Rescue Operation (Part 2)
The iron gate swung open, and a sweet, fishy, and rotting stench blasted into their nostrils. The coolness of the mint ointment was instantly dissipated. Several people's stomachs churned. Su Baiwei, whose sense of smell was far superior to that of an average person, groaned, her face pale as paper.
Just a few steps away, the scene behind the iron bars caught my eye. Tiaotiao was suspended, muddy, dirty water slowly flooding over his mouth and nose.
Lan Tu's pupils suddenly contracted, the Ice Soul Sword flashed blue, and the iron bars cracked open. She was about to take a deep breath when the figure beside her flashed by like a startled wild goose.
Su Baiwei's eyes swept over the decaying matter floating on the surface of the water. Her brow furrowed, and she suppressed her nausea. She tiptoed, sinking into the filth without hesitation, lifting her jumping body. Suddenly, there was a crisp "crack" beneath her feet—the feel of bones breaking! She shuddered, her body suddenly tilted, and dirty water suddenly poured into her mouth and nose.
Deep in her nasal cavity, she felt an intense burning and suffocating sensation. She instinctively opened her mouth to inhale, but more sticky, bitter liquid rushed down her throat. Her vision went black, and she felt like vomiting. She gritted her teeth, trying her best to stay steady and lift Tiao Tiao higher.
Mu Jin was stunned. The young lady who always burned incense and bathed after her consultation, without a trace of foul smell, had actually jumped into this stinking sewage pool.
Lantu's sword flashed again, and the chain snapped. She caught Tiaotiao, tapping her toes on the stone wall and using the momentum to spin back to the ground. Gently setting Tiaotiao down, she immediately turned around, grabbed her trembling wrist in the sewage pool, and pulled her out.
As soon as Su Baiwei landed on the ground, she suddenly bent over, her stomach cramped violently, and she vomited heart-wrenchingly, with dirty water mixed with food pouring out of her mouth.
Mu Jin's heart tightened, and she rushed forward, patting her trembling back. At that moment, Su Baiwei was hunched over, panting miserably. Her usual deep alienation and cold defense were completely shattered by the suffocating stench and violent physiological reaction.
Uncle Li ripped off his face towel and stuffed it into her hand, suppressing his surging stomach acid: "Girl, tie it on quickly! I'm used to the smell, it's not a problem!"
"You..." Su Baiwei vomited again, her voice intermittent, "Get out..."
"Okay! I'll guard outside!" Uncle Li understood her concerns and turned to leave.
Lan Tu's eyes quickly swept over Tiao Tiao. The front of his right forearm, where he had taken the Chi Lian Poison Palm, was already rotting and blackened. His face was gaunt, a streak of glaring white hair on his forehead... Her heart suddenly tightened, her nose felt sore, and silent tears fell. She suppressed a sob, put her right fingers together, and quickly tapped Tiao Tiao's chest, the Tan Zhong point, channeling her internal energy and pushing upward.
"Cough, cough, cough!" Tiao Tiao coughed out a few mouthfuls of smelly sewage, his chest heaving violently, and he finally took a breath.
He struggled to open his heavy eyelids, and his blurry vision gradually focused, colliding with Lan Tu's eyes that were full of worry and pain.
"It's me." Lan Tu's voice was choked with sobs, "We are late."
Tiaotiao looked at the lingering tears on her cheeks. Though his body was freezing cold, a warmth spread through his heart. He struggled to force a playful smile, but only managed to move his lips. "Why are you crying... You're still... breathing..."
The sound of retching nearby drew his attention away. Seeing the pale profile of her face, vomiting the last of her bile, his heart pounded. She was soaking wet, her hair dripping with muddy water. Her disgrace made him instantly understand what she had been through.
Mu Jin's eyes were red. She pulled out a handkerchief and tremblingly wiped the stain from her lips. Su Baiwei bit her tongue hard, the sharp pain piercing through her mind. The strong smell of blood filled her mouth, temporarily overcoming the suffocating stench. She quickly tied Li Bo's face towel tightly, and the smell of rust mixed with the coolness of mint spread through her mouth and nose.
