Chapter 8 — Escape Beneath Golden Pavilion

The hidden passage was narrower than Lu Chen expected.

Bai Shuyue moved first.

Qin Ruoxi followed with the wooden case containing the Nine Medicines manuscript clutched against her chest.

Zhou Wei came next.

Lu Chen brought up the rear.

Behind them—

the wall exploded.

Stone fragments burst through the passage.

Ruoxi ducked.

Zhou Wei swore.

Bai Shuyue didn't look back.

“Faster.”

Lu Chen glanced over his shoulder.

Through the broken opening, a man in dark robes stepped into Box Seven.

He did not pursue immediately.

He simply looked down the passage.

Then smiled.

That bothered Lu Chen more than if the man had attacked.

“He knows where this goes,” Lu Chen said.

Bai Shuyue's expression tightened.

“Yes.”

“Then why are we using it?”

“Because every other exit is already sealed.”

“Comforting.”

“This is not the time for sarcasm.”

“It is rarely scheduled.”

Ruoxi, running ahead of him, said:

“I disagree. He seems to schedule it constantly.”

Lu Chen stared at the back of her head.

“This is why I preferred you before we became acquainted.”

“You have known me for two days.”

“Exactly.”

Zhou Wei almost laughed.

Then grimaced and pressed one hand against his side.

The wound Lu Chen treated earlier had reopened slightly.

“Keep pressure on it.”

“I know.”

“You said that last time.”

“I was bleeding less last time.”

“Encouraging.”

The corridor turned sharply.

The sounds behind them disappeared.

Not faded.

Disappeared.

Lu Chen stopped.

Bai Shuyue noticed.

“What?”

“Listen.”

Ruoxi did.

Nothing.

No footsteps.

No pursuit.

No breaking walls.

Only their own breathing.

Zhou Wei looked nervous.

“That isn't good.”

“No,” Bai Shuyue said.

“It isn't.”

She turned toward the wall.

Placed two fingers against the stone.

Her face changed.

“They activated the Nine Silence Formation.”

Ruoxi looked between them.

“What does that do?”

“Separates sound.”

Zhou Wei answered first.

Bai Shuyue shook her head.

“More than that.”

She looked back the way they had come.

“It divides the underground corridors into isolated sections.”

Lu Chen frowned.

“Spatial formation?”

“Primitive one.”

“Primitive?”

Ruoxi looked around.

“We're currently walking beneath a building in a tunnel that apparently rearranges space.”

Bai Shuyue glanced at her.

“By cultivation standards, primitive.”

“I dislike cultivation standards.”

Lu Chen nodded.

“Good instinct.”

A dull vibration passed through the stone floor.

Once.

Then again.

Bai Shuyue's expression became colder.

“They're closing the route ahead.”

“How long?” Lu Chen asked.

“Three minutes.”

Zhou Wei stared.

“To what?”

“A dead end.”

Ruoxi stopped walking.

“You brought us into a tunnel that turns into a dead end?”

“I brought you into the only tunnel not already sealed.”

“That distinction is becoming less comforting.”

Lu Chen looked ahead.

Dark corridor.

No visible doors.

No side passages.

Then he looked toward Bai Shuyue.

“You helped construct this place.”

“Parts of it.”

“What parts?”

“The original concealment formations.”

“Before the Upper Court modified them?”

“Yes.”

“Original structure beneath the formations?”

She paused.

Then understood.

“The building predates Golden Pavilion.”

“How old?”

“More than two hundred years.”

“Then there are older passages.”

“Possibly.”

“No.”

Lu Chen crouched.

He placed his palm against the floor.

“Definitely.”

Ruoxi looked down.

“How can you know that?”

“Air.”

She waited.

“That is all?”

“Cold air is coming through the floor.”

Zhou Wei crouched too.

“I don't feel anything.”

“You aren't a physician.”

“What does that have to do with air?”

“Nothing.”

Zhou Wei stared.

Lu Chen moved his hand slowly.

There.

A thin draft.

Almost nothing.

He tapped the stone.

Solid.

Moved half a meter.

Tapped again.

Hollow.

Bai Shuyue immediately knelt.

“There shouldn't be anything beneath this section.”

Lu Chen raised an eyebrow.

“Apparently the builders disagreed.”

Another vibration passed through the corridor.

The wall behind them began glowing faintly.

Formation lines.

Closing.

Bai Shuyue stood.

“We have less than two minutes.”

Lu Chen searched the floor.

Six rectangular stones.

One slightly darker.

He pressed it.

Nothing.

Ruoxi looked down at her shoes.

Then at the floor.

“You have one minute and fifty seconds.”

Lu Chen looked at her.

“You're counting?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because nobody else appears concerned enough.”

He pressed the darker stone again.

Still nothing.

Zhou Wei kicked it.

Nothing.

Bai Shuyue drew a short blade.

“Move.”

She drove the blade into the seam.

Metal screamed against stone.

No movement.

“One minute twenty,” Ruoxi said.

“Helpful,” Bai Shuyue replied.

“I try.”

The formation behind them brightened.

Lu Chen looked at the floor differently.

Not as architecture.

