Chapter Nineteenth Cliché Plot

  "Poison, especially poison for killing people, must be colorless and tasteless at the very least."

  Finally, Li Xian agreed to go hunting for a flying dragon with Du Gu Ruo Zhi the next day as an apology, and Du Gu Ruo Zhi reluctantly agreed that this month would have to do without tea.

  Dugu Ruiji carefully dripped a drop of poison onto the tip of a small wooden stick and handed it to Li Xian, saying: "This is Zhu Yan Hong. Yesterday I told you that in the jianghu, when it comes to poisoning someone to death, six out of ten times this stuff is used. Before I joined the army, my master told me that Zhu Yan Hong is a simple yet practical poison to concoct, but it's undeniable that it's not truly colorless and odorless."

  "It has a faint red color, although it's very light, but you can still distinguish the color, so it's called Zhu Yan Hong. It's like the faint flush on a girl's face. Moreover... it also has a flavor."

  Li Xian put the wooden stick under his nose and sniffed it, frowning: "A faint stench."

  Dugu Shaoying said, "That's right. Although the flavor will become more diluted after it's been mixed in, it won't be a problem to deceive ordinary people, but it absolutely can't deceive experts who use poison, or even experienced doctors. In order to achieve the goal of secrecy, and ensure that the color and flavor aren't too conspicuous, if someone is poisoned by Zhu Yanhong's toxin, they won't die immediately. As long as the poisoning doesn't exceed one hour, using Qī Qīng Tāng or Sì Wèi Wán can still save their life."

  Li Xian nodded and said: "Everything has its pros and cons, if it's really possible to reach the point of being colorless, tasteless and as mild as water, I reckon it won't be toxic enough to kill people."

  "Fart!"

  Du Gu Rui Zhi angrily said: "How can you look down on the use of poison, how can you look down on the masters of poison in this world, how...can you look down on me?"

  He carefully poured out a drop of crystal clear water from an exquisite jade bottle.

  "This is the top-grade poison, Rouge of Ferocity, that I spent three years concocting. It has no color, no smell, and feels just like water."

  Du Gu Rui handed a wooden stick stained with rouge to Li Xian and said, "Don't believe me? Lick it and try."

  Li Xian glared at him and took it over to sniff under his nose. Indeed, he didn't smell a single unusual odor.

  Dugu Qiu said proudly: "Cinnabar is truly colorless, tasteless and highly toxic. One drop can kill a hundred horses!"

  "I don't believe it!"

  Li Xian rolled his eyes and said.

  A single drop of pure nicotine is enough to kill a cow.

  "Don't believe me? You can dissolve this lip rouge and feed it to those beasts in the outer stable to try."

  "Do you have an antidote?"

  "Haven't figured it out yet."

  Li Xian nodded and said: "If I really poisoned all the horses in the stable, do you think my master would chop me into several pieces?"

  Du Gu Rui Zhi thought for a moment and said seriously: "I'm sure it's inseparable from the mud, I guarantee it's a muddy mess."

  "Colorless and tasteless, why is it called rouge? Vermilion red is because it has a faint red color, where did the name 'rouge' come from?"

  Li Xian asked.

  "You mind your own business!" Dugu Rui said with a cold glance.

  "I say it's called rouge, and it's called rouge. Is that okay because it sounds good?"

  Li Xian nodded and said: "Alright, after all, it's your concoction. Even if you call it Wuliangye, I won't care. I just want to know how you came up with the recipe."

  Dugu Ruiqi proudly said: "It's simple, I just added two materials on the basis of Zhu Yanhong."

  "You've used it for three years with just two additions?"

  Li Xian hummed and said.

  Dugu Rui's eyes were fiercely staring at Li Xian, explaining: "Although only two materials were added, do you know how many materials I tried before and after to get this result? One thousand three hundred twenty-seven! Just to find these two materials, I almost tried all the materials that can be found!"

