These words sounded like a taunt, but in fact, Second Young Master Liu really hadn’t studied poisonous insects much, and was able to prepare such bait in advance all thanks to the Southwest Garrison’s good collection of intelligence.

There were many garrison troops who had fought against Wumeng Yunyou, and they all had deep memories of the poisonous blue whip that could break apart and reconnect. Liu Xian’an had read through a thick pile of dictations, combined it with everyone’s descriptions, and deduced: “It must be some kind of insect rope.”

“It does make sense.” Liang Shu asked, “But what kind of insects are they?”

“A blue poisonous insect that has a hard shell and flies extremely fast in the air.” Liu Xian’an said, “I’ll have to think about it.”

He sat on a chair and began to concentrate on thinking. A guard didn’t understand, and asked in a whisper: “What is Second Young Master Liu doing?”

“Looking for books,” A-Ning replied. “Some books that are not commonly used are placed relatively deep, so he must look for them later.”

The guard: “…….”

He didn’t understand, and was greatly shaken.

A-Ning thought this was normal, because his young master had read so many books, a mountain of them, and they couldn’t all be piled up in one place. It was reasonable to build a library in the Three Thousand Worlds…..anyway, it must be more reasonable than building the prince’s hot spring pool that could fit giant birds.

The blue elytra was the answer that Second Young Master Liu found in his books. This type of poisonous insect was extremely rare, and also extremely difficult to train. It really took a lot of energy to train them into a steel whip that could shrink freely, so one could imagine Wumeng Yunyou’s mood at this time. He became angry with embarrassment and threw himself forward to take the bag back, but how could Liang Shu allow him to come closer? He raised his sword and sliced through the wind. The Imperial guard led Liu Xian’an and A-Ning to quickly withdraw to the other side, saying: “Young Master, don’t worry, he is not the prince’s opponent.”

The last time Wumeng Yunyou was outside Baihe City, he only exchanged a dozen quick moves with Liang Shu, and with Feng Xiaojin protecting him, so he didn’t have a deep understanding of his martial arts. He only knew that the other was truly tricky, but he had no personal experience until this time to know just how tricky he was. All of the previous plans and preparations were in vain. He didn’t even have time to release the rest of the poisonous insects, and was beaten to the point that he couldn’t fight back. In his frantic resistance, he staggered and almost fell down a cliff.

Facing the black longsword approaching in front of him, Wumeng Yunyou felt the rare emotion called “fear.” He covered his ribs that had been pierced by the sword and gritted his teeth, rushing down the cliff, but was grabbed by the back of the collar!

Ka-ching! There was a sharp collision of metal, and large sparks flashed in the cold winter night. Liang Shu restrained Wumeng Yunyou with one hand, and swung his sword with the other to block the hidden weapon in front of him. Under the moonlight, the man with a silver-white mask and a thin figure had a long, bright sword lying against the thin neck of the hostage in his hands.

Cheng Suyue was forced to tilt her head slightly. Her hands were tied behind her back, and she looked a little embarrassed.

Liang Shu’s pupils shrank slightly.

A-Ning said anxiously: “It’s Cheng-guniang!”

Liu Xian’an couldn’t hide his worry. Earlier, everyone was counting the days and wondering why Cheng Suyue didn’t meet up with the large army after so long. Gao Lin sent people to look for her, but they never thought that she had fallen into the Baifu Sect’s hands.

Wumeng Yunyou exclaimed happily: “Uncle!”

Feng Xiaojin negotiated terms with Liang Shu: “One for one.”

With a ball of cloth stuck in her mouth, Cheng Suyue struggled, “Mm-mm,” and seemed to be saying for Liang Shu not to care about her.

“All right.” Liang Shu took two steps forward with Wumeng Yunyou in his arms. “One for one.”

Cheng Suyue was also pushed to the front, and Feng Xiaojin held onto the rope behind her: “On the count of three, let go at the same time.”

He actually knew that Liang Shu didn’t care about this so-called “morality,” and if they let go at the same time, he might attack like a beast immediately, but this was the only way to save Wumeng Yunyou. He looked at Liang Shu, and Liang Shu looked at him. Both of them were calculating the final timing and distance in their minds.

“One, two—”

The moment “three” came out, Feng Xiaojin pushed the hostage forward violently, and at the same time, pulled at a knot with his left hand. The steel cable around Cheng Suyue’s neck tightened instantly, almost breaking bone! Her eyes widened at once and blood spilled from the corners of her mouth. Liang Shu was forced to release Wumeng Yunyou and cut the wire behind Cheng Suyue.

“Cheng-guniang!” Liu Xian’an hurried over with A-Ning. Liang Shu handed her over to them and looked to the other side. Feng Xiaojin had already disappeared into the night in a dark cloud.

“Your Highness.” A guard asked, “Do you want us to chase him?”

“You can’t catch up with him.” Liang Shu put his sword back into its sheath.

This was the truth, but it made everyone feel ashamed. One of them boldly said: “But both Wumeng Yunyou and Feng Xiaojin were injured by the prince. So they should……lay low for a while.” His voice became smaller and smaller, and in the end, there was no sound at all.

When Wumeng Yunyou was rescued, his body was covered in blood, and Feng Xiaojin also received a hit from Liang Shu in order to bring him to his side smoothly. From the perspective of ordinary people, the outcome of this battle was actually very obvious, but Liang Shu still looked gloomy, and the guards were so frightened that no one dared to speak on the way back.

Although it couldn’t be considered quiet, because New Year’s Eve was a good time to set off fireworks. The crackling caused Cheng Suyue to wake up. She opened her eyes and tried to talk, but her throat hurt like fire, and she couldn’t make a sound.

