No one knew how much time had passed before the child on the ground stopped rolling around.
The lame woman couldn’t bear to watch and closed her eyes. Just then, someone behind her suddenly said, “It’s done—Xiao Si’s skin has really healed.”
The lame woman opened her eyes and saw Xiao Si lying on the ground, blood mixed with torn flesh, but it was only clinging to the surface of his skin.
And Xiao Si’s entire skin was like that of a newborn—no scars whatsoever.
By now, Xiao Si no longer felt pain. He climbed up from the ground, unable to believe it as he touched himself all over, then hurriedly moved to kneel. “Thank you, Immortal, for saving my life. Thank you, Immortal.”
Before he could even kneel fully, a gentle column of water lifted him up.
Shen Qinghe didn’t mind that the child’s hair was full of straw. She patted his head and said softly, “No need to thank me. You’re a brave and kind child. Take these three High-grade Spirit Stones.”
Xiao Si quickly shook his head. “The Immortal has already saved me—I can’t accept more.”
Shen Qinghe smiled. “If you want to show gratitude, then distribute the pills and spirit stones.”
Xiao Si nodded seriously and took them with careful hands.
Shen Qinghe swept a cold glance over the restless people behind him and said in a stern voice, “I’ve given the items. Everyone line up to take them. If anyone dares to snatch, I’ll make them return to their original state.”
A few who had been especially eager to get the Medicinal Pills instantly behaved themselves.
Chu Yueshuang’s voice was faint. “Qinghe, you don’t have to do this. They’re timid now only because they’re mortals. If they were in our position, they’d do far worse than us.”
Shen Qinghe said, “Right now, I am the strong one, and I have the power. So I have the right to set the rules and the right to uphold the kindness I wish to see.”
Her voice was soft, yet every word carried weight.
Chu Yueshuang pressed her lips together, her gaze complicated, and said no more.
After handling the affairs of the medicine people, they searched for a while longer and confirmed there were no other conscious individuals.
“Say, what if we suddenly pass out too?” Shen Qinghe muttered. It would be a lie to say she wasn’t afraid.
Lizhu said, “That won’t happen.”
Shen Qinghe looked at him in confusion. “How can you be so sure?”
Lizhu took out a medicine bottle. “Even if you took this, I could still wake you up.”
Shen Qinghe’s apricot-like eyes widened slightly in surprise. The medicine bottle in his hand was none other than the Spirit Gathering Pill that the Vice Sect Master had distributed earlier.
Chu Yueshuang took it, opened it, and sniffed. “There’s nothing wrong with this Spirit Gathering Pill.”
Suddenly, her brows furrowed. “Something’s off.”
She squeezed it, and inside the Spirit Gathering Pill was a tiny black particle, like a seed.
“This is what put them into a coma,” Chu Yueshuang said with an ugly expression. “If my sense of smell weren’t ten times sharper than others’, I wouldn’t have detected the problem either.”
Shen Qinghe looked at the man beside her in shock. “You knew? Then why did you still eat it?”
Lizhu: “You told me to.”
Shen Qinghe: “…”
Would he even eat poison if she fed it to him?
Chu Yueshuang, meanwhile, stared at Lizhu in horror. “This is a seed of the Illusory Magic Flower. If the one who takes it doesn’t get the poison removed in time, a coma is the least of it—the person will slowly become nourishment for the Illusory Magic Flower and die completely without even realizing it.”
Shen Qinghe looked at Lizhu in a panic. “What do we do? Can you still throw it up?”
Lizhu shook his head. “No.”
Shen Qinghe was frantic. “Then what do we do? Will something happen to you?”
Lizhu: “No.”
Shen Qinghe finally breathed a sigh of relief, then said seriously to Lizhu, “Next time, if there’s something wrong with what I give you to eat, you must tell me, understand?”
“Okay.” He agreed readily.
Chu Yueshuang hesitated as she looked at Lizhu.
The seeds of the Illusory Magic Flower only feed on human life…
She wanted to say something, but when she met those pitch-black eyes, she silently closed her mouth.
