Guiyuan Pavilion was publicly recognised as the place with the most well-informed intelligence on the Shengwu Continent.
Guiyuan Pavilion’s influence was spread extremely widely across the Shengwu Continent. Many places had branch pavilions, where cultivators could issue missions and buy or sell all kinds of information.
When cultivators issued missions at Guiyuan Pavilion, there were no restrictions on the type of mission. As long as they could afford the price, Guiyuan Pavilion would adjust the mission’s placement according to the value paid by the issuer. If someone wanted to buy or sell information, that was even simpler. Guiyuan Pavilion would charge different fees according to the difficulty of obtaining the information, and the speed of delivery would depend on the price.
Cangwu Town had a branch pavilion set up by Guiyuan Pavilion. In Cangwu Town, most cultivators came here to look for information or missions related to Cangwu Mountain. Most of these were connected to spirit herbs and demonic beasts. This was also one of the distinguishing features of the Cangwu Town branch. Quite a number of cultivators came here every day.
On this day, several people arrived at Guiyuan Pavilion’s Cangwu Town branch and issued a bounty mission.
“Senior Brother, you must find that wretch as soon as possible and avenge me!”
The girl dressed in pink spoke viciously. Her originally sweet and pretty appearance was slightly diminished by the arrogance between her brows and the twisted hatred on her face.
Mu Ziming said, “If nothing unexpected happened, they should have returned to Cangwu Town recently, just like us. Unless…”
Unless the other party was still wandering around in the mountains. That was also possible, but they would not remain in Cangwu Mountain forever. There was another possibility: the other party knew they had offended them and feared retaliation, so they left Cangwu Mountain directly, passing by Cangwu Town without entering and staying far away from this place.
But that did not matter. Once a bounty mission was issued in Guiyuan Pavilion, as long as there was a place under Guiyuan Pavilion’s influence, this bounty mission would continue to exist. Cultivators across the entire Shengwu Continent would be able to see it. Even if that person grew wings, she would not be able to escape.
Mu Shan pouted unhappily. “Senior Brother, I don’t want any accidents. At worst, we can add more yuan crystals. We must find that wretch.”
Thinking of the pain she had suffered when the swarm of stalagmite rats had gnawed her flesh alive, Mu Shan’s face darkened, and her hatred was hard to dispel.
Mu Ziming doted on this junior sister after all, so he good-temperedly agreed.
Mu Shan used all the yuan crystals on her to issue the bounty mission. She carefully described the appearance of the person she wanted to find, then said to the Guiyuan Pavilion disciple receiving them, “Put it in the most visible place. I must find this person at the first possible moment.”
The Guiyuan Pavilion disciple in charge of receiving them smiled politely. “Miss, please rest assured. With the price you have offered, we will place this bounty mission in the most eye-catching position.”
After issuing the bounty mission, Mu Ziming and his group left Guiyuan Pavilion’s branch. They found an inn in Cangwu Town to rest and waited for news from the bounty.
“Junior Sister, what if that female cultivator has already left Cangwu Mountain?” one junior brother asked.
Mu Shan sneered. “I have already issued a bounty mission at Guiyuan Pavilion. Guiyuan Pavilion has countless branches. I don’t believe she can escape Guiyuan Pavilion’s eyes and ears.”
After hearing this, the junior brother stopped speaking and carefully glanced at their eldest senior brother.
In truth, after hearing the whole process of how their junior sister had formed a grudge with that female cultivator, the junior brother felt that the one at fault was their junior sister.
Under those circumstances, their junior sister had wanted to divert disaster onto someone else. The female cultivator’s reaction had been perfectly normal. If their junior sister had really succeeded, then that female cultivator would have been the stupid one. But their junior sister had been spoiled by their master and mistress since childhood, and many senior and junior brothers had always cleaned up after her. This had raised her into someone who could not bear to suffer losses. She was willful and unreasonable, and anyone who went against her would not have a good outcome. She had never been reasonable; in this world, reason only existed when it was on her side.
Mu Ziming’s expression was indifferent, as if he had not seen his junior brother’s gaze.
—
Guiyuan Pavilion truly deserved its reputation as the most well-informed place. The bounty mission Mu Shan issued very quickly received feedback.
Compared with others, Wang Xiuyuan and Qian Shou had recently been paying close attention to all kinds of news in Cangwu Town, so they learned of this bounty mission immediately. From the description, both of them thought of one person—Wen Qiao.