“Don’t push yourself!” A-Ning hurriedly stood beside her and held her down. “Cheng-guniang, your throat is seriously injured. You must take it easy for a while.”

Cheng Suyue tried to move her limbs. She still had strength, which instantly relieved her. The moment her spine tightened, she had thought that even if she kept the rest of her life, she would have to spend it lying down.

She turned her head to look at Liang Shu beside the bed.

“If you don’t have any information to report immediately, then just lie down and rest.” Liang Shu slowed down his voice. “Don’t think too much.”

Cheng Suyue nodded, opened her mouth, and let Liu Xian’an continue to apply medicine for her. Fighting, killing, wounding, fleeing, this New Year’s Eve was really not very good. It wasn’t until dawn that Liu Xian’an exited the room. He stood in the courtyard to exercise his sore muscles, and after exercising, he went straight to Liang Shu’s residence.

A-Ning: “…….”

I knew it.

Liang Shu wasn’t resting. He stretched out his hands and caught the person who was walking toward him, holding him in his arms for a while before asking: “How is A-Yue?”

“The neck injury is a bit serious, but her life has been saved, and she will recover slowly over time.” Liu Xian’an said, “Your Highness, don’t worry too much.”

A-Ning quickly boiled hot water and lit sleeping incense. This time, it was the scent of tea mixed with jasmine, and Liang Shu said: “It smells good.”

“I made it according to an ancient method,” Liu Xian’an said. “It is said that the court beauties of all dynasties favor it.”

He reached out and massaged Liang Shu’s temples: “Go to sleep.”

Liang Shu held his wrists: “I can’t sleep.”

You can’t sleep, but you must sleep. Liu Xian’an leaned up and took the other’s head into his arms, patting him.

Liang Shu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry: “Are you picking melons?”

“Shh, don’t talk.”

“…….”

The bed curtain swayed gently with the breeze. Liang Shu listened to his words and forced himself to relax. He closed his eyes in exhaustion and immediately fell into the austere fragrance.

Feng Xiaojin also dragged Wumeng Yunyou back to his residence.

Liu Hengchang was dispensing medicine in his room, and when he heard the movement, he went out to look and was truly surprised. Wumeng Yunyou was mortally wounded. The other witch doctors didn’t dare to slack off, and quickly carried him to the bed. Liu Hengchang helped Feng Xiaojin back to the room. After testing his pulse, he frowned and said: “The old injury hasn’t healed, so……lie down first, ba.”

While removing his bloody clothes for him, Liu Hengchang asked tentatively: “Was it Liang Shu who did it?”

“Yes.” Feng Xiaojin removed his mask, revealing a pale and bloodless face, and said hoarsely, “He’s really an eye for an eye, and took his revenge on the spot. I wounded one of his men and he nearly broke my throat at the same time.”

“The throat injury is not serious.” Liu Hengchang said, “In the next few days, you will need to eat soft meat paste, tofu, and porridge.”

“Tofu.” Feng Xiaojin laughed suddenly, with a somewhat unsettling bitter smile.

Liu Hengchang was puzzled. What was so ridiculous about tofu? He continued cautiously: “Young Master Feng doesn’t like to eat it?”

“It smells disgusting.” Feng Xiaojin leaned against the head of the bed. “Aren’t you disgusted by the fishy smell of tofu? That viscous liquid that flows to the ground, drawing flies to fly upwards.”

After that one sentence, Liu Hengchang also lost his appetite. Feng Xiaojin seemed to be drawn in by this memory. “I ate a lot of tofu, the unsellable stuff that was rotten, and also made a lot of it. In the winter months, I pushed the huge stone mill along with the animals.”

Liu Hengchang was a little excited to hear this, not about grinding tofu, but because the most mysterious master of the Baifu Sect was finally willing to talk about his past. He held his breath and didn’t dare say a word. But Feng Xiaojin didn’t want to say any more. He suppressed the discomfort in his stomach, opened a bottle of smelling salts, and tried his utmost to get himself away from the strong and persistent stench.

Liu Henchang added a few drops of head-cooling oil to the smelling salts for him: “I thought Young Master Feng had followed the Master since he was a child.”

Feng Xiaojin closed his eyes as if he hadn’t heard his words at all: “The Master should come soon. He will not allow Yunyou to be injured at this time, and will certainly try his best to treat him.”

“Ge!” As soon as he finished speaking, a young girl’s crisp voice sounded in the courtyard. Liu Hengchang turned his head and looked out the window. Following behind Wumeng Yunle was a middle-aged man in black. He was the Imperial court’s most wanted criminal, the leader of the Baifu Sect.

. . . . . . .

After New Year’s Eve, relatives were visited without end for the first, second, and third day, and in the blink of an eye, the year slipped to its end. 

Liang Shu and his party had already returned to Raven City. Song Changsheng took the concoctions prescribed by Liu Xian’an on time, and his physical condition was just barely stable, but the half-inch scar clawed by Wumeng Yunle’s nails never healed. Faint blue lines spread under the skin like a budding flower.

Gao Lin frowned: “What the hell is this?”

Liu Xian’an shook his head: “I don’t know. I asked Da-ge before, and he didn’t know either.”

Gao Lin thought to himself, isn’t this swordsmith doomed?

Liang Shu asked lightly: “You don’t know anything?”

Liu Xian’an replied, I don’t know at all.

The unknown poison was more frightening than a poison that killed people, because there was no guarantee if he would go crazy at any time or simply have his brain gnawed by Gu worms.

Liang Shu grabbed his shoulders: “Can you think of a way?”

Liu Xian’an said without thinking, I can.

Gao Lin listened in awe.

If you don’t know, you can find a way. Isn’t this the so-called miracle doctor?

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Chapter Eighty-Four << Table of Contents >> Chapter Eighty-Six