Chapter 63

Qi Zhizhi rushed back to the No. 1 Restaurant under Heaven at noon.

Mu Yulu never expected that the savior he brought would be Madam Qi.

As soon as she heard footsteps outside the door, she abruptly pulled her hand away from Sanzhou Jinse's. Just as she stood up, she saw Qi Zhizhi push the door open and enter, with Madam Qi following closely behind him.

She subconsciously raised her other hand to cover the faint red mark left on her right hand by Sanzhou Jinse's grip. Qi Zhizhi glanced at her action without saying anything, but lowered his head and carefully helped Madam Qi walk in.

After entering the room, Madam Qi first glanced at Mu Yulu, then shifted her gaze to Sanzhou Jinse lying on the bed. She then frowned and said, "I can only temporarily suppress the spread of the poison, but I cannot truly remove the cold poison. Moreover, his current condition is very bad, and even if I only suppress the poison, I cannot guarantee success."

She explained the situation in just a few words, and Mu Yulu, who was listening nearby, felt a sinking feeling in her heart.

Qi Zhizhi stepped forward and said, "I'm sorry to trouble you, Mother. Please do your best."

Qi Zhi Qiu chimed in from the side, "Mother, you must save him! Please let us know if you need any help!"

Madam Qi put down the medicine box in her hand. "Whether it will work or not, we'll only know after trying. I'm not sure if I can save him right now. You all go out and don't get in the way."

After saying that, she turned her head and glared at Qi Zhi Qiu: "You will come back to the manor with me later."

Qi Zhi Qiu exclaimed "Ah!" and was about to refuse when she heard Madam Qi say, "Although he is injured and unconscious, he is still an outsider. What is it of you, an unmarried woman, to be guarding here? Don't you have any shame?"

Upon hearing her words, Qi Zhizhi's expression changed, and then he turned to look at Mu Yulu. Unexpectedly, Mu Yulu remained calm, as if she had not heard what she said at all.

However, even Qi Zhizhi could tell that Madam Qi's words were clearly a veiled attack, ostensibly directed at Qi Zhiqi, but actually referring to Mu Yulu.

How could Mu Yulu not hear it?

However, what worried her most at the moment was Sanzhou Jinse's injury, so Madam Qi's two sarcastic remarks were of no concern to her.

Qi Zhi Qiu was completely unaware of the undercurrents in the room. She opened her mouth to retort, but Qi Zhi Zhi stopped her.

He said to Madam Qi, "Mother, you've worked hard," and then took Qi Zhi Qiu's hand and walked outside.

Mu Yulu glanced at Sanzhou Jinse with concern, then silently followed Qi Zhizhi and his sister out the door.

While Madam Qi was inside the house helping Sanzhou Jinse suppress the cold poison, Mu Yulu and the other two obediently stood guard at the door.

Qi Zhiqi angrily shook off Qi Zhizhi's hand: "What Mother just said made no sense. Why didn't you let me refute it?"

Qi Zhizhi didn't say much to her, but shut her up with just one sentence: "Sanzhou Jinse is extremely weak and his life is hanging by a thread. If you want him to die faster, then go ahead and make trouble with Mother."

Qi Zhi Qiu crossed her arms in protest, turned her head and snorted, but ultimately kept quiet.

The brother and sister were bickering, but Mu Yulu didn't interrupt. She stood quietly by the door, her expression remaining unchanged throughout.

But it was precisely her quietness that worried Qi Zhizhi. He stood with her for a while, then gently comforted her: "When my mother was young, she studied under a female teacher who was skilled in medicine. Most importantly, at that time, she was the only person in the world who could cure all kinds of strange poisons from the Three States Pavilion."

"My mother did not learn all of her skills, so she could not completely remove the cold poison from Sanzhou Jinse's body. However, temporarily suppressing the spread of the poison should not be a difficult task for her."

Qi Zhizhi's words clearly comforted Mu Yulu. She looked up at him and smiled, finally perking up a bit, and asked curiously, "What is the Sanzhou Pavilion? Is it the mysterious organization that Sanzhou Jinse belongs to?"

Qi Zhizhi nodded: "Anyone in the martial arts world has surely heard of the Three States Pavilion. It is a renowned and incredibly mysterious assassin organization with influence all over the world. As long as you pay the right amount of money, it can grant you any wish."

Qi Zhi Qiu, who had been listening intently, became interested and turned to ask Qi Zhi Zhi, "Is the Three States Pavilion really that powerful? How does it select and train those assassins?"

Seeing that Qi Zhiqi and Mu Yulu both looked very interested, Qi Zhizhi told them everything he knew: "The assassins in the Three States Pavilion are mainly divided into two categories. One category is martial arts masters who either want to escape the pursuit of their enemies or want to make a name for themselves through the Three States Pavilion. Of course, there are also people who simply want to earn a lot of commission, so they choose to join this organization."