Wang Xiuyuan’s heart gave a thud. He did not know who wanted to place a bounty on Ning Yuzhou’s wife. Now that he knew the value of Ning Yuzhou as an alchemist, no matter who it was, he was unwilling to let anything happen to Ning Yuzhou and his group.
Wang Xiuyuan quickly sent people to investigate who exactly had placed the bounty on Wen Qiao, intending to understand the matter first.
Very soon, Wang Xiuyuan found out clearly. When he learned that the person who had issued the bounty mission was Mu Shan, the daughter of True Monarch Daoyan of Qingyun Sect, Wang Xiuyuan’s scalp went numb.
Qingyun Sect was not a super sect that the Wang family could afford to offend.
Speaking of which, Wang Xiuyuan was not unfamiliar with Mu Shan of Qingyun Sect. This time, both the Wang family and the Shang family had sent people to Cangwu Mountain to search for spirit herbs. When they entered Cangwu Mountain, they had happened to run into Mu Shan and her group from Qingyun Sect.
At that time, Wang Xiuyuan had taken the opportunity to trip up the Shang siblings, causing Mu Shan to dislike Shang Honglang and his sister. As a result, shortly after entering Cangwu Mountain, the Shang siblings had gotten into trouble under Mu Shan’s pressure.
Wang Xiuyuan did not have much contact with Mu Shan, but he had heard of this Eldest Miss Mu’s reputation. It was said that she was deeply favoured by True Monarch Daoyan. At the time, he had only wanted to borrow Qingyun Sect’s influence to suppress the Shang family and make them suffer a hidden loss. Who would have known that Mu Shan’s reaction would be so effective? From this, one could also see this woman’s temperament. She was truly a great Buddha that one could not provoke.
Wang Xiuyuan had not expected Wen Qiao to offend Mu Shan.
Qingyun Sect was one of the super sects of the Shengwu Continent, a major force that neither the Wang nor Shang families could afford to offend, let alone Ning Yuzhou’s group, who had no real background.
Wang Xiuyuan was extremely anxious and began thinking about whether he should give up on Ning Yuzhou.
Genius alchemists could be found anywhere, but going against Qingyun Sect for his sake was truly unwise.
—
A lamp was lit in the dim room. The bright light drove away the darkness inside, revealing everything clearly beneath its glow.
Qin Hongdao carried the lamp over and explained, “Ever since my junior brother was poisoned, many people have been frightened by his appearance, and he himself feels uncomfortable as well. That’s why we hadn’t lit a lamp earlier.”
Ning Yuzhou acknowledged her and continued examining Sheng Yunshen on the bed.
Sheng Yunshen felt uneasy. In a hoarse, unpleasant voice, he asked, “Young Master Ning, can you remove the poison from my body?”
Qin Hongdao, standing at the side, also looked at him nervously.
Ning Yuzhou said, “I’m sorry. I am powerless.”
Hearing this, Qin Hongdao and Sheng Yunshen were both bitterly disappointed, and despair rose in their hearts.
Recently, Sheng Yunshen had been tormented by the poison in his body. He knew that if the poison was not removed soon, he probably would not live much longer. He could feel his life force slowly draining away. This feeling of waiting for death filled him with despair and pain. If not for seeing his senior sister busily running around for his sake, Sheng Yunshen might have wanted to give up entirely and stop clinging to life, so that he would not burden her.
Qin Hongdao’s eyes reddened, and she said hoarsely, “Young Master Ning, since you can tell what poison it is, is there truly no way…”
Ning Yuzhou continued, “If you want to completely remove the poison from Young Master Sheng’s body, you need a Second-Turn Mysterious Yin Pill. This pill is a mystic-grade pill.”
“A mystic-grade pill?”
Qin Hongdao and her junior brother were overjoyed and hurriedly said, “What kind of pill is this Second-Turn Mysterious Yin Pill? Can it be refined as long as we find a mystic-grade alchemist?”
They thought Ning Yuzhou was currently only a yellow-grade alchemist and therefore naturally could not refine mystic-grade pills, which was why he had said he was powerless.
Unexpectedly, Ning Yuzhou shook his head and continued explaining, “The Second-Turn Mysterious Yin Pill is not difficult to refine. The difficulty lies in gathering all its ingredients. Among them is one main medicinal ingredient that exists only in the Netherworld.”
