Free Web NovelChapter 1658: Chapter 30: Yuan Feng Year 38 Chronicle
Jiang Wang was silent for a moment, recalling that marquis who had been stripped of his clothes and flogged at the grand ceremony, barely able to stand, until he finally digested the news and said, "Lord Wu means to say... it was Tian Xili who acted back then? How dare he?"
Lin Youxie did not answer directly but narrated, "Wanling Frozen Snow is not a naturally occurring poison; it doesn’t even count as poison. It was first refined because of a Dao Technique called ’Three-Nine Cold Cicadas’. This Dao Technique is powerful and mysterious, and very difficult to cultivate, with only one in ten thousand cultivators able to succeed. But if assisted by Wanling Frozen Snow, one can achieve it quickly."
Jiang Wang thought, this is similar to the Technique Introducer regarding Immortal Technique.
Lin Youxie continued, "The process of making Wanling Frozen Snow requires the fingertip blood of nine infants with entirely different life patterns, the brow blood of nine girls with distinctive personalities, the heart blood of adults from nine different professions, supplemented by the life souls of nine types of living beings, all melted together using the secret technique of Three-Nine Cold Cicadas... Ultimately forming a snowflake. Because the combination of ingredients exceeds ten thousand possibilities and cannot be calculated, it is named Wanling Frozen Snow."
"Later, someone discovered that even if not used for cultivating Three-Nine Cold Cicadas, merely Wanling Frozen Snow itself, once touching human blood, instantly inflicts cold poison, impossible to save. Since then, it has been considered a poison, among the most poisonous in the world, with each person’s refined product differing." freeweɓnovel.cѳm
"If Wanling Frozen Snow touches human blood, only by consuming an antidote tailored entirely to it within three breaths can there be salvation. But even if one recognizes Wanling Frozen Snow, who can in three breaths concoct an appropriate antidote? Without knowing which nine life patterns, nine personalities, nine professions, and nine living beings are involved, it is fundamentally impossible to resolve this cold poison... Apart from the Wanling Frozen Snow refiner, who else could know?"
"Thus, Wanling Frozen Snow is nearly unsolvable, and each piece is unique in the world."
"When facing life and death, the things that can be left behind are very limited. I think the clues Lord Wu left were saying—he found a Wanling Frozen Snow completely matching the Concubine Lei case at Tian Xili’s place. Or perhaps, he finally found the evidence to confirm that Tian Xili is the one who made that piece of Wanling Frozen Snow," Lin Youxie said, "And that is probably the reason he died."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Wang couldn’t help but recall the mural of All Beings in the Long Life Palace.
Was the observation of the myriad forms in the All Beings mural also Jiang Wuqi’s dissection of the cold poison in himself?
Was that Eleventh Prince also constantly observing which people’s fingertip blood, brow blood, heart blood... formed the cold poison he was born with?
Or maybe the cold poison was fundamentally unsolvable, but even a slight alleviation could give him a little more time to approach True洞, possibly leading to a different outcome...
Jiang Wang sighed, "I’m afraid that any evidence of Wanling Frozen Snow now has been destroyed?"
"Indeed," Lin Youxie said.
Originally, if that evidence was controlled, one could rely on the unique characteristic of Wanling Frozen Snow to nail Tian Xili. But now the evidence has been completely erased, and Wu Lie has also died...
In such a case, the hardest part isn’t investigating. In terms of investigative ability, there are only a few in the world who can compare to Wu Lie. But this case, the difficulty lies in the people to face, which is that all-consuming shadow.
Clearly aware that it should be sunny outside now, there is still a deep sense of the long night, with no end in sight.
"This is how it is," Jiang Wang stirred up his spirits and said, "We already know that the assassin of that year was related to the Da Ze Tian Clan, at least we have clarified the direction and target. If we investigate slowly, they will eventually make a mistake."
"Not the case," Lin Youxie shook his head, "Those who entered the palace to assassinate Concubine Lei that year were not people from the Da Ze Tian Clan."
"Not people from the Da Ze Tian Clan?" Jiang Wang felt a bit confused.
Lin Youxie said seriously, "The Da Ze Tian Clan should have provided Wanling Frozen Snow, but the person who actually acted had nothing to do with them."
"Wait, you mean, the assassination attempt on Concubine Lei that year was the result of collaboration from multiple sides?" Jiang Wang keenly said, "For such a major event that could inadvertently lead to family annihilation, how could they divide into several groups to do it? It’s not reasonable, nor is it a smart choice."
From the perpetrator’s perspective, for a major act like assassinating Concubine Lei, the fewer people involved, the better, and the simpler the process, the better. With one more person, there is more risk of leaking information. With one more link, there is more possibility of exposure.
"This is also a point of confusion for me," Lin Youxie said, "But the evidence we possess is exactly that, and evidence does not lie."
Jiang Wang pressed his forehead, "No... If the person who entered the palace to assassinate Concubine Lei back then was unrelated to the Da Ze Tian Clan, why did Elder Wu Lie investigate the Tian family for so many years?"
"Because of my father," Lin Youxie said, "When my father investigated the Concubine Lei assassination case that year, he personally apprehended someone. Later, it was proven that the person was mistakenly caught, but they had already died in prison. The Beiyaduwei subsequently faced immense pressure, and later... came the news of my father’s ’suicide out of fear of accountability’."
"The person my father captured was named Tian Fen, from the Da Ze Tian Clan. He was the Deputy General of the Imperial Guard at the north gate, responsible for the security of nine gates on Linzi’s northern side. During the assassination of Concubine Lei, he was drinking at a brothel. Subsequent investigations proved he was completely absent, entirely unrelated to the Concubine Lei case, totally innocent..."
