Chapter 472 - 405: Attached Poison

Chapter 472: Chapter 405: Attached Poison

Fine threads of rain drummed against the green tiles and stone slabs.

Peng Anmin, cloaked in a straw raincoat with his bamboo hat pulled low, hurried alone through the dark, deserted streets and alleyways.

His pace was quick, yet he paused at every fork in the alley, taking deliberate detours to ensure no one was following before ducking into a Fishery.

The moment he closed the door, the rich aroma of a meaty broth wafted over him from the back courtyard.

Peng Anmin removed his damp raincoat and hat, then headed into the courtyard.

In the courtyard kitchen, a fire blazed brightly.

Bai San, Gossip, and Hua Wuxin were sitting by the fire pit.

A large iron pot rested over the fire, white steam BUBBLING from under the lid’s edge. The enticing fragrance emanated from within.

"Old Peng, you’re back?"

Hearing the noise, Bai San turned and called out, "Hurry, hurry, we were waiting for you! Master Hua cooked himself today. Damn, this smell is so good my soul’s about to float away!"

Peng Anmin walked closer.

Bai San deftly grabbed a ceramic bowl and lifted the pot lid. An even richer cloud of steam, thick with the scent of meat, billowed upwards.

He ladled out a full bowl. The broth was a creamy white, with several large chunks of chicken and cured meat submerged within, along with some white, slice-like objects that looked like medicinal herbs.

"You just came in from the rain. You’re damp and cold. Have a bowl of soup first to warm up and drive out the chill. See if it’s salty enough."

Bai San handed him the bowl, and Gossip promptly offered a pair of chopsticks.

"Alright."

Peng Anmin didn’t stand on ceremony and accepted the bowl and chopsticks.

The aroma tickled his nose, whetting his appetite.

He took a careful sip of the soup first. The scalding liquid entered his mouth, and a savory flavor exploded across his taste buds, so rich he couldn’t help but narrow his eyes in pleasure.

He then picked up a piece of chicken. It was stewed until tender and flavorful. The cured meat was salty and chewy, and the white slices had a soft, starchy texture with a hint of bitterness that gave way to a sweet aftertaste.

He made short work of it, polishing off the entire bowl of meat and soup. A light sweat even beaded on his forehead, and a pleasant warmth spread through his body.

"That hits the spot!"

Peng Anmin set down his bowl, only to find Bai San and Gossip staring at him expectantly.

Hua Wuxin, however, remained expressionless, silently picking up a piece of firewood and adding it to the pit.

"Why aren’t you two eating? What are you staring at me for?"

Peng Anmin was puzzled.

Bai San gave a dry cough, his smile a bit unnatural. He asked tentatively, "Old Peng, are you alright? Do you feel anything... off? For example... is your tongue a little numb, or do you feel a bit light-headed?"

’What could be wrong?’ Peng Anmin was baffled by the question, but then it dawned on him. His expression changed slightly. "This stuff... is it poisoned?"

He subconsciously performed Introspection, finding his qi and blood flowing smoothly, with no abnormalities.

Bai San chuckled dryly, his gaze drifting toward Hua Wuxin. "Master Hua said it’s not poisoned, so it should be... not poisoned, right?"

Peng Anmin’s eyes immediately shot to Hua Wuxin, and he asked with a hint of nervousness, "Hall Master Hua, this is...?"

Hua Wuxin’s tone was indifferent. "Aconite and Cured Meat Stewed Chicken. It’s a common dish among the mountain folk of Yunzhou. It dispels dampness, relieves arthritic pain, and greatly replenishes one’s Primordial Qi."

"Aconite?"

Peng Anmin froze, and his face instantly darkened.

’Isn’t that wolfsbane? It’s a deadly poison!’

’No wonder Bai San and Gossip didn’t dare to touch their chopsticks. They were using me to test for poison!’

He hurriedly focused his mind and performed Introspection again, carefully examining his meridians and organs.

However, after a thorough inspection, not only were there no signs of poisoning, but he could feel the damp cold that had accumulated in his body from days of rain slowly dissipating.

He couldn’t help but look at Hua Wuxin in surprise. "This... is really not poisonous?"

Hua Wuxin’s words remained cold. "Aconite is highly toxic, but its poison can be neutralized by long simmering. This pot of soup has been stewed for a full four hours, alternating between high and low heat. The toxicity is completely gone, transforming it into a restorative tonic. I’ve told them both several times, but they are cowards and simply don’t believe me."

Bai San, looking embarrassed, quickly tried to smooth things over with a sheepish grin. "Listen to Master Hua! How could we not trust you? We were just worried the timing of the heat might have been off by a little! Old Bao, what are you waiting for? Let’s eat, let’s eat!"

