The Journey of Immortal Cultivation-Chapter 379 - 225: Healing
It can be inferred that the maid outside the door has been taken down by her. Li Xianglian, upon seeing a strong figure at her door, was initially frightened, but her fear subsided somewhat as soon as she saw it was a woman. Hearing what she said, Li Xianglian’s cries lessened, and after sobbing for a while, she couldn’t help but ask, "Who are you, and what should I do?"
The woman took out a sealed small jar containing the Flipping Gu and told her how to use it. "Whether to use it or not is up to you. I only helped you this once because I saw how pitiful you are. If used correctly, from now on there will be no more obstacles between you and your beloved."
If it were a person of sound mind, they would not dare to use such an obscure thing. Unfortunately, at this moment Li Xianglian had adopted the mentality of preferring to be shattered jade rather than intact tile. The woman’s last sentence thoroughly moved her. If Granny can’t have it, then Wu Yunfang won’t be able to either, so she ultimately still played this Black Hand.
Indeed, it is from love that worries arise, and from love that fears emerge. Such a beautiful woman as Li Xianglian has also fallen into an irreversible doom because of love. Ning Xiaoxian sighed inwardly but asked indifferently on the surface: "What did that woman look like?"
Tu Jin shook his head: "Can’t see clearly. From Li Xianglian’s perspective, the woman has a graceful figure, but her face is hidden in a shroud of black mist, probably concealed by Divine Skills. Mortals cannot see through it."
"Did she leave any useful clues behind?"
Tu Jin pondered for a while before spreading his hands helplessly and saying, "The woman didn’t talk much, and every word she spoke seemed very slow, as if she had rehearsed it deliberately, unwilling to let Li Xianglian catch any slip-ups. Hm, her voice was a bit hoarse; besides that, there’s nothing else."
"Not even a hint about how the Gu is made?"
"None."
This is problematic. The Gu that Li Xianglian had was obtained from someone else; this clearly indicates that someone is conspiring against Lord Wu and they have done it very cleanly, not leaving any useful details for her to deduce. It was just a temporary disruption by Ning Xiaoxian.
The clues end here. However skilled she may be, where is she to find this woman whose face can’t even be seen? A hoarse voice? There must be at least several hundred women with hoarse voices in this city, right?
My own strength is still insufficient. While her brain is at work, she stretches out her delicate index finger and gently rubs it against her red lips, an unconscious habit that she does not know when she acquired.
Seeing Tu Jin releasing a wisp of black qi onto her, making her spill her biggest secret, Li Xianglian couldn’t help but be terrified, sobbing and prostrating on the ground. Ever since she committed this wrongdoing, she has never slept well, sometimes dreaming of marrying her beloved in a big red bridal dress, sometimes of Wu Yunfang becoming an Evil Ghost after death, with a ghastly pale face seeking her life. In just half a month, dark circles appeared under her eyes, and she lost weight drastically.
"Should we erase her memory to eliminate future troubles?" Tu Jin asked softly.
Seeing Li Xianglian kneeling on the ground, pleading for her life, Ning Xiaoxian looked at her intently for a while before shaking her head and saying, "Don’t. Let her always remember, doing bad deeds also comes with a price."
After taking away the jar containing the Gu Worm from Li Xianglian, they easily left the Li Mansion.
Throughout the journey, Ning Xiaoxian remained silent.
"Feeling down?" Miluo couldn’t help but ask.
"Yes!" she replied despondently, "We’ve followed the clues to this point, and yet they’ve broken off. It seems the ginseng fruit tree branch is not meant for me."
Tu Jin suggested: "Why not just snatch the branch and run? It seems even if Wu Huo finds out, he wouldn’t dare do anything to us."
She murmured in displeasure, "I considered this method before the City Lord List was revealed." She raised her eyes to see the expressions on Miluo and Tu Jin’s faces and said discontentedly, "What’s with those looks? Don’t tell me you haven’t thought about it!" Cultivators are used to being overbearing; if they can’t take by cunning, wouldn’t they take by force? Even Changtian from the God Demon Prison also did such things in the past.
The expressions on both of their faces turned sheepish. Ning Xiaoxian continued, "Originally, snatching and running wouldn’t be a problem, but don’t you have pursuers hanging right behind you, Miluo? We should not be so arrogant. Furthermore, I’ve found out that there will be a merchant team that will leave the city heading north the day after tomorrow, carrying Immortal Silver as tribute. I want Lord Wu to get us into that team."
Miluo wondered, "Why sneak into a tribute team?"
"To hide you." Her hair was tousled by the wind, and she brushed it away with her hand, "We can’t stay in Wutuo City any longer; the pursuers are almost upon us. Your enemies at most might think you’re hiding in a mortal’s team, they shouldn’t guess you’ll mix into a tribute team heading north, right? I inquired already, there are fifty-seven teams of merchants and travelers leaving the city in the next three days; I can’t believe your foes would painstakingly check each one. Especially those carrying Immortal Silver, as this State doesn’t fall under the jurisdiction of Fengtian Prefecture."
If we want the assistance of the City Lord, we naturally cannot resort to force. She sighed with boundless melancholy.