As anatomy.

Every constructed mechanism had a structure.

Weight distribution.

Stress points.

A center.

He examined the stones.

Five were worn evenly.

One was not.

Not the dark one.

The one beside it.

He placed his foot on the edge.

Pressed.

A click.

Everyone froze.

The central stone dropped half a centimeter.

Lu Chen looked toward Zhou Wei.

“You kicked the wrong one.”

Zhou Wei frowned.

“That feels unnecessarily judgmental.”

“Move.”

Together they pushed.

The slab rotated downward.

Cold, damp air rushed upward.

A black shaft appeared beneath.

Ruoxi looked into it.

“I can't see the bottom.”

Bai Shuyue did not hesitate.

She jumped.

Ruoxi stared.

“You people make very questionable decisions.”

Bai Shuyue's voice came from below.

“Three meters.”

Ruoxi looked at Lu Chen.

“You could have mentioned that.”

“I didn't know.”

“That is becoming a theme.”

Zhou Wei climbed down.

Ruoxi handed Lu Chen the manuscript case.

“You first.”

“Why?”

“If I fall, I prefer landing on a doctor.”

Reasonable.

Lu Chen descended.

Ruoxi followed.

The stone slab above began closing.

The formation corridor sealed just as the opening disappeared.

Darkness surrounded them.

A moment later, Bai Shuyue produced a small luminous stone.

Pale blue light spread across the chamber.

Ruoxi stared.

“Is that a flashlight?”

“No.”

“It performs the same function.”

Bai Shuyue looked at her.

“Then yes.”

Lu Chen almost smiled.

They had entered an old underground canal.

Brick walls.

Shallow water.

Roots growing through cracks.

The smell was awful.

Ruoxi covered her nose.

“Cultivators built this?”

“Ordinary people,” Lu Chen said.

“How can you tell?”

“Cultivators would have made it unnecessarily dramatic.”

Bai Shuyue looked at him.

“That is unfair.”

A distant rumble came from above.

Lu Chen raised his head.

“They'll find the passage.”

“Yes.”

“How long?”

Bai Shuyue considered.

“Five minutes.”

Ruoxi began walking.

“Then perhaps we should stop discussing architecture.”

For once, everyone agreed.

The old canal ran west.

At least Lu Chen thought it did.

There were no windows.

No markers.

Only water flowing gently beneath their shoes.

Bai Shuyue moved carefully.

“This should connect to the original West Lake drainage system.”

“Should?” Ruoxi asked.

“It hasn't been used in decades.”

“That word does not inspire confidence.”

Zhou Wei limped behind them.

“Miss Qin.”

“Yes?”

“Has anyone ever told you that you complain a lot?”

“Yes.”

Ruoxi stepped over a broken brick.

“They work for me.”

Zhou Wei went quiet.

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Lu Chen approved.

Money really did solve certain problems.

They reached a fork.

Left.

Right.

Bai Shuyue stopped.

“The left passage should reach the river.”

“Should?” Ruoxi repeated.

Bai Shuyue sighed.

“Yes.”

Lu Chen looked right.

“What's there?”

“Old herb storage.”

His attention changed.

“What kind of herbs?”

“I don't know.”

“When was it abandoned?”

“Forty years ago.”

Lu Chen turned right.

Bai Shuyue caught his sleeve.

“River is left.”

“I know.”

“Then why—”

“Someone is waiting there.”

Everyone froze.

Zhou Wei lowered his voice.

“You can sense them?”

“No.”

“Then how do you know?”

Lu Chen pointed toward the shallow water.

At first nothing seemed unusual.

Then Ruoxi noticed.

Ripples.

Tiny ripples moving toward them.

Against the current.

Bai Shuyue's expression changed.

“Formation pressure.”

Lu Chen nodded.

“The left corridor is sealed ahead.”

A faint metallic sound echoed from the darkness.

Sword leaving sheath.

Ruoxi immediately stepped backward.

“That seems convincing.”

They turned right.

Behind them, footsteps entered the canal.

Slow.

Unhurried.

Whoever followed knew they were trapped.

The herb storage room was not a room.

It was a cavern.

Rows of stone shelves stretched into darkness.

Most were empty.

Some contained rotted wooden boxes.

Old clay jars lined the walls.

The air smelled of mold, medicine, and something sweet.

Too sweet.

Lu Chen stopped instantly.

“Cover your mouths.”

Ruoxi froze.

“What?”

“Now.”

Everyone obeyed.

Lu Chen moved toward the nearest shelf.

On the floor lay a patch of pale blue fungus.

His expression darkened.

“Moon-Sleep Mold.”

Zhou Wei's eyes widened.

“Poison?”

“Yes.”

“How bad?”

Lu Chen looked toward him.

“You've already inhaled it.”

Zhou Wei stopped breathing.

“That bad?”

“Breathing less now won't reverse the last thirty seconds.”

“That is not reassuring.”

Bai Shuyue's face became serious.

“How long?”

“For ordinary people?”

Lu Chen looked at Ruoxi.

“Five minutes before dizziness.”

Her expression changed.

“And cultivators?”

“Depends on cultivation.”