Qin Hongdao was startled. Thinking of something, she asked, “Young Master Ning, you said earlier that among the poisons my junior brother was afflicted with, one came from the Netherworld. Is that why we need to go to the Netherworld to find the spiritual medicine that can counteract it?”
“Yes.”
Qin Hongdao’s expression changed slightly. Very quickly, she made a decision and said sincerely, “Young Master Ning, the Netherworld is separated from the human realm. Very few people know the entrance to the Netherworld, and I don’t know when we’ll be able to find that spiritual medicine. But the poison in my junior brother’s body can no longer be delayed. Do you have any other method?”
They had found so many alchemists, yet only Ning Yuzhou had been able to see what poison her junior brother had been afflicted with. He could even name the pill needed to detoxify it, which showed his ability.
Qin Hongdao was glad that she had not missed him just because his cultivation was low, and placed all her hopes on him.
Sure enough, Ning Yuzhou did not disappoint her. He smiled slightly, his handsome face warm and gentle. His calm, composed manner somehow made people trust him.
“I can temporarily suppress the poison in Young Master Sheng’s body, giving you time to find that spiritual medicine,” Ning Yuzhou said.
Qin Hongdao was overjoyed and hurriedly thanked him.
Sheng Yunshen was also pleasantly surprised. If one could live, who would want to die? Cultivators defied the heavens and often encountered dangerous situations; being poisoned was merely one hurdle among many. He originally had not wanted to burden his senior sister. Thinking he was about to die soon, he had tried to persuade her not to run around for his sake anymore. Now that he knew he could live, he naturally wanted to work hard to survive.
Ning Yuzhou first fed Sheng Yunshen an antidote pill, then took paper and brush and wrote down nearly three hundred names of spiritual herbs, asking Qin Hongdao to prepare them as quickly as possible.
“It will not be difficult to temporarily suppress the poison in Young Master Sheng’s body. I will first draw out part of the poison from his body. The rest will need to be done slowly,” Ning Yuzhou said.
Qin Hongdao nodded repeatedly. She did not understand these things and did not question Ning Yuzhou’s words. Holding the paper, she went out to collect the spiritual herbs listed on it.
Qin Hongdao was very fast and returned in less than two hours.
Only her expression was not particularly happy. In a strained voice, she said, “Young Master Ning, I’ve more or less gathered all the spiritual medicines on this list, but there are still two missing. One is seven-leaf tongue lingzhi, and the other is scarlet-blood spirit fruit. None of the spirit herb shops in Cangwu Town have them…”
Thinking that because she could not gather all the spiritual medicines, her junior brother would have to continue suffering, and might even die if the poison could not be suppressed, Qin Hongdao felt terribly distressed. Her eyes turned red.
When Wen Qiao heard her words, she looked up at her and suddenly said, “We have those two spiritual medicines.”
Qin Hongdao: “…”
What was a pleasant surprise? This was a pleasant surprise!
The surprise came so suddenly that Qin Hongdao lost control of herself for a moment. She could not help striding forward, scooping up the thin, slender Wen Qiao, and hugging her tightly. She said excitedly, “Really? Miss Min, you really have them? That’s wonderful…”
Ning Yuzhou: “…”
Seeing his little wife being hugged by a stranger right in front of him, even if that person was a woman, Ning Yuzhou still felt somewhat displeased. He stepped forward and took his little wife back, then said to Qin Hongdao, “Since the spiritual herbs are ready, let us begin.”
Qin Hongdao did not notice his actions and hurriedly responded. Under Ning Yuzhou’s instructions, she went to make preparations.
Ning Yuzhou put his little wife down, touched her head, and said gently, “Ah Xian, we’ll still need to stay here for a while. Are you hungry?”
Wen Qiao shook her head. “There’s food in the storage pouch. I’m not hungry. You go and work.”
Her husband was saving someone, so Wen Qiao naturally would not hold him back.
Mm, how obedient.
Ning Yuzhou could not help touching her head again. If there had not been outsiders here, he would have been unable to resist kissing this well-behaved and adorable little girl.
Ning Yuzhou placed a specially made bathing tub in the room. The tub hovered in the air, and beneath it were talismans burning with a faint flame. Gradually, steam began rising from the tub, and the water inside started boiling.
Then he placed the processed medicinal herbs into the tub in order.
The water in the tub quickly changed. From transparent, it turned pink, then red, then black, and finally dark green. The smell also became extremely strange.
Wen Qiao could not bear it again and retreated to the doorway.
