Wang Weizhi’s lips curled into a smirk. “You’re so sure the wagon isn’t filled with bones?”
“It’s not,” Lin Jiu replied firmly. “There wasn’t enough time for such a large-scale operation. He wouldn’t risk drawing too much attention.”
“‘He’? Who is ‘he’?” Wang Weizhi immediately caught the key point.
“Qin Yunxi,” Lin Jiu scoffed. “If I’m right, he likely stole some of the medicine and handed it to another group, luring them here to pit us against each other.”
Wang Weizhi’s narrow eyes gleamed dangerously. “And then he reaps the benefits? He dreams!”
With a metallic clang, the youth unsheathed his sword, leaped onto the overturned wagon, and easily kicked down several burly men who were hacking at it.
His bloodshot eyes opened wide as he gripped the sword with both hands and drove it straight down.
The sturdy hardwood splintered like silk under his thrust. With a sharp twist, he pried away a large section of the wagon. Countless small white medicine bottles tumbled out, rolling across the ground. Even if there were bones hidden beneath, finding them amidst the chaos would take time.
“It’s really medicine…”
“All medicine…”
Seizing the moment, Lin Jiu pinched her nose and shouted, “Oh, my heavens! These are priceless elixirs! So many of them! ”
The crowd stirred, their attention wholly drawn to the pile of white jade bottles.
Ji Yuan could no longer contain himself. He leaped forward like a giant bird, shielding the cluster of white bottles as if they were his brood. Greedily, he popped open several caps, downing three to five doses in quick succession.
As the medicine coursed through him, Ji Yuan’s appearance began to change. Two bulges appeared on his head, and a tail-like protrusion emerged under his clothes.
‘The medicine is indeed problematic!’
Wang Weizhi’s eye twitched uncontrollably as he resisted the urge to snatch the bottles, turning instead to glance at Lin Jiu.
Lin Jiu met his gaze. Taking a closer look, they both noticed faint bumps forming on each other’s foreheads.
Taking this ‘elixir’ was no different from drinking poison to quench thirst. Excessive use would gradually transform the body into something resembling the devil race, turning the user into a hunted outcast, further escalating the conflict. There had never been a genuine care of devil blood hidden in this secret realm—everything was designed by Huang Chuan.
To pass this trial, relying on these so-called ‘elixir’ isn’t an option!
Both Lin Jiu and Wang Weizhi understood this, but the searing pain in their bodies was unbearable. Their vision blurred as the crowd’s outlines dissolved into a haze. The cacophony of voices echoed endlessly in their minds, filling them with an overwhelming urge to tear everyone to bloody pieces!
“Move,” Wang Weizhi growled, his bloodshot eyes trembling as his fingers shook violently. An irresistible impulse almost made him lose control, and yet he did neither of the obvious—tearing apart the crowd or seizing the medicine—and instead retreated resolutely, pulling Lin Jiu into the throng.
At the same time, several cultivators rushed through the crowd, swords drawn, pointing them at Ji Yuan, who was sprawled on the ground greedily gulping down more medicine.
Lin Jiu and Wang Weizhi took advantage of the chaos to blend into the crowd unnoticed.
“This drug is contaminated! No one is allowed to touch it!” a cultivator’s voice trembled as he shouted, “Disperse! Go home, all of you! Leave! Now!”
Yet, the greedy, ravenous glint in his eyes betrayed his true intentions—it was clear to everyone that these cultivators wanted to claim the wagonloads of elixirs for themselves.
Ji Yuan, proud and domineering by nature, obviously would not tolerate anyone coveting ‘his’ elixirs, especially now that he had experienced how they could relieve the torment of devil blood burning his body. Without delay, he opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of venomous devil blood, which coalesced into a sinister blood serpent. The serpent hissed menacingly, rearing its head in a poised attack stance.
The surrounding mob, all but regular people, screamed in terror, pushing and shoving as they fled.
Lin Jiu’s heart skipped a beat. She wanted to take a closer look, but suddenly, she felt a tight grip on her wrist.
Wang Weizhi had seized her.
She glanced at him in surprise, only to see his bloodshot eyes glint oddly and his breathing labored.
They were carried away by the panicked crowd, like castaways adrift in a boundless ocean. An unfamiliar, all-consuming thirst overwhelmed them, yet the ‘water’ rushing around them was undrinkable!
Meeting Wang Weizhi’s gaze, Lin Jiu felt her throat tighten. Instinct whispered that there was another way to slightly ease the burning pain of devil blood coursing through them, and that was…
Her vision was filled with an overwhelming crimson haze. In this distorted, blurred world, the only thing clear was the figure of Wang Weizhi, exuding great temptation from head to toe.
Taking a deep breath, Lin Jiu absentmindedly followed Wang Weizhi back to the opulent little pavilion. At some point, the black crow had emerged from beneath her robe, perching on her shoulder, its cold black eyes fixed on the dazed pair.
Wang Weizhi’s calloused, long fingers maintained an iron-strong clamp around Lin Jiu’s wrist. It wasn’t until they entered the pavilion and he turned to shut the door that she managed to awkwardly free herself from his grasp.
“Wang Weizhi, calm down.”
“Why should I?” The youth’s bloodshot eyes burned even brighter, his response both casual and dismissive as he started to undress himself.
Then, he pressed forward step by step, forcing Lin Jiu to instinctively step back until her heel caught on the short stool by the grand bed, causing her to tumble backward into the soft mattress.
The black crow took a few hops, then flew to the jade pillow, his gaze growing icier with each passing second, frustrated by this frail body’s inability to stop the unfolding scene.
He considered leaving, planning to deal with these two ‘adulteries’ once they exited the secret realm. Yet, a persistent thread of unwillingness held a grip on him, compelling him to stay and witness firsthand just what shameful acts they might commit under his very eyes.
After hundreds, even thousands of years of stillness, he once again could suddenly feel his heart pounding fiercely in his chest once more.
Standing by the bed, the already half-naked figure of Wang Weizhi loomed with palpable vitality. His bare chest was quite muscled, adding to his already strong presence. Unlike Wei Liang’s icy presence, Wang Weizhi resembled a smoldering volcano—his oppressive heat was undeniable, even at a distance.
“Still not undressing? Do you need me to help you?” Wang Weizhi’s lips curled into a domineering smile, his tone sharp and unyielding. “But if I do it, I can’t guarantee your clothes will stay intact.”
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Author’s Note:
Wei Liang: “Author, come here. Let’s have a ‘talk’.”
With a blank look, the author silently hurled one Jiu at Wei Liang.
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