Apricot Forest

The four around Bao Butong immediately gathered over and helped Feng Bo'e up.

"Fourth Brother, how are you, Fourth Brother?"

"Brother Feng..."

They anxiously asked after Feng Bo'e, whose face muscles were stiff as he forced a strained smile and said, "It's nothing..."

Bao Butong was alarmed and quickly tapped six acupoints on his wrist, elbow, and shoulder joints to stop the poison from spreading upward.

But the venom of this scorpion was fierce; Feng Bo'e opened his mouth to speak but only let out a few harsh, grating sounds.

Seeing how potent the poison was, Bao Butong feared it might already be incurable. Overcome with grief and fury, he let out a roar and lunged at the Long-Armed Elder, only to be held back by the others.

"Hmph, trying to wear us down in turns? Let me test the mettle of Gusu's heroes!" Another elder wielding a steel staff bellowed and joined the fray.

Qiao Feng ordered Elder Chen to antidote Feng Bo'e. Elder Chen was reluctant but, bound by the chief's command, had to hand the antidote over to the Three Women.

He warned them that a woman couldn't suck out the poison, or it would worsen the injury.

Meanwhile, Bao Butong was locked in a fierce, inextricable fight with the other two elders.

Seeing this, Qiao Feng said, "Let me do it." He walked over to Feng Bo'e.

Duan Yu noticed Wang Yuyan's face full of worry and had long wanted to help, but he was hindered by his recent sworn brotherhood with Qiao Feng—aiding his enemy would be unjust.

Now that Qiao Feng was about to suck the poison himself, Duan Yu quickly called out, "Big Brother, let me do it."

Zhu Danchen, who had spent years with Duan Yu, knew his character inside out—as romantic and carefree as his own prince.

Earlier at Wuliang Mountain, Duan Yu had secretly pledged himself to Mu Wanqing, only to discover she was his sister.

Now here, Duan Yu's gaze never left one of the three women across from him—clearly smitten.

When the woman said she couldn't antidote the poison, Zhu Danchen sensed trouble. Sure enough, Duan Yu volunteered to suck it out.

The scorpion's venom was so fierce that even a skilled martial artist like Feng Bo'e couldn't withstand it. His young master, who knew no martial arts, would be in grave danger if anything went wrong.

Thinking this, Zhu Danchen reached out to grab Duan Yu and stop him, but before his hand could move, Duan Yu stepped forward, darted over to Feng Bo'e in a few flashes, grabbed his hand, and began sucking at the wound.

After a few sucks, Feng Bo'e stirred and said, "Thank you."

A Bi quickly applied the antidote. In an instant, Feng Bo'e's swollen arm subsided, and he could speak and move as if nothing had happened.

The onlookers were stunned, especially Elder Chen, who knew how potent his scorpion venom was. Even with someone sucking the poison and applying the antidote, recovery shouldn't have been this fast.

Chen Feng, however, knew that Duan Yu had consumed the King of Poisons, the Blazing Vermilion Toad, which was the bane of all toxins. The scorpion's venom was far inferior and simply flowed out under its influence.

What followed matched the plot: Qiao Feng used his martial arts to subdue Bao Butong and Feng Bo'e, then let them go.

He then subdued Quan Guanqing and introduced Duan Yu to the other elders, naturally including Chen Feng and his group.

Only then did everyone learn that Duan Yu was the Prince of Zhennan, and the old man with the chessboard was Chess Demon Fan Bailing.

Many in the Beggar Clan had been treated by Divine Doctor Xue and knew the Hangu Eight Friends were as close as siblings, so they all bowed to Fan Bailing.

Quan Guanqing, still bound by acupoints, wore a dark expression, but recalling his trump card, his confidence surged.

As Qiao Feng underwent punishment for the four elders, the key players of the Apricot Forest drama appeared one by one: Elder Xu, Tan Gong and Tan Po, Zhao Qiansun, Iron-Face Judge Dan Zheng, Mount Tai Wuxiong, Ma Dayuan's widow Kang Min, and Master Zhiguang from Tiantai Mountain—the curtain was about to rise.

Chen Feng carefully prepared his moment to intervene. He had come to Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils primarily for the Xiaoyao Sect's martial arts; completing the mission didn't matter much to him, as he had kept three thousand Reincarnation Points, enough to cover any penalty for failure.

But after the Butcher Knife's village massacre, Chen Feng decided to win this mission—to teach those who wielded power without reverence for life a lesson. The Apricot Forest was his first step to fame.

As long as his reputation didn't exceed the highest level, he wouldn't get an SSS-Class evaluation, so Chen Feng wasn't worried about drawing attention and prepared to go all out.

He had also secretly begged Elder Fan to help Qiao Feng, asking him to ensure his survival.

Though meddling in another sect's affairs was a major taboo in the martial world, Fan Bailing deeply admired Qiao Feng's actions. Plus, Chen Feng might be their only hope to return to their sect, so Fan Bailing nodded in agreement.

As Master Zhiguang recounted the bloody battle at Yanmen Pass thirty years ago, events spiraled out of control. Piece after piece of damning evidence pointed to Qiao Feng not being Han Chinese but a Khitan.

Yet most of the Beggar Clan remained skeptical, especially the four elders whom Qiao Feng had taken punishment for—they admired him all the more and questioned his Khitan identity.

"I can prove Qiao Feng is Khitan!" Quan Guanqing, seeing the clan's wavering stance, prepared to play his trump card.

I've been waiting for you to say that. Chen Feng had been biding his time to insert himself into this affair. The moment Quan Guanqing's words fell, he cut in: "The Wolf Head Tattoo, right?"

"And who might you be? Meddling in the Beggar Clan's affairs?" Quan Guanqing, startled by the interruption, turned to Chen Feng and demanded harshly.

"Wrong, wrong. First, I'm interrupting you. Chief Qiao had already expelled you from the Beggar Clan before stepping down, so this isn't meddling in your clan's affairs." Chen Feng smiled, deliberately stressing the word "your."

"Second, you just said you'd rather Chief Qiao kill you than live to see the fine Beggar Clan fall into barbarian hands, and the Great Song's glorious rivers and mountains lost to the foreign tribes—did you not?"

"So what if I did?" Quan Guanqing asked.

"Then this concerns the Great Song's fate, not just the Beggar Clan's. As a Han Chinese, I have every right to weigh in."

"You're the Prince of Dali's Zhennan—how can you be Han!" Quan Guanqing roared. Qiao Feng had bound his acupoints earlier, so he only knew Qiao Feng had introduced Duan Yu to the crowd, not that Chen Feng was there.

Later, everyone was so absorbed in Master Zhiguang's story that they didn't notice two identical men.

"The Prince of Zhennan is over there. I'm Xiaoyao, a Han Chinese, just a wandering physician traveling with my father far and wide."

Chen Feng's words drew looks of disbelief from the crowd. You look exactly like the Prince of Zhennan—how can you claim no connection?

But everyone knew Duan Zhengchun of Dali had only one son, so no one dared offend the Dali royal family by pressing the matter.

Kang Min, hearing Chen Feng, glanced at Duan Yu and then at him, a flash of jealousy in her eyes before she lowered her head to hide it.