Lucci's group and Dahill's group refused to give an inch, and a fierce clash broke out.
Ye Chen heard every sound outside from where he lay in the cabin, but he could do nothing to help. It felt as if every bone in his body had vanished. He couldn't stand; even stretching out a hand was all but impossible.
Psyche stayed beside him, at a loss for what to do. She could only cry.
Nami snorted. "Hey, what are you crying for? Will crying solve anything? You'd be better off finding a way to get the antidote from your grandfather."
That brought Psyche to her senses. She nodded hard. "Don't worry. I'll find a way to get it."
Psyche gave Ye Chen one reluctant look, then turned and went ashore. None of Dahill's men dared stop her. She ran crying to Luo Lin's palace, where her grandfather, the Medicine King, had been staying. Luo Lin and the Medicine King were on good terms, and Pleasure Valley often bought medicine from him, so he had been housed in the palace since his arrival.
Pleasure Valley needed large quantities of all kinds of drugs: sedatives, medicines to induce abortions, treatments for syphilis and other venereal diseases, and all manner of poisons.
So even though Luo Lin knew Psyche wanted to help Ye Chen, she could not afford to fall out with the Medicine King.
As soon as Psyche entered the palace hall, she saw Smoker tied to a pillar. Several men were taking turns whipping him.
The lashes cracked against Smoker again and again. He was drenched in blood, his flesh torn open, yet he did not so much as furrow his brow. He stayed still, glaring coldly at the men beating him.
Nearby, someone lay on the floor, barely alive. His