Chapter 270: Twin Sisters
Qin Mu and Little Poison King exchanged prescriptions seven or eight times in quick succession, both growing flustered. After all, it was their first time cooperating, and there were inevitably some unsatisfactory aspects, places where their coordination was imperfect.
Moreover, both were holding back a fierce determination to outdo the other. The supplementary medicine Qin Mu added to Little Poison King's red pill wasn't just thirty or fifty times the normal dose—it was nearly sixty times. In turn, the vial of venom Little Poison King gave Qin Mu had also been increased in dosage.
The two were testing each other's skills, but the Emperor and the Grand Tutor of Eternal Peace ended up as the innocent victims, tormented to the brink of death by these two. Yet they couldn't move, couldn't struggle, couldn't even call for help.
The Emperor's body began to shrink. Before long, it had reduced to its normal size, but it kept shrinking. Soon, he was as small as a newborn infant.
"I really should have hidden assassins with swords and axes around this hall to chop these two divine doctors and scoundrels to pieces..." the Emperor thought, buried under a flood of hair.
Meanwhile, the Grand Tutor of Eternal Peace's body was swelling. Not only that, but the Grand Tutor also felt something growing from his rear—something like a furry tail.
His armpits itched as well, and he sensed extra bones sprouting from his shoulder blades, cracking and extending outward as if two wings were about to emerge.
If two large wings had grown, it might have been bearable. But the problem was that they only grew about a foot long before stopping.
Their bodies alternated between freezing cold and scorching hot. Sometimes it felt like falling into a hell of rolling knives, other times like becoming an immortal or a god, incredibly comfortable—but comfort was the most dangerous, for their souls were dissolving.
At other times, pain surged from every part of their bodies, a thousand times more agonizing than heart-wrenching sorrow. Sometimes it felt like tens of thousands of needles piercing their entire bodies, other times like being soaked in an unbearably sour vinegar vat.
In the hall, Qin Mu sat on the hair covering the floor, one hand holding a brush, the other propping up his chin, staring blankly into space.
Not far away, Little Poison King frowned deeply, pacing anxiously, constantly calculating how to treat the patients.
Both had encountered difficulties. Qin Mu lifted his brush several times but couldn't bring himself to write. Little Poison King also grabbed his brush and put it down repeatedly.
Outside the hall, Ling Yuxiu peeked in. Seeing the two troubled, she whispered, "Cowherd, how's it going?"
Before Qin Mu could answer, Little Poison King chuckled darkly. "You're the Sixth Princess, right?"
Ling Yuxiu thought for a moment and said, "Since my brother is now the First Prince, I suppose I am indeed the sixth in line."
"The First Prince, now Crown Prince Yushu."
Little Poison King said harshly, "Congratulations, Sixth Princess. Following this quack's treatment method, your brother will soon be able to ascend the throne as Emperor."
Ling Yuxiu was startled. She looked pleadingly at Qin Mu, her voice trembling with tears as she stammered, "Cowherd, are you really going to heal Father Emperor to death?"
"Sister, don't worry. He won't die."
Qin Mu comforted her, then sneered, "Before I heal the Emperor to death, the Grand Tutor will be killed by this fool's treatment. Without the Grand Tutor's support, even if your brother becomes Emperor, he won't last a few days before being overthrown!"
Ling Yuxiu was on the verge of tears. "Are you two just trying to scare me?"
Little Poison King taunted, "The Grand Tutor may die by my hand, but it will be because your medicine over-nourished him!"
Qin Mu retorted, "The Emperor may die by my treatment, but it will be because of your poison! You won't leave the palace alive!"
The two glared at each other, eyes blazing with anger, ready to poison each other on the spot.
Ling Yuxiu was furious. She shouted, "If you two kill Father Emperor and the Grand Tutor, neither of you will leave the palace alive! Where are the assassins? Assassins!"
Emperor Yanfeng and the Grand Tutor of Eternal Peace both breathed a sigh of relief, thinking, "It's good that Yuxiu (the Sixth Princess) is sensible. Otherwise, if these two bastards keep fighting, we'll be dead even if we don't die."
The palace's inner guards swarmed in and took positions outside the hall.
Ling Yuxiu, radiating murderous intent, put her hands on her hips and said to the two, "The assassins are right outside. You both have to listen to me! You can't control his supplementary medicine, and you can't manage his poison. So switch! You, the ugly one, treat Father Emperor. Cowherd, you treat the Grand Tutor!"
Qin Mu stood up and looked at Little Poison King, saying solemnly, "Swap patients!"
Little Poison King's eyes lit up. "You treat the Grand Tutor, I'll treat the Emperor. It might work wonders!"
They immediately exchanged patients and examined the conditions of the Emperor and the Grand Tutor of Eternal Peace.
After the examination, both sighed in relief and exchanged a glance.
