Chapter 2245: Miao Jiang Youth Fiercely in Love 08

The crisp sound of A San stepping on and breaking a dry branch came over.

They all saw this scene in the bamboo grove.

Jiu Tian let out a wow, Chu Wan already cried out in surprise, Fan Ruoxi fumbled to cover her eyes, but he himself almost tripped over a bamboo root.

"We didn't see anything!"

Jiu Tian grabbed A San's collar in one motion, the two turned together, their heads bumping with a thud.

Jin Chen slowly pushed himself up from Nan Yi Xing's body, the Red Snake Gu lazily sliding back into his sleeve.

His fingertip brushed over Nan Yi Xing's slightly disheveled collar, and he casually plucked a bamboo leaf.

【Eh, Bai Mao isn't here,... let me have a look.】

Ling Gun Gun: 【Host, the uke protagonist was left by Jin Que in the bamboo tower, eh! Oh! The seme protagonist also went in! How exciting, could Jin Que be going to join the protagonists' love?】

【...】

Jin Chen didn't want to hear such ear-polluting talk.

"What's up." Jin Chen asked.

Jiu Tian steeled himself and went forward: "Young Master, there's a bit of trouble with the gu vat behind the mountain."

"Come on, I told my older brother today, remember to keep it secret for me." Before leaving, Jin Chen winked at him.

Nan Yi Xing lowered his head to tidy his messy clothes, rubbing the silver bracelet on his wrist that had been entwined by the Red Snake, his fingertips soaked with medicinal fragrance picking up a bit of phosphorus powder.

"Senior Brother?" Chu Wan came over, gossipy.

"We'll go pick herbs behind the mountain tomorrow." Nan Yi Xing said.

He glanced in the direction Jin Chen disappeared, raising his eyebrows slightly.

Such a poisonous creature, all mystery and bared fangs, is far more interesting than the orderly poisonous herbs in the herb garden.

Fan Ruoxi held the medical book, wanting to speak but stopping, really wanting to say that the Young Master's initiative might hide some ulterior motive.

Yet seeing the bamboo shadows sway, casting Nan Yi Xing's brow blood mole ever more vividly crimson, the compassionate eyes flickering with, clearly, the gleam of delight at spotting prey.

... Well, it's not certain who has ulterior motives.

Fan Ruoxi silently sighed in his heart.

——

Three days later.

Morning mist not yet cleared, the blue-stone plaza before the Miao King Tower was already packed with villagers.

The Grand Priest held his scepter, standing on the nine-tier steps, his silver-white beard and hair exuding a chill in the morning light.

The Elder held aloft a bamboo slip bound with red string, his aged voice cutting through the noisy crowd:

"The Holy Son Selection is imminent; after discussion, we have selected four teenage candidates with prestige and ability."

Nan Yi Xing led his four junior fellow disciples in listening nearby, when he suddenly glanced toward the ancient banyan tree to the side.

Jin Chen leaned sideways against the knotted roots of the ancient banyan, a bamboo leaf between his lips, his newly changed red robe's hem hanging loose, occasionally kicking the stones on the ground.

A San squatted nearby, currently loading centipede gu into a bamboo tube.

"First candidate, Young Master Jin Chen."

The crowd burst into cheers, a few Miao girls blushing as they threw wild flowers this way.

Chu Wan glanced at the senior brother, plucked a wild flower and gave it to Nan Yi Xing.

Nan Yi Xing: "..."

He gazed lightly at Chu Wan.

Chu Wan: "…No, if I'm not giving it, I'm not giving it."

She nonchalantly took the flower back.

"Second candidate, the Grand Priest's son, Luo Xiao."

Luo Xiao, standing on the opposite side of the altar, gave a slight nod.

A pitch-black spider clung to his shoulder, its eight eyes glowing with a faint light.

"Third candidate, Miao King's disciple, Shan Man."

A lean youth stepped out of the crowd, a green snake coiled around his neck.

He bowed to the Elder, but his gaze locked onto Luo Xiao, a flash of ruthlessness flickering in his eyes.

