Zhou Yan sighed, he shouldn't have brought Chu Xing; he should have let the Poison Lady bring Shao Yao. But in this world, there was no going back!
"May I see the pill?"
"There isn't one," Zhou Yan said coldly. "He's lying to you. Our sect leader became the leader by defeating the previous one. In the Land of Nothingness, whoever has the stronger fist is the boss. She is neither a physician nor an alchemist; she merely recognizes some herbs. Chu Xing, you'll spin any lie to get into the City Lord's Guard."
"I'm not lying!" Chu Xing looked at Fan Ting anxiously. "Captain, you must believe me. The one who retrieved the Dragon Spirit Bamboo was indeed Xiao Qin. She also unified the forces in the Land of Nothingness, destroyed the Mad Saber Society and the Flying Eagle Gang, and made the Heartless Sect surrender willingly. The person poisoned below the city walls was the former leader of the Flying Eagle Gang, Fu Ning."
"The one who retrieved the Dragon Spirit Bamboo was not our sect leader," Zhou Yan retorted. "You never saw it with your own eyes; it's all your speculation." Su Dan Novel Network
"If it wasn't her, then who?" Chu Xing asked impatiently. "If not for her, would we have been able to enter Wuji City?"
"So you admit you only got into Wuji City because of her," Zhou Yan sneered. "Yangming Valley is full of poisonous creatures; we could only skirt the periphery and couldn't get in. Besides, the Dragon Spirit Bamboo was guarded by incredibly venomous Bamboo Segment Snakes and Flower Mantises. How could we get close? Although the sect leader can identify many poisons, she's just an ordinary person. The Dragon Spirit Bamboo was given to us; our sect leader did not retrieve it."
"Who gave it to you?" Fan Ting inquired.
"I don't know," Zhou Yan said calmly. He couldn't say the Bamboo Segment Snake King gave it to them, or Fan Ting would surely question why the Bamboo Segment Snake King would give them the Dragon Spirit Bamboo. All he could do was speak less, because the more he said, the more he would expose.
Fan Ting smiled as he stared at Zhou Yan, then clapped his hands. Serving girls filed in, carrying delicious food and placing it on the table before Zhou Yan. "I assume you haven't eaten properly since entering Wuji City. Please eat first."
Chu Xing looked at the delicacies on the table and swallowed. In the Land of Nothingness, they couldn't afford such exquisite food. In the Land of Nothingness, even a bowl of noodles, made by a cook, could be hard to swallow. But the food before him emitted an enticing aroma; it looked delicious just to look at.
"Thank you, Captain," Chu Xing bowed and quickly sat at the table, picking up his chopsticks and devouring the food. "Zhou Yan, this is delicious, and this is delicious too! I've never eaten anything so good. Come and eat!"
Zhou Yan remained unmoved, his gaze still defensively fixed on Fan Ting. Even though he was very hungry and his stomach rumbled in protest, he resolutely refused to look at the food.
"Zhou Yan, aren't you hungry?"
"Not hungry," Zhou Yan closed his eyes, repeatedly hypnotizing himself. I'm not hungry, I'm not hungry, I'm not hungry at all.
"Eat, we won't do anything to you," Fan Ting said slowly. "The City Lord's Mansion has a special patient who merely hopes Xiao Qin can come and take a look. If there is a cure, the City Lord will surely reward you handsomely. If there is no cure, you will not be punished."
"If you truly wanted our sect leader to treat a patient, why didn't you go find her instead of capturing us?" Zhou Yan didn't fall for it. "You clearly want to use us as bait to lure our sect leader here. You want to harm my sect leader."
Fan Ting found it amusing. Although it wasn't entirely accurate, it was close enough. They wanted to use Zhou Yan to lure Xiao Qin, as Xiao Qin was too elusive; they couldn't even catch a glimpse of her, let alone capture her.
"I can swear, we truly have no ill intentions," Fan Ting thought, it was necessary to make things clear to Zhou Yan. "We genuinely just want to know if Xiao Qin can cure him."
Zhou Yan remained silent. After all, the more he spoke, the more mistakes he would make, so he decided to keep his mouth shut.
"Wuji City is surrounded by the Land of Nothingness and the Roland Mountain Range. You in the Land of Nothingness feel it is a cage. Wuji City is the same; it's a cage, just much better than your situation. We also cannot leave Wuji City. We must guard this place, exile those who have committed crimes, accept those who have reformed, and at the same time send those who have reformed and possess talent to the outside world. The outside world is vast, but sadly, we cannot see it."
Zhou Yan glanced at Fan Ting. The sect leader had said that the assessments in Wuji City were so harsh precisely because they didn't want people from the Land of Nothingness to enter. The sect leader had also said not to trust outsiders; only one's companions could be trusted. Thinking of her companions, Zhou Yan looked at Chu Xing, who was happily eating, and thought, the sect leader can be wrong sometimes, and companions can be unreliable too!
"The patient is the City Lord's father," Fan Ting, who had been observing Zhou Yan's expression, said. "The old City Lord was poisoned. Even the Hundred Herbs Hall could do nothing. Xiao Qin excels at using poison, perhaps she has a cure."
"Lies! My sect leader said the marrow of the Dragon Spirit Bamboo is used for extending life. People in the city are either critically ill or on their last legs; they can't be poisoned!" After saying that, Zhou Yan wished he could slap himself. Hadn't he indirectly betrayed his sect leader?
Fan Ting's expression showed a smile. This Xiao Qin was indeed not simple. Their sect leader was indeed severely injured, her Golden Core had cracked, and she had contracted a strange poison, causing her lifespan to rapidly dwindle, leading to her current predicament. Perhaps Xiao Qin could indeed cure her.
"Zhou Yan, do you know where Xiao Qin is?"
Zhou Yan flatly refused to say another word. This person was incredibly cunning, deliberately trying to extract information from him to get news of his sect leader. If he spoke another word, he'd be a grandson!
After Chu Xing had his fill, Fan Ting arranged for him to rest.
Chu Xing wanted to try persuading Zhou Yan before leaving, but seeing Zhou Yan's expression, he eventually gave up.
Fan Ting arranged for Zhou Yan to stay in a guest room. These two could not be kept together. The one who truly knew Xiao Qin's whereabouts was Zhou Yan, and the one who knew what he wanted to know was also Zhou Yan.
"Rest well. No matter where you are, there will always be such a group of lawless individuals who bully the weak. You entered Wuji City, but you couldn't get a good rest. After sleeping, we'll talk tomorrow."
Zhou Yan was determined. No matter what Fan Ting wanted to do or ask, he would not answer.
After Fan Ting left, Zhou Yan finally breathed a sigh of relief. He immediately rushed to the door and opened it, only to see guards stationed outside. Escaping was impossible, so he closed the door.
Zhou Yan paced back and forth in the room. Where had the sect leader gone? How could he notify her that the City Lord's Mansion intended to harm her?