Chapter 533: [Covert Guidance] (Part 1)

Hu Xiaotian opened the medical kit: "Brother Zhao, if you can bear it, I'll help you pull out the arrowhead."

Zhao Chongwu nodded.

Wen Boyuan watched from afar Hu Xiaotian's actions, couldn't help but feel strange—could this rascal really know medicine? It seems his curing the Emperor's grave illness must be true, no wonder he gained the Emperor's favor.

Hu Xiaotian bandaged the wounded soldiers' wounds, cleaned and sutured them; his technique and efficiency far surpassed that of the accompanying army medic, and after busily working for two full hours, he finally finished treating the wounded soldiers' wounds. Remembering kindness for a thousand years, many soldiers also changed their opinion of Hu Xiaotian because of today's events; previously most had held resentment toward this eunuch, but after experiencing today's events, at least those soldiers whom Hu Xiaotian personally treated now feel grateful toward him.

After finishing, Hu Xiaotian noticed Long Xi Yue and Tang Qingxuan also came to help among the wounded troops, and he couldn't help but smile knowingly.

Wu Jing-shan had now completely calmed down, quietly came to Hu Xiaotian's side, and whispered: "Sir Hu, what should we do next?" He took the initiative to come and seek Hu Xiaotian's opinion, which was the first time for Wu Jing-shan.

Hu Xiaotian looked up at the sky filled with dark clouds; it was already mid-afternoon, and no matter how hard they tried today, they would definitely not be able to walk out of this loess forest.

Wu Jing-shan saw that he wasn't speaking, couldn't help but whisper: "Why don't we turn back and take the route through Wuxing County to Qinglong Bay."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Sir Wu, we've already reached the middle of Fenglin Gorge; going back is just as far, and going forward is just as far. By now, even if we go back, the road may not be peaceful."

Wu Jing-shan sighed: "It's all my fault for not listening to Sir Hu's advice back then; if we had taken the route through Wuxing County, none of this would have happened."

Hu Xiaotian said: "It's too late to say that now."

Wu Jing-shan also realized that now they were in a situation like riding a tiger, with no choice but to go forward; turning back was utterly unrealistic. Suddenly he felt an unbearable itch on his neck, and couldn't help but reach out to scratch. To his surprise, a dense rash broke out on his neck's skin, and when his fingernails touched the rash it instantly burst, causing Wu Jing-shan to let out a muffled groan from the pain.

Hu Xiaotian immediately realized something was wrong, and reminded Sir Wu: "Sir Wu, don't scratch; let me take a look."

Wu Jing-shan raised his neck and cried out in pain: "So itchy. Both itchy and painful, and my chest feels very stifled."

Hu Xiaotian saw that the skin on his neck had turned Lan, secretly alarmed; Wu Jing-shan must have been poisoned, and at this moment many soldiers also began to wail in pain, the accompanying army medic being no exception.

On the contrary, Princess Anping, Tang Qingxuan, Hu Xiaotian and the others were fine. Hu Xiaotian secretly thought: they all had masks on; just now the loess filled the sky, dust and smoke permeated the air, and everyone had inhaled a lot of dust. If someone had used this dust to spread poison, wouldn't they have inhaled it into their lungs? Otherwise, it wouldn't have caused so many people to develop the same symptoms.

Hu Xiaotian looked around, and Xu Mi Tian's voice sounded again: "Are you looking for me?"

Hu Xiaotian nodded.

But Xu Mi Tian said: "Have you seen the carriage to your front-right?"

Hu Xiaotian looked up. He saw that beside the carriage, a young man with his head wrapped in bandages was staring at him, his eyes showing a familiar coldness; Hu Xiaotian immediately judged that this person was Xu Mi Tian in disguise, and realized she had been mixed in with his own troop all along.

Hu Xiaotian pondered for a moment, then slowly walked over to Xu Mi Tian, crouched before her, and whispered: "Was it you who did this?"

Xu Mi Tian snorted: "Such a lowly method of spreading poison—I would never stoop to it."

Hu Xiaotian was actually just asking this; he didn't think the matter was related to Xu Mi Tian, and if she had wanted to poison them, she wouldn't need to actively guide them. He smiled: "You must have a way to deal with them, right?"

Xu Mi Tian gave him a cold glance and said coldly: "This poison is called Heart-Itch Unbearable, colorless and odorless, in powder form; it must have been mixed into the smoke and dust. Your soldiers lacked protection, and inhaling the poison dust led to the current situation, but you needn't worry—Heart-Itch Unbearable is not fatal."

Hu Xiaotian looked around and saw many soldiers, unable to bear the itch, already starting to take off their clothes to scratch; he gave an apologetic smile and said: "For you, this lowly poison‑spreading method is basically child's play, and detoxifying ought to be a piece of cake—why don't you help us detoxify?"

Xu Mi Tian said: "Did I hear right? You sound like you're begging me!"

Hu Xiaotian broke into a grin, suddenly recalling that he had once asked Xu Mi Tian to promise to help him with three things; she had only agreed to spare him three times from death. If she helped detoxify now, wouldn't that be wasting one of those chances? Considering this, it might truly be that Xu Mi Tian took the opportunity to poison them in order to exchange for his plea. Yet using one chance to save so many lives would still be worthwhile. Thinking this, Hu Xiaotian nodded and said: "Yes! You had promised me that before."

