Chapter 3002 - 3003: Hidden Dragons and Crouching Tigers

Chapter 3002: Chapter 3003: Hidden Dragons and Crouching Tigers

What could save the Astrologer wasn’t Bai Ruozhu’s Medical Skills, but the Spiritual Liquid produced by the Quanxin she had obtained.

"Don’t be happy too soon. He transferred the Curse onto himself, the consequences are very serious. A few drops of Spiritual Liquid only buy us some time." Quanxin communicated with Bai Ruozhu through Divine Sense.

Bai Ruozhu hadn’t even stood firm yet and almost fell back onto the bed. "How long can he hold on?"

"As short as three days, as long as seven. I can’t determine the exact time either," Quanxin said.

"What’s wrong?" Jiang Yichun noticed the drastic change in her expression and hurriedly asked.

She grabbed Jiang Yichun and said, "The Astrologer’s condition is only temporarily stabilized. In as few as three days, or as many as seven, the backlash on him will fully erupt."

Jiang Yichun’s brows knitted tightly. "I’ll go with you to talk to Ao Song. We have to set out as soon as possible."

Bai Ruozhu nodded quickly, put on her shoes, and let Jiang Yichun support her to the Astrologer’s Room.

Low sobbing came from inside the Room; it was Ao Song crying in the Astrologer’s Room.

"Are you stupid? Why are you dying in my place? I’m not even anything to you, is it worth it? If you die, I’ll forget you immediately, let your death be for nothing!" Ao Song said in a low voice.

Bai Ruozhu’s nose stung; she raised her hand, knocked on the door, and walked in.

Ao Song turned her head and saw her, and in an instant, her eyes burst like a breached dam.

"Sister Ruozhu, I’ve made you suffer," her voice choked. "And I even harmed the Astrologer, it’s all my fault."

"Don’t talk about that yet. I’ve only temporarily stabilized his condition. We’re leaving for your home right now; this is the only way left to save the Astrologer." Bai Ruozhu didn’t dare delay even a moment; even her speaking speed was faster than usual.

"Alright, alright." Ao Song was so frightened she forgot to cry, and hurriedly got up to pack her talismans and Magical Treasures.

Jiang Yichun had already gone to notify Gao Zhou and the others, and also sent a letter to the king of the Western Regions Country, briefly explaining the situation.

From here to the Zhong Family, even at the fastest speed, they still couldn’t reach Gaochang City within five days.

About a quarter of an hour later, the unconscious Astrologer was carried onto a wide horse carriage. Ao Song stayed by his side to tend to him, while Bai Ruozhu and Gao Zhou also got on the carriage, ready to render aid at any time.

Jiang Yichun, Chushuang, and Nanny Zhang were in another horse carriage, taking care of the three little buns.

What was originally half a sightseeing trip had turned into this situation. The three little buns weren’t exactly frightened, but they could all tell the adults had something going on, so they were much quieter than usual.

The horse carriage headed toward the Zhong Family. On the way, Bai Ruozhu asked Ao Song.

"What’s with your backlash? What did you say it was?"

Ao Song’s face went a few shades paler, looking somewhat fearful. "Sister Ruozhu, my life was saved by you all. I shouldn’t hide this from you, but any member of my family, as soon as we come into contact with it, will be placed under a restriction. We can’t talk about it with outsiders; nothing can be said."

Afraid she wouldn’t believe her, Ao Song added, "If you don’t believe me, look, it’s a—"

She had just started to speak when her face flushed a deep red, and her throat felt as if someone were strangling it. Even breathing became difficult.

"Don’t say it, stop talking!" Bai Ruozhu hurried over to take her pulse and guide her Qi. Only after quite a while did she recover.

Gao Zhou’s eyes widened. "Jing Shuang knows about that too, right?"

Ao Song nodded slightly, not daring to speak again.

