Mosquito Venom Eats to the Bone, a Modest Helping Hand

The crimson tide of fire crashed like raging waves against the shore. When it swept past, all that remained were charred poison mosquito carcasses littering the ground, a pungent burnt stench, deathly silence, and the complicated gazes of the Su Family members—mingling the relief of surviving a catastrophe with boundless worship.

Lin Chen stood with his hands behind his back, his expression indifferent, as though that earth-shattering strike had merely been a casual swat at a few annoying flies. His calm gaze swept across the guards still immersed in shock and gratitude before finally settling on the damaged carriage.

"Senior! Are... are you all right?" Su Lie was the first to recover. Suppressing the stormy waves in his heart, he hurried over to Lin Chen, his voice full of cautious concern. In his view, after unleashing such a heaven-shaking move, this senior must have suffered immense depletion as well.

Lin Chen merely gave him a bland glance without answering. Turning his gaze toward the carriage, he said in an unreadable voice, "Take care of your own people first."

Following Lin Chen's gaze, Su Lie's heart suddenly clenched!

The young miss!

Only then did he remember that, amid the chaos just now, poison mosquitoes seemed to have broken through the carriage wall!

"Young Miss!" Su Lie's expression changed drastically. Ignoring the several wounds on his own body, he rushed to the carriage in a single stride and anxiously threw aside the tattered curtain.

In the dim light, Su Ling'er was curled up in a corner of the carriage. The thin blanket covering her had slipped halfway off, revealing a face so pale it held not a trace of blood. Her eyes were tightly shut, her long lashes trembling uneasily. Fine beads of cold sweat covered her forehead, while her lips had turned an unnatural bluish-black.

On her slender exposed wrists and ankles were seven or eight clearly visible swollen red spots. They were rapidly spreading and darkening at a rate visible to the naked eye. The skin around them had even begun to rot slightly, giving off a faint fishy stench!

The Blood-Sucking Poison Mosquito's venom had already begun spreading through her body!

"Young Miss! Wake up! Please, wake up!" Su Lie was horrified. He gently shook Su Ling'er by the shoulders, his voice cracking with fear.

Seemingly stirred by his calls, Su Ling'er laboriously opened her eyes. Her gaze was unfocused, stripped of its usual liveliness, leaving behind only deep pain and weakness. Seeing Su Lie's anxious face, she seemed to want to force out a reassuring smile, but the instant her lips moved, violent coughing seized her. With each cough, a trace of dark-red blood seeped from the corner of her mouth!

"Pff... cough, cough... Uncle... Uncle Su..." she spoke in fragments, her voice as weak as a mosquito's buzz. "I... I seem to be... a little cold..."

"This is bad! The mosquito venom has begun invading her heart meridians!" Su Lie's pupils contracted sharply. He knew all too well how terrifying the Blood-Sucking Poison Mosquito's venom was. Once it attacked the heart, even if a Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal descended to earth, there would be no saving her!

He dared not delay in the slightest. He immediately pulled a more exquisite little white jade bottle from his robes and said urgently, "Young Miss, bear with it! This is the family's specially made Jade Blood Clear Dew Pill, specifically for countering mosquito venom and miasma poison! Take it quickly!"

As he spoke, he carefully poured out an emerald-green pill emanating a rich medicinal fragrance, intending to feed it to Su Ling'er.

However, Su Ling'er was in terrible condition. Even swallowing had become extraordinarily difficult. When the pill reached her lips, she instinctively resisted it. Unconscious whimpers came from her throat, while her body trembled continuously under the venom's erosion and the cold.

"Young Miss! Open your mouth! Hurry and take the medicine!" Su Lie sweated profusely with anxiety. He tried several times, yet could not feed her the pill. Seeing the bluish-black hue on Su Ling'er's face deepen and her Aura grow weaker and weaker, he was burning with worry but utterly helpless.

