Chapter 3
Meat for the Chopping Block
She began to wonder: who was this man before her?
A look of terror flashed through Nangong Xue’s eyes!
She suddenly realized all of her internal strength had vanished!
She finally knew who this cultured man was.
No matter the situation, if a sharp sword is pointed at your throat you had to keep calm.
This was something Nangong Xue’s master had told her a million times.
Right now she was very calm, calmer than even she could believe.
Her voice was as smooth and steady as a sheet of refined steel. “Poison Eighteen, I’ve already drank the poison you put in my tea, what are you waiting for?”
The young man finally raised his eyes and the corners of his mouth pulled up in a carefree smile. He really was a charming, handsome man.
His tone was a bit smug, but it had lost none of its gentleness. “Nangong Xue, what do you think I’m waiting for?”
Nangong Xue said nothing, she just calmly watched him, an unperturbed smile on her face.
Suspicion swept across Poison Eighteen’s eyes.
Poison Eighteen was what everyone in the jianghu called him. No one seemed to know his name, only that if he poisoned someone he could kill eighteen generations of your forebears, so everyone called him Poison Eighteen.
Nangong Xue was silent for a while, then said flatly, “You’re not a person who likes to take risks. You’re always cautious and careful, so you’re definitely waiting for me to panic. Only then will you be sure that I really have drunk the tea.”
She sighed gently. “You’re not only good-looking, you’re also an intelligent person.”
Poison Eighteen was still smiling naturally, but it could not hide the confusion on his face. “You can’t blame me, this was all Xiong Batian’s first disciple, Long Ming’s, idea. You killed his sectfather, right?”
Nangong Xue gently turned the porcelain cup in her hands. “What is he to you?”
Poison Eighteen said coldly, “Nothing at all. He pays, I nab the person. Is that enough reason?”
“Of course it’s enough, you’re not the only person in the world who kills for money.” Nangong Xue laughed softly, eying Poison Eighteen with a look of slighting derision. “In that case, why don’t you nab me?”
Poison Eighteen stared at her coldly.
Nangong Xue sat still, expression unchanged.
Poison Eighteen was actually hesitating.
Nangong Xue suddenly heaved a long sigh. “Actually your plan was a good one, first pretending to want to sit at my table, then using those three planted people to talk loudly to divert my attention. Then you used chopsticks smeared with a poison and quickly dipped it into my tea what you went to pick up your food. It’s just too bad…”
“Just too bad what?” Poison Eighteen’s handsome face became unsightly.
Nangong Xue regarded him coldly. “Just too bad I already knew. Think about it, even though I didn’t recognize you, I recognized your sitting posture. If you harbored no hostility toward me, why would you be so on your guard against me?”
Poison Eighteen was speechless.
She sneered, “I know you think I’m lying, because you clearly saw mew drink from that cup of tea, right?”
“That’s right.” Poison Eighteen stared at her, as if penetrating into her innermost thoughts. “Right now you’re just bluffing, trying to scare me off.”
Nangong Xue’s heart was hammering, but her expression was still icily indifferent. “Poison Eighteen, you’re an intelligent person. You can be counted as a masterhand of the martial world, but deep down you know that since I could kill Xiong Batian, naturally I could kill you too. At any rate, your martial arts is not stronger than his, right?”
That was a fact. Had Nangong Xue not been poisoned, Poison Eighteen would likely be no match for her.
Poison Eighteen couldn’t help but feel really regretful. If he had known earlier he would have used a deadly poison, then it would be obvious at a glance if Nangong Xue had been poisoned, because she would be lying on the ground. It was only because Long Ming had offered a higher reward for capturing her alive so that he could kill her personally to avenge Xiong Batian, so Poison Eighteen had only slipped a drug into her tea that would temporarily disperse her internal strength.
Now, he really wasn’t sure if she had been poisoned or not.
As he saw it, a poisoned person could never be so relaxed and calm.
Nangong Xue revealed an enchanting smile, her manner calm. “If you’re not sure, why not have your three companions attack all at once? Wouldn’t you have a better chance that way?”
Poison Eighteen glared at her severely. “Since you knew that we were plotting against you, why didn’t you attack?”
Nangong Xue said plainly, “I didn’t fall for your plot, so why should I attack?”
She paused. and her tone turned cold as ice. “However, if you still don’t leave, I can tell you that there’s no way I’m gonna keep sitting here like this talking to you. You believe me or not?”
The implication was that she was going to attack.
Poison Eighteen’s forehead was beaded with sweat. He couldn’t resist turning to the three companions at the neighboring table with an inquiring look…
The three all along had been paying attention to them, and they were also confused by Nangong Xue.
Finally, Poison Eighteen and his three companions left.
Perhaps some might feel that he was not brave enough, but how many people in the world were truly brave enough? If everyone were as unafraid of death as Xiong Batian there would be no need to eulogize and extol fearless people.
Rather than say that Poison Eighteen feared death, it would be better to say that he was suitably intelligent. After all, only an intelligent person knew not to do something when you weren’t confident of success.
Poison Eighteen loved money, but he loved living even more. Don’t you think a person like that is really cute?
X X X
Nangong Xue breathed a sigh of relief and collapsed against the wall. She realized her the back of her inner garment was soaked with sweat.
The way she was right now, it would take her two double-hours to fully recover her internal strength. During that time, she couldn’t sit here no matter what.
She went back to her suite at a side courtyard in the back.
But as soon as she stepped into her room, Xiong Batian’s first disciple, Long Ming, followed in after her.
She looked at him in surprise and blurted out, “What are you doing here?”
