Chapter 37 Corpse Poison

Interrupted by the parchment, Fang Yue's expression shifted strangely for a moment.

Fortunately, Wei Liang was still in a daze and didn't notice the change in Fang Yue's face.

It wasn't until Fang Yue asked the carriage to stop that Wei Liang bit her lip.

"What will it take for you to help me?"

"It's not... don't you understand? Captain Huo and I have a good relationship. Even if I could beat her, just because of our relationship, I can't kill her. I advise you to give up on this idea. Otherwise, if Captain Huo dies, I'll be the first to suspect you."

"You'd kill me for an NPC?"

"Hard to say, but I might arrest you and take you to Captain Lang Wu to confess."

"...Crazy! Can't you tell the difference between the game and reality? I'm a player! You won't help me, but you'll help an NPC?"

Fang Yue shrugged.

This game wasn't an ordinary game; the relationships in it were very useful.

The carriage had already stopped. He lifted the curtain, ready to get out.

But Wei Liang once again rushed over and pulled down the curtain, blocking Fang Yue's path.

She stared intently at Fang Yue for a long while before handing over a small, palm-sized bottle.

Fang Yue asked suspiciously, "What's this?"

"...Antidote."

"Antidote?"

Fang Yue was a little confused.

"Why would I need an antidote?"

"You've been poisoned."

What?!

Fang Yue was shocked and quickly checked his status bar.

But besides [Guei Curse], there was no sign of any poison status.

She's bluffing me!

Just as Fang Yue was about to speak, a system notification suddenly sounded.

"System notification: You have entered the [Qi-Cold Corpse Poison] state."

"Status: Guei Curse [Back of Hand], Qi-Cold Corpse Poison."

"Name: Qi-Cold Corpse Poison."

"Effect: Qi-cold yin wind, sealed within the body of a near-corpse, brewed for three months, can become corpse poison, collected and preserved, and used only through special methods."

"Description: Qi-Cold Corpse Poison is a terrifying poison that is enough to kill ordinary people. But its effect is limited on those with great strength, causing intermittent stinging pain in the joints. Regardless of the method of use, Qi-Cold Corpse Poison will emit a faint corpse stench, which can be masked with spices. After being poisoned, the poisoned person's sense of this special corpse stench will instantly become several times more acute. Even if separated from the poisonous gas, continuous poisoning can be avoided."

"Note: A poisoned version of old, cold, rheumatic legs!"

Fang Yue: !!!

Fuck!

I've really been poisoned!

Looking at the description of the poison's effects, Fang Yue's expression changed slightly.

But he quickly realized that he wasn't losing health.

It was simply a stinging pain in his joints, suggesting the poisoning wasn't deep and the effects were minimal.

But regardless, Fang Yue had still been poisoned!

With a dark expression, Fang Yue's tone gradually turned cold: "Why am I poisoned? Did you do something?"

At this distance, even in the daytime, Fang Yue could instantly kill Wei Liang. But facing Fang Yue's obvious threatening tone, Wei Liang's reaction was calm, and she readily admitted it.

"I poisoned you. This bottle contains the antidote to [Qi-Cold Corpse Poison]. You'll be fine if you take it."

Yeah right!

Fang Yue took the small bottle with a grim face, but he didn't plan to take the antidote. Instead, he would wait until night to see if [Night Breathing] could cure the poisoning effect on its own.

Who knew what was in this bottle? It would be troublesome if it was a poison that made the poisoning worse.

Putting the bottle away, Fang Yue said coldly, "...What exactly do you mean? Poisoning me, then immediately giving me the antidote? There's something wrong with this antidote, right?"

Wei Liang sighed.

"It's complicated to explain. Let me explain from the beginning. The carriage was already set up with my poison, but this poison wasn't aimed at you. It was a demonstration. According to my expectations, we should have already reached a cooperation agreement. Next, we would discuss how to kill Captain Huo."

"And how to kill Captain Huo depends on this poison. I never intended for you to kill a Captain Huo at her full strength. As long as you make good use of the poison I specially purchased, killing Captain Huo isn't as difficult as you think."