The few surviving guards nearby gathered around as well. Seeing their young miss in such critical condition, every one of them turned pale and stood at a loss. They had also been poisoned by the mosquitoes, but their cultivation was far greater than Su Ling'er's, and their constitutions were stronger. They could still barely suppress the venom, but their young miss...

At that critical moment, Lin Chen, who had been standing some distance away, slowly walked over.

His footsteps were light, making almost no sound as they landed upon the rotten branches and leaves.

Su Lie and the others instinctively looked up at him, their eyes filled with their last hope.

"S-Senior! Please, save my young miss!" With a thud, Su Lie dropped to his knees before Lin Chen. His voice carried a sob as he bowed heavily. "So long as you save the young miss's life, this life of mine, Su Lie's, will be yours! The entire Su Family will regard you as our most honored guest and exhaust everything we have to repay your great kindness!"

The other guards knelt as well, pleading in unison, "We beg Senior to save the young miss!"

They had already realized that the antidote pills prepared by the Su Family seemed to have little effect on their young miss—or rather, she was currently unable to take medicine at all! Their sole hope rested upon this unfathomably powerful senior before them!

Lin Chen's gaze fell upon the Jade Blood Clear Dew Pill in Su Lie's hand.

With the perception that had become extraordinarily acute thanks to the Myriad Dao Furnace, he could clearly distinguish the various components of Medicinal Power contained within the pill. It was indeed a fine antidote, and its ingredients had been selected with considerable care. Against ordinary mosquito venom and miasma poison, it should have produced a decent effect.

But...

The Blood-Sucking Poison Mosquito was no ordinary venomous insect. Its venom contained not only elements that numbed the nerves and corroded flesh and blood, but also a frigid force capable of directly eroding a martial artist's blood and qi and defiling their true qi. Though the Jade Blood Clear Dew Pill could neutralize the surface poison, it would be difficult for it to eradicate the frigid toxic force that had invaded the blood and qi.

Moreover, Su Ling'er's body had already been extremely weak, and she likely suffered from some unknown "strange illness." With so many factors compounded, the pill's effects would be greatly diminished. Even if it could be forcibly fed to her, it would likely be but a cup of water against a cartload of firewood, merely delaying the inevitable for a while.

Lin Chen's gaze turned once more toward Su Ling'er, curled up in the carriage with her Aura hanging by a thread, as though she might vanish like a fallen flower at any moment.

That pale little face, those pained and helpless eyes, and that breath so faint it was nearly imperceptible...

For some reason, his heart—long tempered until it was hard as iron—was lightly stirred once more.

It was not pity, nor was it some desire to play the hero and save a beauty.

It was simply... a very strange feeling.

As though he had seen his former self, fallen into an abyss and struggling amid despair.

Or perhaps he simply felt that such a life, once so vibrant, should not wither away silently in this dark, filthy swamp.

Silence.

Deathly silence.

Su Lie and the others knelt on the ground, scarcely daring to breathe. They could only look at Lin Chen with eyes full of hope and pleading, awaiting his "judgment."

Time seemed to freeze at that moment.

Just as Su Lie's heart gradually sank to the bottom, and he believed this senior would ultimately stand by with folded arms—

Lin Chen finally moved.

He did not help Su Lie to his feet, nor did he utter any grand, heroic words.

He merely extended one finger.

A fair, slender finger with clearly defined knuckles.

At its fingertip, a thread of crimson airflow, finer than a strand of hair and nearly impossible to detect, quietly gathered.

That crimson airflow was completely unlike the violent flames that had incinerated the mosquito swarm earlier. It was exceedingly faint and exceedingly restrained, without the slightest trace of scorching heat. Instead, it carried a pure, warm, peculiar charm, as though it could cleanse all filth.

This was a thread of primordial life force condensed by Lin Chen through the Myriad Dao Furnace, combining the pure power of his own blood and qi with the "purification" property of Furnace True Fire.

