Chapter 10: Go Ahead and Take It

The subordinate's face grew even more ashen on the spot. He hesitated, glancing toward Qiao Qingyun, who stood before the perplexing case. Even with her face brimming with confidence, he could not muster an ounce of trust in her.

"Miss Qiao, what is this?" Feng Ke asked again. Qiao Qingyun leaned back leisurely in her chair, spreading her hands, her gaze tinged with amusement as she looked at Feng Ke. "To be honest," she said, "the people I least like to save are those tainted by poison."

"If not for the fact that today you brought His Highness the Crown Prince, I assure you, I would have watched him die in agony and terror right before my eyes, perishing from the overwhelming potency of the drug."

Her words were deliberately chilling, terrifying the subordinate so that his whole body went limp and he dropped to his knees, staring at Qiao Qingyun in disbelief, lips trembling. "How—how do you know?"

"How do I know?" she replied. "Do you realize that, once, a friend of mine was poisoned with opium and, in the end, betrayed every last one of us? Of all those people, I alone escaped alive."

Of course, this was not a fabrication on Qiao Qingyun's part; it had happened because someone coveted their medical skills and forced them to hand them over. But that was not an incident that occurred here.

She glossed over the story, then rose gracefully, her slender figure swaying as she circled the trembling subordinate, whispering softly.

"Are your limbs weak? Is your head spinning, your vision blurry? Have you tried to quit, only to find that the moment you do, your whole body feels as though tens of thousands of ants are crawling and biting, gnawing back and forth?"

With each word, the subordinate's face grew more ghastly. Qiao Qingyun cast a cool glance at the terrified man. "Next, your immunity will plummet, making you susceptible to all manner of illness. Soon after, your wounds will begin to fester, starting from your hands and spreading to your feet, and you'll be powerless, forced to watch as the rot continues, enduring agony all the while."

"In the end, only two fates await you: death by pain, or death by rot, your name forever disgraced!"

Her words petrified the man, leaving him frozen on the ground. Then, like a beaten hound, he crawled to Qiao Qingyun's feet, clutching desperately at the hem of her skirt. "You can save me! You must! Please, I beg you—save me! Save me!"

"You want my help? Very well."

Qiao Qingyun smiled radiantly, but her earlier display had already left everyone present, including Yuan Zaichun, deeply shocked.

No one could have imagined Qiao Qingyun would diagnose so precisely.

She bent down and glanced at Feng Ke, then suddenly looked up and asked, "Young Master Feng, if I help you resolve this great trouble, what will you give me in return?"

"Ah?" Feng Ke was taken aback, not expecting Qiao Qingyun to bargain at a moment like this.

She lifted her brows in amusement, watching him intently. After a moment, Feng Ke finally understood—she wanted payment!

"Well... Miss Qiao, name your price. As long as I can afford it, it's yours."

"One thousand taels."

"One thousand taels! You might as well be robbing me!" Feng Ke nearly choked on his own tongue. Yuan Zaichun furrowed his brow, his expression darkening. "Enough nonsense."

"Your Highness, I am not being unreasonable. Wait until I've found out the truth—then Young Master Feng can decide whether to pay. If he refuses, it's simple: in the future, should he seek my help, I simply will not see him."

Qiao Qingyun jutted her chin out, and before Yuan Zaichun could bark a reprimand, Feng Ke interrupted—not to stop her, but to interject first.

"Fine! Since you've said as much, I’d like to see what you can do."

Having secured Feng Ke's agreement, Qiao Qingyun glanced at the frightened subordinate. "Now, tell me—who put you up to betraying Young Master Feng?"

Of course, she was gambling that it wasn't Feng Ke himself, but rather someone else—after all, most people wouldn't even recognize such a substance.

"Betray?" Yuan Zaichun and Feng Ke both froze in surprise upon hearing her words, never expecting Qiao Qingyun to say such a thing.

The subordinate started in alarm, shaking his head frantically. "No one! No one!"

"So, it was you who meant to betray Young Master Feng?" Qiao Qingyun was adept at exploiting loopholes.

Sensing that she had seized on something crucial, the subordinate's gaze turned fierce. He glanced at the corner of the table and, as though resolved to die, suddenly lunged for it!

Fortunately, Qiao Qingyun was quick. She kicked him to the ground, her eyes blazing with fury. "Trying to die, are you? Do you know what I hate most? I despise those who, at the slightest provocation, seek death! Here I am, sincerely wishing to save you, yet you spurn my kindness. Well, if you wish to live, that privilege is now forfeit!"

With that, she reached into her small pocket and, drawing from her medical space, produced a vial of medicine.

It was an anesthetic she kept in her medical kit, though she used it here mostly to intimidate, applying some to a silver needle.

Amidst the subordinate's and the others' terrified stares, Qiao Qingyun plunged the needle into the man's thigh, drawing a sharp cry of pain from him.

"Ah! What are you doing?"

As the drug took immediate effect, Qiao Qingyun glanced at her patient and smiled coldly. "Why not try? See if your leg still moves?"

The man froze, then tried to kick Qiao Qingyun with all his strength—yet, in the next moment...

"My leg! My leg!"

Had he not been one of Feng Ke's men, the onlookers might have thought this was some elaborate ruse.

Feng Ke swallowed hard. Truly, beauties are like vipers—best not provoked.

Amid the subordinate's wails, Qiao Qingyun, well aware the anesthetic's effects would not last, feigned inscrutability as she regarded him. "I know you're not afraid of death, but do you know what's truly terrifying? It's becoming my test subject."

"I can show you what it means to envy the dead. For instance, with the poison inside you, I could drain all your blood and replace it with another's. How does that sound?"

"You—you—"

"So, whether you choose to speak is your concern. Whether you can keep your other leg is mine. Who knows if, by accident, I might try fighting poison with poison on you? Ah, what powder did I just use? I've quite forgotten..."

Feigning forgetfulness, Qiao Qingyun sat down in the chair, watching as the man collapsed in a sweaty, trembling heap.

At that moment, the subordinate began to kowtow before her. "I was wrong, I was wrong! It was the owner of the brothel next door, the Wan Hua House! He wanted our young master's secret recipes—and the information of many clients!"

"And did you give them?" Qiao Qingyun pressed, frowning in disgust at such underhanded tactics to steal another’s clientele.

Feng Ke broke into a cold sweat, staring at his subordinate in disbelief, his shock quickly turning to fury.

He leapt up and kicked the man. "Scoundrel! After all my trust in you!"