Chapter 227: Thousand Nights of Poisonous Feathers

"Someone once trusted him and entrusted their life to him, and what was the result? Master Ban also trusted him, but just three days after he arrived at the Mechanical City, Master Ban was ambushed and severely wounded. Now it is Master Xu; who will it be next? Do you still dare to trust this man?" Gao Jianli shouted in fury.

Xiao Xie shook his head and remarked to Xue Nu, who was standing nearby, "Gao Jianli’s martial arts are decent, but he is far too impulsive. It doesn't suit the Water Cold Sword he wields at all—he lacks the necessary composure."

Hearing Xiao Xie’s words, Xue Nu found herself unable to retort. Gao Jianli had indeed been lacking in composure these past few days; the appearance of Ge Nie had caused him to lose his usual clarity of mind.

"I trust him. He is not that kind of person," Duanmu Rong said, shaking her head.

"Master Xu told me himself that it was he who wounded him and that he was tampering with the central reservoir. If you don't even believe Master Xu, what right do you have to trust this scoundrel? He spent his time at the side of Ying Zheng; who knows how many heroes of the Six States have bled out on that Sword of Origin Rainbow," Gao Jianli snapped, feeling even more incensed by Duanmu Rong’s unwavering faith in Ge Nie.

"I don't know what kind of person he was in the past, but at the very least, based on the man I have come to know—the person standing behind me—I believe he would not commit such acts," Duanmu Rong said calmly. Although she had only spent a few short days with Ge Nie, she was convinced of his innocence.

"Duanmu Rong, what has Ge Nie done to you to make you trust him so much?"

"Ge Nie was hunted by the Dragon and Tiger Cavalry of the Qin King. I treated his wounds and saw them with my own eyes. Every wound he sustained was potentially fatal. No one could lie while standing that close to death, and no shameless villain who betrays his friends would possess such courage. That is why I believe Ge Nie is not a lackey of the Qin King Ying Zheng; someone else must be responsible for the plots against Master Ban and Master Xu," Duanmu Rong explained coolly.

Duanmu Rong understood the history between Gao Jianli and Ge Nie, and she grasped the emotions currently churning within Gao Jianli, but she trusted what she had seen and believed in Ge Nie’s innocence.

"Xiao Gao, stop! Ge Nie is indeed innocent. Xiao Xie told us that Wei Zhuang has an assassin under his command named Black Kirin, a master of disguise. According to information verified by Thief Zhi, he infiltrated the Mechanical City by disguising himself as a Mohist disciple who had gone to the back mountain with Da Tiechui. It was this Black Kirin who ambushed Master Ban, stole the mechanical schematics, and wounded Master Xu to frame Ge Nie," Xue Nu explained.

"Even so, there is no guarantee that he isn't in league with that Black Kirin," Gao Jianli persisted, his hatred for Ge Nie running too deep to let go.

"Gao Jianli, are you a fool? Even if Ge Nie were injured, do you really think Master Xu would still be alive if he had truly attacked him? Black Kirin spared Master Xu specifically to frame Ge Nie, using the hands of the Mohist School to eliminate Ge Nie, a thorn in his master's side!" Xiao Xie could not help but interject. Gao Jianli was blinded by hatred, his intellect seemingly reduced to nothing.

"You..." Stung by Xiao Xie’s disdain, Gao Jianli was so furious he spoke without thinking: "I think you’re in league with Ge Nie as well! Perhaps even that Black Kirin is working with you lot!"

"Xiao Gao, enough! Compose yourself," Xue Nu called out sharply.

"Ah-Xue, I..." Stunned by her outburst, Gao Jianli shuddered, cooling down significantly as he realized how far he had overstepped.

"Young Master Xiao, I apologize on Xiao Gao's behalf. He has been far too irrational lately," Xue Nu said, turning toward Xiao Xie.

