Snow falls and the wind blows

Chapter 63

The green smoke itself wasn't poisonous; it simply caused people to quickly fall into nightmarish hallucinations. The more one clings to something, the more one longs for it, the more likely that thing will appear in their hallucinations. The heavier the burden of their thoughts, the deeper their obsession, the harder it is to extricate oneself. Over time, this can lead to reversed blood flow and a surge of qi, even threatening one's life. Duan Chen and Zhan Yun both had some medical knowledge, and after regaining their senses, they quickly grasped the mystery of the green smoke. That's why Duan Chen took out two antidote pills, just in case they encountered similar dangers again.

Zhan Yun took it, pondered for a moment, and then asked softly, "What did you just see?"

Duan Chen shuddered, turned to the side and bent down to pack his bundle. His long eyelashes trembled, and his pale lips were tightly pursed. His expression clearly showed that he was about to cry.

Seeing this, Zhan Yun sighed inwardly, silently picked up his bundle and water bag, led the horse over, and reached out to take the bundle from Duan Chen's hand. After taking a few steps, he spoke, his voice clear and gentle, a faint smile playing on his lips: "I just saw my mother."

A slight ripple crossed Duan Chen's face, but he remained silent. He let the person beside him continue speaking slowly: "About eight years ago, my mother fell seriously ill and passed away after about a month. Before that, her health had never been very good, but she never took it seriously."

As Zhan Yun spoke, a faint smile played on her lips: "She would drink every day at lunch and dinner, and she would often drag my father, my older brother, and me into gambling. Whether it was pitch-pot, dice, dominoes, or even just rolling dice, no one in the family except my father could beat her. Back then, my grandfather was still alive, and she often tricked him out of a lot of antiques and books. Whatever he liked, my mother would use it as a betting stake to entice him to place a bet, which made the old man so angry that he would chase her all over the yard every now and then."

“That jade pendant from yesterday was the one that Zhao Ting’s father, the Seventh Prince, lost to my mother when they played pitch-pot.” Duan Chen glanced sideways in surprise and saw Zhan Yun smile slightly and nod in acknowledgment: “Our family, along with the Zhao Ting and Yi Ran families, has had a close relationship since our grandfather’s generation. The three of us have known each other since we were little.”

Duan Chen naturally knew that these three families had a close relationship. After hesitating for a moment, he spoke softly, "That jade pendant, isn't it your mother's keepsake?" Such a precious item, yet he hadn't hesitated at all when he took it off yesterday...

Zhan Yun paused for a moment, then smiled calmly again: "No matter how precious the relics are, they're just objects. How can they compare to a human life?" Seeing Duan Chen lower his eyes and remain silent, Zhan Yun continued, "My mother once said that as long as I'm safe and healthy, nothing else matters, not even the most precious things. Except..."

Duan Chen was listening intently when Zhan Yun stopped speaking. He turned his head and looked up, only to see that the other was also staring at him intently. Zhan Yun continued, word by word, "Unless, I meet a woman I truly love. Even if I lose my heart and my life, she can't help me."

Duan Chen's heart skipped a beat, then her heart began to pound rapidly. She quickly looked away, her long eyelashes trembling violently like startled butterflies. Zhan Yun, walking beside her, saw her like this and noticed that her fair ears were almost completely red. He said nothing more, but the smile on his lips deepened.

Not long after, they reached the same fork in the road again. Each of them placed a pill under their tongue and walked forward side by side. This time, both of them focused their minds and didn't think about anything else, quickly passing through the green, veil-like smoke. They carefully observed their surroundings and proceeded cautiously, but encountered nothing again. Gradually, a somewhat pungent sulfurous smell filled their nostrils, and at the same time, they heard the gurgling sound of flowing water not far away; ahead lay the sulfur spring.

They hadn't walked two steps when they saw a gray-clad figure standing with his back to them, hands clasped behind his back, not far ahead. Three steps away stood a woman in a pale green dress, her face turned to the side, coldly staring at them. A knife scar ran from one temple to the other jawline across her fair face, marring her otherwise beautiful features, and her expression was extremely cold. The gray-clad figure seemed to sense the woman's movement and slowly turned around. It was Xia Luzhen, the one who had repeatedly tried to persuade the three of them to leave!

