Chapter 332 Nanzhao Secret Technique

Zhennan Pass, deep in the barracks.

The oppressive smell of medicine in the house was stronger than half a month ago, mixed with the bitterness of burning atractylodes and mugwort and the pungent smell of quicklime, weighing heavily on everyone's heart.

In front of Luo Yunzhen's bed, Nangong Ziyun was giving him acupuncture.

Beads of sweat the size of beans slid down her smooth forehead, soaking her temples, revealing her extreme concentration and fatigue.

Wen Zhiyan stood beside her, holding a silk handkerchief embroidered with purple lavender in his hand. He gently wiped away the sweat on her face, his face full of heartache.

Luo Yunzhen took the 'Golden Cicada Shell of Ten Thousand Valleys' given by Master Xuwu, which temporarily suppressed the excruciating pain that was gnawing at his bones and heart, and he no longer groaned in pain.

But after being corroded by the toxins of the heart-eating and bone-rotting miasma for such a long time, he had already become skinny and emaciated, with deeply sunken cheeks and a layer of deathly gray on his skin.

Every weak breath is like a candle in the wind, as if it will be completely extinguished in the next moment.

The severed arm of Nong Zhigao brought back by the Imperial Guards was extremely poisonous.

However, Nangong Mu and Nangong Ziyun tried many methods, but the blood in the broken arm could not draw out the natal poisonous insect that had long been entangled with Luo Yunzhen's flesh and blood.

The curtain was lifted, and Yan Shixu's tall figure walked into the room.

When Nangong Ziyun and Wen Zhiyan saw that it was him, they immediately stopped acupuncture and stood up to salute.

But when their eyes fell on the figure of the strange girl beside Yan Shixu, they just bowed without saying a word.

Yan Shixu glanced at Yun Zhi who was standing quietly beside him and whispered, "Trouble you, Miss Yun."

For a moment, all eyes in the tent were focused on the girl who suddenly appeared.

She was dressed simply, and looked no more than sixteen or seventeen years old. Her beautiful face still had a hint of childishness, which was out of place in the barracks filled with the smell of blood and medicine.

Under the various gazes of the crowd, Yun Zhi looked very calm, without any sign of panic.

She did not immediately go forward to examine the patient, but first slowly looked around the barracks.

Then, she flared her nostrils slightly, carefully distinguishing the strong bitter medicinal smell in the air mixed with the fishy, ​​sweet, and rotten smell unique to the poison.

After a while, she walked steadily to Luo Yunzhen's bed.

Her movements were not as urgent as those of an ordinary doctor who would take a pulse. Instead, she leaned over, got close to Luo Yunzhen's pale face, and sniffed the faint breath he exhaled with great concentration.

Then, her eyes swept over the blue-black veins under his skin, which were twisting wildly and wriggling like living things.

His eyes were focused and solemn, as if he was deciphering some ancient and deadly rune.

After the observation, she stretched out three slender fingers, but did not directly place them on Luo Yunzhen's wrist, but instead suspended them in the air about an inch above his wrist.

There seemed to be an extremely weak air flow flowing slowly at the fingertips, which was difficult to see with the naked eye, bringing a slight and imperceptible coolness.

After a moment, the three fingers landed gently like a dragonfly skimming the water, leaving as soon as they touched it.

His movements were so gentle as if he was afraid of awakening the violent and poisonous insects lurking deep in his blood.

"How?" Yan Shixu's voice broke the brief silence.

Yun Zhi withdrew her hand and stood up straight.

Her beautiful brows were slightly furrowed, and her expression was extremely serious.

"It's the 'Heart-Eroding, Bone-Rotting Miasma'. Although you fed him the 'Golden Cicada Shell of Ten Thousand Valleys', you were able to suppress the toxicity and temporarily slow the poison's invasion of the heart, but the insect has already taken root outside the heart, and his life is hanging by a thread."

Her voice was clear and steady, and her diagnosis was spot on.

Nangong Ziyun was extremely surprised.

