Episode 21 : Tear Flower Poison – Chapter 2

Jinshui did not take the bottle from Yanzi, asking her to share the pills with Yunhe and the others. Yanzi first passed the bottle of medicine to Duan Meng, making sure the medicine could be used to treat leiying hua poison. Duan Meng took out one of the medicinal pills and split it open.

"Yeah," Duan Meng nods his head, "it's just that there are twenty-one people here, while there are only ten pills. Not enough."

"Can you make some new antidotes, or perhaps replicate those pills?" Jinshui asked. "Or at least one that can be used to resist the leiying hua poison?"

"The medicine room has already been burnt down, and there are not enough materials to deal with leiying hua poison in the garden," Duan Meng replied, "Creating new medicine requires gathering a lot of rare materials and a long brewing process, there will be no time."

"Hua Gege."

Liuxin ran to him, and behind her followed a young man whom Jinshui immediately recognized as the son of the chief of the Nanyang Yongjun Hui, Huan Chaoyu. Jinshui didn't know why he came with Liuxin.

"Liuxin Meimei, did you get leiying hua poison in you too?" Jinshui directly asked her.

"I don't know," Liuxin said half crying. "Qingyi killed Yue Dage, I couldn't find his body under the cliff, I could only find his one shoe." She showed a shoe in her hand. It was Yue Songdai's.

Last night Qingyi had indeed kicked Yue Songdai down the cliff before she knocked Jinshui unconscious. Liuxin apparently was just left on the ground, moments later she woke up and immediately tried to find her boyfriend. She met Huan Chaoyu down the cliff, and the young man followed her ever since.

"Liuxin Jiejie," Yanzi checked Liuxin's pulse, found the same poison, and nodded once at Jinshui.

"You have Shuiyao Shishu's inner energy, you can deal with the poison yourself," Jinshui said to Liuxin. "You go there and see Huang Yu and the others. I'll tell you everything later."

Liuxin complied and quickly ran away. Huan Chaoyu was about to follow but Yanzi had already caught his hand and checked him.

"He also got poisoned," Yanzi told Jinshui. "But he will not die."

She deliberately pushed Huan Chaoyu towards the two Yongjun Hui members who were also there, informing him that those two had been exposed to leiying hua poison and would soon lose their lives. Huan Chaoyu recognized those two subordinates of him, but he didn't really care about their life anyway.

"Jinshui Gege, there are only ten pills of antidote for twenty-one people," Xu Qiao said. "What do we do now?"

"Just give it to them," Jinshui said. He did not point directly but rather aimed at the eleven disciples of Haitang Jian Pai.

"Guniang, what about us?" two Yongjun Hui members asked in fear.

"What are you two here in Wansui Gu?" Yanzi asked the two.

"We were here looking for our young master," one of them answered while glancing at Huan Chaoyu. "Menzhu's order." Menzhu meant the leader of Yongjun Hui, Huan Chaoyu's father.

"Shaoye didn't return to Nanyang City after attending the meeting in Yiling District," the other one added, "and there was a rumor that he… was defeated…." He didn't dare to mention that Huan Chaoyu had damaged Yongjun Hui's name by letting himself be humiliatingly defeated at the meeting in Yiling District.

"You two are just small members of Yongjun Hui. Your sect was antagonizing Jinshui Gege and his friends for no reason all this time, and we have no reason to save you," Yanzi didn't care about their answers. "Haitang Jian Pai's disciples also like to act arbitrarily, the pain from leiying hua poison can be considered a kind reminder."

"Yanzi," Xu Qiao rebuked her, "I know Jinshui Gege will do his best to save everyone."

"I know," said Yanzi in sour tone. "There were only ten pills in the bottle, just enough to help half the poisoned victims. Jinshui Gege would have to use his inner energy to suck out the poison, and only then have this pill to cure the poison."

"Wuqing xue cannot be used to dissolve poison, but it can be used to transfer poison into one's own body or others," Xu Qiao said as she remembered how Jinshui helped her three years ago when she suffered from zixie and zhaobai poisons. "Jinshui Gege, there is hope to save everyone."

"You want me to use wuqing xue energy, suck out the poison from them, and put that poison it in my body?" Jinshui asked her while pointing at himself.

"There is Yanzi's sister, and dashixiong too," Xu Qiao reminded him, "and also your friends." She meant Liao Xian, Yin Xiuchen, Qin Liangjie, Shangguan Ruyin, Liuxin, and Lin Xiaoyan.

