TM CH78

Chapter 78 Climbing the Tower to Save Someone (2)

Gu Yunxing was the first to step into the building.

It was a three-story tower with a hollow central hall. Long staircases curled up along both sides, connecting each floor’s circular corridor. Looking down from the corridor, one could see the entire entrance hall below at a glance.

“Intruders! On alert!”

Almost as soon as they entered, someone spotted them.

Rong Qi no longer bothered to hide. Hidden darts shot from his sleeve, striking the disciples guarding on the second-floor corridor. Several figures immediately fell from above. Rong Qi leaped up, using their falling bodies as leverage to reach the second floor.

On the opposite side of the corridor were several tightly shut wooden doors. He suspected that behind these wooden doors were the prison cells.

“Stop!” The guards had already swarmed over.

Rong Qi flipped his wrist, and a specially made signal arrow whistled through the air — it was the Lihuo Palace’s signal. If the people from the Medicine Hall were held here, there would be a response.

As expected, strange noises came from behind the wooden doors, as if something heavy was banging against them.

“Bang—”

Rong Qi kicked the wooden door open. Inside the room was an iron cage, holding five or six imprisoned people. They were all shackled and on the verge of death. He recognized one of the faces — it was someone from the Medicine Hall. “Where’s Xue Yu?”

The man struggled to lift his head. “You… who are you?”

Rong Qi stepped forward, but caught movement in his peripheral vision — someone from the Wulin Alliance was sneaking up behind them. He immediately ducked low, circled around, and struck back with a palm, slamming the attacker hard against the doorframe. His eyes landed on the key hanging from the man’s waist. He walked over, hooked it with the tip of his sword, and tossed it to the feet of the captured Medicine Hall disciples.

But there was little joy on their faces. One of them forcibly saluted with his hands and said weakly, “Thank you… but we’ve all been drugged with bone-softening powder. Even if the chains are unlocked, we won’t get far.”

Rong Qi frowned. “Where’s the antidote?”

“The guards probably don’t carry it.”

Seeing his defeated expression, Rong Qi said flatly, “A disciple from Medicine Hall, and all you can do is wait for someone else’s antidote?”

“But…” Although they were proficient in pharmacology, even a clever housewife couldn’t cook without rice. Even for the most common bone-softening powder, they couldn’t possibly conjure up an antidote out of thin air, right?

Rong Qi said indifferently, “Ten steps outside this tower, there’s a pharmacy.”

The Wenxin Platform was in the center of Jiguang City’s main street, right in the middle of a bustling marketplace. There were plenty of shops nearby, let alone pharmacies.

The Medicine Hall disciple stared in shock. After a long pause, he raised two fingers and firmly pressed a few key acupoints on his body. Moments later, he seemed to regain his strength and slowly pushed himself to his feet.

“Hall Master Xue isn’t on this floor.”

Since Rong Qi’s return, the Deputy Palace Master and both the Left and Right Protectors had met with misfortune, so the others had reverted to using the old titles. As he spoke, the rest of the captives also began pressing their acupoints, freeing themselves from the chains.

One of them explained, “Although we don’t have the antidote, we can rely on stimulating our acupoints to last for the duration of an incense stick. That should be enough to prepare the antidote. We won’t forget your kindness…”

Rong Qi cut him off impatiently, “How many Lihuo Palace disciples are in this building?”

“After being captured that day, more than a hundred people were taken to Jizhou. As for how many were brought here, I really don’t know.”

At that moment, the sounds of fighting drifted in from outside. Rong Qi remembered Gu Yunxing was still holding the line and urged, “If you only have one incense stick’s worth of time, then move! If you can’t make it in time, no one’s coming to save you.”

With that, he turned and headed back out, only to find the Wulin Alliance members already lying unconscious outside the door. Another group of disciples stood at the top of the long staircase, facing off against Gu Yunxing from a distance.

The Medicine Hall disciples, seeing this, immediately turned and ran down the stairs.

Rong Qi strolled over to Gu Yunxing’s side and said in a low voice, “Let me handle this.”

Gu Yunxing had always been different from him.

It didn’t matter how much blood the Lihuo Palace demon’s hands were stained with, but Gu Yunxing’s sword must never be tainted with the blood of the Wulin Alliance.

