Miao Shiba said to Yuwen Feng, "I'll go and find him, Your Lordship."

Yuwen Feng nodded. "Be careful."

Miao Shiba grabbed a servant by the scruff of the neck and inquired of him, "Where's the physician's room? Lead the way or I'll behead you straight away."

While saying this, Miao Shiba whipped out his sword and held it to the servant's throat. Feeling the sting, the servant was horrified and hastily answered, "I'll take you there! I'll take you there!"

Miao Shiba marched the servant away, heading for the physician's room. Yuwen Feng walked inside and saw Yuwen Zhi who was still awake.

Yuwen Zhi's face darkened at the sight of him coming in. "Why are you here? You still want to convince me to yield to Yuwen Tong? Save it. From now on you're no longer my son. Get out."

It struck Yuwen Feng that his father couldn't have said anything that was more ironic than the words "you're no longer my son".

"Father, is it true that your ridiculous pride means more to you than the lives of our whole family do?" Yuwen Feng asked him.

He had never really understood why his father had been so bitter about being left in the capital city in that year. Was going to war really a much better alternative? Both his grandfather and his uncle had died on the battlefield. Why was his father so convinced that being left behind in the capital city had been a humiliation? Wasn't everything the Yuwen family owned at the cost of the lives of their ancestors and Yuwen Tong's risking his life on the battlefield? Why couldn't his father see it? His father had even colluded with outsiders to work against his own nephew, only too anxious to see his nephew dead. And now he was even using his own son, ready to sacrifice his son's life!

Yuwen Zhi looked incredulously at Yuwen Feng who had suddenly asked him, as though he felt that this was a stupid question.

As Yuwen Feng saw this, his heart which was numb and filled with disappointment sank even deeper, hardening completely.

"Father, is my life also something you could give up at any moment?"

Yuwen Zhi's face became wary. With a suspicious expression in his eyes, he looked at Yuwen Feng and said, "What are you trying to say exactly? Stop talking in riddles."

Yuwen Feng gazed at him for quite a while before he inclined his head. "Okay, Father. Please tell me where that Gu master at your command comes from, why he is here, and why he is helping you."

Yuwen Zhi's countenance changed drastically at these words, his piercing, watchful eyes staring at Yuwen Feng. "What are you talking about? What Gu master?"

"You had him plant a Manipulation Gu inside my body. Am I still a son to you?" Yuwen Feng asked yet another question in a cool and utterly unemotional tone of voice.

Yuwen Zhi was shocked. He looked at Yuwen Feng with a mixture of surprise and incredulity on his face, unable to fathom out how his son had come to know about this matter. "How did you find out?"

Yuwen Feng fixed him with a gaze, making no reply.

Yuwen Zhi looked back at him and the eye contact lasted quite a while. Eventually, he observed, "I gave you your life. Sacrificing yourself for my cause is one of your filial duties. Now that you've come to know it, I'll be honest with you – no matter whether you're willing to accept it or not, this is your fate, and it's also something you should do."

Yuwen Feng bobbed his head. "What about my little brother? What are you going to do to him?"

Yuwen Zhi said, "Why ask? You regret it now? Unlike you, Qi'er is not a fool. Naturally he'll still be my beloved son, stand by my side and enjoy the glory we're going to achieve. He'll never be able to walk again, but it doesn't matter. He'll be the only son of Yuwen Zhi, the most honorable prince, and nobody would dare show him any disrespect."Read manga at our MangaBob.com

Yuwen Feng asked, "Does he know you had a Gu worm planted in me?"

Yuwen Zhi said, "What does it matter if he knows it or not? Soon all these things will mean nothing to you."

Yuwen Feng had nothing else to say to Yuwen Zhi. His heart instantly hardened as though it had turned to ice.

"Guard Yao, please come in," said Yuwen Feng.

A movement was heard in the doorway and with that someone walked inside.

Yuwen Zhi's face paled visibly at the sight of Yao Yi. He angrily shifted his gaze to Yuwen Feng and spat, "Are you crazy?! You've actually told this to Yuwen Tong?!"

Yao Yi stepped forward, cast a frosty look at Yuwen Zhi and then overpowered him who tried to resist by striking a particular acupoint of his, immobilizing him.

