Desperate Negotiation

Mu Jin gritted her teeth, carrying the unconscious Tiao Tiao on her back, and trudged forward through the shadows at the edge of the mass grave. The cold night wind carried the heavy smell of blood and burning.

Suddenly, a disciple about to slip away turned back furtively, caught a glimpse of Tiao Tiao's drooping face, and instantly lost his soul. He leaped towards the center of the chaos, screaming, "He... isn't dead! He's over there!" His voice was drowned out by the deafening roar of killing.

Mu Jin's heart tightened as she tripped over a stone and fell heavily. "Damn it!" She braved the pain and scrambled to her feet, chasing after him. However, he was escaping so fast that he was about to merge into the boiling crowd. She stopped abruptly, stamped her foot in despair, and was about to turn back—

Phew!

A sharp knife flashed, and the disciple's head flew up, blood splattering.

Mu Jin's pupils suddenly contracted, and her legs went weak. A steady hand supported her trembling shoulders.

"Miss..." Mu Jin looked up and met Su Baiwei's calm eyes, tears instantly welling up in her eyes.

Su Baiwei put her index finger to her lips, signaling for silence. She quickly carried Tiao Tiao on her back and said, "Let's go!"

In Huichun Hall, the lights are dim.

Su Baiwei placed Tiaotiao on the couch, her expression solemn. Her hands moved as fast as lightning, her fingers darting across the air as she tapped precisely on her acupoints. Then, several silver beams pierced Tiaotiao's vital points with a piercing sound, the needle tips trembling slightly. Sweat dripped from her forehead, and her entire body felt like a taut bowstring.

At this moment, Su Baiwei's ears moved slightly. Heavy, stiff footsteps came from afar, mixed with the cold and harsh sound of metal bells.

Medicine men! There are more than a dozen of them!

She suddenly looked out the window and saw a full moon hanging high in the sky.

"Oh no! It's time to draw blood!" Her gaze fell back on Tiao Tiao. If she pulled out the needle or was distracted at this moment, he would either die or be crippled.

"Mu Jin," Su Baiwei said urgently, "The Holy Fire Hall is here, led by Ding Kui, and the medicine man is approaching. Find a way to delay him. Use your wits to protect yourself. If this situation is hopeless, get out of here immediately."

"Yes!" Mu Jin nodded vigorously, her eyes filled with determination. She took one last look at the two people on the couch and quickly walked towards the front hall. Her eyes swept over the pool of crimson chip debris on the floor, and her heart suddenly tightened. She bit her lip hard.

The night is thick.

The sound of horse hooves and stiff footsteps approached.

Ding Kui sat high on his horse, his severed ear wrapped in thick gauze, his face gloomy. Behind him, a dozen medicine figures, like puppets on strings, marched in unison. In the moonlight, their necks tilted, bulges twitched beneath their skin, and their pupils glowed green. The strong, rancid smell of herbal odors filled the air, penetrating his nostrils and instantly causing stomach cramps.

Mu Jin tried to remain calm as she sorted the herbs, her fingers trembling slightly.

"Tell her to get out!" Ding Kui reined in his horse and spoke in a rough voice.

Mu Jin pretended to be panicked, put down the dustpan, ran back, slammed the door, and leaned against the door, gasping for breath.

The urging outside the door is like a death curse.

Only when Ding Kui's patience was about to run out did Mu Jin open the door and lean forward, forcing a smile: "Master Ding, please calm down. The young lady... is bathing and changing clothes. Please wait a moment."

"Bath? Humph! Hurry up!" Ding Kui was furious and reined in his horse anxiously.

"Yes, yes, I'll go and urge them again." Mu Jin retreated and closed the door, leaning against it, holding her breath and counting her frantic heartbeats. The impatient snorts of the horses outside the door intertwined with the stiff grinding of the medicine man's hands, and each breath felt as long as an age.

In the clinic, candlelight flickered.

