Chapter 173
Chapter 173
Ren Fengjue called out twice without receiving an answer, and unease began to rise within him.
He did not dare loosen his grip, but he could not stop himself from edging several steps toward where Xia Ximo stood.
The darkness around him was absolute. He could see nothing.
Fortunately, he still remembered her approximate position, and the two of them had not been far apart.
He suddenly brushed against her and immediately halted.
“Miss Xia!”
Even in the darkness, he could clearly hear the joy spilling through his own voice.
But she still did not answer. She merely stood there, utterly motionless.
Realizing that something was wrong, Ren Fengjue reached out and touched her gently.
The next instant, her limp body collapsed into his arms.
Inside the array, Yan Zhengchu’s soul witnessed everything before him and stood rooted to the spot, at a complete loss.
Tianwen’s primordial spirit had turned to ash right before his eyes.
When he finally recovered from his shock, his legs gave way and he dropped to the ground.
The woman in red turned and looked at him. There was something familiar about her.
Yan Zhengchu recognized her at once.
“That night… you really did come to my room! I wasn’t dreaming!”
He was so excited that his words tumbled out incoherently. Without thinking, he asked, “Who exactly are you?”
The moment the question left his mouth, he regretted it and hurriedly covered his lips.
He feared that learning too much might get him silenced forever.
The woman in red naturally gave him no answer. She merely walked over and looked down at him with the same haughty gaze, asking in return, “Once we leave, you know what you should and shouldn’t say, don’t you?”
Yan Zhengchu blinked, then nodded furiously. “I know, I know! I definitely won’t say anything reckless in front of the Young Marquis!”
Afraid that this was not enough to satisfy her, he hurriedly added, “I won’t say anything in front of anyone!”
The woman in red nodded in satisfaction. Without another word, she bent slightly and grabbed him by the front of his robe…
Daoist Yan’s nerves pulled taut with fear. But the next instant, his entire soul suddenly grew light, and she flung him out of the array.
“…”
Light gradually returned to the cave.
It was as though a bank of haze had dispersed, allowing the faint glow from above to filter in once more.
Yan Zhengchu abruptly regained consciousness, only to find a stiffened Corpse Worm directly before his eyes. He recoiled so violently that a whole layer of Corpse Worms tumbled from his body.
“!”
Seeing the Corpse Worms heaped like a mountain at his feet, Daoist Yan hurriedly stamped and shook them off, his skin crawling with revulsion.
Then he felt that Ren Fengjue was still holding the other end of the Ink Line and was about to tell him to reel it in.
But the moment he looked over, he stopped short.
Ren Fengjue held the Ink Line tightly in one hand while his other arm cradled Xia Ximo against his chest.
After sending her soul out of her body, Xia Ximo had yet to wake.
Lord Ren knew nothing of what had happened. Hearing Yan Zhengchu stir, he immediately called, “Daoist Master, take a look at Miss Xia…”
“…”
The memory of what he had just witnessed inside the array still left Yan Zhengchu faintly unnerved.
He reluctantly gave her a glance. “There is no need to worry, Young Marquis. Miss Xia is blessed by fortune. Even King Yan…”
Before he could finish, Xia Ximo opened her eyes.
Daoist Yan awkwardly fell silent. He reeled the Ink Line directly from Ren Fengjue’s hand, then turned to check on Li Cheng and Ge Chuan.
Fortunately, the two men had merely fainted from fright and had not been harmed by the Corpse Worms.
Daoist Yan breathed a slight sigh of relief. But when he looked toward Tianwen’s body, his feelings became complicated.
With its primordial spirit destroyed, the body had become a corpse and was rapidly aging.
It had looked only around thirty moments ago. In the blink of an eye, it became the body of a white-haired old man in his seventies.
“Martial Uncle Tianwen, you committed so many atrocities for the sake of this fleshly shell. Yet in the end, don’t you still return to dust and earth?”
He sighed, overcome by a faint sense of melancholy.
When Xia Ximo woke and discovered that she was lying in Ren Fengjue’s arms, she too was momentarily startled.
