The World is Shocked 79. The Threat of a Sick Scholar

“Show mercy!”

"Zhuo Jing!" Ye Li called out in a deep voice. An San's eyes sank, and he quickly put away his long sword, flipped in the air, and landed lightly on the treetop not far away. In this way, there were three people on this side perched high on the treetop, ready to attack at any time. If the other side could not control the snake group in time, it would definitely be at a disadvantage.

A tall middle-aged man wearing southern Xinjiang clothing walked out of the woods. The same totem on his clothes as the young man and the aura of a superior that he inadvertently revealed made everyone understand that the newcomer must be a high-ranking person in the Luoyi tribe. The middle-aged man walked over quickly, and the snakes passing by made way for him, obviously very afraid of the newcomer's aura. "Dear friends of Da Chu, I am naughty and have offended you. Please show mercy. My tribe will definitely treat you as guests of honor."

Ye Li sneered in her heart. Naughty? This man had been in the woods from the beginning, and only showed up when her son was really in danger. Now he wanted to brush him off with just one word, "naughty."

Han Mingxi stood on the treetop, his slender figure swaying up and down with the treetop, "He is indeed very naughty. Chief of the Luoyi tribe, how dare you let the noble young man run rampant outside with his character?" The middle-aged man's face was not good either. When he walked to the young man casually, he glanced at him lightly. The young man immediately became as shriveled as a leaf roasted by fire, shivering and stepping back, not daring to raise his head to look at people. The middle-aged man snorted lightly and stepped forward to bow to Ye Li and others, saying: "I am the chief of the Luoyi tribe, Le Jiang, and this is my son Le Nan. Please forgive me for any offense, guests from the Central Plains." This chief is obviously not only better than his son in appearance, but also in his words and deeds, it is completely impossible to tell that the two men are father and son.

Ye Li said, "Although your hospitality is a little scary, I wonder if Chief Luoyi should ask someone to clean up these little things first?" They stood in a circle surrounded by snake repellent and fire. These uncontrolled snakes avoided this area and crawled to other places. After a long time, even if someone was sent to look for them, they might not be able to find them all. Chief Luoyi nodded and waved to the snake-controlling people around him. The snake-controlling people began to play the piccolo again. Some of them walked to other places, obviously to look for the snakes that were wandering around. After giving these instructions, Chief Luoyi turned around and smiled at Ye Li and the others, saying, "You all passed by our tribe's residence and were disturbed by Renan's rudeness. Why don't you come to our village to rest for a while? I will take this as my apology to you all."

Ye Li hesitated for a moment and glanced sideways at the three people on the tree. Han Mingxi looked nonchalant, and An San naturally would not disagree with Ye Li. However, the sick scholar frowned and said, "We are in a hurry to get going, so we won't bother Chief Jiang."

The chief of the Luoyi tribe raised his eyebrows and shook his head repeatedly, saying, "How can this be called a trouble? It would be a disservice to our Luoyi tribe's reputation for hospitality if we frightened the guests from the Central Plains. Please go to the village to rest for a while. I will send someone to escort you to the capital tomorrow." After hearing his words, the people from the Central Plains who were present couldn't help but curl their lips in their hearts. People from Southern Xinjiang are notoriously xenophobic, so except for some bold businessmen and those who can protect themselves, ordinary people from the Central Plains will never enter Southern Xinjiang. However, compared with other tribes in the heart of Southern Xinjiang, the Luoyi tribe bordering Da Chu can indeed be regarded as warm and hospitable. If there is a local from Southern Xinjiang to lead the way, the journey will indeed be much easier.

"This... that would disturb the clan leader." Seeing that the sick scholar took the lead and responded, Ye Li just raised his eyebrows and did not say anything to refute.

The leader of the Luoyi clan was obviously very happy, and enthusiastically called the host who was accompanying them to pack the luggage for the guests. Ye Li and the other two didn't have much stuff to begin with, so they bent down and picked up a bundle placed beside the stone and threw it to An San who was still on the tree, and kept one under them. The sick scholar was also relaxed, but it was Mr. Liang who was busy for a long time with the help of the housekeeper and guards. However, his careful protection of not letting the people from Southern Xinjiang touch his gifts made Ye Li a little curious about what was in his seemingly large package, and judging from the weight, it didn't seem to be real gold and silver.

It turned out that the place where they camped in the village of Luoyi tribe was not far away. They arrived at their destination in less than a quarter of an hour after riding their horses. Of course, their original horses had been scared away when the snakes came, and those that did not run away were no longer able to survive. They used horses provided by Luoyi tribe, which was why Ye Li did not object to going to the village. Apart from this village, the next place with people and where horses could be bought was at least two hundred miles away. If they did not go there, it meant that they would most likely have to walk the rest of the way.

