Chapter 30

Chapter 30

Fang Yuan wanted to trade my life for medicine to extend his own!

And in this Wufu Town, who would have Fang Yuan’s life-saving medicine while also wanting me dead?

The more I thought about it, the more alarmed I became. What an elaborate game they were playing!

I had clearly warned myself before, but in the end, I still couldn’t guard against everything.

Who could have expected this?

As time passed, more and more cracks appeared on my body.

The flesh was turning outward, oozing dark pus and blood. In the worst spots, my skin even showed signs of peeling off.

By now, Li Qingying had also realized what was happening. “It’s that guy named Fang Yuan, isn’t it? Don’t you have his contact information? I’ll go find him right now!”

“It’s him, but it’s not just him,” I said. “There’s someone behind him.”

Li Qingying asked, “Who?”

I said decisively, “The Bai Family.”

“The Bai Family that runs the Medical Hall in town?” Li Qingying gripped her whip, ready to head out. “I’ll go get the Antidote for you! If they don’t give it up, I’ll tear that Medical Hall apart!”

“Sister Qingying!” I called out to stop her. “Don’t be impulsive. They want us to lose our cool. If we don’t have any trump cards and just go to them now, we’ve already lost.”

Li Qingying was so angry her whole body was tense, and the veins on her forehead were bulging. “But how can I stay calm when you’re like this? Xiao Jiu, they want your life!”

I still shook my head. “Sister Qingying, I won’t die.”

“If the Bai Family simply wanted a corpse, I’m afraid I would already be stiff by now,” I analyzed patiently for her. “They want to use me for a Sacrifice. They want to nail me alive into a Red Coffin. As long as I can hold out, they’ll be the ones who get anxious.”

Li Qingying said heart-wrenchingly, “But you… how can you endure this?”

I thought for a long time. How could I save myself?

What was the Bai Family afraid of?

Or rather, what were the Five Immortals who committed those sins back then afraid of?

Why did they seal one Pure Yin Body after another into Red Coffins, lock them with iron chains, and sink them into the Zhu Pan River?

In the Zhu Pan River, besides those eight Red Coffins and Fu Wan, there was also… Zhao Zixun!

At this thought, I had a sudden epiphany. Yes, Zhao Zixun!

I immediately opened the box I had brought back from the Opera Stage, placed the Town Chronicle into Li Qingying’s hands, and said solemnly, “Sister Qingying, please make a trip to the Medical Hall for me. Hand this Town Chronicle to the Bai Family members personally. Tell them that if they don’t want the Lingchi Blade to see the light of day again, I want to see the Antidote before the rooster crows.”

Li Qingying took the Town Chronicle and prepared to leave.

I stopped her again and urged, “Sister Qingying, you must stay calm. Just deliver the message. Do not get into any arguments with the Bai Family.”

Li Qingying nodded. “Don’t worry, Xiao Jiu.”

With that, she hurried off with the Town Chronicle, disappearing into the night.

The cracks on my body were increasing. Black blood soaked my clothes, and my entire body was in pain.

I fumbled for two Painkillers and swallowed them, then sat in the room counting the time.

Actually, I was still a bit worried. Sister Qingying was great in every way, but she had a fiery temper. I was afraid the Bai Family members would deliberately provoke her, causing her to lose her composure and ruin the plan.

I was even more afraid that I had gambled wrong.

I had studied that Town Chronicle carefully. In my understanding, Zhao Zixun stood on the same side as Chen Ping. So why did the Five Immortals use Red Coffins to sink Pure Yin bodies into the Zhu Pan River?

Wasn’t it to suppress something?

I was betting that this suppression was related to Chen Ping and Zhao Zixun!

If I gambled wrong, then it was just my bad luck.

But what if I was right?

This was the only way I could think of to save myself right now.

As I was thinking, I suddenly heard hurried footsteps outside. My heart skipped a beat, and I stood up to head toward the Southern Study.

Just as I reached the door, I saw Li Qingying sprinting from the east.

In the dark night, something white was chasing behind her.

Once Li Qingying entered the range of the Pawnshop’s lights, those white shapes in the darkness quickly retreated.

As soon as Li Qingying came inside, I asked, “Sister Qingying, how did it go?”

“I didn’t provoke them,” Li Qingying said. “I delivered the item, left the message, and turned to leave. They chased after me, wanting to fight, but I dodged them.”
I let out a sigh of relief. “It’s good that you dodged it.”

