Chapter 524
Chapter 524
After the injection of the second-generation neurotoxin, she had quieted for a moment, but a few minutes later, she became violent again. Her heart pounded and her blood pressure soared. Shen Lang knew this was the state of the gu-worms within her body devouring each other, fighting and struggling. This cycle had repeated thirteen times, leaving not only the Sword King, who was holding her down, but also Shen Lang completely exhausted.
Each time, a small amount of the neurotoxin gu had to be injected at regular intervals, and sometimes, an anesthetic had to be used instead of the neurotoxin. Furthermore, to minimize side effects, he had to keep injecting the next generation of neurotoxin gu-worms into her body. Shen Lang observed the entire process with his X-ray vision, calculating the most precise dosage before proceeding. Even the slightest miscalculation could cause the Sword King's wife to either explode or stiffen and die.
And then, finally, a miracle occurred. The toad-like skin of the Sword King's wife began to recede, and her contorted, beast-like body slowly started to straighten.
* * *
After three full hours, the procedure was finally complete. The Sword King's wife lay with her body straightened, the toad-like skin completely gone. Of course, she was still bald, and her appearance was far from pleasant. Her body had suffered severe damage over the past decade, and it would take at least a year or two for her to fully recover her original appearance. She remained unconscious, her heartbeat faint and her breathing shallow, but her life was no longer in danger.
This was a side effect. The final generation of neurotoxin gu-worms could also paralyze the human body. But after about half a month, all the toxins from the gu-worms would lose their potency and stop being secreted. By then, the body's own metabolism would be able to expel the last remaining traces of the toxin. He had finally succeeded. Despite several perilous moments, he had ultimately succeeded.
"It's a success! Senior Sword King, your wife will awaken in about half a month."
The Sword King, having exhausted all his strength, had long since collapsed to the floor, but his eyes were shining brightly, filled with overwhelming emotion. His wife was finally free from the terrible poison that had tormented her for over a decade! Though she was still unsightly, the Sword King looked at her with the eyes of a man in love, as if she were a peerless beauty.
"Let's go."
Shen Lang said to Big Dummy and Tang Yan. The Sword King offered no words of gratitude or thanks, for he was a practical man who expressed himself through actions, not words. After Shen Lang left, the Sword King boiled some water, let it cool to a lukewarm temperature, and began to gently wipe his wife's body with a cloth. He firmly believed that a new life was about to begin for both of them.
* * *
Shen Lang was so exhausted he couldn't even move in the bath, so Mulan was washing him. But as she was washing him, she was pulled into the tub.
"Don't..."
Just as Shen Lang was at his most excited and heated, Mulan stopped him again.
"Why not? My dear wife, though I am spent, I've still got a bit of strength left in me. Besides, you're full of energy, and you've always been the one to take the lead at home."
"Tomorrow, tomorrow..."
In truth, Mulan was even more eager than Shen Lang; she wanted to devour her husband in a single bite.
"Why must we wait until tomorrow?"
Because Shen Lang had spent the previous night tumbling with Ying Yan, Mulan was worried that he hadn't fully recovered and wouldn't be at his most vigorous. She thought that if he rested for one more day, they could succeed in one go tomorrow and conceive a child. Then, Mulan's thoughts drifted. She was so beautiful, and her husband was an even more stunning man—how beautiful would their child be? But should it be a boy or a girl? After some thought, Mulan decided she wanted a boy. She believed that a woman's beauty had its limits, but a man could be endlessly handsome. How glorious would it be to give birth to the most handsome man in the world? But then, another worry crept into her mind.
‘What if the child grows up to be a scoundrel like his father?’
* * *
For every second that followed, Shen Lang and Mulan were like conjoined twins, going everywhere together. The scoundrel even tried to drag Mulan with him to the toilet, and when she refused, he told her to stand aside and watch. Ying Yan was utterly incensed.
‘Shen Lang, are you really that much of a scoundrel? I just moved into your house, and you spend every day stuck to Jin Mulan, not giving me a single moment of your time? What a wretched pair. They'd rather play Go by themselves than a three-person game of cards with me.’
In the past, Shen Lang, Yun Mengze, and Ying Yan had often played cards together.
That night, Shen Lang and Mulan once again climbed onto the roof to gaze at the moon.
"Don't you dare talk about Chang'e, the rabbit, or Wu Gang."
Mulan warned him preemptively.
"Alright, then. I won't talk about them. But my dear, have you heard the story of the 'Heavenly Dog Devouring the Moon'?"
As before, Shen Lang rested his head on Mulan's thigh, inhaling her enchanting scent while his fingers pinched and released her slender waist, feeling the incredible elasticity and smoothness of her skin.
"No."
"The Heavenly Dog devouring the moon refers to a lunar eclipse. It happens about twice a year. There's also a solar eclipse, which also happens about twice a year."
"Yes, and?"
"The Heavenly Dog devours the moon and spits it back out at night. But a solar eclipse happens in broad daylight, which means the Heavenly Dog devours the sun and moon indiscriminately, day or night."
Mulan pouted.
"You're awful. Don't provoke me with words like that until tomorrow. And keep your hands to yourself."
Shen Lang then began to play with Mulan's delicate hands, placing her snow-white fingers in his mouth and biting them gently. Mulan seemed to find it amusing, as she took Shen Lang's hand and put it in her own mouth, biting it as well.