"One body cannot take that much poison," Yanzi reminded what happened to Yuan Wancui when she received a severe amount of leiying poison. "Jinshui Gege still has to choose who needs help and who doesn't."

Jinshui didn't reply immediately as he remembered Ma Yongtao's words a few moments ago. Jinshui would have to choose to help his friends or save everyone. He quickly realized something.

He returned to the cave and met his friends there. Liao Xian and Qin Liangjie were still trying to deal with the poison in their bodies by themselves using internal energy, but they seemed to be having a hard time. Their faces were as white as death and sweat the size of soybean seeds dripped down their foreheads. Yin Xiuchen had already fallen unconscious.

"Yu, how is it?" Jinshui asked Huang Yu in the cave.

"This poison is real tough," Huang Yu said, "we can cure it using internal energy but would take months, similar to three years ago when you removed the zixie and zhaobai poisons from Xu Guniang."

He had tried to get rid of the poison from Lin Xiaoyan's body but failed, and then decided to collect the poison and sucked it into his own body, still capable enough to secure the poison in the blood on his left arm. However, the polluted blood was plenty. Removing it all at once would drain his body while holding it there and slowly cleansing it will also take time.

"We don't have much time, the poison can only be sucked into one's own body or transferred to someone's body," Jinshui said, "then only take the antidote to get rid of it."

The leiying hua poison was debilitating but in a regular dose, it would not kill immediately. The poison spread very quickly unlike any other produced by Wansui Gu people, which mostly only react after a few days.

In just half an hour, anyone affected by the poison would be so weak they were unable to use their internal energy. Six hours later they will start to feel totally numb and if at that time the antidote was not given, then after days or even months of suffering, they will lose their lives.

It really was a quick effect but slow death kind of extremely terrifying poison. Zhou Sangong combined several kinds of poisonous plants to create a new vegetation, and after a while, it grew small translucent flowers each resembling a drop of water, beautiful yet deadly.

There were only ten antidote pills. Jinshui, Huang Yu, and Zhu Baique were the ones still capable enough to ingest poison or transfer it to others. Liao Xian and Qin Liangjie had already been poisoned and the interference from Liangshan member Liu Mo just now had caused the poison to react, leaving the two of them unable to do much. The poison in Liuxin's body had also reacted. Because she had just lost Yue Songdai, she also couldn't use internal energy to help anyone.

They gathered everyone who was exposed to the poison inside the cave. There were thirty people in total now. The ten antidote pills meant they would have to reduce the thirty victims to ten. However, Jinshui also knew that the threat from Liangshan Liu Mo was still there, waiting for them to run out of energy, and who knew what would happen at that time?

Jinshui asked Yanzi to give three of the antidote pills to Liao Xian, Qin Liangjie, and Liuxin so they could guard the others against Liangshan Liu Mo if necessary. The three of them then sat in front of the entrance of the cave while adjusting the pure energy, allowing their body to absorb the antidote faster.

"I'm not poisoned, I can also take part in guarding you," Huan Chaoyu volunteered. "Although my martial ability is not on par with you, the Yumen descendants, at least there is something I can do."

He seemed to have been attracted to Liuxin, from the first time he saw her at Chunjie Kezhan that day. His gaze never left the little princess, volunteering to guard was for the sake of protecting Liuxin. He then stood at the entrance of the cave, not far from Liuxin.

"Yanzi, give the pills to your sister and Yang Shaoxia too," Huang Yu asked Yanzi. "They can go look for Feng Yeye, or use our fireworks signal and try to find Li Qian, or Xiaoshan and Xiaohu who shouldn't be far away."

Li Qian and Huang Lian had not shown up so far, making Huang Yu a bit anxious. At that time, Xiaoshan and Xiaohu were asked to find Yanzi, but then Yanzi appeared alone. The two servants didn't know that Huang Yu and the others entered Wansui Gu through a secret passage, they might have lost track.

Yanzi was unwillingly giving Zhou Xiangnu and Yang Lei two antidote pills. Both quickly swallowed the pills, sat down for a while, and meditated, waiting for the antidote to take effect before they could leave.

There were only five antidote pills left. They would have to decide who would be the host for the poisons.

"Jinshui Gege," Xu Qiao called, "you can count on me. You once taught me wuqing xue, now I can use it to help you. In the end, the poison will be transferred to only five people, let me be one of them, please...."

"Qiao-er, it's none of your business. You won't be strong enough either."

