A farce concerning life and death unfolded.
Nan Rui sent some men as watchmen, while in fact, they were to spy on them.
The surrounding disciples began to disperse. In the absence of Qian Yuming, Du Zhong’s body was left lying on the ground.
In fact, it had become an insignificant ornament.
It was as if the series of waves created as a result of his death had nothing to do with him.
Lin Mengya turned to steal a glance at the body, not so much because she had pity on him. She wondered if he knew that he was merely one of his master’s chess pieces, would he feel sorry for himself?
It certainly did not feel good being scrutinized. Fortunately, these men remained polite because of Long Tianyu’s presence.
They had wanted to follow them in. However, a look from Long Tianyu made them uneasy and they eventually stay by the entrance.
Yu An thought to make things difficult for them but was finally stopped by Lin Mengya.
“They are not worth your attention. After all, no one would dare intrude since Long Tianyu is here. They’re merely watchdogs. Why be upset over them?”
Lin Mengya was surely aware that Long Tianyu’s reputation of being a noxious person had spread all over the Pavilion of Herbs.
However, Yu An believed that it was his negligence at that moment in time that gave Du Zhong the opportunity to act and this made him feel bad.
Immediately, Lin Mengya and her companions became suspects once again and they were detained. For this reason, Yu An wished he could do something in compensation.
Seeing how dejected he looked, Lin Mengya whispered something into his ear.
“Yes, I will do that right away!”
Keeping her eyes on Yu An’s back as he left, the corner of Lin Mengya’s mouth curled up into a meaningful smile.
As expected, the voices of an argument between Yu An and the men outside sounded in the air not long after.
“Is Yu An alright? Would he be put in an unfavorable situation?”
A restless Zuo Qiuyu, who was sitting down in the conference room, commented.
Nevertheless, Lin Mengya shook her head. She knew Yu An was very intelligent. If he could not even handle such a situation, it only showed that all his years of serving Zuo Qiuchen by his side were in vain.
“It’s alright. I only sent him to fetch me something. Oh yes, are there other items in the box apart from the key?”
Although Lin Mengya had only taken a few quick glances at the box, she had spied little notes in the box, apart from a key.
Upon hearing her words, Zuo Qiuyu tapped his head and drew out a bundle of small paper notes.
Before the eyes of the two people, Zuo Qiuyu carefully unrolled the notes.
To their surprise, the note which appeared to be as big as a thumb when rolled up ended up being a piece of paper the size of two palms.
However, the paper was as thin as the wings of cicadas that eventually, Zuo Qiuyu had to smooth it out on the table before the three of them began going through the contents of the note with curiosity.
The inscriptions were made up of some simple strokes and lines, but they did not look like maps, neither were the characters of a language.
At that moment, their minds were filled with many question marks.
What on earth was this?
“Could this… be a map?” asked Zuo Qiuyu, puzzled.
However, apart from a few simple lines, there was nothing else on that piece of paper.
There was not even any glossary. It appeared to be someone’s candid scribbles made up of lines.
“What do you think, Long Tianyu?”
Among the three of them, Long Tianyu could be said to be the most well-versed with maps.
After all, he had the experience of leading soldiers in battles.
After Long Tianyu focused his attention and took a close look at it, he shook his head at Lin Mengya. If even he thought otherwise, it was definitely not a map.
To make sure nothing went wrong, however, Lin Mengya scanned the note and saved it in her Shen Nung system.
Anyway, there was no limit to its storage space. It would be an added safety measure, just in case, it became handy.
The three of them continued studying and scrutinized the note for a long while.
Unfortunately, they did not know what to make of it in the end.
Lin Mengya pondered over and over. Finally, she flipped the paper over.
At that moment, sunlight was shining through the windows into the room and fell on the piece of paper. It was then that Lin Mengya had an inspiration.
Gently, she lifted the paper against the light. To their surprise, a line of characters which was invisible earlier appeared on the paper!
“The box with an abstruse secret would be given to the Chief Elder of the Pavilion of Herbs, the future generations must remember never to go against the teachings of the ancestors! Rong Hua.”
Rong Hua? Lin Mengya thought the name sounded very familiar.
She tapped her head as she pondered. Was ‘Rong Hua’ not the name printed on the first page of the music score for the green stringed instrument?
When Lin Mengya turned around, wanting to inquire about the identity of Rong Hua, she saw the worked up expression on Zuo Qiuyu’s face.
“This, this was the name of the first generation Chief Elder of the Pavilion of Herbs! So he, he truly existed!”
The first Chief Elder? Instantly, a thought came to Lin Mengya. Could the music score for the green stringed instrument, a monumental work in history, be written by the first generation Chief Elder of the Pavilion of Herbs?
However, Lin Mengya still felt that it was not likely so.
Apart from Rong Hua, there were a number of other names mentioned in the book. Perhaps Chief Elder Rong Hua was the one who initiated the production of this work and the people who came after continued to finetune and perfect it. Finally, this monumental work was completed.
