Chapter 754: I’m leaving, you don’t need to send me off (1/2)

An extremely urgent missive from nine days ago? Long Feiye and Han Yunxi exchanged uneasy glances. There had been nothing but urgent messages from the commander-in-chief’s estate at South Ning since they came to Celestial Mountain. But this was the first time it was “extremely urgent.”

Just what happened?

Under these circumstances, even the most pressing news became less important. It was hard to imagine the situation now after nine whole days! Xu Donglin’s expression was ghastly. He had all but forgotten about the letter. If not for another urgent missive today, he never would have remembered the first.

When Long Feiye read the contents of the message, his face paled even further. He looked at Han Yunxi and muttered, “Gu Beiyue…”

Han Yunxi instantly grew alarmed. “What is it?”

“He’s been poisoned. Even now, he can’t stand,” Long Feiye said.

“What?!” Han Yunxi couldn’t believe her ears. She quickly took the letter from Long Feiye’s hands to read it herself.

Long Feiye wasn’t lying. The letter was all about Gu Beiyue’s poisoning and its symptoms. Mu Linger was writing to ask for an antidote even as she consulted other poison doctors for treatment options. Han Yunxi studied the contents word for words before her fingers grew weak, allowing the paper to flutter to the ground.

“Corpse Cripple?” Long Feiye asked urgently. That was the name of the poison mentioned in the message. Han Yunxi stared at him without a word. Cold sweat had long broken out on her back.

Neither Long Feiye nor Xu Donglin knew what Corpse Cripple was, but the sword sect master did. He was stunned. “Is it really Corpse Cripple? That really exists?”

“People from Pill Fiend Valley diagnosed them. It shouldn’t be wrong,” Han Yunxi murmured.

The details of the letter were very exact. Gu Beiyue’s legs had originally recovered enough to let him walk, but thanks to the poison, they had lost all feeling again. Mu Linger wanted to find Gu Qishao first, but failed. Without a choice, she invited the old steward of Pill Fiend Valley to help her out. He determined that Gu Beiyue had been poisoned with the exceptionally rare Corpse Cripple toxin. The so-called Corpse Cripple was actually a poisonous plant that only grew at gravesites. It was shaped like a ginseng, except much bigger. It thrived in cold, wet, stinking soil, so graves and their absorbed moisture was its perfect resting spot.

It was classified as both medicine and poison, because it had numbing properties. Han Yunxi had remembered reading about it in ancient texts. The miracle doctor Hua Tuo had used it as a anesthetic. What made it poisonous was that set quantities dissolved in drinks would paralyze the entire body and cause the limbs to lose all feeling. One would be reduced to a human vegetable and then die.

Han Yunxi’s heart was wavering. She couldn’t even began to wonder why only Gu Beiyue’s legs were affected, only that the symptoms were typical of partial poisoning. As time went on, the poison would spread to the rest of the body.

“This is already a hypertoxic poison, but it’s been eight to nine days. I’m afraid...the prospects look grim,” the sword sect master intoned.

Han Yunxi glanced at Long Feiye, who was looking towards her. Both of them stiffened as their eyes exchanged fearful, uneasy glances. Although she didn’t want to accept the sword sect master’s words, Han Yunxi had to admit that he was right. Corpse Cripple was a lethal poison. Even partially poisoned victims would only take a day to succumb to its effects. With nine days already past, Gu Beiyue was simply bound for death!

The sword sect master stopped speaking as a complicated look flickered past his eyes. The room suddenly fell silent as the very air stilled. Long Feiye’s complexion looked terrible, while Han Yunxi looked down at the letter on the floor, suddenly deathly quiet. Xu Donglin was so afraid that his body started trembling on its own. Finally, he found the strength to move and hand over the second message with a stammer. “Master, th...this was j-just d-delivered!”

Everyone spun to look at him as Long Feiye said coldly, “Why didn’t you bring it out earlier?!”

Too afraid to answer, Xu Donglin worked himself to Long Feiye’s side. His master was still calm enough to question him as he undid the seal. “Are there any more?”

“N-none, j-just these t-two,” Xu Donglin’s teeth couldn’t stop chattering.

The letter that was asking for help had come nine days again. But why weren’t there any messages in between? Perhaps Gu Beiyue was already long past help, and so they didn’t send any letters until today to speak of...Han Yunxi didn’t dare finish the thought. She stared at the paper in Long Feiye’s hands as she silently prayed that it wasn’t bad news. This was her first time realizing that she didn’t take scares well. Long Feiye had already given her a fright over the past few days, so she couldn’t take much more shock.

Despite praying for the best, she couldn’t make herself wait any longer. As soon as Long Feiye opened the missive, she asked, “What does it say? Is Gu Beiyue…”

Long Feiye looked at her and exhaled.

“He can still be saved, right?! He’s still alive, right?” Han Yunxi asked desperately.

“Still alive. The poison only started spreading last night,” Long Feiye had exhaled in relief. Although he didn’t understand it, even he was uneasy at the thought of losing Gu Beiyue, the Shadow Clan’s only heir.

Han Yunxi’s heart finally settled back in her chest. She was so moved, she could cry! Of course, there was no time for tears now, much less to celebrate. She immediately took the letter from Long Feiye’s hands and discovered that it was written this morning. It described Gu Beiyue’s current condition in detail. Since they’d never written back, Mu Linger had gone to find Baili Yuanlong for help. Considering the fact that they had no idea what was going on in Celestial Mountain, they didn’t dare risk sending more letters. Gu Beiyue had used his acupuncture skills to keep the poison contained to his legs. With supplies from Pill Fiend Valley, he could delay the onset of poison and hold out for this long. But starting from last night, the poison resisted his efforts and started spreading upwards. Gu Beiyue was worried that trouble had broken out on Celestial Mountain and didn’t let Mu Linger write them any letters, but she’d sent this one out in secret.

“Idiot!” Han Yunxi was both worried and infuriated. “It’s lucky he’s a doctor, this is simply seeking death!”