Push and Pull
The gates of the Nine-Foot Daoist Temple opened, and waves of rising black Qi immediately appeared before Zhang Xuezhou's eyes.
This was the Essential Instruction for Recuperation at work.
Zhang Xuezhou felt his ability with the Sequel to the Essential Instruction for Recuperation improving rapidly, though he had once thought he would need diligent practice to master it.
Before he knew it, he seemed to have met the standard required by Doctor Ren's treatment plan.
Zhang Xuezhou looked out and saw a young man standing outside the gates of the Nine-Foot Daoist Temple, carrying a person in each hand.
The young man had lofty swordlike brows, a handsome and heroic appearance, and a tall build. A pitch-black longbow was strapped to his back, and his blue robes billowed as if someone were constantly fanning him during the filming of a movie.
Only his disheveled hair at the temples and his heavy, unceasing breaths gave him an awkward look that did not quite fit his bearing.
No black Qi rose from the young man, but waves of it poured from the two people he carried. They panted heavily as streams of black saliva ran from their mouths, and their bodies trembled, plainly caught in the agony of an attack.
"I am Li Jiao of the Flying Feather Army. Where is Daoist Priest Zhou?"
The gates of the Nine-Foot Daoist Temple had opened, but it was not the reclusive Daoist Priest Kongxu who had come to receive the visitors.
Li Jiao looked at the youth who had opened the gates, a faint sense of foreboding stirring in his heart.
Zou Bugui moved among many powers and was exceptionally good at reading people. Whenever Li Jiao gave his name, Zou Bugui would invariably come out to welcome him in person.
Now, a stranger had opened the gates instead, and that could prove only one thing.
"Master went out and hasn't returned yet!"
Zhang Xuezhou's answer fully confirmed Li Jiao's suspicions.
His fingers turned slightly cold, and his heart filled with desolation.
The two men in their prime whom he held, both clad in iron armor, kept dribbling black saliva, while the veins on their necks and arms had taken on a faint golden hue.
"My lord, this is our fate. You need not grieve for us!"
One of the men raised his head slightly and murmured the words.
"My only regret is that our desperate gamble failed to cut off the Golden Toad Dharma King's head!"
The other man spoke in a low voice as well.
There was no fear in their voices, and amid their pain, their gazes were calm. They seemed to have accepted that their lives could not be saved.
"Did Daoist Priest Zhou leave any antidote pills in this temple?"
Li Jiao glanced at the Lonely Rogue Person, who was hesitating over whether to leave, then fixed his gaze on Zhang Xuezhou, seeking one last glimmer of hope.
"I was accepted as Master's disciple only a few days ago, so there is much I do not know." Zhang Xuezhou cupped his fists. "If you can recognize the pills, you are welcome to search the temple!"
Because Zhang Zhong had once been a squad leader in the Flying Feather Army, Zhang Xuezhou had a very good impression of it.
He did nothing to stop them, gesturing for Li Jiao and the others to enter and search for a way to save themselves.
If they needed to discuss the condition, the Lonely Rogue Person in the Nine-Foot Daoist Temple had also been afflicted with Golden Toad Poison, so they could exchange information as fellow sufferers.
"Rogue Cultivator Zhong Rang greets the general!"
Li Jiao did not stand on ceremony. Zhang Xuezhou had barely begun his invitation before Li Jiao carried the men into the temple.
He glanced at the Lonely Rogue Person, who immediately stepped forward and bowed.
"To be honest with you, General, Zhong Rang too has been afflicted with Golden Toad Poison. I came to seek Fellow Daoist Kongxu's Three Worms Three Flowers Secretly Made Great Pill as an antidote, but unfortunately..."
The Lonely Rogue Person cupped his hands.
Compared with the fine qualities of humility, courtesy, and respect for propriety, the Lonely Rogue Person naturally cared more about his life.
Without his life, even the finest qualities would be of no use.
If there had been any antidote pills in the Nine-Foot Daoist Temple, the Lonely Rogue Person would have taken them for himself long ago. How could Li Jiao and the others have had a chance to search?
"You've been afflicted with Golden Toad Poison too?"
Li Jiao spoke in surprise.
He pressed his lips together, feeling that today's events were unlikely to end well.
"The Golden Toad Dharma King has a sworn grandson called Demon King Jinbao. I had some grievances with it, and it accidentally injured me when we sparred!"
The Lonely Rogue Person gave a brief explanation.
He stared at the two grievously injured generals before him and could not help pressing his lips together, his heart stirring with emotion.