Su Baiwei's forehead was covered in sweat as she concentrated on her fingertips. Each twist of the silver needle was precise and accurate. Tiaotiao's face finally turned from ashen to a faint red.

The last silver needle was pulled out, and Tiao Tiao's index finger moved slightly.

All the strength in Su Baiwei's body seemed to be drained away in an instant, her vision went dark, and her body was shaking.

Outside the door, Ding Kui's patience ran out. Just as he was about to burst out in anger, the door opened.

Su Baiwei slowly walked out, holding onto the doorframe. In the moonlight, her face was as pale as paper, her lips were bloodless, and her steps were unsteady. Her eyes swept over the medicine man, and a flash of pain flashed across them.

"Doctor Su," Ding Kui narrowed his eyes as he looked at him, a cold arc on his lips. "You don't look well! The director of the mass grave, 'Gu Worm Drawing Mine Map', must have been working hard on it?"

Su Baiwei's heart was shaken, but she tried to remain calm, her eyes blank. "What drama?"

"Don't understand?" Ding Kui sneered. "Besides you, who else has the ability to use poisonous insects to draw patterns on the dead? That masked bastard yesterday was Tiao Tiao, right? He was lucky to die early, otherwise he would have tasted a taste worse than death!"

Su Baiwei breathed a sigh of relief.

"Stop talking nonsense!" Ding Kui said impatiently, "I received the order yesterday, and today I'm giving you nine drops of my heart's blood. Bring it to me!"

Su Baiwei's eyes were sharp: "Nine drops? You want to kill me."

Ding Kui took out the jade box and opened it. The colorful pill shone brightly and filled the air with a sweet fragrance. "Master, thank you for your kindness. I have given you the 'Seven Treasures Pill'. Taking it will ensure your survival. I have done my utmost!"

"You've done your best?" A sneer crossed Su Baiwei's pale face. "You're just afraid that if I die, the Su family bloodline will be cut off and there will be no one to nurture the mother Gu. If the mother Gu dies, the three thousand medicine men will become useless in an instant. The high-ranking members and 'allies' of the Demon Cult who are infected with the son Gu will also die, and the foundation of the Holy Fire Hall will collapse. And you still expect me to be grateful?"

"Hmph!" Ding Kui was furious. "If it weren't for the Hall Master's mercy, you would still be imprisoned like a dog in the Holy Fire Hall. How could you sit in the Huichun Hall and be called the 'Divine Hand Medical Immortal'?"

"If I hadn't threatened him with death, he wouldn't have let me go for fear of cutting off his foundation." Su Baiwei refused to give in, and every word she said was as sharp as a knife.

"Don't drink the toast!" Ding Kui shook the golden bell fiercely! Ding-ling-ling!

The shrill bell rang like a curse, and more than a dozen drugged figures stepped forward stiffly, surrounding the two men tightly. The stench of corpses and the smell of drugs were suffocating.

Su Baiwei straightened her shaky body and asked, "What if I don't obey?"

"Disobey?" Ding Kui grinned fiercely, stabbing his finger at the medicine man whose jaw was constantly dripping with green mucus and half of his face was covered with old burn scars. "Did you see this blacksmith? You cured his burns. The hall master said that if he doesn't obey, he will be skinned and thrown into the leech pool, where he will be gnawed by the insects until only bones are left! And that little widow, where is the baby you delivered? It's in the skinning room waiting to be cut!" His eyes flashed with cruel excitement, "The hall master has thousands of ways to make them, and you, wish for life but not death!"

Mu Jin felt the cold air rushing from the soles of her feet to the top of her head. She dug her nails deep into her palms, leaving blood marks, and only then did she suppress her retching.

The air solidified.

Su Baiwei stared at the blacksmith's face. The lively face that once affectionately called her "Miss Su" now looked like a ghost, neither human nor ghost. Her knuckles turned white from pinching, and her body swayed slightly.

