Thin tendrils of smoke rose like a dragon into the sky.
Gazing up at the full moon of the festival, a man named Zhen sat smoking his pipe. Behind him, as black as a crow, stretched an endless expanse of dry desert. He was far from the imperial court, stationed now on the frontlines of a distant border.
Zhen thought back to that night—the night he had been summoned to the palace after Fei Ling ‘s intervention. It was then that the Empress had given him the order for an expedition. He wasn’t surprised. The battlefield was the perfect stage for a feng shui master. By deciphering the geomancy of a war zone, one could guide the army to victory.
But the Empress’s parting words lingered in his mind:
“Do make full use of your talents… poison master.”
Her usual smile lingered as sweetly as ever.
(When did she discover I was a poison master? How did she figure it out in the first place?)
Pondering over this, Zhen puffed on his pipe.
Since arriving at the court, he had assassinated eight people. First, the Left Chancellor who had originally hired him—he eliminated him immediately. Afterward, two others who posed obstacles to his appointment as the court’s feng shui master, followed by two unrelated individuals to avoid suspicion. Lastly, three others who had plotted to assassinate Fei Ling . He had left no evidence behind. There was no plausible way anyone could have uncovered his true identity.
(Then does it mean the Left Chancellor and the Empress were connected somehow?)
But that made no sense. The Left Chancellor had tried to poison the Empress at the spring banquet, which she herself hosted. Fei Ling had managed to thwart the attempt, but in the worst-case scenario, the Empress’s life could have been claimed by poison.
(…No, the two aren’t contradictory.)
If the Empress had known about the poisoning in advance, all she had to do was pretend to consume it. By doing so, she could survive and present herself as an innocent victim. From that point onward, she could manipulate events however she saw fit.
(A woman not to be underestimated.)
Zhen narrowed his sharp gaze.
Just then, a shadow moved across the distant dunes. A human figure. To the south, the armies of the Kok and Bo nations were clashing tonight. Zhen thought it might be an enemy soldier retreating after defeat, but the billowing scarf in the wind revealed it was a woman.
A courtesan, perhaps? Some armies brought courtesans to the battlefield. But this figure was far too short. A young girl? No… could it be—
(A wheelchair?)
The image of the Empress floated into his mind. Impossible.
This was the frontlines. There was no way the Empress could be here.
The desert offered an unobstructed view for miles, but actual distances were much greater than they seemed. Even if he rode out now, there was no guarantee he could confirm what he saw.
As Zhen debated whether to retrieve his horse, a soldier arrived.
“Master Zhen! So this is where you were! I bring urgent news!”
The soldier saluted sharply and began speaking without catching his breath.
“The shallow lake you mentioned earlier as having inauspicious signs—an enemy reinforcement unit attempting to cross it has reportedly drowned to the last man!”
This morning, Zhen had advised the general to avoid crossing the shallow lake, citing a water disaster foretold in its geomancy. Though the general was furious at the idea of falling behind the enemy forces that would inevitably traverse it, he had no choice but to heed the advice of the court-appointed feng shui master, who held authority directly from the Emperor.
“Our forces heeded your warning, Master Zhen, and took the long way around, thus avoiding catastrophe. Were it not for your guidance, we would surely have perished…”
The soldier’s face was pale with relief.
“Ah, it seems the enemy lacked a competent feng shui master. What a shame,” Zhen replied, feigning regret as he shrugged.
In truth, feng shui had nothing to do with it.
Geomancy wasn’t just about knowledge; it required a natural talent to hear its “voice.” Though Zhen had trained extensively to pass as a feng shui master, it wasn’t his true craft. The Empress’s words had hit the mark—he was, at heart, a poison master.
(Poison is my weapon in all things. That’s how I operate.)
Zhen had timed it perfectly so that a deadly toxin flowed into the lake just as the enemy began their crossing. The poison would persist only for a single night. Moreover, it was harmless to fish, ensuring that any subsequent investigation would attribute the deaths to drowning, not poison.
