Chapter 74: Strange Resentment and Lingering Fragrance (2)

Branch Leader Qi Yuan suggested: "There are our people all around, what are you afraid of? Why not trick her down first and see what tricks she is playing."

Yin Xiyu pondered without speaking. Li Si waited for a while and didn't see them answer. Her eyebrows twisted slightly, "My master doesn't like wasting time. I can't keep waiting for you. I'll go in and diagnose the pulse first. You guys discuss slowly." As soon as the words fell, the person had already fallen from the mast, as if borrowing the wind, a fold, and before anyone could see clearly, she had swept from a group of experts to the side of the cabin door.

Song Shuang was closest to the cabin door, and shouted: "Stop!" Without question, he slapped her waist with a palm.

"Oh! I've never heard of a doctor not being allowed to enter the door to see a patient!" Li Si smiled and dodged his palm wind, her light green clothes fluttering like a dance, and she flashed and entered the cabin. Two Yue Ma Gang disciples inside came out with double swords to block her way, but who knew that the other party's body method was extremely fast, shaking slightly like light smoke, and in the blink of an eye, she had grabbed the patient's pulse on the couch.

"Stop!"

Before Yin Xiyu, who rushed into the cabin, could stop her, Li Si's fingers had already crossed Yin Xiqing's wrist pulse, frowning: "Sure enough, it is the Heavenly Remnant Extinction Palm. It has been delayed for too long, and the poison gas has invaded the meridians. It is very troublesome." After thinking carefully, she raised her head and said, "Gang Leader Yin, even if you take the Nine Yin snake gall to solve the palm poison, I am afraid that your younger brother will not be able to recover as usual in the future, and he will almost become a useless person. It doesn't matter whether you go to see my master or not. I advise you to forget it." While saying this, she shot several silver needles, and the silver light fell, accurately piercing into several heavy vital points on Yin Xiqing's body.

The Yue Ma Gang members were shocked, but unexpectedly, a low groan came from the patient on the soft couch, and the patient who had been unconscious for many days actually had a reaction. Yin Xiyu raised her hand to stop the subordinates, suppressing the shock in her heart, "I didn't expect the girl's light work to be extraordinary, and she is also proficient in medical skills. The Mingyi Tower is truly hidden dragons and crouching tigers."

Li Si turned her head slightly and smiled at her: "Gang Leader, you flatter me. Although I dare not say I am proficient in medical skills, I do have some research on various strange poisons. How about this, I can let your younger brother wake up, and I can also come to diagnose and adjust him every day. Perhaps there will be a turn for the better. You don't have to specifically go to see my master."

Li Si didn't brag about this. Although she couldn't solve the strange poison on the Eastern Emperor, she had been devoted to researching various poisons for many years, and she was already one of the top poison experts. Yin Xiyu looked at her deeply and suddenly asked: "May I ask, girl, since your master has made an appointment, why have you been blocking me from going? What is the meaning of this?"

Li Si was startled. Although she didn't want to take Yin Xiyu and her brother back, she didn't dare to disobey her master's order. She hurriedly argued: "I didn't say I wouldn't let you go, but I'm just telling you the truth. If you want to go to the appointment, I will naturally lead the way. My master has been waiting for a long time."

The garden was full of sunset, and the

Yin Xiyu followed Li Si through the courtyard with its sparse and elegant flowers and trees, and ascended an independent small building in the back garden. Two Mingyi Tower subordinates set down the soft chair carrying the patient and retreated silently.

At this time, dusk was approaching. The setting sun at the edge of the sky spilled obliquely into the room through the long windows opening toward the river, dyeing the seats and tables through several layers of deep-hanging curtains, as thick and heavy as fresh, bright red blood. Two candles had already been lit on the low desk; the slight brightness fell into such a solemn color, making the room appear even more still and grave.

Li Si stepped forward and whispered, "Master, Sect Leader Yin has arrived."

Separated by the quiet curtains, the person standing alone by the window had his hands behind his back, facing the distant sunset over the Yangtze River. His slender figure was bathed in the light and shadow of the setting sun, peaceful as a painting, serene as distant mountains. Hearing Yin Xiyu and the others enter, he did not turn his head, but merely said indifferently, "Sect Leader Yin, with the current strength of the Yue Ma Gang, it should not be too difficult to help the Mu Guo perfect a navy capable of contending with the Chu Guo, right?"

It was the same gentle voice as when they were on the boat, yet the question was like an invisible blade striking straight at the heart. Yin Xiyu felt a chill throughout her body. The Yue Ma Gang possessed the most well-equipped and fastest warships currently available and had always provided what the Chu navy required. For years, the Chu Guo had consistently suppressed the Mu Guo in military strength and sat firmly in the position of hegemon, a situation that had much to do with the Yue Ma Gang's actions. The reason Helian Yiren could stand on equal footing with the Shao Yuan Jun Mansion was precisely because he held the three vital weapons—warships, warhorses, and the Chu military's weapon-forging grounds—which allowed him to keep Huang Fei in check and thus create a perfect balance in the Chu political situation.

