Chapter 1084: Prescription
Zu An’s expression grew grim. Things really were tricky now. There was no way they were going to admit defeat, but he couldn"t just watch as Yu Yanluo fell victim to the drug. Ah… what a headache.
“Don’t do it!” Yu Yanluo quickly shouted. “Don’t concede!”
Zu An was stunned. The others’ eyes also darted between the two of them.
Only then did Yu Yanluo realize that her words had double meanings. It sounded almost as if she didn’t want the antidote. Her face flushed red as she quickly explained, “Cooperating with them is not in our favor. We might receive some benefits in the short term, but the court will find out eventually. When that happens, the entire Yu clan will be finished!”
The Yu clan’s ki stone business already made them incredibly wealthy. There was no need for them to take such a risk at all.
Kong Qing smiled and said, “So that was what madam was worried about. You do not need to worry about that. Cloudcenter Commandery’s skies are high, and the emperor is far away. The second master from the Martial Affairs Manor here is also one of us. When the time comes, even if the court interferes, they will not find out a thing. If the situation really is bad, we will just throw out a scapegoat or two. Madam will not be endangered at all.”
Yu Yanluo didn’t pay him any attention and instead looked at Zu An. She pursed her red lips, and her voice was trembling a little as she said, “Hurry and bring me out of this place.” She could already sense that her body was feeling strange. Waves of warmth were running wild through her, leaving her rattled and fl.u.s.tered.
There were too many fiends present, and there was that freak Venom Child too. She obviously didn’t want to remain in the cave after being poisoned, or else the consequences would be too horrible to contemplate.
“Okay,” Zu An replied. He knew they couldn"t stay either. He went over to support Yu Yanluo, and her entire body trembled when she felt his physical contact.
Suddenly, Venom Child leaped in front of them and asked with a cruel laugh, “Why are you in such a rush? We haven’t even finished our compet.i.tion yet.” He gave Yu Yanluo’s b.r.e.a.s.t.s a greedy look, as if he really wanted to drink from them.
Yu Yanluo’s entire body broke out into gooseb.u.mps. She immediately hid behind Zu An, as if only then could she feel a bit better.
“Get lost!” Zu An exclaimed grimly.
“Oh my, I’m so scared.” Venom Child jumped backward, shaking his rattle as he patted his chest with a startled look on his face.
Kong Qing coughed and said, “Brother Zu, please do not fret. However, since the compet.i.tion has not ended yet, it will be hard for me to explain things to the others back home if we let you go just like this.”
Zu An frowned. He gave Venom Child a look and asked, “Then all I need to do is to defeat that guy?”
Kong Qing nodded and replied, “Indeed.”
Yu Yanluo had already lost her fighting strength after being afflicted by the poison. Zu An had fought multiple great battles in succession, so he was quite exhausted as well. Meanwhile, Venom Child was also a well-known cultivator of the evil dao, and his cultivation was high. He also excelled in poison, something that inspired fear in many experts.
“Fine. A fight it is,” Zu An said. He turned around to console Yu Yanluo afterward, saying, “Madam, please feel at ease. I’ll deal with this situation quickly.”
Venom Child laughed and remarked, “Oh? Kid, you seem to be quite confident.”
Zu An didn’t pay him any attention. He helped Yu Yanluo sit down first, propping her back up against the frozen wall. He wanted to make use of the cold to at least slightly suppress the drug’s effects.
However, Yu Yanluo’s entire body trembled when she made contact with the frozen wall. She immediately nudged forward a bit. Her fear of the cold made it so that even in that state, she wasn’t willing to touch the ice.
When Zu An saw that, he stared at Venom Child and yelled, “You’re courting death!” As soon as he finished speaking, he instantly appeared next to Venom Child.
Venom Child was alarmed. Even though he had already been on guard because he had seen Zu An fight before, he was still startled when he experienced it himself. His rattle moved, then flew at Zu An while shaking.
Jian Taiding nodded, thinking, This brat at least has some skills. His control over that rattle is almost at the level of a master rank’s flying sword.
Furthermore, he keenly sensed that as the two small spheres inside the rattle collided, waves of sound scattered, delivering a mental attack that would make opponents react sluggishly. Even he was getting a bit dizzy from listening to it, and he was already at the master rank. Although he was seriously injured, his soul had already fully formed, and yet he was still affected so badly; it was easy to imagine just how great the pressure Zu An faced was.
But he was also a bit hesitant. Zu An had somehow managed to survive all of the other opponents one after another. If Zu An really does lose to that Venom Brat, now that my sister-in-law had been affected by that vicious poison, will Venom Brat really go over and suck on her b.r.e.a.s.t.s?
Jian Taiding’s face darkened when he imagined that perverted midget crawling all over Yu Yanluo’s body. Compared to that guy, it would still be easier for Jian Taiding to accept Zu An in such a situation.
Pah pah pah! How can I have these kinds of thoughts? Once Venom Child wins, I will discuss things with Kong Qing to see if he can leave Yu Yanluo to me.
They had worked together for so long after all, and Kong Qing still had to rely on him for their business in Cloudcenter Commandery. He had to at least give him that much of a favor.
