Nan Shiying extracted a silver needle to stop the bleeding. She then lit a fire starter and burned the parasitic worms that were losing their vitality on Ji Jinmo's chest as the poison elder withdrew his hand. After thoroughly incinerating the worms to ashes, Nan Shiying used a dagger to scrape away any remaining worm corpses from his wound. Only then did she take out the wound powder and apply it to Ji Jinmo's injury, before bandaging him with gauze.
Having finished, Nan Shiying walked towards the poison elder. The elder raised his hand, making a "stop" gesture to her. The mere gesture caused him to sway, and he quickly steadied himself by leaning on the table, preventing himself from falling due to sudden weakness.
"Old man!"
"It's nothing!"
The poison elder waved his hand. Ignoring Nan Shiying's anxiety and concern, he turned to look at Ji Jinmo. "While Sheying's blood can suppress the蛊 worms in your body, her blood also carries toxicity. Her entire clan can control and drive snakes, partly due to the medication they've taken since childhood. Even medicine has its side effects. It might be her blood. I'm not saying her blood is bad; the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks. What I mean is, the 蛊 worms in your body are adapting to Sheying's blood."
The poison elder had clearly felt this after drinking Sheying's blood.
"Also, what exactly happened today!"
He turned to look at Nan Shiying, not giving her any time for concern or even questioning. Nan Shiying looked at the poison elder and handed him the wound powder and gauze she was holding. "You should treat your wound first!"
Her voice lacked any harshness, yet the poison elder knew that if he didn't accept them and treat his wound, this matter wouldn't be easily resolved.
"Actually, you didn't have to!"
He took the wound powder and gauze. Under Nan Shiying's gaze, he untied the torn cloth wrapped around his wrist. The edges of the wound on his wrist were covered with a white, viscous, latex-like substance, and the wound on his wrist was healing at a visible rate.
Nan Shiying suddenly stood up. She had seen such a scene on someone else – Gongzi Xun, the楼主 of Wan Ku Lou, whom she had killed.
The only difference was the color.
Gongzi Xun had had grayish-green worms, while the elder's wound was covered by something white, with no discernible shape, more like a viscous liquid.
"How can this be..."
"Amazing?" The poison elder held up his wrist, still in the mood for a joke.
Nan Shiying shook her head. "I've seen it."
"Seen something that heals better than the 蛊 worms in your body."
The smile on the poison elder's lips froze. His expression lost its earlier ease. He asked with seriousness and tension, "Where? Who?"
"Wan Ku Lou, Gongzi Xun!"
"He..."
"He's already dead. I was afraid his internal worms were too potent, so I reduced him to ashes."
"Grayish-green... grayish-green... that's the color my internal 蛊 worms turn when they reach maturity. My 蛊 worms, instead of being removed during my adolescence, attached to my bone marrow and fused with my body, which is why they turned the milky white of bone marrow. The 蛊 in my body are not only rare and precious, but they can only be fused and activated by the Yin clan bloodline. Wan Ku Lou, Wan Ku Lou, could it be that Gongzi Xun was of the Miao Jiang Yin clan bloodline?"
The poison elder stopped his murmuring and looked directly at Nan Shiying's face. "How old was that Gongzi Xun? Who was his mother?"
The royal mansion's dark web had detailed records of every sect. Nan Shiying knew Gongzi Xun's background. She said, "Gongzi Xun was about twenty-five years old. His father was the previous楼主 of Wan Ku Lou. His mother... is unknown."
Twenty-five, could he be Yin Si Lan's child then?
"Is Yin Si Lan related to Wan Ku Lou?"
Nan Shiying had caught some clues from the poison elder's earlier murmuring. If the grayish-green worms on Gongzi Xun were also 蛊, then according to the current intelligence about the surviving members of the Yin clan, Gongzi Xun was likely Yin Si Lan's son.
Even if not, there were definitely intricate connections between the two of them.
The poison elder nodded. His expression was slightly somber, clearly angered by the reappearance of the Miao Jiang people. "If your description is accurate, then I can confirm that the worms on Gongzi Xun were of the same origin as the 蛊 King within me. A 蛊 King appears only once every few decades. Calculating the time, it's about right. However, that 蛊 King was also burned to ashes along with Gongzi Xun's body. You did very well. I can tell you clearly, if you hadn't completely cremated his body, that 蛊 King would have slowly consumed Gongzi Xun's body, stored energy, and then burrowed into his spine to form a cocoon, until it was dug out by the next Miao Jiang person."
"So..." The poison elder paused, emphasizing his words. "When I die, remember to burn my body completely. Although the 蛊 worms in my body are not mature, they have fused with my bone marrow, I cannot guarantee that they will survive indefinitely. To reduce the number of victims like Ji Jinmo in this world, remember this, don't be soft-hearted."
"I've been bitten by worms my entire life. I don't want to be bitten by worms in the earth after I die. Burn me, there's no need to leave anything behind. It would be best if my ashes could be scattered into the sea, drifting with the currents. If I'm fortunate enough to become a patch of earth on a deserted island, then it would be as if my legacy lasts for generations, immortal like the heavens."
As the poison elder spoke, he couldn't help but laugh. He wasn't just trying to comfort Nan Shiying, and this choice wasn't a ridiculous and useless sacrifice or self-deception under duress. He simply felt that drifting across the vast ocean, seeing all the landscapes with his soul, was a great joy worth drinking to.
Nan Shiying understood the poison elder's feelings. This was his last wish, not a sacrifice. However, seeing the wrinkles that spread across his face with his smile, her heart couldn't help but tremble.
Her eyes reddened, but she forced back the useless tears and sat down again. Her gaze, like the poison elder's, was direct and unreservedly revealed her true inner thoughts. "If I die of old age, all is well. But if you continue to disregard yourself and even injure yourself like this while treating others, then I will bury your body with the 蛊 worms. May you be bitten by the 蛊 worms in life and in death, never finding peace!"
"Hiss..."
The poison elder gasped. What sins had he committed in this life to have taken in such a reckless subordinate! To say such things!
Disrespectful, utterly disrespectful!
His eyes widened like copper bells, his back straightened, and his voice boomed like a bell, with an imposing aura as if he intended to unleash a storm of reprimand. "I know!!!"
Those four words were spoken with utter indignation.
So it was all a show!
You backed down far too quickly!