Sensing the abnormality, Xia Yunting stood up immediately, blocking Rong Zhi.
Rong Zhi remained calm, her tone implying something. "It's just some ordinary medicinal herbs. You wouldn't be unable to taste them, would you, Divine Doctor Chu?"
Chu Qing's face turned pale. It was precisely because he could taste them that he found it strange. Each herb was so common, and under normal circumstances, it shouldn't produce any toxicity. That was why he had drunk it without hesitation when Cui Xi brought it over. Yet, as soon as he drank it, he felt dizzy and his stomach burned. This was absolutely not normal! He had been studying medicine since childhood, for nearly 20 years. What trick had this woman played that he couldn't identify? He stared intently at Rong Zhi, as if trying to see through her.
"Divine Doctor Chu, are you alright?" Zhang Yajing, seeing that something was wrong, quickly followed. She immediately detected the tension in the air and looked at Rong Zhi with concern. "Miss Lin, is Divine Doctor Chu alright?"
"Hmph! Ask her? Might as well ask Yama!" Chu Qing glared at Zhang Yajing, his tone unfriendly. "Zhang Yajing, what did you put in that medicine?"
"I... I don't know!" Zhang Yajing dared not look at Chu Qing and turned to call for someone. "Cui Xi! Hurry... hurry over here, Divine Doctor Chu is asking you a question!"
"Coming, coming!" Cui Xi, who had just finished cleaning up the medicine bowl that Chu Qing had knocked over, still had residue on her. She ran over, dusting off her clothes.
"Quick, tell me, what medicine did you prepare for the divine doctor just now?"
"There was red sand leaf, snow lotus seed, black gastrodia..." Cui Xi listed the names of the herbs one by one.
The more Chu Qing heard, the worse his complexion became. Nothing was wrong. If nothing was wrong, where did the poison come from? He looked at Rong Zhi with cold eyes. "Who exactly are you?"
"Someone like you." Rong Zhi gave a mysterious smile.
Chu Qing was startled, but quickly regained his composure.
"Divine Doctor Chu, there's no need to be angry. With your medical skills, I believe you'll find an antidote soon. Of course, if you can't find it within three days, you can come find me at the ghost mansion at the deepest part of Yunshui Village. By then, whether you are still worthy of being called a divine doctor will be something you'll have to seriously consider."
After speaking, Rong Zhi turned to Zhang Yajing. "Miss Zhang, since the person has woken up, we will not intrude further. We bid farewell. As for your request, don't worry, I will certainly keep my word."
Just as Zhang Yajing was about to say something, Rong Zhi suddenly brought up another matter. "Oh, right, tell those constables that what I gave them wasn't an antidote, but a common itch-inducing medicine that makes people itchy all over. Tell them to get half a jin of three-flower grass, boil eight bowls of water into one, and drink it before dawn, and they'll be fine."
"Oh..." Zhang Yajing hadn't recovered from the previous conversation and nodded dazedly.
"Husband, let's go home."
"Mm." Xia Yunting followed Rong Zhi out the door, his eyes warily fixed on Chu Qing. Fortunately, Chu Qing didn't make a move. Throughout the entire process, Chu Qing's gaze remained fixed on the two of them. After his anger subsided, his expression turned to curiosity and inquiry. He muttered, "This man, his killing aura is so strong..."
"Um... are you alright?" Zhang Yajing waved her hand in front of Chu Qing with concern.
Chu Qing suddenly turned his head, making Zhang Yajing quickly straighten up in fright. "Stay away from those two in the future!" With a cold snort, Chu Qing left in a hurry, even using Qinggong.
"Divine Doctor..."
"Oh dear, Miss, stop calling. We've poisoned Divine Doctor Chu this time, he must hate us to death." Cui Xi stopped Zhang Yajing. As an onlooker, she could see that Divine Doctor Chu had no romantic feelings for her mistress. Everything her mistress had done was in vain.
"Impossible! I've done so much for him, even a heart of stone should have melted." Zhang Yajing said as if in a dream, then suddenly looked at Cui Xi, her eyes sparkling. "Didn't you see? He was so close to me just now, and he didn't run away in fear. If it were in the past, apart from diagnosing and treating, he would have wanted to stay ten feet away from me. This is a good sign! It seems this Miss Lin is quite capable."
Cui Xi slapped her forehead. Miss... is beyond saving.
"I bet a pack of pork jerky that within three days, that Divine Doctor Chu will come looking for me." That evening, Rong Zhi fiddled with a piece of pigskin in her hand, looking confident.
Xia Yunting, however, was captivated by the object in Rong Zhi's hand. It was something they had bought casually in the market on their way back that day. After Rong Zhi returned, she began processing it. After soaking it in a special solution, she carefully scraped off the fat with a knife. Under Rong Zhi's swift and skillful hands, the pigskin became thinner and thinner... more and more like human skin. Xia Yunting guessed it might be a disguise technique circulating in the martial world.
"You can do this too?"
"Ah..." Rong Zhi was waiting for him to answer about Chu Qing, and she didn't expect his topic to jump so quickly. "It's nothing complicated. When traveling in the martial world, such skills are minor matters." She held up the pigskin and showed it to Xia Yunting. Indeed, there were holes in the positions of the eyes, nose, and mouth, making it look very realistic, even a little eerie.
"Before those assassins are caught, you should wear this mask. Right now, only Uncle Yu has seen your true face. I don't think he'll reveal us, right?" Rong Zhi said as she held the mask up to Xia Yunting's face.