Just moments ago, Qin Mu had been ready to take the Dragon Qilin and flee to the Great Wasteland. Little Poison King had also planned to slip out of the palace and go into hiding. The palace's elite fighters would have struggled to stop them—it would have been just a matter of a dose of poison.
But after swapping patients, they found they could clean up each other's messes. There was no longer any need to worry about fleeing because they'd killed the Emperor and the Grand Tutor.
Qin Mu and Little Poison King each wrote down prescriptions and called for the imperial physicians to fetch the ingredients.
They treated the patients meticulously, constantly adjusting the formulas. After two or three days, the hair on the Emperor's body fell off, and the cocoon on the Grand Tutor's body receded into his skin.
The Grand Tutor's injuries gradually lessened, the residual power of the divine abilities weakening. The Grand Tutor of Eternal Peace slowly began to mobilize a trace of his cultivation.
As for the Emperor, though his divine repositories were still in ruins, Little Poison King used countless venomous spiders to transport vitality and life force, rebuilding the repositories. Combined with the powerful life force from Qin Mu's pills acting as self-repair energy, it seemed the problem wouldn't be too severe.
Their recovery was just a matter of time.
Ling Yuxiu summoned some eunuchs to clean the hall. They loaded the shed hair into over a dozen carts, and the Grand Tutor's shed tail, wings, and extra arms and legs filled another large cart.
"Basically, there's no major danger anymore."
Qin Mu looked at Little Poison King, who happened to look back at him. They both sneered. Ling Yuxiu, on high alert and extremely tense, quickly said, "No more fighting!"
Qin Mu wrote a prescription and had the imperial physician fetch the ingredients. He stretched lazily and said with a smile, "I won't fight with him. I've been diagnosing and treating the Emperor and the Grand Tutor for days. I'm tired and need to go rest."
Little Poison King said darkly, "I'm exhausted too. I need to go catch up on sleep. Let the quacks at the door handle the rest."
Ling Yuxiu glanced at Little Poison King and said, "Cowherd, I'll see you back to the Imperial Academy."
Qin Mu hesitated for a moment, then shook his head. "No need. You haven't rested in two days either."
Ling Yuxiu insisted, "I must!"
Seeing her determination to see him off, Qin Mu could only nod. They waited a moment, and the imperial physician brought the medicine. Little Poison King sniffed the medicinal scent in the air, but they had used so many ingredients over the past few days—thousands of different spiritual herbs—that the hall was filled with a mix of smells, impossible to distinguish.
Qin Mu picked up the herbs and walked out. Ling Yuxiu quickly followed. Little Poison King also left the hall, trailing behind them. As they passed the Jade Belt River in the palace, he suddenly jumped into the river with a splash and didn't resurface.
Ling Yuxiu looked down, startled, and said, "He escaped through the water. Cowherd, is he afraid of you?"
Qin Mu shook his head. "He's not afraid of me. He's afraid of the Empress Dowager."
Just as he spoke, the Jade Belt River suddenly rose into the air, floating like a silver-white giant serpent. Two palace maids carrying lanterns approached and shone the lights into the river. Countless sword beams shot out from the flames in the lanterns, plunging into the Jade Belt River with a swishing sound.
"Reporting to the Empress Dowager, the person is not in the river." The two maids withdrew their lanterns and bowed toward a tall building nearby.
Qin Mu and Ling Yuxiu quickly turned to look at the tower. The Empress Dowager stood there with several maids, one hand raised as if holding something, then gently lowered it.
The water of the Jade Belt River crashed back down, filling the channel.
Qin Mu bowed toward the tower. The Empress Dowager smiled and said, "Little Divine Doctor, has the Emperor's illness been cured?"
Qin Mu replied, "He still needs to recuperate. In a few years, he should be able to recover to his peak condition."
The Empress Dowager nodded. "Yuxiu, take these two maids to see the Little Divine Doctor off."
Ling Yuxiu laughed. "I was planning to go back to the Imperial Academy with him anyway."
The Empress Dowager walked back into the building, and the two maids carrying lanterns followed behind Qin Mu and Ling Yuxiu.
They left the palace, and Qin Mu suddenly stopped. He said to the two maids, "You can go back now. I don't need you on the road ahead."
The two maids were twin sisters, identical in appearance, both clever and quick-witted. They shook their heads in unison and said together, "The Empress Dowager ordered us to escort the Divine Doctor back to the Imperial Academy."
Qin Mu frowned slightly and said to Ling Yuxiu, "Sister, go back with them."
Ling Yuxiu shook her head. "With me by your side, Little Poison King won't dare to make a move against you."
Qin Mu sighed. "For alchemists like us, there's no one we wouldn't dare to poison. I only need to protect myself, but now I have to protect you all too. It might be a bit of a strain."
