Xiao Hei actually took them deep into the mountains, and Xiao Hei seemed to know the way, with a very strong sense of purpose, not hesitating at all.
Beside them was a mountain cave...
Rong Zhi patted Xiao Hei's horse face, "Have you become a spirit?"
Xiao Hei shook its head, knelt on the ground, and nuzzled the unconscious Xia Yun Ting.
Xia Yun Ting's brows furrowed, and he let out a pained groan.
Rong Zhi frowned, the poison was more potent than she had imagined.
As dawn broke, Rong Zhi once again examined the poisoned needle. From the unique pale blue residue, it was a poison called Seven-Day Killer Poison. Its toxicity damaged the meridians, and for those who practiced martial arts, the poison spread even faster. If no antidote was found within seven days, they would die in agony.
Coincidentally, Xia Yun Ting's father's subordinate had also been poisoned by this same toxin years ago.
In her previous life, Rong Zhi couldn't find a solution, and the patient died in vain. This life, after thirteen years, Rong Zhi had finally developed the antidote recipe.
Xia Yun Ting being poisoned was unfortunate, but encountering her, Rong Zhi, was a blessing in disguise.
Rong Zhi dragged Xia Yun Ting into the mountain cave.
Inside the cave, there were piles of scattered rubble, but it emitted an unpleasant odor, like… the smell of a corpse.
Rong Zhi wrinkled her nose, instinctively feeling something was amiss, but at this point, there was no other choice.
The assassins might catch up at any moment, so finding a place to hide was paramount.
Xia Yun Ting's eyes were tightly shut, his handsome face looking pale, and his breathing was erratic.
Rong Zhi took his pulse and inwardly sighed, "Not good."
She had to gather medicinal herbs quickly.
Rong Zhi exited the cave and saw Xiao Hei still outside. After some thought, she led Xiao Hei to a distant hillside.
"I'm sorry, Xiao Hei, Xia Yun Ting is injured now. If those assassins really come, I'll have to trouble you to create a diversion here."
Rong Zhi tied Xiao Hei to a tree. Xiao Hei stomped its hooves and began to lower its head to graze.
Rong Zhi started searching the mountainside.
For Rong Zhi, who had traveled all over the world and tasted all kinds of herbs in her past life, the mountains were a natural treasure trove of medicinal ingredients. Various herbs that looked similar on the surface automatically had their names appear in Rong Zhi's mind.
"Hundred Herb Dew, Heavenly Immortal Flower, Thousand Year Snow, Cloud Rain Flower… Strange, why is there no Cloud Rain Flower?"
Rong Zhi pursed her lips. This was a crucial ingredient for making the antidote. Without Cloud Rain Flower, even with the rest of the ingredients, the antidote could only temporarily alleviate the poison.
She had to pack up the remaining herbs for now and was about to move to another location when she suddenly heard rustling sounds in the distant grass.
Rong Zhi thought it was pursuers. She pushed aside the grass and discovered a young man.
The man wore a long robe and looked like a scholar. He carried a medicine basket on his back and was looking around, searching.
It seemed he was also here to gather herbs.
Rong Zhi did not alert him and returned with the rest of the herbs first.
Xia Yun Ting was semi-conscious, clearly in pain, with large beads of sweat on his forehead and his brows tightly knitted. His hands clutched the ground.
Rong Zhi helped him sit up, facing her. She grabbed his collar with her right hand and yanked it down with a *swish*, revealing a large expanse of his pectoral muscles.
Xia Yun Ting suddenly opened his eyes, his voice hoarse, but lacking the aloofness he had before.
"What… are you doing?"
"Administering poison."
Rong Zhi pulled a dagger from her waist and, without hesitation, made an incision on Xia Yun Ting's chest.
Blood immediately gushed out, and it was black!
Rong Zhi placed her hand on Xia Yun Ting's neck and used her internal energy to guide the poisonous blood, letting it flow out of the wound until the blood draining out slowly turned red.
By the time Xia Yun Ting's clothes were soaked with poisonous blood, his complexion had improved.
"Thank you."
He reached to put his clothes back on.
"Wait a moment!"
Rong Zhi stopped him and took out two herbs, chewed them, and applied them to the wound.
The cool sensation made Xia Yun Ting more alert. He looked at the person before him, who was treating him with complete focus, and his ears involuntarily turned red.
Fortunately, he was naturally serious, so Rong Zhi didn't notice his embarrassment.
After applying the medicine, Xia Yun Ting intended to put on his clothes, but they were dirty, so he gave up and leaned against the wall to rest.
Rong Zhi said, "I went out to gather herbs earlier and found that one important ingredient was missing, so I could only alleviate the poison for you, but not completely cure it. I've found some herbs to suppress the poison. Once it's safe outside, we'll find a place to brew the medicine."
Xia Yun Ting nodded, not objecting to Rong Zhi's decision.
This inexplicable trust didn't reassure Rong Zhi; instead, it made her feel a bit strange.
In her imagination, someone like Xia Yun Ting should be very suspicious.
"I'll go out and check for any pursuers."
Rong Zhi walked to the entrance of the cave but suddenly stopped.
She heard footsteps, and many of them, approaching the cave.
"Xia Yun Ting, someone's coming!"
Xia Yun Ting's eyes narrowed slightly, and he got up with difficulty, leaning on the rock wall and retreating a couple of steps.