She couldn't help but take a step forward, her tone filled with urgency and inquiry: "Young lady, since you know this poison and diagnosed it so accurately, do you have a solution?"

Yun Zhi's gaze fell on a hideous wound on Luo Yunzhen's arm.

That was left behind by Nangong Mu and Nangong Ziyun who had tried to use the poisonous blood from Nong Zhigao's severed arm to forcibly induce the Gu in the past half month.

At this moment, the wound was oozing out sticky, strange blue-black pus and blood, and also emitting a foul odor.

She pondered for a moment, then said, "As a rule of thumb, the one who tied the bell must untie it. I'm sure you all already know that this Gu requires the heart essence and blood of the person who inflicted it, or a close relative, as a lure, along with the 'Red Sun Blood Ganoderma' and the eggs of the 'Green Phosphorus Toad' to coax it out of the body. This path... currently seems a bit difficult."

Her words made everyone in the tent feel heavy-hearted.

But then she suddenly changed the subject.

"However, the Gu worm in his body is currently extremely agitated, apparently having been strongly stimulated by some extremely overbearing external poison. This has accelerated the Gu worm's attack on him, but it has also clearly exposed the trajectory of the Gu worm's core meridians."

"This is a glimmer of hope in a desperate situation. Perhaps... we can find another way and try the 'Blood-Attracted Golden Needle' technique, supplemented by Gu-suppressing medicine powder, to forcibly lock onto the Gu's meridians and force it out of his body!"

"Blood attracts golden needles?"

Nangong Mu, who had just stepped into the house and was about to let her niece rest, asked in surprise.

"This is a secret technique passed down by a lineage of Nanzhao witch doctors... Where did you learn it? It's extremely dangerous. If your mind wanders even slightly when performing the technique, or if you lose control of the Gu's path, the person being rescued will die instantly."

When the others heard this, they instantly felt like they were facing a great enemy. They stared at Yun Zhi with sharp eyes like knives, full of vigilance.

"You are so young, yet you are proficient in such dangerous Nanzhao secret techniques? Who are you? Where did you learn from?"

As Nangong Mu finished speaking, the atmosphere in the tent had become extremely tense.

Several guards standing at the corners of the tent subconsciously placed their hands on the hilts of the swords at their waists, and a cold murderous aura silently filled the air.

This girl of unknown origin has an extremely suspicious identity.

Yan Shixu's gaze was also firmly fixed on Yun Zhi.

He didn't make any big movements, but it was as if an iceberg was pressing down, making the air in the entire barracks stagnant and the temperature drop sharply.

Facing everyone's doubts, questions and murderous aura, Yun Zhi remained as calm as ever.

She met Nangong Mu's shocked and wary gaze and said frankly:

"My master has traveled extensively, traversing the southern and northern borders, learning from many masters and possessing a vast knowledge of medicine and poisons. By chance, I even glimpsed a few of the Nanzhao witch doctors' techniques. This technique is extremely dangerous, and I am naturally aware of its risks. If I hadn't seen that this general was on the verge of death and there was no way to save him, I would never have dared to try this method lightly."

After she finished speaking, she turned her gaze to Yan Shixu and said, "I just want to ask one thing. If we don't use this risky move, how long can this general... hold on?"

Yan Shixu's voice was low and suppressed as he replied, "Barring a miracle, there are only two and a half months left."

Yun Zhi nodded slightly, her eyes swept across Luo Yunzhen's lifeless face, then looked at Yan Shixu again and asked:

"Within two months, can the General's elite troops capture the poisoner or his closest relatives and obtain the crucial heart blood? Or can they find the 'Green Phosphorus Toad' egg?"

Yan Shixu fell silent.

After half a month of fruitless searching in the poisonous forest, Nong Zhigao disappeared like a ghost.

So far, there is no news about Su Muyang, and there is no news from the team that went deep into the Poisonous Miasma Mountain to search for the eggs of the "Green Phosphorus Toad".

With only two and a half months left, he couldn't give any guarantees.

Silence is the heaviest answer.