The two maids giggled. "The Little Divine Doctor speaks so amusingly. You're only at the Five Luminaries Realm, while my sister and I are at the Seven Stars Realm. Besides, the Empress Dowager has bestowed treasures on us to deal with Little Poison King. With us here, if Little Poison King dares to come, we sisters will surely capture him!"
Qin Mu shook his head and stopped trying to persuade them to leave. "Alchemists kill regardless of realm. You're too naive. I could poison several Celestial Realm experts without breaking a sweat, let alone Little Poison King. If you want to follow me, that's fine, but stay alert. I'm afraid I won't be able to look after you all."
The two maids kept giggling.
The streets were crowded. The two maids walked in front and behind, carrying their lanterns. The large lanterns were conspicuous even in daylight, but since they were dressed in palace attire, no one bothered them.
The Imperial Academy was quite far from the palace. They walked for about two miles without incident. Qin Mu refined medicine as he walked, processing the several bundles of herbs he carried. Then he reached into his Gluttonous Pouch. Only his arm and shoulder could be seen trembling slightly, but no one could tell what refining technique he was using inside the pouch or what medicine he was concocting.
The two maids were very alert. Along the way, any flies or spiders were killed by the sword beams from their lanterns, unable to get close.
As they walked, a cold wind suddenly blew. The two maids immediately activated their vitality, and the lantern light suddenly brightened, forming two large circular shields that covered them, keeping the wind out.
One maid laughed. "Is that all Little Poison King has..." Before she could finish, her delicate face suddenly turned pitch black, and she collapsed stiffly. The maid behind her also fell with a thud, unable to move.
Ling Yuxiu was stunned. She quickly looked around and said, "Why are we fine..."
Thud.
She fell backward.
After the three women fell, several black tentacles crawled out from underground, covered in spikes. They had been pricked on the calves by the underground tentacles, which was how they were poisoned.
Qin Mu flicked his finger, and the tentacles writhed, dissolving into puddles of water. The ground trembled, and something massive seemed to be hiding underground, gradually moving away.
Qin Mu took out three spirit pills to suppress the poison in the women and wake them up.
Suddenly, a muffled groan came from afar. "Did you give my precious a supplementary medicine?"
Boom!
The earth shook and cracked. Buildings collapsed as a monstrous insect over thirty meters long and more than ten meters tall emerged from underground, covered in tentacles. It was a king insect raised by Little Poison King!
Little Poison King had just called the insect to his side when Qin Mu's supplementary medicine caused it to swell and expand, making it impossible for him to control.
Now, Little Poison King was lying on the insect's back, looking disheveled.
"Aren't you going to act?" Qin Mu said to the two maids beside him.
The two maids were still groggy but, upon hearing this, poured all their vitality into the lanterns. The light turned into swords and shone on the king insect, with countless sword beams piercing it like a sieve!
Little Poison King was hit by several swords and immediately turned into a cloud of poison smoke, burrowing underground.
The two maids quickly shone their lanterns underground. The light made the earth transparent, able to penetrate dozens of meters deep.
However, the poison in the two women had not been fully neutralized, only suppressed by Qin Mu. They soon felt the poison about to take effect and dared not push their power further.
Qin Mu said, "Don't chase him. He's already taken a loss. If you push him too hard, he could poison everyone in the capital out of spite. I'll cure the poison in you as quickly as possible. If we delay, it'll be too late."
Qin Mu took a drop of blood from each of the three. The blood had already turned black. Although they had all been stung by the same poison king, the venom was different, requiring separate antidotes.
On the way, Qin Mu treated them separately. When they returned to the Scholar's Residence, the poison in the three women was neutralized, but residual toxins remained, leaving them dizzy. Before they could reach Qin Mu's room, they collapsed with thuds.
Qin Mu frowned. He dragged the three women to his quarters, threw Ling Yuxiu and the two maids onto the bed, and then turned to close the door.
At the door, the Dragon Qilin said, "Don't worry, Sect Leader. I won't let anyone in! I understand perfectly..."
"You've done well."
Qin Mu praised him. He was truly exhausted after these days. He returned to the room, lay down on his back among the three women, and fell fast asleep. As he slept, his nose itched—some girl's hair had gotten into his nostril. Qin Mu casually flipped his hand, sending whoever it was tumbling off the bed.
——A weak question: Four thousand words, is that considered a big chapter? Can I ask for monthly votes and recommendation votes?
My rhinitis has flared up again. Two chapters will be updated tonight.
This autumn, Zhai Zhu's rhinitis has been recurring. I just took some medicine and feel drowsy, thinking I'm quite adorable. You might not know, but rhinitis makes it easy to catch colds, and inflammation can easily lead to infections, causing fevers or the flu.
In recent years, the weather in Xuzhou has been terrible in autumn—rarely clear skies, always hazy. Since settling here, my rhinitis has never gotten better. Depressing.
Two chapters will be updated tonight.
My wife and kids have gone traveling, leaving me alone at home. Lunch will probably be takeout again...