"Since you have spoken, Xue Nu, I naturally won't hold it against him. However, I suggest your first priority should be to inspect the central reservoir," Xiao Xie replied with a wave of his hand. He disdained bickering with Gao Jianli; the man constantly crossed him, and Xiao Xie had already resolved to find an opportunity to dispose of him. He saw no reason to argue with a dead man walking.

"He is right. Our priority must be to inspect the central reservoir; it is the heart of the Mohist Mechanical City and cannot be allowed to fail," Duanmu Rong said with a grave expression. She hurried toward the reservoir, having been so preoccupied with stopping Gao Jianli that she had not yet had the chance to check it.

"Sister Rong, Xiao Gao and I will go with you!" Xue Nu took Xiao Gao and followed Duanmu Rong. She knew that leaving him here would only cause further embarrassment, and she seized the chance to pull him away—at the very least, to get him away from Ge Nie.

"Young Master Xiao, thank you for your help," Ge Nie said to Xiao Xie after they had left.

"It is nothing. However, Master Ge, it would be best if you stayed in your room for the time being. You should keep Tianming with you; if something else happens, at least there will be a witness," Xiao Xie advised. He knew Black Kirin had already poisoned the water with 'Jiu Yu Qian Ye' (The Thousand-Night Dove Feather), and for the time being, it was safer for Tianming to remain with Ge Nie.

As for why Xiao Xie did not tell Duanmu Rong and the others about the poison, it was partly because he lacked concrete evidence; blurting it out would only invite unnecessary suspicion, especially from Gao Jianli, who would likely latch onto it. Furthermore, Xiao Xie did not care about the lives of the Mohist disciples. Aside from Xue Nu and Duanmu Rong, he was not familiar with the others, and he was certainly no saint—in the past few months alone, he had personally killed over three thousand bandits.

...

"Strange," Duanmu Rong murmured, her brows furrowed.

"What is it, Sister Rong?" Xue Nu asked with concern.

"I have checked the central reservoir and the other tanks, but I found absolutely nothing wrong. Yet, I cannot believe the enemy went to such lengths just to frame Ge Nie," Duanmu Rong said, looking worried.

"Regardless, I will order everyone to increase security to guard against further enemy ambushes!" Gao Jianli had regained his composure. Previously, his hatred for Ge Nie had led him to blame everything on him, but now that he was calm, he realized there were indeed many oddities in these events.

After dawn, before the sun had fully risen, Duanmu Rong, Xue Nu, and Gao Jianli walked together along the corridor.

Duanmu Rong still looked troubled. She had re-checked the central reservoir several times, finding no issues, yet a sense of unease gnawed at her, a feeling that she had missed something.

"Xiao Gao, even though I have found no faults in the water, for the sake of caution, issue an order that no one is to drink from the reservoirs for the rest of the day," Duanmu Rong instructed after a moment of thought.

"Very well, I will see to it," Gao Jianli nodded and turned to leave, but stopped when he heard Xue Nu speak.

"Ah, I understand! Why nothing could be found in the water," Duanmu Rong looked toward the rising sun in the east. As the sunlight gradually enveloped the Mechanical City, she finally realized what she had overlooked.

Xue Nu walked over and took Duanmu Rong’s hand, startled by its icy, lifeless temperature. "Sister Rong, your hands are so cold. You’re scaring me. What is it?"

"Jiu Yu Qian Ye!"

"Jiu Yu Qian Ye?" Gao Jianli and Xue Nu exclaimed, shocked.

"The wicked are always a step ahead of the righteous. The Mohist School is facing its greatest catastrophe in three hundred years!" Duanmu Rong looked at the rising sun, her face filled with dread.

"Miss Rong, what do you mean?" Gao Jianli asked, his voice tense.

"The sunlight! Damn it! I should have realized it sooner. Jiu Yu Qian Ye—the most peculiar poison in the world. Once the toxin dissolves in water, it remains dormant as long as it is shielded from the sun. But once exposed to the light, the poison spreads. It travels through the water supply to every corner, making it impossible to detect," Duanmu Rong cried out, filled with self-reproach.