Song Yao didn't know how to explain it to her for a moment.
Dark poison was indeed a secret technique of the Wen family, but not every member of the Wen family knew how to use it.
According to what she had heard from her Fifth Junior Sister back then, because dark poison was too powerful and the practitioners themselves would suffer backlashes, only those of the Wen family's main lineage with special constitutions could learn it.
Furthermore, they had to reach a certain age to inherit it.
Her Fifth Junior Sister was the most powerful and talented among them.
Song Yao still remembered one night when she had dragged her Fifth Junior Sister to a cliff to drink.
After drinking several jars of Peach Blossom Wine, her Fifth Junior Sister had looked at her drunkenly, her face full of confusion. “Dark poison is so terrifying. Why do I have to pass it down?”
“The dark poison is always acting up, and I'm always in pain. I'm always losing control of myself. Why do they still force me to learn it?”
“I don't like dark poison, and I don't want to go back to the Wen family.”
“Third Senior Sister, will I be poisoned to death by the dark poison one day?”
“I'm so scared.”
At that time, Song Yao had been even drunker than her. Grabbing her collar and pulling her close, she said, “Junior brothers and sisters are born to listen to their senior sister. If I don't let you die, how can you die?”
“They force you to learn it? If you have the ability, go kill them. If you don't, then cultivate well and show them by becoming the world's number one poison cultivator.”
“Little Wen Tang, if you can't even control yourself, who can help you?”
She didn't remember what her Fifth Junior Sister had said after that. She only knew that the girl had never mentioned dying again, and she had indeed mastered poison control to perfection. Even the Wen family themselves seemed somewhat wary of this young mistress they had sent away, frequently sending transmission talismans to ask about her realm.
Now that so many people had been harmed by dark poison and her Fifth Junior Sister was missing, she couldn't figure out what was going on either.
Her mind was a tangled mess. Song Yao suddenly remembered that she was currently just an ordinary pill cultivator, and this wasn't her concern. Pulling her focus back, she said, “Let's not dwell on this for now. Go grab the items first. We need to handle the matters at the Antong Shrine.”
Ming Ran was clearly still unwilling. She bit her lip, but knowing that saving lives was the top priority right now, she could only comply.
Before long, she hurriedly returned carrying various medicinal herbs and several bottles of pills, placing them on the table. “I'll go check if there are any other conscious cultivators in the estate so we can bring my parents back. Please make yourself at home, Master. You can use anything you need.”
Song Yao: “Alright.”
Ming Ran turned and ran toward the inner courtyard, her skirt sweeping across the ground and bringing a cool breeze with it.
The elixir-refining room grew a bit quieter.
Song Yao spent a moment examining the new cauldron, tossing in the herbs and lighting the fire. She then caught sight of her Fourth Junior Brother still standing beside her.
Suddenly remembering that he had said someone who knew dark poison might still be hiding in the city, she deliberated for a moment before saying, “Fourth Senior Brother, didn't you say there's danger here? Why don't you go accompany Junior Sister Ming? I'll be fine staying at the Ming family estate.”
Xie Zhou: “...”
Seeing that he didn't move, Song Yao blinked in confusion.
They were both junior sisters, neither was very close to him, and Ming Ran's cultivation was even lower than hers.
If her Fourth Junior Brother wanted to protect someone, he should definitely protect the weaker one first.
She really was quite thoughtful.
Thinking he was just worried, she added, “What could possibly happen in the elixir-refining room? I'm really fine. You...”
“It matters.”
Xie Zhou interrupted her, his gaze landing directly on her as he repeated, “It matters.”
It matters?
How does it matter?
Song Yao looked back at him blankly. Her naturally cool, slightly upturned eyes now held a trace of almost pure bewilderment.
Xie Zhou looked away at that moment, his long eyelashes veiling the surging stubbornness in his eyes.
