No

Ye Chang'an strolled over, clearly eager to watch the chaos unfold. He drawled lazily, “Oh my, you're really asking the wrong people. These two are with me all day long, and I've never heard them utter a single word.”

“Besides, these two useless things probably haven't even had the chance to touch the Wen family's dark poison, have they? Didn't you say only those with special constitutions can practice it?”

He sneered, “Look at them, quiet as clams. What kind of special constitution could they possibly have?”

Ming Ran didn't believe a single word out of Ye Chang'an's mouth.

She kept her eyes locked onto Wen Wushuang, her voice trembling as she squeezed the words through her teeth: “As long as you cure my parents' poison, I can let bygones be bygones.”

Being ignored made Ye Chang'an click his tongue. Noticing Song Yao and Xie Zhou approaching, he glared irritably at the Wen siblings. “Someone is asking you a question. Are you deaf? Speak up.”

At his command, Wen Wushuang finally spoke, her voice flat. “We didn't cast the dark poison.”

“Then who else could it be?!”

Ming Ran pushed her sword forward half an inch, pressing it directly against Wen Wushuang's throat. “Many people in Wuzhou City were ambushed and infected with dark poison! Are you saying the attacker didn't come from your Wen family?!”

Wen Wushuang fell silent again. The tip of the sword pierced slightly into her neck, and fresh blood began to seep out.

Yet, she seemed entirely indifferent, as if living or dying made no difference to her.

The crowd whispered around them. The disciples of the Taiqing Pavilion stood on the outer perimeter, their expressions tense, but none of them stepped forward to stop it.

The people from the Beiyao Sect had retreated even further away.

Chen Qingqiu seemed to want to intervene and say something. She hesitated for a long time, and just as she finally built up the courage to speak, a painful groan suddenly echoed from the pit, breaking the deadlock.

Everyone quickly turned their gaze toward it.

The people who had just been dug out of the earth had woken up at some point.

Some of them were curled up, rolling on the ground, their faces flushed red and the veins on their foreheads bulging, looking to be in extreme agony.

Others got up unsteadily, muttering to themselves as they stumbled around like drunkards, clearly not in their right minds.

Song Yao was squatting in a corner by the edge of the pit, clutching her notebook as she took diligent notes.

Several empty porcelain bottles lay scattered around her feet, and a faint medicinal scent drifted through the air.

Noticing everyone looking at her, she raised her head and explained, “It's fine. They took some pills, so it's normal for them to have side effects. They'll be okay in a bit. Carry on, don't mind me.”

Although everyone already knew her pills had side effects, seeing it in person still gave them quite a shock.

Someone muttered in a low voice, “Now that looks like actual poisoning.”

“Shh, keep your voice down. I heard the efficacy is extraordinary.”

“Even if I were dying, I wouldn't eat those pills...”

With the tense atmosphere disrupted, Ming Ran was the first to look away. She pushed her sword tip in another two fractions. “Wen Wushuang, do you really think I won't kill you right now?!”

The beads of blood seeping from her throat slid down the blade, dripping onto Wen Wushuang's dark collar.

A hand reached out from the side and pressed down on the blade.

Xie Zhou stood beside her, giving Ming Ran a slight shake of his head. He then turned to Wen Wushuang and said calmly, “Tomorrow morning, Nine Saints Hall will pay a visit to the Wen family. Please convey this to Family Head Wen.”

Only then did Wen Wushuang's expression finally shift. Before she could speak, Xie Zhou had already turned and walked away.

Ming Ran grit her teeth and sheathed her sword as well. She turned to instruct the Ming family members behind her, “Go check on how the citizens in the city are doing first.”

Half an hour later, the cries of pain in the pit subsided.

Right before everyone's eyes, the people who had been half-dead just moments ago began to regain their color, their complexions turning even healthier than those of the onlookers.

Song Yao was highly satisfied with the efficacy this time. She stood up, brushed the dust off her robes, and climbed out of the pit.