He drew his sword and charged forward.

Blood dripped from the blade, drawing dark red arcs through the air. In no time, Rong Qi had carved a bloody path through the crowd. By the time he reached the third floor, the remaining Wulin Alliance disciples no longer dared to come near.

Cries of pain filled the air from those who had fallen.

Gu Yunxing glanced at their wounds and could tell that Rong Qi hadn’t gone for the kill. The injuries were ugly, but not fatal.

At first glance, he truly looked like a killing deity.

Rong Qi wiped the blood from his forehead and kicked open a door.

Inside were many familiar faces, along with a few strangers, likely former subordinates of Xu Yan or Shen Qi. Rong Qi didn’t care. He tossed the stolen key inside and moved on to the next room.

One room after another, he checked them in succession. Finally, in the center room on the third floor, he found Xue Yu.

Xue Yu’s face was deathly pale. He looked like he’d been given ‘special treatment.’ His arms hung limp at his sides, and even his mouth had been gagged. When he saw a masked figure burst in, he flinched, then his eyes went wide in disbelief. He tilted his head back and let out a muffled cry.

Knowing he’d been recognized, Rong Qi walked over and said, “Shut up.”

Xue Yu nodded frantically.

Rong Qi reached down and pulled the cloth from his mouth.

Rong Qi sensed something was off. “You can’t stand?”

Xue Yu shook his head. “Poison’s useless on me. The bone-softening powder didn’t work, so they just broke my arms and legs.”

Rong Qi looked at him with disdain. “Couldn’t you have pretend a little?”

Xue Yu’s face immediately filled with curses, barely held back.

Rong Qi got the idea. Clearly, someone had seen through his lousy acting.

He lifted Xue Yu from the floor and began dragging him out, half-carrying, half-hauling him along.

Just as they reached the corridor, a noise sounded from below.

Rong Qi looked down toward the source and saw that the first group sent to the pharmacy had returned, their arms full. The Medicine Hall disciples were already grinding herbs and mixing powders.

Thanks to Rong Qi’s efforts, many Lihuo Palace disciples had been freed. Still suffering under the effects of the bone-softening powder, they now rushed toward the Medicine Hall disciples in hope.

At that moment, the Wulin Alliance finally realized what was happening.

“Destroy those powders! Now!”

They couldn’t defeat Rong Qi or Gu Yunxing, but they also couldn’t allow more of these demons to slip from their grasp.

Chaos erupted inside the building.

Gu Yunxing leaned lazily against the railing, his exposed eyes distant, almost detached.

Rong Qi had already looked away. He walked over to Gu Yunxing’s side, wanting to call his name, but stopped himself. He couldn’t reveal his identity now. Instead, he said, “This is my business. You shouldn’t have come.”

Even if the guards below were Sun Zhiyi’s men, they were still part of the Wulin Alliance.

Suddenly, Rong Qi asked, “Do you regret it?”

“What are you talking about?” Gu Yunxing glanced at him. “No one can force me to do something I don’t want to do.”

Rong Qi stared into those smiling eyes, a few indescribable emotions welling up in his heart. But in the end, he said nothing more and simply muttered, “We should go.”

Xue Yu had been slung across Rong Qi’s back the entire time.

This man was Rong Qi’s accomplice?

He couldn’t help but glance a few more times in curiosity.

Gu Yunxing: “You’re not saving the others?”

Rong Qi: “Lihuo Palace has nothing to do with me. If they have any sense, they’ll know when to quit while they’re ahead.”

The guards had surely already sent word. Reinforcements could arrive at any moment.

Xue Yu caught on and hesitated before saying, “Can I… give a warning shout?”

Rong Qi frowned. “You’re a Lihuo Palace man. Why ask me?”

Xue Yu went silent for a moment, then suddenly shouted, “Don’t linger, fall back now!”

This could be considered repaying the friendship after all their time together in the Medicine Hall for the past few years.

The three slipped out of the building unnoticed. At that very moment, Sun Zhiyi was leading a large force of Wulin Alliance experts their way. The two sides narrowly missed each other, passing on opposite ends of the Wenxin Platform. By the time Sun Zhiyi sensed something was wrong, they were already gone from the street.

