The royal family's current display of dominance left the Xiahou clan equally displeased. The Xiahou clan harbored ambitions of their own—their goal was to supplant the
Even if the royal family nominally held the reins, the Xiahou clan's interests had to be guaranteed. Behind the scenes, it was supposed to be the Xiahou clan pulling the strings.
Yet judging from how these royal family lackeys were acting, it was clear they intended to seize the initiative and erode the Xiahou clan's merits and contributions.
Now they had even gone out of their way to pick a fight with the Xiahou clan. This naturally infuriated Xiahou Zhen, so his words came out none too polite.
Patriarch Luchan, hearing Xiahou Zhen's tone, grew even more suspicious and replied coolly: "These people's symptoms are a textbook case of the Mind-Devouring Wind-Dust Elixir. Xiahou Zhen, you ought to know that better than I do, wouldn't you say?"
"Hmph! Patriarch Luchan, what exactly are you trying to say? The ancients said that once the birds are gone, the fine bow is put away. The birds haven't even been cleared out yet, and you're already burning the bridge?" Xiahou Zhen's voice was laced with displeasure.
Patriarch Luchan flew into a rage. "Xiahou Zhen, stop playing dumb! Look for yourself—are these people or are they not showing symptoms of the Mind-Devouring Wind-Dust Elixir?"
Patriarch Luchan was thoroughly annoyed. Something this obvious, and Xiahou Zhen had the nerve to openly deny it? This was lying through his teeth with his eyes wide open.
Xiahou Zhen gave a faint snort, but a flicker of alarm crossed his expression. He walked over to several of the afflicted cultivators and examined them carefully, his face growing increasingly solemn.
"Well? Were we wrong to accuse you? Do you dare say this isn't the Mind-Devouring Wind-Dust Elixir?" Patriarch Luchan pressed.
Xiahou Zhen's brows knotted tightly. He spun around to face the Xiahou clan's ranks, his voice slow and measured: "Is there someone among you who pulled a stunt? Step forward now. If you step forward and confess, there's still a chance to put this matter to rest."
At this moment, even Xiahou Zhen himself felt he could no longer argue his way out of this. But the truth was, he had been kept completely in the dark about this matter—which was why he asked.
He had assumed someone in the Xiahou clan, disgruntled with the royal family, had pulled this foolish act of defiance.
However, as Xiahou Zhen's gaze swept across each person before him, he saw nothing but astonishment in their eyes. They exchanged glances with one another, looking around as if scrutinizing the people beside them.
But there was no panic, no guilt in any of their gazes.
"I'll count to five. If you're guilty, step forward now, and I personally guarantee only you will be punished. If the count reaches five and no one steps forward, then once the culprit is found, the entire family will suffer." Xiahou Zhen's sinister tone sent chills down everyone's spine.
Yet after the count of five, not a single person among the Xiahou clan stepped forward.
"Patriarch Luchan, this matter has nothing to do with my Xiahou clan. Besides, we were stationed in this area the whole time. If someone had left to release the poison, the sheer spread of it would have required moving all over the place to accomplish. But our military orders were absolute—without my command, none of them would dare leave their posts. Nor could they possibly release poison right under my nose."
"Furthermore, incapacitating this many cultivators clearly wasn't something one person could manage. The quantity of Mind-Devouring Wind-Dust Elixir required would have been staggering. I am absolutely certain that none of the Xiahou clan warriors present here were responsible. If it was one of them, produce the evidence, and I, Xiahou Zhen, will personally convict them!"
Xiahou Zhen's voice left no room for doubt.
And indeed, he genuinely believed that the Xiahou clan warriors at the scene were not the ones who had released the poison. At the same time, he was equally certain that the toxin that had felled this many members of the allied army was none other than the Xiahou clan's exclusive secret formula—the Mind-Devouring Wind-Dust Elixir.
Right now, his Xiahou clan was in the position of having yellow mud fall into their trousers—even if it wasn't shit, it looked like shit.
"Patriarch Luchan, since my Xiahou clan has agreed to cooperate with the royal family, we naturally came in good faith. At such a critical juncture, however foolish the Xiahou clan might be, we still understand the importance of the bigger picture. How could we possibly make such a foolish move? There must be a plot behind this. Perhaps someone with ulterior motives is trying to sow discord between the royal family and my Xiahou clan." Xiahou Zhen tried in turn to convince Patriarch Luchan.
"Words are cheap! Xiahou Zhen, if you claim the Xiahou clan wasn't responsible, then you must have the antidote for the Mind-Devouring Wind-Dust Elixir. Hand it over first."
Xiahou Zhen didn't hesitate. With a wave of his hand: "Everyone, take out the Mind-Devouring Wind-Dust Elixir antidote you're carrying. Keep one dose for yourselves and hand over the rest. Don't hold anything back!"
The Xiahou clan warriors' conditioning had been quite effective. One by one they cooperated readily, stepping forward and presenting the antidotes they had on their person.
Patriarch Luchan watched the Xiahou clan produce their antidotes so readily, and a measure of doubt crept into his heart. Could it really not have been the Xiahou clan's doing?
Could someone truly be trying to drive a wedge between the royal family and the Xiahou clan?
"You few—you're not poisoned. Use one dose of the antidote yourselves, to guard against the Mind-Devouring Wind-Dust Elixir's lingering effects. Then distribute the antidotes one by one. Let each of them recover."
Seeing this huge batch of allied warriors collapsed on the ground like limp rags, Patriarch Luchan couldn't help but feel a quiet shock.
The warriors he had brought today—the first wave had been almost entirely poisoned. The second wave, which was further back, hadn't gotten close enough to be affected, but they didn't dare advance now either.
Moreover, it was the first wave that had been the elite. Those hanging back at a distance were, after all, only the reserve forces.
The antidotes were distributed batch by batch.
Xiahou Zhen remarked casually: "This antidote works quite well. Once taken, within half an hour they should recover considerably."
His words were clearly meant as a reminder to Patriarch Luchan—before the truth came out, he shouldn't pin this mess on the Xiahou clan.
The antidotes were soon handed out. Time ticked past, second by second.