Chapter 523
Chapter 523
The next morning, Princess Ning Yan finally showed her face. She was, as ever, a person who put on a strong front to hide a soft heart. Facing Mulan, she postured as if to say, ‘I’ve stolen your man, what are you going to do about it?’ but the hand holding her chopsticks was trembling.
“My love, how far along is our ship?”
Mulan’s eyes lit up as she replied.
“It’s mostly complete.”
Shen Lang had promised her that once he eliminated the Third Prince and the Crown Prince and successfully placed Ning Zheng on the throne, they would sail around the world together. Mulan was looking forward to that day more than anything. Shen Lang had spent a fortune—one hundred and fifty thousand gold coins—to build this unprecedented vessel. The sum had made Huang Dong’s eyelids twitch, and he had cautiously asked Shen Lang what the ship was for. Shen Lang had answered confidently.
“For leisure.”
Huang Dong’s eyes had widened as if they would pop out, and he had managed to reply.
“Leisure is… very good.”
In the end, the Heavenly Path Society fronted the entire one hundred and fifty thousand gold coins for the ship. Huang Dong truly couldn’t imagine that someone who squandered a fortune so naturally could exist in this world. The sons of wealthy families might spend a thousand gold coins at most in one go, but this Master Shen Lang casually threw around sums of a hundred thousand, or even several hundred thousand. But what was more astonishing was that Shen Lang was not only brazen when spending his own money, but even more so when spending others’. It was as if money was just for spending, regardless of its origin. Of course, the value Shen Lang created was so immense that the Heavenly Path Society had always complied with his requests. What was a little extra money when you could gain an overwhelming, strategic position in the world of merchants?
Shen Lang calculated inwardly before speaking.
“By the time I get rid of Ning Yi and Ning Qi, our ship should be finished. The timing is perfect. We’ll set sail for distant shores then.”
“I’m coming too.”
Ning Yan suddenly interjected.
“I want to go too,” Jin Mucong added.
Mulan immediately threw her chopsticks at Jin Mucong’s head, chiding him.
“It’s because of your uselessness that my husband is still running around so busy. If you had any ability, I’d have been enjoying myself with him abroad for the last six months.”
Jin Mucong quickly ducked his head and shut his mouth completely.
*Hah! Why do they insist on making me the Marquis of Xuanwu? My dream, Jin Mucong’s dream, is to become a great master of a generation. My goal is for my novels to be found wherever people gather.*
Meanwhile, Ning Yan grit her teeth and kicked Shen Lang under the table. She believed Mulan was hitting Jin Mucong as a display for her. Mulan clearly wanted to hit her instead. Her guess was correct, but Shen Lang could never take her side. In front of his wife, he was a very fragile man.
***
From the underground chamber came a sound like the roaring of a wild beast. Sword King Li Qianqiu was feeding his wife, but she remained in a furious rage. She had grown accustomed to eating like an animal, spilling her food on the floor and lapping it up with her mouth. The Sword King, of course, couldn't bear to see that, so he tried to feed her with a spoon, which had sent her into a fit, striking and screaming at him.
Shen Lang remembered that she hadn't been so far gone before; she had retained a sliver of sanity. But in the few months he hadn't seen her, she had completely devolved into a beast, losing all reason. Still, Shen Lang understood why her condition had worsened. Previously, Li Qianqiu had cared for her with meticulous attention, allowing her to hold onto that small bit of rationality despite the deep poisoning. But for the past few months, the Sword King had been constantly at Shen Lang’s side, busy helping him. Without her husband’s care, the Sword King’s wife had lost that last trace of humanity and regressed into a complete animal.
In an instant, Shen Lang was overcome with shame. He had no real authority to command the Sword King, and certainly no right to make him leave his wife’s side. The Sword King was a man of his word; he had helped Shen Lang tirelessly all this time, trusting only in his promise. As things stood, the Sword King owed Shen Lang nothing. On the contrary, one could say Shen Lang owed him a great deal. Without the Sword King's protection, Shen Lang would have been a cold corpse ten times over by now. Shen Lang believed there were people in this world one should never disappoint, and at the top of that list were earnest, decent people.
It took a tremendous effort for the Sword King to finish feeding his wife a single bowl of food. Though he was a Grandmaster, the ordeal left him drenched in sweat.
Shen Lang said to him, “Senior Sword King, there is something I must tell you.”
Sword King Li Qianqiu nodded.
“The Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion is a formidable place. They must have had a way to save your wife—a conventional one. My reason for sending your wife there was in the hope that they would intervene. I believed your wife had some connection, however small, to the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion.”
“I understand what you were thinking.”
“But the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion never stepped in to help.”
Sword King Li Qianqiu sighed. It was not a sigh of blame or resentment. It was a sigh that meant he knew he wasn’t valuable enough for them to feel the need to help. Perhaps in their eyes, Li Qianqiu was worth even less than Yan Nanfei. Was it because Yan Nanfei had ordered Xue Xue to poison his wife that the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion had stayed their hand?
