Though the lord knew he'd be rejected, he still came. His behavior was more than a little unreasonable.
And the target they'd been tracking all this way hadn't come after them once he was left unprotected. That seemed just as unreasonable.
Two negatives made a positive. His awkward attempt at small talk had suddenly become suspicious.
As the person involved, the Emissary of Ashes, Holler, had evidently realized something was wrong too. He hurriedly ran a blood test on himself.
Judging by his slightly grave expression, the results didn't seem good.
"He did actually invite me for a drink, but..."
He even admitted as much in a somewhat subdued voice, answering Fu Qian's question.
Clearly, he couldn't understand how certain things had happened without anyone noticing.
"You've been poisoned?"
Crystal finally turned her attention to her old acquaintance. She clearly hadn't expected this kind of surprise.
Her first, down-to-earth explanation for the change in Holler's condition was poison.
"Looks like it. But so far, I don't feel anything too strange... What I'm more curious about is why he'd do this."
Holler shook his head, indicating that he wasn't in any serious trouble yet. He couldn't make sense of the lord's actions.
"Does Lord Andir know?"
Crystal seemed thoughtful as she looked at Fu Qian, who had brought up the subject.
"Isn't he already a psychopath or something, always scheming to stir up trouble? He comes knocking out of nowhere, and you don't even take precautions?"
Nothing had seemed amiss until Fu Qian raised the issue. To be honest, it was suspicious, and hard to deny any connection.
Yet under the many dubious stares, Fu Qian remained perfectly calm. If anything, he looked puzzled as he shot back with a question.
He had a point.
The first time he'd come