Long Ming had an awful look on his face, but he still maintained a smug smile. “What do you think I’m here for? Definitely not to have a drink with you, Nangong Xue, and then share a bed with you.”
Forcing down the fear in her heart, Nangong Xue shouted angrily, “Do you have a death with or what?”
Long Ming laughed twice and slowly closed in on her, teeth clenched. “Forget it, you deceived Poison Eighteen, but you can’t fool me. I watched you drink the tea. Right now, you, hmph, probably couldn’t even squash an ant.”
Nangong Xue could no longer maintain her composure and her face blanched.
“Since you’re so sure, why didn’t you expose me back there?” She involuntarily stepped backward.
“You’re not as smart as they say.” Long Ming chuckled, his eyes roving over her. “If I had exposed you, wouldn’t I have been out a lot of money?”
Nangong Xue had backed herself into a corner. “What are you going to do?”
“Nothing much, I just want to flay you and present your skin to my master!” Long Ming’s face was full of hate. “You no doubt know that before I flay you, I will have to first peel off your clothes…”
Before he finished, his strong, powerful hand grabbed at her chest!
Nangong Xue paled with fright. Right now she was as powerless as a trussed up chicken, no way she could ward off Long Ming’s move. She wanted to dodge it, but she hadn’t the strength. She could only grit her teeth and put her hand out to block him.
Long Ming turned his hand and snatched her wrist like a hawk snatching a chick. He put some force into it and Nangong Xue almost went to her knees from the pain.
Long Ming’s other hand slapped her with a pow and Nangong Xue’s fair cheek had a clear five-finger handprint on it, and blood trickled from her mouth…
“Nangong Xue, where did all your swagger go?” Long Ming held her perfectly round chin and chuckled. “No matter how terrific a woman is, she can’t beat a man, isn’t that right?”
Nangong Xue was in so much pain she nearly fainted. She opened her narrow eyes wider. “Long Ming, if you’re a man just knife me and get it over with!”
“I’ll give it to you alright.” Long Ming’s eyes flashed greedy lust. “A man making a woman content is a simple thing, just get her into bed and it’ll be as content as can be…”
As he spoke he threw her onto the bed with a lecherous smile and pounced on after her.
But he didn’t make it to the bed. While he was in the air, the door was suddenly pushed open forcefully and four people shot in like arrows!
The first one in sent a wave of forcewind at Long Ming and fumed, “Long Ming, you’re content, but us brothers are not!”
Long Ming was shocked and quickly stamped on the edge of the bed and did a sparrowhawk aerial twist and bounced back.
He looked and saw that Poison Eighteen and the others had returned . Long Ming was flushed with anger. “What are you doing?”
“What am I doing?” Poison Eighteen laughed sinisterly twice. “We came back to see if the girl had really been poisoned or not and happened to bump into you here taking advantage. You’re really living it up!”
Long Ming huffed, “It’s you all who fell for her ruse, how can you say I’m taking advantage?”
“Shit, you make it sound so nice.” Poison Eighteen glared at him, boiling with rage. “If not for me and my ‘Three Wolves of Taihu’ laying this trap, just you, hmph! You’d never be able to touch a hair on her head!”
“You’re right.” Long Ming piled on the smiles. He knew better than anyone that he alone was no match for Poison Eighteen. “We had a gentleman’s agreement. I’ll give you the money.”
He reached into his robe and took out a silver draft note and handed it to Poison Eighteen. “Like we agreed: dead, 50,000, alive, 100,000. Look, this is a draft for 100,000 taels. You can cash this at any shop in the thirteen provinces.”
“Excellent.” Poison Eighteen stuffed the note into his robe and said coldly, “But we want another 100,000.”
Long Ming was taken aback. “What did you say?”
The Three Wolves of Taihu behind Poison Eighteen stepped forward. The palefaced one with the little mustache was the eldest, called Big Wolf. No matter what he was always expressionless when he spoke. “Old Poison means that you have to pay another 100,000 if you want us to turn her over to you.”
“Why?” Long Ming shouted, “Are you all extorting me?”
“You’re wrong, those in our line of work play ruthless, we don’t play swindles.” The speaker was the genteel man in white, Second Wolf.
“Playing ruthless but not playing swindles is for straightforward employers who keep their promises,” continued Third Wolf. When he spoke, his brushlike eyebrows wriggled like caterpillars. “But you as an employer were not straightforward but actually though to hold out on us and not pay. Too bad you were too unlucky and were found out by us, so you have to pay double. These are our business rules.”
Long Ming went “Ah” but said nothing else.
“I don’t like dawdlers,” Poison Eighteen said coldly. “You pay, we hand her over. You don’t pay, I let her go.”
“Don’t be like that, anyway we’re somewhat friends aren’t we?” Long Ming said, smiling.
Big Wolf’s face though was stiff as a coffin board. “In our line of work, we’re only concerned with money, not friendship.”
“Okay, okay.” Long Ming had no choice. “100,000 it is. Consider yourselves ruthless. But, I don’t have that much money on me…”
“No problem,” Poison Eighteen said, cutting him off. “Go back to the martial arts academy and get the money and we’ll wait for you here.”
Nangong Xue all this time had been sitting on the edge of the bed awkwardly. Several times she’d furtively tried her luck but couldn’t muster up a bit of strength and was burning with anxiety. She finally understood that jianghu experience after all was not acquired in the span of one or two days. Even though her martial arts was unmatched, at this moment she had allowed herself to be trampled on…
Thinking this, she couldn’t help but feel mournful and sad, even more heartbroken at the thought of being humiliated and killed by Long Ming…
Suddenly, she thought of suicide!
No matter what, she was not about to be meat for the chopping block.