"Another type of person grows up in the Three States Pavilion from childhood and is personally trained by the people of the Three States Pavilion. Only after passing many tests can they take on missions and receive commissions. However, it is said that these tests are extremely strict, and only one in ten people can pass the test each year."

Qi Zhiqi grew increasingly curious as he listened, and asked the same question that Mu Yulu had wanted to ask: "Does the Sanzhou Jinse belong to the former or the latter?"

Qi Zhizhi said with certainty, "He is the latter."

This time, Mu Yulu couldn't help but ask first, "Why?"

Qi Zhizhi explained, "Because only the latter can be given the surname of Sanzhou. Of course, it is also because most of them are orphans and do not know their own surnames. Perhaps for them, Sanzhou Pavilion is like a home in this bloody world of martial arts."

"Is it like a home?" Mu Yulu turned her head to look at the door behind her. At this moment, Sanzhou Jinse was lying behind this door, suffering from the pain of the cold poison.

She murmured, "Just now I heard you say that Madam Qi's master can cure all the strange poisons of the Three States Pavilion. Does that mean that the cold poison in Sanzhou Jinse's body was given by the Three States Pavilion? If the Three States Pavilion is like a home to them, how could they give them such a powerful poison?"

Qi Zhizhi sighed and said with great emotion, "If we don't control a peerless master like Sanzhou Jinse with poison, what else can restrain him? Once he is poisoned by the Sanzhou Pavilion's strange poison, no matter how powerful he is, he will always just be a pawn in this organization."

At this point, he speculated, "These assassins probably need to collect the antidote from the organization every now and then. This time, the cold poison in Sanzhou Jinse's body must have flared up prematurely, and he himself did not expect it to flare up early, otherwise he would not have carried out the mission without collecting the antidote."

Mu Yulu frowned: "Under what circumstances would the cold poison flare up prematurely?"

Before Qi Zhizhi could speak, the door behind him creaked open, followed by Madam Qi's voice: "The only reason the cold poison would flare up prematurely is that he has been taking the poison for at least ten years, and even the antidote is unable to suppress the toxins accumulated in his body."

"If this continues, the intervals between his attacks will only get shorter and shorter, and one day even the antidote from the Three States Pavilion will not be able to save his life."

Upon seeing Madam Qi emerge, Qi Zhi Qiu tiptoed to peer into the house. "Mother, have you temporarily suppressed the cold poison in his body? He should be out of immediate danger, right?"

Madam Qi nodded wearily and handed the medicine box to Qi Zhi Qiu, saying, "You two wait for me here."

Then she turned to Mu Yulu and said, "Miss Mu, I have something I'd like to say to you privately."

Mu Yulu had been peeking into the house, but when she heard Madam Qi say that, she looked away in surprise and nodded, not quite understanding.

Madam Qi turned and walked to the other end of the corridor, and Mu Yulu quickly followed.

It wasn't until they reached the end of the corridor, quite a distance from Qi Zhizhi and his sister, that Madam Qi stopped and took a deep breath with her back to Mu Yulu.

Then she turned to look at her and said, word by word, "Miss Mu, I saved Sanzhou Jinse's life, so I am indebted to you. I have no other request, I only ask that you stay away from my son."

Mu Yulu hadn't expected her to be so direct, without even a hint of beating around the bush, which left her momentarily speechless.

Seeing that she remained silent, Madam Qi continued in an almost pleading tone, "The reason I was willing to help Sanzhou Jinse suppress the cold poison in her body is because my son pleaded with me for half a day on your behalf. I believe you can guess that. You must know how dangerous the situation was last night."

"I only have one question: why do you keep putting my son in danger? I'm begging you, please let him go, okay?"

Mu Yulu quickly replied, "Madam, you are too kind. I understand what you are saying, and I do not wish for Young Master Qi to be in any danger."

Hearing Mu Yulu say this, Madam Qi's eyes revealed a hint of doubt. She originally thought that Mu Yulu was as cunning as her father, Mu Yugang, and that she was using some manipulative tactics on Qi Zhizhi, which was why her son was so obsessed with her and was willing to risk his life to save her from danger.

However, observing Mu Yulu's expression at this moment, she suddenly had a doubt about her own thoughts. Was it not Mu Yulu who used every means to get Qi Zhizhi, but her own son who was pestering her relentlessly?

She naturally didn't want to believe it.

She felt that Mu Yulu was still putting on a show in front of her.

But Mu Yulu continued sincerely, "What you said is all true. The situation last night was indeed very dangerous, and I can really understand how you feel. Moreover, you saved Sanzhou Jinse's life, so you are truly our benefactor. I should be thanking you."

She then bowed deeply to Madam Qi, saying, "Even if you hadn't said those things just now, I know what I'm doing. This will never happen again, and I will never let Young Master Qi be in such a dangerous situation again."