The concern in his eyes immediately turned to delight when he saw her awaken.
“You’re awake…”
“Mm.”
Xia Ximo tried to rise, only to find that she could summon no strength in her arms or legs. Confusion flickered through her.
From inside the Soul-Ferrying Lantern, Wuyou explained, “You are in a mortal body now. How could it possibly allow your soul to come and go at will without suffering any consequences?”
“Besides, you expended so much soul power. You will need to rest for a while before you can slowly recover.”
Xia Ximo frowned slightly at Wuyou’s words.
Ren Fengjue had been watching her every movement and hurriedly asked, “Are you all right?”
She answered frankly, “I can’t move.”
Ren Fengjue immediately understood and lifted her into his arms.
Surrounded by his familiar scent, Xia Ximo felt an inexplicable sense of peace. Exhausted, she rested her head against his shoulder.
Lord Ren’s hold involuntarily tightened.
* * *
Inside Yunjian Inn, Axia carried a bowl of pitch-black liquid over to Yu Lang.
Vice Minister Yu had stubbornly refused to return to his guest room to rest, so everyone had let him sleep sprawled over a table in the common room for an entire day and night.
Yan Zhengchu followed behind Axia with a small jar in hand. One look at Yu Lang’s complexion told him that they could delay no longer.
“Wake him and pour the medicine down his throat.”
Axia did not dare hesitate. He stepped forward and shook the sleeping Yu Lang. “Young Master Yu, wake up!”
Even after being shaken several times, Yu Lang did not respond at all. He showed no sign of waking.
Yan Zhengchu shook his head helplessly and motioned to him. “Just roll up his sleeve.”
Once the sleeve was pulled back, a large and ghastly wound came into view. It was not only beginning to rot, but also giving off a faint stench.
Yan Zhengchu frowned. “No wonder he won’t wake. The wound is already festering.”
He instructed Axia, “Hold him down. If he struggles in a moment, you must not let go.”
“Yes.”
Yan Zhengchu took some black ash from the jar and, without a moment’s hesitation, sprinkled it directly over Yu Lang’s wound.
The sleeping Yu Lang immediately let out a howl of agony and nearly sprang to his feet.
Axia had not expected such a violent reaction and tightened his grip.
Yu Lang bared his teeth in pain but finally regained consciousness.
The sight of black smoke rising from the wound on his arm terrified him.
“Daoist Master, what’s wrong with my arm? It hurts so much!”
Even Yan Zhengchu winced at the sight, but his expression remained stern. “Once all the gu poison has been forced from your body, it will stop hurting.”
Then he brought the bowl of pitch-black liquid to Yu Lang’s lips. “Here. Drink it.”
“…”
Yu Lang took one glance and recoiled. “What is this now?”
“The antidote. Hurry up and drink.”
Only after hearing that it was an antidote did Yu Lang steel himself and lean forward. But one sniff was enough to defeat him again.
“Just let me die…”
On the verge of tears, he asked in despair, “What foul thing was this made from?”
Axia, who had brewed the medicine, immediately looked troubled.
“Young Master Yu, I advise you not to ask…”
“…”
Yu Lang looked at Yan Zhengchu again. The latter gave him an inscrutable nod.
“Drink it while it is still warm. It will be even harder to swallow once it cools.”
Left with no choice, Vice Minister Yu suppressed his nausea and gulped down the black broth in one go.
A moment later, his stomach began churning violently, and he vomited without end.
After an unknown length of time, the wound finally stopped hurting and his senses grew clear again. His entire body, however, felt strangely weightless.
As though he were about to ascend to heaven…
Still unwilling to let the matter go, Yu Lang grabbed Axia and asked once more, “Tell me what it was. Let me at least die knowing…”
Axia looked guilty and stammered for a long while. “What we put on your wound was… the ashes of the Gu King’s corpse…”
“And what you drank was… a broth brewed from the corpse ash mixed with talisman water…”
Yu Lang’s eyes rolled back, and he nearly passed out again.