  Li Xian stood up solemnly and said: "Xiao Du Ge, I was wrong."

  Dugu Ruixin sighed, "The use of poison is a profound and unfathomable art. It's not as simple as you think it is. Even if one were to spend their entire life studying it, they would only scratch the surface. Just like your sword practice, it looks easy, but mastering it takes more than just a day or two. An, you have great talent and I know you work hard, but you need to adjust your attitude. Only by respecting something can you truly understand it."

  "He pointed at Li Xian's horizontally placed knife which was polished to a shine while boiling water: 'You don't respect the knife, and you can't practice true knife skills.'"

  Li Xian nodded deeply. He knew that Dugu Ruzhi was not being pretentious, what he said was right, if you don't respect it, you won't grasp it.

  Dugu Shaoying looked at Li Xian and said: "Making poison is only one aspect, the key is how to administer it. If you can't learn the art of administering poison without leaving any trace, then you're not worthy of saying that you understand poison. I've already taught you the basics of toxic substances for a long time, from today on, I'll teach you how to administer poison. The quality of poison can be measured by its colorlessness and odorlessness, and the art of administering poison can also be described in four words: silent and stealthy."

  The wind outside was still blowing fiercely like a war horn, this era had no glass, the window was closed very tightly, so you couldn't see two poisonous substances in the house, one teaching with heart and the other learning with heart. The patrolling blood cavalry could still see the firelight coming out of the window gap of that small room until after the hour of Ox. Until after the hour of Ox, Du Gu Rui Zhi really couldn't hold on anymore and ignored Li Xian's persistent questioning, he stood up, tightened his clothes, then opened the door and ran back to his own small house to sleep.

  It was still more than four hours before dawn, so Li Xian tidied up Du Gu Ruo's things and quickly fell asleep in the cold quilt after stripping himself. Since arriving at the Weak Luo River, Li Xian had been controlling his sleep to only four or five hours a day. He was like an tireless machine, making use of every minute of every day. Practicing archery, practicing sword fighting, practicing poison, and even practicing running.

  He was a monster in the eyes of the apathetic Blood Cavalry, and if ordinary people saw him practicing so desperately, they would probably think he was a beast. He was like a perpetual motion machine, and the word "lazy" really had nothing to do with him. Dugu Rui asked Li Xian why he practiced so desperately, but in fact, the purpose of his desperation was simply to avoid dying in the future. Others may not know or be uncertain, but Li Xian was very clear that at least two of the three things predicted by the old nun were true.

  The first thing, the old nun said, was that the Sui Dynasty had only a decade or so of peace. She said this during the 20th year of the Kaihuang era, and now it's already been over ten years since then, with the current year being the 6th year of the Daye era. By the 9th year of the Daye era, the Sui Dynasty's rule had become chaotic. Rebel forces big and small were scattered throughout the land from north to south, and from the 20th year of the Kaihuang era until the collapse of the Sui Dynasty, it really was only a decade or so.

  The second thing is that the old nun said that the world of the Great Sui would eventually be replaced by the Li family dynasty, which is true.

  As for the third matter, Li Xian simply ignored it. Although he had seen many crossovers in his previous life, Li Xian was certain that history was history, and even if there were minor changes due to his own arrival, the overall direction of history would not change. He had met Li Yuan, Li Jiancheng, and the Princess Pingyang who commanded the green forest path in the north.

  Because Li Xian knew that the world was about to be in great chaos, he had to learn more ways to protect himself as soon as possible. His time was running out and he couldn't afford to waste it. As for that bloody True Dragon Reincarnation Prophecy, Li Xian knew that once it spread throughout the land, there would be many people who wanted to kill him. He knew that nursery rhyme about the peach blossoms because so many people with the surname Li had died. What's more, that prophecy was extremely specific and targeted. Staying alive was the most important thing.

  He woke up after four hours of sleep, got dressed and washed up, filled his quiver with arrows and tied it tightly to his back, slung the well-tested hard bow over his shoulder, checked his horizontal sword, and stepped out of the house.

