The old doctor took out a small medicine gourd from the wooden box, poured out a cassia seed and handed it to Xue Qing: "Little girl, if you don't want to get poisoned like her, put this in your mouth."
Without saying a word, Xue Qing put the cassia seed into her mouth.
"Sir, I don't know anything about medicine, nor can I do manual labor. There's no use for me staying here. I'd better go outside and call a clever and capable maid for you," Xue Qing suggested.
"Do you really think I can save her?" the old doctor asked Xue Qing.
"You...didn't you say you could save her?!"
"If I hadn't said that, would the Pavilion Master have stayed? This girl from who-knows-where has completely bewitched him." The old doctor's tone was slightly displeased.
"You lied to him!" Forgive Xue Qing's agitation, this old man looks quite honest, how could he be so disrespectful to his elders!
The old doctor suddenly knelt down in front of Xue Qing: "Miss Xue, I know I shouldn't trouble you, but for the sake of my inability to live to see the end of this charade, please play along with me."
Xue Qing quickly helped the old doctor up, and made the man, who was several generations older than her, kneel in front of her as if he were shortening his lifespan: "Let's talk this out. How can I accept this?"
"Recently, Xilin Pavilion has been frequently provoking us, and many people have been attacked without cause. Xilin Pavilion and Kunlun Palace are in cahoots and we don't know when they will attack. At this critical moment, the main target of the pavilion is Emei Mountain. More than a hundred people in Dongqi Pavilion will become innocent victims of the blade," the old doctor lamented.
"Alright, alright, I promise you. Anyway, even if I tell Pavilion Master Xiao, he won't reward me with anything." Xue Qing replied helplessly, looking at the unconscious Nangong Luoluo on the bed. Her face was as red as paint. Could something really have happened to her? No, she still had a passionate love affair with Yan Ming to share. How could she die here?
"Well, if there's nothing else, I'll head out now?" Xue Qing was eager to leave the room. "I promise I won't reveal any secrets."
"The entire fortune and lives of Dongqige are entrusted to Miss Xue," the old doctor instructed.
Xue Qing suddenly felt as if a sumo wrestler was sitting on each of her two shoulders—such a heavy burden! Did she have to weigh down a hundred lives on her? Having never been a class leader or a model student in her life, she had never felt such a heavy responsibility before.
Finally, after leaving the room filled with toxic air, they saw Xiao Guiying right in front of them. He had been guarding the door the whole time. It's true what they say, the male supporting character is always so devoted, leaving the female lead with nothing but regret.
"Miss Xue, how is Luo Luo?" Xiao Guiying rushed over and grabbed Xue Qing, asking in a manner completely unlike his usual calm self.
Xue Qing wanted to say that she was just there to observe, but given Xiao Guiying's current strength, if she provoked him any further, she would be torn in two.
"The old gentleman said he would try again himself and asked us not to disturb him. Pavilion Master Xiao, please be patient."
Xiao Guiying released Xue Qing in disappointment: "I'm sorry, I was rude."
"It's okay, I understand how you feel," Xue Qing said magnanimously. Everyone has their low points.
After comforting Xiao Guiying, Xue Qing left gracefully, a little disappointed that Liu Ying wasn't waiting for her. She wandered aimlessly through the palace-like corridors for a while without encountering Liu Ying, so she stopped a maid and asked her to lead her to her room. Everything in the room was already arranged perfectly, the bed made very comfortably, in Liu Ying's familiar way of making the bed. "If he weren't here one day," Xue Qing thought, "I might have insomnia."
Despite the calming and soothing incense burning in the incense burner, Xue Qing tossed and turned, unable to sleep. In another room not far from her, a woman of similar age was facing death. How could she possibly sleep peacefully? Even though the woman's formal name was "Female Lead," and even though "Female Lead" shouldn't be dying here, the fact was that even the old doctor couldn't cure her poison!
Xue Qing rolled out of bed and, unwilling to give up, took out the booklet and flipped through it again, but still found no information about that bizarre super-potent pill. Even if the female lead had a halo, she still needed a reasonable excuse to survive. In the current situation, she had no chance of survival. If she died like this... it was too terrifying! Xue Qing suddenly couldn't accept such a thing. In her heart, the male and female leads were the embodiment of immortality!
Just as Xue Qing was struggling with her thoughts, a soft, whimpering sound echoed in her ears. Xue Qing turned her head and saw an insect flying around her head. It was a fat, green moth, exactly like the one Anluo had given Xue Qing. A piece of paper was tied to the moth's fat body with extremely fine silkworm silk.
Xue Qing caught the moth and tore off the note. It was written in crooked handwriting: "The poison belongs to Lord Xilin. Go to Lord Xilin tomorrow to get the antidote to save Nangong Luoluo."
Author's Note: It's time for another side character skit, this time about the Second Young Master's first trip to Qing Ping Le:
Across from the Yihong Courtyard, in the knee-high grass, lay a strange horse. Its body was covered in snow-white fur, its limbs were shorter than its body, and its face resembled a sheep more than a horse's. Those familiar with the second young master of Broken Sword Manor knew that this horse was a mount he had bought at great expense. The horse's owner lay beside it, gazing with the horse at the bustling entrance of the Yihong Courtyard.
"Miss Yingying's waist is not as slender as Xiao Qingqing's, and her skin is not as fair as Xiao Qingqing's."