"By personally experiencing the poison, feeling its power, you would see my sincerity and strengthen the cooperation between us..."

But...

Fang Yue shook his head slightly.

He still didn't intend to join forces with Wei Liang.

Moreover, this potent poison didn't have a health-draining effect.

It only caused poisoning damage to the joints inside the body, creating a stimulating pain that affected the poisoned person's ability to fight.

This was just targeting himself. If it were used on Captain Huo, the effect of this poisoning sting would be even weaker.

Obviously, Wei Liang also understood that this poison couldn't kill someone with Captain Huo's strength. At most, it would only weaken her, so she was looking for someone to help.

She still had some hope for Fang Yue.

"What's being used on you now is only a portion of the poison for demonstration purposes. I used a small dose, so the toxicity is naturally average. When we actually fight, I will increase the dose and release all the poison. The actual effect will be much stronger than it is now. If you're willing to help, I'm seventy percent sure I can take down Captain Huo."

"...You don't need to waste your breath. I won't participate in your plan, and I advise you to give up on this idea. This poison doesn't have much effect on me, so it will have even less effect on Captain Huo. Besides, she's been a captain in Mo Village for so long, the resources she carries are much more than you think. Your poison might not even work."

That's right.

Fang Yue was a poor ghost, and since he had [Night Breathing], he naturally didn't have things like regularly prepared antidotes.

But how could someone like Captain Huo, who held a high position and had wealth and strength, not carry some detoxification pills with her?

When the time came, she would take a pill and suppress all the poison's effects. Its auxiliary role was too limited.

Unless it was a terrifying poison like the [Soul-Loss Poison Soup] that the [Index Finger Guei] brewed when Fang Yue first entered the game, that was truly something that could kill Captain Huo with a high degree of certainty.

As for ordinary poisons like the [Qi-Cold Corpse Poison] in Wei Liang's hand, forget about it.

Waving his hand, Fang Yue left the carriage amidst Wei Liang's astonished expression.

Recognizing the direction, he headed towards the Lang Manor.

Wei Liang, who remained in the carriage, watched Fang Yue leave, clenched her fist slightly, and after a long while, slowly released her hand and took a deep breath.

"Lao Zhao, return to the manor."

"Yes!"

The carriage set off again, turned around, and headed towards the Wei Manor.

Wei Liang hadn't given up on the plan to kill Captain Huo. Fang Yue's appearance was just an accident.

If Fang Yue joined, it could greatly increase her plan's success rate.

But even without Fang Yue, she was thirty to forty percent confident that she could kill Captain Huo. It would just be more difficult to handle and require more preparation.

"Nightmare Dawn... an unstable factor. I'll start acting after he leaves Mo Village."

Wei Liang rested her cheek on her hand in the carriage, playing with the Fire-Transparent Leaf, lost in thought.

...KanShuLa

Black Crow Merchant Troupe.

A while after Fang Yue left in Wei Liang's carriage, Hei Da and Hei Er finally emerged from the auction house.

As soon as they came out, a hand blocked their path.

"You two are slow," Captain Huo said with a smile, narrowing her eyes.

"...Get out of the way." Kanδん

"That won't do. I have so many questions to ask you two."

Hei Da was silent.

His face, shrouded in black mist, stared calmly at Captain Huo.

Being stared at by that black mist face, Captain Huo gradually felt a sense of unease.

That face was like a vortex, swallowing everything around it like a black hole, making people feel uncomfortable.

It wasn't until then that Hei Da emphasized his tone, "...Get out of the way!"

Captain Huo frowned and was about to continue questioning when the leader of the Black Crow Merchant Troupe, the young man who inherited the Black Crow name, walked out with a smile.

"Captain Huo, are you making things difficult for our guests?"

Captain Huo immediately glared over, "...This has nothing to do with you! Once you leave the big tent, it's none of your business! That's the rule!"

