Chapter 823

Qi Er Cha Ke nodded. "Do you still remember when Jiao Qiu went alone to meet Yan Qing and Yun Li earlier, and showed them that bottle of poison in front of them? What was that powder called… It's an extremely potent poison. If I recall correctly, after taking it, one feels fine at first, but as time passes the poison spreads through the five viscera and six bowels, and even those blessed with Abundance's grace and strong vitality among the Astral Express people will be beyond cure."

Lai Ou Si suddenly understood. "I get it! Jiao Qiu secretly poisoned Hu Lei's food."

Ma Lu Xi Er still didn't quite understand. "Hu Lei's food, but Hu Lei only eats foxfolk and his own kin's flesh, right? He doesn't have a habit of eating mixed diet, does he?"

"You two are……" Qi Er Cha Ke gave them a look that said, 'Are you two idiots?' "Jiao Qiu, isn't that just Hu Lei's 'food'? You say this poison—where did he put it?"

——

""You… are Doctor Jiao Qiu?""

""What do you want from me?""

The young foxfolk exclaimed, 'I heard that back then you saved me?'

""No need to be polite.""

""If you're a doctor, can you cure my 【Moon Madness】?""

""What good does it do if you're cured? Look, you'll just go back to the battlefield to die. Listen to my advice, kid—your condition isn't fit for the battlefield anymore." Jiao Qiu looked at the fiery‑hearted foxgirl before him.

The girl adopted a more solemn tone and asked, 'So, can you "cure" war?'

Jiao Qiu doubted he'd heard wrong: 'What are you saying? I'm just a doctor! All I can do is——'

""So what you can do is heal us, so we can go "treat" the war.'"

Jiao Qiu couldn't help laughing. 'What big talk, little girl. This war's been going on for thousands of years and will keep going! Talking about "treating" the war—you're just throwing your lives away.'

The foxgirl shook her head. 'Just like you doctors desperately saving lives and healing wounds, but disease and death still exist in this world. We'll keep fighting too. I can't speak for those who are gone. But I know, General Moon… and all those warriors who never returned didn't die in vain.'

""They did it so more people could survive and return home, just like you did.'"

""Jiao Qiu, I order you! Heal me!'"

"……"

""How do you get a picky child to eat bell peppers?""

""How do you get a suspicious wolf to take poison?""

""The answer—I already told you.'"

""…A person without secrets is just prey, torn flesh, miserably awaiting death. Drink my blood to your heart's content… Hu Lei. Too bad I'm not someone without secrets—I still hide a tiny secret…""

""Stumbling Powder… I took it long ago; the poison has spread through my whole body… sooner or later… it'll take effect on you.""

""The ultimate poison of the world… if it can be exchanged for an innocent life, it too can be called a good medicine…""

""'I will do my best to heal'… Fei Xiao, I've kept my promise. With this insignificant life… I bring victory to Yao Qing.""

——

Original God.

Liyue Harbor, No Divination Hut.

""Bai Zhu, are you all right?""

Seeing Bai Zhu's hand tremble slightly as he held the pen, dropping big blotches of ink on the paper, Chang Sheng knew Bai Zhu's mood was probably terrible.

Although he rarely shows his emotions in front of patients, now seeing fellow doctor Jiao Qiu fall before Hu Lei, I'm afraid no one could stay calm.

Silence spread through the air for a moment, until the night watch sounded another drip.

""He's the best doctor." Bai Zhu sighed deeply, put down his pen, balled up the case sheet he'd just started, and tossed it into the basket. "Using his body as a guide, his life as bait—I never thought that 'How do you get a picky child to eat bell peppers?' wasn't his offhand remark but a gut‑wrenching poison wrapped around his life… What a long road it's been."

""Is this the belief of the Yao Qing people? No wonder, when Hu Lei was about to leave, he turned back then—now I think, Jiao Qiu must have already made up his mind to take the Stumbling Powder back then."

If he returns like this, setting aside whether he can escape Hu Lei's grasp, the one who took the poison is already beyond cure; his only thought is to trade this body for Hu Lei's.

What Bai Zhu regrets is that the information he bought with his life never got a chance to reach Fei Xiao. Otherwise, after defeating Hu Lei, simply eating his heart would cure Fei Xiao's Moon Madness.

——

Princess Kaguya Wants Me to Confess.

""Jiao Qiu still couldn't get away? How…""

Teng Yuan Qian Hua slumped over the table, the sparkle in her eyes gone.

I'm too young to bear this, so is there anyone who can save him? Moze? Feixiao? Xing? Anyone would do, can we still rescue him?

The ending she had hoped for wasn't like this; the script shouldn't be that Feixiao suddenly shows up at the brink of disaster, punches Hulei away, and saves the day when Jiaoqiu is on the verge of death? And why did he take the poison ahead of time?

"It's no good, he himself said that thing is poison, and since it can affect Hulei, he probably drank the whole bottle? If we let Bailu come, maybe we could still rescue him?" Baiyin Yuxing speculated.

Shi Shang shook his head, his expression solemn: "If it could be rescued, then it wouldn't be the world's ultimate poison. He himself is a medic, so he should know the poison's effects well. He has already prepared to trade his life for Hulei's; even if he knows the poison won't kill Hulei, he still wants to contribute his strength to Hulei in the final showdown."

Now is when Hulei is at his weakest, and also the best time to subdue him.

——

"Ugh……!"

His vision began to shake and blur, double images appearing. A roaring rang in his ears, and before his eyes it seemed as if countless red spiders were brandishing their fangs and claws. He pressed hard on his own head, claws digging deep into his hair, as if trying to dig that intangible pain out of his skull… but the intense dizziness left him unable to exert any strength, his whole body beginning to sway and stagger backward.

"Ha——!"

At the instant Hulei revealed an opening, Yun Li swiftly closed in, swinging the old iron in her hand and delivering an uppercut to his chin; with a loud "Bang!" he was sent flying, slamming deep into the wall behind.

"Truly… unscrupulous." The wounds on Hulei's body hadn't healed; instead, strands of purple vapor began to rise from them. He lifted his head, sensing the extremely unusual aura on the platform.

The sky seemed to have snowflakes drifting down.

"Is the air… getting cold?"

The three rallied, and the flying swords reformed beside Yan Qing; this time he once again pointed his sword at Hulei's heart.

"My sword… is colder!"