Qin Hongdao, however, showed no reaction. As long as it could save her junior brother, she would not mind no matter how bad the smell was.
The water in the tub bubbled, and the talismans below continued burning.
Ning Yuzhou watched for a while, then said to Qin Hongdao, “You may put Young Master Sheng into the tub.”
Qin Hongdao answered and immediately went to the bed to carry Sheng Yunshen over. Seeing that she was about to toss him into the tub, Ning Yuzhou hurriedly said, “His clothes need to be removed, or they may stick to his body and interfere with drawing out the toxins.”
At the doorway, Wen Qiao very consciously turned around with her back to the room.
Sheng Yunshen let out a miserable cry and weakly clutched at his clothes. “Senior Sister, I’ll do it myself!”
“Do you have the strength?” Qin Hongdao asked in return. Seeing that he could not refute her, she casually tore off his clothes, then tossed him into the tub in an extremely simple and rough manner.
After throwing her junior brother into the tub in such a simple and brutal way, Qin Hongdao asked Ning Yuzhou if there was anything else she needed to pay attention to, looking extremely nervous.
“There’s nothing much to pay attention to. Let him soak in the tub for ten hours first. The fire cannot go out. After ten hours, I’ll come back.”
Hearing that he was going to leave, Qin Hongdao grew nervous again and urged him to stay. “Young Master Ning, please don’t leave. What if something happens midway? It’s not that I don’t trust Young Master Ning, but I’ll feel more at ease with you here. If you’re tired, you can rest here. There are rooms next door. I’ll go tidy one up for you…”
Before her words had even finished, she had already rushed out like a gust of wind to prepare a room for them.
Seeing this, Ning Yuzhou no longer insisted on leaving and stayed there with Wen Qiao.
Qin Hongdao had a fiery, energetic temperament. She was straightforward, rough on the outside but careful within. As long as one could accept her temper, she was very pleasant to get along with.
After preparing a room for the two of them, she went to a restaurant outside and packed up spirit food with excellent colour, aroma, and flavour, taking very thoughtful care of them.
Ning Yuzhou and Wen Qiao did not refuse and sat at the stone table in the courtyard to eat.
This position happened to face the room, so they could see inside the room with just a glance. It was very convenient for them to keep an eye on Sheng Yunshen’s condition at any time.
While they were eating, Qin Hongdao sat down with them and briefly explained the origin of the poison in Sheng Yunshen’s body.
“…We were following our sect’s orders to investigate the Yangxiang Manor murder case. We were about to capture the culprit and bring him to justice, but who knew where that culprit obtained such a strange poison from? My junior brother was accidentally poisoned, and the culprit escaped. Seeing that my junior brother’s condition was truly serious, I could only bring him to Cangwu Town first.”
Cangwu Town was the nearest town to Yangxiang Manor. After Sheng Yunshen was poisoned, his appearance was truly too terrifying, and he lost all his cultivation. None of the various spirit pills they carried had any effect on him. Helpless, they could only come to Cangwu Town first to find an alchemist to treat him.
Who would have thought that the poison in Sheng Yunshen’s body would be so domineering? It gave them no time to react and eroded Sheng Yunshen’s life force day by day. If the poison was not removed soon, he might not be able to hold on long enough for them to find a more powerful alchemist to detoxify him. In the end, Qin Hongdao could only treat a dead horse like a living one and try every desperate method she could think of.
At this point, Qin Hongdao sighed deeply and once again rejoiced that she had found Ning Yuzhou, thanking him repeatedly.
Ning Yuzhou smiled and was about to say something when his expression suddenly paused. He took out a voice transmission talisman from his sleeve.
He placed the voice transmission talisman by his ear. After listening to it, his expression became somewhat ugly.
Wen Qiao could not help looking at him. For her husband, who was always calm and unruffled, to show such an expression, the matter was clearly rather troublesome.
Qin Hongdao was warm-hearted. Now that she also regarded Ning Yuzhou as her junior brother’s saviour, she said, “Young Master Ning, have you run into some trouble?”
Ning Yuzhou sighed lightly. “There is indeed a little trouble. Miss Qin, we may end up implicating you.”
“Why do you say that?” Qin Hongdao asked, puzzled.
Ning Yuzhou said, “I received news that the daughter of True Monarch Daoyan of Qingyun Sect has issued a bounty at Guiyuan Pavilion, offering a reward for Ah Xian.”
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