Zhou Wei swallowed.

“So I'm dead first.”

“Probably.”

“Doctor Lu.”

“I'm kidding.”

Zhou Wei stared.

Lu Chen examined him.

“Mostly.”

“That was unnecessary.”

The footsteps behind them grew louder.

Bai Shuyue drew her short blade.

“They'll enter in less than a minute.”

Lu Chen looked around.

Poisonous fungus.

Old herb storage.

Water.

Cultivators pursuing them.

His gaze sharpened.

Maybe the room wasn't a problem.

Maybe it was treatment.

He moved quickly.

“Ruoxi.”

“Yes?”

“Find any intact jars marked with a white triangle.”

She looked at the shelves.

“Why?”

“Antidote ingredient.”

She immediately moved.

“Zhou Wei.”

“Yes?”

“Break open those rotten boxes.”

“With what?”

“Your hands.”

“They're wood.”

“You're a cultivator.”

“Barely.”

“Then cultivate harder.”

Zhou Wei muttered something unpleasant and began breaking boxes.

“Bai Shuyue.”

She looked toward him.

“Block the entrance for thirty seconds.”

“Against four Upper Court cultivators?”

“Can you?”

“Yes.”

“Then why are you still here?”

She gave him one cold look.

Then disappeared toward the tunnel.

Ruoxi shouted from the shelves.

“White triangle!”

“Bring it.”

She returned with a clay jar.

Lu Chen opened it.

Powder.

Gray.

Old.

But usable.

Zhou Wei broke another box.

Inside—

dried black leaves.

Lu Chen grabbed them.

“Good.”

“What are they?”

“Bitter Lung Grass.”

Zhou Wei frowned.

“They smell terrible.”

“They taste worse.”

“Wonderful.”

Lu Chen found an intact metal bowl.

Dropped the gray powder inside.

Added crushed leaves.

Then reached toward the blue fungus.

Ruoxi caught his wrist.

“You said that was poisonous.”

“Yes.”

“And you're touching it.”

“Yes.”

She released him.

“Sometimes I forget how unpleasant being near you is.”

Lu Chen scraped a tiny amount into the bowl.

Mixed it with water from his bottle.

“Medicine is dosage.”

“That sounds like something people say immediately before poisoning someone.”

“Accurate.”

Steel rang behind them.

Bai Shuyue's voice echoed through the tunnel.

“Twenty seconds!”

Lu Chen stirred faster.

The mixture turned dark purple.

“Drink.”

He handed the bowl to Ruoxi.

She stared.

“You first.”

He took a mouthful.

Swallowed.

Made a face.

Ruoxi noticed.

“That bad?”

“Yes.”

She drank anyway.

Immediately looked offended.

“You understated it.”

Zhou Wei drank next.

He gagged.

“This is medicine?”

“This is survival.”

“Death suddenly has appeal.”

Another metallic crash.

A body hit the wall outside.

Bai Shuyue stumbled backward into the cavern.

Blood stained her left sleeve.

Lu Chen's expression changed.

“Drink.”

She caught the bowl.

Swallowed without hesitation.

Then turned.

Three men entered.

Not four.

One apparently remained farther back.

The first wore Golden Pavilion security robes.

The other two wore plain black.

Bai Shuyue's eyes narrowed.

“Pavilion defectors.”

The guard smiled.

“Pavilion employees.”

“Bought employees.”

“Payment is still employment.”

Ruoxi whispered:

“I dislike him.”

Lu Chen nodded.

“Reasonable.”

The second man stepped forward.

His aura pressed through the cavern.

Water rippled.

Zhou Wei's face changed.

“Meridian Opening.”

Ruoxi looked at him.

“Above Body Tempering?”

“Yes.”

“How far above?”

“Far enough that I would prefer not to fight him.”

Lu Chen looked at the man.

Late forties.

Broad chest.

Scar beneath right eye.

Strong meridians.

Internal force circulating through eight primary channels.

Not all twelve.

So Meridian Opening was probably exactly what Zhou Wei said.

But Lu Chen saw something else.

The man had an old injury.

Left ankle.

He compensated slightly when standing.

More importantly—

one of his opened meridians had been forced.

Poorly.

A swollen point near the right shoulder.

One strong strike there—

internal force would reverse.

Lu Chen could exploit it.

If he could reach him.

The man smiled.

“Hand over the manuscript.”

Ruoxi clutched the case tighter.

“No.”

Lu Chen glanced at her.

She shrugged.

“You started it.”

Fair.

The man looked toward Lu Chen.

“Ghost Physician.”

“I have a name.”

“Lu Chen.”

“Better.”

“The Upper Court requests your presence.”

“Requests?”

“Yes.”

“You locked the exits.”

“A precaution.”

“You chased us through a sewer.”

“A misunderstanding.”

“You drew swords.”

The man looked toward Bai Shuyue.

“She did first.”

Bai Shuyue said:

“You were following us.”

He smiled.

“Another misunderstanding.”

Lu Chen nodded.

“I understand.”

The man relaxed slightly.

Then Lu Chen added:

“You're lying.”

The smile disappeared.

“Hand over the book.”