“The general requests your presence.”
“I understand. I’ll go at once.”
After the soldier left, Zhen cast his gaze across the desert again, but the shadow had long vanished. There was no point chasing it now.
He exhaled and looked up at the moon. A cloud had begun to obscure it, drifting slowly across the sky. A single green star sliced through the cloud and fell.
“…Fei Ling .”
The apothecary girl was no longer in the court. She had been promoted and was now attended by handpicked ladies-in-waiting chosen by the Empress herself. For some reason, an unshakable sense of unease stirred within him.
Zhen narrowed his poison-laden eyes.
“Fei Ling , don’t let someone else kill you before I get the chance.”
◇
Fei Ling (慧玲 / フェイリン), someone called out to her. It was a voice laced with a faint rasp, carrying a venomous tone. It was a voice she had unknowingly grown accustomed to hearing.
(I know—I won’t die from something like this.)
She pulled her consciousness upward as if extending an arm from the depths of the water.
Fei Ling found herself lying amidst straw in an old, worn-out shed. As she raised her gaze, morning light was already streaming through the lattice window. Her arms were bound with rope, but the restraints weren’t too tight.
“Fei Ling -sama… I’m so glad! I thought you had died…”
“Lan Xin (藍星), so you’ve been captured too, I see.”
Lan Xin , also tied up, rolled over to Fei Ling ’s side and burst into tears.
“Oh, it’s just so confusing! I was keeping the fire going as instructed, and then suddenly, the villagers came, shouting ‘Don’t resist!’ What’s happening? Wait, do you think they’ll boil us in a pot with acorns and eat us?”
“Don’t worry, that won’t happen.”
If they were going to kill her, she would have already been thrown into a spring while unconscious. Being restrained meant the worst-case scenario had been avoided for now. Fei Ling deftly moved her arms to slip out of the rope and sat up.
“Huh, how did you…? Wait, untie me too!”
Lan Xin ’s eyes widened as she flailed her bound arms.
“You’re not planning to leave me behind, are you? Don’t abandon me!”
Fei Ling decided to untie Lan Xin ’s ropes later.
(If I untie her now, she’ll probably bolt and try to escape.)
There were still things she needed to do. She had finally unraveled the source of the poison.
The dusty shelves in the shed were crammed with various farming tools, while bundles of straw lay stacked in one corner. When she loosened the straw, she found coarse grains of rice—likely leftover from a year or two ago.
“What are you doing at a time like this? Stop messing around and help me already!”
Lan Xin ’s voice rose in a near-scream.
Hearing the commotion, the shed door was roughly thrown open. The villager, Chan (椙), who came to check on them, was startled, his eyes widening as he saw Fei Ling free from her ropes and rummaging through the shed.
“You—how did you…”
“Oh, perfect timing,” Fei Ling said with a radiant smile. It was not a smile one would direct at someone who had just attempted to kill them.
“I’ve just finished preparing for the remedy. May I use your kitchen?”
Chan seemed momentarily stunned, his mouth opening and closing several times before finally managing to speak.
“Miss, don’t you have anything else to say?”
“It’s not that I don’t, but detoxifying the patient takes priority. Didn’t you capture me alive so I could make medicine?”
“Well, that’s true, but…”
“Then this should work out perfectly.”
“…Still…”
Chan hesitated, as if weighed down by guilt. He wasn’t truly a villain. While guilty of harming others, he wasn’t beyond redemption.
“Gold poison attacks the eyes and eventually reaches the lungs. The shallow breathing is proof the lungs are starting to crystallize. When I examined your son the other day, I estimated he had about five days left. If I don’t prepare the medicine by tonight, the detoxification will no longer be effective.”
Chan’s expression shifted, and his gaze turned pleading. Fei Ling smiled at him again, a reassuring smile meant to comfort a parent worrying about their child.
“The principles of the poison have been unraveled. I will save him without fail.”