When she raised her eyes and met Tiaotiao's, they both felt a jolt in their hearts. Time seemed to freeze. After a few seconds of silent staring, Tiaotiao uttered a hoarse voice, "Go... Leave me alone..."
"Let's go together." Su Baiwei looked him straight in the eyes. "I said," her voice was filled with stubbornness and ruthlessness, "even if I have to go through the underworld, I will definitely get your soul out!"
These resounding words instantly pierced through my memory.
"If I don't wake up in six hours..."
"Then lie still. Even if I, Su Baiwei, have to traverse the underworld, I will definitely retrieve your soul!"
Tiaotiao's throat choked, and the hard shell in his eyes was broken by the water. He coughed violently, and each cough caused pain all over his body, and his brows were tightly knitted together.
Su Baiwei fished out a porcelain bottle from her soaked sleeve. Lan Tu and Mu Jin worked together to carefully help Tiao Tiao sit up. She deftly pried open the cork and slowly fed him the pre-cooked medicine. Tiao Tiao swallowed with difficulty. After the last sip, Su Baiwei dropped the bottle and squatted down. Lan Tu and Mu Jin then supported him and climbed onto her back.
Lan Tu picked up the Ice Soul Sword: "Let's go!"
"Wait!" Mu Jin's face suddenly turned pale. "This smell... we'll be discovered as soon as we get out. If Chi Lian finds out..."
Su Baiwei and Lan Tu's hearts sank at the same time, and their eyes fell on the blackened rotten flesh on Tiao Tiao's right arm.
"Cut out the rotten flesh, now." Su Baiwei made a quick decision. She put down Tiaotiao and reached into her sleeve, but the packet of Ma Fei Powder had already been soaked with sewage and turned into a mess. "The medicine... is ruined." Her voice choked slightly. "You... have to bear with it."
Tiao Tiao looked up at her, and with great difficulty, the corners of his mouth curved slightly, his breath weak: "It's good... as long as you can stay alive..."
Mu Jin had already pulled a cloth bag from her bosom. Su Baiwei quickly spread it out on the stone table, her gleaming knives lined up in a row. She uncorked the porcelain bottle and poured the potion onto the decaying flesh of Tiao Tiao's right arm. An instant sizzling sound and acrid white foam rose.
"Palace Master Lantu, be alert." Su Baiwei's voice had returned to normal.
"Leave it to me!" Lan Tu responded, and the Bingpo Sword drew a blue arc in the air, and his figure flew towards the door.
Mu Jin poured the potion into Su Baiwei's hands, which also sizzled and foamed. Su Baiwei carefully passed each instrument over the flames.
"Let's begin." She took a deep breath and picked up the thinnest scimitar. The tip of the knife condensed into a cold light under the firelight.
Tiaotiao closed his eyes and nodded weakly.
The tip of the knife hovered half an inch above the rotten flesh.
Time seemed to stand still. Su Baiwei's hand remained frozen in place, motionless. The dungeon was unnervingly quiet, the only sound being the distinct dripping of water. Tiao Tiao's tightly closed eyelashes trembled slightly. Mu Jin's palm, holding the torch, was covered in sweat, and he couldn't help but look at her.
A tear fell without warning. Then, a second, a third... Mu Jin hurriedly wiped it with a handkerchief, but the more she wiped, the more tears fell, and the handkerchief was soaked in an instant.
The hand holding the knife began to tremble uncontrollably, spreading from the fingertips to the wrist. This was something Mu Jin had never seen in her before: a loss of control.
Tiao Tiao struggled to open his eyes and forced a pale smile. "Ice Beauty... crying for me? This injury... is worth it..."
Su Baiwei's hand suddenly retracted, and she was about to put the knife back on the cloth, but she stopped abruptly an inch away from the cloth.
No! Mu Jin lacks experience... Only she can do it! She bit her lower lip, bleeding, and pressed the tip of the knife to the edge of the wound again. But the sharp blade was suspended above the rotten flesh, trembling violently, and could not pierce it.