“No.”

“Come willingly.”

“No.”

“Then we remove your ability to refuse.”

Lu Chen sighed.

“Cultivators are terrible at negotiation.”

The man moved.

Fast.

Far faster than Ruoxi could follow.

He crossed the cavern in a blur.

Bai Shuyue intercepted him.

Blade met palm.

A shockwave struck the shelves.

Clay jars shattered.

Bai Shuyue slid backward.

Blood appeared at the corner of her mouth.

The man remained standing.

Strong.

Much stronger than her current condition allowed.

The second black-robed cultivator attacked Zhou Wei.

Zhou Wei blocked once.

Failed.

He was thrown into a shelf.

Ruoxi ducked behind a stone pillar.

Lu Chen remained still.

The Meridian Opening cultivator looked toward him.

“Last chance.”

Lu Chen removed one acupuncture needle.

The man actually laughed.

“You intend to fight me with that?”

“No.”

“What then?”

“Correct a problem.”

He attacked.

Lu Chen waited.

One step.

Two.

The man's right shoulder moved first.

Exactly as expected.

Lu Chen shifted sideways.

Barely.

A palm passed his chest by centimeters.

He drove the needle into the swollen meridian point beneath the man's shoulder.

The cultivator froze.

For one heartbeat, confusion crossed his face.

Then his internal force reversed.

His eyes widened.

“What—”

A violent pulse traveled through his arm.

His shoulder dropped.

Half his body went numb.

Lu Chen stepped behind him.

Pressed two fingers against the base of his skull.

The man collapsed.

Ruoxi stared from behind the pillar.

“That was it?”

Lu Chen looked at her.

“Please sound more impressed.”

“I am deciding whether I should be.”

The fallen cultivator tried to move.

Nothing.

Lu Chen crouched.

“You forced open your eighth meridian before the seventh stabilized.”

The man's face changed.

“How—”

“You've been losing sensation in your right thumb.”

Silence.

“Occasional ringing in your left ear.”

The man stared.

“You…”

“Your cultivation technique is damaged.”

Lu Chen removed the needle.

“Now stay down.”

The cultivator tried to circulate internal force.

Pain exploded through him.

He stopped.

Lu Chen turned.

Zhou Wei was losing.

Badly.

The second attacker drove a fist toward his chest.

Lu Chen grabbed a broken clay shard.

Threw it.

It struck the attacker's wrist.

Not enough to hurt.

Enough to distract.

Zhou Wei twisted.

Avoided the strike.

Bai Shuyue moved.

Her blade stopped at the man's throat.

“Enough.”

The attacker froze.

Then laughed.

“You won't kill me.”

Bai Shuyue's expression hardened.

“Why?”

“Because he won't let you.”

He looked at Lu Chen.

“The Ghost Physician.”

Lu Chen said nothing.

The man smiled.

“Still saving everyone, Doctor?”

Then—

he moved his tongue.

Lu Chen saw it.

“Stop!”

Too late.

The cultivator bit down.

A hidden poison capsule cracked between his teeth.

His eyes rolled back.

He collapsed.

Bai Shuyue caught him.

“Idiot.”

Lu Chen reached them immediately.

Dark veins were already spreading through the man's neck.

“What poison?”

Bai Shuyue smelled his breath.

“Black Widow Pill.”

“How long?”

“Seconds.”

Lu Chen opened the man's mouth.

Bitter smell.

Paralytic toxin.

Cardiotoxic.

Fast.

“Move him flat.”

Bai Shuyue stared.

“Lu Chen.”

“Now.”

“He tried to kill us.”

“I noticed.”

“He chose this.”

“I noticed that too.”

“Then let him—”

“Bai Shuyue.”

Something in his voice stopped her.

Lu Chen looked directly at her.

“He is dying.”

That was enough.

She moved.

They laid the man flat.

Lu Chen removed three needles.

Chest.

Wrist.

Below the jaw.

His Life Meridian perception showed toxin moving toward the heart.

Fast.

Too fast for ordinary acupuncture.

He reached inward.

The golden point inside his shattered core trembled.

Life Essence responded.

Very little remained.

He hesitated.

Not because the attacker deserved death.

That wasn't the issue.

If Lu Chen used what remained—

he might not have enough strength if someone else was injured.

Or if Xiaoxiao needed him later.

His hand paused.

The poisoned cultivator's pulse weakened.

One beat.

Another.

Lu Chen closed his eyes.

Physicians borrow life from no one.

He pushed the Life Essence forward.

Gold entered the needle.

The toxin slowed.

Bai Shuyue stared.

“You're wasting your strength.”

Lu Chen's face became pale.

“No.”

The toxin resisted.

He forced the Life Essence toward the heart.

“You don't understand.”

“I understand perfectly.”

His breathing became heavier.

“He chose to die rather than be captured.”

“Yes.”

“He would kill you if he woke.”

“Possibly.”

“Then why?”

Lu Chen opened his eyes.

“Because what he does after waking is his responsibility.”

He pressed the final needle deeper.

“What I do while he's dying is mine.”

The golden light surged.

The black veins stopped.

Then slowly retreated.

