0040 Forcing Blood to Dissolve Poison

Jiang Mingzhe looked at Azi with a gaze filled with emotion, joy, sympathy, and self-reproach.

Azi might not have been able to fully grasp such complex sentiments, but she could sense the intensity of the feelings growing in his eyes.

"Oh my!"

Azi suddenly felt shy, yet beneath that shyness, a hint of irrepressible triumph bubbled up. She tilted her head toward the Princess of Qingtang, rolled her eyes, stuck out her tongue, and made a playful face at her.

She thought to herself with delight, "Big Ginger is going to form the White-Green Duo of Demons with me; he won't be your pathetic official."

Jiang Mingzhe caught this display and, roughly guessing her thoughts, smiled slightly and changed the subject. "Senior sister, do I need to find a secluded place to fuse the poison?"

Azi nodded. "Right. Go get your luggage first."

As Jiang Mingzhe went to fetch his bags and basket, Azi trotted over to the Princess of Qingtang, held out her hand, and demanded, "Hand over the scabbard!"

When the princess had previously tried to stab her with a short blade, Azi had caught it and taken the weapon; now, she was demanding the scabbard with perfect confidence.

Sangzhu whispered, "Princess, just give it to her."

The Princess of Qingtang took a deep breath and tossed the scabbard over.

The material of the scabbard was identical to the hilt of the short blade—crafted from pure gold. While the blade had been inlaid with tiny gems, the scabbard was adorned with large, brilliant jewels that caught the sunlight and sparkled intensely.

Azi snatched it, sheathed the blade, and played with it happily for a moment before saying, "Don't be resentful. Your 'Iron Rod Lama' broke my sword, so this little knife counts as compensation. Hmph, Big Ginger thinks you're just a brat, but I, in my great mercy, am sparing both your pathetic lives."

The princess felt a surge of bitter anger, thinking, "You demand compensation because your sword was broken, yet you've killed so many people in cold blood and don't seem to worry about paying for those lives."

Sangzhu gripped the princess tightly, terrified that she might retort and anger Azi further.

Seeing the princess remain silent, Azi huffed, darted back to Jiang Mingzhe’s side, and tugged on his arm to leave.

The Princess of Qingtang watched them without blinking until they vanished from sight. Only then did she whisper to Sangzhu, "Our lives were saved by that 'Big Ginger' today. Hmph, that little demoness clearly cares for him deeply. I am determined to snatch him away to serve as an official in Qingtang, just to see that little demoness suffer."

Sangzhu whispered back, "Princess, you are betrothed to the King of Guge. This man is handsome, but..."

Before she could finish, the princess shot her a fierce glare and cut her off. "What nonsense are you spouting? Do you think I'm the type to be swayed by a pretty face? If you say such stupid things again, watch your skin!"

***

Elsewhere, Jiang Mingzhe couldn't help but feel concerned as he was pulled along by Azi. "Are we really leaving the bodies just like that? What if a plague breaks out?"

Azi didn't care. "My sect always kills without burying. Why do you worry about such things? There are crows and vultures in the sky, and wolves and wild dogs on the ground—these few people aren't even enough to feed them. Besides, even if there were a plague, disciples of my sect have nothing to fear."

In truth, Jiang Mingzhe was somewhat worried about the Princess of Qingtang and her maid. This area was a desolate wilderness, rarely visited by people; two women without martial arts skills would be in grave danger.

However, he knew that if he voiced this, Azi would likely turn back to kill them, so he kept his silence. He consoled himself with the thought that at least their carriage and horses remained, and the Qingtang people were generally skilled riders, so they weren't completely hopeless.

The two walked another twenty miles east as the sky began to darken. They heard a sound like thunder ahead, and after rounding a mountain ridge, they saw a mighty river surging forward, its channels weaving across the land like a silver web.

Jiang Mingzhe asked curiously, "Is this the Yellow River?"

Azi observed it for a moment and shook her head. "This must be the Zaqu River—Master says it means 'Rock River.' Following this river downstream leads to the Lancang River, which reaches the kingdoms of Dali and Jiaozhi. That’s where Master found Little Ginger."

She looked around and added, "We won't go any further today. We'll rest here for the night. Once you fuse the poison tomorrow, we’ll head south along the Zaqu to a stone mountain called Centipede Ridge. We’re going there to catch centipedes!"

