Infinite Bloodcore

Chapter 204: I am not Your Princess

Zi Di knew the body double’s secret, and for that reason, she was also worried.

Beastification and a divine scion knight were worlds apart, if his secret was exposed, it was bound to cause an uproar beyond everyone’s expectations,

“Furthermore, there is also Zhen Jin. He also knows this secret!”

Obviously, Zhen Jin added onto the pressure on Zi Di.

Guarding this secret and assuming these worries tortured the body double and Zi Di.

Eventually, Zi Di made up her mind and decided to use the beastification potion War Merchant gave to her.

Zi Di diluted the potion and secretly put it into the food and water reserves.

In the beginning, everyone who consumed the food and water didn’t feel anything peculiar. But as the number of meals increased, the more the poison accumulated in their bodies.

Members of the group began to fall ill.

At first, everyone didn’t pay too much attention.

But as time passed, more people fell ill, in addition all of them had similar symptoms and even the boat craftsman became sick.

“Cough cough cough……” The boat craftsman was lying on a grass bed, his complexion was flush, his breathing was weak, his skin was swollen, and everything he saw was fuzzy.

“Sorry, my Lords for……troubling you all.” The boat craftsman said dispiritedly.

“Rest well, don’t think too much, with me here, no one will be abandoned.” The body double did his best to soothe the boat craftsman.

Soon after, he, Zi Di, and some others slowly left the tent.

“How are things?” Hei Juan (Zhen Jin) immediately inquired, “We cannot lose the boat craftsman, how is his illness?”

Zi Di shook her head and sighed: “I have said to you all a few times, I am just a pharmacist that specializes in perfume, I am not a doctor.”

“I can’t find the reason for why he is sick.”

“It shouldn’t be poison or magical corrosion that is making him ill.”

“If it were an ordinary illness, I would have been somewhat certain about it. But it is very possible this kind of illness is related to the environment here; I don’t even know where to start.”

Zong Ge’s voice was gloomy: “Not only does the boat craftsman have this illness, there are also a few others that are sick. I suspect this is a contagious disease.”

Everyone’s expression changed.

“Contagious disease……” The body double’s complexion was grave and he inwardly sighed.

“Although the severity of the symptoms among the sick are varied, they are all similar. Should we abandon these people?” Tripleblade asked the body double.

“Abandon?” Hei Juan (Zhen Jin) shook his head, “Without the boat craftsman, how can we build a ship?”

“I lack instruments.” Zi Di complained to the body double, “I cannot use magic, and my medicinal techniques and skills are not enough. Currently, I can only mix some simple herbal medicines to alleviate their pain.

No one was suspicious of Zi Di.

These signs of illness were actually the beautification potion activating and transforming their human bodies. Because the boat craftsman’s constitution was relatively weak, despite Zi Di diluting the potion and using medicine, his body was in a perilous state.

Although Zi Di seemed to be at her wits end, her heart wasn’t anxious.

Everything was in her control.

For the past few days, she already mixed an antidote that targeted the beastification potion.

She would dissolve the antidote in other medicines, allowing those that drank it to sustain themselves. Thus, she could save their lives.

The contagion grew more serious as more people fell ill.

Zong Ge, Hei Juan (Zhen Jin), Cang Xu, and some others began to advocate for the abandonment of these patients, but the body double insisted on protecting these comrades. He even continued to visit them every day and did his best to boost their morale.

Only Zi Di supported the body double, however on the surface, she still tactfully advised him: don’t visit these patients as much as possible, catching the disease by chance would be too terrible.

The body double didn’t listen to her advice.

“The disease has waned, the beastification potion has taken effect.” Zi Di then ceased her plot at once.

Those with powerful constitutions canceled out the effects. There were also some with weak constitutions, Zi Di had to secretly use the antidote to save their lives.

“As long as I have scattered this potion, I can trigger a sudden beastification amongst the people.”

“But after beastification, these people will lose their rationality and gain a violent nature. After persisting for some time, they will die on the spot.”

“I wish I didn’t need to use this potion.”

Zi Di didn’t want to target these people, she only did this to shield the body double.

If the body double’s beastification secret was exposed, she could use the potion to beastify some others, thus making the body double innocent. Afterwards she could place all the blame on the island’s environment.

Leaving the damp jungle, everyone finally arrived at the beach.

Everyone traveled faster across the beach, because there were no longer any trees or vines blocking their path.

But a good thing didn’t last forever as the weather gradually became abnormal, heavy rain began to fall continuously.

In order to prevent the ship wood from being soaked, the group was forced to return to the jungle and use the vegetation to escape the rain.

After setting up camp, Zi Di took advantage of the night to sneak into the body double’s tent.

“My Lord, this is a potion I made, it was made from a poisonous mushroom. The potion has a slight toxin that can raise one’s vigor, most of all, it can expel the cold and increase one’s senses.”

In reality, this was the antidote.

Despite the body double’s formidable constitution, he had eaten the same food and water, and had also ingested a lot of beastification potion.

The body double didn’t suspect anything as his eyes shined: “Can you make more? Can you give it to everyone?”

Zi Di shook her head: “Only those with strong bodies can ignore the toxin. They must have at least an iron level life level.

“Thank you Zi Di.” The body double tenderly said.

Zi Di answered with a smile.

The entire plan was implemented smoothly, beside the girl, no one knew about it.

But something unexpected happened.

Zhen Jin found Zi Di and questioned her: “The other night, someone saw you sneaking into the body double’s tent. What were you doing there?”