When Xia Luzhen saw the two arrive, a slow smile spread across her lips: "You've come."

Zhan Yun smiled faintly, "Wasn't it Doctor Xia who invited us?"

Xia Luzhen didn't respond to that, but instead turned her head to look at the woman in green beside her and said with a smile, "You lost."

The woman clenched her fists and gritted her teeth as she replied, "If you hadn't opened the Gate of Life wide, I don't believe they could have walked out of that Mandarin Duck Formation unharmed!"

Xia Luzhen shook her head and smiled, "It was agreed in the first place. You and I each got one chance. I could save their lives, and you could take action. I gave them both a chance to live, but before that, they had already passed your 'Dream Tribulation,' hadn't they?"

The woman remained silent for a long time before turning her head to look at the two of them. Then she looked at Xia Luzhen, her tone still hesitant: "Are you really sure they can capture all those people?"

Xia Luzhen's smile appeared somewhat bleak: "At least neither you nor I can. As for whether they can or not, that's their business. We've finally waited for this day, and we no longer have to be accomplices to evil. Shouldn't we be happy?"

Zhan Yun and Duan Chen listened quietly to the two talking. Then, the woman in green was silent for a moment, then suddenly knelt down in front of them. She first looked up at Zhan Yun and said, "I know your martial arts are better than mine. If it were a one-on-one fight, I would not be your match. I have helped them capture people and I have also killed many innocent people with my own hands. I deserve to die. I don't ask you to spare me."

"I only beg you to spare Doctor Xia. He's a good man, truly! He's never taken a life; on the contrary, he's saved many, and I'm one of them." The woman then looked at Duan Chen. "I've heard of you; you're very clever and have solved many cases. But I only learned today that you're also a woman. Since we're both women, I'm sure you can understand my feelings. You can take my life; I can tell you anything you want to know, as long as you spare Doctor Xia's life!" After saying this, she stared intently at the two of them, her eyes shining with an astonishing light, yet not a single tear fell.

Duan Chen looked expressionlessly at the woman kneeling on the ground and said calmly, "Whether he has harmed anyone is not for you and me to judge. Whether I am a woman or not is irrelevant to whether or not he can be let go. As for what we want to know, even if you don't say it, someone else will." After speaking, he raised his gaze to Xia Luzhen to the side.

Xia Luzhen only showed an approving smile: "As expected of Xiao Duan, exactly as rumored." The woman kneeling on the ground next to her opened her mouth to argue, but Xia Luzhen waved her hand, her expression also appearing somewhat indifferent: "I have already said that I am a sinner just like them. You don't need to plead for me."

Zhan Yun also spoke up, "This young lady should rise and speak. Since you two intentionally led us here, you must have something you wish to say in person." Seeing Xia Luzhen nod slightly, Zhan Yun continued, "Perfect, we also have quite a few questions. You two, along with those white-clad men from last night, were you all disciples of Qi Sheng?"

Xia Luzhen nodded, took out a palm-sized, emerald-green object from her bosom, and gestured for the woman beside her to hand it to the two of them.

The woman in green did as she was told, but her eyes held a pleading look as she looked at the two of them, still wanting to intercede for Xia Luzhen. Xia Luzhen, however, seemed to see through the woman's thoughts and whispered, "Lu Miao, don't do that."

The two took it and examined it; it was a small, exquisite jade sheng (a type of Chinese mouth organ). The seven jade tubes ranged in length from a fingertip to an inch. Duan Chen pondered for a moment, then his brow furrowed: "How many jade sheng like this do you have?"

Xia Luzhen smiled slightly: "Indeed intelligent!" Seeing Duan Chen's unfriendly expression, she quickly replied: "If the people your Mr. Xiao brought are capable enough, you might be able to find two more this time."

Seeing that both of their expressions turned cold, the woman in green snorted and said with some resentment, "If it weren't for our secret help, do you think your Mr. Xiao could have left the town so easily?"