The village of the Luoyi tribe was built on the hillside, and the path was not as mysterious and rugged as those villages in southern Xinjiang rumored in the Central Plains. Small wooden buildings were scattered on the hillside. Because it was already late at night, the chief took them to a small building specially used for entertaining guests and told someone to bring some food and hot water, and then took the timid and speechless young chief Renan with him and said goodbye.

The girls in foreign costumes were asked to leave. Han Mingxi washed his face with water with satisfaction and exclaimed: "It's still good to have a house to live in. If we had known earlier, we should have come to Luoyi tribe to stay overnight." Ye Li sat aside and curiously arranged the food on the table, smiling and said: "Do you think that if we came directly to your house, would you find snakes all over your bed and bed in the middle of the night?"

Han Mingxi imagined the scene, shook his head and smiled at Ye Li, "Speaking of Jun Wei, you have to be careful. You should know that women in southern Xinjiang are the most passionate, and they like fair-skinned young men like Jun Wei the most. Be careful... hehe..." He covered his face with a folding fan and smiled with ill intentions. Ye Li was not to be outdone, and responded with a stern look, "Brother Han, don't worry, if I have this blessing, I will definitely not forget to share it with you. Besides... there is no one in this village who is obsessed with my face." When Renan was mentioned, Han Mingxi's handsome face with a wicked smile suddenly sank, and he snorted lightly, and a cold light flashed across his eyes. Young Master Fengyue is very vindictive!

An San stood by the closed window, and when the two men stopped, he turned around and whispered, "There's someone outside."

Ye Li raised her eyebrows, stood up and extinguished the candles on the table. A little dim moonlight came in from the window lattice on the wall. Although it was still dim, it did not affect Ye Li's actions. She walked calmly to An San's side, "They are not monitoring us." An San nodded, pointed to a small house next to him and said, "They are monitoring them, but there is also someone watching us here, it should be just a coincidence." Han Mingxi also quickly adapted to the dimness in the house and laughed softly, "Are these people really weird? Then what do they mean by dragging us in?" Ye Li smiled lightly, "If they have a plan, it will always be revealed. I'm tired all night and I think we should rest now."

An San nodded, pointed to the bedroom inside and said, "Young Master, go in and rest. Young Master Han and I will stay outside to keep watch."

Han Mingxi wanted to retort, but Ye Li nodded without hesitation, turned around, waved to the two of them and went to rest. Blinking his eyes, Han Mingxi said aggrievedly: "I want to rest too." Jun Wei is not the only one who didn't sleep well in the wild, okay? An San glanced at him coldly and pointed to the bamboo couch in the hall, "You can sleep there." Han Mingxi was speechless. Is that bamboo couch half as long as him? The bed inside is obviously very big. As if he saw Han Mingxi's thoughts, An San moved his position to the door of the room where Ye Li entered without changing his expression, took a chair and sat down. The meaning was very obvious. If Han Mingxi wanted to go in, he had to step over him. Han Mingxi could only curl up in the bamboo couch to rest angrily, secretly regretting in his heart: Why did I say that I would live with Jun Wei?

Ye Li woke up early in the morning as usual. Before she got up, she knew that she probably wouldn't be able to leave today. The rustling sound of dripping water outside indicated that it was raining heavily. Ye Li had long experienced the rainy weather in the south, but this rain came too suddenly. If they had slept in the wilderness last night, they would obviously be in trouble now. Thinking of this, Ye Li suddenly felt that the young master of the Luoyi tribe was not so hateful. After tidying up her clothes and going out, An San was still sitting on a chair at the door with his eyes closed, but Ye Li knew he was not asleep. Hearing Ye Li's footsteps, An San immediately opened his eyes and turned around to look at her.

"Go in and rest for a while. You won't be able to walk in the morning." Ye Li said softly, glancing at Han Mingxi, who was curled up on the bamboo couch with a frown on his face.

An San hesitated for a moment, but nodded and went in. Ye Li entered the hall and opened half of the window to admire the rain outside.

"Jun Wei, you are so cruel. You occupy such a big bed and let me sleep on the bamboo couch." I don't know when Han Mingxi opened his eyes, lying lazily on the bamboo couch, looking at Ye Li with charming eyes. Ye Li looked back at him and smiled, "You can go in and sleep with Zhuo Jing now." Han Mingxi raised his eyebrows and looked at her with a smile, "Why can't I sleep with Jun Wei? This young master likes to be clean."

"I like to eat alone. I always keep the good things for myself." Ye Li said calmly.

