Heaven Has Treated Me and Emei Well!

A moment later, Gu Shao'an set down the teacup in his hand, refilled two cups of tea, and handed them to Miejue and Zhou Zhiruo in turn.

Holding her teacup, Zhou Zhiruo could not help asking, "Junior Brother, what were you doing just now?"

Gu Shao'an replied, "Checking whether there was anything wrong with the tea."

Zhou Zhiruo seemed to understand. "Junior Brother, were you checking whether someone had poisoned the tea? Shijie said that silver needles were best for testing poison. Why did you use those powders instead?"

Gu Shao'an shook his head. "Silver needles can only detect certain common drugs. There are countless substances in this world, and not all of them can be detected with a silver needle. I formulated these powders myself. Aside from a few unusual poisons, they can identify most others."

Miejue asked, "Where did you get these powders, Shao'an?"

Gu Shao'an answered honestly, "This disciple made them from medicinal herbs found in the mountain pharmacy yesterday."

After reaching the advanced level in the physician side profession, Gu Shao'an had not only improved greatly in medical skills, but several prescriptions had also appeared in his mind.

The medicinal powders he was using now had been formulated according to those prescriptions.

"You made them yourself? Shao'an, had you studied medicine before?"

Gu Shao'an nodded. "An elder in my family was skilled in medical skills. I studied under them for two years when I was younger, so I understand a little about the use of medicine and medical principles."

Miejue nodded. "No wonder you knew the human meridians at such a young age. So you had studied medical skills before."

Then Miejue looked at Zhou Zhiruo.

"Zhiruo, your thoughts are simple, and this is your first time traveling outside. You do not know how dangerous the martial world can be. You must know that among the jianghu, one of the most common ways those cunning people harm others is through poison."

"Moreover, methods of poisoning are impossible to guard against completely. As a woman, you must be even more careful."

"If you are careless and fall victim to it, what awaits you may be torment worse than death."

Although Zhou Zhiruo had already joined Emei, she had previously been nothing more than a child from an ordinary family.

How could she have known the evil in people's hearts?

But Zhou Zhiruo's strength lay in her innocence and obedience. Though she did not yet understand Miejue's words, she still remembered them.

Miejue then looked at Gu Shao'an. "This Cloud Arrive Inn is an Emei property, and its manager is also from Emei. Do you still think the tea might be poisoned?"

Gu Shao'an pondered briefly before answering seriously, "There is no harm in being more cautious."

"Well said!"

A satisfied smile appeared on Miejue's face.

"Villains are vicious and will stop at nothing. Though this inn is managed by our Emei people, you can never truly know another person's heart. After spending so long outside, they may very well have been bought off."

"We righteous and orthodox sects must not commit evil, but neither can we abandon vigilance, lest we fall prey to petty people's schemes."

As she spoke, Miejue's gaze toward Gu Shao'an was filled with approval and gratification.

The longer she spent with Gu Shao'an, the more she sensed how outstanding this disciple of hers was.

He possessed exceptional talent, yet remained diligent.

He had a righteous heart, yet knew to guard against the malice of others.

At this point, Gu Shao'an put away the packet of medicine he had taken out earlier, then pulled a folded sheet of paper from his robe and handed it to Miejue.

Miejue took it and unfolded it, only to find a prescription written on it.

"Master, Shijies, and Martial Aunts often need to travel outside. With this medicinal powder, it can also reduce the chances of being secretly poisoned and harmed by petty villains."

As a master, Miejue was not the sort to covet her disciple's possessions.

But as Gu Shao'an had said, this prescription could greatly reduce the chance of Emei disciples being poisoned, making it immensely useful.

After hesitating for a moment, Miejue accepted the prescription.

Such medicinal powder, capable of detecting whether poison had been added, was quite valuable. Yet Gu Shao'an did not hesitate to hand over the method of preparing it.

Miejue had never imagined that she would receive such an excellent disciple in her lifetime.

"Heaven has treated me and Emei well!"

Immediately afterward, Miejue explained to Gu Shao'an and Zhou Zhiruo the various things they needed to avoid and guard against while traveling.

She spoke in great detail, often recounting incidents from her own experience.

There were no shortage of perilous situations among them, and Zhou Zhiruo's little face turned pale as she listened.

During this, Miejue occasionally posed questions to observe Gu Shao'an and Zhou Zhiruo's reactions.

If they answered correctly, she praised them generously.

If they answered incorrectly, she explained the reasons.

This allowed the two of them to understand what was evil and what was good in the jianghu.

A master was both teacher and parent.

As an example to her disciples, what she had to impart was not merely the path of martial arts.

There was also the way of dealing with the world, the way of conducting oneself, and the way of securing one's place in life.

By turning her lifetime of experience and knowledge into instruction, she taught her disciples while also giving them the ability to survive and establish themselves.

For Gu Shao'an and Zhou Zhiruo at present, Miejue before them could truly be called a fine teacher.

The next day.

Noon.

Inside the inn, Gu Shao'an, Zhou Zhiruo, and Ding Minjun each sat on a stool with their eyes closed, cultivating.

Miejue was likewise seated cross-legged on the bed. Her aura seemed faint, but in truth, she had already cultivated her internal energy to a considerable level.

Knock, knock, knock.

Just then, three long knocks and one short knock suddenly sounded from outside the door.

"Come in. The door is unlocked."

Miejue spoke lightly.

The moment her voice sounded, the door was pushed open.

Abbot Juechen strode quickly into the room. After sweeping her gaze around, she hurried to Miejue's side.

"Sect Leader, everything has been investigated. The Mountain Bandits outside Jade Mountain City are all located on Blackwood Mountain, twenty li from Jade Mountain City."

"This group of Mountain Bandits gathered half a year ago. In just six months, they have specialized in robbing and killing travelers and merchant caravans around Jade Mountain City."

"Last night, several elders and I infiltrated the area to investigate. There are two hundred and twenty-one people in the bandit stronghold, along with several dozen women."

"Those women were all abducted by the Mountain Bandits and imprisoned on the mountain for their amusement."

Though Abbot Juechen phrased it tactfully, how could Miejue not understand what this "amusement" meant?

Upon learning that these Mountain Bandits had kept the abducted women on the mountain to torment them in such a manner, Miejue's face immediately turned as cold as frost.

"A pack of beasts. They deserve to die."

A similarly chilling light flashed in Juechen's eyes. Clearly, she too had developed the intent to kill.

"This is a map of the bandit stronghold."

As she spoke, Abbot Juechen took a roll of leather from her robes. A map had been drawn across it in charcoal, with several buildings marked to show how many people were inside.

Though it was not as detailed as military maps, it was straightforward enough to understand at a glance.

After carefully memorizing the contents of the map and setting it aside, Juechen asked, "When does Sect Leader intend to act?"

Miejue said coolly, "How can we allow these people to live long after committing evil deeds within Emei's territory? Send word out. At the Hour of the Dog, the disciples will make their move."

"I will notify them at once."

With that, Juechen swiftly turned and left, without the slightest hesitation.