After a moment's silence, Su Baiwei's voice became tired and hoarse. "...Give me some time. The blood loss from last month hasn't recovered yet, and today we were disturbed by the intrusion of various factions. My Qi and blood are disordered, and my old injuries are recurring. The mother Gu can only last for seven days without blood. After seven days, I will go to the Holy Fire Hall to get fresh heart blood. Otherwise, if we forcibly take blood now, even with the 'Seven Treasures Pill', we may not be able to save him. Holy Fire Hall...can you afford the risk?"

"Seven days?" Ding Kui's eyes were sinister. His fingers repeatedly stroked the cold token engraved with flames at his waist. He glanced in the direction of the Holy Fire Hall and said, "Three days, not even a moment longer."

A trace of resentment quickly crossed Su Baiwei's face, but was instantly covered by a painful struggle: "Only three days? No room for negotiation?"

"No room for negotiation!" Ding Kui said firmly.

"...Okay." Su Baiwei seemed to have exhausted her last bit of strength. "Three days... Just three days." She raised her eyes and looked directly at Ding Kui, her gaze calm and resolute. "However, Master Ding has seen that I am now at the end of my rope, hanging on by a thread. Yesterday's intrusion by various factions not only destroyed my century-old Dragon Blood Essence, but also disrupted my healing process, causing internal energy disorder and relapse of old injuries... Without the Dragon Blood Essence to harmonize and strengthen my body and suppress the backlash, in three days, let alone extracting nine drops of Heart Blood, I'm afraid I won't even have the strength to walk to the Holy Fire Hall. I'll die from the reverse flow of Qi and blood. Then... the Hall Master will blame me, and Master Ding won't be able to bear the consequences, right?"

Ding Kui's gaze was like a knife, slicing across Su Baiwei's pale, sweat-drenched face. His informant had indeed reported the precious medicine's destruction. He knew full well the effectiveness of Dragon's Blood Drain. Most importantly, this woman's waning breath was no pretense. If she truly died, the Hall Master would be enraged, and he would undoubtedly be the first to suffer. He was unwilling to take the blame for those idiots.

"Trouble!" Ding Kui spat irritably. "Send someone to deliver it before noon tomorrow. Remember, not a drop of blood can be lost in three days!" He rang the golden bell fiercely. The medicine man turned stiffly, and the crowd around him quickly disappeared into the night. The lingering cold ringing of the bell, like a maggot on the tarsal bone, lingered for a moment in the dead silent street before finally dissipating.

As the ringing sound faded away, Su Baiwei's forced breath suddenly vanished and she collapsed to the ground.

"Miss!" Mu Jin exclaimed, leaping forward. Her touch was cold and heavy. She felt her pulse, which was as violent as a wild horse's charge. Mu Jin's face paled. "You must have been too hasty in releasing your suspended animation just now. The internal injuries you'd forcibly suppressed have flared up as your Qi has been depleted. Miss, on the brink of death, still tried to scramble for this life-saving medicine."

She was about to carry someone on her back—

"I'll do it."

A low, raspy voice echoed. Mu Jin, startled, turned back to see Tiao Tiao quietly standing in the shadows by the door. His face was pale, his eyes weary, but when he caught sight of Su Baiwei, his gaze suddenly sharpened.

He took a few steps forward, his fingertips tapping several acupoints with lightning speed, temporarily suppressing the raging blood and energy in her body. The fingertips trembled slightly as they withdrew, and cold sweat oozed from his forehead. His Adam's apple rolled as he swallowed the fishy-sweet taste rising to his throat. Then he leaned over and carefully carried Su Baiwei on his back. Just as he was about to lift her up, the old wound under his ribs suddenly twisted, and the pain was like a steel needle piercing his internal organs. He clenched his teeth, his cheeks stretched into sharp lines, and he swallowed the fishy-sweet taste with all his might. His steps were slow but steady as he walked quickly towards the inner room.

Mu Jin looked at the figure who was walking forward resolutely despite the severe pain, her fingertips cold. How much...had he heard?