In the old woman's memories, Qu Zan saw where Shi Long and the others were being held.
Following the location in her memories, he found a cave not far away.
Sure enough, he found Shi Long and the others.
Their entire party had been tied to trees.
One unlucky man had been disemboweled and had his intestines taken. Another had been burned to ashes.
The rest were bound here. Had Qu Zan not arrived in time, they too would have become the old woman's offerings.
Shi Long had gone days without food or water. His lips were parched, and hunger had left him somewhat dazed.
When he saw Qu Zan appear, he thought he was hallucinating.
Once he was completely certain, Shi Long exclaimed excitedly, "My lord Lama, my lord Lama! Save us! That old witch attacked us and seized all our potions and brought them here."
He pointed toward the distant forest. Sure enough, there were wagons there.
"Yes, it's all right now. That old woman is dead," Qu Zan said calmly.
Qu Zan cut the ropes binding Shi Long and told him to free the others. He himself went into the cave and took out a sheepskin bundle.
The sheepskin bundle contained twenty taels of gold, some jewels, and a golden box.
Opening the box, he saw that what lay inside was the secret manual recording Ghost Medicine that the old woman had treasured.
He opened the wrapping and saw the thick secret manual.
The manual's cover was a tanned, pale yellowish brown. Up close, faint patterns of pores were visible. Human bones were also inlaid into the front and back covers to form incantations.
The writing on it was mottled, some strokes dark and others faint. In many places, the blood ink had seeped into the skin