Flushing with anger, Yuwen Zhi wanted to hurl abuse but was unable to utter a word. The only thing he could do was glare at Yuwen Feng and Yao Yi silently.

"I've informed Sire already. Do you want this matter handled in court or in private, Your Lordship?" Yao Yi asked Yuwen Feng.

Yuwen Feng opened his mouth and was just about to speak when someone hurried into the room.

"Captain, Your Lordship, that physician was not in his room. Chief has left to look for him!"

Yao Yi's and Yuwen Feng's faces changed.

Yuwen Zhi's facial expression, however, turned from fury to smugness. He looked at Yuwen Feng, his eyes full of sarcasm.

Seeing his father's countenance, Yuwen Feng felt that he was incorrigible. Even if that Gu master managed to escape, what difference could he possibly make? His father really believed that that Gu master was capable of turning the tide?

"Have two men stay here protecting His Lordship. I'll go and find him," said Yao Yi.

Yuwen Feng, who didn't feel like staying in the same room with Yuwen Zhi, said, "I'll go with you. I'm more familiar with this residence than you are."

Yao Yi gave it some thought, instructed the two men to stay guarding Yuwen Zhi, and then left the room with Yuwen Feng. When walking through the door, they saw a servant kneeling on the ground, who was none other than one of the two servants on night duty in the doorway.

"Your Lordship! I know where that physician went, Your Lordship! Please help me. That Gu master also put some Gu worms in me and the couple of others, threatening to kill us if we refused to do his bidding. Please help us, Your Lordship!" said the servant imploringly at the sight of Yuwen Feng and Yao Yi, kowtowing repeatedly.

"Where is he?" Yuwen Feng looked at him.

"This afternoon I overheard the Gu master tell Master that he would go to the interrogation room to see Second Young Master under the cover of darkness tonight, so that he could remind Second Young Master to tough out the interrogation and not to rat him out," replied the servant urgently.

Yuwen Feng and Yao Yi exchanged looks and then quickly made towards the front gates.

...

Having failed to find the Gu master in his room, Miao Shiba worried that the man had escaped. Angry, he released the servant and then started searching the residence.

There weren't any illicit torture rooms in Yuwen Feng's residence. The so-called interrogation room was just an unoccupied chamber the windows of which had been boarded up, and the security there was tight. Nobody was allowed to get into it without leave from Yuwen Feng.

At first it didn't occur to Miao Shiba to check the interrogation room, but when walking past that place, he saw those guards standing there motionless. With his rich experiences, he sensed that there was something suspicious in the atmosphere. He subconsciously flicked another couple of glances at those guards and found that all of them appeared rather nervous, some kind of panic in their eyes.

Miao Shiba knitted his brows, turned around, entered the courtyard house and tentatively walked into the sight of those guards. Surprisingly, those guards stared at him with surprise and incredulity on their faces but none of them moved. It was not because they didn't want to move, but because they couldn't.

Something was wrong.

Miao Shiba's eyes immediately flashed at the room the door of which was tightly closed. There was candlelight under the door. It was very quiet and there seemed to be someone speaking in the room. The voice was very low and faint, making it impossible for Miao Shiba to distinguish any of the speaker's words.

Holding his breath, Miao Shiba gave the medicine pouch hidden in his bosom a stroke to check it was still there, and then gingerly approached the room. When he reached the doorway, he found himself vaguely make out what the speaker was saying.

"... Don't worry, Second Young Master. You'll be free after my Manipulation Gu gains complete control of your brother. All you have to do is wait another day," said a middle-aged voice.

On hearing the words and the tone, Miao Shiba came to know that the one inside was undoubtedly that Gu master. It turned out that this bastard hadn't fled but come to this place to keep Yuwen Qi informed of the situation!

'This son of a bitch nearly scared me out of my wits.' Miao Shiba clenched his teeth, crept a few paces away from the doorway, motioned for the guards to be patient and then sent up a soundless signal flare.

Yao Yi, who was hurrying in the direction of the interrogation room, saw it and said, "Shiba has got there. The Gu master is still there."

Yuwen Feng heaved a sigh of relief. He was walking in such haste that the pain in his chest intensified, his forehead wet with cold sweat, but he still gritted his teeth and managed to endure it.

In the interrogation room.