Author's Note: Next update will be this Friday at 9 AM.

The current situation is that my personal schedule needs to be coordinated with the requirements of the list provided by the editor.

So sometimes you might have articles to read for several days in a row, and sometimes, like last week, you might have to wait three days to see a single chapter.

On average, I'll be updating one chapter every two days. My time is limited, so this is the only way I can adjust it. Please understand.

61

Chapter Eight: Reasoning with the People and Moving with Emotion...

Xia Luzhen gently shook her head at the woman, signaling her not to talk nonsense. Then she smiled slightly at the two of them and said slowly, "You two don't need to worry. Your friend has already left the town safely. Lvmiao saw him borrow a fast horse from a passerby. He should be close to Suzhou City by now."

The two of them twitched their lips. "Borrowed" a fast horse from a passerby? That really seemed like something Mr. Xiao would do. Xia Luzhen continued, "Actually, this morning when he strolled around the edge of town wearing my face, he inadvertently did me a huge favor. They thought that Lu Miao and I had made our move against you first, so they weren't watching you as closely. Otherwise, you two would have really been in trouble."

Seeing the slight change in their expressions, Xia Luzhen realized there seemed to be some misunderstanding, so she quickly explained, "They don't know yet that some of you went out of town to find reinforcements. In addition, I deliberately left some clues to make them think that the three of you are in the hands of me and Lvmiao. They've been very busy these past two days, so they probably won't kidnap anyone from town."

Duan Chen's expression didn't soften at the explanation. Instead, he directly asked, "Those people who were kidnapped from the town weren't drained of their blood and killed right away, right? They've been in their hands for at least a month, and some may still be alive now. What are you doing? Cultivating a new force, or using human blood to make medicine, or perhaps both?"

Zhan Yun, standing to the side, also frowned, silently awaiting an answer from the person before him. Xia Luzhen sighed, her eyes fixed on the dense trees behind them, and slowly spoke: "You should have already noticed that the Seven Sheng Sect is quite different from what it used to be. In fact, thirty years ago, although the Seven Sheng Sect also killed and drank blood, it was not the evil sect that people called it. We killed only those who deserved to die. Draining their blood was only to worship the Moon Goddess and to intimidate the world. After each murder, we left behind weapons wrapped around the victim's severed hair to announce to the world that this was done by the Seven Sheng Sect, and no one else was to blame."

Seeing that the two seemed puzzled, Xia Luzhen smiled and said, "If you don't believe me, you can check it out yourselves later. Anyway, now that things have come to this, I have no reason to lie to you. But now this Qisheng Sect has indeed become the evil cult that everyone talks about. We have done everything you mentioned: capturing people, extracting blood, digging out hearts, and making medicine."

Zhan Yun frowned in disbelief: "Can you really make a elixir of eternal youth from human blood?" Can something made from precious jade, pearls, amber, realgar, and large amounts of human blood really keep one's appearance youthful and ageless? Zhan Yun had thought about it repeatedly for the past few days, but he still couldn't believe it.

Xia Luzhen shook her head and answered very firmly: "No. If we're talking about beauty and health, maybe there's some possibility. But eternal youth and immortality are absolutely impossible."

“This matter is far more complicated than you can imagine,” Xia Luzhen said slowly, a complex look flashing in her eyes. “They are not a bunch of delusional fools. Once you catch those people and investigate further, you will understand what they are planning.”

Duan Chen pursed his lips, his phoenix eyes coldly fixed on the person before him: "The wounds on those people. Why is it that some people only have wounds on their wrists, while others have knife wounds on almost every part of their body from which blood can be drawn?"

Xia Luzhen replied calmly, "Those who only have scars on their wrists were people who once had a chance to survive and become one of us. The rest were destined to be slowly tortured to death from the start. However, it's not absolute. These two types of people will switch places for various reasons. Most people can't survive that process; it's just a matter of dying sooner or later."

Duan Chen's brow twitched, and his phoenix eyes flashed with anger: "Do you think those people are tools for drawing blood?"

Xia Luzhen nodded, "That's right."