This woman, in order to help herself escape, was actually willing to give up the ginseng fruit tree branch she was determined to have. Miluo looked at her for a long time before saying softly, "Actually, there is still a way to save Wu Yunfang..."
He had barely finished his leisurely spoken words when Ning Xiaoxian abruptly reined her horse to rear up. Miluo, who was lying in the bamboo basket, nearly rolled out and angrily said, "You woman are truly crude, lacking the grace of a lady from a reputable family..." Then, upon seeing the bright light in her eyes, he suddenly couldn’t continue.
She said through gritted teeth, "Can you cure her? Why didn’t you speak and act sooner! It made us chase all the way to the Li Mansion, as if we haven’t been run ragged enough today." Having spent much time with the fox demon, her way of speaking had become much more casual.
"Hmph, this is a last resort, I am reluctant to use it!" Miluo said irritably, "I keep a Gu King, which can fight against all other poisonous worms in the world. However, to ’kill a thousand enemies but harm oneself by eight hundred’ is always the outcome. Besides, the battle between the Gu will take place within Wu Yunfang’s brain. If it causes any damage, she would become an imbecile."
"Is that so?" She blinked, indeed it was risky, "Things like this, it’s better to ask Lord Wu. Let the patient’s family decide for themselves."
Miluo sneered, "Why don’t you ask me?"
"Why should I ask you?"
"Why should I bring out the Gu King? If it gets hurt, there’s no benefit for me."
This was his way of demanding an exorbitant price, Ning Xiaoxian glared at him. This fellow was truly cunning; she had intentionally not mentioned it, trying to gloss over the matter. Miluo’s meticulous bargaining skills were honed to perfection; it was truly a shame for him not to become a businessman.
Seeing her on her guard and cautiously looking at him, Miluo suddenly felt a wave of weariness, the terms he was about to propose swallowed back down.
"Forget it, I’ll help you this once, as a way to repay you for saving my life."
She was immediately overjoyed. Although Miluo sat behind her, unable to see her smile, it seemed he could visualize it in his mind, prompting a gentle curve at the corner of his mouth.
Wu Huo hesitated for a long time upon hearing that Wu Yunfang could be saved. He also knew that, without finding the culprit, there was no way to find the precise remedy for the Flipping Gu, and the only method was this aggressive approach. He must have wavered between the choice of his daughter dying or a small chance of becoming an idiot for a long time, but in the end, he clenched his teeth and asked Ning Xiaoxian to proceed with the treatment.
"If she doesn’t get better, it is Heavenly Destiny. I shall accept whatever comes."
This old man still had quite a free-spirited aura about him.
Ning Xiaoxian dismissed everyone around, even asked Lord Wu to step out, before letting Miluo begin his work.
What he released was a tiny bug with a fearsome appearance, six legs protruding from its abdomen, and sharp fangs beneath its jaws. At first glance, it looked sinister, but its body was shimmering in gold, giving it the appearance of a nouveau riche.
"Is this the Gu King?" She was curious, wanting to reach out and grab it.
Miluo quickly stopped her: "Don’t touch it; this thing is untamable."
She withdrew her fingers, considering Miluo’s expertise in controlling insects, if he said it was wild, then it surely had a volatile temper.
Everyone inside and outside the God Demon Prison watched intently as the little bug groomed the whiskers on its head, meticulously cleaning its forelimbs and sharp jaws, and then... it stood still, seemingly waiting patiently.
Miluo took out a small bottle. "Feed it a drop of this Xuanhoney Dew. This lazy thing wants to bargain before starting work!" The latter sentence was a rebuke aimed at the Gu King.
Ning Xiaoxian did as instructed, pouring a drop of green dew onto the ground. The Gu King bowed its head and contentedly sucked the dew dry, then seemed very satisfied as it shook its head and wagged its tail. Without waiting for its master’s order, it automatically crawled into Wu Yunfang’s ear.
This little creature actually had human-like tendencies, demanding a bribe before starting work. She marveled at this.
Soon, Wu Yunfang’s body twitched, her brows furrowed, and she seemed to be in great pain. She soon made a humming sound. Since she was poisoned, she had mostly been quiet and still. Li Xianglian had intensified the Flipping Gu to its peak, causing her to fall into a coma shortly after becoming sick. Now that she was making noises, everyone’s faces, on the contrary, relaxed.
After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Wu Yunfang calmed down again, seemingly transitioning from hysteria straight into deep sleep. Her expression finally eased, and the Gu King emerged the way it had entered, clenching a plump Gu with its massive jaws. The Gu looked like an aphid, translucent and seemingly harmless, held still by the Gu King’s jaws, leaving it ambiguous whether it was alive or dead.
After the Gu King emerged, it paraded around a bit as if showing off, and then obediently let Miluo take it back. Where was the great cost he mentioned of "killing a thousand enemies, self-harming eight hundred"? As for the Flipping Gu, Ning Xiaoxian examined it several times before handing it over to Miluo—following the rules of their line of work, whoever catches the Gu owns it. The Gu King was very precise in its actions; this culprit was alive. (To be continued. If you like this work, please go to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation ticket, monthly ticket. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please go to m.qidian.com to read.)