Xu Mi Tian held out two fingers to him, meaning she only owed him two more favors, and then said: "Actually the antidote is right beside you—take a bowl of loess, mix it into water, boil it, and give it to them to drink; that will detoxify."

Hu Xiaotian was overjoyed; this detox method was truly unexpected—poison generated when inhaled through the respiratory tract, yet the same powder entering the digestive tract could actually detoxify, which is marvelous. Such a poison‑and‑detox method can hardly be called lowly; to undo the bell you need the one who tied it, and nine out of ten this poison was hers.

Xu Mi Tian evidently guessed his thoughts and sneered: "Are you still thinking this was my doing?"

Hu Xiaotian laughed: "How could it be, how could it be..." but secretly thought: "If it weren't you, who else would it be?"

Hu Xiaotian didn't dare delay; he immediately had people arrange a fire to boil water, took a large bowl of loess on the spot, and mixed it into the pot. Although most people doubted that muddy water could detox given the circumstances there was no other option, so they had to grit their teeth and try. Unexpectedly, this muddy water really worked—after drinking it, the strange itch on their bodies stopped at once.

Although Hu Xiaotian himself showed no poisoning symptoms, to be safe he also drank a small bowl of the muddy water, gritting his teeth; this was taking precautions beforehand.

Wu Jing-shan sighed with relief, the earlier heart‑scratching agony still fresh in his memory; thanks to Hu Xiaotian's intervention his ailment was finally resolved, and now he truly believes that Hu Xiaotian's earlier cure of the Emperor was genuine, his feeling toward Hu Xiaotian shifting from contempt to gratitude. He clasped his hands and bowed deeply: "Thank you, Sir Hu, for coming to my aid."

Hu Xiaotian smiled: "Sir, didn't you say we'd share weal and woe? Such trifles are nothing to worry about; if I were the one in trouble, I'm sure you'd do your utmost to help."

Wu Jing-shan said: "Certainly, certainly!" He also understood that he had no strength to truss a chicken; faced with a situation like just now, he lacked even the ability to protect himself, let alone help others. Yet the words he just spoke are utterly sincere, and within his means he will certainly help Hu Xiaotian. Wu Jing-shan, after all, is a scholar, and he still understands the principle of repaying kindness.

Hu Xiaotian looked at the pot of boiling water and saw that people were still queuing in an orderly line to fetch water; Wen Boyuan's personal guard Dong Tieshan took a bowl of water and hurriedly brought it to Wen Boyuan, who was standing far away. Wen Boyuan took the bowl from Dong Tieshan's hand, but at the same time he noticed Hu Xiaotian looking at him, furrowed his brow, and flung the bowl of water onto the ground.

Hu Xiaotian secretly laughed; Wen Boyuan was simply courting disaster for the sake of face.

Wu Jing-shan also saw Wen Boyuan's behavior at this moment; after the earlier life‑threatening episode, his trust in Wen Boyuan plummeted. In a life‑or‑death crisis, aside from his few personal guards, who would still look out for him? At a critical moment one must rely on one's own people, which further confirms what Hu Xiaotian had said earlier: Wen Boyuan concerns himself only with Princess Anping's safety, and couldn't care less about the life or death of others. Gazing at the surrounding loess pillars standing tall, Wu Jing-shan no longer had any inclination to indulge in literary flourishes; he sighed low, full of worry: "Those bandits lie in ambush underground, ready to strike at any moment, and the roads have been blocked by them—how can we get out?"

Hu Xiaotian smiled: "When the cart reaches the mountain, there will be a path; the living won't die from holding their urine, so we will surely find a way out. Sir Wu, just rest easy—today we can't go on; this place is relatively open, and as long as we stay vigilant there should be no further danger."

Wu Jing-shan nodded; advancing blindly without knowing the route ahead is no different from seeking one's own death, and moreover today's sudden attack has caused heavy casualties, panic among the troops, so we must steady our ranks before we can move on. He glanced at Wen Boyuan in the distance and said: "Or we should go consult him."

Hu Xiaotian said: "If you want to go, go yourself—I can't be bothered with him."

Wen Boyuan also had the idea of setting up camp on the spot, so when Wu Jing-shan proposed it, he immediately agreed; although they had suffered ambushes in the Black Pine Forest and Lujia Village earlier, casualties had never been as heavy as today, and although the wounded soldiers had been treated, many of them could no longer continue forward—making it most realistic to stay put and recuperate.

Wen Boyuan gave the order to set up camp, rest for a night, then depart at dawn tomorrow; he also sent out a small squad to scout the route, seeking the best way to exit Fenglin Gorge. As for night watch, Wen Boyuan dared not be careless.

Hu Xiaotian had arranged Long Xi Yue's tent, then turned to look for Xu Mi Tian, only to find she had already vanished; it seems Xu Mi Tian is not only the world's foremost poison master, but also a master of disguise.

The Tang brothers came to Hu Xiaotian's side; Tang Tiehan wore a sorrowful face and said: "Sir Hu, we've lost four wagons and eleven brothers are missing."

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