Although reluctant, Li Hao distributed clothes to everyone, enduring scratches and bites during the process. After handing out the clothes, his arms were already covered in several wounds.
"Here."
A waterskin was offered to him.
"Have some water!"
Li Hao took the waterskin, looking disgusted, "Did you drink from it?"
"What? Afraid I poisoned it?"
Li Hao scoffed, took it, and drank a few mouthfuls. The waterskin had been under his watch, and he didn't believe she could poison it right in front of him.
After arranging for these patients, Rong Zhi went to Bai Shu's pharmacy to prepare medicinal herbs. Although Bai Shu looked down on Rong Zhi, he was curious about how she managed to alleviate the patients' toxicity. Therefore, while Rong Zhi was preparing the herbs, Bai Shu kept glancing in her direction.
Rong Zhi pretended not to notice and quickly finished processing a few essential herbs. She turned to Bai Shu and said, "I need a large pot."
"Outside."
Bai Shu pointed outside. Rong Zhi saw that a pot had already been set up. The ones doing the work were the blind man, the deaf man, and the lame man, three of the Five Ghosts. Judging by their rough movements, they were clearly displeased with this task.
"Set the pot up properly, or the medicinal soup will spill out!" Rong Zhi deliberately fanned the flames. As expected, the lame man's veins bulged, and the blind man paused. The deaf man wasn't paying attention but also slowed down.
Rong Zhi smiled slightly, "If anything goes wrong, this doctor won't forgive you."
The three grew even angrier and quickly set up the pot. Just as they were about to get up, Rong Zhi suddenly said, "Also, could you please fetch a few buckets of water to fill this large pot? After adding the herbs and boiling them until thick, I have more important things to do. I'll leave this small matter to you!"
After saying that, Rong Zhi felt palpable killing intent. However, she paid no mind, bypassed everyone, and went outside to check on the patients again.
The three men wished they could tear Rong Zhi apart, but they could only comply. As the flames roared to life, Rong Zhi heard them muttering curses, seemingly discussing how to tear her to pieces.
The process of stoking the fire lasted the entire day. The short man and the mute man were initially focused on watching the patients. However, these patients were either weak from qi deficiency or exhausted from overexertion, spending most of their time asleep. Rong Zhi claimed to be watching them, but with the patients asleep, there was nothing for Rong Zhi to do, so she slept too. Staring at a group of inactive people for too long also made them a bit lax.
Rong Zhi opened her eyes and saw that under the moonlight, the short man and the deaf man were squatting on the wall, one on each side, their eyes half-closed, like guardian deities.
This was the moment Rong Zhi had been waiting for. She got up quietly, tiptoed stealthily into the courtyard. Her exceptional lightness skill allowed her to move without making a sound. Stacked against the wall in the courtyard were the provisions they had transported from down the mountain, mostly steamed buns and dried meat. Rong Zhi took out a small bottle from her pouch, poured out a little medicinal liquid, and flicked her fingers. The medicinal liquid, propelled by her inner force, transformed into a fine mist that evenly spread over the food.
After completing this, Rong Zhi tiptoed back to her original position, feigning ignorance.
The herbs, having been dried overnight, were ready to be formed. The next day, Rong Zhi, in front of all the doctors and the Five Ghosts, distributed the pills to everyone and watched them take them.
To everyone's astonishment, the pills indeed had remarkable efficacy. Several patients, whose faces had become deathly pale due to deep poisoning, regained some color after taking the pills, appearing like normal people.
Furthermore, long after taking the medicine, they did not exhibit any signs of madness.
Bai Shu's expression shifted from initial disdain to growing curiosity, and finally, to utter astonishment.
He turned and exchanged glances with the other doctors. Their expressions were largely the same.
It actually worked!
He had clearly seen that the herbs Rong Zhi used were ordinary, with only the Yun Lin Hua being used in a larger quantity. Could this be the answer they had been searching for? It was too frustrating!
Li Hao was puzzled. Why did these people not go mad, while he suffered such severe after-effects? If this doctor could produce effective medicine in such a short time, did it mean she knew how to make it all along but deliberately made an inferior batch to gain access to these patients?
A terrifying thought struck him, and his gaze towards Rong Zhi became sharp. If this were true, he had to report it to the hall master immediately.
However, the treatment was not over. Rong Zhi said, "Keep them here for observation. If there are no abnormalities within three days, it means these herbs are effective."
"Then let's see if you have the ability," Bai Shu, though impressed, remained outwardly sharp-tongued.
Hearing this, Li Hao temporarily suppressed his suspicions. He hadn't shown abnormalities from the start either, and he needed to wait. During this time, he would keep a close watch on this woman.
The Five Ghosts divided into two shifts, watching the patients day and night, and naturally, they also watched Rong Zhi. Rong Zhi was not surprised by this treatment. What surprised her was why Li Hao was getting so close.
"What are you doing?"
She looked at Li Hao, who was sitting beside her, and raised an eyebrow, "Are you attracted to me?"
Li Hao's mouth twitched, and he shifted further away from Rong Zhi.
"They are all fine. When can you completely cure my symptoms?"
Li Hao's voice carried a hint of resentment. Before this ailment, he was the treasurer of the Blood Drinking Pavilion. Now, not only was he stripped of his real power, but he also suffered from intermittent madness, neither human nor ghost. It was all thanks to this woman.