In truth, it was only natural that they didn't intervene. Neither Shen Lang nor Sword King Li Qianqiu had any right to demand their help, because the Pavilion owed them nothing. This fact proved that the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion was no sacred ground, and that their actions were not above worldly concerns.
The Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion was much like a top university. Whether you were a farmer or a vagrant, you could enter its grounds, read books in its libraries, and even sit in on lectures. At that moment, you might feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude, thinking, *This university is truly magnificent, a sacred place, so free and equal.* But if you tried to enter the library, a cold-faced security guard would always stop you. And when a politician visited or during a school festival, you wouldn’t even be allowed past the campus gates. Only then would you realize that you were never truly welcome.
Of course, there was nothing wrong with that policy. Shen Lang simply should never have held any expectations for the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion. In fact, he had thought they would see him as an exceptional genius, but that wasn't the case at all. To them, even someone like Sword King Li Qianqiu was an insignificant figure, not even worth a mention.
Shen Lang continued, “Since the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion wouldn’t save your wife, we must now use my method. But this method may involve taking a risk!”
“Do it.”
“The venomous parasites in your wife’s body can, in theory, be drawn out using the essence of Big Dummy’s golden bloodline.”
Hearing this, Big Dummy, who was standing nearby, immediately drew a knife and prepared to cut his own vein to draw blood.
“Big Dummy, not so fast.”
Shen Lang quickly stopped him and continued speaking to the Sword King.
“But the biggest problem now is that those parasites have become a part of your wife’s body, even a source of energy that sustains her life. It’s like draining all the venom from a highly venomous snake; the snake would become weak and die.”
The Sword King’s wife was now a venomous person, like a poisonous serpent, her body filled with toxins. She was kept in a cage because she had lost her mind. But remarkably, when Sword King Li Qianqiu approached her, she would hit and curse him but never bite. In contrast, if anyone else came near, she would immediately bite with all her might. Her teeth were full of potent venom, and a bite from her could be fatal. So, even though she had lost her reason, she instinctively knew Li Qianqiu was someone close to her and refrained from biting him.
“Therefore, we must eliminate the potent toxins in her body without expelling the parasites. The only way I can think of is to fight poison with poison. I’ve experimented before, and the parasites from Divine Maiden Xue Yin’s body are antagonistic to the ones in your wife’s body. We can use them to suppress the poison of the existing parasites. So, I will inject a large amount of neurotoxic parasites into your wife’s body. However, there’s a possibility that she could die from the neurotoxin before the current poison is neutralized. I am about seventy percent confident. Should I proceed?”
“Try it. Right now!”
“But there is a thirty percent risk. If my method fails, your wife could die instantly.”
“I believe in fate. Besides, I, Li Qianqiu, have never harmed a soul in my life. I believe the heavens will aid me.”
Shen Lang took a deep breath and said, “Very well. We will begin immediately.”
***
He had simply said the method to save the Sword King’s wife was to fight poison with poison, but the entire process was incredibly complex. It required parasites from a generation older than the current neurotoxic ones. He had to start with the first-generation parasites from Divine Maiden Xue Yin’s body, as their power was far greater. Then, as the poison in the Sword King’s wife’s body gradually receded, he would need to inject second- and third-generation neurotoxic parasites. The slightest misstep was not an option, as it could kill her instantly.
“Senior Sword King, please carry your wife to the bed, seal all her acupoints to immobilize her, and then bind her with iron chains.”
Sword King Li Qianqiu did as Shen Lang instructed, but it took a tremendous amount of effort. He had to be extremely gentle and careful with every movement so as not to injure his wife. A full quarter of an hour later, the Sword King’s wife was finally bound to the bed, unable to move. Every breath she exhaled was tinged with blue, a clear sign of poison.
Shen Lang put on a protective suit and a respirator. Then, he took out a syringe needle. Inside was about one milliliter of first-generation neurotoxic parasites. After a moment’s hesitation, Shen Lang injected the parasites into her body. It happened in an instant. Her breathing and heartbeat stopped, and she seemed to freeze solid. But after a very brief moment, her heart and lungs started working again.
She let out an utterly wretched scream, as if she had gone completely mad, and began to struggle wildly. Sword King Li Qianqiu had clearly sealed all her acupoints, but they had all been forced open. Her strength was boundless, making her impossible to control. The Sword King, Big Dummy, and Tang Yan had to step forward; only with the combined efforts of the three masters could they barely restrain the woman.
Then, an even more frightening scene unfolded. Her skin began to bulge and ripple continuously, as if countless insects and venomous snakes were swimming beneath it. Various parts of her body twisted violently. Her heartbeat and breathing grew more and more rapid, and her blood pressure rose higher and higher. She swelled up as if she were about to burst at any moment. It seemed that if he didn't act now, her body would explode, and she would die instantly.
Shen Lang quickly injected a refined anesthetic. Her body calmed slightly, but it wasn’t nearly enough. Her blood pressure was still rising without end, and she still looked like she might rupture. Finally, Shen Lang injected the second-generation neurotoxin. At last, she gradually grew quiet, entering a frozen state once more.