"What are you afraid of..." Tiao Tiao panted, his eyes glancing at the old scar on her wrist. "It won't hurt as much as... you taking my blood every month... I can handle this little bit of pain... just do it..."
"It's different!" Su Baiwei interrupted him, her voice choked with sobs, "Drawing blood will only hurt for a while, but this..." The rest of the words were stuck in her throat and she could no longer say them.
"That night... that woodcutter... his bamboo arrow missed his heart by just three inches... he was much more dangerous than me..." Tiao Tiao looked at her, his usual sarcasm gone, leaving only a soft warmth in his eyes. "You attacked... without hesitation... and now... with this minor injury... you can't do it again?"
Su Baiwei met those gentle eyes and her heart was shocked.
Her gaze swept across the nervous Mu Jin, peered through the door at the braced Lan Tu and Li Bo, and finally settled on her own trembling hands. The Sacred Fire Hall, the Water Prison, the Ghost-Seeing Pass… everyone's lives hung in the balance of these hands! She suddenly closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and when she opened them again, the surging emotions had been forcibly suppressed, leaving only an icy resolve.
The blade fell, slicing into the rotten flesh. When it touched the deep, bright red texture, all attention was focused on the fingertips. The trembling was suppressed, and the movement became extremely gentle.
Even so, Tiaotiao's forehead was still covered with beads of cold sweat. His body was tense with pain, his teeth were clenched, and a painful whimper was muffled deep in his throat. Time passed by with the subtle scraping sound of the knife tip.
There are a few sparse stars hanging in the dark night sky.
Ghost Pass.
In front of the huge rock, the fuse hissed and sparks flew.
Boom!
Huge rocks exploded. Guards rang bells frantically, and medicine men surged forward like a tide, numbly carrying the rubble.
In the shadows above, Dada held the rope tightly and watched coldly. When the pass was almost cleared, he gave a sudden tug of his wrist.
boom!
Another huge rock came crashing down, carrying rubble with it, blocking the passage once again.
The guard's sword smashed against the rock wall, sending sparks flying, but he could only grit his teeth and ring the golden bell again to drive the medicine man to continue this hopeless labor.
Inside the Holy Fire Hall.
Torches lit up the hall as bright as day. Shouts, howls, and the clashing of weapons mixed together into a deafening wave of sound.
Sally and Doudou had joined the fray. The four of them combined their strength to fight the Nine Hundred Medicine Men. Hongmao and Daben suddenly felt the pressure ease, but their breathing became heavy, and their sword-wielding arms felt heavy.
Inside the main hall.
Chi Lian clutched the urgent report of "the medicine men trapped at the Ghost-Seeing Pass," his face livid. The moment he received word of the ceasefire at Beimang Mountain, he knew their target had been Tiao Tiao all along. He urgently ordered the medicine men transferred back to Beimang Mountain to rush back to the Holy Fire Hall, only to receive such devastating news.
He paced back and forth anxiously, forcing himself to suppress his seething rage. "There are only four people fighting here... where are the other three?" His eyes were fierce. "If they were going in to rescue them, why is there no movement in the dungeon? Could they... have gone to the water dungeon?" He slammed the thought down as it formed. "Impossible! The water dungeon is top secret, heavily guarded, and even birds can't get through! Could... the dungeon trap have been discovered?" He stopped abruptly and shouted, "Someone!"
A silver-armored guard stepped forward quickly, lowered his head and listened to the order.
"Martial law is in place in the hall. Thoroughly investigate all suspicious activity!"
"Yes!" The guard took the order and retreated.
"Wait!" Chi Lian couldn't shake off the uneasiness in his heart. He couldn't rest assured after all. "You... go to the water prison and take a look yourself!"
"Yes, sir!" the guard replied solemnly, turned around and walked away quickly.
The entrance to the dungeon.
Lantu Bingpo Sword in hand, he was alert and focused. Uncle Li paced back and forth anxiously, his eyes repeatedly glancing at the closed iron door.
Inside the door, there was only the subtle sound of a knife scraping against flesh and bones, and extremely suppressed gasps.
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