  After going out the door, Li Xian was stunned for a moment, and then took a deep breath.

  Overnight, everything was covered in white.

  What a big snow, the sky and earth are all painted white. The snowflakes were still floating, really as big as goose feathers. Li Xian looked at the magnificent and beautiful snowy scene, and couldn't help but let out a sigh of admiration. In his previous life, he had never been to Northeast China, and had never seen such a picturesque and grand scenery.

  The snow scene is beautiful, but it's still necessary to set foot on it. I promised Du Gu Rui Zhi the flying dragon meat, that thing isn't hard to catch, but it requires luck.

  Li Xian said something to the Blood Cavalry on duty, then opened his legs and ran towards the back mountain. In such cold weather, it is necessary to let the blood circulate as soon as possible, otherwise the body will be frozen stiff very quickly. Li Xian absolutely believed that if he fell into an ice cave for two thousand years and was dug out again, he would still be alive and kicking.

  He was like a snow leopard that had not yet fully grown, leaping and running freely in the dense forest. Today there was no wind, but after Li Xian started running, his ears began to blow with a cold horn.

  On the snowy ground of the back mountain, Li Xian left a string of footprints, as if he had merged into a wonderful traditional Chinese painting.

  Until his body started to emit heat, Li Xian slowed down gradually. Leaning against a tree to rest for a moment, he untied the water bag and took a big gulp of almost frozen cold water. The air was cold, his body hot, and then drinking another mouthful of cold water, that feeling was so piercing that ordinary people couldn't bear it.

  Li Xian, who was somewhat annoyed at his own bad luck, suddenly pulled the hard bow from behind his back and in an instant, his arrow was already on the bowstring.

  He didn't hear any sound or sense any danger, but a white shadow flashed before his eyes at an incredible speed.

  As he looked in the direction, Li Xian's tense nerves finally relaxed slowly.

  A white ermine, looking cute but actually ferocious and cruel, stood ten meters away. If not for Li Xian's good eyesight, it would have been hard to spot the little thing. The small creature, less than a meter long including its tail, looked extremely cute, enough to kill women of all ages with its cuteness, and make every young girl's heart overflow with love. Delicate, beautiful, and adorable.

  Li Xian smiled and thought to himself: I wonder if snow leopard meat tastes good or not.

  It was a very cliché scene, but when Li Xian raised his bow, he heard a girl's cry for help.

  Hmmm... He didn't understand because the voice coming from afar wasn't even Chinese.

  Li Xian was taken aback by the girl's voice, thinking to himself that it seemed like all sorts of clichés from fantasy novels were going to come true for him. The girl's voice was crisp and pleasant to listen to, with a hint of urgency in her tone, and just listening to it made him know that she was a beautiful and charming young woman. It was as if he had stumbled upon a lovely maiden in the wilderness, and they would fall deeply in love at first sight? But what kind of demon or spirit could have transformed into this girl? Surely it couldn't be the sister, cousin, or aunt of the Snow Sculpture in front of him?

  He suddenly looked forward to it, wondering if a seductive fox spirit with a high slit cheongsam would walk up to him with a swaying gait, accidentally tripping and revealing the tempting things under her dress. And then he would proudly walk over, hook his finger under her chin, help her up, and the fox spirit would naturally reward him by offering herself to him?

  Then what?

  Li Xian shuddered at the thought that he might be sucked dry of his vital energy by the fox spirit and turn into a desiccated corpse...

  PS: It's amazing, I've been able to maintain three updates for three days while ensuring the text is smooth. I can proudly say: Can I do a little more? I don't know if I can, but three updates are already quite laborious. Maybe when the story becomes smoother, the speed will pick up. Actually, what I'm thinking is... Can I tap on your chest and ask: Can you make the collection soar?...... Of course, girls, I'll consult with you before deciding whether to tap or not.