Shen Qinghe said, “Speaking of which, I don’t see your master.”
Only then did Chu Yueshuang dare to speak: “My master is traveling outside. I just sent him a Thousand-Mile Transmission. He should be back soon.”
Shen Qinghe nodded, then looked at the unconscious crowd. “How do we wake up the unconscious people now?”
Chu Yueshuang bit her lip. “I remember there’s an antidote for the Illusory Magic Flower recorded in ancient books. I’ll go try it.”
“But alchemy won’t succeed right now…” Shen Qinghe said worriedly.
Chu Yueshuang’s voice was firm: “I have to try anyway. What if it works?”
Spirit Medicine Valley was very unsafe right now. The three of them were like a small group wrapped in fog.
Shen Qinghe sat outside the alchemy room, analyzing with Lizhu: “The person behind this must know Spirit Medicine Valley very well, and also know that Chu Yueshuang’s sense of smell is better than others, so they didn’t give her the Spirit Gathering Pill with the Illusory Magic Flower seeds in it.”
Lizhu nodded. “Right.”
Shen Qinghe continued, “Also, this person must be skilled in alchemy and participated in making the Spirit Gathering Pill. Since this pill was given to everyone by the deputy valley master, it must be someone familiar with the deputy valley master.”
Lizhu nodded again. “Right.”
Seeing how calm and composed he was, Shen Qinghe couldn’t help but ask, “Do you know who did it?”
Lizhu said, “I do.”
Shen Qinghe’s eyes widened. “Then who exactly did it?”
This time, Lizhu didn’t answer so readily. Instead, he said, “Why should I tell you?”
Shen Qinghe tugged at his sleeve. “Lizhu-gege, tell me, please. I have your baby in my belly. If I worry too much, it’s not good for the baby’s growth. Whatever I want to know, you have to tell me right away.”
Lizhu looked at her belly doubtfully. “Really?”
“Of course.” Shen Qinghe nodded immediately, raising her hand at the same time. “I swear by my Inner Demon that a pregnant woman worrying too much will definitely affect the baby. If I’m lying, I’ll…”
Before she could finish, her mouth was covered. Lizhu said, “I believe you.”
Shen Qinghe blinked, quite pleased with herself.
Anyway, even if she said it, there would be no consequences. She wasn’t actually pregnant.
Lizhu said, “It was Chu Yueshuang.”
Shen Qinghe: “!!”
She froze, then glanced at the tightly shut alchemy room and instinctively moved closer to him.
“Are you joking?”
Lizhu said, “I’m not joking.”
The door to the alchemy room slowly opened at some point. A girl surrounded by black aura walked out slowly, her eyes filled with bloodshot red, her voice deep and heavy. “I thought I could hide it from you.”
Shen Qinghe didn’t understand. “Chu Yueshuang, why would you do this?”
Chu Yueshuang’s expression was complicated. “I had no choice.
Shen Qinghe, I actually like you quite a bit and wanted to be friends with you, but the plan is about to succeed…
I’m sorry, but I can’t let you leave here alive.”
Shen Qinghe immediately hid behind Lizhu, as if with him there, she was afraid of nothing.
Chu Yueshuang smiled eerily. “I heard everything you two just said. Lizhu, she’s not actually pregnant with your child, ah…”
Chu Yueshuang’s expression suddenly turned extremely unpleasant. Flames wrapped around her body, and she fell to her knees. Her body seemed to be consumed by raging fire—within just a few moments, she burned to ashes.
A gust of wind blew past, scattering the ashes until nothing remained.
Shen Qinghe stared at the scene in shock, then looked at the calm-faced Lizhu: “What happened to her? Why did she just… vanish after saying one sentence?”
Lizhu said indifferently, “Because she called my name.”
Shen Qinghe didn’t understand: “Why would calling your name cause this to happen?”
Lizhu looked at her, but instead of explaining, he said, “She said you’re not carrying my child.”
The temperature around them gradually grew scorching hot.