Sister-in-law always rejected me before. But this time, she cannot reject me anymore, right? He couldn"t help but swallow when he thought of that wonderful situation.
However, his smile quickly froze. A draconic cry rang out as Zu An seemed to draw a sword from the void, and a vicious glint flashed. The rattle shattered on the spot.
Shatter… Shattered? Jian Taiding thought, stunned.
After all, that rattle was definitely a magic weapon. Furthermore, something that could serve as Venom Child’s weapon would definitely at least be earth-grade, maybe even heaven-grade, right? How had it been destroyed so quickly?
His eyes landed on Zu An’s longsword. Wasn’t that the sword I was wounded by last time too? No wonder that wound was so hard to recover from. Is that sword an immortal-grade weapon?
Zu An didn’t notice the l.u.s.tful glint in Jian Taiding’s gaze. There was only one thing in his mind at the moment, which was to get rid of the filthy b.a.s.t.a.r.d Venom Child.
When he saw his weapon shattering instantly, Venom Child was horrified. He quickly scattered a dark blue powder.
Zu An harrumphed. A wave of powerful ki spread out, instantly sending the powder flying back.
Venom Child hadn’t expected Zu An’s ki to be that much stronger than his own. He didn’t dare to face the drug head-on himself, so he quickly dropped to the ground and rolled to evade it.
However, Zu An changed techniques extremely quickly. He didn’t stubbornly persist with sword techniques and instead sent a palm at Venom Child’s head.
Venom Child was starting to become angry. He was infamous in the outside world; when had he ever been put in such a miserable state before? This time, he didn’t dodge or evade, instead raising his hands to meet Zu An’s palm. A burst of pitch-black energy surged from his palm, clearly containing strong poison. Hmph! You can disperse my poison powder with ki, but what about my Viper Palm?
To his surprise, Zu An didn’t avoid the blow at all, instead facing him head-on. Venom Child was delighted, thinking, Doesn’t this mean you’ll be poisoned?
When their palms met, however, his smile instantly froze. He could feel that his poison hadn’t done a thing to Zu An. Instead, there was a mountainous pressure weighing down on his head.
How could his stubby arms and legs hold on? His knees immediately buckled, followed by the sound of two cracks. Spiderweb-like cracks extended out from the ice beneath his feet. He screamed miserably. His knees felt limp; they had clearly been shattered.
Kong Qing was shocked and quickly rushed forward, exclaiming, “Please be lenient!”
But Zu An remained indifferent. He demanded, “The antidote!”
Venom Child was shocked and furious, exclaiming, “Why weren’t you poisoned?”
You have successfully trolled Venom Child for +467 +467 +467…
Whether it was his poisonous palm, or even at that moment when he was silently releasing all kinds of poisons, Zu An seemed completely unfazed!
Zu An didn’t reply to him. His hand pressed down with even greater strength as he said, “I’m the one asking the questions right now.”
Crack.
Venom Child became a few inches shorter again. Many of his leg bones snapped.
Yu Yanluo had rarely seen Zu An act so domineering. She knew he was probably acting that way to help her vent out her frustration. Her expression couldn"t help but become somewhat gentler when she looked at him.
Venom Child said through clenched teeth, “Let me go first and I’ll give you the antidote.”
Zu An replied coldly, “Are you still haggling with me?” His Tai’e Sword was already moving toward Venom Child’s head; he was clearly wondering whether he should cut off the midget’s ears or nose first.
Venom Child was a well-known villain. Even though he was scared, he still said, “If I give you the antidote first, you might just kill me afterward to curry favor with that woman. Since I’m going to die anyway, we might as well all die together! Having the world’s number one beauty go down with me doesn’t sound too bad at all.”
Zu An frowned and replied, “Are you threatening me?”
He was just about to attack when Kong Qing quickly said, “Brother Zu, please wait a moment. We have already lost this compet.i.tion. Let him go; I will vouch that he will definitely give you the antidote.”
Jian Taiding was alarmed. He protested, “Sir Kong, how can you give up that easily? Sister-in-law is poisoned right now, so no one can help him! As long as you interfere, there is no chance for him to use the imperial edict at all!”
Kong Qing said indifferently, “I have always kept my promises. Since I have lost, I must face the consequences. How can I go back on my word?”
He didn’t pay Jian Taiding any more attention after saying that and instead looked at Zu An. “Brother Zu, honestly, I might not have done things the same way if it were anyone else, but you are the clan lord’s good friend. That is why I am treating you with such courtesy. Please do not force me to do something I do not want to do.”
Just then, Yu Yanluo spoke up in a trembling voice, “Just let him go for now.”
Seeing that she had agreed, Zu An pushed casually with his hand, throwing Venom Child over. Kong Qing’s sleeves swept out, receiving Venom Child with a gentle force.
Zu An said seriously, “I’ve let him go. Now where is the antidote?”
Kong Qing gave Venom Child a look. He said with a sneer, “The antidote is quite simple. Swelling and thirst, two dried orange peels. Through them, one long dragon bone to cure all fever and discomfort.”
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