"Hong'er's face is too long, how can it be as pleasing as the oval face of the well-behaved little Qingqing?"
Jian Wuxin lay in the grass, muttering comments about the warm and beautiful women in Yihong Courtyard. After a while, he lost interest and patted the alpaca's head, saying, "They're all vulgar things. They can no longer satisfy my taste. My good horse, come with me to Qingping Le and see what it's like."
Qingpingyue, the most famous red-light district in the martial arts world, is said to be filled with beauties and have a vast amount of fine wine. Jian Wuxin has long coveted it, but he was previously restricted by Jian Wuming and never had the chance to visit it in person. Now that he has grown up, he wants to be free... to fly!
At Broken Sword Manor, before even the servants who were cleaning had gotten up, Jian Wuxin woke up. Carrying the luggage he had packed the night before, he tiptoed out of the stable with his alpaca. He warned the servants on duty not to talk too much, then mounted the alpaca and galloped off towards Qingping Le.
To reach his sacred place, Qingping Le, as quickly as possible, Jian Wuxin took the shorter path, riding his alpaca for an hour. He encountered an old woman being robbed by bandits. The second young master drew his sword and chased the bandits away, but the old woman cursed him. It turned out that she had been abandoned by her children and was desperate, wanting the bandits to kill her. Jian Wuxin forcibly took the old woman to a nearby clinic for treatment, gave her several ingots of silver, and instructed the clinic staff to take good care of her. Continuing on his way, he traveled for another hour and saw a young man with a sign around his neck selling himself to bury his father. He gave him several ingots of silver to bury his father and told him to use the remaining money to do some business. Jian Wuxin checked his own money and found he had very little silver left. He then rode his alpaca back, arriving back at Duanjian Manor before nightfall.
When Jian Wuming saw Jian Wuxin riding back on horseback, he sneered and went into his study.
When the meal was over, a servant brought two letters and reported: "Old Mrs. Wang from Lijiatun wrote to thank the Second Young Master, saying that she bought a small house and lives very peacefully; Scholar Li from Zhaojia Village wrote to thank the Second Young Master, saying that he has buried his father and used the remaining money to open a school, and will use the rest of his life to educate people and spread virtue, teaching the world the Second Young Master's benevolence and righteousness."
"Second Brother, you went out to do good deeds again today! That's amazing! I want to be like you and do good deeds every day so that I can be loved by the world." Jian Wuyi pouted and said admiringly.
Jian Wuming sneered and picked up a carrot for Jian Wuyi. The second young master looked out the window with melancholy, his heart as changeable as the moon.
Xilin Pavilion
After reading the note, Xue Qing didn't sleep a wink all night. She already carried the weight of over a hundred lives in Dongqi Pavilion, and now she had the added burden of the female lead – it was too heavy; her shoulder bones felt like they were about to crack. After a moment of internal struggle, she decided to go to Xilin Pavilion to fetch medicine for Nangong Luoluo. Although she desperately didn't want to see Nangong Luoluo, and she didn't want to be the one who killed her, refusing to help was no different from killing her outright.
"Do one good deed a day, and you'll accumulate blessings and virtues!" Xue Qing comforted herself in this way. As soon as the sun rose above the earth, she got out of bed to change her clothes. The first thing she did was, of course, to tell Liu Ying the good news. He was so lucky to have such a pleasant surprise as soon as he woke up.
Since Liu Ying was a male guest and lived far away from Xue Qing and Nangong Luoluo, Fang'er, being a good girl, volunteered to take Xue Qing to find him.
Fang'er was still an enthusiastic girl, chattering on and on: "Miss Xue, last night Young Master Liuying was practicing his sword in the garden. Your Lingyu School's swordsmanship is really amazing. He was swinging his sword very, very slowly under the tree, and the leaves on the tree fell down."
“That’s sword energy. Liu Ying’s master is my second senior brother. They prefer internal energy to swordsmanship itself,” Xue Qing replied.
"Look, Young Master Liuying is practicing his sword under that tree. I saw many maids hiding behind the wall to peek at him practicing," Fang'er said, pointing to a large locust tree in the center of the garden.
Xue Qing glanced at it casually out of politeness, but when she saw the bare top of the locust tree, she was dumbfounded. How long had Liu Ying been practicing his sword here?! Luckily, he was born early, otherwise the sanitation department wouldn't have let him off the hook!
Entering the small garden outside Liuying's room, the melodious sound of a zither, accompanied by the sound of falling leaves, made the quiet morning less monotonous. Liuying's door was open, and there was a zither placed at the door. Liuying was sitting behind the zither, playing it. The dark gold strings made her fingers look even whiter. Her light blue scholar's robe hung down from her legs. The Qingyun sword was placed next to the zither. She really was the kind of person who could not be without her sword.
Xue Qing made a shushing face at Fang'er, gestured for her to go back, and then tiptoed behind Liu Ying, covering his eyes with her hands.
"Uncle-Master, the sandalwood scent on you is so strong," Liu Ying said as the zither music stopped.
Xue Qing let go of her hand, lifted her sleeve, and smelled it. There was a strong sandalwood scent. She had been burning sandalwood all night, so it would be strange if there was no smell.
“You’re up early, something must be going on, and it’s probably not good news,” Firefly added.