Han Mingli mumbled something unclear and sat up. He frowned, adjusted his soft dark red robe, and walked to Ye Li's side to look at the rain outside the window. He sighed and said, "The rainy days in southern Xinjiang are also unique, but it's a bit unbearable to rain so often." Before Ye Li could answer, there were footsteps outside the door, and soon there was a knock on the door.

Opening the door, the sick scholar stood at the door holding an oil-paper umbrella. After resting for half a night, his complexion did not get better but became even more waxy and dull. He raised his free hand to cover his lips and coughed from time to time. "Master Han, Master Chu, are you disturbing me?" Ye Li smiled faintly and said, "No problem, please come in."

The sick scholar stepped into the room, looked around and set his eyes on the door of the inner room. Ye Li smiled faintly and said, "Zhuo Jing is still resting, please take a seat. You came here so early in the morning..."

The sick scholar sat down and coughed twice before saying, "I didn't expect to meet Mr. Han during this trip to Southern Xinjiang. Mr. Han... cough, you should know me, right?"

Unexpectedly, he would speak directly to the point. Han Mingxi was stunned for a moment before he smiled and said, "Yes, the reputation of the third pavilion master of Xiling Yanwang Pavilion is indeed well-known for a long time." From his address to the sick scholar and his self-proclaimed name, it can be seen that Han Mingxi does not want to provoke this person, and is extremely wary of him. The sick scholar smiled faintly, "You are welcome. The Pavilion Master of Yanwang and your brother are close friends, and I also have some friendship with your brother. However... this young man is very unfamiliar." Ye Li thought in his heart, and a faint smile appeared on his face, saying, "I am not a person in the martial arts world, but I am a little ignorant. I am sorry to embarrass you." I don't know you, and you don't know me, so we are even. The sick scholar stared at Ye Li as if evaluating something, but Han Mingxi didn't want to see him staring at Ye Li all the time, so he interrupted and said with a smile: "I heard from my brother that the young master doesn't like to go out these years. I wonder what he is going to Southern Xinjiang for this time? Is there anything that Tianyi Pavilion can help with?"

The sick scholar was slightly stunned and shook his head and smiled, "It's just some personal matters. Don't bother Mr. Han." He didn't want to say it, so Han Mingxi naturally didn't ask again. In fact, he wanted to be as far away from him as possible. Why didn't Mo Xiuyao kill this plague god back then? Han Mingxi smiled and complained in his heart. The sick scholar obviously didn't want to spend time on his personal affairs. He looked at Ye Li and Han Mingxi and smiled and said, "What do you think of this village?"

Han Mingxi frowned and said, "I have been to Southern Xinjiang two or three times, but I never noticed that the Luoyi tribe's village was so close."

"What do you think, Master Chu?" The sick scholar looked at Ye Li and asked.

Ye Li frowned and said, "The Luoyi tribe is said to be one of the largest tribes in southern Xinjiang. However, I think there are no more than a hundred people in this village. I heard that the tribal settlements in southern Xinjiang are generally very secretive, but why is the Luoyi tribe's village built next to the main road?" Han Mingxi raised his eyebrows, smiled at Ye Li and said, "It turns out that Jun Wei saw it last night. If there are so many doubts, why did you come here?"

Ye Li raised her eyebrows, "Do we have any choice? We don't have horses, and there are poisonous snakes everywhere. The other party originally wanted to invite us to be their guests. It's better to be invited politely than to be tied up and thrown in like a dumpling. However... I'm curious about what the other party wants to do by putting on such a show. I... except for slightly offending the young clan leader in Yonglin City, there seems to be nothing that can make the other party go to such trouble." After saying this, Ye Li's eyes fell on the sick scholar. The sick scholar sighed and said, "Mr. Chu is young, but he is rare in his intelligence and quick thinking. Yes, they are coming for us."

Ye Li raised her eyebrows, "I'd like to hear the details."

"I believe you two noticed last night that someone has been watching us outside. The purpose of the Luoyi Tribe is actually very simple. They are after a treasure from Mr. Liang." The sick scholar said calmly. Han Mingxi smiled and said, "I have never heard that you changed your job to escort." The sick scholar frowned and held back his cough. He looked at Han Mingxi and smiled calmly, "Yes, I did not come here to protect Mr. Liang."

Han Mingxi leaned against the back of the chair, glanced at the sick scholar and said, "I know that you want that thing too. In that case, just kill the old man directly. Why go through so much trouble to send him to southern Xinjiang?" The sick scholar looked at Han Mingxi, and a hint of viciousness flashed across his originally handsome and smiling brows. The whole person suddenly became more sinister and gloomy, and he looked completely different from the sickly scholar before.

