Chapter 91: Detoxification

The carriage had been rolling for quite some time. Gradually, the thickets on either side grew denser, and Sikong Xu sat atop the carriage canopy, constantly sweeping the surroundings with his Precise Perception.

He did not spot any enemies, but he did discover quite a few Spywing Birds and the Bird Feather Talismans hidden on the carriage.

“Haah...” Sikong Xu sighed helplessly, frowning down at the talisman in his hand.

The Bird Feather Talisman he held had been found beneath the carriage, and besides this one, there was only one left on board.

With a flick of his wrist, the talisman in Sikong Xu’s hand shot out like lightning and struck a Spywing Bird perched in the tree behind them.

“We’ve been on the road this long; I wonder whether the enemy has caught up. Forget it. I should deal with the internal matter first.”

With Precise Perception, nothing within a hundred meters escaped Sikong Xu’s notice.

That included the last Bird Feather Talisman on the carriage, the one carried by Gao Yue.

As expected, it had happened already. Sikong Xu glanced at Gai Nie. Since Gao Yue was now carrying a Bird Feather Talisman, it meant she had already been controlled by Scarlet Lotus’s Fire Charm Art.

And then Gai Nie... had naturally been poisoned as well.

“Luckily, I prepared in advance.” After collecting his thoughts, Sikong Xu murmured with some relief.

Back at the Healing Pavilion, Sikong Xu had worried that Gao Yue might one day be manipulated into poisoning Gai Nie, so he had already obtained an antidote from Duanmu Rong.

“Uncle Nie, stop for a moment,” Sikong Xu said to Gai Nie.

Hearing him, Gai Nie, who was driving the carriage, replied, “Is something urgent? If we stop now, we may be caught up to.”

“Yes, there is something important I need to tell you.”

Hearing how grave Sikong Xu sounded, Gai Nie brought the carriage to a stop. He knew the boy could be rather unserious at times, but when it mattered, he rarely dropped the ball.

With Gai Nie pulling the reins, the carriage came to an abrupt halt and rocked for a while.

“Why did we stop?” Duanmu Rong poked her head out of the carriage and asked.

“Heh, nature calls. I’ll be quick,” Sikong Xu said with a grin, then beckoned Gai Nie over to a nearby thicket.

“Why does he need to pee and drag Uncle over with him?” Tianming complained, also leaning out of the carriage. “And the worst part is he didn’t even call me. So annoying!”

Ignoring Tianming’s grumbling, Sikong Xu and Gai Nie went behind the bushes. Sikong Xu got straight to the point.

“Uncle Nie, you’ve been poisoned.”

“I have?” Gai Nie’s eyes flickered at the words. He closed his eyes and circulated his energy to check his body.

That was one thing he should not have done. The moment he did, a stabbing pain flooded through him.

“Ng...” The agony was so fierce it felt as though venomous snakes were tearing at his body. In an instant, cold sweat poured from him, and his entire frame began to tremble uncontrollably from the pain.

“This... is...” Gai Nie was clearly in no condition even to speak.

“It’s a poison that seals martial power and causes intense pain,” Sikong Xu said, while quickly taking a small porcelain bottle from a hidden inner pocket of his clothes and handing it to Gai Nie.

“This poison is colorless and odorless. So long as you don’t circulate your energy, it can’t be detected at all. But the moment you do, it strikes at once, inflicting unbearable pain while sealing your inner power.”

Gai Nie took the bottle from Sikong Xu and swallowed the medicine inside.

After a long while, he finally recovered.

“Has the poison been cured?” Sikong Xu asked.

Gai Nie nodded. This time, he had truly fallen for it, because he did not even know who had poisoned him.

“Do you know who did it?” Gai Nie asked.

“Yes,” Sikong Xu replied with a nod. “Ever since I spotted the Spywing Birds, I’ve been keeping watch on our surroundings. Sure enough, I noticed that Gao Yue seemed to be showing signs of having been controlled by Fire Charm Art.

“I know a little about Flowing Sand. I’m aware that Scarlet Lotus is an expert poisoner, so I asked Sister Rong for plenty of antidotes in advance, just in case.”

“This time, we owe you our lives...” Gai Nie’s voice seemed to weaken at that point. Then, suddenly changing the subject, he asked, “You know Flowing Sand very well?”

“Uh... fairly well, I guess...” Sikong Xu said with a smile.

He knew that Gai Nie had always suspected him. It was only because he had once saved Gai Nie that the man had shown him no guard at all and never questioned his background.

It seemed that during this period, Uncle Nie’s trust in him had become quite high indeed.

“Hmm!”

Suddenly, Gai Nie’s brow furrowed deeply. His gaze locked onto the space behind Sikong Xu, and with a swift motion of his wrist, he sent out a leaf he had just plucked.

Whoosh!

Infused with Gai Nie’s inner power, the leaf was terrifyingly sharp. In the blink of an eye, it shot past Sikong Xu and pinned itself straight into the three-inch point of a slender red snake.

Gai Nie’s sudden outburst had startled Sikong Xu badly. When he came back to his senses, he saw a red venomous snake behind him, pierced through.

“This snake...” Looking at the unlucky snake, dead before it could even strike, Sikong Xu’s expression changed.

He glanced at Gai Nie and saw that the other man’s face was equally grim. They both knew this kind of snake was rare in such a place. Its appearance here could only mean one thing: one of the Four Heavenly Kings of Flowing Sand, Scarlet Lotus, had caught up.

“Scarlet Lotus and White Phoenix? So the last two kings of Flowing Sand are here as well,” Sikong Xu said coolly. “Uncle Nie, let’s hurry back.”

“Go!” Gai Nie nodded and sprang away at once. Perhaps because he was anxious, he erupted with his full speed in a single burst, leaving poor Sikong Xu far behind.

“Damn it, are you bullying me because I can’t use lightness skill?” Sikong Xu shouted in exasperation as Gai Nie vanished from sight.

There was no helping it. Since he could not keep up with Gai Nie, he could only follow behind.

Now that Gai Nie was no longer poisoned, and although his injuries had not fully healed, his combat strength should already have recovered.

At full health, full energy, with no negative effects, and wielding the top-class sword Abyss Rainbow, Gai Nie in this state feared no one. So Sikong Xu had nothing to worry about.

No—wait. There was still one thing he needed to worry about.

If Gai Nie instantly took out Scarlet Lotus and White Phoenix, then his side quest would be completely ruined!

Thinking of that, Sikong Xu felt a chill run down his spine.

No way. If he lost the kill, that would be terrifying.

So his pace quickened at once. He was worried Gai Nie would steal the monsters.