The cultivator gasped.

His heart restarted properly.

Lu Chen nearly collapsed.

Ruoxi caught him.

Again.

“This is becoming repetitive.”

Lu Chen leaned against the stone shelf.

“You could stop catching me.”

“No.”

“Then stop complaining.”

She looked at him.

“You are impossible.”

“Frequently.”

A sound came from behind them.

A cough.

Bai Shuyue.

Lu Chen turned.

Too slowly.

She collapsed.

“Shuyue!”

Zhou Wei caught her before she hit the floor.

Blood soaked her left sleeve.

But the wound wasn't the problem.

A thin violet line had begun spreading from her shoulder toward her neck.

Lu Chen's eyes sharpened.

“Blade poison.”

Zhou Wei looked toward the entrance.

“The first guard?”

Bai Shuyue forced her eyes open.

“The blade…”

Her voice weakened.

“…had Purple Meridian Venom.”

Lu Chen swore quietly.

Ruoxi looked at him.

“You know it?”

“Yes.”

“Can you treat it?”

“Yes.”

He hesitated.

That hesitation frightened her.

“But?”

Lu Chen looked inward.

The golden point was nearly dark.

Life Essence exhausted.

He had spent the last of it saving a man who tried to kill them.

Bai Shuyue saw his expression.

“Don't.”

Lu Chen looked at her.

“You know the poison.”

“Yes.”

“You know what happens.”

“Yes.”

Zhou Wei's face changed.

“What happens?”

Bai Shuyue ignored him.

“Get the manuscript out.”

“No.”

“Lu Chen.”

“No.”

“The Upper Court wants you alive.”

“That isn't comforting.”

“They'll kill everyone else.”

Ruoxi looked toward the tunnel.

“More are coming.”

Faint footsteps.

Distant.

But approaching.

Lu Chen crouched beside Bai Shuyue.

Purple Meridian Venom was designed for cultivators.

It attacked spiritual pathways rather than blood.

Normal medicine would barely slow it.

Normally he could purge it with cultivation.

He had none.

Life Essence could purify it.

He had almost none of that too.

Almost.

Not none.

A tiny spark remained.

Too little.

Unless—

his gaze moved to the blue fungus.

Moon-Sleep Mold.

Then to the shelves.

Old herbs.

Forty years abandoned.

There might be—

He stood.

“Zhou Wei.”

“Yes?”

“Find red ceramic jars.”

Zhou Wei moved immediately.

“Ruoxi.”

“Yes?”

“Anything marked with two black circles.”

She searched.

Bai Shuyue grabbed his sleeve.

“Stop.”

He looked down.

“You don't have time.”

“Neither do you.”

“I'm not worth—”

Lu Chen's expression changed.

“Don't.”

She went quiet.

“I don't decide treatment based on worth.”

Her grip weakened.

“I opened the gate.”

“Yes.”

“Your people died.”

“Yes.”

“I helped destroy your home.”

His jaw tightened.

“Yes.”

“And you still—”

“You are currently poisoned.”

Her eyes stared into his.

“Everything else can wait until you survive.”

For the first time since they met—

Bai Shuyue had no answer.

“Found one!” Ruoxi shouted.

“Here!” Zhou Wei said almost simultaneously.

Lu Chen opened both jars.

First—

dried crimson seeds.

Good.

Second—

black mineral powder.

Better.

He crushed the seeds.

Mixed powder.

Added a small portion of Moon-Sleep Mold.

Zhou Wei stared.

“You're using poison again?”

“Yes.”

“Your medical philosophy concerns me.”

“Poison and medicine are cousins.”

“Which one is the murderer?”

“Dosage.”

“That answer is not improving.”

Lu Chen mixed everything.

Then looked at Bai Shuyue.

“Drink.”

She smelled it.

Her eyebrows moved.

“This will stop my heart.”

“For approximately six seconds.”

Ruoxi stared.

“What?”

Bai Shuyue looked at Lu Chen.

“You're using the Moon-Sleep Mold to suspend circulation.”

“Yes.”

“And the mineral draws Purple Meridian Venom into the dormant channels.”

“Yes.”

“The seeds restart cardiac activity.”

“Hopefully.”

Everyone stared.

Lu Chen sighed.

“Fine. They restart cardiac activity.”

“Better,” Ruoxi said.

Bai Shuyue drank.

Three seconds.

Nothing.

Four.

Her breathing stopped.

Five.

Her pulse disappeared.

Zhou Wei's face changed.

“Doctor Lu.”

“Quiet.”

Six.

Lu Chen placed three needles.

One over the heart.

One below the navel.

One at the throat.

Then pressed both hands against her chest.

“Now.”

Nothing.

His remaining Life Essence moved.

Barely a spark.

He pushed it into her heart.

A pulse.

Weak.

Again.

The purple line in her neck trembled.

Then reversed.

Bai Shuyue gasped violently.

Her eyes opened.

Zhou Wei almost fell backward.

Ruoxi exhaled.

Lu Chen removed the needles.

Bai Shuyue stared at him.

“You stopped my heart.”

“Yes.”

“And restarted it.”

“Yes.”