"Yes, I can kill that guy. But unfortunately... he is not stupid. The thing is in the capital of Nanzhao. He only has a token that can get the thing, and it is only half of the token. No one in the world knows where the other half of the token is except him, and no one knows how to use it after getting it." The sick scholar's eyes flashed with murderous intent, and he was obviously very annoyed by Mr. Liang's cunning. Han Mingxi raised his eyebrows and smiled, "Maybe you can consider severe torture." The sick scholar snorted coldly, "Master Han, do you really not know who he is?"

Han Mingxi shrugged nonchalantly, and only smiled when he saw Ye Li turning her gaze towards him, "You know, besides the four wealthy families of Feng, Yan, Jin, and Lu, there is a fifth family in Dachu, the Liang family in the northwest, which is richer than my eldest brother. Moreover, if my eldest brother loves money like his life, then this Mr. Liang values ​​money more than his life. I heard that once a bandit kidnapped his favorite concubine and demanded a ransom of 20,000 taels, but he didn't even respond. . And don't be fooled by his wealth. He is very frugal and lives a life worse than ordinary businessmen. Didn't he brag to you last night about his visit to Qingfeng Mingyue? He is the one my eldest brother hates the most, because he only ordered a cup of the cheapest tea in Qingfeng Mingyue for one night, and didn't even spend twenty taels. If such a person really has any treasure, he probably won't give it to you even if you kill him."

Ye Li looked at the sick scholar, "I'm more curious why you told us this news? Aren't you afraid that we will also be tempted by the money?"

The sick scholar said calmly, "I need your help. Last night I saw that Master Zhuo's martial arts were pretty good, and although I can't tell how skilled Master Chu is, he must be no simple expert either. As for Master Han, I will certainly not let you suffer any loss afterwards." Han Mingxi propped up his chin and tilted his head to look at him, "I thought you said just now that you didn't need Tianyi Pavilion's help."

The sick scholar nodded and said, "I don't need Tianyi Pavilion to provide any intelligence, but since I happened to meet Mr. Han, I can only ask you to come along."

"Can we refuse?" Han asked clearly.

"I'm afraid not." The sick scholar said in a deep voice, his slightly gloomy eyes slowly passed over the two people, and Han Mingxi felt as if he was stabbed by a knife, making him uncomfortable. Ye Li's face was normal, but the hand in the sleeve at the side of her body still clenched a little involuntarily. The sick scholar smiled coldly and slyly, and raised his left hand elegantly to admire the fingers of his right hand, which had a slightly different skin color, and smiled lightly: "I believe that Mr. Han will not refuse, right?"

Han Mingxi's face changed, and he stared at the sick scholar warily and said, "You poisoned us?!"

The sick scholar smiled back at him and did not answer. Han Mingxi's face turned ugly. As if he had expected that Han Mingxi would not refuse, the sick scholar turned his head to look at Ye Li, "Where is Mr. Chu?"

Ye Li reached out and poured herself a cup of cold tea. She frowned slightly at the bitter taste of the cold tea and said, "I refuse."

"Reject?" The sick scholar was a little surprised. After a moment of hesitation, he looked at Ye Li with a more threatening look. "Are you sure, Master Chu?" Ye Li smiled calmly, put down the teacup and said, "I heard about your reputation a few days ago, and I also know that you are the best in the world when it comes to using poison. But... unless you intend to use an immediately fatal poison, it's better not to take action."

"What do you mean?" The sick scholar stared at Ye Li with a gloomy expression.

Ye Li lowered her eyes and looked at her hands on her knees, and said softly: "I heard that you accidentally injured your heart many years ago? Although I don't know much about this kind of injury, I do have some superficial knowledge of the pathology in this area. In my opinion, if you can't kill the other party in a snap of your fingers, then it's better not to do it. Because... your heart may not be able to withstand the long-term violent shock, right?"

The murderous intent in the sick scholar's eyes almost became real in an instant, and he gritted his teeth and said, "Are you sure I can't kill you?"

Ye Li smiled, "Young Master, why not give it a try."

Of course the sick scholar would not try, because Chu Junwei had not fought on the road and did not show that he had profound internal strength. But his intuition told him that this calm and self-assured boy was not simple. Moreover, there was Han Mingxi watching him closely and there was a skilled guard who had not appeared in the room. Han Mingxi leaned in the chair, propping up half of his handsome face to look at the gloomy sick scholar, then looked at Ye Li with a serene smile and blinked with a smile, as if he had heard some great secret.

"Haha, Mr. Chu is indeed not an ordinary person. But... it's probably too late for you to regret now." The sick scholar sneered.