With that, he deftly found three more sets of bowls and chopsticks, dished out a large, full bowl for Gossip, Hua Wuxin, and himself, and refilled Peng Anmin’s as well.

The four of them sat around the fire pit, feasting heartily.

Hua Wuxin ate very little, his movements slow and deliberate. After every couple of bites, he would pick up a wine gourd by his side and take a sip of strong liquor.

Soon, the large pot of meat and soup was devoured by the four men.

Bai San let out a satisfied burp, then poured half a bowl of liquor from Hua Wuxin’s gourd, downed it in one go, and smacked his lips with a sigh. "Delicious! Damn delicious! I’ve wandered far and wide for half my life and never eaten anything so satisfying!"

Gossip also squinted, stroking the few sparse hairs of his goatee, his old face full of reminiscence. "I never thought a remote place like Yunzhou would have such a wondrous way of cooking. To transform a deadly poison into the ultimate delicacy... a technique like that is no less impressive than that of the master chefs who prepare delicacies from the sea and mountains!"

The three of them praised Hua Wuxin’s culinary skills a few more times.

Only then did the conversation turn to business.

Bai San wiped his mouth and looked at Peng Anmin. "Old Peng, what’s the situation outside today?"

Peng Anmin put down his bowl, frowning. "Not good. The number of disciples from the Celestial Sword Sect is increasing. Just today, I saw no fewer than a hundred of them near the west side of the city and the docks, and they’re all making inquiries. From the looks of it, if they’re really after us, we won’t be able to hide in this Fishery for long."

A worried look appeared on Gossip’s face. He stroked his beard and said, "I don’t know when the Master will arrive either. In my opinion, we shouldn’t stay here for long. Since the Celestial Sword Sect’s main force has come here, Jiangkou County must be relatively unguarded. Why don’t we retreat back to Jiangkou to lay low for a while?"

Peng Anmin shook his head. "Difficult. I’ve been keeping an eye out. The Celestial Sword Sect has people guarding the main roads out of the city, as well as the waterway docks. The three of us are too conspicuous a target if we go out now; we’ll be easily spotted."

"What’s there to be afraid of!"

Bai San snorted. "There are tens of thousands of households in Thunder Shock County Town. The Celestial Sword Sect only has a hundred or so people. Are they going to search door-to-door? If we’re careful and keep a low profile, we can hold out for another ten days to half a month. The Master will definitely be here by then."

As he spoke, he couldn’t help but let out a long yawn as a powerful wave of drowsiness hit him without warning.

The yawn seemed contagious. Gossip immediately yawned as well, his eyelids growing heavy.

Peng Anmin also felt a deep weariness seeping out from his very bones, and his head felt a little dizzy.

Fighting the drowsiness, he remembered something and said, "Oh, right. A young boy slipped me a note on a street corner today. It had four words written on it: ’Contact the Netherworld Ship.’ There was no signature. I suspect... it might be a message from that Master Li."

Gossip’s eyes lit up, the sleepiness receding slightly. "That’s right! We can go to the Netherworld Ship’s Black Market! We can have Master Li figure out a way to send us back. Once we’re on the ship, no matter how many people the Celestial Sword Sect has, they won’t be able to blockade us."

Bai San thought for a moment and agreed it was a viable escape route. He nodded. "Alright, let’s settle on that for now. We’ll head back to Jiangkou and wait for the Master to arrive before deciding what to do. I can’t take it anymore... I’m dead tired. I’m going to sleep."

He stood up, his steps a little unsteady.

Full of food and wine, and now hit by this sudden, heavy drowsiness, Peng Anmin also felt he couldn’t hold on. The three of them dispersed and returned to their rooms to rest.

By the fire pit, only Hua Wuxin remained.

He sat there quietly, listening to the soft snores that gradually emerged from the adjacent rooms. A cold smile slowly curved his lips.

After about half an hour, estimating that the three were sound asleep, Hua Wuxin slowly rose to his feet.

He walked to the door, put on the straw raincoat and bamboo hat, and silently pushed the door open, melting into the rainy night outside.

However, not long after he left, Bai San, who was supposed to be "sound asleep" on his hard plank bed, suddenly opened his eyes. There was no trace of sleepiness in them, only clear-headed alertness.

He quickly got out of bed, gently shook Gossip awake in the next room, then went to Peng Anmin’s bedside and gave him a hard shove.

Peng Anmin was in a deep sleep and was still groggy when he was pushed awake.

