"Are you Hongju, young lady?" Shen Qianmo raised a faint smile, her dark and clear eyes filled with three parts appreciation and seven parts amusement.
Hongju nodded slightly to Shen Qianmo, "Madam, I am indeed Hongju."
A smile unconsciously crept onto Shen Qianmo's lips. "Madam." That's a fine title. It seems the four guardians of the Enchanting Blood Pavilion already know her identity?! She's only just arrived in Tianmo, and they already know?! Jingyan is really impatient.
She had been lost in her own thoughts, and she felt so sorry for Jingyan's sincere feelings. Shen Qianmo wanted to punch herself a few times.
Her clear eyes looked at Hongju, whose alluring figure was accentuated by her red gauze dress. However, her eyes were filled with anxiety and worry. Although she smiled at Shen Qianmo out of courtesy, Shen Qianmo noticed that she kept glancing unconsciously into the room. At this moment, Situ Jingyan had used his internal force to shake off the curtains, making it impossible to see what was happening inside.
She raised an eyebrow and smiled slightly. Shen Qianmo asked calmly, "It seems you're quite concerned about Situ Jinghao?"
"Yes. I love him." A firm and undisguised answer.
A flicker of surprise crossed Shen Qianmo's eyes. Then he smiled appreciatively. Alluring yet not seductive, bold in love and hate—quite a fine woman. But judging from the scene inside the room just now, it seems the beauty is interested, but the gentleman is not.
“The moment I saw him, I was deeply attracted to him. I knew I shouldn’t fall in love, but I still did. When Master went to Qiyue, he sent me to protect him. At that time, I was really happy.” Hongju said to herself, a sweet smile appearing on her face and a layer of joy in her eyes. She continued, “Being by his side was really, really blissful. Even if he didn’t love me, just being able to look at him like this was a kind of happiness.”
Hearing Hongju's words, Shen Qianmo sighed softly. What a devoted woman! But that man, so handsome and dashing, had such deep despair in his eyes; perhaps, perhaps, his heart was locked away. She gently shook her head and asked softly, "From your report to Jingyan just now, it seems that Situ Jinghao has a serious illness?!"
"A terrible disease?!" Hongju gave a bitter smile, her eyes filled with heartache. "That's poison! The most potent poison in the world, Yin Yang Powder."
Yin-Yang Powder. These three words caused a flicker of surprise in Shen Qianmo's eyes. This was indeed the most potent poison in the world. Those afflicted with Yin-Yang Powder would suffer the torment of two extremes, one of yin and yang, on every full moon night. One moment they would feel as if they were in an ice cellar, the next as if they were being burned by raging fire, while simultaneously experiencing the pain of a thousand arrows piercing their heart. And at this time, if they did not possess powerful internal energy to suppress the chaotic flow of true qi within their bodies, they would die from reversed meridian flow after the poison's effects subsided.
Moreover, this insidious poison will make men neither like men nor women like women, a so-called reversal of yin and yang, where women will become as rough as men and men will become as weak as women, and they will also lose their ability to reproduce.
The most terrifying thing is that this poison is the only one in the world without an antidote.
Situ Jinghao had actually been poisoned with such a rare and deadly poison, and yet he had survived for so long. Shen Qianmo began to understand the sorrowful despair in Situ Jinghao's eyes.
But why does Situ Jingyan care so much about Situ Jinghao? Could this poison be related to him?
"Is this poison related to Jingyan?!" Shen Qianmo frowned slightly. Judging from Situ Jingyan's expression, he seemed to owe Situ Jinghao something. Could it be this poison?!
"This poison was administered by Jinghao's mother. It was originally intended to poison our master, but... but Jinghao took the poison first in order to save our master!" Hongju seemed unable to bear continuing, her eyes filled with heartache, her tone unsteady, and even a hint of sobbing, as if she was about to shed tears.
He took the poison first. Shen Qianmo's heart skipped a beat. In the royal family, were there still people with such pure hearts? No wonder, no wonder his smile was so serene, so comforting to look at; it was because he possessed a pure heart.
“No wonder Jingyan cares about him so much,” Shen Qianmo said softly. After hesitating for a moment, she finally asked, “Excuse my boldness, but this Yin-Yang Powder causes those who are afflicted with a fate worse than death. Why, why…”
He ultimately didn't utter the words "living a life of ignominy." Those four words would likely tarnish the image of that ethereal man.
"He did this so that his master wouldn't feel guilty. He knew his master always felt indebted to him, and if he died, his master would have no chance to make it up to him." Hongju sighed softly. Situ Jinghao was truly naively simple-minded, wasn't he? But it was precisely this naivety and persistence that made her fall so hopelessly in love with him.
Shen Qianmo was also slightly moved. Having such a brother was truly Situ Jingyan's good fortune. Thinking of this, she sighed softly and said, "Jingyan is truly lucky."
"Madam," Hongju looked at Shen Qianmo sincerely and said, "Our mistress has never told us about the pain in her heart, but we all know that she has a painful past. Madam, it's hard for our mistress to put someone in her heart, but once she does, it's for life. Hongju begs you, Madam, please don't let our mistress get hurt!"
"For life and forever. I will never betray him." A light seemed to overflow in Shen Qianmo's eyes. The sunlight shone on her, making her look like a fairy. These words were not loud, but Hongju could understand the weight of her words.
