Chapter 117
Chapter 117: May I Help Second Senior Sister with the Poison?
As Xing Lan made his way toward Shi Zi Chu, Chu Zhi Rou’s gaze flashed with a sudden thought. Without hesitation, she raised her voice, “I can save Second Senior Sister!”
Shi Zi Chu gravely injured to the brink of death? That was clearly an act!
She would expose Shi Zi Chu’s lies!
Xing Lan did not slow his steps. He walked straight to Shi Zi Chu’s side, his eyes fixed on her right hand, now nothing more than a skeleton, white and chilling.
“Master, it hurts so much,” Shi Zi Chu’s voice trembled with a pitiful tone. At the same time, her sleeve slipped down, exposing the injury that stretched from her hand all the way to her forearm.
Xing Lan reached out, gripping her arm and pulling it closer, the cold energy of his touch covering her skin. “Where is the Cangming Serpent’s venomous gall?”
Before Pei Luo Xiu could produce the gall, Chu Zhi Rou quickly stepped forward. She spoke again to Xing Lan, “Peak Master, I can help Second Senior Sister with the snake venom!”
Watching Chu Zhi Rou persistently offer her help, Shi Zi Chu’s eyes gleamed with amusement.
The venom of the Cangming Serpent wasn’t so easily cured. Chu Zhi Rou was so eager to step forward. Was she really itching to show her hidden card?
Xing Lan glanced toward her.
“Disciple, by chance, obtained the Azure Luan’s legacy, which includes teachings on healing,” Chu Zhi Rou looked up at him, her eyes tinged with a soft red at the corners, sparkling with an earnest concern. “The detoxification pill requires time to prepare. Second Senior Sister is delicate and afraid of pain. Please, Peak Master, allow me the chance to treat her.”
Her pure face reflected sincere kindness and concern, and with the faint reddish hue around her eyes, her gaze was both lively and pitiful.
Xing Lan turned to Shi Zi Chu, his eyes searching for her approval.
Shi Zi Chu hesitated. She didn’t quite trust Chu Zhi Rou, but her mind was already calculating.
The Azure Luan’s legacy? A precious treasure indeed!
She couldn’t act on it, but Ye He Qi could!
She didn’t believe that Ye He Qi wouldn’t want the Azure Luan’s legacy!
Seeing Shi Zi Chu still uncertain, Chu Zhi Rou spoke even more earnestly, “I ask for nothing but Second Senior Sister’s recovery. Please, grant me this chance!”
“But…” Shi Zi Chu leaned weakly against Pei Luo Xiu, her voice soft and filled with confusion. “Junior Sister Zhi Rou, if you have such healing abilities, why not use them to remove the Gu venom?”
Her voice, weak and gentle, was full of innocence, as if merely asking out of curiosity.
Mentioning the Gu venom made Chu Zhi Rou bite her lip, looking down, her expression filled with a mix of grievance and restraint.
Yun Chi, unable to bear the act any longer, burst out angrily, “Do you not know what poison you’ve given to Junior Sister Chu?!”
Xing Lan, his expression cold, released a wave of suppressive aura, causing Yun Chi to collapse onto the floor, kneeling in submission.
“Second Senior Sister, I am cursed with the Pill Devouring Gu,” Chu Zhi Rou’s voice faltered weakly. “The venom is lodged in my dantian, and I dare not act recklessly.”
The saying “no mercy, no progress” rang true. Shi Zi Chu was no stranger to dark deeds!
She needed to be pitiful and helpless to highlight Shi Zi Chu’s cruelty.
Besides, she didn’t believe Shi Zi Chu, who had been consumed by rumors, would remain indifferent!
Shi Zi Chu’s eyes widened in surprise.
Pill Devouring Gu?
Was Chu Zhi Rou so cruel to herself?
As the name implied, the Pill Devouring Gu was a malicious creature that devoured the dantian, causing irreversible damage. Eventually, the victim would become a cultivator incapable of further progress.
“Enough about me,” Chu Zhi Rou forced a pure and resolute smile. “May I help Second Senior Sister with the poison?”
“Very well.”
Shi Zi Chu extended her right hand.
Under Xing Lan’s watchful gaze, she dared not pull any tricks.
Chu Zhi Rou stepped forward, her expression serious as she formed hand seals.
The graceful gestures of her hands were mesmerizing, and golden spiritual power began to gather, forming the ethereal image of an Azure Luan.