With that, she led Jiang Mingzhe along the riverbank until they found a mountain cave.

It wasn't so much a cave as a hollow in the cliffside, barely two meters deep, with dry, soil-free ground.

They gathered stones to build a fire pit and collected dead branches and leaves to start a fire. Azi took out some unknown powder and sprinkled it in a circle around the cave wall, presumably to repel snakes and insects.

Jiang Mingzhe used a clay pot from his basket to fetch fresh water from the river. They boiled it over the fire and took turns washing their hands and feet.

Lacking a basin, they had to help each other: one held the pot to pour water slowly while the other washed.

When it was Azi’s turn, she took off her shoes and socks, revealing two small, dainty feet.

Jiang Mingzhe couldn't help but glance over. Her feet were perfectly proportioned, white and translucent, with pale red polish on the nails like cherry blossom petals. As the water hit them, her toes curled instinctively.

Jiang Mingzhe found the sight pleasing and a smile appeared on his lips, but Azi caught him. She grew suddenly shy and pouted, "You Big Ginger, why are you staring at someone's feet? No looking! Turn around!"

Jiang Mingzhe complied, but he heard Azi giggle softly and ask, like the hum of a mosquito, "Big Ginger, do you think my feet are pretty?"

Jiang Mingzhe hesitated, thinking that a gentleman should be open and honest, so he nodded. Azi giggled again, then kept murmuring to herself, "Stinky Ginger, silly Ginger, actually likes looking at a woman's feet..."

After washing, she put her shoes back on, washed her hands, and boiled another pot of water. She took tea leaves from her bundle to brew, shared her dry rations with Jiang Mingzhe, but kept her face flushed red, refusing to look him in the eye.

***

Once they had finished eating, the shyness finally faded from Azi’s face. She produced a tiny jade bowl and a small porcelain bowl, rinsed them with the hot tea, and took out a pill the size of a soybean, which she had Jiang Mingzhe hold under his tongue. Finally, she brought out the six-winged iron centipede, holding the root of its wings with her delicate fingers.

With the pill under his tongue, Jiang Mingzhe sat cross-legged and circulated his internal energy, gathering it into the index finger of his right hand before extending it.

Azi whispered, "Ready? It’s going to hurt!"

She pressed the centipede forward. As it bit down, the centipede felt the resistance and sank its fangs deep into his flesh, twitching as it frantically injected its venom.

Jiang Mingzhe felt an indescribable, electric agony surge through his body. Despite his mental preparation, he couldn't help but let out a low groan. He watched as his finger swelled up, and the skin around the bite turned black, bubbling with green-bean-sized blisters.

A look of alarm crossed Azi’s face. "Oh my, this centipede is truly venomous!"

She had known the six-winged iron centipede was a rare specimen, but this was the first time she had seen it bite someone. The potency was far beyond her expectations. Fearing Jiang Mingzhe might not hold up, she pulled a silver needle from her hair, prodded the centipede’s mouthparts, and pried its fangs from his skin. "Quick! Force out the poisoned blood!"

Jiang Mingzhe’s expression was grim. He dared not be careless and pushed his internal energy to the limit. As black blood began to ooze from the wound, Azi quickly caught it in the jade bowl. Drop by drop, the black blood fell until the bowl was nearly half full.

The bowl was small, so half a bowl was roughly three *qian* of blood.

When the blood from his wound turned bright red, Azi let out a sigh of relief. "That’s enough."

Jiang Mingzhe stopped pushing the poison, though his finger remained swollen and throbbing.

Azi put the centipede away, took out a small bottle and a goose feather, mixed some powder with tea in the porcelain bowl, and carefully applied it to his wound with the feather. Before long, the pain subsided and the swelling faded, though the skin around the wound remained faintly blackened.

Jiang Mingzhe let out a long breath, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and marveled at the medicine's efficacy. He couldn't help but pick up the small bowl to sniff it.

Azi laughed, "Don't pretend to be an expert. Can you really smell the ingredients? This is my 'Two-Flavor Poison-Drawing Powder'—made from realgar, alum, coptis, and licorice, mixed with tea. Combined with the 'Anti-Poison Heart-Protecting Pill' you're holding, even someone without internal energy could keep their life."

She then handed him the jade bowl filled with the black blood. "Go ahead and fuse the poison. I hope this works—it would be a waste of a bite otherwise."