“But…” Li Qingying’s face was full of uncertainty. “Will the Bai Family really give us the Antidote?”

I didn’t know either. At this point, we could only take it one step at a time. “Sister Qingying, go to sleep first. If the Antidote hasn’t arrived by dawn, we’ll think of something else.”

Li Qingying shook her head repeatedly. “I’m not sleeping. I’m staying with you.”

The night felt incredibly long.

Especially as my entire body continued to crack, weeping pus and blood.

Li Qingying wished she could suffer in my place, but there was nothing she could do.

Several times, she stood outside the threshold clutching her Long Whip, nearly reaching her breaking point and ready to go fight the Bai Family members to the death.

We waited like this until three in the morning.

By then, I had started coughing up blood. The pain in my internal organs felt as if they were being crushed and ground together.

Right then, footsteps finally echoed from outside.

On the deserted street, the footsteps sounded weak and unsteady. The closer they got to the Pawnshop, the more hesitant and stagnant they became.

When the figure finally came into view, Li Qingying saw who it was. Without a word, she charged forward with her Long Whip in hand.

The sharp crack of the whip followed by a man’s shrill, agonizing howls rang out through almost all of Wufu Town.

Sitting behind the counter, I listened to Fang Yuan’s screams-which sounded like he might breathe his last at any moment-and the stifling tension in my chest finally eased.

In that moment, a sliver of satisfaction welled up in my heart!

Those who harm me should be made to pay the price!

But it wasn’t enough. Not nearly enough.

Fang Yuan appearing at this time was proof enough that I had won my gamble.

This was the Bai Family’s compromise.

It seemed Zhao Zixun’s deterrent power over them was quite strong.

Since they could compromise, there was room for further negotiation.

Outside, the Long Whip struck flesh again and again.

Fang Yuan had been beaten to the ground. He crawled toward the Pawnshop, covered in blood, wailing as he moved, “Shopkeeper Xiao Jiu, I was wrong! I was forced into this!”

“Sister Qingying,” I finally called out. “Let him in.”

Li Qingying grabbed Fang Yuan by the back of his collar and dragged him into the Pawnshop like a dead dog.

Trembling, Fang Yuan pulled a small medicine bottle from his robes. Li Qingying snatched it away before planting her foot on Fang Yuan’s right hand, grinding it down hard. “Speak. Who sent you to deliver the medicine? Is there something wrong with it?”

“It’s from the Bai Family,” Fang Yuan said, enduring the pain. “I swear on my life, if there’s anything wrong with this Antidote, may Heaven strike me down with a bolt of lightning and grant me a miserable death.”

Li Qingying gave a cold sneer. “I doubt you’d have the guts.”

I reached out and took the bottle. I opened it and swallowed the pill without hesitation.

Since the Bai Family had compromised, they wouldn’t dare tamper with the Antidote.

The pill melted the moment it hit my tongue. A medicinal fragrance rushed into my internal organs, and the pain throughout my body vanished instantly. My cracked skin began to heal at a rate visible to the naked eye.

In less than two or three minutes, I was fully recovered.

Seeing that the Antidote had worked, Fang Yuan began to beg for help. “Shopkeeper Xiao Jiu, believe me, I really was forced. Only the Bai Family’s medicine can save me. I had no choice, I-”

“Throw him out,” I said coldly.

Li Qingying was reluctant. “Xiao Jiu, are we really letting this brat off that easily?”

Seeing that I didn’t respond, Li Qingying could only grit her teeth and toss Fang Yuan out onto the street before slamming the door shut.

The moment he was thrown out, Fang Yuan began crawling back toward the Pawnshop like a madman, pounding on the door and crying for help.

Only then did I speak. “He’s just a dog of the Bai Family. Since he failed to handle the task his masters gave him, the Bai Family will deal with him themselves. There’s no need to get our hands dirty.”

Not long after, a rooster crowed.

Outside, Fang Yuan’s pleas for help stopped abruptly.

The whole world fell silent.

Li Qingying and I returned to our respective rooms.

I took a thorough bath and leaned against the headboard to check my phone. I found a reply from my Senior Sister:

[It’s a genuine piece from the early Qing Dynasty, and it’s been used as an offering before a Buddha. On the open market, the highest value is a hundred thousand. Through the underground channels, I can help you get three hundred thousand. Junior Sister, are you selling?]