This power was exceedingly precious; condensing even a single thread of it consumed no small amount of his vital energy. Yet when it came to expelling foreign energies, purifying filth, and stimulating the body's vitality, it possessed unimaginably miraculous effects.

"Open your mouth." Lin Chen's voice remained even, without a trace of emotion.

Yet this time, his words seemed to carry some strange magic.

Su Ling'er, whose mouth had been tightly shut in unconscious resistance, seemed to pause in her trembling the instant she heard his voice. Then, her bluish-purple lips actually parted ever so slightly.

Su Lie was both shocked and overjoyed at the sight, but he did not dare ask questions. He hurriedly and carefully placed the Jade Blood Clear Dew Pill into Su Ling'er's mouth.

The instant the pill entered her mouth!

The slender thread of crimson airflow at Lin Chen's fingertip moved as though alive, silently and with incomparable precision touching Su Ling'er's Ancestral Aperture between her brows!

Buzz!

An indescribably warm and pure energy instantly passed through her brow and flowed into Su Ling'er's body like a gentle stream!

The moment this energy entered her body, it became like a tiny sun, beginning to dispel the chilling cold and numbness that the mosquito venom had spread throughout her! The cold poison that was madly eroding her vital energy and fouling her Meridians melted, collapsed, and was purified the instant it came into contact with that crimson energy, like ice and snow beneath a blazing sun!

At the same time, this energy gently stimulated her nearly exhausted vitality, guiding the Medicinal Power of the Jade Blood Clear Dew Pill that had just entered her mouth to swiftly dissolve and flow through her limbs and bones, repairing the tissues damaged by the poison.

The entire process was soundless and incredibly swift!

To outsiders, Lin Chen had merely extended a finger and lightly tapped Su Ling'er between the brows.

Even Su Lie only sensed an exceedingly faint warm current entering the young lady's body from the senior's fingertip, unaware of the deeper changes taking place.

But in the next moment, a miracle occurred!

Su Ling'er's tightly furrowed brows, once twisted in agony, gradually relaxed. The bluish-black hue on her face visibly began to fade, replaced by a sickly flush. Her rapid, feeble breathing also became far steadier and deeper. The blackened, festering wounds on her wrists and ankles did not immediately heal, but their worsening had been completely halted!

"Cough..." Su Ling'er coughed softly again, but this time it was no longer the heart-rending agony from before. Instead, it was like expelling the foul air from her lungs, carrying a sense of release.

She slowly opened her eyes.

Though her gaze was still filled with exhaustion and weakness, some clarity had returned to it.

Her eyes instinctively fell upon the stern face so close before her.

Their gazes met.

Lin Chen's eyes remained indifferent, deep as an ancient well, without the slightest ripple.

But Su Ling'er's gaze was complex beyond measure. There was lingering terror, confusion, gratitude, and a faint, indescribable sense of familiarity and fluttering emotion?

She opened her mouth as if wanting to say something, but in the end, it became only a barely audible, "Th... thank you... Senior..."

Lin Chen withdrew his finger as if nothing had happened. He neither responded to Su Ling'er's thanks nor paid any heed to Su Lie and the others still kneeling on the ground. He simply turned and looked toward the darkness ahead, still shrouded in miasma, then said calmly:

"The poison has been temporarily suppressed, but not eradicated. The miasma here is still dense. Leave as soon as possible and find a clean place for her to recuperate properly. Otherwise, if the residual poison flares up again, her life will still be in danger."

Having said that, he did not linger. He stepped forward and continued onward, his figure quickly merging once more into the darkness and miasma ahead, leaving behind only a solitary, lofty, and mysterious back.

"Senior..." Su Lie watched Lin Chen's departing back, opened his mouth, then ultimately swallowed the words he had yet to say. He merely bowed heavily in that direction three more times!

He knew this senior did not want them to cling to him too much.

But the gratitude in his heart was already beyond words!