"I once saw Jing Shuang like you just now. She seemed to be trying to break free from it, but she didn’t succeed," Gao Zhou said.

"It’s useless, this is a rule left by our ancestors. No one can disobey it." Ao Song’s tone carried a breath of despair. "But how could it backlash? Unless someone..."

She couldn’t go on, and closed her mouth apologetically. "Maybe once we get to my home, we can find a way."

Bai Ruozhu didn’t want to make things hard on her. Ao Song had just lost a lot of blood; though she looked fine now, she was terribly weak, her face as white as paper. If the restriction tormented her any further, she would probably faint again.

The Zhong Family was in the mountain two days’ journey from Shengyao City. It was called a Hidden Family, but that didn’t mean they hid so deeply no one could find them; it meant the Zhong Family didn’t interfere in court politics or involve themselves in faction struggles.

For the next two days, Bai Ruozhu’s heart hung in midair, afraid that the effect of the Spiritual Liquid would suddenly vanish.

She discussed it with Jiang Yichun as well, for example, finding some Evil Filth for Quanxin to absorb to help it condense Spiritual Liquid faster. As long as they had Spiritual Liquid, they would drag out the time as much as possible.

But along the way, they hadn’t encountered any Evil Poisonous Insect or Monster at all. Where were they supposed to find Evil Filth?

Her anxiety was so bad that blisters broke out at the corners of her mouth, which made Jiang Yichun’s heart ache all the more. He could only comfort her from time to time.

Fortunately, they traveled night and day without rest and reached the Zhong Family smoothly two days later.

The Zhong Family steward, seeing Ao Song return, immediately ordered the servants to roll out a red carpet and scatter flower petals, already used to the scene of the young miss coming home.

Ao Song jumped off the carriage and snapped, "Put it all away. Hurry and go find my father and mother, tell them I was almost killed by backlash!"

The steward’s face changed drastically, and in the blink of an eye he was gone. Jiang Yichun glanced at Bai Ruozhu and said in a low voice, "The Zhong Family’s steward has quite the skills too."

"Open the gate and let the horse carriage drive straight in," Ao Song ordered the little servant at the gate.

"What about the threshold?" the little servant asked.

"Remove it! Quickly!" Ao Song shouted.

The servants didn’t dare delay. The not-so-old little servant clapped a palm down; with a crack, the entire threshold was knocked loose in one complete piece. He grabbed it in one hand and set it aside.

This wasn’t something you could do just by being strong or having some inner strength. If an ordinary person slapped down like that, they’d most likely break the high threshold, or splinter the part wedged into the grooves. But he had taken the whole thing down in one solid piece!

What did that show? That this seemingly young little servant had extremely precise control over his inner strength—something many people who had trained for decades still couldn’t achieve.

The Zhong Family was indeed extraordinary; even a random person wasn’t simple.

But Bai Ruozhu had no mind for that right now. She only hoped the Zhong Family had a way to bring the Astrologer back.

The horse carriage passed through the Main Gate and drove toward the backyard. They had barely entered when they saw a man and a woman, both middle-aged, rushing over so fast their figures left afterimages behind them—an extremely formidable display of lightness skill.

"Father! Mother!" Ao Song cried out and ran toward them, tears streaming down in torrents.

"Girl, how did you end up like this? Who bullied you? Your father will beat them back for you!" Ao Song’s father, seeing that she was alright, let out a huge sigh of relief.

But when he saw how terrible his daughter’s complexion was, his heart ached again.

"Father, it’s that thing, it’s that thing! I was vomiting blood from the backlash and was down to my last breath. The Astrologer used the Transfer Technique to move it onto himself. You have to think of a way to save him!" Ao Song cried as she lifted the carriage curtain, revealing the Astrologer inside, nearly out of breath.

"What? How is that possible?" Ao Song’s mother’s face went deathly pale in an instant.

Ao Song’s father’s eyes widened. "You go look after our benefactor, I’ll go summon the clan elders."