"Do you know that they tortured me? If I wait another day, I'll definitely end up dead. I won't be able to last that long. You need to figure out a way to get me out of here as soon as possible. Given that my old man has managed to get you in here, busting me out of this place shouldn't be a problem for him. Why couldn't you just tie Yuwen Feng up?!" Yuwen Qi had been suspended by a rope for a whole day and the misery had some time ago gone beyond his endurance. On hearing that he had to wait another day, he couldn't help but rebuke the Gu master aloud.

"Second Young Master, it takes patience to achieve great things. These people really wouldn't dare kill you. This time tomorrow, you'll be able to punish them in whatever way you want," replied the Gu master in a bland voice.

"By the way, it was not your father who got me in here. After I heard he was locked up in the Court Prison, I came here to rescue him so that I could repay the favor he did me. For your information, currently your father is still under house arrest by order of Yuwen Feng, and he wouldn't be freed until a day later. Even he has to show patience."

Yuwen Qi looked at the Gu master with a sulky face. "You couldn't just control those guards conducting the interrogation as well so that they won't give me the third degree again?"

"My Gu worms are limited in number. I won't use them unless I have to," answered the Gu master. "You've been informed now, Second Young Master. This time tomorrow I'll come here to get you out."

"You... Stop!" Seeing him making towards the door, Yuwen Qi demanded he stop, but the Gu master acted as though he hadn't heard him.

The Gu master walked up to the door, opened it and abruptly came to a halt, looking at Miao Shiba who was standing in the courtyard.

"Leaving? You'll have to go through me first." Miao Shiba had whipped out his sword, which was menacingly reflecting the candlelight.

The Gu master's face changed and he looked left and right. When he found that Miao Shiba was alone, his tense face relaxed. "Who are you? You think you alone can stop me?

"There's only one way to find out," Miao Shiba said, mobilized his internal energy and with that a powerful shock wave burst outwards from his body.

The Gu master's face changed once again. Clearly it hadn't crossed his mind that Miao Shiba's internal energy would be so potent. He was still dressed like a physician, but the belt around his waist was fairly uncommon. He unfastened it and it turned out to be a whip.

"Who are you exactly? Why are you being such a busybody?" asked the Gu master, a wary look on his face.

"You're a Gu master from South Xinjiang, but instead of staying in your den, you came to the capital city to make trouble. What you've been doing is far worse than being a busybody. Since you've waded in this matter, there's no way you can walk away unpunished. If you're smart enough to surrender yourself right now, maybe I'll consider sparing your life," said Miao Shiba.

The Gu master's eyes instantly became piercing, staring at Miao Shiba. After a brief moment, as though having vaguely guessed Miao Shiba's identity, the wariness in his eyes deepened and with that he rapidly swung the whip at Miao Shiba. The whip was jet-black, and a weird gust of wind with a foul smell was generated as the whip whizzed through the air.

Miao Shiba was immediately on the alert. He could tell at a glance that the whip was not something to be trifled with. There was a high risk that he would be poisoned if he got hit by it.

The two of them started fighting. What with the Gu master's whip and Gu-craft which was difficult to defend against, Miao Shiba had misgivings about launching an all-out attack, but his consummate lightness skills and powerful internal energy kept the Gu master from gaining any advantage over him, so the fight reached a stalemate.

Yao Yi and Yuwen Feng soon arrived. At the sight of the fight in the courtyard house, they came to understand what was going on.

The Gu master's face went quite sulky as he saw Yuwen Feng lead a group of guards to the courtyard to seize him. He realized that his cover had been blown, but he didn't know how much Yuwen Feng had found out about his and Yuwen Zhi's plan.

"Why are you making such a fuss, Your Lordship? Although I'm not a common physician that I claimed to be, it doesn't change the fact that I saved your father's life. There isn't really any hatred between us, is there?"

Yuwen Feng gave a sneer. "It's no good trying to justify your doings. You gave Yuwen Qi some Gu worms with which he killed two of my guards, and then you put a Manipulation Gu inside me in an attempt to control me. Your conspiracy has been exposed. If you value your life, surrender yourself to me right now and make a full confession. Otherwise this courtyard will be where you meet your end."

The Gu master's countenance changed once again. It surprised him that even the matter of the Manipulation Gu had come to Yuwen Feng's knowledge. With a sepulchral face, he said, "Given that you're aware of the Manipulation Gu in your body, you should also know that your life is in my hands."