If the Yue Ma Gang were to defect to the Mu Guo, it would not only mean building a powerful navy but also destroying the existing Chu army and severely reducing the combat effectiveness of this number one power in the Nine Domains. The situation that would arise from such a shift in power was truly hard to imagine, and one dared not even imagine it.

Zi Hao clearly did not expect others to react to his question. He turned around with a faint smile, walked slowly out from behind the curtain blown by the river wind, and went to the side of the unconscious youth on the soft chair to check his pulse. Li Si stood by and reported the situation as she had diagnosed it in detail. At the end, she gathered her courage and whispered, "Master, his meridians are all eroded by the poisonous Qi of the Heavenly Remnant Extinction Palm, and the injury has reached his blood vessels. In this state, even if he is saved with the snake gall, it will have little meaning." In front of Zi Hao, she was not like she was when facing the Yue Ma Gang, and she dared not say more, only unable to resist glancing at the desk beside her.

On the desk sat a crystal glass pot, inside which a bright red snake gall was soaking in amber medicinal wine, striking and eye-catching. Zi Hao seemed not to have heard Li Si's words; he turned to Yin Xiyu and said, "Your brother was injured by the Heavenly Remnant Extinction Palm. Was it Yuan Lu, the Sect Leader of the Boundary Sect, who did it himself?"

A pair of calm and deep eyes looked over from the interplay of sunset and dusk light; they were more capable of calming the heart than his voice. Even though Yin Xiyu was full of caution, she relaxed slightly at this moment and said, "If Yuan Lu had not acted himself, I fear no one in the Boundary Sect could have injured him."

Zi Hao nodded and said, "The previous Sect Leader of the Yue Ma Gang's Twelve-Route Cloud-Ascending Whip was peerless in the Jianghu. Although your brother is young, he has extraordinary talent and can be considered outstanding among the younger generation of the Jianghu." As he spoke, he raised his hand to point at a carved wooden box inlaid with gold and jade in front of the desk and smiled slightly, "A small gift here is a token of Mingyi Tower's sincerity. I trust the Sect Leader will not refuse."

Li Si stepped forward to open the wooden box. Yin Xiyu turned her head to look, and a flash of shock passed through her eyes; her expression changed slightly. After a long time, she bowed solemnly to Zi Hao and said, "On behalf of the entire Yue Ma Gang, Xiyu thanks you for your great kindness, Young Master!"

Inside that wooden box was actually the head of the Boundary Sect Leader, Yuan Lu.

Mingyi Tower had dealt with such a thorny enemy on behalf of the Yue Ma Gang; Yin Xiyu knew the weight of this "small gift" better than anyone. Zi Hao ordered Li Si to take the wooden box away and paced to the side of the desk, glancing sideways at the precious snake gall in the glass pot. "A mere trifle, Sect Leader, no need for formalities. Although Yuan Lu has paid with his life, your brother is so severely injured that I fear he will not last three days. At present, the only thing in the world that can save his life is this snake gall. I remember you once said that the Yue Ma Gang could accept any conditions for this and would never haggle. I wonder if that is true or false?"

Yin Xiyu said, "That is correct, I did indeed say that."

"Good," Zi Hao nodded slightly, turned, and said with a faint smile, "The snake gall is right here now. What is the Sect Leader prepared to exchange for it?"

If it were before, Yin Xiyu would certainly have let the other party name their price. With the financial and human resources of the Yue Ma Gang, she was confident there was no price she could not pay and nothing she could not accomplish. But now, with the situation between all parties tangled and unclear, plus his seemingly real yet fake intimidating question upon entering, how could she dare to promise easily? She lowered her eyes to think for a moment, then probed in return, "May I ask what the Young Master wants?"

Zi Hao still smiled, "I wonder what your brother's life is worth?"

His gentle, jade-like smile appeared deep and unfathomable under the blood-red sunset. Yin Xiyu met his gaze for a moment and said, "If we speak of personal feelings, Xiqing is my brother and the only heir of the Yin family line. If I can keep him safe, I, as his sister, can pay any price, even death. But if I must exchange the interests of the entire Yue Ma Gang, I dare not be so selfish. Since the Yue Ma Gang serves me as their master, I, Yin Xiyu, cannot let all the subordinates who follow me fall into distress just to save my brother's life."

Zi Hao nodded, "Yin Xiyu is worthy of being called a heroine of the Jianghu. The Yue Ma Gang has been flourishing in recent years, which shows it is not just due to a bit of luck. This is one of the reasons I am willing to negotiate with you today."

Yin Xiyu said, "Young Master, feel free to state your conditions, and let us see if we can negotiate."

"I think we can." Zi Hao coughed lightly and made a gesture of invitation, and the two sat down before the desk. "My condition is actually very simple; I only hope the Yue Ma Gang can abandon its cooperation with the Helian Marquis Mansion and, from now on, fully support the Third Young Master of the Mu Guo, Ye Xuanshang."

The sentence was light and breezy, as if what he spoke of were merely common trifles like inviting friends to admire the moon or visiting friends to taste tea, yet Yin Xiyu's expression changed secretly.

(End of chapter)