He pushed me outside the door, and I looked back suspiciously, only to see He Xiuqi's perpetually stern face before the door closed right in front of me.
Something's wrong. The martial arts tournament has just started, and the martial arts world is already in turmoil? I walked down the mountain with the medicine in my hand, and couldn't help but think of Jun Guan, whom I met at the inn earlier. He seemed to have said that something had happened to the Martial Venerable, so he made a special detour to see what was going on. Who on earth spread this rumor? And what is their purpose?
The more I thought about it, the more uneasy I felt. I had a vague sense that something was wrong, and I was afraid that a storm was about to break out.
Back in the garden, Zhiyu came out carrying a basin of water, her head bowed and her brow furrowed with worry. She didn't even notice me coming in.
My heart skipped a beat. "Senior sister, why do you look so pale? Did something happen to senior brother?"
She looked up, saw me, her eyes flickered, and a look of delight appeared on her face.
"No. It's good that you're back so soon, it saves me from having to go pick you up in the dark later."
"What?"
"It's all because your senior sister was worried about you. Fourth and fifth junior brothers aren't in Anting, and your senior sister has to take care of third junior brother, so she couldn't possibly ask Master to pick you up. That's why I'm the unlucky one. But now that you're back, I'm out of the picture, hahaha..."
So all that worrying about her was because of this. Is it really necessary to make you so upset?
"Is that medicine in your hand?" she asked, laughing for a moment before leaning closer.
I nodded.
"Okay, come with me."
"what?"
"Go to the kitchen and brew the medicine." She rolled her eyes at me. "I know you, Miss, can't do it. Come and help me out."
The kitchen was small but very clean. Zhiyu opened the medicine packet and was stunned after taking a look.
"This blood ginseng...these medicines..."
"This half of the blood ginseng has been growing in the snow mountain for tens of thousands of years. It is something that is worth more than a thousand pieces of gold, but He Xiuqi gave me face and only charged me five hundred taels of gold."
Upon hearing this, Zhiyu's hand trembled, and she almost dropped the medicinal herbs.
"Gold?!"
"What's wrong?"
"Where would we get that much money! Even if you let Master show off his martial arts skills, he couldn't earn that much money in two months!"
One gold tael is worth ten taels, which is not bad, right? Five thousand taels is about the same as what I used to spend on entertainment for a month.
"Then let's borrow it from Nangong Ling first. Isn't he your junior brother? He'll surely give us face."
"It's better to rely on yourself than ask him for help!" Zhi Yu's face flushed with excitement. "You didn't stop Master from scolding you last time, and he didn't even come after me. If you ask him for help again this time, won't he just ruin you?"
Considering Nangong Ling's character, this is indeed his style.
"Well..." I touched my nose and chuckled dryly, "What are you going to do? He Xiuqi always keeps his word. Even if my senior brother is rescued, he only has two months to live."
"So what? Does my master think he's afraid of a Medicine King who doesn't know any martial arts?"
“He Xiuqi can’t even beat me, so of course he can’t be a match for your master. But no one can play with drugs as skillfully as him. You might not even know when he put the drugs in.”
Zhiyu's expression changed, and she tightened her grip on the medicine.
"Let's get our third senior brother detoxified first, no matter what."
"Where do these ancient blood ginsengs usually grow? We can find them ourselves."
"If it were that simple, this ginseng poison wouldn't be the most troublesome poison in the martial arts world. There are only five and a half ginsengs in the world today. The Medicine King He Xiuqi has one and a half, and the rest are scattered in various places. There is one in the Tianjue Sect and one in the Haifeng Tower. I'm not sure about the other two."
After some deliberation, Zhiyu finally took the medicine and went to brew it.
The third senior brother recovered quickly after taking the medicine; he was basically fine in just two days.
Chapter 43
I've been staying on the mountain these past few days. When I get bored, I go down to find Zhiyu to chat with, or to talk to the old man and glare at him. It seems peaceful, but it's just the calm before the storm.
I had He Xiuqi save the person the Poison Fairy wanted to deliver to the King of Hell. Once she gets the news, she'll definitely return to Anting. Knowing her temper, she won't rest until a dozen or twenty people poison her to vent her anger. She'll come looking for us in less than twenty days. Judging by the current days, we should have nine more days of peace.
"Are you just going to stay here and let everyone do whatever they want?" He Mengyan asked while peeling chestnuts for me with a frown.
"Do you think Haifeng Tower was built for fun and as a decoration? Finding Rong Lian is a piece of cake for them."
I'm gambling, gambling on Nangong Ling's attitude. Although I don't know why I have this thought, I don't want to go against my own wishes.
“I think you’re not trying to hide. Father’s disguise is perfect. If you really wanted to hide, no one would have found you.”
"That's true, but where do you think I can go? The world is so big, yet there's nowhere for me to go."
"What excuse are you making? It's obvious that you can't let go of this wonderful world."
"Hey, I'm not going to be a nun, there's no need for me to make myself miserable. Why do you have to be as boring as your dad at such a young age?"