“That was your plan?”

“Yes.”

“What if it failed?”

Lu Chen thought.

“Then it would have been a bad plan.”

Her face showed disbelief.

Ruoxi nodded toward him.

“That is approximately what being around him is like.”

Bai Shuyue tried to sit up.

Pain hit her.

Lu Chen pushed her back down.

“Thirty seconds.”

“We don't have thirty seconds.”

Footsteps were louder.

He listened.

Three people.

Perhaps four.

She was right.

“Can you walk?”

“In thirty seconds.”

He almost smiled.

“Good.”

They found the exit behind a collapsed shelf.

An old iron door.

Locked.

Zhou Wei looked at Lu Chen.

“Do you have a medical technique for doors?”

“No.”

Ruoxi stepped forward.

“Move.”

She pulled something from her handbag.

A compact metal tool.

Inserted it into the old lock.

Three seconds.

Click.

Everyone stared.

She opened the door.

“What?”

Lu Chen looked impressed despite himself.

“You can pick locks.”

“No.”

She held up the tool.

“Emergency glass breaker with a lock shim.”

“Why do you carry that?”

“I travel.”

Zhou Wei whispered:

“Rich people are strange.”

Ruoxi looked at him.

“You were hired to poison billionaires.”

“Fair.”

Beyond the door lay another tunnel.

Smaller.

Fresher air.

Water flowed toward them.

Bai Shuyue breathed deeply.

“West Lake.”

“How far?” Lu Chen asked.

“Less than five hundred meters.”

Behind them—

voices entered the herb cavern.

They ran.

This time, Bai Shuyue stayed beside Lu Chen.

Her face was pale.

But alive.

That mattered.

The tunnel sloped upward.

A grate appeared ahead.

Moonlight beyond.

Zhou Wei pushed.

Nothing.

“Locked.”

Ruoxi raised her tool.

Lu Chen stopped her.

“Wait.”

“What?”

“People outside.”

Everyone became still.

Voices.

Ordinary voices.

Laughter.

Traffic.

No cultivator pressure.

Lu Chen looked through the grate.

A narrow alley near West Lake.

Restaurants.

Bars.

Pedestrians.

Perfect.

“They won't attack openly.”

Bai Shuyue disagreed.

“You underestimate the Upper Court.”

“No.”

Lu Chen pointed toward a traffic camera above the alley.

“I overestimate paperwork.”

Ruoxi smiled.

“Finally, a cultivation defense system I understand.”

They forced the grate.

One by one, they emerged into the city.

Zhou Wei first.

Then Ruoxi.

Then Bai Shuyue.

Lu Chen came last.

Seconds after he climbed out—

the tunnel behind them darkened.

A figure appeared far below.

The Meridian Opening cultivator Lu Chen had disabled.

He was standing again.

Barely.

But standing.

Their eyes met across the distance.

The man did not pursue.

Instead he looked at Lu Chen strangely.

Not anger.

Not humiliation.

Something closer to fear.

Or curiosity.

Lu Chen closed the grate.

“Let's go.”

They did not return directly to the clinic.

For once, Lu Chen did not object.

Qin Ruoxi took them to an apartment owned through one of her company's subsidiaries.

No Qin name.

No visible family connection.

Twenty-third floor.

Three bedrooms.

Large windows overlooking the river.

Lu Chen walked inside and immediately looked uncomfortable.

Ruoxi noticed.

“What?”

“This apartment is larger than my building.”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because buildings can be large.”

“That wasn't the question.”

“I know.”

Zhou Wei collapsed onto a sofa.

“I support rich people.”

Ruoxi handed him a towel.

“You criticized us twenty minutes ago.”

“I've evolved.”

Bai Shuyue sat near the window.

Lu Chen checked her pulse again.

Stable.

The Purple Meridian Venom had been neutralized.

Mostly.

“You'll need another treatment tomorrow.”

She looked at him.

“You are exhausted.”

“That doesn't change your condition.”

“You spent your last Life Essence.”

His eyes sharpened.

Ruoxi heard.

“Life Essence?”

Lu Chen looked toward Bai Shuyue.

She had spoken too casually.

Bai Shuyue realized it.

“Apparently that was meant to remain secret.”

“For now.”

Ruoxi crossed her arms.

“You expect me not to ask?”

“Yes.”

“Optimistic.”

Lu Chen ignored her.

He placed the Nine Medicines manuscript on the table.

The cover warmed.

The first golden leaf shone.

Then the book opened.

By itself.

Everyone stopped.

Page one.

Blank at first.

Then golden characters appeared.

This time—

Bai Shuyue could see them.

Her expression changed.

Ruoxi could not.

Neither could Zhou Wei.

Only Lu Chen and Bai Shuyue.

Interesting.

The words formed slowly.

FIRST MEDICINE: LIFE

Below it—

three tiny golden marks appeared.

Then a fourth.

Lu Chen stared.

The marks were shaped like seeds.

Not numbers.

Not names.

Four acknowledgments.

He immediately understood.

Qin Zhenguo.

The Qin bodyguard.

Zhou Wei.

And now—

Bai Shuyue.

Han was missing.