"You have big tasks in the future, you can't sacrifice yourself," Xu Qiao ensured him. "Trust me, Jinshui Gege, I will not die of that poison. You can transfer it to me."

"No," Jinshui disagreed.

"I'll take it," Duan Meng volunteered, "Hua Shaoxia, zhuren once said, one who has been dealing with poison all his life will not die from poison. I know the nature of this leiying hua poison the most. I know that this old body of mine is still strong enough to endure it, and doesn't even need an antidote. I might lose consciousness for a couple of days but I will survive."

The old man didn't wait for Jinshui's answer, and directly approached Huang Yu who had already sat with the four young monks.

"Huang Shaoxia," he called, "you can transfer their poison to me."

"Qiao-er," Jinshui turned back to Xu Qiao, "You help me, transfer the poison to me."

"Jinshui Gege...." Xu Qiao protested.

"Trust me, I will not die."

"But you could lose consciousness for a few days, during which time your life would be in danger. I can't...."

"I believe in you," Jinshui spoke softly. "This time, you will protect me."

Zhu Baique had already approached Haitang Jian Pai disciples.

"I will transfer the poison from them to you and Yunli," she told Yunhe and Yunli in a cold voice, pointing to Yuan Wancui's nine niece disciples, "I know that you two do not like receiving help from Yumen descendants, but I also know that you want to save your nieces. Later, after you collect the poisons from them, whether you want to have the antidote or die from poisoning, is absolutely none of my business."

Yunhe and Yunli would hate it if their hatred of the Yumen descendants cost the lives of their young nieces who were not old enough to understand the cruelty of the demonic sect. Even though it was Zhu Baique who transferred the poison, it could be said that these young disciples were not helped directly by Yumen descendants. Their lives were traded for their own lives.

Jinshui and Xu Qiao teamed up to help four young Taoist priests. The poisons of the four Taoist priests were transferred to the two Yongjun Hui members at the request of Huan Chaoyu. However, the two members didn't have the ability to contain the poison in the blood, and couldn't take in more, so they were then given an antidote.

Huang Yu had also managed to transfer the poison from Lin Xiaoyan and the four monks to Duan Meng alone. The little old man received so much poison, but he refused the antidote, saying he only needed to rest for a while, then drank lots of water and slept peacefully in a dark corner of the cave. Huang Yu sat cross-legged and tried to recover.

Yunhe and Yunli could also only receive poison from two of their nieces each, they failed to save all. Zhu Baique stopped transferring the poison, waited for Jinshui and Xu Qiao, and just enjoyed a bit as the accumulated poison caused Yunhe and Yunli's pain.

Zhou Xiangnu and Yang Lei had already left the valley, carrying some fireworks signal that Huang Yu had given them, and exited through a secret passage. A few moments later, signs of fireworks were seen shooting up into the air outside the Wansui Gu territory. There was no answer in sight, meaning that Li Qian was still far away.

The three of Liao Xian, Qin Liangjie, and Liuxin sat cross-legged at the entrance of the cave, letting the antidote in their bodies work. The pain and weakness from the poison were no longer felt, but they still couldn't use internal energy, they still had to wait for another hour.

Jinshui assisted by Xu Qiao also just sucked the poison from Shangguan Ruyin and Yin Xiuchen. Jinshui pressed the poison to a point on his left arm just like what Huang Yu had done earlier, he held it there. The arm turned blue, and then the blue became almost purple. Jinshui spat out some blood from his mouth. The poison from two people at once seemed to be overwhelming, and Jinshui felt the effect.

"Jinshui, there are five more," Zhu Baique told him. "We only have five more antidote pills, two for them, and the last is yours."

"I can take more," Jinshui said.

"I can take another," Yunhe tried to speak. "We from Haitang Jian Pai are unwilling to become indebted to the Yumen descendants."

"Save them," Yunli pleaded, "I have no plan on getting out of this place alive, there's no need for an antidote."

"You just ask to save them, and that means Haitang Jian Pai would be indebted to the Yumen descendants anyway," Yanzi mocked her. "Even now you are already indebted to the Yumen descendants, and you can't help but admit it."

"Liangwei Nu Xia, your master has died at the hands of Zhou Sangong, several Haitang Jian Pai disciples' remains are still out there, no one has taken care of them," Jinshui said to Yunhe and Yunli. "Yunhe Nuxia, as the third disciple, it can be said that you are the most senior at this point, obligated to bring Yuan Wancui's body home. If you don't want to live, feel free to kill yourself when you return to Haitang Jian Pai, Hua-mo won't stop you."