Seeing Ming Ran's gloomy face, she walked over in a quite cheerful mood, tilting her head to peer into her face. “It's okay. Your parents aren't dead yet, are they? There's always a way.”

A hand reached over and pulled her back a few steps from Ming Ran.

She let out a protest, and Xie Zhou let go, his expression as calm as ever as he asked Ming Ran, “Junior Sister Ming, is there another problem?”

Ming Ran took a deep breath. “The missing children of the Ming family are not in the pit. We haven't found a single one of them yet.”

Song Yao: “...”

This really was a case of misfortunes never coming singly.

They had finally dealt with the Child-Protecting Goddess, only for her parents to be infected with dark poison and all the children in the family to go missing.

What kind of terrible luck did the Ming family have?

Ning Zhou leaned in and frowned. “Did your family offend someone? Why would they abduct those children? To hold them hostage?”

Ming Ran: “...Our Ming family does have some enemies in the Tianshu Realm, but those are personal grudges at most. None of them would go so far as to abduct all of our children.”

Cheng Yue asked, “Could the abduction of the children be related to Hall Master Ming and Daoist Huachao getting poisoned?”

Ming Ran was clearly bewildered herself and had no idea how to answer.

In the end, it was Xie Zhou who spoke up. “Do not overthink things today. We will rest and recuperate in Wuzhou City first. Tomorrow morning, the Third Elder and Second Senior Sister will personally head to the Wen family.”

Song Yao was slightly surprised, but then she found it reasonable.

First, Second Senior Sister had been infected with dark poison. Considering that Fifth Junior Sister might be trapped, and given the signs of the Taiqing Pavilion and the Beiyao Sect joining forces through marriage, and with their Master still in secluded cultivation, Nine Saints Hall had refrained from acting rashly.

But now, even Fourth Junior Brother's subordinates and the Ming family had been poisoned. If they didn't demand an explanation from the Wen family now, they would truly be letting others trample all over them.

Yet, she still felt a faint sense of unease in her heart.

The Wen family was currently relying on the Taiqing Pavilion. If pushed into a corner, they would likely turn to the Taiqing Pavilion for help.

Although there were conflicts among the three great sects, they had never openly clashed.

Once this conflict erupted, it probably wouldn't be resolved so easily.

With her eyelashes drooping slightly, she rubbed the notebook in her hand, her feelings complicated.

“Even though you are a personal disciple, you are only a pill cultivator. There is no need for you to get involved.”

Beside her, Xie Zhou suddenly spoke, voicing her thoughts. “Tomorrow, you should take the other disciples back to the sect and focus on your studies.”

Song Yao: “...”

Wait a minute.

She turned her head and, clinging to a sliver of hope, asked Ning Zhou, “The Teaching Elder's class... the exam should be over by now, right?”

Ning Zhou leaned close to her ear, utterly despondent. “No, I think the exam is tomorrow or the day after.”

Song Yao: “...”

She adjusted her Daoist robes, cleared her throat, and said to Xie Zhou with utmost sincerity, “No, since I am a personal disciple, I must be present on such an important occasion. Tomorrow, I will go to the Wen family with Fourth Senior Brother and Junior Sister Ming.”

Xie Zhou: “...”

He pursed his lips, his gaze sweeping over her face. A trace of bewilderment flickered in his eyes, but in the end, he gave a slight nod. “Alright.”

Ning Zhou hurriedly added, “Then I want to go too! I'm a disciple of Nine Saints Hall as well, so I should be there. Maybe I can help out too.”

Xie Zhou: “No.”

Ning Zhou: “...”

Xie Zhou: “You are a body cultivator. Stay behind to see if there is any help needed in Wuzhou City. In the meantime, search for the missing children. Once the disciples of Nine Saints Hall are fully recovered, you will all return to the sect together.”

Ning Zhou was overjoyed.

Staying here to help would surely take two or three days, wouldn't it?

Didn't that mean he could still escape the exam?!