Testing the Medicine
Translator: Cinder Translations
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Just as Song Wen thought everything was ready and was waiting for nightfall to take action, four members of the Tian Sha Gang entered the courtyard and settled into the small building. Two of them even stood guard right outside his door.
This left Song Wen dumbfounded!
"Did Ji Yin sense my intention to escape?"
"Impossible, I disguised myself so well, I shouldn't have been exposed."
Seeing his chance of escape slip away, Song Wen paced back and forth in his room, agitated and uneasy.
No matter how hard he thought, he couldn't figure out how Ji Yin had discovered his plan.
In reality, Ji Yin hadn't discovered Song Wen's intention to escape. Ji Yin was just habitually cautious and worried that if Song Wen was left alone, he might sneak into the small building and steal his secrets and cultivation techniques.
It was this coincidence that thwarted Song Wen's escape plan.
In the following days, Song Wen spent his time in constant anxiety. Every time he thought of risking everything to try climbing down the cliff and escaping, the sight of the four strong guards with their steel knives brought him back to reality.
Song Wen noticed that the once quiet wing area had become lively again.
Young people were constantly being brought into the wing and then detained, waiting for Ji Yin to come out and teach them cultivation techniques.
Ten days later, Ji Yin finally emerged.
Ji Yin was still full of energy, confident in the pills he had refined this time.
"Song Wen, follow me to the small building."
Looking at Ji Yin who suddenly appeared in front of him, Song Wen's face turned extremely grim. He didn't know how to resist.
It seemed that since encountering Gou Hang, he had become like meat on a chopping board, with no ability to resist.
After hesitating for a while, Song Wen still followed Ji Yin to the small building.
"Take this pill, it will greatly enhance your cultivation. As long as you break through to the seventh level, you can become a core member of the Tian Sha Gang and freely come and go."
Ji Yin tempted him with benefits.
At this moment, the situation had already threatened Song Wen's life, and he could no longer maintain the disguise on his face.
He stared at Ji Yin with hatred, wanting to punch him in the smiling face, but he knew he was no match for Ji Yin. If he angered Ji Yin, he might end up like the chubby boy from before, gifted a yellow talisman by Ji Yin and turned into a Hiroshima-Nagasaki, reduced to a pile of ashes.
Weakness is a sin!
At this moment, Song Wen understood this phrase with utmost clarity.
A cold smile suddenly appeared on Ji Yin's face.
"I didn't expect that among my disciples, there would be someone smart. It seems you've already guessed part of the truth.
But I advise you, don't try to resist, obediently take the pill. As long as you survive, I will truly give you freedom."
"Clang!"
A token the size of a baby's palm was thrown to the ground.
Ji Yin continued.
"This is my token. With it, you can freely go anywhere within the Tian Sha Gang."
Song Wen looked at the token on the ground, then at the pill in Ji Yin's hand. After some hesitation and contemplation, he took the pill from Ji Yin's hand and picked up the token from the ground.
"Hopefully, Master will keep his word!"
If one's strength is insufficient, one can only rely on luck.
When Er Niu tried the medicine for the first time, he didn't die either.
"Don't worry, I always keep my word. You've seen it already, there are new people coming. If you survive this time, I won't need you to test the medicine again. You just need to take care of the herb fields for me."
"I'm just afraid that if there are no more test subjects in the future, you'll make me test the medicine again," Song Wen thought to himself.
If he could survive this crisis, he would still have to find a way to leave.
Song Wen sat cross-legged, tilted his head back, and swallowed the pill. He immediately began to circulate his energy to absorb the medicinal power.
As soon as the pill entered his stomach, it turned into waves of heat, rapidly raising Song Wen's body temperature.
The heat flowed through his meridians, coursing through his limbs and bones, spreading throughout his entire body.
At the same time, his vital energy and blood were rapidly consumed. His face gradually lost its color, becoming extremely pale.
Song Wen could clearly feel the heat in his meridians being gradually refined by the "Changchun Technique," ultimately converging in his dantian and becoming part of his spiritual cultivation.
However, the massive consumption of vital energy and blood made Song Wen feel weak, as if he had been repeatedly ravaged by dozens of women.
He felt that even sitting cross-legged on the ground was strenuous, and he had a strong urge to lie down and rest.
"You can't lie down. If you stop circulating your energy, the unrefined medicinal power will quickly devour your vital energy and blood, making you die even faster."
Ji Yin's voice sounded in his ears, leaving Song Wen with no choice but to trust him.
After all, Ji Yin didn't want Song Wen to fail either.
Song Wen gritted his teeth and continued to persist.
When Song Wen felt that his vital energy and blood were almost completely depleted, and he could no longer hold on, a mysterious energy suddenly appeared in his body. This energy came out of nowhere, without any warning.
It was as if under the extreme pressure on his body, some special constitution within him had been activated.
At this moment, Song Wen had no time to think about anything else. He used this energy to quickly refine the medicinal power.
Observing Song Wen's reaction to the medicine, Ji Yin's face turned from surprise to delight.
Although Song Wen experienced severe depletion of vital energy and blood, his body did not show signs of aging, and he was almost done refining the medicinal power.
From the current situation, Song Wen was definitely not in danger of dying.
Ji Yin's eyes lit up, feeling that success was near.
Half an hour later, Song Wen finished circulating his energy and meditating, having completely refined the medicinal power.
He opened his eyes wearily, and the first thing he saw was Ji Yin's outstretched hand, holding a black pill.
Before Song Wen could react, Ji Yin had already placed the pill in his mouth.
"Don't worry too much. This pill is the Tian Sha Gang's 'Seven-Day Heartbreak Pill.' As long as you take the antidote every seven days, this pill won't affect you at all."
As Ji Yin explained, Song Wen, who was extremely weak, had no strength to resist, and the pill was already in his stomach.
The deed was done, resistance was futile. Song Wen could only accept the fact that he had ingested the poison and was now under Ji Yin's control.
Half an hour later, having barely regained some strength, Song Wen stood up, leaned against the wall, went downstairs, and returned to his room.
Throughout the entire process, Song Wen realized his body was extremely weak. Even walking took all his effort, and his legs wouldn't stop trembling, like he had been pampered by several noblewomen.
Lying on the bed, Song Wen began to recall the mysterious energy that had appeared at the critical moment.
If it weren't for this mysterious energy, Song Wen felt he would have likely followed in the footsteps of Er Niu and Zhang Cheng.
At this moment, Song Wen carefully sensed his entire body but couldn't find any trace of the mysterious energy, as if it had been completely consumed.
(End of the Chapter)