Chapter 16: Soul-Confusing Smoke

The guards' expressions changed, and they all retreated several steps, terrified of inhaling the Soul-Confusing Smoke and being knocked unconscious.

Yan Ze and Ji Lan's expressions changed, and they wanted to go inside, but were stopped by the guards standing at the door: "Young Miss, it seems she has been hit by a soul-confusing drug; there is something wrong with this fragrance!"

Yan Ze stepped forward, wanting to carry Yan Ning back, but was blocked by the guards.

"Your Highness, there is Soul-Confusing Smoke inside."

Yan Ze covered his nose and mouth with a wet handkerchief and used his other hand to carry Yan Ning back, feeling somewhat angry: "What are you doing? Is this dilapidated temple yours?"

Ji Lan and Lan Xin also came over and hurriedly moved Yan Ning onto the carriage.

Perhaps seeing that they were a family of several people with three women, looking like passersby, the woman holding the child inside extinguished the Soul-Confusing Smoke and said to Yan Ze and the others: "I am sorry, my daughter and I provoked people we shouldn't have, and those people are still hunting us down, so I was being cautious and alert."

Seeing that Yan Ze's expression was still not very good, the woman put the child down and took out a Small Porcelain Bottle, "Inside this is the antidote."

Seeing her hand over the medicine, Yan Ze did not dare to feed it to Yan Ning.

Yan Ze then said directly: "We are just passing through, took the wrong road, and couldn't find a place to stay; we will leave early tomorrow morning, so please don't use those little tricks again."

The woman hurriedly agreed and hid in the corner, holding her daughter.

Half an hour later, Yan Ning woke up; at this time, she was lying on the ground with only a quilt spread out, and her whole body was stiff from sleeping.

After waking up, the woman said to Yan Ning, who looked the easiest to talk to: "Little sister, I didn't mean to knock you out."

Yan Ning waved her hand; she did not mind.

If she hadn't been driven to a dead end, she wouldn't be running around with her daughter and sleeping in an unsafe place like a dilapidated temple.

Seeing the many bottles and jars on her, Yan Ning asked: "Are you a female physician?"

Qian Ruofang nodded: "I am a female physician. It is a pity that the Prefect's own father was terminally ill, so he invited me to treat him. I didn't cure him, and then he started hunting me down... It is truly not easy for a widow to carry a child."

Yan Ning had already tasted the power of the Soul-Confusing Smoke; on their road to exile, they indeed needed to bring a female physician.

Even if she didn't go to Lingnan with them, following them to the Nanyang Wang Mansion would be fine.

Yan Ning then asked: "Are you willing to come with us? Although there aren't many of us, everyone is an elite, capable of taking on ten."

Qian Ruofang's eyes lit up.

But soon, her expression began to show some disappointment: "Why would you want to take us? I still have to settle my daughter."

Yan Ning then said directly: "We are going to Lingnan, and we happen to be short of a doctor on the road. You can also follow us to the Nanyang Wang's fief; it won't matter if you don't follow us to Lingnan at that time."

At this moment, they were still some distance away from the Nanyang Wang Mansion.

Qian Ruofang hurriedly said: "I am willing, I am willing; as long as I can bring my daughter, I can walk with you to Lingnan."

Qian Ruofang was also anxious.

She was confident that her medical skills were good enough to handle even a dangerous place like Lingnan.

Moreover, she had been exhausted from traveling with her daughter recently, and she didn't know how long that Prefect would keep chasing her.

Yan Ning was satisfied and said with a grin: "Then it's a deal!"

Having found a doctor, Yan Ning felt wonderful inside.

Having found a backer, Qian Ruofang also felt a bit excited inside.

Both sides felt they had gained a great deal.

At this time, Qian Ruofang was truly a bit curious, and she couldn't help but ask: "You are doing fine, why are you going to Lingnan? Lingnan has a lot of miasma, and the snakes, insects, rats, and ants are also troublesome."

Yan Ning replied directly: "Because we have been exiled."

Qian Ruofang's eyes widened, and her face was full of disbelief: "You, you are dressed like this and sitting in such an impressive carriage, yet you were exiled?"

Yan Ning nodded, "I'm not lying to you."

Early the next morning, they prepared to set off.

There were three carriages, one of which was full of treasures. Yan Ning placed the boxes under the two carriages, freeing up one carriage so that Lan Xin and Qian Ruofang and her daughter could sit in it.

They had taken the wrong road at the time, and what they never expected was that there had been no water source for three days.

This morning, they had already finished the last drop of water.

It was fine for the people as they had water skins and could store a little, but with the horses so thirsty, they were always worried that problems would arise.

Qian Ruofang was more familiar with this area, and she pointed out a road: "It will take two days to get there from here; I remember there is a small town in between."

Yan Ning turned back and asked: "Are there people hunting you down over there?"

Qian Ruofang was a bit uncertain: "There shouldn't be... I know the road because I often go there to see patients."

Up ahead, Li Shun was a bit worried: "We can't make it that far at all... This horse is about to give out."

Yan Ning ordered: "Alright, stop here for now. Everyone split up to find a water source. Remember not to drink it; tell me once you find it."

Yan Ning did not get off the carriage, and the curtains covered them tightly.

Each person held a bottle of mineral water and drank "gulp, gulp," and once finished, they threw the bottles into the warehouse.

This mineral water was what Yan Ze had exchanged for with coarse porcelain bowls earlier; there were many cases of mineral water stacked in the space, enough for a family of three to drink for many years.

It was just a pity that there were eyes watching everywhere now, so it was inconvenient for her to take out more to feed the horses.

Fortunately, Zhuo Heng shouted loudly: "Young Miss, Young Miss, we found it!"

Yan Ning went with them; before them was a small green pool of water, which looked heavily polluted at first glance. However, people who were extremely thirsty didn't care about pollution or dirt, and they crouched down, ready to drink directly.

Yan Ning hurriedly said: "Don't drink!"

But it was already too late; Zhuo Heng and his horse had both taken a sip.

Hearing Yan Ning's order, Zhuo Heng felt a bit embarrassed: "Young Miss, I really couldn't help it."

Yan Ning hurriedly had the others keep an eye on Zhuo Heng, while more people came over to draw water.

Yan Ning only felt that the water in this jar should be filtered and boiled before it could be drunk.

"Quick, bring the bucket over!"

Yan Ning took the bottom of a large plastic cola bottle she had cut off, poked a few holes in the cap, and then began adding things inside.

Seeing her put the silver-bone charcoal in as well, everyone was shocked; this silver-bone charcoal was being used just like that!

Next is the final step: place a layer of gauze on top, and the filtering can begin.

It was a pity there were no specialized tools; filtering it this way was still a bit too slow, so Yan Ning had them continue to fetch water.

Just like that, the whole morning passed, and everyone stared longingly at those two buckets; the water inside was truly clean!

No one knew where Yan Ning had learned this, nor did they know what material this strange bottle was made of. In any case, Yan Ning had saved their lives.

Zhuo Heng, who was anxious to drink water, along with his horse, were both in bad shape by now.

The people were easy enough to handle, as Qian Ruofang could treat them, but she was not a veterinarian and did not know how to treat a sick horse.

Zhuo Heng howled in pain, "I shouldn't have ignored the young lady's words; it hurts so much."

With Zhuo Heng as a cautionary tale, the group of guards stared at the filtered, clean water, but not a single person rushed forward.