The physiques of martial artists and cultivators of Technique Methods were entirely different. If he had been afflicted with the Golden Toad Poison in these two generals, he feared he would have collapsed on the spot and died before long.
But no matter how strong a physique was, it could not bridge the enormous gap between cultivation ranks.
The two generals were close to him in rank. Though martial artists had a certain advantage when ambushing cultivators of Technique Methods, their circumstances would be completely reversed once they fell under such a cultivator's control.
He could vaguely guess the general circumstances of the fight between the two sides.
"I see!"
Li Jiao nodded.
He gently set the two burly, iron-clad men down beside a stone bench in the temple, then raised a hand. His billowing blue robes stopped fluttering.
Zhang Xuezhou saw Li Jiao's tall body seem to shrink slightly, and he became ten centimeters shorter.
Only then did Zhang Xuezhou notice that Li Jiao's feet seemed to have been off the ground before.
It was a little like the flight by levitation that the Lonely Rogue Person had mentioned.
Although Li Jiao had only been ten centimeters off the ground, if he could keep moving at that height, he was flying.
And Li Jiao had been running while carrying two burly men, which would surely have affected his flying height.
For a moment, Zhang Xuezhou was immensely envious.
He watched Li Jiao search the temple and felt that everyone he had seen these past two days was extraordinary.
"If I could eat a Manggu Vermilion Toad like Duan Yu, then get lucky enough to find an immortal's engraved teachings and learn peerless martial arts, mastering peerless martial skills..."
A fanciful thought crossed Zhang Xuezhou's mind, but he quickly put a stop to it.
The things spawned by his dream world were chaotic enough already. If he let his imagination produce more, it could very well bring about even stranger events.
Besides, his immediate goal was to escape his troubles through the cracks, then tell Zhang Zhong and the others everything and see how Zhang Household Village would respond. As for anything else, Zhang Xuezhou could not concern himself with it, nor was he able to.
His gaze moved back and forth over Li Jiao.
If there were no special connections, Li Jiao was the person whose strength he could borrow, someone who could help him escape his awkward position in the Nine-Foot Daoist Temple. Even if Daoist Kongxu, Zou Bugui, returned to the temple afterward, it would not pose much of a problem.
As for Zhang Xuezhou's cultivation, no matter how quickly he progressed, he was still a feeble figure in the eyes of these great cultivators.
Zhang Xuezhou kept studying the Yin Yang Great Compassion Nine Heavens Incantation only because, once he reached initial mastery, he could avoid attacks by ordinary snakes, insects, rats, and ants, giving him a little more ability to survive when he lost consciousness. His constant cultivation and drawing upon it would also eliminate the hidden danger brought by swallowing the flesh and blood of the Ten Yin Holy Son.
Apart from that, Zhang Xuezhou's cultivation had no other particular use.
If he wanted to leave this place safely with his parents in two days, this was all he could do.
Zhang Xuezhou looked at the sky and saw that the setting sun was red as blood. The time for him to return to reality was not far off.
"My lord, I cooked some thin congee over here. If you can't find an antidote pill, you might as well force them to swallow some food. That could give them a little more strength to resist the Golden Toad Poison!"
Zhang Xuezhou had been considering how to establish a connection, and he promptly offered those words as a gesture of goodwill.
His words left the Lonely Rogue Person, Zhong Rang, stunned.
If drinking meat congee could hold Golden Toad Poison at bay, there would be no poison under heaven that was difficult to cure.
"Very well!"
To the Lonely Rogue Person's even greater astonishment, only a few seconds later, Li Jiao, having failed to find any pills, actually agreed to the suggestion.
"A great master produces an outstanding disciple. I haven't yet had the pleasure of learning your name, young brother!"
Li Jiao cupped his fists in return.
He knew perfectly well that drinking congee could not cure the poison.
But apart from this almost useless method, he truly was at a loss and could hardly hope to treat the two assistant generals, Zhao Mu and Zhou Cang, successfully.
A desperate man would seek any doctor, and a dead horse had to be treated as though it were still alive. Before the two assistant generals died, he had to try something.
"Unfortunately, I don't know the pattern of the Golden Toad Poison's outbreaks. Otherwise, I should be able to use the Supreme Purity True Technique to suppress the poison for the two generals until you regained control of your bodies, actively suppressed the Golden Toad Poison within them, and returned to the Northern Border for treatment!"
Li Jiao gave a regretful sigh.
He lifted his broad sleeve, revealing three conspicuous, raised golden veins at his wrist.
But unlike the two assistant generals, he could control his body and temporarily suppress the virulent poison in several places, preventing it from erupting beyond control.