His eyes narrowed.

Why?

He had treated Han.

Successfully.

He had extended the man's life.

But then he remembered the condition.

Heal one hundred lives without seeking reward.

Han had paid.

Not money.

Information.

One truthful answer after each treatment.

The manuscript had not counted him.

Lu Chen almost smiled.

His master—or whoever created the inheritance—had been very precise.

Ruoxi watched his face.

“What?”

“It counts.”

“What counts?”

“People.”

“Which people?”

“Those I've healed without taking compensation.”

She frowned.

“You charge patients fifty yuan.”

Lu Chen looked at the golden seeds.

“A normal consultation fee may not matter.”

“How do you know?”

“I don't.”

“That is reassuring.”

Bai Shuyue continued staring at the page.

“What does it say after the fourth mark?”

Lu Chen looked down.

More characters were appearing.

Slowly.

Life given freely returns without debt.

Then:

Life taken willingly becomes power with a price.

Lu Chen's expression changed.

Bai Shuyue's did too.

Death Essence.

The manuscript knew.

The golden characters continued.

The physician may walk either road.

A pause.

Then the final line:

Only one reaches the Ninth Medicine.

The words faded.

The page became blank.

Nobody spoke.

Lu Chen closed the book.

So it was not simply a cultivation technique.

It was a choice.

Healing slowly strengthened the golden path.

Death offered faster power.

He had felt that himself.

And the inheritance was not going to prevent him from choosing the darker route.

It merely warned him.

That bothered Lu Chen more than a prohibition would have.

Ruoxi looked between him and Bai Shuyue.

“I assume the invisible book said something unpleasant.”

Lu Chen nodded.

“Accurate.”

“What?”

He considered telling her.

Then his phone rang.

He checked the screen.

Madam Zhou

Everything else vanished from his priorities.

He answered immediately.

“What happened?”

“Nothing happened.”

Lu Chen exhaled.

“You cannot call me at this hour and begin with that tone.”

“What tone?”

“That tone.”

Madam Zhou ignored him.

“Xiaoxiao refuses to sleep.”

Lu Chen looked at the clock.

Almost midnight.

“Put her on.”

A rustle.

Then:

“Daddy?”

His expression softened instantly.

Ruoxi noticed.

Bai Shuyue noticed too.

“Why are you awake?”

“You didn't come home.”

“I know.”

“You promised dinner.”

Lu Chen closed his eyes.

He had.

Again.

Damn.

“I’m sorry.”

“Did bad people come?”

He looked toward Bai Shuyue.

At Zhou Wei.

At the manuscript.

At the traces of dried blood on his sleeve.

“Yes.”

“Did you get hurt?”

“No.”

Mostly true.

“Did you fix them?”

Lu Chen looked toward the unconscious attacker they had left beneath Golden Pavilion.

Then toward Bai Shuyue.

“Yes.”

There was a pause.

“Good.”

Four-year-old approval.

Absurdly powerful.

“Daddy?”

“Yes?”

“Bring breakfast.”

Lu Chen almost laughed.

“I will.”

“And strawberry milk.”

“You don't need strawberry milk.”

“I survived stress.”

He stared at the phone.

“Who taught you that phrase?”

“Pretty Auntie.”

Ruoxi's head snapped toward him.

“I did not.”

Xiaoxiao heard her.

“Pretty Auntie is there!”

Lu Chen immediately regretted speaker volume.

“No.”

“I heard her!”

“You heard television.”

“Daddy.”

“Yes?”

“You are bad at lying.”

Ruoxi turned away to hide her smile.

Lu Chen rubbed his forehead.

“I'll be home before breakfast.”

“Promise?”

He stopped.

Promises.

He had already broken one that day.

This time he looked toward the window.

The city stretched beneath him.

Upper Court.

Nine Medicines Seal.

His missing master.

A traitor in the Valley.

None of it mattered more than the little voice on the phone.

“I promise.”

“Okay.”

Then, quieter:

“Be careful.”

Lu Chen's expression softened.

“You too.”

The call ended.

For several seconds, he said nothing.

Then Bai Shuyue spoke.

“She is why you stayed hidden.”

Lu Chen looked at her.

“Yes.”

“Not fear.”

“No.”

“I wondered.”

“You shouldn't.”

She nodded.

“Fair.”

Then she looked toward the Nine Medicines manuscript.

“The Upper Court will not stop now.”

“I know.”

“They know the seal awakened.”

“I know.”

“They know you have the manuscript.”

“Yes.”

“They will eventually discover your daughter.”

The room became very still.

Lu Chen's gaze turned cold.

Bai Shuyue did not look away.

“I am not threatening her.”

“I know.”

“I am warning you.”

“I know.”

“You cannot protect her by remaining weak.”

That struck deeper than he wanted.

Because it was true.

Five years ago, Lu Chen could have crossed Golden Pavilion's underground hall without hiding in a drainage tunnel.

Now he had survived through tricks, knowledge, poisonous herbs and other people's help.

There was no shame in that.

A physician used what was available.

But Xiaoxiao's safety could not depend forever on whether there happened to be Moon-Sleep Mold nearby.