The mystical energy in her gestures, combined with her pure face, made her seem like a compassionate little fairy.
The Azure Luan’s phantom hovered above Shi Zi Chu’s hand, its sharp beak pecking at the white bones of her arm, with drops of dark green blood falling with each peck.
Shi Zi Chu broke into a cold sweat, her complexion paling from the pain of the poison being drawn out.
As she continued to focus her spiritual power, Chu Zhi Rou’s porcelain face gradually showed signs of strain.
She persevered, extracting the venom, but soon she coughed up a mouthful of blood, her chest heaving with effort. “Cough, cough…”
Some of the dark blood splattered onto Shi Zi Chu.
Seeing the blood she had spilled on Shi Zi Chu, Chu Zhi Rou’s expression was filled with apologies. “I… I… Second Senior Sister, I’m so sorry…”
Her delicate frame swayed before collapsing, unable to remain upright.
“Junior Sister Chu!”
“Rou Rou!”
The disciples who had come with her rushed over, unable to care about formalities.
Pei Qing You, who was slightly stronger, swiftly moved in front of the others and caught Chu Zhi Rou in his arms.
Shi Zi Chu lowered her eyelids, a flash of disgust crossing her face.
How filthy.
Suppressing her physical revulsion, she adjusted her emotions and raised her gaze, no longer showing disdain but only urgent concern. “Junior Sister Zhi Rou!”
Chu Zhi Rou lay limp in Pei Qing You’s arms, blood still trickling from her mouth. She moaned weakly, “It hurts… It hurts so much…”
In an instant, her face was covered in cold sweat.
It seemed the Pill Devouring Gu within her had activated.
“Second Senior Sister, please help me… It hurts… I can’t bear it…”
Her cries were as pitiful as a blood-crying cuckoo.
Shi Zi Chu, weak and leaning against Pei Luo Xiu, her pale face speaking, “I will go find Young Master Jiang, I will ask him to help Junior Sister Zhi Rou!”
Chu Zhi Rou’s suffering stirred the onlookers’ reason.
Yun Chi was the first to lose control. He yelled at Shi Zi Chu, “If it weren’t for saving you, how could Junior Sister Chu have ended up like this?! Shi Zi Chu, you clearly know how to remove the Gu! How can you be so cold-blooded?!”
Shi Zi Chu’s face was filled with helplessness and sadness as she stared at Xing Lan.
Xing Lan waved his hand.
A cold spiritual power shot into Chu Zhi Rou, freezing the Pill Devouring Gu inside her.
In the blink of an eye, the intense pain that had caused Chu Zhi Rou to tremble subsided, replaced by a chilling cold that made her shiver.
The temperature of Pei Qing You’s body dropped drastically, as if he were holding a block of ice.
Xing Lan spoke to Shi Zi Chu, “I’m going to the Alchemist Association.”
Shi Zi Chu nodded.
With so many potential suitors for Chu Zhi Rou, men like Yu Chuan—powerful and influential—were not rare. To avoid further complications, she needed Xing Lan to set an example, to make an example of someone.
Upon hearing Xing Lan’s words, Chu Zhi Rou tried to struggle, but her body felt frozen, her limbs stiff.
Master, he was going to the Alchemist Association?
To stand up for Shi Zi Chu, he didn’t even care about her?!
Shi Zi Chu’s voice was gentle as she spoke to Xing Lan, “Neither I nor the master understand the Gu venom. After I complete my task, I will take Junior Sister Zhi Rou to seek medical help.”
Xing Lan nodded and left.
After Xing Lan’s departure, the gazes of the surrounding disciples turned hostile as they looked at Shi Zi Chu.
“The Young Lord of the Jiang Family has already given us the formula to remove the Gu venom, but the essential spiritual herb—Green Rock Li Flower—is missing!” Yun Chi pointed at the ruined remains of the Green Rock Li Flower. “Shi Zi Chu, this was deliberate!”
At his words, those standing around Chu Zhi Rou shot Shi Zi Chu accusing looks.
“Why didn’t you say something sooner?” Pei Qing You’s voice turned cold as he looked at Yun Chi, displeased. “If you hadn’t tried to take advantage of this situation, would things have gotten so bad?”
Shi Zi Chu was not unreasonable. If things were laid out clearly, she could exchange the equivalent spiritual herb. Why had they felt the need to steal the Green Rock Li Flower while she was hunting the Cangming Serpent?