22nd Break: Recurred

"No… how can he be poisoned?" Lin Ze asked, feeling extremely bewildered. Meng Xing doesn't look like he was poisoned at all!

"Why are you asking me?" old Ji frowned. "Ask your friend! I don't even know what kind of poison it was…" he said and shook his head.

"What did you say?" Lin Ze sharply turned to look at old Ji.

"I said, I don't know what kind of poison it was." Old Ji said as he prepared the medicine to relieve fever for Meng Xing. "This poison is extremely strange… you didn't notice it?" he looked at Lin Ze.

Lin Ze shook his head. "If I did, would I be surprised from what you said?" he asked back.

Old Ji clicked his tongue. "Anyway, all I could deduce is that your friend took lots of this poison." He spoke. "But, for you to not notice it, I guess that – " he turned to Lin Ze. " – your friend supposed to have died. But, for some reason, he is still alive." He said.

Lin Ze's eyes widened.

"And, since you didn't notice any signs of him being poisoned, either that this poison has other effects, or that – " old Ji looked at Meng Xing. " – it was suppressed by your friend, until he finally was not able to do so and now he is experiencing its effects." He explained.

"But, he doesn't know qigong." Lin Ze said.

Old Ji was surprised. "He doesn't?!" he exclaimed.

"En." Lin Ze nodded. "And, I think, he also doesn't know that… he was poisoned." He said and looked at Meng Xing whose brows are now knitted.

Meng Xing is obviously a carefree guy, as well as worry-free. If Meng Xing knows he was poisoned, shouldn't his request to Huichen be to solve his poison and not find his friend? Thus, he guessed that Meng Xing doesn't know that he was poisoned.

But, who could have poisoned Meng Xing? Meng Xing said that he is an orphan, so it shouldn't be his family. Could it be…? Lin Ze's eyes narrowed when he thought of the friend that Meng Xing is looking for. It was this friend that Meng Xing is looking for that poisoned him, so he was looking for her and not because he actually cared for her? Then, this explains why he felt that there was something strange with Meng Xing.

Meng Xing might have found out about him being poisoned just recently, and then went to find this friend who might be the culprit! No wonder Meng Xing is hell-bent in finding her… it is because he wanted to find her for a cure of his poison!

"Ai." Old Ji sighed. "This child is so pitiful." He said after he heard Lin Ze said that Meng Xing might be unaware that he was poisoned. "Where is his family?" he asked.

"He… doesn't have one." Lin Ze answered.

"Aiyo! So pitiful! Too pitiful!" old Ji shook his head in pity for Meng Xing as he immediately fed him medicine to relieve fever.

"Old Ji, what could you deduce more about the poison?" Lin Ze asked.

"I am not clear about its effects, aside from there are a lot of it in his body." Old Ji answered as he looked at Meng Xing. "Fever might just be one of its other effects. Fortunately, though he had a fever, or else you wouldn't find out that he was poisoned." He told Lin Ze.

Lin Ze nodded in agreement. Just as he was about to speak, his eyes suddenly sharpened and he drew his sword. "Who's there?" he asked and pointed his sword towards the door.

"It is me! It is me!" Qiu Liu said and immediately raised his hands.

"The waiter from the Xu family's restaurant?" Lin Ze recognized him.

"Yes, sir, yes sir!" Qiu Liu nodded. "This gentleman dropped his fan and I immediately went to follow you… then found you here." he explained as he took out Meng Xing's fan.

Lin Ze took the fan from Qiu Liu's hand. "You may leave." He said. He felt really guilty. If he didn't call for Meng Xing to meet him, Meng Xing wouldn't have fever.

As to how he called Meng Xing when he doesn't even know where Meng Xing lived… he went to Huichen and asked them to send a message to Meng Xing.

"Yes, yes…" Qiu Liu nodded and lowered his head. His brows knitted as he glanced at Meng Xing before he left. But, instead of going back to the Xu family's restaurant, he went to Huichen.

"Qiu Liu? Why are you here - ?" Qiu Yi asked when he found Qiu Liu returned.

"Qiu Yi! Boss was poisoned!" Qiu Liu immediately said.

"What?!" Qiu Yi exclaimed in shock. Then, he suddenly paused. "Wait. Boss has long been poisoned by someone from Meng family, so how can boss be poisoned again?" he asked. Then, suddenly, his eyes widened. "Someone poisoned boss this time?!" he said.

"No!" Qiu Liu answered. "I was there so how can boss be poisoned?" he said and sighed. "I mean, the poison from the Meng family might have flared up. Boss has a fever and he fainted when he was with Lin Ze earlier. Then, Lin Ze sent him to an old doctor, who found out that boss was poisoned." He explained.

"Boss fainted with Lin Ze?!" Qiu Yi exclaimed. "Did Lin Ze anger the boss again - ?!" he said.

Qiu Liu, who is anxious do death, cut him off. "Can you please get your head straight for now?!" he asked, feeling angry. "The poison in boss' body has never recurred during these five years, so why did it recur now?!" he asked and frowned.

Qiu Yi started. "Right… boss never told us about this poison, since he doesn't know about it, either." He muttered.

"Did something happen to boss lately?" Qiu Liu asked, when he suddenly froze. "Right… boss fell on the lake with Lin Ze that dawn!" he said when he recalled.

"Damn it! Why is it Lin Ze again?!" Qiu Yi is mad.

"Ignore Lin Ze for now. We will settle this account with him later." Qiu Liu spoke. "Call Qiu Shisi back and ask him about the progress of his investigation of the Meng family!" he told Qiu Yi.

"Yes, yes!" Qiu Yi nodded when he recalled Qiu Shisi, the one in charge of investigating the Meng family.