"Just say what you have to say, don't beat around the bush," Shen Sheng said, waving his hand.
"Yes." Imperial Physician He took a deep breath, organized his thoughts, and then said, "Because that lord's injuries were too severe, His Majesty allowed us to open the Imperial Treasury to retrieve medicinal herbs. After his condition stabilized, I took the opportunity to inventory the Imperial Treasury, only to find that a rare poisonous herb was missing. I inquired with everyone in the Imperial Hospital, and they all said that it hadn't been taken..."
"Poisonous herbs? What poisonous herbs? How could there be poisonous herbs in the imperial treasury?" Shen Sheng frowned.
“It’s Xiyan.” Imperial Physician He gave a bitter smile. “It’s a very magical poisonous herb. If you apply its sap to a knife or dagger, it will poison a person as long as it pierces their skin. However, a person poisoned will not die for twelve hours except when their head is severed. Once the twelve hours have passed, there is no way to save them. It is a miraculous medicine used as a last resort to save lives.”
Although the evening primrose is an incurable poisonous herb, it is still very precious because of its special properties and rarity. Physician He was afraid of being accused of stealing a treasure, so he rushed to report it.
"...I understand. I will send someone to investigate." Shen Sheng suddenly remembered someone and waved for the imperial physician to leave.
After everyone left, he called someone over and, after inquiring, learned that someone had indeed gone to the imperial treasury two days prior.
And that person was also related to Shen Mo.
...
Shen Yebai waited at the tea stall for a while, but even after Shen Yu returned, he still hadn't seen Qin Moyu. When he asked Shen Yu, he was told that he hadn't seen Qin Moyu either, so he simply picked up his knife and prepared to go look for her.
As soon as he stepped outside, he saw Qin Moyu return.
"Are you leaving?" Qin Moyu saw Shen Yebai carrying a knife and assumed he had rested and was about to leave.
Seeing that he was alright, Shen Yebai nodded in agreement.
Zuo Shu and Shen Yu had no objection to setting off, but Zuo Shu glanced at the direction Qin Moyu had come from before leaving.
A straw hat flashed by at the street corner.
The three of them walked for several more days before finally arriving at He Village.
Upon entering He Village, it was immediately apparent that something was amiss.
It's too quiet.
There wasn't a soul in sight in the village, not even the sounds of roosters crowing or insects chirping; it was as silent as a dead village.
"Are they gone?" Shen Yu casually opened a door, only to find it empty.
Shen Yebai looked around warily, a sense of unease creeping into his heart.
"Something's not right." Zuo Shu sensed it too. She narrowed her eyes, her expression turned serious, and she instinctively stepped in front of Shen Yu to protect her. "There are people here."
Qin Moyu and Zuo Shu were both practitioners of magic, so they were particularly sensitive to changes in the surrounding spiritual energy. Therefore, when withered yellow hands appeared under their feet, they were the first to react.
"There's something underground!" Qin Moyu shouted, dodging the hands under Shen Yebai's cover.
At the same time, Zuo Shu led Shen Yufei to the rooftop. Looking at the things emerging from the ground, she exclaimed, "A corpse demon?"
Emerging from the ground were all sorts of people, some old, some young, with sharp teeth and mouths, all exuding a thick aura of death.
Corpse demons are a type of "magical artifact" refined from living people using special methods. They are invulnerable to blades and spears and tireless. Even the lowest-level corpse demons are enough to make people's scalp tingle if there are enough of them. Because the production method is extremely cruel, every cultivator who creates a corpse demon will be jointly annihilated. Now that it has appeared here, it is obviously created by Ghost Tomb.
Standing on the rooftop is not an absolutely safe place when facing the Corpse Fiends. Although they cannot jump up, they can keep crashing into the house. The dense swarms of Corpse Fiends below are terrifying, and one can easily imagine the terrible attacks one would suffer if they landed.
"Heinous!" When Zuo Shu saw the naked children inside the corpse monster, even she, usually so calm, couldn't contain her anger. This was turning an entire village into a living corpse monster! How were they any different from beasts, resorting to such unscrupulous methods?!
"It's their honor to be used by Onizuka," the old man said with a cold laugh as he emerged from the corner.
"So arrogant...aren't you afraid of being exposed and facing encirclement from all sides!" Zuo Shu shouted angrily.
“As long as you die, no one will know.” The old man scoffed, then stepped aside slightly, and another person stepped out.
"Yes, the dead can't talk." The newcomer was dressed in brocade robes and looked very familiar.
Qin Moyu stared intently at the person who appeared next to the old man, and almost spat out the two words through gritted teeth: "Fen Gong".
Despite telling himself to stay calm, Qin Moyu almost lost his temper when he actually saw his enemy. If Shen Yebai hadn't stopped him, he would have rushed down.
"Oh, so someone actually knows me." Fen Gong laughed loudly, saying in a contemptuous tone, "They're probably here seeking revenge or looking for death."
"It's just a pity. I've killed at least eight hundred, if not a thousand. I wonder if the one who died by my hand was your wife, your father, or your poor master?"
Master.
These two words deeply stung Qin Moyu. The image of the courtyard reduced to ruins flashed through his mind, and that suffocating grief swept over him again, fueling an even more turbulent anger behind the crashing waves.
But when her anger reached its peak, Qin Moyu calmed down.
He turned to look at Shen Yebai and said softly, "I will avenge my master, with my own hands."
“I know.” Shen Yebai’s heart tightened. He looked at Qin Moyu deeply and said in a deep voice, “I said I would fulfill all your wishes. If you want to take revenge yourself, I will never let anyone else disturb you.”
—Including myself.
Shen Yebai had a thousand reasons not to want Qin Moyu to be in danger, and a thousand ways to help Qin Moyu take revenge, but he knew that Qin Moyu had only one wish—to take revenge himself.
This one wish was enough to make him give up all his insistence.
Qin Moyu's eyes stung slightly. He turned his face away and jumped down without hesitation.
He didn't think about the corpses or the old man; he only had eyes for Fen Gong.
Because he knew that Shen Yebai was behind him.
The most beautiful memories in this world are about the old Taoist priest, but the courage to face the future was given to him by the old Taoist priest and Shen Yebai together.
He is like a kite floating in the sky, connecting the ground and even the world through them.