Chapter 27: Gentiana_2

"Do you all actually want evidence, or are you too afraid to admit the truth?"

Su Jie looked over with a profound gaze that made Sun Zhihai feel somewhat guilty; he wasn't sure if Su Jie actually had any concrete evidence.

"You... cough cough... is everything you said really... true?"

Just then, a voice as weak as a mosquito's came through.

It was Chen Yun, who had been unconscious until now, waking up just in time to hear Su Jie's analysis; her eyes glaring fiercely, filled with intense rage that crowded her chest, so much so that she disregarded her own injuries, struggling to sit up and reopened her freshly closed wounds.

Su Jie turned to look at Chen Yun and said indifferently, "You should rest first. Even if this is true, you can't do anything about it. Right now, you're a cripple."

"I want to kill them, kill them all."

Chen Yun bit her lips so hard they bled, unaware of the pain, her heart full of anger that had nowhere to be vented.

That very night, the people closest to her, her husband, and brother, had both died, initially believed to be due to an Alien Ghost attack, a case of mere bad luck.

However, listening to Su Jie's analysis, she realized there was more to the situation, seemingly a trap set up by Meng Dongge and his group.

Su Jie no longer paid any attention to Chen Yun. When he had saved her, he had thought she might be treatable.

Then he would have additional fighting power on his side, which would be convenient for a confrontation with Meng Dongge.

But what he got back was just a cripple, which was disappointing.

"Brother Su, what evidence are you talking about?"

Gu Weonian couldn't help but ask.

"Ever heard of Gentiana? Meng Dongge planted this grass outside Chen Yun's hut. That's the biggest lure for tonight's Alien Ghost attack. Oh, and the hut Meng Dongge originally selected for us? He planted the same Gentiana there too."

"What, Gentiana? Where did he get that from?"

Gu Weonian broke out into a cold sweat.

To Alien Ghosts, Gentiana is like catnip to cats.

It emits a scent that Alien Ghosts love, easily attracting them.

However, Gentiana is always rare and seldom found; many people have heard of it, but only a few have ever seen it.

Patting his heart, relieved, Gu Weonian thankfully said, "Lucky for us Brother Su, you made us move houses, otherwise tonight we probably would have ended up just like Chen Yun."

At this point, Gu Weonian completely believed Su Jie's judgment; the tragic situation today was indeed a sinister plot by Meng Dongge.

The man appeared upstanding on the surface but harbored ulterior motives in secret, actually setting up such a trap and directly dooming three people like Chen Yun.

"I must say, the opponent really has a good scheme. Just like fishing, Chen Yun and the others were the bait; not only to attract the Alien Ghosts but also to consume their strength in advance. Betting on a mutually destructive fight, Meng Dongge would come out to ambush at the end and easily capture an Alien Ghost with the value of several hundred Blood Marrow Crystals—how utterly maddening!"

Su Jie sighed, recalling the clean hut from the start; Chen Yun was probably not the first to be trapped this way.

"Gentiana... if only I had listened to you and moved earlier, none of this would have happened... I hate myself, I hate myself so much, Kou Dang, Chao Xian, it's my fault you died, all my fault...."

Hearing Su Jie's words, Chen Yun was completely consumed by regret.

If only she had heeded the advice, she wouldn't have lost her brother and husband that night.

Gu Weonian didn't know how to comfort her and finally let out a long sigh, looking toward Su Jie.

"Brother Su, what should we do now? Should we present our analysis to the Command Hall?"

"Do you think that would be useful?"

"This... probably not."

Gu Weonian chuckled wryly; they were from a Demon Sect, where it was common for lower Disciples to kill each other, and even public murder could be let off if enough money was paid for compensation.

Outer Disciples were just expendables to the high echelons of the Sect; one batch could easily be replaced by another, so the higher-ups couldn't care less about such trivial matters.

Su Jie spread his hands wide, his tone grave, "Now we have no choice; either kill Meng Dongge and his people, or it's our death. Those are the only two outcomes."

As for running away, without the Command Hall's permission, whoever dared to leave the station had better be prepared to be a corpse.

"How could we possibly be a match for Meng Dongge and his group?"

Sun Zhihai immediately protested, his face filled with fear.

The gap in fighting power between them was too great; not to mention quality, just the number of people in combat was double, and such a fight would be nothing but suicide.

"Do you have a better option?"

Su Jie's gaze pierced through him.