Not only had this senior saved the young lady's life once again, but he also seemed to have seen through the root of her physical condition? (The words, "if the residual poison flares up again, her life will still be in danger," made Su Lie's heart shudder, reminding him of the young lady's "strange illness.")

"Quick! Get up! Take care of the young lady!" Su Lie hurriedly rose and called to the other guards.

Several guards quickly scrambled to their feet as well. They carefully supported Su Ling'er, wiped away her cold sweat with clean cloth, and tucked the blanket around her. Seeing that the young lady's complexion had visibly improved, the weight in their hearts finally lifted. The way they looked toward the figure ahead was filled with boundless reverence.

"Uncle Su... I... I feel much better..." Su Ling'er leaned against the cushion. Her voice remained weak, but it was much clearer now. Looking at Su Lie, she asked softly, "Just... just now... it was that senior..."

"Yes! It was that senior who saved you!" Su Lie nodded hurriedly, his face full of excitement. "Senior, he... he is truly a divine man! Not only is his strength heaven-reaching, but his medical skill is so extraordinary as well! With one light touch, he suppressed the mosquito venom inside you!"

Su Ling'er fell silent at his words. She raised a pale hand and gently touched her brow, where a strange, warm sensation seemed to still linger.

Her gaze once again turned beyond the carriage curtain, toward that familiar back, appearing and disappearing amid the miasma.

Was it really him?

Could that cold, powerful senior, mysterious as a riddle... truly be Brother Lin Chen, who had once been high-spirited three years ago and would occasionally show her a gentle smile?

If it was him, why would he refuse to acknowledge her?

If it was not, then how could she explain that familiar yet warm power at her brow just now?

Her heart was filled with doubt and an indescribable tenderness.

"Young lady, don't think too much for now. Rest well." Seeing her distracted state, Su Lie gently advised, "We need to leave this cursed place as quickly as possible and, as the senior instructed, find somewhere clean for you to recuperate."

"Mhm..." Su Ling'er responded softly and closed her eyes, but the turmoil in her heart lingered for a long time, like the miasma outside the window, refusing to disperse.

The group set out once more.

After Lin Chen's thunderous display of might, it seemed that even the other poisonous insects and savage beasts within Black Marsh Forest had felt fear. The rest of their journey was unexpectedly peaceful, without encountering another attack worth mentioning.

Lin Chen still walked at the very front, silent and wordless, like a mute guide.

Taking advantage of this relatively safe opportunity, Su Lie once again cautiously approached Lin Chen.

"Senior..." Su Lie rubbed his hands together, wearing a flattering smile while maintaining an incomparably respectful tone. "This junior... this junior would like to ask you about... Luofeng Gorge..."

He did not dare ask directly about the map. That would have been far too abrupt and made his intentions seem too obvious.

Lin Chen did not stop walking. He merely gave a faint grunt, signaling for him to continue.

Su Lie was overjoyed and hurriedly said, "Senior, you may not know this, but although Luofeng Gorge is treacherous terrain, easy to defend and hard to attack, the terrain within the gorge is complex, with countless forks in the road. Moreover, a strange wind blows there year-round. Without someone familiar with the paths to lead the way, it is easy to lose one's bearings, or even be swept by that strange wind into a deadland... This junior happens to have a rough map of the outer regions of Luofeng Gorge, drawn by an elder of my family. Though it is not very detailed, it marks several relatively safe places to shelter from the wind and sources of water... If Senior does not find it beneath your notice..."

As he spoke, he carefully took from his robes a slightly worn map tanned from beast hide. Holding it in both hands, he respectfully presented it to Lin Chen.

This was clearly the most sincere thing he could offer. It expressed his gratitude, provided information Lin Chen might need, and yet would not reveal the Su Family's deepest secrets—such as the precise route of that hidden trade road.

Lin Chen's footsteps finally paused.

His gaze fell upon the Beast Hide Map.