Congyue betrayed their dream, and with that, both of them stepped into hell.
"There’s one more thing I don’t understand," Lu Jianwei asked. "You could have left Moonview City after killing. Why stay and play this clumsy game of luring your prey into a trap?"
"I don’t know what you’re talking about."
"You knew your disciple was desperate to escape you, and she even saved people from your clutches. You could have easily stopped her—so why let her?"
"I didn’t."
"You still had a shred of conscience left for her." Lu Jianwei met her gaze. "You orchestrated all this because you no longer wanted to live, didn’t you?"
Hu Jiuniang scoffed. "I’m not that noble. I just heard someone effortlessly countered ‘Blossom’s Envy,’ and I wanted to see for myself."
"And this was your way of seeing it?"
"……"
Having spoken so much, Hu Jiuniang seemed exhausted. She closed her eyes and ignored her.
Lu Jianwei sighed inwardly. Emotions as tumultuous as Hu Jiuniang’s—love and hatred entwined—were something she doubted she’d ever comprehend.
And as for the indiscriminate slaughter of innocents? She couldn’t condone it.
What truly went on in Hu Jiuniang’s mind? She didn’t know, nor did she care to.
There was no point in deciphering the logic of a madwoman.
Leaving the cell, Lu Jianwei remarked to Xiao Ke, "I thought Hu Jiuniang was a fool for setting up such a crude trap."
Xiao Ke: "And now?"
"Still a fool."
Xiao Ke: "……"
"She said Lin Congyue fell into ruin because of a man—but didn’t she herself lose her way because of someone else?"
"Fair point."
Soon after, Han Xiaofeng strode over and informed Lu Jianwei: "Hu Jiuniang confessed to everything. She admitted all the crimes were hers. Her disciple, Hu Atiao, was coerced with poison and never harmed anyone willingly—in fact, she saved Niu Xiaoxi and those mistresses."
Lu Jianwei asked, "What will happen to Hu Atiao?"
"She’s been under Hu Jiuniang’s control since she was six, forced by poison. She’s young, lacked intent to harm, and with no cure for the poison, her remaining lifespan is short. She’ll be exempt from punishment."
"Mhm." Lu Jianwei offered no further opinion. "The case is closed. I should return to the inn."
According to Xiao Ke’s updates, Hei Hou and Hei Zhong outside the inn were nearing their limit. If she didn’t hurry back, the Blackwind Fort disciples might force their way in.
Outside the inn, the Blackwind Fort disciples still stood watch.
Hei Hou and Hei Zhong were visibly agitated, itching to storm the inn and deal with Lan Ling.
Suddenly, someone pointed into the distance. "Look—are those people over there?"
The group turned to see a hundred-strong crowd shoveling knee-deep snow from the road with spades.
"Those are the martial artists who couldn’t afford to buy their freedom!"
"What are they doing?"
"Someone go ask!"
One of them dashed off to investigate and returned wide-eyed.
"Well? What’s going on?"
The man stammered, "They said Innkeeper Lu ordered them to clear the snow from the road—all the way from Moonview City to the inn. If they don’t finish before she returns, there’ll be consequences."
The group: "……"
Hei Zhong whispered fearfully, "Brother… should we still go in?"
"N-no! Let’s not!"
What a terrifying woman!
