Chapter - 133 Junior Buhui Crossed My Wall (1) (1/2)

The Old Woman of the Golden Flower walked over to him and reached for his wrist. After examining his pulse for a few moment, she said, ”The Mystical Palm Technique of Profound Darkness? Do you mean to say that this technique actually exists? Who struck you?”

”My attacker was disguised as a Mongolian army officer, so I do not know who he actually is,” Zhang Wuji replied.

Zhang Wuji was shocked that the intruder was a woman. ”Who … who are you?” he asked as sternly as he could.

The woman did not answer him, for she had been wounded too badly by the palm technique of the E-Mei School to speak.

”Who are you?” Ji Xiaofu demanded. ”Why have you harmed me time and again?”

The woman remained silent, so Ji Xiaofu pulled out her sword and placed its tip against her chest.

After a while, Zhang Wuji said, ”I am going to check on Mr Hu.” He was concerned that Hu Qingniu had fallen victim to the intruder too. After all, she was probably an accomplice of the Old Woman of the Golden Flower. Running over to the physician's room, he pushed the door open and shouted, ”Sir, sir! Are you all right?” When no one answered him, panic set in. He quickly reached for the flint-and-steel on the table, lit a candle and saw that Hu Qingniu's blankets had been turned down. But he was not in bed or anywhere else in the room.

Zhang Wuji heaved a sigh of relief, for he had half expected to see the physician's corpse on the floor. He must have been taken away by the enemy, the boy thought. Just as he was about to dash off in pursuit, he heard heavy breathing coming from under the bed. Bending over with the candle in hand, he found Hu Qingniu bound and gagged under the bed. Overjoyed, Zhang Wuji pulled the hapless man out immediately. He had not been able to call for help because his mouth had been stuffed with a huge walnut.

As soon as the walnut was removed from his mouth, Hu Qingniu asked, ”Where is the woman?”

”She has been overpowered by Auntie Ji,” answered Zhang Wuji as he began untying the physician. ”She will not escape. Sir, you are not hurt, are you?”

”Do not worry about me,” snapped Hu Qingniu. ”Bring me the woman quickly, or it will be too late.”

”Why?” asked the boy in surprise.

”Bring her to me quickly,” said the physician again. ”Wait, you had better take three 'Pills of Bezoar and Daemonorops-draco' (Niu Huang Xue Jie Dan / Niu2 Huang2 Xue3 Jie2 Dan1) with you and get her to swallow them first. The pills are in the third drawer. Hurry!” Hu Qingniu seemed so anxious that he would have rushed out himself if he was not all tied up.

Zhang Wuji knew that these 'Pills of Bezoar and Daemonorops-draco' were very effective detoxicants. Made by Hu Qingniu himself from a variety of medicinal fauna and flora, a single pill was sufficient to counter some of the deadliest poisons known to man. Therefore, the woman had probably ingested an unimaginably strong dose of poison to necessitate the use of three such pills.

Yet, he did not dare to dwell further on the issue, for Hu Qingniu was already beside himself with anxiety. Grabbing the Pills of Bezoar and Daemonorops-draco, he ran to Ji Xiaofu's shed, turned to the woman whom they had captured and said, ”Swallow them quickly!”

”Get lost!” snapped the woman at once. ”Who needs sympathy from a little thief like you!” Apparently, she had identified the pills as detoxicants from their smell.

”Mr Hu wants you to take them!” said Zhang Wuji.