Following Liu Ruyan, Jiang Shuo wound through Dream Red Pavilion, taking one turn after another until they reached a courtyard wall in the back. The wall was grayish white, bare and utterly unadorned. Liu Ruyan raised her delicate hand and knocked three times. A half-zhang-wide section of wall turned, revealing a gap just wide enough for one person to pass through.
The two slipped inside one after the other, and the wall immediately returned to its original state. A whole new world opened up beyond it: a spacious courtyard. Their figures threaded between corridors and courtyard gates, and before long, they arrived at a room.
Liu Ruyan stopped. "Miss Yu is inside examining the bodies. You're fellow disciples reunited at last, so I won't disturb you." With that, she took her leave.
Her inscrutable attitude stirred a trace of doubt in Jiang Shuo, but he didn't waste time dwelling on it. He raised a hand and pushed open the door. The room had two sections, separated by a wooden screen. Bodies lay scattered across the outer room's floor. Some had their bellies cut open, intestines and organs hanging out; others had severed limbs, with stretches of ghastly white bone exposed. The stench of decay inside was choking and vile. Covering his mouth and nose, Jiang Shuo lowered his head and searched for a place to step as he made his way forward. His gaze swept across the horrifying scene, raising goosebumps all over him. Yu Yuhan really was just as she'd always been—her methods were terrifying.
He had taken only a couple of steps when he spotted a living person among the body parts—Sun Daoming.
Sun Daoming had always been fond of Yu Yuhan. Taking advantage of Jiang Shuo's injury, he had volunteered to help out at Dream Red Pavilion, mainly because he wanted more chances to spend time with Yu Yuhan. After all, the one nearest the water got to the moon first. But now he was barely breathing, his brow darkened—clear signs of poisoning. Yu Yuhan had probably found him underfoot and knocked him unconscious with poison. He looked haggard and had lost a whole lot of weight. Who knew how long he'd been out?
Stepping over him, Jiang Shuo faintly heard a small rustle from behind the screen. He tentatively called out, "Senior Si—Yu Yuhan?"
Worried that Yu Yuhan might be in the middle of something critical, Jiang Shuo didn't dare call too loudly. He called twice, but got no response. Thinking of how focused she became when working, he assumed she was too absorbed to hear him and simply walked around the screen. Behind it, two square tables had been pushed together to form a large worktable, on which lay a corpse. Its belly had been cut open, its organs removed and arranged to one side. A row of bottles, jars, plates, and bowls sat beside the table, filled with murky bodily fluids. Yu Yuhan was sprawled facedown on a bed against the wall, her hair scattered in a disheveled tangle. Her airway was being pressed shut, leaving her snoring softly as she slept soundly.
Usually so energetic and lively, she rarely looked this amusingly helpless. A smile tugged at Jiang Shuo's lips. Then he remembered how hard she'd been working for days, and couldn't help feeling a pang of concern. He walked over, pulled a thin quilt from the bed, and was about to cover her with it.
The moment the quilt touched Yu Yuhan, she jolted as if pricked by a needle and seized Jiang Shuo's hand. Her eyes weren't even fully open when she barked, "Who is it?"
"It's me, Jiang Shuo." Even in her sleep, she was this vigilant. Yu Yuhan really lived too exhausting a life.
"Hm?" Only then did Yu Yuhan's bleary eyes manage to pry open. She glanced at Jiang Shuo, surprise and delight flickering across her face before disappearing as she composed herself. She tossed the quilt aside, sat up while rubbing her temples, and asked, "Jiang Shuo, what brings you here?"
"My injury just healed. I heard another disciple was killed over at Dream Red Pavilion, so I came to take a look." Jiang Shuo glanced at the corpse on the table. "Yu Yuhan, have you found anything?"
At his question, Yu Yuhan's eyes suddenly lit up. She slapped her forehead and sprang off the bed. "Ah, right!"
She rushed out of the room, lifted a stone slab from the steps outside the door, and pulled out a sealed earthen jar from beneath it. Carrying it back inside with both hands, Yu Yuhan didn't even bother to wipe the dirt from its surface before opening it. She peered inside, and her eyebrows shot up in delight. "Just as I thought!"
"What is it?" Jiang Shuo was completely at a loss. The jar was full of green stuff, but he couldn't tell what it was.
"Wild Wood Thorn turns green and decomposes when it comes into contact with flower-spotted snake blood. This has to be it!" Yu Yuhan offered a quick explanation, then hurried over to the medicine chest on the other side of the room. As she rummaged around, she murmured, "There are about ten medicines made with Wild Wood Thorn as the main ingredient. I'll need to narrow them down further, but I'll have an answer soon."
Once Yu Yuhan got to work, she completely forgot about Jiang Shuo and left him standing off to the side.
Jiang Shuo knew a little about pharmacology, but not enough to understand what Yu Yuhan was talking about, and he didn't want to interfere.
Just then, Yu Yuhan pulled a few dried fruits of some unknown variety out of the medicine chest and tossed them over. "Grind these into powder."
Seeing how seriously Yu Yuhan was working, Jiang Shuo didn't say a word. He quickly found a mortar and pestle and got to work. From the corner of his eye, he spotted Sun Daoming, still unconscious nearby, and asked, "What should we do about him?"
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