Lu Chen looked down at his hand.

The golden point inside his shattered core was almost empty.

Yet something had changed.

After saving Bai Shuyue—

a new thread of Life Essence had appeared.

Extremely faint.

But thicker than before.

Healing restored him slowly.

Death could restore him quickly.

The manuscript had confirmed both.

He had a choice.

Lu Chen already knew which road he wanted.

The question was whether that road would make him strong fast enough.

Bai Shuyue seemed to read part of his expression.

“There is another way.”

He looked up.

“What?”

“The first Golden Seed.”

“Explain.”

“When you reach ten acknowledged lives, the manuscript should grant the first reward.”

Lu Chen's eyes narrowed.

“Should?”

“The records are incomplete.”

“What reward?”

“I don't know.”

“You know surprisingly little for someone who arranged a five-hundred-million-yuan auction.”

Ruoxi nodded.

“I have been wanting to say that for hours.”

Bai Shuyue ignored her.

“The Nine Medicines inheritance vanished long before your master became Valley Master.”

Lu Chen frowned.

“Then how did he know about it?”

“That is something you will have to ask him.”

“If I find him.”

“When.”

Lu Chen looked at her.

She corrected herself.

“If.”

He noticed.

Hope again.

Dangerous.

But perhaps necessary.

Ruoxi's phone vibrated.

She read the message.

Her face changed.

“What?”

“My people found Zhou Kai.”

Zhou Wei stood so quickly that the sofa cushion fell.

“Where?”

Ruoxi looked at him.

“Not exactly him.”

His face tightened.

“What does that mean?”

“They found his car.”

“Where?”

“South Jiangzhou industrial district.”

“Was anyone inside?”

“No.”

Zhou Wei exhaled.

Then Ruoxi continued:

“But there was blood.”

His face lost color.

“How much?”

She hesitated.

“A lot.”

Zhou Wei moved toward the door.

Lu Chen caught his arm.

“Where are you going?”

“To find him.”

“Like this?”

“He's my brother.”

“You can barely walk.”

“I don't care.”

“I do.”

Zhou Wei glared at him.

“Let go.”

“No.”

“Doctor Lu.”

“Zhou Wei.”

Their eyes met.

Lu Chen's voice remained calm.

“If your brother is alive, charging into an industrial district bleeding through your bandages will not help him.”

Zhou Wei's jaw tightened.

“If he's dying—”

Lu Chen looked at him.

“Then we find him before he finishes.”

The words stopped him.

Lu Chen picked up his needle case.

Ruoxi grabbed her keys.

Bai Shuyue stood.

Lu Chen looked at her.

“You're staying.”

“No.”

“You were poisoned an hour ago.”

“I can walk.”

“You also died briefly.”

“That seems exaggerated.”

“Your heart stopped.”

“For six seconds.”

Ruoxi stared.

“You are both insane.”

Bai Shuyue looked toward Lu Chen.

“Zhou Kai may know who inside the Qin family gave the Upper Court access.”

That mattered.

Then she added:

“And he may know where Steward Han's real master is.”

That mattered more.

Lu Chen looked toward Zhou Wei.

The man was pale.

Terrified.

Trying not to show either.

A brother lost for twenty years.

Found only to disappear again.

Lu Chen knew something about missing family.

He picked up the Nine Medicines manuscript.

“Let's go.”

Ruoxi frowned.

“You're bringing that?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

Lu Chen looked at the four golden seeds hidden from her sight.

“Because if Zhou Kai is still alive…”

He closed the case.

“…I intend to make it five.”

Twenty-three kilometers away, inside an abandoned chemical warehouse in South Jiangzhou, a man hung from chains attached to the ceiling.

Blood covered his shirt.

His glasses were gone.

One eye had swollen shut.

But Zhou Kai was alive.

Barely.

A man stood in front of him.

Not Steward Han.

Someone older.

Someone Han himself addressed as Master.

A black crescent had been embroidered inside the man's sleeve.

“Your brother survived.”

Zhou Kai slowly lifted his head.

For the first time that night, emotion appeared on his battered face.

“Wei…”

The older man smiled.

“Yes.”

“He shouldn't have.”

Zhou Kai coughed blood.

“Neither should Lu Chen.”

The smile widened.

“But the Ghost Physician seems unwilling to let anyone die.”

He walked closer.

“That is his weakness.”

Zhou Kai looked at him through his one open eye.

“No.”

The old man stopped.

Zhou Kai laughed weakly.

Blood stained his teeth.

“That is why…”

He struggled to breathe.

“…you are afraid of him.”

The man's smile vanished.

He raised one hand.

Dark energy gathered around his fingers.

Then he paused.

A tiny golden spark appeared on Zhou Kai's chest.

The old man's expression changed.

“What is that?”

Zhou Kai looked down.

He had never seen it before.

Neither had his captor.

The spark pulsed once.

Far across Jiangzhou, inside a moving car, the half-jade pendant in Lu Chen's pocket suddenly became warm.

Lu Chen opened his eyes.

And somewhere deep inside the Nine Medicines manuscript—

a fifth golden seed began to form before the life it represented had even been saved.