Chapter 50: Aromatic Coiling Silk
Doctor Mo finally figured out why Han Li had been determined to keep the door opened the moment he entered the room. Han Li’s request foreshadowed his use of the sun’s glare. Doctor Mo’s opponent was of such a young age. How could he be this thorough? This meticulously calculated sinister chain of events made this old and experienced figure of Jiang Hu unable to fight back. Han Li’s profound schemes did not match his age and experience. Could it truly be that this person was truly a natural genius, perhaps even a reincarnated prodigy?
He pondered deeply. The more he thought about it, the more his fear grew. A cold sweat covered Doctor Mo from head to toe.
Enduring this frustration, Doctor Mo grew far more wary of Han Li. He cautiously and solemnly faced the youngster. For a short while, he did not dare to act again.
Han Li also did not know why Doctor Mo had was just staring at him without the slightest intention to attack. For a short while, both sides had silently decided to cease hostilities. They gazed at each other in anxiety.
After a moment passed within this awkward atmosphere, Han Li suddenly started speaking. His sentence would leave Doctor Mo dumbstruck and distracted:
“Elder Mo, why don’t we make peace? Or how about I surrender? What do you think?”
Saying this, Han Li swung his arms. He straightforwardly threw down his weapons and gazed at Doctor Mo with a smile, exposing rows of pure white teeth. Just like that, he donned the appearance of a simple and honest youngster from the countryside.
“Surrender?”
Doctor Mo originally believed that his ears had gone bad. However he immediately reacted. Looking at Han Li’s discarded awls, he did not have slightest degree of trust, so he fiercely asked, “What’s your plan? Don’t think that I would trust your false words. You want to surrender? You could’ve done that from the start. There was no need to wait until after we became irreconcilable adversaries. What else is up your sleeve?”
Han Li looked at Doctor Mo with a smile and did not speak. Instead, he seemed to tacitly agree to his criticisms. These two had once more sunk into confrontation.
After a short while, Doctor Mo seemed to think of an extremely funny matter. He unexpectedly lifted his body, put both hands on his abdomen and laughed at the top of his lungs. The laughter was unrestrained, and tears flowed out from the corners of his eyes.
“Haha! Ha! Haha! Truly…. This is truly interesting. I had actually forgotten such an important aspect. I had actually truly been…been the target of your traps,” said Doctor Mo in an ambiguous manner in between his disjointed laughter.
Han Li wrinkled his brow, but soon after, he smoothed it out. As he glanced outside the window, the corners of his mouth formed a strong smile, and he calmly said, “Elder Mo, don’t you feel that this delay has gone on long enough? It’s about time to finish this.”
Doctor Mo grew slightly distracted and stopped his hearty laughter.
He slowly straightened himself and stiffened his face. With an expressionless face, he stared at Han Li for a long time before coldly replying, “I, too, feel that it is time to conclude this.”
The two suddenly calculated their respective chances of succeeding. In that split second, they both thought of ways to force their opponent to reveal their cards.
After a moment of awkward silence, Han Li slowly opened his mouth. He held no other thoughts other than the confidence of being able to force Doctor Mo to concede.
“Elder Mo, did you know… that your life is already in my hands?” Han Li’s words could leave a person utterly astonished.
“My life is already in your hands?” Doctor Mo sneered; his face had an expression of distrust.
“Don’t you think that wound of yours is a bit peculiar?”
“Nonsense. I took a careful look at it. Your dagger doesn’t have….” Doctor Mo refused to believe his words, but halfway through his own reply, his expression greatly changed. He recalled that what had injured him wasn’t that dagger but rather that hidden awl.
“It seems I don’t need to say any more. Elder Mo already understands my meaning.” Han Li looked at Doctor Mo with a snicker.
“Even if I were poisoned, you forget. Your medicinal techniques were all taught by me. There is no poison I cannot remove,” Doctor Mo calmly said. His face immediately went back to normal.
“Hehe! I forgot to say. The poison that I applied on my blade was ‘Aromatic Coiling Silk’.”
“Aromatic Coiling Silk?” Doctor Mo let out a soft cry of surprise. This had greatly exceeded his expectations.
“Correct, Elder Mo surely knows how difficult it is to deal with this poison!”
“Nonsense, how could you possibly concoct such a poison? I didn’t divulge even an segment of its formula.” Doctor Mo’s appearance was still strong, and he seemed to be unconvinced of Han Li’s words. However, from the strange sensation he felt from the wound, his heart was already certain that Han Li somehow managed to concoct the poison.
Seeing that Doctor Mo was still not admitting defeat, Han Li sighed. He would have to explain further.
“You have long forgotten that I was given complete access to your library. This recipe was slipped into an obscure medical book, but had I not been attentive, I fear that I would have missed it.”
Doctor Mo recalled this fact. Back when he had originally obtained this recipe, he casually slipped a detailed copy of the medicinal formula into a random book because he was afraid he would forget the convoluted procedure, which required too many ingredients. Later, he completely forgot about this piece of paper because he had far too many affairs to handle. He hadn’t expected this to benefit Han Li and cause him such a huge problem.
“We should take a seat and have a proper discussion. Let us shake hands and make peace!” Han Li confidently said.
Humph! Doctor Mo did not take notice of Han Li; his brain was hard at work remembering the effects of the Aromatic Coiling Silk.
Aromatic Coiling Silk. This name did not sound dreadful in the slightest. In passing thoughts, people even found that it sounded elegant and romantic. However, its poisonous strength was like the yearning of an infatuated woman: unbearable and bone-deep.