However, why was there no mention in the music score for the green stringed instrument that the person who found the box with an abstruse secret would be the successor of the Pavilion of Herbs?
“This is wonderful! With this, we won’t need to be afraid of the dirty tricks those people play!”
Zuo Qiuyu appeared so excited it looked as if he had found a treasure. He looked at the piece of paper in his hand as if it were more precious than an imperial edict.
“I’m afraid this may not be as simple as it seems.”
In contrast with Zuo Qiuyu’s excited reaction, Lin Mengya felt that even if this were truly something left behind by the first Chief Elder, those people might still not obey his words.
If one were to ponder over it, even if the Pavilion of Herbs was founded by Rong Hua, this was something that happened centuries ago.
If the people now did not even obey the commandments he set down, was it possible that they would allow Zuo Qiuyu to succeed his position just because Zuo Qiuyu was in possession of a note from him?
It would be wiser to just keep the note. Perhaps it would come in handy in the future in an unexpected way.
After feeling all worked up, Zuo Qiuyu could only force a smile and kept the note.
He was not stupid. Naturally, he knew that this note was merely a piece of paper for now.
“I think you’d better hide it properly for now, lest there be an accident.”
Lin Mengya held on to Long Tianyu and led him back to their room.
It would be safer for them if only Zuo Qiuyu alone knew about it.
Once they were back in the room, Lin Mengya quickly settled Long Tianyu on a chair and started feeling his pulse with her left hand.
She concentrated on listening quietly to his pulse. It was only after some time that she finally breathed a sigh of relief.
“Why did you act so foolishly? Did you know that by mobilizing the vital energy in you just now, you had risked spreading the poison in your body?”
She looked at Long Tianyu accusingly. Surely, Lin Mengya knew that it was all because Long Tianyu could not bear to see her suffer in any way.
In the Nation of Lintian, however, people should consider how much they weighed before thinking of laying a finger on her.
As long as Zuo Qiuchen was on the throne, she did not need to worry about her safety.
This fool was always acted on impulse.
“I’m alright, don’t you worry.”
A warm smile appeared on his cool face in that instant.
Before Lin Mengya could protest, Long Tianyu pulled Lin Mengya into his embrace. He bit his lips, feeling uneasy.
The effect of the Immortal Powder was indeed overpowering. Although he had taken the medicine prescribed by Lin Mengya and Zuo Qiuyu, the effects had been largely suppressed. However, he did not expect to experience such a strong urge once he mobilized the vital energy in his body.
Lin Mengya sighed, then she quickly fetched his medicine for him so he could take it immediately.
With strong willpower, Long Tianyu finally managed to suppress the urge.
By the time he calmed down, Long Tianyu’s face was covered by beads of perspiration.
All Lin Mengya could do was wipe away the perspiration with her handkerchief.
Long Tianyu smiled tenderly at the sight of Lin Mengya’s concerned face. He had made her worry yet again.
“This poison was even more difficult to shake off than I imagined.”
Long Tianyu had never experienced any fear of any kind since he was born.
However, Immortal Powder had almost completely destroyed his self-control.
He supposed no one in the world would be able to escape the effects of this drug once addicted.
Occasionally, Long Tianyu would wonder if he would remain under the control of the drug for the rest of his life.
“But you are doing much better than I expected. Although the drug is indeed dreadful, you are able to overcome it. You’re doing great. You’ve proven yourself to be my awesome husband.”
Smiling sweetly, Lin Mengya’s eyes were filled with admiration for him.
Long Tianyu could have burst out laughing because she sounded like she was trying to pacify a child. However, his heart swelled with pride.
Having been through so much agony, he still could not help curling up his lips into a joyful smile.
One statement from this woman was more effective than any miracle-working pills.
“Oh yes, you should go to the living room to look for Zuo Qiuyu first so that he can have a look at you again to make sure you are doing fine. I will go there to look for you in a while.”
Lin Mengya’s gentle coaxing left Long Tianyu with no other choice but to comply.
Lin Mengya watched as he headed to the living room, and the smile on her face faded.
She went back into the inner chamber of the room and quietly took out a bottle of medicine.
While staring at the little jade-green bottle, Lin Mengya instinctively licked her lips.
She made a wry smile. She understood that Long Tianyu did not wish that she suffered, so he had wanted to destroy this secretly.
However, Lin Mengya found out about his intention long ago and had hidden the bottle.
He could barely suppress the effects of the drug when he only used a little of his vital energy. It might seem that Long Tianyu was making progress day by day, but Lin Mengya could tell that this was only superficial.
Without any hesitation, Lin Mengya swallowed the pill, then with all her might, she hid the medicine bottle by her pillow once again.
In the next moment, the excruciating pain started to spread from her right arm.
With a “blaargh” Lin Mengya threw up a mouthful of blood, not knowing why.
She fell to the ground silently, her eyes closed as she lost consciousness.