"I-I-I..."

Sun Zhihai's lips moved, but he couldn't articulate a reason.

"Although they outnumber us, we're not without chances,"

Withdrawing his gaze, Su Jie glanced at Chen Yun on the ground and said, "As the saying goes, fight fire with fire. If Meng Dongge uses Gentiana to set a trap, we can use it against them too."

"You mean, take out the Gentiana we had near our wooden hut and place it near where Meng Dongge and his people are staying to attract the Alien Ghost to deal with them?"

Gu Weonian quickly grasped Su Jie's idea, and his eyes suddenly brightened with understanding.

Because this plan had a good chance of succeeding.

"The Alien Ghost is quite useful. If it can't completely eliminate them, we'll go up and finish the job."

Su Jie set the tone for the plan and then said to Gu Weonian, "You go there tonight. The Gentiana is buried under the roots around our hut; they probably haven't had a chance to take it out yet. Dig it up and bury it near Meng Dongge's hut, and be careful not to get caught."

"Alright, I'll go right now."

Gu Weonian quickly agreed, now fully prepared to follow Su Jie through thick and thin.

Besides dealing with the threat of Meng Dongge, there was no other choice.

Su Jie watched Gu Weonian leave, with moths secretly following him.

He wasn't one to easily trust others; if Gu Weonian had any ulterior motives, he would know immediately.

Among the Outer Disciples, none had learned the Insect Control Technique, and they had no defense against ordinary insects, giving Su Jie a significant advantage in surveillance.

"Mr. Su, let me join in the battle too. I can still be of help,"

As Gu Weonian left, Chen Yun struggled to hold herself up. Her eyes were unwavering with determination, and her resolve for revenge didn't waver in the slightest despite her injuries.

Su Jie took a hard look at Chen Yun and then seemed to think of something, saying, "It's not impossible, but you could die."

"Do you think I'd be afraid of death in my current state?"

Chen Yun gave a wry smile. Having lost her brother and husband, she preferred to die rather than let Meng Dongge off easy.

"Fine, I'll help you."

Su Jie said no more. Chen Yun's wounds could actually be healed; it was just that she couldn't afford the Healing Pills needed.

Carrying Chen Yun back to the bedroom, Su Jie prepared to perform surgery on her.

Without much preparation, Su Jie released the thousand-hand centipede. Using the dexterous pale arms of the thousand-hand centipede, he cut off several strands of Chen Yun's hair and used the hair to stitch her wounds.

Su Jie had never stitched wounds before; his technique was poor, the stitches ugly and awkward, with some skin not even aligned properly.

With no anesthesia, Chen Yun bit down and endured the pain throughout the procedure, her sweat and blood soaking the bed.

After the stitching was done, Chen Yun was completely drained, her body covered in centipede-like sewn wounds, including on her face.

Su Jie poured some healing medicine on Chen Yun's wounds and gave her a Hemostatic Elixir to take. It wasn't even a low-grade elixir, but the hemostatic effect was still there, and because it was cheap, it was widely recognized among the Outer Disciples as a sacred healing medicine.

"Can you move now?"

Su Jie asked.

"I'll try."

Chen Yun grit her teeth and forced her body up off the bed. It had to be said that the physical resilience of Cultivators was much higher than that of normal people. A normal person with such injuries wouldn't think of leaving bed for at least half a year, yet Chen Yun was able to force herself to move slowly.

Seeing this, Su Jie shook his head and remarked, "It's still too forced."

"No, it's enough. I can still control the poisonous insects. Even if I have to sacrifice my Lifebound poisonous insect and my own life, I can manage a few more attacks. Let me join the battle."

Yet Chen Yun looked at Su Jie with determination and called over the Ming Sheng Bat.

But now, her Lifebound poisonous insect was also severely injured, unable even to fly, merely lying weakly in Chen Yun's hand, emitting a faint squeak.

"Not bad."

Su Jie saw Chen Yun in a new light; her fortitude was indeed commendable, at least she was harsh enough on herself.

"When do we leave?"

Chen Yun stroked the Ming Sheng Bat, the deep hatred in her nearly consuming her body. She sought vengeance for her brother and husband.

"We still need to wait for the good news from Brother Gu. And..."

Su Jie opened the window and looked toward the east where the dawn's red sky was emerging. He chuckled lightly, "And there's one more hidden danger to clear up. After all that's done, we'll be about ready."