The fire in the cauldron crackled softly, and the scent of medicine drifted in the breeze from the window. After a long pause, he said, “Junior Sister Ming has the Ming family members with her. She will be fine.”
Song Yao: “...”
Tsk.
Why did such a simple answer sound so overwrought coming from him?
Her Fourth Junior Brother was becoming more and more eccentric.
She couldn't understand him.
She didn't think too much of it and continued refining pills.
Over the past two days, she had tested her pills many times and had plenty of cases to reference. She adjusted the formula slightly, slowly channeling her spiritual energy into the cauldron to draw out the medicinal properties of the herbs bit by bit.
“Boom!”
“Boom!”
“Boom!”
After three loud bangs, three batches of pills flew out of the cauldron.
Song Yao stood on her tiptoes to take out the pills. She channeled her teal spiritual energy once more to nourish them before storing them in porcelain bottles. “Let's go, Fourth Senior Brother.”
Xie Zhou stepped aside to let her pass first, then followed behind at a leisurely pace.
Song Yao was highly confident in this batch of pills. She cradled them like treasures all the way, unable to resist whispering to Xie Zhou, “Fourth Senior Brother, you have no idea, but I'm actually quite talented at refining pills.”
Xie Zhou: “Mm.”
Song Yao: “Although the side effects are a bit strong, the efficacy is also very high. If I sell them, I can just price them a bit lower. I should still be able to make money.”
Xie Zhou: “Mm.”
Song Yao felt her future was bright. “Once Master finishes his secluded cultivation and I leave the sect, maybe I can even become a traveling doctor. What if everyone within a hundred miles comes to buy pills from me?”
Xie Zhou: “...”
Song Yao turned her head. “Why aren't you saying 'mm' anymore?”
Her Fourth Junior Brother's expression didn't change, but his entire being seemed to be coated in a layer of frost, and his aura turned several degrees colder.
When he spoke, his voice was much drier than before. “Do you want to leave Nine Saints Hall that badly?”
This time, it was Song Yao's turn to fall silent.
How could she not leave?
Which personal disciple in Nine Saints Hall didn't want her dead?
Besides, staying in Nine Saints Hall was equivalent to tying herself to the cultivation world with an unbreakable rope.
Even if the people of Nine Saints Hall were magnanimous, there were still plenty of others in the cultivation world who wanted her life.
She had lived this life so diligently and honestly that she could barely remember how she had managed to offend everyone in her past life.
She let out a long sigh. Just as she stepped out of the city gates, a heated argument echoed from the direction of the Antong Shrine in the distance.
“Other than the Wen family, who else knows dark poison?!”
Ming Ran's voice drifted over from the Antong Shrine. “As one of the three great sects, is Taiqing Pavilion going to shield the Wen family like this?!”
Song Yao and Xie Zhou exchanged a look, rushing in that direction at the same time.
A crowd had gathered around the edge of the ruins.
Ming Ran stood in the center, her sword pointed at two people opposite her.
—Wen Wumian and Wen Wushuang.
Her eyes were bloodshot, wet tear tracks still staining her cheeks. The hand holding her sword was trembling, yet the tip of her blade remained perfectly steady, pointing directly at Wen Wumian's throat.
Behind her stood several Ming family cultivators who were still conscious, all of them looking grim as they held their longswords.
Ning Zhou blocked Ming Ran's side, reaching out to hold her shoulder. “Ming Ran, don't be impulsive. Let's talk this through—”
“My parents have both been poisoned by dark poison! Their lives are on the line! How do you expect me to stay calm?!”
Ming Ran's voice rose even higher, her eyes so red they looked as if they might bleed.
Wen Wushuang looked at her expressionlessly. Wen Wumian stood beside her, his lips slightly pursed, not even glancing in their direction. Neither of them said a word, acting as if they were mere bystanders.
Cheng Yue patted Ming Ran's shoulder and took a step forward. “Dark poison is indeed something only members of the Wen family can use. Do you two really have nothing to say?”
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