The Elder unfolded the final section of the bamboo slip, his voice suddenly hesitant: "Fourth candidate…… Jin Que."

The plaza fell into dead silence.

The bamboo leaf in Jin Chen's mouth snapped with a pop.

Everyone's eyes darted back and forth between the pale youth in the wheelchair and the red-clad youth.

Jin Que sat quietly in the wheelchair, his knees covered by an embroidered blanket bearing poison motifs, indigo-blue gu patterns spreading from the collar to behind his ears.

"Hmph."

Jin Chen suddenly laughed out loud, the Red Snake slipping from his sleeve to coil around his fingertips.

"Aren't you afraid of dying in there?"

Jin Que's fingers tightened slightly under the blanket, his voice so soft it was almost inaudible.

"A-Chen..."

"That's right," Jin Chen stood, his red gauze fluttering in the morning wind, "How could you be afraid of dying?"

He walked to the wheelchair, leaning in close to his brother's ear.

The Red Snake flicked its tongue, nearly touching Jin Que's pale cheek, "After all, you should have died ten years ago, right?"

Jin Que burst into a cough, his knuckles whitening as he clenched them.

"A-Chen... how can you... say that to me." His voice carried an anguish that could not be concealed.

The High Priest's scepter struck the ground heavily: "Silence!"

The High Priest glanced at Jin Chen, shook his head, and continued: "Each of the four candidates will partner with a South Gate disciple and go to Broken Dragon Cliff to cultivate gu."

"Seven days later, the outcome will be decided by the newly cultivated gu worms; the South Gate disciple who partners with the Holy Son will receive the Bone-Piercing Needle."

He said while opening an old wooden box, inside which neatly lay about a hundred silver needles that glowed with a cold light.

Fan Ruoxi's eyes lit up instantly, and he whispered to Chu Wan: "This… this couldn't be the lost Bone-Piercing Needle Technique, could it?"

This lost treasure for three hundred years, legend says it can reverse life and death and turn yin and yang, was exactly the supreme treasure that the South Gate Patriarch carried with him when he rested in Miao Jiang.

Jin Chen leaned against a nearby bamboo pole.

Hearing they would be split into groups, he reached out and grabbed Nan Yixing's sleeve: "This medic is mine."

Saying that, he deliberately leaned against the person, causing several nearby villagers to cover their mouths and snicker.

The High Priest continued: "Remember, aside from the Gu Mother Forbidden Ground, you may go anywhere else……"

Before he finished speaking, Jin Chen interjected: "What if someone accidentally enters the forbidden ground again?"

He tilted his head, but his eyes flicked to Jin Que in the wheelchair, stressing the word "again".

Jin Que coughed lightly twice, his voice weak yet gentle: "A Chen, don't cause trouble."

"Who's causing trouble with you? You're sick."

Jin Chen frowned, his fingers unconsciously rubbing the red snake on his wrist.

That snake seemed to sense its master's mood, flicking its tongue toward Jin Que.

【Jin Que's attitude toward me is disgusting.】

I want to beat him up.

Ling Gun Gun held a bamboo leaf in his mouth, learning to whistle: 【Puff… puff puff… Host, don't rush; after the gu is dispelled, you can kill him!】

Nan Yixing stood to the side, his gaze shifting back and forth between the two brothers.

He noticed that when the High Priest mentioned the Bone-Piercing Needle, Jin Que's expression changed dramatically, but quickly returned to its gentle demeanor.

"That's settled." The High Priest struck the hammer: "Tonight we set out; each of the four candidates will choose a South Gate medic."

The bronze drum before the altar gradually fell silent, and Jin Chen swayed to Nan Yixing's side: "Older brother, come into the mountains with me."

As he spoke, his eyes glittered; Nan Yixing saw it and the corners of his mouth rose slightly: "Since the Young Master invites me, how could I refuse?"

This simple reply made Jin Chen beam, and he glanced around, his gaze landing on Jin Que.

Chu Wan, standing nearby, saw this and immediately waved her hand: "Since only four are going, I'll spend these days organizing the herbs in the Spirit Herb Hall and won't come."

She said this while stepping back two steps, afraid of being conscripted.