There was a protrusion on the rock wall that looked like an ordinary stone, only smoother.
Xia Yun Ting gripped the stone and was about to exert force when a stern voice suddenly came from outside.
"What are you doing here?"
"Gathering… gathering herbs."
Another voice answered, his tone as smooth as jade, but with a hint of fear.
Xia Yun Ting paused his actions.
Outside, a young man with a medicine basket on his back was being held at knifepoint by several men.
"Him?" Rong Zhi muttered to herself.
Isn't this the young man she saw gathering herbs earlier?
Chu Qing Ze felt he was incredibly unlucky. He had intended to come out and gather herbs on a clear day, but he ran into these men with swords.
While explaining, he reached into his basket and took out herbs as proof.
One of the assassins stepped forward, checked them, and gave the others a look. They then retracted their knives.
"Have you seen a man and a woman?"
"I didn't see a man and a woman, but I did see a group of men."
"Where?"
Chu Qing Ze pointed at the men before him and said innocently, "Aren't you them?"
"Trying to trick us, you want to die?"
"Hey, hey, hey, don't lay a hand on me!"
Chu Qing Ze raised his hands in surrender. He thought for a moment and pointed towards another hillside.
"I didn't see anyone, but there's a black horse tied up on that hillside."
"Black horse? That's Xia Yun Ting's horse, go check it out!"
The assassins sheathed their swords and headed towards the hillside Chu Qing Ze had pointed to.
Chu Qing Ze let out a sigh of relief, the fear on his face vanishing, as if he had completely transformed.
Suddenly, his gaze fell on the cave entrance.
The entrance was covered by grass and vines. Rong Zhi had deliberately concealed it when she entered, yet his gaze precisely fixed on the entrance, as if he had discovered someone inside.
Rong Zhi tightened her grip on her dagger.
Chu Qing Ze pushed aside the grass and walked step by step towards the cave entrance. Through the gaps in the grass and vines, the scene inside the cave slowly became visible – the entrance, the rubble, the rock wall…
Just as he was about to see the full picture, a beastly roar suddenly came from within.
Roar!
"There's… a beast!"
Chu Qing Ze's steps halted, his face showing fear. He suddenly turned and ran, faster and faster, until he disappeared into the greenery.
So much for being brave, only to be so easily fooled.
Rong Zhi couldn't help but sigh.
Being a rogue was really not easy. Not only did one need martial arts skills, but also medical skills, and even vocal imitation!
With all her talents, being a doctor was simply a waste of her abilities!
"Xia Yun Ting, they're gone."
Rong Zhi turned back, only to see Xia Yun Ting kneeling on the ground, leaning against the rock wall with his eyes closed, as if he had fallen asleep.
Rong Zhi's heart tightened. It seemed she needed to get him down the mountain quickly.
Cloud Rain Flower was not a rare herb and grew widely. It was impossible that it couldn't be found.
If it wasn't on the mountain, it was likely all picked.
Some herbal shops, to make money, would hoard large quantities of herbs and create monopolies. This was a common occurrence.
She needed to find an herbal shop as soon as possible and buy Cloud Rain Flower.
It was already dark.
Under the cover of night, Rong Zhi went out to scout. She found no pursuers.
What worried her was that Xiao Hei was gone, likely taken by the assassins.
Rong Zhi had no choice but to sling Xia Yun Ting over her shoulder and drag him down the mountain.
The mountain was overgrown with deep grass, and the path was difficult to discern. With every step, her feet sank deeply into the grass, and she had to be wary of poisonous insects and snakes.
Halfway down, Rong Zhi was already out of breath, sweating profusely, and her steps were faltering.
"Oh heavens, this person is too heavy."
She looked back, seeing Xia Yun Ting leaning on her shoulder, his eyes closed. The pale moonlight cast on Xia Yun Ting's face, as if it were etched with "weakness."
He was too tall, and more than half his body leaned on Rong Zhi, making it heavy and awkward.
After her rebirth, Rong Zhi thanked heaven every day for the chance to live again, but today, she couldn't help but complain: "Heavens! Why give me such a weak body that I can't even drag a man!"
In her previous life, although her body was thin, she was a head taller than now, and could carry two people with one hand.
There was no other way. Rong Zhi had to temporarily put Xia Yun Ting down to recover her strength.
Xia Yun Ting was placed in the grass. Rong Zhi called out to him a couple of times but received no response.
The dim night blurred his features. At that moment, it was as if time had distorted, and the face before her overlapped with another.
Xia Yang, Xia Yun Ting.
One father, one son.
Both poisoned by Seven-Day Killer Poison.
More than ten years ago, she couldn't save Xia Yang. More than ten years later, she couldn't bear to witness the same tragedy repeat itself, especially since she had now found the antidote.
Rong Zhi sighed and murmured.
"Xia Yun Ting, you absolutely cannot die!"
If you die, my efforts will have been in vain.
If you die, I can't return to Medicine King Valley.
Now those assassins considered her an accomplice of Xia Yun Ting. They were in the same boat, destined to sink or swim together.
When Xia Yun Ting awoke, he heard Rong Zhi's worried whisper.
Before him was a sky as blue as water, and beside him, the rustling sound of leaves in the wind.
No assassins, no pursuit, only that soft sigh.
Xia Yun Ting took a moment to compose himself before speaking softly:
"What do you seek?"