"That's ridiculous. You think your pathetic Manipulation Gu could pose a threat to me?" Yuwen Feng coldly looked back at him.

Yuwen Feng's reaction came as a surprise to the Gu master, who stared at Yuwen Feng for a few moments and then suddenly sent a signal to the Puppeteer Gu in his body. As the Puppeteer Gu cried, the Puppet Gu in Yuwen Feng naturally started struggling frantically. However, Mr. Mu's medication was quite amazing, and the Puppet Gu could do nothing but struggle madly.

The only trouble was that as the Puppet Gu struggled, Yuwen Feng's face went deathly white from the agony. He subconsciously clapped his hands to the right-hand side of his chest, cold sweat breaking out over his face.

Fixing him with a sinister gaze, the Gu master suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood. Staring fixedly at him, he demanded, "Who helped you restrain my Manipulation Gu?!"

Subduing the pain with all his willpower, Yuwen Feng managed to stiffen his back and replied, "Since the likes of you who enjoy using underhand methods exist in this world, naturally there are people who know how to handle you."

The Gu master clenched his teeth and glanced around him. He was faced with an opponent who was his match, and whose kung fu was quite good. On top of that, his and Yuwen Zhi's plan had been exposed, and even the emperor had been alarmed. Obviously going into hiding in this city was no longer an option for him. He must figure out a way to extricate himself from this situation as soon as possible.

"There's also a Gu worm of mine in your father's body. If you let me leave, I'll spare him."

Yuwen Feng snorted, "That's not going to happen."

Yao Yi had examined Yuwen Zhi with a medication provided by Mr. Mu, and confirmed that there was no Gu worm whatsoever inside him.

"Hey, if you're done talking, put your weapon down right now and make a full confession," Miao Shiba said to the Gu master.

With a forbidding expression on his face, the Gu master looked at them and replied, "You're seriously expecting me to believe you'll spare my life if I surrender? Originally I had no intention to make an enemy of any of you. I was just doing that to repay the favor Yuwen Zhi did me. Now that things are past the point of no return..."

He suddenly broke off in the middle of a sentence and wheeled around attempting to rush into the room. Miao Shiba immediately hurled his sword at him, which swished through the air and instantly went into the door frame with a wicked gleam, narrowly avoiding cutting off the Gu master's nose.

Yao Yi and Miao Shiba made their move at the same time. "Let's make this quick," said Yao Yi.

On hearing this, Miao Shiba dismissed all his misgivings. The two of them were both top kung fu masters. Although the Gu master's Gu-craft was formidable, the two of them each had a medicine pouch. Also, Mr. Mu was present, ready to offer help, so they naturally were not afraid that the Gu master might play dirty.

After half of the duration of a burning joss stick, the Gu master was captured. During the fight, the back of Miao Shiba's hand had been hit by the whip and skinned, and there was a blackish blue patch on it.

"Here!" Someone tossed a white porcelain phial at Miao Shiba, who took it, cocked an eye at the person and saw that it was Mr. Mu.

"Take one. It'll detoxify the poison," said Mr. Mu matter-of-factly.

Miao Shiba opened the porcelain phial, swallowed a pill and, before long, the spreading blackish blue patch on the back of his hand quickly dwindled and soon disappeared without a trace. Considering the detoxification effect visible to the naked eye, the alexipharmic pill given by Mr. Mu was nothing short of a miracle. Everybody present marveled at it. Seeing this, Yuwen Feng was greatly relieved. Though the pain in the right-hand side of his chest was still sharp, he was now quite composed.

The Gu master shifted his gaze to Mr. Mu, sizing him up with a sullen look in his eyes. "Who are you?" he asked.

He believed that his Gu-craft was pretty good, that he was one of the best Gu masters in South Xinjiang. Over the years, he had traveled to a lot of places and even knew about some court physicians, but he had never heard of anybody who was capable of preparing this kind of pill.

Mr. Mu looked at the Gu master with a calm face, appearing uninterested in him. "A physician."

"No common physician could detoxify my poison so quick." The Gu master was unconvinced. As he glimpsed Yuwen Feng, something occurred to him. "You were the one who kept the Manipulation Gu in him at bay?"

Mr. Mu replied, "Yes."