"Oh, oh! Don't get so worked up. We're not responsible for guests who leave the Black Crow Merchant Troupe's tent. That's the rule, I naturally understand it. But..."

Black Crow smiled and pointed around, suddenly raising his voice.

"Captain Huo, is it not good to rob our guests in the street as soon as they leave the auction house?"

The people around, who had already noticed the end of the auction, curiously turned their gazes over.

Guests from the auction were also gradually leaving the Black Crow Merchant Troupe's big tent.

They saw Captain Huo's aggressive questioning of the hooded figures and revealed different expressions.

Who knew that once they left the Black Crow Merchant Troupe's big tent, the Black Crow Merchant Troupe had no obligation to protect them? At that time, they would have to rely on their own abilities to protect the auction items they had purchased.

It was just that everyone had some sense of shame. They were all people who lived in Mo Village. They would see each other sooner or later. To directly rob someone as soon as they left the auction house was too much, wasn't it?

Was there still any justice?

Did they really think that merchants were all the captains' dogs? Did they get extorted as soon as they bought something?

Even though these people didn't express any emotions, their inner thoughts were fluctuating.

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The captain's authority was indeed boundless.

But a captain who was resisted by everyone wouldn't receive support for anything they did.

Not to mention that Mo Village didn't only have one captain. If Captain Huo reported something like trying to rob or forcibly buy other people's auction items on the street to Captain Lang Wu, she would suffer greatly.

Various piercing gazes were cast over, making Captain Huo very unhappy.

She glared at the onlookers, snorted, and said coldly to Black Crow, "You better be glad you have a good backer. Otherwise, someone like you would have been torn to pieces by me long ago."

Black Crow just smiled.

"Thank you, Captain Huo, for not killing me."

"Hmph!"

Turning around and walking away, Captain Huo quickly disappeared from everyone's sight.

The people who participated in the auction then breathed a sigh of relief and left in their own carriages.

Black Crow said to Hei Da and Hei Er, "You two, Captain Huo is gone. You can leave safely now. But I can only protect you this much. Captain Huo is right. Once you leave the big tent, the Black Crow Merchant Troupe has no right to intervene in the affairs of other villages."

Hei Da didn't speak, nodded to Black Crow, and left with Hei Er.

At this moment, the sun was gradually setting.

After the excitement, the Black Crow Merchant Troupe began to pack their luggage. They would leave Mo Village tomorrow morning and go to the next village for commercial activities.

Hei Da and Hei Er, on the other hand, were walking outwards.

But as they walked, Hei Da suddenly stopped and glanced back slightly. He grabbed Hei Er's hand and suddenly quickened his pace.

After the two walked far away, a figure peeked out half their body from a corner.

With a head of fiery red hair, it was none other than Captain Huo.

"Something's strange! There's definitely something strange about these two!"

She chuckled and continued to quietly follow behind the two.

One in front and one behind, the three began a competition of tracking and counter-tracking skills in Mo Village.

Night slowly descended, and Soul Lamps lit up along the road at intervals, providing light and warmth.

Captain Huo, who was tracking behind, became increasingly confused.

Because she discovered that the two people didn't return to an inn or any lodging point. Instead, they were simply circling Mo Village again and again.

"Could it be that I've been discovered? That's impossible. Besides Lang Wu and Captain Wu, those two freaks, no one in Mo Village can discover my stealth skills!"

"Unless... the strength of those two hooded figures has also reached Houtian Second-Rate Realm?"

Captain Huo thought it was impossible. If a Houtian Second-Rate Realm expert entered the village, it would have caused a sensation and attracted their attention long ago.

For example, when Fang Yue entered the village, his strength immediately attracted attention and a comprehensive investigation was carried out.

And if they weren't Houtian Second-Rate Realm experts and hadn't discovered my tracking, then why were they circling around? What was their purpose?

Captain Huo was lost in thought. After looking up, she was suddenly stunned.

The two hooded figures she had been following closely had suddenly disappeared!

"How is that possible!? They actually slipped away right under my nose?"