Chapter 536
Chapter 536
Shen Lang continued with a smile.
“At first, you won't feel a thing, but soon an unbearable itch will set in, eventually spreading throughout your entire body. When that happens, not even the gods can save you. And for your information, the Sword King's wife has already turned into a beast.”
Zhong Miao's face paled. He quickly turned and entered a tent, removing his armor to check. He clearly saw a dense, toad-like rash on his groin. In that instant, his hair stood on end as he let out a silent, desperate scream in his mind.
‘What do I do? What should I do?’
Soon after, the masters under Zhong Sisi’s command all rushed into tents or bushes, pulling down their trousers to inspect their bodies.
“Aaargh!”
Several sharp screams rang out. Some had the dense, toad-like rash on their groins, while others did not yet.
Shen Lang smiled again and said.
“If my predictions are correct, some of you will have already had an outbreak. It’s because you drank the water earlier or possess exceptional innate martial prowess. But don't worry. It's quite fair—none of you will escape the gu-bugs.”
Hearing this, the soldiers under Zhong Sisi were utterly horrified. Shen Lang continued.
“Zhong Sisi, you are of noble birth, so you've likely never drunk well water in your life. You prefer spring water, don't you? Here in the Northern Plains Hunting Grounds, there is a mountain called Mount Gan'en. Within that mountain is a cliff, and from a crevice in that cliff, spring water constantly flows, and its taste is exceptionally sweet. But unfortunately, that spring water has also been contaminated. I injected the Sword King's wife's poisoned blood into the spring's source. Did you, by any chance, use that spring water to brew your tea?”
At his words, Zhong Sisi's expression changed drastically. She adored drinking tea, and only the finest at that, so she always had an attendant carry her tea set. She also instructed her attendant to use only the spring water from the cliff crevice to brew it. She had drunk tea just an hour ago.
“Shen Lang, you... you tricked me!”
Zhong Sisi’s voice trembled. Shen Lang sneered.
“How did I trick you? I haven't even used up this half-tael of blood yet.”
Shen Lang held up the glass vial of blood. A greenish-purple hue mixed with the red, making it look utterly grotesque. It was indeed blood drawn from the Sword King's wife. Zhong Sisi was instantly horrified, feeling an overwhelming itch all over her body. It was as if countless gu-bugs were swimming, breeding, and multiplying in her bloodstream. She immediately wanted to remove her armor and check if she, too, had the dense, toad-like rash on her groin.
“Miss Zhong Sisi, Miss Xue Xue would know best about the poison of these gu-bugs. This is a gu-poison from Mount Fudao. Even if it can be cured, your body and skin will suffer some damage. It hasn't even been an hour since the gu-bugs entered your body, so you can probably be treated in time. If you wait until you're in Zhong Miao’s state, even if the poison is cured, your body will be half-ruined.”
As soon as she heard that, Zhong Sisi nearly fainted from fright. She could never allow herself to become a ghastly creature like the Sword King's wife. That was truly a fate worse than death. She would rather die than live in such an ugly, terrifying state. In that moment, nothing else mattered to Zhong Sisi.
‘It’s only been an hour since I was poisoned, so I can be treated in time, right? Yes, I can be treated in time. I have to find Xue Xue quickly and have her treat me. Revenge isn't more important than my beauty and my life. I have to go, quickly, right now.’
Overcome with fear, she didn't hesitate. She mounted her blood-sweating steed and began to gallop madly toward the capital to seek treatment from Xue Xue. At that moment, the other masters of the Zhong Clan hastily pursued her, shouting loudly.
“My lady, wait for us! Let's go together!”
But Zhong Sisi's steed was too fast. It galloped like the wind, kicking up a cloud of dust, and in the blink of an eye, she was out of sight. The Zhong Clan masters chased after her desperately. With Zhong Sisi gone, the two thousand elite soldiers of the Zhong Clan were naturally even more terrified. They had all drunk the water from the Northern Plains Hunting Grounds, so they all had gu-bugs in their bodies. How could they possibly have the mind to occupy the hunting grounds now? All they wanted was to rush back to the capital and get the gu-poison treated. This was especially true for Zhong Miao, who had already suffered an outbreak.
“Shen Lang, just you wait. Our Zhong Clan will never let you go. Never!”
With those parting words, Zhong Miao mounted his horse and galloped frantically toward the capital. A moment later, the more than two thousand soldiers of the Zhong Clan had fled in disarray, vanishing without a trace. Shen Lang looked at Gao Duhuan and said.
“Now, let's go in.”
Gao Duhuan, leading ten White Tigers, three hundred warriors, and over two thousand individuals with the Albino bloodline, entered the Northern Plains Hunting Grounds with great fanfare. Han Nu asked from the side.
“Young Master, do we need to dig a new well?”
Hearing this, Gao Duhuan, who was standing beside them, laughed. Han Nu and Wu Lie were startled and asked.
“Don't tell me you were tricking Zhong Sisi, Young Master?”
Of course, he had been tricking her. First of all, would Shen Lang waste his precious gu-bugs by dumping them in a well? The neurotoxin he had used to harm Zhong Sisi before was a secretion from the gu-bugs, so that was fair game. But the gu-bugs themselves were incredibly precious to Shen Lang; he couldn't afford to waste a single one. He needed them to modify bloodlines, so how could he use them so lavishly? It wasn't like a certain something that a man's body continuously produces.
