Chapter 2255: The Miao Border Youth's Fierce Love 18

The medicinal herb scent in the Herb Hall was soaked by twilight, growing heavy.

As Bai Mo crossed the threshold, he saw Nan Yixue wiping a green jade token.

Jin Chen lounged lazily in the grand master's chair, playing with a small bamboo-woven basket in his hand.

Fan Ruoxi and Chu Wan were chatting about the amusing incidents at Broken Dragon Cliff, and He Mòning could occasionally throw in a couple of remarks; the atmosphere was still alright.

As soon as Bai Mo arrived, they all turned to look at him.

"Eldest senior brother..." Bai Mo forced a smile, but he hadn't finished speaking before being cut off.

"Kneel."

Nan Yixue's voice wasn't heavy, but it gave Bai Mo a start.

He recognized that green jade token; it was something he had longed for, an heirloom passed down through the generations of the Southern Gate's sect masters.

Although Nan Yixue was the heir, he had never used it before.

Bai Mo realized something, felt dazed, and his knee was suddenly struck by a silver needle, causing him to kneel.

"At the bottom of Broken Dragon Cliff, you lured me to the western cliff, dreaming of killing me and implicating Jin Chen." Nan Yixue set the token on the case, "It was the Southern Gate's distress signal."

Bai Mo's face turned deathly pale: "I, I just..."

"Last night, you saw Jin Chen not fall for it, and you also knew he would take the injury for Jin Que, so you tampered with Jin Que's medicine, hoping to keep Jin Chen from competing."

He took out a small paper packet from his sleeve and threw it on the ground.

The paper packet opened, revealing the blackened medicinal dregs inside.

Bai Mo's fingertips began to tremble: "It's Luo Xiao… forcing me."

"Southern Gate rules."

Nan Yixue stood up, the token glinting coldly in the twilight: "Harming fellow disciples, treating the Southern Gate's lifesaving signal as a joke—both deserve expulsion from the sect."

Chu Wan stood aside holding the medicine mortar, annoyed: "Junior martial brother, we know all about your deeds."

Bai Mo lunged forward, trying to grab Nan Yixue's sleeve.

"You can't drive me out! I've been in the Southern Gate for over ten years! The master dotes on me most! How long have you been back? What gives you the right!"

Jin Chen's red snake suddenly darted out, blocking his path and hissing, flicking its tongue.

"From today on, you may no longer call yourself a Southern Gate healer." Nan Yixue tucked the token into his robe.

"If you practice medicine outside and harm others…" he paused, "it will damage the Southern Gate's reputation, and I will personally purge the sect."

Bai Mo collapsed onto the ground, eyes red, he pulled at He Mòning: "Fourth senior brother, please say a word for me… I can't be expelled… and also second senior brother, we've grown up together since childhood; the eldest senior brother has only been back a few years—how can you treat me like this!"

He Mòning had originally wanted to intercede for him, but…

"Jin Que's Dage already has poor health, yet you dare to drug him—where is your physician's benevolence?"

He Mòning pulled back his own sleeve: "Serves him right."

Jin Chen played with the bamboo basket, chuckled softly: "This basket is well woven—perfect for holding your little tricks."

"I don't care! The master hasn't spoken, Nan Yixue… you have no right to drive me out!"

Bai Mo bit his lip, looking at them with anger, then turned and ran away.

——

Luo Xiao was punished by the Grand Priest to kneel in the ancestral hall for a day, but instead he came up with a good way to deal with Jin Chen.

The night was as dark as ink, and the bronze door hinge of the ancestral hall emitted a piercing creak.

Luo Xiao held a fire starter, its light swaying in the deep passageway, casting on the stone walls on both sides the mottled ancient gu patterns.

"What… is in here?" Bai Mo followed behind, his foot stepping on something unknown, producing a crisp crack.

He lowered his gaze and saw it was a section of yellowed beast bone, frightening him into hastily stepping back.

Luo Xiao gave a cold smile, the firelight illuminating his sinister profile: "What's there to fear?"

He reached out and pushed open the stone door at the deepest part of the underground palace, covered in strange runes, and explained: "This place enshrines two blood gu mothers."

"The living gu mother drinks human blood, its poison not strong; the corpse gu mother gnaws dead human bones, its poison extremely potent."

Behind the stone door was a circular stone chamber, in the center stood a bronze cauldron whose body was entwined with nine lifelike serpentine reliefs.

The cauldron held a dark red liquid that, in the firelight, gave off an eerie sheen.

"The living gu mother is inside the cauldron."

Luo Xiao lowered his voice, taking a small silver vial from his bosom: "Take a few drops of its blood and mix it into your herbs."

Bai Mo swallowed, his voice trembling: "This, this really won't be discovered, will it?"

Luo Xiao's eyes flashed with a hint of ruthlessness.

If it weren't for the corpse gu mother's poison being too strong, he wouldn't dare touch it lightly; otherwise he would have used it directly to kill Jin Chen!

There's no need to think of such a roundabout method!

"The blood of the living gu mother is colorless and tasteless; once blended with the herbs, even my father wouldn't notice." He gave a sinister smile: "Who would think it's the gu mother at work?"

Luo Xiao tapped the nearby bronze cauldron with the sheath of his knife.

"This isn't fatal; once the villagers suffer unbearable stomach pain, I just need to say the heavens are dissatisfied with Jin Chen, this holy son, and then I'll give them a gu remedy."

Luo Xiao looked at Bai Mo, gently stroking his face: "Don't forget, I became the holy son, and only then could you obtain the bone-piercing needle technique."

Bai Mo's hand trembled slightly, yet he still took the silver vial.

In the firelight, the liquid in the bronze cauldron suddenly rippled slightly, as if something were moving in its depths.

Taking advantage of the night, Luo Xiao and Bai Mo needed to mix the blood into tomorrow's wine vat before the holy son's grand ceremony.

And the wine vat was placed beside the altar in the square.

At the same time.

Jin Chen sat cross-legged on the bamboo bed of the stilted building, moonlight streaming through the lattice windows onto his body.

Spiritual energy can force out the gu worms, but one must consider the health of this body, so progress must be gradual.

Fortunately the effect was not bad; now even if Jin Que still caused trouble, he wouldn't immediately suffer a backlash.

Several boxes were placed on the bedside table, all filled with congratulatory gifts sent by the villagers.

The Ling Gun Gun group was eating and drinking to their heart's content at the bedside, feeling very satisfied.

They're all heavenly treasures and earthly riches—good stuff has arrived!

The red snake suddenly poked its head out from his sleeve, flicking its tongue toward the altar.

"What's wrong?" Jin Chen asked lazily, his finger lightly stroking the red snake's scales.

The red snake writhed uneasily, its tail tip pointing toward the window outside.

Jin Chen looked in that direction and faintly saw a shadow swaying near the altar.

He patted the bun on the bedside.

Ling Gun Gun rolled over and flopped onto Jin Chen's head.

【Eh…?】

【The two main characters are… sneaking drinks? Oh, what uncultured people.】

Jin Chen narrowed his eyes, wrapped the red snake around his wrist, and his figure instantly vanished from the spot.