"My love, do you think I can become the greatest martial artist in the world?"
Her desire to become the world's greatest master was overwhelming at that moment. She imagined waking up tomorrow as the strongest person alive, capturing Ying Han, and drowning him in a pit of dung, just as Shen Lang had described.
In fact, Shen Lang was currently pioneering a remarkable path—activating bloodlines to alter one's innate potential. This path was not yet fully forged; he was merely following the teachings left by Master Jiang Li. First, to activate the power of those with special bloodlines, and second, to transform the innate bloodlines of those with blank ones.
Mulan's innate bloodline was not low-grade, but it was far inferior to geniuses like Big Dummy or Gou Duhuan. For the time being, transforming her body with the golden bloodline was out of the question. Aside from those with special or blank bloodlines like Master Jiang Li's subjects, injecting even a small amount of the golden bloodline gu-worm would cause anyone else's body to explode. Shen Lang, of course, would never wish for Mulan to be in the slightest danger.
"My love, leave me a little of your blood, and I will study it carefully. Perhaps I can find a path that our predecessors and successors could not, and I can transform your innate bloodline. When we travel far out to sea, we'll need the world's greatest martial artist as our escort. What if some female pirate captures me to father her child? Even if I have a strong constitution, they'll wring me dry to the very last drop."
Mulan giggled.
"Then I'd better hurry up and become the world's greatest martial artist, so I can be the first to wring you dry."
Before long, the two were once again a tangled mess on the roof, kissing each other.
"No, my love, wait until tomorrow..."
It was incredibly difficult for Mulan to restrain herself, but for the sake of having a child, she had no choice.
* * *
The next day, Shen Lang was sleeping soundly in Mulan's arms when he was suddenly awakened by a commotion. What was going on? No one would dare disturb him and Mulan unless something had happened. Everyone knew that Mulan could only stay in the capital for a few days before having to return to Xuanwu City. Both Raging Tide City and Xuanwu City were incredibly busy at the moment. Mulan had stayed in the capital for three days solely for the purpose of conceiving a child.
"Young Master, the Great Eunuch Yeo has arrived!"
Shen Lang lifted his head and glanced out the window; the sky was not yet bright. What could have happened for Great Eunuch Yeo Jun to seek him out before dawn? Shen Lang quickly got up, and Mulan rose with him, helping him wash his face and get dressed. Mulan's body was so beautiful, her skin as white as snow, her curves like a masterpiece sculpted by the heavens. Muyeol, as a woman herself, could hardly bear to look at Mulan, afraid she might feel a pang of jealousy.
‘So this is why the Young Master loves his wife so dearly.’
Yet this beautiful goddess doted on Shen Lang to an extreme degree. She washed his face, brushed his teeth, and even carried his chamber pot. Muyeol could hardly watch as the goddess Mulan stooped to such tasks. But she soon realized that Shen Lang did the same for Mulan, and that sight was just as unbearable.
‘What a wretched pair! It's enough to make one sick.’
Muyeol, who had been alone her whole life, felt as if her heart had been brutally assaulted.
* * *
"Eunuch Yeo, what is it?"
Yeo Jun's eyes were fraught with anxiety, his expression frantic. His eyes were bloodshot, and his breathing was uneven. He looked as if the sky had fallen, but upon seeing Shen Lang, he looked as though he had found his savior.
"Shen Lang, come with me to the palace in secret. Quickly! But no one must know."
Shen Lang's heart trembled as he asked.
"Did something happen to someone in the palace?"
"It's His Majesty!"
In that instant, Shen Lang's head throbbed as if it would explode. He currently maintained a very close relationship with the king. More importantly, his entire situation was thanks to the king's favor. If something were to happen to the king, Shen Lang would have to drop everything and immediately flee with Ning Zheng, Ying Yan, Gou Duhuan, and everyone else. He would have to leave for Raging Tide City across the sea, and everything he had built up to this point would turn to dust. Shen Lang's vision went black, his head spun, and he had to shake it vigorously before slapping his own forehead. Seeing this, Great Eunuch Yeo Jun's heart warmed slightly. Shen Lang cared for His Majesty as well; His Majesty's favoritism toward him was not misplaced.
"Is it serious?"
At Shen Lang's question, Yeo Jun nodded. The rims of his eyes were completely red, and his entire body was trembling. From that alone, one could deduce the severity of the situation. Yeo Jun said.
"Neither His Highness the Crown Prince nor His Highness the Third Prince knows of this; currently, no one knows. You are the only one who knows of His Majesty's condition, so please come with me to the palace at once and treat him. If you cannot cure him, then we can only wait for the heavens to fall."
The only reason the political struggle between the Crown Prince and the Third Prince had not escalated into something more serious was because the king was keeping it in check. If anything were to happen to the king, it wouldn't be a mere power struggle; a civil war could erupt in an instant. The two factions were too evenly matched. Ning Zheng's power base was still weak; the king absolutely could not have anything happen to him right now.
Just then, Mulan, having dressed, ran out and asked.
"My love, what's wrong?"
"My dear, fetch me a cloak and my medical kit."
Mulan nodded and rushed back into the room. Shen Lang put on the cloak she brought, took the medical kit, and quickly climbed into the carriage.