10 Identifying the Culprit.

It should be almost midnight. I am currently walking back to my assigned room at the lodging accompanied by Kita. It is practically noiseless the entire floor had been taken over by us. I have been treating Dong Fang the whole evening coupled with the tiring journey today, all my joints ache. I raise my arms to my face and sniff my clothes. I loathe the smell of medicine on me.

I look at down the me who just treated someone sighed and shook my head. Human sure have great ability to adapt. Who knew I would be able to voluntarily touch medicine to talk of being able to treat someone.

When I was taken in by master, I had a phobia for anything drugs from the smell to even avoiding anywhere with medicinal herbs and the like. Drugs and poison are originally interrelated. This was as a result of my being used previously as a poison test subject within the Shui Yu Palace.

These tests were carried out by the Head Physician within the Imperial clinic who was in cohorts with my step-mother Empress Rui of Shui Yu country, therefore I subconsciously associated anything to do with clinics or medicine to agonizing pain, torture and misery.

As a result, even coming close to medicinal herbs caused a bolt of pain to carouse through my body much less going to a clinic or coming in contact with a medical practitioner. It had become a mental affliction for me.

My master on noticing this made my training ground a garden where he personally grew medicinal herbs.

When I complained that it was cruel of him he turned and said "If you can't let go of your past how do you intend to face your future? Am not interested in passing my life long knowledge to a wimp who is scared of plants and while you're at it you'll learn some medical skills too."

At first, it was hell on earth for me even breathing was as if there were large boils in my esophagus wherein if air as much as touched it; it caused intolerable pain much less the herbs touching my skin. I would wear robes to protect my body from head to toe, to the extent of even blindfolding myself so as not to look at them but in reverse my sense of smell was magnified.

My master only snorted and suggested it was better at the least I would develop into a more accomplished martial artist which turned out to be true.

I had to rely on my sense of smell and hearing to practice all forms of martial art from archery to sword fighting both for long range and short range attacks and even when I overcame a considerable part of my phobia, master still maintained I continue my practices blindfolded.

To further somewhat protect myself I even learnt how to form a shield around myself using spiritual energy and improved it to be even better than my master's spiritual energy shield.

Later on I learnt medicine from Uncle Huang Di. Although I am not as good as he is but I can still hold my own against most physicians around but it doesn't mean I have become comfortable getting close to any form of medicine still.

"Master was it really okay to let those men go?" Kita asked. He was undoubtedly speaking about the incident earlier in the day.

"It's all right, moreover they don't know who I am and it would be difficult for them to discover my identity, anyway." I smiled as I turned to look at him. His face which had just been illuminated by the moonlight seeping through the window we just walked by was that of a calm youth showing off an iridescent sheen. I feel a little warmed up from hearing the concern in his voice.

This probably sounds odd but since I arrived here and after achieving heaven bending martial arts skills using spiritual energy alone, I nevertheless haven't taken a life. I don't know exactly what but I feel that once I crossed that boundary, everything would come tumbling down and my world as I knew it would change.

Is that being stupid? I don't know considering it's assumed to be better to uproot a problem from its root but I would prefer to handle whatever comes one step at a time. If I must take a life, let it be at the last rope.

We arrive at the door, Kita stretches out his hand to open it and I walk in surveying the room. This chamber or suite as I would prefer to call it, is rather exquisite, bedecked with furnishings made from pear wood with elegant designs of distinct flowers in bloom. From the decorative panels on the wall to the screens covering the windows to the silk sheets on the queen sized bed, all richly decorated and designed with the embroidery on them made with gold thread.

As we walk further into the room Kita turned to me "Master let me get your bath ready."

This is a job basically expected to be performed by my personal maids; but they were all left behind to take care of "the Grand Master" who according to the information available to the populace was 'critically ill from ingesting poison'.

"Not yet." I responded. I gestured towards my right.

"Come in."

A shadow jumped into the room from the window on the right. On looking closely, one could see he was a young man of about 20 years.

He moved closer and respectfully bowed "Greetings Grand Master."

"Dispense with the formalities. What are the findings?" I inquired while sporting a frown on my face.

"From our sources within the palace, the poison was sent from the Empress's palace." He paused to look at me and continued, "Elder Wu had requested his subordinate to obtain the Thunder god vine poison, and the one the subordinate contacted is Prince Fei Hung's underling. Prince Fei Hung got the Thunder god vine poison from Empress Rui which was delivered to Elder Wu."

I furrow my eyebrows at the information I just received. "How did it get switched since the poison used was not the one intended?" I asked.

"Your subordinate does not have all the details but found out that the maid servant who delivered it to Prince Fei Hung was a maid servant bestowed by the Emperor to the Empress, when she was still serving as a concubine."

I smirk. He dared? "You can leave. It seems I will be staying in this town for a while."