Inside the building, the Medicine Hall disciples not only managed to concoct the antidote but also scattered a large amount of poisonous powder. The main hall turned into a choking cloud of chaos. When they realized that reinforcements had arrived, the disciples scattered into the city. Those who were lucky escaped without a trace, while those who were unlucky were caught and brought back…

But none of that had anything to do with Rong Qi anymore.

Just outside Jiguang City, a fine carriage waited by the roadside. The driver was wearing an oversized straw hat that shaded most of his face, leaving only a pale chin visible.

Just as Rong Qi was thinking the figure looked familiar, Gu Yunxing said, “That’s Ding Yi.”

With someone to meet them, the subsequent matters became much easier. Rong Qi carried Xue Yu down from the horse and rather unceremoniously stuffed him into the carriage.

Xue Yu only felt a dizzying, disorienting sensation.

After sitting down, Rong Qi pulled off his mask and casually used it to wipe the blood from his sword. Suddenly, he frowned. “Damn. I left Zhukong behind.”

To avoid implicating Gu Yunxing, he had deliberately left the Zhukong Sword back at the inn where they’d stayed the previous night.

At his words, Ding Qi, seated in the corner of the carriage, smiled serenely and lifted a sword case in both hands. “I already retrieved it for the young master.”

As she spoke, she offered the case to Rong Qi.

Rong Qi: “……”

Without much hesitation, he discarded the sword in his hand, took Zhukong from the case, inspected it briefly, and then hung it back at his waist with satisfaction.

Xue Yu’s eyes darted between the two of them, his expression growing increasingly odd. “And this is…”

Rong Qi: “Gu Yunxing. Haven’t you seen him before?”

Xue Yu: “……” He had indeed met Gu Yunxing, but with the person’s face covered, couldn’t he be forgiven for not recognizing him?

As they spoke, Gu Yunxing removed his face mask and gave Xue Yu a mild nod.

Xue Yu gave a few awkward chuckles, still unable to figure out why the leader of Tianji Sect had suddenly joined in rescuing him.

Still, he didn’t think he was important enough to warrant such effort. He glanced over at Rong Qi, only to find the other man wearing a detached expression, as if the whole matter had nothing to do with him.

Questions piled up in his heart, but with others present, he couldn’t ask them out loud.

After speeding along for quite some time, the carriage finally arrived at a small town.

Taking advantage of the moment when Gu Yunxing and Ding Qi stepped out of the carriage, Xue Yu shuffled over to Rong Qi and whispered, “Right Protector, why are you still hanging around with Gu Yunxing?”

Rong Qi gave him a sideways glance and said flatly, “Don’t call me Right Protector again.”

Xue Yu: “You don’t need to say it. I already figured it out. You two must’ve relied on each other to survive after ending up stranded on that deserted island, and through some twist of fate, became sworn brothers in life and death, right?”

Rong Qi thought for a moment, then said, “More or less.”

“I already noticed something back at the Yanhuo Ridge!” Xue Yu said with great conviction. “If you’d told me sooner about your ties to Gu Yunxing, I would’ve gone to him on the first day you were imprisoned!”

Rong Qi: “…Truly, Lihuo Palace is blessed to have you.”

Xue Yu let out a sigh. “Looks like there’s no going back to Lihuo Palace now.”

Rong Qi: “What do you plan to do from here?”

Xue Yu: “I haven’t thought about it. I thought I’d die at the Wenxin Platform. But if I have to think about it now… maybe I’ll become a traveling doctor!”

Rong Qi nodded. “A traveling doctor… not a bad choice. You’re not much of a fighter anyway. Being a physician might actually let you live a little longer.”

Xue Yu curled his lip. “Before thinking about becoming a doctor, what I need right now is a doctor to set my bones.”

“Setting bones is easy, finding a divine doctor is the hard part,” Ding Yi’s head suddenly popped through the curtain. “Why not come to my Lincang City, Divine Doctor Xue?”

Xue Yu’s eyes lit up. “Young brother, you’ve got a sharp eye! Where did you hear about my reputation as a divine doctor?”

Ding Yi blinked. “My sister said it’s never wrong to praise people more. A skilled doctor is naturally a divine doctor.”

Xue Yu: “……”