Zi Di promptly explained her actions.

Zhen Jin examined her: “My fiancé, you're somewhat fishy!”

Zhen Jin shook his head: “As long as you know I am Zhen Jin, and that other guy is a fake. When he no longer has any value, he will die. This wretched island is not the entire world. You must remember, you are Zi Di, the Wisteria Merchant Alliance President, and my fiancé!”

Zi Di glared: “I know! Lord Zhen Jin, what are you suspecting?”

“You better behave.” Zhen Jin coldly snorted before quietly leaving.

“Did he sense something? But I still need to keep you alive……” Zi Di’s eyes flashed. Zhen Jin also ate the food and water, but Zi Di secretly used the antidote on him.

The group continued traveling until they eventually came to the base camp, however there was not a soul in sight.

Reading the letter left behind, everyone went to the small ravine and finally converged with the other survivors.

The body double seized the authority to lead everyone, afterwards he also smoothly dispatched of the subterranean sandworm and thoroughly consolidated his prestige.

Bai Ya and the others disassembled the beached half of the Hog’s Kiss, the boat craftsman designed a new ship, and the people were divided into either purging beast groups or shipbuilding.

“What materials are we lacking?” The body double inquired, smashing the silence.

The boat craftsman replied: “Mainly boat nails. We need a lot of iron; this is the aspect with the greatest shortfall.”

“We still don’t have enough ore?” The body double felt doubt, he had been afraid of this, thus spent many nights as a monkey tail brown bear to mine. All of the ore currently on hand had likely been dug up by the body double.

Zi Di answered: “We need to thank those monkey tail brown bears for a sufficient amount of ore. However, we are currently using potions to melt the ore and extract the iron. We do not have enough potions.”

She smiled at the body double, but he didn’t notice.

The boat craftsman then stated shipbuilding needed at least half a year.

Zhen Jin was unsatisfied with the time estimation.

The body double was also disappointed, after half a year, he feared the White Sands City lordship competition would already be determined.

Zi Di’s heart sighed helplessly.

At the time, the reason why she eliminated the Hog’s Kiss’ captain was to buy time. However, she didn’t expect the shipwreck, being stranded here, and being delayed even more. Furthermore, when Zi Di landed, her mind was filled with thoughts of finding War Merchant’s alchemy factory and inheriting his legacy.

Everyone worked as one, allowing the shipbuilding to make rapid progress.

Zhen Jin finally had a chance to spy on the body double beastifying.

In a panic, he fled to the small ravine and appealed to Zi Di: “Only you can help me now!”

Zi Di’s heart thumped: “Don’t tell me the day has finally come? Fortunately, I have made preparations. Nothing I can do; it seems I have to sacrifice some people.”

But on the surface, she incredulously looked at Zhen Jin: “My Lord, how could you do this?! That was too risky and fundamentally unnecessary. We need to use our full strength to escape this.

Zhen Jin was frightened, he wanted to do his utmost to clear his suspicions and dispel his body double’s intentions of eliminating him. He used letters recording the truth to threaten Zi Di.

Zi Di appeared to have been threatened into helping Zhen Jin, however she had already chosen to aid him.

Because she understood: “Exposing the secret would cause more harm than benefits. Her beastification potion was a simple remedy, nothing more.”

Zhen Jin’s heart was full of terror as he questioned Zi Di: “Have you fallen in love with him?!”

Zi Di had predicted correctly and promptly denied it: “My Lord, what is your mind thinking? I fell in love with him? A body double? A beastified person?”

This time, Zhen Jin wasn’t easily fooled. His fear caused his mind to be brighter than usual.

“Yes it's ridiculous, to love a body double, a beastified person……that isn’t sensible, and isn’t something a Merchant Alliance President should be doing.”

“But romance……is really unpredictable.”

“When love dashes into a muddled brain, even the most rational person in the world becomes an incurable idiot!”

“You’re very dangerous Zi Di, your current performance makes me feel you are very dangerous.”

“I hope you can recognize reality.”

“Even if you’ve fallen in love with him, it will only be a tragedy!”

“Think about it, when he learns the truth, when he learns he isn’t a templar knight, and is only a mere body double, when he learns the one he loves most, who he always thought was his fiancé, was actually the one deceiving him the most, what will he do? How will he see you?”

Those words were like a sharp arrow that shot into the depths of Zi Di’s heart.

Her breathing slowed.

At that moment, she suddenly realized: what she was most scared of, wasn't the body double’s secret being exposed, it was how the body double would regard her if the secret was revealed.

She knew, in the body double’s eyes, she was the perfect fiancé, someone good at understanding others, genuinely concerned, and assisted considerably.

If the truth was exposed, how disappointed would the body double be?

How could she confront him?

The body double was a genuine knight, but what about her?

She was an accomplice in War Merchant’s conspiracy, she disguised Zhen Jin, she killed the captain, indirectly caused the shipwreck, and used the beastification potion……

“How will he regard the real me?”

This question weakened the girl and scattered the courage in her heart.

“You are a knight, but I in truth……am not your princess.”

Notes

866 and Zi Di are suffering from the same mental problems. Both of them fear how they will be regarded by the other when the truth is revealed. The perception of others is a fear many people face and deal with, it is why public speaking is so hard and nerve wracking. But instead of feeling embarrassed about the what dumb words fall out of one’s mouth, these two have to deal with one of them being the greatest achievement of life alchemy in this world, and how others around them will react to it.