"What did you say?" Yunhe asked while gasping for breath. "My master was killed?"

"You can go meet her in hell after you die and ask who killed her," Jinshui replied coldly.

"You...." Yunli tried to get up, but her strength was getting weaker and she had to sit still and managed her pure energy.

"These five nieces are at most fourteen years old, yet understand the enmity you Haitang Jian Pai have with the demonic sect," Jinshui pointed at the remaining five Haitang Jian Pai disciples. "Hua-mo will use internal power to suck the poison out of them. If Liangwei Nu Xia doesn't like it, after leaving Wansui Gu, you can take their lives, then it's no longer my business."

Yunhe and Yunli remembered how their elder sister Bao Xinfei cut off her own arm for not being indebted to the Yumen descendant. The two of them looked at Jinshui in annoyance and despair at the same time. They were Yuan Wancui's direct disciples and they thought of the Yumen descendants just like their master, but they could also see Jinshui's sincere intention to help, they also didn't want those young innocent disciples to lose their lives because of the poison.

"Jinshui Gege," Xu Qiao persuaded Jinshui, "there are five of them, you won't be able to save all."

"I'm fine. If you're tired there's no need to help me, I can do it myself." Jinshui soothed her. "Yanzi, give them the two antidote pills."

Yanzi's face was sour when she handed one antidote pill to Yunhe, and another to Yunli. The two women didn't want to swallow the pill and intended to wait until the last niece was saved.

Zhu Baique was impatient, snatching the pill from Yunli's hand while grabbing her, forcing her to swallow it. Yunhe was also still weak, unable to resist when she was forced to drink her pill.

There was only one last antidote pill in Yanzi's hand, and it would be given to Jinshui later. Jinshui and Xu Qiao started taking poison from another Haitang Jian Pai disciple, and Yanzi waited miserably.

"Zhu Jiejie, one person can't take in so much poison," she said quietly to Zhu Baique. "There are still five of them, what if we just...." she couldn't finish her words, realizing they were also only little girls left, and they are approximately the same ages as hers.

"Jinshui will save them all," Huang Yu said while still sitting down. "Your job is only to take care of the remaining antidote pill, no one can swallow it but Jinshui."

Three more girls were freed from poison by Jinshui. There were two girls who remained, but the poison in Jinshui's body was too much already. He used all the energy Moying gave him, trying to suppress the poison in the blood on his left arm.

He cut his arm for the second time, and tried to draw out the poisoned blood he collected. When there were only two girls left, he had to stop for a while and try to regulate his pure energy so that the poison would not spread into his body. Once he vomited blood, his whole body ached unbelievably.

"Jinshui Gege," Yanzi handed him the last medicine pill while crying. "If you push any further, you could lose your life. For the sake of Haitang Jian Pai's disciple, there really is no need."

"Jinshui," Huang Yu tried to persuade, "think twice."

"I'm all right," Jinshui replied weekly. "Only two left."

He returned to one of the two remaining girls and collected the poison again. Xu Qiao helped him, exerting her wuqing xue energy that Jinshui had taught her, but instead of pushing poison into Jinshui, she wanted to suck it into her own body.

"Qiao-er," Jinshui immediately reprimanded her.

"Jinshui Gege, I've tasted zixie and zhaobai poison, I don't think this leiying hua poison is not that different," Xu Qiao said, "I can take it."

"No," Jinshui said. "There's only one antidote left, meaning there's only one person allowed to host the remaining poison."

"Hua Jinshui, just let your girl taste leiying hua poison. She won't die. I'm also considering using the Gu Chenhui's inner energy she gave me to help you suck up the poison and give it to someone else who is more deserving of it."

Those words were again Ma Yongtao's sent over a long distance.

Zhu Baique had just sat down and tried to recover, hearing those words broke her concentration instantly and made her spit out a mouthful of fresh blood.

For the past ten years, it could be said that Ma Yongtao had grown up with her, loved her, protected her, and after all she had grown feelings for that demon head. She never for a second suspected that everything was part of revenge. Every time she thought of this she felt a pain so deep, it almost made her faint.

Jinshui paid no heed to the words that were sent from a long distance away. He sped up the process of sucking out the poison so he could finish everything quickly, even Xu Qiao felt her inner energy move to Jinshui's body.

There was only one girl left when Ma Yongtao appeared at the scene again, followed by three other Liangshan Liu Mo members. Zu Ye Niang, Li Baixun and Fuchang Long.