Xia Yunting smelled a faint fragrance, unsure what Rong Zhi had applied. He tilted his head slightly, and the mask automatically adhered to his face, fitting so perfectly that Xia Yunting was astonished. What excellent craftsmanship! He knew such things existed but had never witnessed the production process firsthand. He touched the thing on his face, and although it felt a little awkward, he quickly adapted.
"Thank you, Xiao Mo."
"Hey, don't come over!" Rong Zhi took a step back. "Stay away from me for three days, you smell of pigskin."
Xia Yunting: "..."
Rong Zhi's guess was correct. The next evening, there was a commotion outside. The weather seemed to be turning rainy, with strong winds blowing outside and dark clouds obscuring all moonlight. A dark and stormy night, perfect for nefarious deeds. Rong Zhi was outside collecting clothes. When they returned that day, she had bought some change of clothes and some food for Uncle Yu, thanking him for sheltering them and for informing them. As for the clothes they were wearing, Rong Zhi had washed them. Now they were dry.
Just then, a flash of lightning illuminated the sky. Under the pale white light, a dark figure darted past, moving extremely fast. If Rong Zhi hadn't reacted quickly, she would barely have seen the shadowy figure. Had they come so soon? Rong Zhi wondered, looking down to see that the clothes she had just collected were all gone! "Demons!"
"Xia Yunting, there was a dark figure outside just now..." Rong Zhi rushed into the room, preparing to explain the situation to Xia Yunting. Another flash of lightning outside illuminated a human-like figure crouched by the window.
"Ahhhh! Xia Yunting! There's a ghost!" Rong Zhi shrieked and threw herself into Xia Yunting's arms. Xia Yunting's body stiffened for a moment, but he didn't dodge. Instead, he patted Rong Zhi's back. "It's alright, I'll go and check."
Go out?
"No! Are you going to leave me here alone? If you go, we go together!" Rong Zhi's tone was firm. She would rather go out and get rained on than stay alone.
"...Alright!"
A gust of wind blew the door open, and the shadowy figure landed on the wall, squatting on it like a monkey. Rong Zhi frowned. "It seems it's not someone surnamed Chu."
"Could it be an assassin!" The shadowy figure leaped from the wall, and Xia Yunting flew up to chase after it. Just as Rong Zhi was about to follow, she suddenly retreated. The next moment, she heard a bang, and a shoe print appeared on the door frame. If Rong Zhi hadn't taken that step back, the shoe print would have landed on her face.
Rong Zhi steadied herself, recognized the newcomer, and a smile flickered at the corner of her lips. "I didn't expect you to come so soon. What, has the poison been resolved?"
Chu Qing didn't speak and struck out with a palm. Rong Zhi dodged to the side, causing Chu Qing to miss. In a blink, Rong Zhi had flashed behind Chu Qing and struck his back with a palm. Chu Qing had no time to dodge. Although Rong Zhi didn't seem to exert much force, he couldn't help but fall forward, crashing against the wall with a loud thud.
"Pfft!" Chu Qing spat out a mouthful of blood, feeling as if his internal organs were shattered.
"Good skills." Rong Zhi patted the dust from her hands, saying indifferently.
Chu Qing turned around, clutching his chest, leaning against the wall to stay upright. His brows were furrowed, and he wanted to clench his fists but had no strength. However, he wasn't particularly angry. His eyes held more curiosity, and he asked tentatively, "Are you... from Medicine King Valley?"
"I told you, I'm someone like you." Rong Zhi deliberately kept him guessing. Seeing the thoughtful look on his face, as if recalling something, she continued, "What is your relationship with Chu Yuheng? Could it be... his son?" Rong Zhi sized up Chu Qing, then thought it unlikely. When she accepted Chu Yuheng as her eldest disciple, he was only a little over ten years old. Even if he had a son, he wouldn't be this old.
Almost instantly, Chu Qing's expression became stern, and his tone turned cold again. "You guessed wrong. I have no connection with Medicine King Valley. It's just that my surname is also Chu, and outsiders spread rumors." He felt a surge of blood and desperately suppressed it to avoid spitting blood.
"Regardless of our origins, as fellow physicians, I don't believe we have any conflict. Where did I offend you, lady, that you would poison me?" Was it because he hadn't given her medicine that day? He felt the matter was not that simple.
"You've been thinking for two days and still haven't figured it out. It seems that even if your medical skills are good and you've already detoxified, your brain is still not working well." Rong Zhi saw his agile movements just now and knew his poison had been resolved. It seemed there were no problems with the medical skills here, but as for character... that remained to be discussed.
"You..." Chu Qing's face showed annoyance. "You tested me. What exactly do you want?"
"What else could it be? In this life, it's all for a few meager coins. My husband and I are newcomers and have no means of livelihood. Only I have some medical skills, and with a divine doctor like you here, I naturally wouldn't be convinced. So, I wanted to come and learn from you, to see if you, this divine doctor, are real or fake."
Chu Qing hesitated slightly, but he didn't doubt her. After all, he had no reason to doubt her. "Now that you've tested me, what do you plan to do?"
"I just want to make a living and I don't want to harm anyone. You have real skills, and I know some things you don't. How about we cooperate?" Rong Zhi smiled slightly, her smile incredibly seductive. What better way to understand someone than to become their partner?
At the same time, on the hillside, Xia Yunting looked at the thin, leaf- and grass-covered creature squatting in the tree and frowned. A monkey? No, it had no tail. A wild man?