My lord, you haven't loved the wrong person. Such a woman of unparalleled beauty, with such a quiet yet profoundly unwavering resolve.
After standing outside with Hongju for nearly half an hour, Shen Qianmo heard the sound of work being finished inside. Hongju hurriedly pushed open the door and entered, and Shen Qianmo followed without any hesitation.
Situ Jinghao lay on the bed, his long eyelashes draped over his face, his entire face was deathly pale, and there was no color in his lips. Hongju looked at him with heartache, her hand wanting to touch his face, but she still trembled and withdrew her hand.
"Hongju, I'm entrusting Jinghao to your continued care." Situ Jingyan looked at Hongju and sighed slightly. He knew Hongju's thoughts, but unfortunately, Jinghao's heart, though still pure, had been firmly closed off.
"How are you? You don't look well." Shen Qianmo looked at Situ Jingyan's pale face and felt a pang of heartache. Suppressing the toxicity of the Yin-Yang Powder did indeed require a lot of true energy, no wonder Situ Jingyan's face was so pale.
"I'm fine." Situ Jingyan still wore a charming smile, his hand naturally stroking Shen Qianmo's cheek and tucking away her loose hair.
"The Yin-Yang Powder always takes effect during the full moon. During your time in Qi Yue, he..." Shen Qianmo looked at Situ Jinghao on the bed and asked.
“Hongju and Hongmei will join forces to suppress him. However, their internal energy is not pure, so Jinghao will have to suffer more. Therefore, it is better for me to do it.” Situ Jingyan looked at Situ Jinghao, and a rare tenderness appeared in his eyes. It was the tenderness he showed when looking at his own brother.
"Yin-Yang Powder isn't truly incurable," Shen Qianmo said calmly. Yin-Yang Powder is known as the only incurable poison in the world, but it's not truly without an antidote.
"What?!" Upon hearing Shen Qianmo's words, Hongju looked at Shen Qianmo with surprise and delight, her eyes filled with anticipation. She had thought that Situ Jinghao was doomed, but she hadn't expected that Yin Yang Powder would have an antidote.
Shen Qianmo couldn't bear to look at the light in Hongju's eyes, nor could she bear to see Situ Jingyan's barely suppressed joy, and she couldn't bear to look at the pale person on the bed.
"Yin Yang Powder is made up of ice and fire. To neutralize the poison of ice and fire, it must be combined with the Snow Lotus and the Thousand-Year Fire Fruit," Shen Qianmo said slowly.
Both the Iceberg Snow Lotus and the Thousand-Year Fire Fruit are extremely rare sacred medicines. It's easy to obtain them with a fortune, but difficult to find them! The Iceberg Snow Lotus is somewhat better; although it grows in extremely cold snowy areas, it's not impossible to find them. The Demon Palace has a few.
The troublesome thing is the thousand-year fire fruit. It is said that only one thousand-year fire fruit grows, and it can only be found on the fire island.
Fire Island is a place even martial arts practitioners dare not set foot on. Legend has it that Fire Island is teeming with poisonous insects and ferocious beasts, riddled with traps, and guarded by incredibly powerful martial arts masters; anyone who enters will perish.
Of course, the stories about Fire Island are just rumors, but the dangers of Fire Island are not unfounded. Over the years, many people have gone to Fire Island, but none have returned. Let alone whether they can safely enter Fire Island, even if they do, they may not be able to find the Fire Fruit.
Even if we manage to find both medicinal herbs, we'll still need one more thing to completely cure the Yin-Yang poison. And that thing isn't something so simple to find.
Chapter Thirteen: Whose Favor? [Handwritten Update]
“Even if the Ice and Fire Poison is cured, it won’t be of any use. We still need to cure the Yin-Yang Poison. The Yin-Yang Dispersion is caused by the reversal of Yin and Yang. To cure this Yin-Yang Poison, a woman with pure internal energy needs to consume the Ice Mountain Snow Lotus and the Thousand-Year Fire Fruit, transferring all her internal energy into his body. Moreover, we need to find another woman to exchange blood with him. The woman who transfuses his internal energy and blood will undoubtedly die!” After saying this, Shen Qianmo glanced at Hongju and saw a resolute look in her eyes.
"I'm willing! As long as it can save him!" Hongju said urgently.
"Have you thought this through? Although the Thousand-Year Fire Fruit and the Ice Mountain Snow Lotus are sacred medicines, their medicinal properties are incompatible. Taking them at the same time is like being in both ice and fire, and the pain is unbearable for ordinary people. If you exhaust your inner strength now, you will surely die!" Shen Qianmo glanced at Hongju, her tone tinged with regret.
"Master! I beg you, you must save him!" Hongju did not answer Shen Qianmo's question, but knelt down before Situ Jingyan, who was frowning beside her.
"Hongju." Situ Jingyan called Hongju's name but didn't know how to begin. Hongju had been by his side for several years. Although they were master and subordinate, he also considered Hongju as half a younger sister. How could he bear to exchange Hongju's life for Situ Jinghao's?
"Master! If Jinghao dies, Hongju will not be able to live either. Rather than both of us die, let Hongju die alone! Please grant my request!" Hongju remained kneeling on the ground, her eyes filled with determination and expectation.
Shen Qianmo frowned slightly. Was her proposed antidote right or wrong? Was she really going to stand by and watch such a devoted woman lose her life like this?!