A figure quietly appeared at the door. It was Zhao Qian, clad in a black silk dress, a smug smile playing upon her face.
“Junior Sister Tantai,” her voice was flat and unruffled, yet carried an icy penetrative chill, completely ignoring Su Yi and Gongsun Lin beside her.
“Since our last encounter, this Senior Sister hasn't stopped thinking about your medical skills. A few questions still linger in my mind, and I'd like to consult you once more on the Dao of medicine and poisons. Rules remain the same: I administer the poison, and you neutralize it. What do you say?”
This sudden renewal of the challenge caused the atmosphere to instantly freeze. Tantai Yunzhi’s clear blue eyes quietly regarded her, offering no immediate reply.
Even a fool could tell that this woman had come fully prepared, but Tantai Yunzhi was hardly a pushover made of soft clay.
‘To come provoking me time and time again, today I must...’ Tantai Yunzhi had originally intended to step up and accept, but in the next instant, she noticed Su Yi beside her giving her a pointed look.
And so, the foot she had been about to step forward with was drawn right back.
Seeing this, the corner of Zhao Qian’s lips curved into a faint, eerie arc. “What, is Junior Sister afraid? Or perhaps... even the Five Elements Dao Physique has its limits?”
Faced with this obvious provocation and the uncanny atmosphere, Tantai Yunzhi took a deep breath and slowly shook her head, her voice clear and resolute. “Senior Sister, sparring in the medical arts is meant for mutual improvement. But if one harbors a grudge or uses it as a pretext to cause trouble, it loses its original purpose.”
“I cannot agree to today’s challenge. Please forgive me, Senior Sister.”
Being flatly refused, Zhao Qian did not show the slightest hint of anger; instead, her bizarre smile deepened. She pressed no further, but simply turned her palm over, and a teacup materialized in her hand.
Her slender fingers lightly brushed over the teacup. Before anyone could clearly register what she had done, the clear water inside instantly turned into a thick, murky dark green. Wisps of black qi floated atop the surface like living creatures, and a stench blending decaying vegetation with a pungent, sickly sweet odor permeated the air!
This was by no means an ordinary poison! The sinister, deathly aura contained within sent a wave of trepidation through both Su Yi and Gongsun Lin!
“This poison is called ‘Azure Heaven and Yellow Springs.’ It is an extraordinary poison once used by ancient alchemy cultivators to eradicate evil. Regrettably, its recipe has long been lost. I happened upon it through a fortunate encounter, though I never expected its toxicity to be this virulent...”
Zhao Qian looked down at the cup of poisonous water, her tone as nonchalant as if introducing an ordinary trinket, yet her gaze burned with a feverish madness.
She gave Tantai Yunzhi no opportunity to neutralize it. Having finished, she turned around, the hem of her black skirt swirling in a cold arc.
Just as she was about to step over the clinic’s threshold, she paused and turned halfway back, her fathomless gaze landing on Tantai Yunzhi once more. The smile playing at the corners of her lips turned incomparably confident and expectant. “No matter. Though you refused this time, Junior Sister, before long, you will surely come seek me out for a contest...”
Her voice carried an unquestionable bewitchment.
“You certainly will.”
“I’ll be waiting for you.”
With that, her figure melted into the light outside the door and vanished, leaving behind only the eerie cup of Azure Heaven and Yellow Springs poison water, along with a room filled with freezing, dead silence and thick unease.
Inside the clinic, it was quiet enough to hear a pin drop.
“Junior Sister, wipe your sweat,” Su Yi said, handing a handkerchief to Tantai Yunzhi. Only then did Tantai Yunzhi realize she was already drenched in sweat.
“Thanks to Senior Brother’s timely warning, Yunzhi didn't rush to accept. Otherwise, I fear I would have suffered a great ordeal,” Tantai Yunzhi said as she took the handkerchief.
“It’s nothing,” Su Yi said, gazing at the poison on the table, lost in thought.
‘How could a poison that only appears in the mid game show up in the early game?’
Anyone with eyes could see Zhao Qian had obtained a serendipitous encounter, but he never expected it to be a legacy of such extraordinary poison. Tantai Yunzhi was only at Qi Condensation; she could never neutralize it right now.
Was it because he had changed too many things, triggering a butterfly effect?
Just as his thoughts churned in disarray, the jade pendant hanging from his waist, which represented his status as the Young Manor Lord, suddenly emanated a gentle white light. A calm and authoritative voice sounded directly in his mind: “Yi'er, bring Tantai Yunzhi to see me in the side hall of the Council Palace.”
“Is Master summoning Junior Sister Tantai?” Su Jing had not intentionally concealed his voice transmission, so Gongsun Lin heard it as well. She blinked and looked toward Tantai Yunzhi.
Just as Su Yi was about to respond, another voice came through the jade pendant—crisp and melodious, brimming with playfulness and undeniable assertiveness:
“And little Lin'er! Bring her along too! It’s been so long since I saw my precious disciple and darling son, so it's the perfect chance for all of us to sit together and chat!”
This voice... was his mother!
Su Yi immediately felt a massive headache coming on. Suddenly, he felt this wasn't some solemn affair. No matter how he listened to it, that tone didn't sound like discussing official business at all—instead, it felt like an ordinary family gathering.
Yet while Su Yi took it lightly, Tantai Yunzhi’s eyes instantly went wide, her face written with shock and a hint of fluster.
How could an ordinary disciple receive a summons from the Manor Lord after merely a month in the manor? Naturally, she was nervous—even... frightened.
Summoned by Manor Lord Su Jing was already immense pressure, but now even the Manor Lord’s wife, whom she had met only once, wanted to see her?
Just... what in the world was this...?
She couldn't help but glance sideways at Su Yi. She knew full well that she was only receiving attention from these two powerhouses because of him.
‘It makes sense. As parents, seeing their son pay so much attention to an unfamiliar girl, they would naturally want to meet her.’ Thinking this, a faint blush rose to Tantai Yunzhi’s cheeks.
‘Wait, why does that sound so much like...’
Rumble!!
A sudden crash of thunder outside the window gave Tantai Yunzhi quite a fright, also pulling her wandering thoughts right back to reality.
“Why... why would a thunderbolt strike out of a clear sky for no reason?” She subconsciously patted her chest and muttered under her breath, trying to use the question to mask the turmoil in her heart and her momentary lapse in composure.
“Who knows?” Gongsun Lin answered expressionlessly beside her, nonchalantly withdrawing her hand, and then in the same motion, yanked hard on Su Yi’s arm with enough force to nearly send him stumbling while he was still pondering his parents’ intentions.
“Ow! What are you doing?” Su Yi grumbled, caught off balance for no apparent reason.
Gongsun Lin paid him no heed, merely saying, “Master and Mistress have summoned us. Don't dawdle, let's go.”
With that, she dragged the still-contemplating Su Yi away at a brisk pace.
Seeing this, Tantai Yunzhi hurried after them. As she drew close and looked at the empty space to Su Yi’s right, she instinctively wanted to step up beside him, but glancing at Gongsun Lin nearby, she suppressed the urge and quietly trailed behind the two of them.
As for the guy at the center of the storm, he was still pondering in his heart: ‘Strange. Where exactly did things go wrong? Her potential value hasn’t changed either. Shouldn’t Zhao Qian still just be an NPC?’
‘Tsk, can an NPC stop stealing extra screen time?!’
Rate on N.U.
