Allure of a Country Maiden-Chapter 1226 - 1223_1

Xiao’er knew he was not lying.

But, she doesn’t know magic, nor does she know anyone who does!

"Who is she to you?" Xiao’er asked further.

"My daughter."

"You are the leader of the Li Clan, not an elder?"

"Of course not. So, Princess Rui, if you save my daughter, as I said earlier, as long as the Li Clan exists, the promise is forever valid! Don’t underestimate the strength of our Li Clan!" said the aged man, enthralling her.

Actually, the reason he agreed to help Nangong Country and sell poison powder to them was to lure over Prince Rui and Princess Rui of Minze Country!

He knew that Princess Rui had an elixir that could detoxify all poisons and revive the dead!

He had exhausted all available resources and consulted many doctors, but no one could figure out why his daughter had suddenly fallen into a deep sleep!

So, he wanted to try the pills Princess Rui had.

Xiao’er was shocked by these words, wondering how he knew about her identity.

Seeing her surprise, the aged man chuckled, "I intentionally sold the poison to the Imperial Court of Nangong Country to lead you two here.

I didn’t know your identities at first. It was just rumored that Prince Rui and Princess Rui have an eidetic memory, and it seems that your siblings have this ability too. When you succeeded in the second round by memorizing all the medicinal herbs you saw, I guessed it.

And when you showed the childishness of a little girl in the third round, I became even more certain. I just didn’t expect your abilities in manipulating poisons to be so exceptional."

People from Nangong Country would definitely send someone to participate in the Li Clan competition. People from Minze Country wouldn’t possibly sit idly by! He had been waiting for Prince Rui to come!

So one really shouldn’t flaunt their abilities too much! I guess I gave myself away! Xiao’er thought.

After saying this, the aged man remained silent, awaiting Xiao’er’s response.

An instinct told him that she definitely could wake his daughter up!

Even though she couldn’t help the aged man wake up his daughter, she had a golden opportunity to sow discord between the Li Clan and Nangong Country. Xiao’er would be stupid not to take advantage of it!

"I can’t revive your daughter because she hasn’t been poisoned or fallen sick! Instead, someone has manipulated her soul!"

"Controlled her soul?" The aged man stroked his white beard upon hearing this.

"Yes, she ate some spirit grass that had been nourished with menstrual blood for 81 days and her soul has been controlled! You have to find a master mage to save her! I don’t know magic! I only came across this situation in a dilapidated book at a second-hand shop."

Spirit grass? The aged man looked agitated upon hearing this. He accidentally pulled off one long white beard, releasing a pained hiss.

"Sir, are you aware of the spirit grass?"

"Indeed, the second prince of Nangong Country, who is now the emperor, once came to our mountain to retrieve a stalk of spirit grass!" The aged man’s normally celestial presence faded as he said this, leaving him gloomy and stripped of any traces of his previously displayed divinity.

Now he looks more like someone adept with poisons! As a poison master, he should bear such a gloomy countenance! Xiao’er thought.

Yet, she hadn’t guessed that Gong Qinghua had once come to Li Valley to get a stalk of spirit grass. This was even better. She didn’t have to set a trap for him; he’d set one for himself.

Still, Xiao’er decided to step in just once more to ensure that the trap was even tighter!

"I’ve heard that there’s a Master Gu Xuan by the side of the Crown Prince of Nangong country. His magic is really powerful; he only needs a drop of the other party’s blood to cast a spell! At one point back then, I was almost forced to abort due to his trickery!"

The enemy of my enemy is my friend! She needed to make an enemy for Master Gu Xuan, and consequently gain an additional ally for herself!

"Gu Xuan!" The aged man gave a cold utterance.

Seeing this, Xiao’er quickly asked: "Sir, do you know him?"

The aged man remained silent, and at this point, some people emerged.

Xiao’er then kept quiet.

...

Shortly after, Shangguan Xuanyi and Xi’er came out.

Xiao’er was standing at a corner of the square, gazing at the waterfall in the distance, waiting for them to come over.

Xi’er came to Xiao’er, whispering, "Sister, what poison affected that young lady? Did you figure it out? I don’t think she’s been poisoned. It seems more like she’s in a deep sleep. I mean, a sleep of consciousness, not induced by poison."

Hearing this, Xiao’er nodded, "Indeed, she hasn’t been poisoned. It’s just that her soul has been controlled. So yes, you could say it’s a sleep of consciousness."

A soul, in modern terms, would be brainwaves, right? Without a soul, there wouldn’t be consciousness!

Both Shangguan Xuanyi and Shangguan Xuanyao looked at Xiao’er upon hearing this.

"That makes sense!" Xi’er exclaimed in realization.

Shangguan Xuanyi seemed thoughtful.

"Do we have a way to wake her up then?" Shangguan Xuanyao asked.

"Yes, but we need a mage who knows magic! The national teacher won’t do." Besides the national teacher, they didn’t know any powerful mages. They had no idea where Master Yunfa had wandered off to, and there were rumors that he had already passed away.

As for Gu Xuan, judging from the old man’s reaction earlier, Xiao’er suspected that this man had seized control of the girl’s soul!

Wait a minute!

Xiao’er quickly asked Bai Tian in her mind, "Bai Tian, if the person controlling someone’s soul is killed, will the one controlled wake up?"

Bai Tian pondered and answered: "If there’s no one controlling her, taming her, she should awake after drinking a bowl of soul-reviving soup. She might lose some memory though, and only recall the scenes of being controlled."

Xi’er, recalling the words of the man in black they had captured earlier, asked: "Do you think that the one controlling the girl could be Master Gu Xuan?"

"We’re on the same wavelength here. I suspect with near certainty, it’s him." Xiao’er confidently said.

Afterwards, she relayed her conversation with the aged man to them.

"In that case, we likely don’t need to worry about the Li Clan cooperating with Nangong Country." Shangguan Xuanyao said.

"So, the reason they sold poison powder to Nangong Country before was to draw the sister and brother-in-law here! Their goal must be the magic medicine in sister’s possession!"

"No doubt!" Shangguan Xuanyao agreed.

Xi’er and Shangguan Xuanyao seemed to want to discuss more, but at that moment, the results of the fourth round came out.

The group approached the aged man, waiting for him to announce the results.

Xi’er and Xiao’er won first place. They both identified the poison in three people and also named the poison in the fourth, though they couldn’t cure it. At least they had explained the cause of the illness.

Others either identified the poison in two people or just one. Many didn’t identify any at all. Shangguan Xuanyi and Shangguan Xuanyao belonged to the group that hadn’t identified any!