"What do you mean?" Han Mingxi asked with narrowed eyes.

The sick scholar said, "After I left the small building just now, I guess the Liang is no longer in the small building."

"You did it on purpose?" Han Mingxi asked. The sick scholar nodded and said, "Yes, Liang came to Southern Xinjiang to find Luoyi's tribe, and they didn't come to trouble us last night but to pick him up." Han Mingxi frowned and said, "So what?" The sick scholar snorted and said, "What? He has already reached his destination, and those who know his whereabouts must... be silenced. If they don't invite us all here, if one of them escapes, wouldn't all their efforts be wasted?"

"Was it your idea that Zheng Kui came over to chat with us and invite us to go with him the day before yesterday?" Ye Li asked calmly while looking at the sick scholar.

"Yes, Zheng Kui thought he was just escorting the Liang to Nanzhao for business. I told him that you two are very skilled and it would be good for you to travel together. To be honest... I didn't want to choose you, but not many people want to go to Southern Xinjiang at this time of year. And I need someone with good skills to help. It just so happens that Master Han and I have some relationship, right?"

Han Mingxi smiled and said, "I am more curious why you don't use people from Yan Wang Pavilion. I believe there are many people in Yan Wang Pavilion who are willing to go through fire and water for you, right?"

The sick scholar's face darkened and he said coldly: "This is my own business."

Ye Li stood up and walked to the window to see that it was still raining heavily outside. Then he turned around and asked, "What kind of treasure does Mr. Liang have that would make someone like you spend so much effort on it?"

"It's better for Master Chu not to know about this. After all, the less you know, the safer you are. For Master Han's sake, I won't do anything to you afterwards." The sick scholar promised with a sullen face. Ye Li glanced at him calmly and smiled, "I'm sorry, I don't really like being used as a pawn by others without knowing the truth."

The sick scholar sneered, "You can't get out without my help. Take a good look outside." Han Mingxi quickly flew to the window and looked out. The scenery in the distance was looming in the rain, but there was a faint strange fragrance in the air. Ye Li pulled Han Mingxi away and closed the window with her backhand. The sick scholar looked at Ye Li and nodded in praise, "I was right. Mr. Chu knows a lot about poison." Ye Li shook her head and said, "I don't know much about poison, but I was knocked out by a drug produced in southern Xinjiang a few days ago, so I am more vigilant."

After falling into Ye Yue's hands, Ye Li recalled the situation carefully many times. Finally, she was sure that Ye Yue did not poison her after she entered the palace, but that the drugs were placed there from the beginning. There were two pots of half-opened orchids at the entrance of the main hall of Yaohua Palace, and two pots of the same orchids were placed in the palace. Later, she saw the same orchids in the small courtyard where Mo Jingli imprisoned her. Of course, maybe they were not orchids, but just looked like them.

The sick scholar said, "Our way up the mountain has been cut off, and those flowers and plants on the hillside outside... It's okay for Mr. Han to smell them now, it's not a big deal. This poisonous flower is only effective during the day and on sunny days. But once the rain stops, the fragrance of these flowers will become highly toxic, and those who smell it will be unable to move." Han Mingxi looked at him and said, "Do you have an antidote?"

The sick scholar said proudly: "It's just a little poison, how difficult is it?"

Han Mingxi walked back to his seat and sat down and said, "So, you won't give us the antidote unless we are willing to help you? Aren't we going down the mountain before the rain stops?" The sick scholar smiled and said, "People who practice martial arts don't need to worry about whether there is a way to go up and down the mountain. You can go out and give it a try. It will also help me lure away the people and the poisonous insects." Han Mingxi thought of the dense swarm of snakes last night and felt goosebumps all over his body. He rubbed his arms and looked at Ye Li eagerly.

Ye Li stood with her hands behind her back and said calmly, "Then I can assume that you not only have antidotes to those poisonous flowers and plants, but also have ways to deal with poisonous snakes and insects. And all we have to do is deal with those people, right?"

The sick scholar nodded in a good mood and said, "Not bad." The unhappiness of being poked in the weakness finally dissipated a little, and the murderous look in his eyes when he looked at Ye Li also gradually dissipated. Ye Li pondered for a moment, and then nodded and said, "I can promise you, sir."

"Hey, Jun Wei, aren't you afraid that he will go back on his word and kill people to silence them?" Han Mingxi reminded in a low voice that the sick scholar was not a kind person. Ye Li smiled, "I believe in the promise of the third master of Yanwang Pavilion."

"In that case, it's a deal."

Hey, hey...does that guy have such a thing as credibility?