"There's too much conflict in the outside world; I don't like it."
"Don't talk like your old man. It's depressing to hear. I'll have your sister take you out to see the world another day."
To everyone's surprise, he curled his lip into a cold smile and said, "A person who can't even take care of himself shouldn't say such irresponsible things."
This child speaks bluntly and can be incredibly hurtful.
"Don't think I'm a pushover just because the tiger isn't roaring. Qu Haifeng is nothing but a defeated opponent. Without me, would her Haifeng Tower have survived?"
He lifted his eyelids slightly. "Oh, how so?"
"She's also an ungrateful wretch. Back then, she was being hunted down by the Xuanmo Sect. If I hadn't decided to escape the summer heat at Rongyan Pavilion on a whim, not only saving her but also letting her hide in the manor for over a month, Haifeng Tower would have already become part of the Xuanmo Sect."
"You can save people?"
Listen to what kind of talk and tone this is.
“There are indeed people in the Xuanmo Sect who have offended me, and I don’t want to do as they wish.”
"Even so, Poison Fairy might not let you go. Without the Rong family, they have no scruples about touching you. And you have no power to fight back now. If you don't hide, what do you plan to do?"
"Things will work themselves out in the end. Besides, I'm not one to be slaughtered. Haifeng Tower is no match for Peach Blossom Valley. I have my own way of escaping."
He gave me a suspicious look, his face showing disbelief.
"Peel your chestnuts, your sister won't have many good days left, so hurry up and show her your filial piety."
...
After exchanging a few words with He Mengyan that day, I couldn't sleep all night, my heart pounding. It's impossible not to worry; after all, it's a matter of life and death. And Nangong Ling's attitude is so unpredictable; several days have passed without a single word. I don't believe he hasn't considered that possibility. Even I suspected the Poison Fairy would return to cause trouble. Although I don't want to admit it, Nangong Ling definitely thought of it sooner than I did, yet there's still no movement. Yue Linghe… just how much of a place does she hold in your heart?
But perhaps God felt that He had been too kind to me in the past, so things happened while I was still feeling anxious.
Two days later, that afternoon I was watering the autumn peonies in the yard behind the house when a pair of black boots suddenly appeared among the green leaves and red flowers.
"Strange arts and Bagua... You think you can trap me with such a trivial formation?" The hoarse voice was unsettling, and it was impossible to tell whether it was male or female.
I lowered my head, watching the wind lift the white sleeves of my clothes; the people of Peach Blossom Valley were still one step ahead.
"I never expected Rong Zhi to have such a wonderful daughter. She managed to break my junior brother's hand without making a sound. What kind of skill is this, so exquisite?"
I was stunned for a moment before I realized what was happening. Could it be that Nangong Ling's speed was beyond the reach of the naked eye? Or was this person simply blind?
"I've always heard you're willful and arrogant, but I never imagined you were so disrespectful. You never even acknowledge anyone when they speak to you?"
Hey, it's you who's been babbling on and on without giving me a chance to look up, okay?
"What do you want?" I looked up and saw an ordinary face that I would forget at first glance.
The man stared blankly for a while before looking away.
"I'm here to demand an explanation for my junior brother."
"Do you want me to pay with a hand or my life?"
He was stunned again, probably because he didn't expect me to be so straightforward. Suddenly, his expression became a little embarrassed. He probably didn't need the words he had prepared and instead became at a loss. His momentum was greatly diminished.
I smiled; there were still some benefits to following Nangong Ling.
Chapter 44
"Gu Hong, where is Yan Gu Hong? Why doesn't he come to see me himself?"
The person in front of me couldn't help but change their expression when I mentioned a certain name.
"He really went to great lengths for this play, even going so far as to destroy his senior brother's hand, although this may not have been part of his plan."
He opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something but didn't know how, and I didn't give him a chance to speak.
“If he wants something, he will get it, even if it means doing anything. I know that Gu Hong’s obsession with martial arts has almost reached the point of fanaticism. Whether it was his persistent pursuit in the past or his indifference and estrangement now, he has always had only one goal: to get a set of Rong-style Nine Swords from me.”
Many things aren't that we can't see through them, but that we're unwilling to. It's easier to be a little oblivious in life. I still remember those words Nangong Ling said to me back then.
"It turns out we underestimated you. Miss Rong is not only not confused at all, but has also deceived others for so long."
"It's not a particularly impressive skill. Once this mask of mine is torn off, I can never put it back on. In the end, I'm not as good as those people who can remain expressionless no matter where they are."
"The young master said that only those who can be reborn from the ashes are the true phoenixes."
I couldn't help but chuckle. Phoenix—those two haunting words again.
"To show off your true identity by welcoming the phoenix back? How utterly ridiculous! You actually believed a phoenix-shaped birthmark and a charlatan's nonsense?"
It was just that auspicious snow fell on the day of her birth, and she had a phoenix-shaped birthmark on her left collarbone. But some busybody spread rumors and alarmist statements, causing quite a bit of trouble.