"As you've seen, my medicinal skills are not yet mature. We can only wait now. Once they are fine, I can continue treating you. If I treat you blindly now, it might worsen your condition."
Rong Zhi's reasoning was sound, and Li Hao couldn't refute it.
He stared dejectedly at the patients, never imagining he would become one of them.
He picked up the waterskin and took a sip. Suddenly, he found the taste a bit strange, but when he tried to recall it, he felt there was nothing unusual.
Li Hao looked at Rong Zhi suspiciously. Seeing her propping her head, seemingly about to sleep, he couldn't imagine how this woman could have played tricks on him.
In reality, Rong Zhi was worried about the situation down the mountain.
She wondered if Xia Yunting and Chu Qingze had already encountered people from the Blood Drinking Pavilion head-on.
At this moment, Xia Yunting was throwing the corpse of a Black Face Hall subordinate into Tang Yuanjiang's room at the yamen.
The moment the corpse landed, a teacup shot out with lightning speed, piercing the corpse's abdomen. It then smashed through the window paper and flew out. Tang Yuanjiang instantly sprang from his bed and, in the blink of an eye, appeared before the corpse, stomping on it.
"Who..." Tang Yuanjiang's words were cut short when he saw the person on the ground already rolling his eyes and lifeless. He frowned and, the next moment, burst through the window, leaping onto the rooftop. He looked around but couldn't find any other presence.
"Damn it."
He cursed, then returned to his room. Looking at the attire of the person on the ground, he slowly uttered a few words: "Black Face Hall... Zhu, what exactly are you up to?"
The next moment, several people suddenly rushed in from outside, scaling the wall and quickly surrounding the room.
Tang Yuanjiang's expression stiffened. He pushed open the door and saw that the newcomers were dressed identically to the corpse in the room. He reprimanded in a low voice, "What are you doing? Bursting into my room for no reason?"
The leader spoke, "Hall Master Tang, we are pursuing an assassin. We saw the assassin enter your room. Please allow us to search."
"There's no assassin, just a useless piece of trash."
Although Tang Yuanjiang was displeased with their attitude, they were conducting official business. He still made way for them to enter.
However, within three breaths of them entering, someone let out a scream.
"Fifth Brother, what happened?"
A man in black immediately ran out from inside, his voice filled with displeasure.
"Hall Master Tang, why is one of our men dead in your room?"
"That's for you to ask. You failed to apprehend the assassin, and instead, the assassin killed him. The assassin throwing the body into my room was to instigate internal strife between us. If you fall for it, you're true fools."
The other party was unconvinced, "We found no signs of a struggle with an assassin on him. However, there is a large hole through his abdomen, front to back. This is clearly your technique. We hope you will tell us the truth of what happened."
"What do you mean?" Tang Yuanjiang's voice turned cold. "We belong to the same Blood Drinking Pavilion. Would I kill your men?"
"That's not necessarily true." As he spoke, the rest of the group had gathered.
"Brothers, avenge Fifth Brother!"
As soon as the words fell, they all surged forward, drawing their weapons and attacking Tang Yuanjiang.
A strong killing intent emanated from Tang Yuanjiang. "You court death!"
He moved with strange, swift steps, weaving through them like a rat. Before they could grasp his fighting style, his fists and kicks struck them.
Although Tang Yuanjiang didn't use weapons, his fists and kicks were more potent than any blade. Amidst the fight, not only did they fail to harm Tang Yuanjiang, but they also suffered countless bloody wounds, large and small. Some had not even managed to launch an attack before they fell dead.
The entire fight lasted less than fifteen minutes, and the ground was littered with corpses.
Tang Yuanjiang glanced dismissively at the corpses on the ground, then suddenly felt something was wrong.
These men didn't seem to be pursuing an assassin; they seemed to be there to demand an explanation. Otherwise, they wouldn't have attacked him so quickly and so cohesively.
There had been frequent friction between the White Rat Hall and the Black Face Hall recently. Perhaps someone was stirring up trouble.
As he was thinking this, a gust of wind suddenly swept before him, and more dark figures landed in the courtyard. Leading them was the Hall Master of the Black Face Hall, Zhu Chong.
He looked at the corpses strewn across the ground and, without a word, glared furiously at Tang Yuanjiang.
"Tang, why did you kill my men?"
"Your men attacked me first. I want to ask you, deliberately framing me and then sending people to kill me, was this premeditated? Who instructed you? Do you intend to betray the Blood Drinking Pavilion?"
"You have no right to say that! You are in charge of Changping County but lost the Zhang family's massive treasury. So many brothers died, and their bodies couldn't even be found. It's hard for me to believe there wasn't your tacit approval. If I find evidence of your betrayal of the Pavilion Master, I will act on behalf of heaven and eliminate you, traitor!"
"Who eliminates whom is yet to be determined!" Tang Yuanjiang was also enraged. They could say anything about him, but not that he was a traitor. He had given his all for the Blood Drinking Pavilion, serving as this damn secretary in this godforsaken place. In the end, all the credit was snatched by the Black Face Hall, who only delivered the messages. He couldn't swallow this insult.
"If you disagree, then present proof that you are not a traitor!"
Zhu Chong's voice grew louder, and both sides exuded intense killing intent. It seemed they were about to fight.