Passing through this dark stone cave, everything that met the eye suddenly opened up.
Lush branches hung down from the top of the cave, dotted with small white flowers of unknown origin. Sunlight filtered through the flower clusters, falling onto the ground and forming mottled patterns, creating a unique beauty.
Weeds grew in the gravel path, vibrant green. Amidst the rough stones on both sides, occasional brightly colored flowers stretched out their alluring waists from the crevices, releasing a faint fragrance when the wind blew.
It was so gentle, it made one intoxicated.
“I didn’t expect to find such a view here,” Xi Fu said, looking around with eyes full of surprise.
It wouldn’t be strange to call this place a dreamlike fairy trail; perhaps only in fairy tale books would such beauty be found.
“Don’t let your guard down,” Nie Qingkong whispered, reminding her that this was where the treasures of the Lu, Miao, and Tang families were hidden.
They had just passed the gathering place of Miao family蛊虫 (gu worms). Although they had the mad doctor’s help and passed through easily, the completely devoured corpse and the long, piercing screams had served as a stark warning.
This place was dangerous and could not be treated as a game.
Xi Fu knew Nie Qingkong was right, but she was still somewhat displeased with his cold attitude.
After walking for a while, they saw a huge stone wall.
Strange沟壑 (gouhe) formed patterns on the stone wall.
“This should be the mechanism left by the Lu family,” Xi Fu said, looking up at the massive stone wall, about five or six meters high. It was covered in moss due to its age and draped with emerald green vines, making it seem impossible to climb bare-handed.
As she was studying it, Xi Fu suddenly felt her body go weak and she stumbled towards Nie Qingkong beside her.
Nie Qingkong steadied Xi Fu, his expression equally grim.
His body felt limp and powerless, and the world before his eyes was hazy. He felt as if he had been blinded by the bright sun, unable to see clearly.
No!
He had been poisoned!
Realizing this, Nie Qingkong immediately turned to Xiang Xueyuan with a tense whisper, “Father, be careful!”
Xiang Xueyuan possessed a certain degree of immunity to poison. If the poison attacked the blood or organs, he could still hold on.
However, this poison that directly affected the nerves made even him feel his legs go weak.
Xiang Xueyuan immediately looked up at the mad doctor. With the mad doctor’s equipment, it should have been easy to detect the poison in the area, and he should have warned them promptly.
“Heh heh,” the mad doctor let out a short laugh, meeting Xiang Xueyuan’s gaze with an even brighter smile. “Xiang Xueyuan, I must say, you’re already richer than a nation. This treasure of the Lu, Miao, and Tang families, I’ll be taking it. After all, my experiments require more funding. The price you offered is enough, but who would complain about having more money? As for you… dying in this beautiful place with birds and flowers, it’s not an injustice.”
“You’re going to break the contract?” Xiang Xueyuan raised his eyebrows slightly, looking at the mad doctor.
“So what if I am?” the mad doctor sneered. “You don’t need to look at those people. They’ve all been turned by me. I know you placed your confidantes among them, but unfortunately, he’s already dead in the stone cave, fed to the gu worms. Now, these people are all mine!”
In front of Xiang Xueyuan, the mad doctor directly took out a small bottle filled with a pale blue liquid and distributed it to those people.
“This is the antidote for the Tang family’s幻毒草 (Huan Du Cao). You won’t be able to enjoy it. If you blame anyone, blame yourself for being wise all your life but foolish for a moment! Hahaha!” The mad doctor uncorked one of the bottles and prepared to pour it into his own mouth.
“Don’t speak too soon,” Xiang Xueyuan forced himself to stand steady and moved his fingers.
Those whom the mad doctor had supposedly swayed immediately turned against him. They first snatched the bottle from the mad doctor’s hand and then, cleanly and decisively, pulled out a gun and fired a shot at the mad doctor’s chest.
“You!” The mad doctor looked at Xiang Xueyuan in disbelief. His knees buckled, and he knelt on one knee.
Xiang Xueyuan drank the medicine that the mad doctor had intended to drink. As expected, his mind cleared considerably, and that unbearable sensation completely disappeared.
“My people wouldn’t dare betray me without my permission,” Xiang Xueyuan chuckled. If he didn’t have such means, he would have died countless times already.
“Xiang Xueyuan… without me… you’ll never… find… that stone…” The mad doctor clutched his wound with one hand, his face a mixture of pain and ferocity.
“You didn’t think I sent these people to follow you just to protect you, did you?” Xiang Xueyuan snapped his fingers, and immediately someone carrying the mad doctor’s equipment walked over to Xiang Xueyuan.
“Master, it’s just ahead. The estimated walking time is forty minutes in a straight line,” the man who had been protecting the mad doctor said, his fingers skillfully operating the equipment.
Having followed the mad doctor for some time, he had learned how to operate this device. As orphans trained by the organization, each of them was a standout genius.
“Xiang Xueyuan… I admit you’re ruthless!” The mad doctor’s eyes turned crimson. His entire body seemed to have lost its last bit of strength. He leaned back and finally breathed his last. However, his eyes remained wide open, staring in death.
“Master, he still has the last two tubes of antidote on him,” another person said, retrieving two more tubes of blue liquid from the mad doctor and handing them to Xiang Xueyuan.
“Mmm,” Xiang Xueyuan took the two tubes of antidote and then turned to look at Nie Qingkong and Xi Fu.
Xi Fu felt extremely unwell. Her constitution was far inferior to Nie Qingkong’s, and her face was now deathly pale. Looking at Xiang Xueyuan, she gave him an expectant look. This feeling was unbearable. Fortunately, there were two more bottles of antidote, just enough for her and Nie Qingkong.
Nie Qingkong also looked at Xiang Xueyuan, waiting for him to give them the antidote.
At this moment, Xiang Xueyuan deliberately loosened his grip. One of the antidote tubes fell before Nie Qingkong and Xi Fu’s eyes. They were too slow to react and could only watch as the bottle containing the antidote shattered, its blue liquid seeping into the soil at a visible rate.
Seeing this, Nie Qingkong and Xi Fu were stunned.
Their gazes shifted from the ground where the liquid had seeped to Xiang Xueyuan’s face, filled with disbelief.
What had just happened could not possibly have been Xiang Xueyuan’s hand slipping. He…
“There’s only one bottle of antidote left,” Xiang Xueyuan said to Nie Qingkong and Xi Fu, still wearing a gentle and refined smile. However, that smile seemed never to reach his eyes, and in his eyes, there was only coldness and cruelty. “Only one of you two can live. Who will it be?”
“Father!” Xi Fu stared at Xiang Xueyuan, stunned, hardly believing her ears.
Nie Qingkong remained silent, but his gaze towards Xiang Xueyuan was equally filled with shock. At this moment, his father was asking them to kill each other?!