Without a word of explanation, Bai San took out a black, soybean-sized pill with a pungent, spicy smell from his robes and shoved it directly into Peng Anmin’s mouth.

The intense, foul odor and bitter taste exploded in his mouth, jolting Peng Anmin fully awake. He nearly gagged.

He stared wide-eyed at Bai San and Gossip, who were both fully dressed and wearing wary expressions.

"I... I was poisoned?"

Peng Anmin reacted instantly. Although his mind was clear now, waves of dull pain throbbed in his head, and his limbs felt strangely weak and sore.

Bai San sneered and said in a low voice, "Not poison, just Soul-Departing Powder. It’s something that makes people fall into a deep sleep. These kinds of low-level tricks... I used to pull scams—ahem, I mean, when I roamed the Jianghu, I got tired of playing with them. This Hall Master Hua is trying to teach a fish how to swim."

Peng Anmin’s expression changed drastically. "Why would he do that?"

"I’m afraid this is serious."

Bai San’s face was grim. "No wonder I had to seal his Divine Sense Cultivation back then. Otherwise, at his full strength, the three of us combined wouldn’t be a match for him. But now..."

A cold glint flashed in his eyes. "Let’s follow him and see what he’s up to!"

Wasting no more time, the three of them quickly put on their raincoats and hats and slipped quietly out of the Fishery’s door.

The rain hadn’t let up, and the streets were deserted.

Bai San stood at the entrance of the alley, closed his eyes, and focused, spreading his Spiritual Sense to feel out his surroundings.

A moment later, he opened his eyes and said in a low voice, "He went west. He’s not far. Let’s go."

The three immediately began to move quickly through the slippery alleyways in pursuit.

However, the further they pursued, the more they felt something was wrong.

At first, it was just a slight numbness in their hands and feet, as if their circulation was blocked.

Soon, the numbness began to spread, and a tingling, prickling sensation crawled across their skin.

Worse, their minds grew groggy, their vision blurred, and bizarre, fantastical images flashed uncontrollably through their heads.

"This is bad!"

Bai San gritted his teeth and tried to circulate his Inner Qi to suppress it, but as soon as he mobilized his Inner Strength, it ran rampant through his meridians, and the hallucinations became even more terrifying. He staggered and grabbed a cold, damp wall for support, beads of cold sweat rolling down his forehead. He was both shocked and furious.

The three of them stopped in their tracks.

At the mouth of the alley, a figure slowly appeared.

It was Hua Wuxin.

He watched the three who had followed him, his eyes icy and his face devoid of expression.

"You... you used another drug on us?!"

Bai San trembled all over, grinding his teeth. He never imagined that even after being so careful, he would still be outplayed.

Beside him, Gossip, who had the weakest Cultivation, could no longer hold on and collapsed to the ground with a THUD.

Peng Anmin, with the highest Cultivation, was barely able to stand, but his face was deathly pale, and the veins on his forehead bulged.

He stared at Hua Wuxin and asked with great difficulty, "Hall Master Hua, why... are you doing this?"

Hua Wuxin’s cold smile became clear, looking particularly sinister in the rainy night.

"I didn’t give you any other drug."

His voice carried a hint of mockery. "I just forgot to tell you. After eating the Aconite Stewed Chicken, you must not touch cold water for six hours, and especially avoid getting chilled by the rain. If you had stayed obediently in your rooms, sleeping under warm blankets on a warm bed, nothing would have happened. But you just had to chase me out into this downpour... so you can’t blame me."

"Get him! Seize him!"

Bai San forced out a final breath of Inner Qi, wanting to lunge forward and capture him while he was still conscious.

However, the moment he moved, the hallucinations before his eyes twisted. He couldn’t even see the person clearly and ended up throwing a vicious punch at an empty wall.

Peng Anmin also tried to strike, but he couldn’t lock onto his target at all.

Hua Wuxin watched coldly as the two of them thrashed about like drunkards, punching at thin air. With a sneer, he lingered no longer and turned, disappearing deep into the curtain of rain.

In the rainy night, Bai San and Peng Anmin both staggered, then tumbled into a cold puddle, sending up a splash of water as they lost consciousness completely.

The instant Hua Wuxin left, a figure silently materialized at the other end of the alley.

The person first glanced in the direction Hua Wuxin had gone.

Then, they walked over to the three unconscious men, took out a Jade Bottle, and tipped out three Elixir Pills, feeding one into the mouth of Bai San, Gossip, and Peng Anmin respectively.

Hoisting the three men up, the figure flickered and vanished without a sound into the rainy night.

The rain continued to drizzle, washing away everything in the alley.