Chapter 181

The air inside the stone chamber tightened suddenly due to the intrusion of those uninvited guests.

Zhang Jun and Lin Xue remained expressionless, shielding the faintly breathing Qin Boyan slightly behind them as they warily sized up the old man before them.

"I am Gu Songnian, unworthy to serve as an Elder of the Medicine Alliance in the Capital City." The old man in blue robes wore a smile on his face, but that smile looked insincere no matter how you looked at it. He clasped his hands to Zhang Jun and Lin Xue: "Just now the Qin family fell into chaos, the medicine cauldron stirred; my Medicine Alliance is nearby, sensed the anomaly, and came specially to investigate. I never expected to meet a disciple of the Medicine Sect here—truly a fortunate encounter."

As he spoke, his gaze lingered briefly on the not-yet-fully restrained Xuan Yin aura around Zhang Jun's Yang Jade and Lin Xue; that hidden gleam flashed and was gone.

Zhang Jun snorted inwardly, this old fox—what a convenient timing! His words sounded sweeter than song, but a weasel paying New Year's greetings to a chicken—what good could he mean? He exchanged a glance with Lin Xue; both saw through the other's wariness.

"So it's Elder Gu of the Medicine Alliance." Zhang Jun curled the corner of his mouth, returned the salute, and said: "We're just nameless grunts—we don't deserve the title 'expert disciple'. With the Qin family in such turmoil tonight, Elder Gu, why aren't you out helping instead of sneaking down here to join the fun?"

Gu Songnian's smile lines didn't budge, as if he hadn't heard the barb in Zhang Jun's words: "Hehe, little friend, that's what you say. The Qin family's affairs will naturally be handled by whoever is in charge of the Qin family. Our Medicine Alliance has always kept to ourselves, merely wishing for a peaceful place in the capital's medical world. Hearing that the Medicine Sect's heritage has reappeared in the jianghu, we practitioners of medicine are delighted from the bottom of our hearts."

Shifting his tone with a hint of 'frankness', he said: "The Shadow Organization's antics, going against the norm, have thrown the capital into murky chaos—truly they are the scourge of medical practitioners! Our Medicine Alliance up and down also disapproves of their deeds. If you two don't mind, the Medicine Alliance is willing to join forces with the Medicine Sect's inheritors to steady this affair of the capital's medical world—what do you two think?"

"Cough… cough cough…" A violent bout of coughing interrupted Gu Songnian.

Qin Boyan stood behind Zhang Jun, forcing out a breath, his voice hoarse yet carrying an unyielding force: "Elder Gu, thank… cough… for your kindness. The Medicine Sect's affairs are for us of the Medicine Sect to decide. This Qin family turmoil tonight is our household's misfortune—we won't trouble the Medicine Alliance… to interfere."

Gu Songnian glanced at Qin Boyan; his eyes held something hard to put into words, then quickly shifted back to his amiable, profit-bringing demeanor: "Old Family Head Qin, that's what you say. If so, I too have nothing more to add."

Lin Xue's cold voice continued: "Thank you, Elder Gu, for your goodwill. We have urgent matters to attend to right now; it's really inconvenient to disturb you. We appreciate your kindness." She could sense that although Old Gu smelled of medicinal herbs, his wily, cunning aura made her uneasy—this old man's true calculations were absolutely not as simple as his words suggested.

"Ah, that's truly a pity." Gu Songnian's face showed just the right amount of 'regret', and he didn't press further: "Since you two are busy, I'll not linger. The Medicine Alliance's gates are always open to the Medicine Sect's inheritors. If you ever need anything, just speak up."

Having said that, he gave a meaningful glance at the dark passage leading to the Shennong Cauldron's forbidden grounds, then led his men away in a leisurely turn. The various scouts who had earlier sneaked in, seeing this, also exchanged glances and slipped away silently.

Inside the stone chamber, things finally fell temporarily silent.

The Black Judge fled, other forces temporarily held their ground, and the chaos in the Qin family manor, under the death-defying suppression of a few loyal elders, began to show a hint of control. The elders directed the clansmen to clear the aftermath and tend to the wounded, while issuing a death order to seal off news, fearing the situation would worsen. As for the gravely injured, comatose Qin Yueyao, she was secretly sent to an unexpected hidden place and placed under strict guard.

The night was so thick it seemed impossible to disperse. Zhang Jun and Lin Xue supported the frail Qin Boyan, avoiding the chaotic crowd of the Qin family, and quietly made their way to a small house in the southern part of the city that Liu San ye had arranged in advance.

The house was small, but it had been tidied up nicely. Liu San ye had already received the news and sent people to deliver urgent medicines, clean clothes, and the latest information, also passing along a message that any need should be voiced, and he would do his utmost to help.

After settling Qin Boyan, they treated his wound and gave him medicinal pills; the old man's complexion finally eased a bit.

"Senior Qin, what on earth is Qin Yueyao trying to do?" Zhang Jun couldn't help but ask; thinking back to that deadly scene earlier, he still felt a lingering fear.

Qin Boyan leaned against the headboard, his eyes full of weariness and heartache: "That child Yueyao… she's too obstinate. I don't know where she got hold of some lost forbidden arts of the Medicine Sect, and she actually intends to rely on the power of the Shennong Cauldron to forcibly refine… refine the city's lifeforce of the capital!"

"City's lifeforce?" Zhang Jun and Lin Xue exclaimed in unison. This was yet another term they had never heard before.

"That's right." Qin Boyan nodded, his brow furrowed with worry. "Every major city, especially a place like the capital where dragon veins converge, has its own unique source of fate; it is the root of the city's fortune and vitality. Yueyao believes that if she can control the capital's lifeforce and combine it with the supreme divine power of the Shennong Cauldron, she will be able to break through to a realm no one has ever reached, leading the Qin family… to glory."

"This is outright madness!" Zhang Jun sucked in a cold breath. "Forcibly refining the city's lifeforce, the consequences…"

"At best, the city will decline and suffer endless natural and man-made disasters; at worst, the lifeforce will backlash, destroying the city and killing its people!" Qin Boyan's voice was heavy enough to wring out water. "The forbidden arts she's studying are wicked and have long strayed from the orthodox path of the Medicine Sect. The Shadow organization probably also sees this, intending to use her to achieve their more concealed aims. Their ultimate goal is very likely also the capital's lifeforce."

The air inside the room instantly solidified.

Zhang Jun and Lin Xue exchanged a glance, both seeing disbelief in the other's eyes. Qin Yueyao's ambition and the Black Judge's scheming were actually both aimed at this mysterious "city's lifeforce".

Just then, Qin Boyan seemed to suddenly recall something; his previously dim eyes brightened. He struggled to grab Zhang Jun's arm and exclaimed urgently: "Exactly! I remember now! Yueyao earlier… she seemed to have obtained a fragment of an ancient map! That map… is said to be closely related to the Medicine Sect's lost core treasure, as well as the distribution of this city's lifeforce…"

"Where is that map now?" Lin Xue immediately asked.