Chapter 323: Treating the Symptoms, Not the Root

When the first female corpse was still struggling, the second female corpse arrived.

One after another.

Finally, the eight female corpses formed two rows; the first row kept striking the threshold, wailing, while the second row lunged forward, their toes jabbing into the feet of the first row's corpses standing on tiptoe, dragging the first row to crash into the threshold again.

Wails came one after another.

I and Li Qingying watched the scene before us, and couldn't help but sigh: corpses are corpses, their brains don't know how to turn, a little threshold can hold them in place for a while.

The eight female corpses bared their teeth and snarled at us as they rushed into the room.

I saw that the toes of the embroidered shoes of the four front female corpses were completely black.

That wasn't from rubbing dirt; it was from being struck by the yang energy of a hundred-year-old peach wood.

I took out eight talisman papers and struck the eight female corpses with internal force.

They were pinned at the doorway for a moment; the talisman papers ignited without fire, the eight female corpses exhausted, turned and left.

Li Qingying watched them go until they disappeared, then happily clapped: "This threshold really works!"

I walked over and examined the threshold closely, discovering fine lines on it—very fine and small, not broken, but already damaged.

Li Qingying went to look at the big rooster again.

What a good partner, having eaten and drunk their fill, they fell asleep lying under the drying rack.

We kept watch a while longer, then each returned to our rooms.

I slept through the day, replenishing my energy; thinking I wouldn't be able to sleep anyway, I took out the witchcraft notes, planning to keep reading while waiting for Liu Junyan and the others to return.

But for some reason, after reading just half a page, my eyelids started fighting, and I was so sleepy I couldn't take in a single word.

Not long after, I fell asleep leaning against the headboard.

As soon as I fell asleep, I sank into a dream.

All I heard was the sound of rushing water; I snapped my eyes open and instantly met another pair gazing at me gently.

At the moment our eyes met, the woman imprisoned in the bronze cauldron across from me opened her mouth and asked, "Xiao Jiu, have you decided?"

It was Liu Mu.

It was she who pulled me into the dream to meet her.

But that question left me wondering—what have I decided?

I pondered a bit and immediately understood: Liu Mu was asking if I had decided to undo the seal on the cube and take out that inner elixir.

I nodded without hesitation: "I have decided."

Then I added: "But the inner elixir is with Liu Junyan; he hasn't made a decision yet."

Liu Mu asked repeatedly: "Xiao Jiu, have you really decided? Are you mentally prepared to face the raging waves?"

My answer remained: "I have decided."

Liu Mu extended her hand; as the water rippled, the cube sealing the golden inner elixir suddenly appeared in her hand!

What's going on?

Wasn't this always with Liu Junyan?

How did Liu Mu get it back?

I opened my mouth to ask, but Liu Mu waved her hand; the cube fell into my hand, my body kept falling, darkness before my eyes… a sigh…

I jolted awake, sat upright, and saw that the cube was still gripped in my hand!

This wasn't the first time I'd experienced something like this; I felt no surprise or fear.

I stared at the cube in my hand, lost in thought.

It was Xiaoye!

I said to myself, how could Xiaoye possibly come to the pawnshop for idle chatter at such a critical moment? He must be here on a mission.

Only the Linghai Dragon King and Liu Mu working together could persuade Xiaoye to do this.

It seems they have reached a consensus, which matches my own thinking.

I glanced at the tip of my right middle finger; the wound there had just healed, but I bit my teeth and broke it open again.

Fresh blood dripped onto the cube; the water ripples kept rolling, then vanished as if evaporated from the human world.

And that golden inner elixir hovered above my palm, bursting with blinding golden light and a refreshing fragrance.

I understood in my heart that from this moment on, this inner elixir had likely been sensed by countless people.

Where should I hide it?

Before, I thought putting it in the pawnshop would be absolutely safe.

But now the pawnshop's seal has loosened, and no one can be sure whether the Copper Coin Person will covet this inner elixir.

Where should I hide it to be completely safe?

After thinking it over, a flash of inspiration struck; I opened my mouth and swallowed the inner elixir into my body.

Doing this is actually very dangerous.

Liu Mu is the only golden dragon to have appeared among the Linghai Dragon Clan in over three thousand years; the power contained in her inner elixir cannot be fused or digested by just anyone.

My mother's inner elixir still bears a layer of blood relation; to this day I have not been able to fully fuse with it.

I swallowed Liu Mu's inner elixir; the two inner elixirs collided inside me, two different internal forces waged war within my body—one misstep and I could even explode and die.

I fully understand the risk, yet I am still willing to take the chance and try.

First, I truly believe that hiding Liu Mu's inner elixir in my body, carrying it wherever I go, is the safest.

Second, I need this power to strike my mother's inner elixir.

With the two inner elixirs acting together, my fusion speed with my mother's inner elixir will slow, allowing me to buy a little time…

Although it treats the symptom not the cause, buying a day is still a day.

Sure enough, after Liu Mu's inner elixir entered my body, it surged violently; a fishy-sweet taste rose to my throat, I got out of bed, squatted by the trash can, and spat out a mouthful of blood.

Right after, my whole body burned hot, my veins throbbing and swollen, as if they might burst at any moment.

I could no longer move, so I sat cross-legged where I was and struggled to circulate my qi… Fortunately, Liu Junyan had taught me the method of qi circulation, and the Witchcraft Notes also recorded other qi methods.

This meditation lasted two hours.

When I finally managed to temporarily suppress that inner elixir, my whole body was drenched in sweat, as if I had just been fished out of water.

I painfully climbed to my feet, utterly weak, dragging my exhausted body to take a bath.

After blowing my hair dry, I collapsed onto the bed and fell into a deep sleep, oblivious to the world.

Liu Junyan and the others also didn't return all night.

The next day I slept until mid-morning; Li Qingying wanted me to rest well, so she didn't wake me.

When I got up to have breakfast, she was startled: "Xiao Jiu, what's wrong? Did you catch a cold? Your complexion looks so terrible."

Saying that, she reached out to feel my forehead.

I shook my head and gave a perfunctory reply: "I'm fine, I just didn't sleep well last night."

Li Qingying felt heartbroken, urging me to eat quickly and then lie down again after I was full.

She then boiled me a bowl of ejiao red date soup, watching me drink it.

After drinking it, I only felt as if my whole body were about to catch fire.

That ball of fire stagnated in my chest, yet my body broke out in cold sweat.

It seems I can't take tonics due to deficiency—what a hassle!

I stood up, thinking to go out for a walk, get some sun, maybe it would help.

As it turned out, I heard the neighboring aunts saying that the stage for the opera at Wufu Town's assembly hall had already been set up, and many people had gone to watch.

The assembly hall's stage had already been set up?

Li Qingying had been keeping an eye on this matter—why didn't she tell me?

I then walked slowly toward the assembly hall, but before I had gone far, a surge of heat rose from my lower abdomen; I only felt my vision blur, my steps staggered a few times, and I plunged headfirst toward the ground……

Just before hitting the ground, a hand grabbed me.

I struggled to open my eyes to look, and before I completely lost consciousness, I seemed to see Bai Jingmo……and also Bai Shulan wearing a white veil……