Secondly, while these gu-bugs were incredibly potent, they were also very fragile. They would all die if boiled in water and could barely survive in well water. They thrived by consuming the energy in blood. Therefore, putting gu-bugs in well water was impossible from the start; at most, they could be placed in a single bowl of water.
Han Nu asked, “Then what was that dense, toad-like rash on their bodies? Besides, all those highly skilled martial artists were affected, even the masters by Zhong Sisi's side.”
Regarding that matter, Li Qianqiu would have something to say.
‘Young Master Shen, I am endlessly grateful to you. But must you always assign me such vulgar tasks? It goes against my status as a Grandmaster.’
That's right. The rash they suffered was not from the gu-poison of Mount Fudao at all, but from the toxin of a plant that causes skin diseases.
Wu Lie said, “Young Master, Xue Xue and Yan Nanfei are likely connected to Mount Fudao. They will soon realize there are no gu-bugs in their bodies. What if Zhong Sisi comes to trouble us again then? Are we to go and tattle to His Highness again and have him send troops to drive her away?”
Shen Lang smiled and replied, “If I have to run to His Highness to solve such a small matter, wouldn't that make me look incompetent?”
Only then did Wu Lie and Han Nu notice that the Sword King, Li Qianqiu, who had been standing next to Big Dummy, was gone.
***
When dealing with a woman as relentlessly unreasonable as Zhong Sisi, most people would feel a headache so severe they would rather just kill her. Otherwise, she would surely keep causing trouble like a madwoman, determined to see things through to the end. However, Shen Lang couldn't simply kill her, as he couldn't bear the consequences. The Zhong Clan was currently too powerful.
Shen Lang's immediate priority was to do everything in his power to elevate Ying Zheng's status and greatly increase their own strength. Once he killed Zhong Sisi, the feud with the Zhong Clan would never end unless he died. Of course, Shen Lang had at least a dozen ways to deal with such a vicious and unreasonable woman. So, which of these methods was the most shameless, the one that crossed the most lines? Shen Lang would choose the worst of them all.
***
The moment Shen Lang frightened her with the gu-poison, Zhong Sisi was scared out of her wits and rode her prized steed frantically toward the capital. Her mind was blank, save for the single thought of finding Xue Xue to confirm whether she truly had the terrifying gu-bugs in her body. If she did, she would have to go to Mount Fudao for treatment immediately; not a moment could be wasted. As a result, she unknowingly put a great distance between herself and the Zhong Clan masters and their army.
As she rode alone on a deserted road, her vision suddenly blurred, and her body was lifted into the air. An expert of the highest caliber had swiftly leaped over her, grabbed her, and disappeared into the nearby bushes. A moment later, they were gone without a trace. From beginning to end, Zhong Sisi couldn't even manage a scream for help. About a minute later, the expert reappeared, dragged Zhong Sisi's steed into the bushes, and concealed it. That expert was, of course, the Sword King, Li Qianqiu. He truly felt it was a great pity.
‘Young Master Shen, why? Why do you always give me these hooligan-like tasks? I really can't bear it anymore.’
He carried Zhong Sisi under his arm and ran like mad, taking her to a secret cave in a mountain.
“Who are you? What are you trying to do?”
As soon as Zhong Sisi regained her ability to move, she threw a hidden weapon. It was a Pear Blossom Rainstorm. How uncanny. Why did she also possess a Pear Blossom Rainstorm? It was, of course, a replica. The power of the Pear Blossom Rainstorm hidden weapon created by Shen Lang was so terrifying that after it became famous, many factions created their own imitations. Among them, the replicas made by Yan Nanfei's South Sea Sword Sect and Yan Ye's Blackwater Terrace were the most outstanding. Zhong Sisi was the daughter of a prominent family, so no one would miss a chance to curry favor with her. Both Xue Pan and Xue Xue had gifted her a Pear Blossom Rainstorm.
*Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!*
Countless poisoned needles from the Pear Blossom Rainstorm shot out, blanketing the Sword King, Li Qianqiu. The beautiful scene that followed stunned Zhong Sisi. Her opponent neither hid nor dodged. He simply unleashed a powerful surge of true qi and internal energy from his body. In that instant, the countless poisoned needles struck an invisible barrier of air and were instantly blown away to the sides as if by a gale, vanishing without a trace. Zhong Sisi was aghast.
‘His martial arts are this advanced? It’s truly incredible. Who is this person?’
He wore the mask of White Impermanence. His martial skill was indeed so great he could be mistaken for a ghost.
“Who are you? If you let me go now, I'll pretend nothing happened. You must know who I am. My father is Zhong Yao, and my aunt is the queen of the State of Yue. My fiancé is the son of Prince Wu of the Great Yan Empire. If you harm me, it won't matter even if you flee to the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion. With your level of martial arts, it's a waste to live like this. Why not pledge your loyalty to my Zhong Clan? I will ensure you live a life of wealth and glory. Let me go, now. I must return immediately. If you delay my time, I will have your entire family annihilated. What is your relationship with Shen Lang? Are you connected to him?”
But her opponent didn't answer. He simply shoved something into her mouth.