Chapter Twenty-Nine
The soldiers watching the battle were also very interested.
These roughnecks would often have competitions like this when they had nothing else to do, and they would all go all out without holding back. This was the first time they had ever seen scholars competing in martial arts, and they found it extremely novel.
Si Yanmo followed the others and chose her own weapon, which was still a dagger.
When Zhou Yanqing first started teaching her, she always felt that a dagger would inevitably lose to a spear.
After a month of Zhou Yanqing's instruction, she found the dagger to be exceptionally comfortable to use.
Using minimal force to achieve maximum effect is quite interesting.
Using the dagger in her hand and recalling the moves Zhou Yanqing had taught her, she actually defeated five people in a row, which even she herself found hard to believe.
Zhou Yanqing on the stage gradually relaxed, and the corners of her mouth turned up slightly.
The last challenger to step onto the stage was Qi Muchen.
At this moment, Si Yanmo also gradually felt her strength failing, and beads of cold sweat appeared on her forehead.
She had previously heard Mo Wenzhong mention that Qi Muchen was top-notch in divination, witchcraft, witchcraft, and even martial arts at the divination academy.
He had already been favored by the Emperor for slightly winning the divination test in the previous literary examination, but now it seemed that winning the martial arts competition would be as difficult as ascending to heaven.
After the two stood still, a gong sounded and the competition began. Qi Muchen used a long sword, raised his hand, and thrust it straight at her face, but fortunately Si Yanmo dodged it by sidestepping.
"You've actually managed to hold on until now." There seemed to be a deeper meaning in the man's words.
Si Yanmo didn't understand, but forced herself to say, "I'll hold on until the very end!"
At this moment, Zhou Yanqing, sitting on the stage, clenched his hands. This guy was there to take lives, and he was worried that Si Yanmo wouldn't be able to resist at all.
The two went back and forth, and under Qi Muchen's rapid attacks, Si Yanmo could only defend.
She also sensed something was wrong. Her breathing was unsteady as she blocked the opponent's attacks while asking, "Master Qi, is it really necessary to go to such lengths in a martial arts match?"
Qi Muchen smiled contemptuously and raised his hand to thrust his sword again. "No one holds back on the battlefield. If this is all you've got, you shouldn't even think about becoming a sorcerer."
"What are Qi Shibao's skills? Before the assessment, he tried to prevent his opponents from participating. And now he's trying to take my life?" Si Yanmo asked sharply, her hand holding the dagger trembling slightly.
She was already exhausted, but her opponent was full of energy and kept attacking her relentlessly.
She couldn't continue like this; the time allotted for an incense stick to burn was almost up. If she hadn't figured out a way to win, she would surely be overwhelmed by the opponent's offensive.
Si Yanmo was panting heavily, trying to find a weakness in her opponent's defenses.
Zhou Yanqing had told her, "Those who are skilled with long weapons often use the length of their weapons to prevent you from getting close. Remember, dodge the sharp edge, attack from the side to get close, and once your dagger is pressed against his vital point, he will be powerless to fight back."
Si Yanmo held her breath and focused intently on the other person's every move.
Finally, just as the other man tried to stab her in the face again, she bent down and quickly came behind him, pressing the dagger in her hand against his neck.
"Master Qi, you've lost."
The incense on the stands had just burned out when the master of ceremonies struck a gong: "The martial arts test is over."
Si Yanmo curled her lips into a smile and put down the dagger in her hand. It was finally over, and she had almost no strength left.
As the effects of the medicine wore off, she trembled, feeling a dull ache in her veins.
here we go!
Her back was instantly soaked with sweat, and she gritted her teeth, trying to get off the ring.
Suddenly, the person behind her turned around, raised a long sword, and thrust it straight at her.
...
As the gong signaling the end of the martial arts test sounded, Qi Muchen's slender neck was pressed against by a gleaming dagger, his eyes filled with resentment.
On what grounds?
He had worked hard for ten years to become a shaman, but in the last shaman assessment, he lost to a coward because of his witchcraft. This time, he lost to a little girl who had only been in the shaman's academy for two months.
He was unwilling to accept it!
When he turned around and saw Si Yanmo had already put down her dagger, his anger drove him to pick up his longsword and thrust it straight at her, the tip of the sword aimed directly at Si Yanmo's heart.
At the critical moment, a long spear came from the right and deflected his longsword.
The longsword immediately fell to the ground with a clang.
Qi Muchen raised his eyes, the wind blew the red tassel, and a pair of sharp phoenix eyes behind the spear met his gaze.
"Master Qi, the martial arts test is over. Do you still want to kill someone?" Zhou Yanqing's voice was filled with anger, and his gaze was fixed on Qi Muchen with murderous intent.
It was actually the King of Qin! He was so frightened that his legs went weak, and he barely managed to stay upright and not fall to the ground.
When Si Yanmo heard the sound and turned around, her vision was already blurred. She could only vaguely see a black figure blocking her way and hear a familiar voice.
She was in excruciating pain all over her body and couldn't hear what the two were saying. All she felt was a sudden darkness before her eyes, and she fell backward.
Zhou Yanqing hurriedly caught her, "Si Yanmo, Si Yanmo!"
The woman's face was almost bloodless, and her whole body was soaked in cold sweat. He quickly picked her up and wrapped the fox fur coat he had prepared earlier around her body.
The horses' hooves pounded the sand as they galloped past, and the crowd stared wide-eyed at the back of the King of Qin as he carried a woman on horseback.
A voice seemed to emerge from the crowd: "Who is that woman?"
...
Spring rain is like that; you never know when it will come, sometimes heavy, sometimes light, as if it always takes something away.
Lin Niang stood at the door, the raindrops like a beaded curtain blocking her view, but they could not conceal the anxiety and worry between her brows.
When Chen Wu told her what had happened, she almost rushed straight to the military camp.
That's a banned drug! This girl must be crazy!
The vermilion gate was flung open with a bang, shattering the curtain of rain in front of it.
A figure in black rushed in carrying a girl in emerald green. Lin Niang quickly made way for her, saying, "Quick, let her lie down on the bed."
Ignoring the fact that he was already soaked by the rain, Zhou Yanqing carried the person to the bed.
Si Yanmo was wrapped in a fox fur coat, so she wasn't wet, but she was still soaked with sweat.
The veins on her neck bulged with the pain in her meridians, her face was flushed, but her lips were bloodless.
Lin Niang reached out and felt her pulse, her brows gradually furrowing.
"Lin Niang, she's alright, right?"
Zhou Yanqing stood to the side, her clenched fists trembling slightly, whether from the rain or fear that something might have happened to her.
Lin Niang: "Besides the Qi-restoring soup, has she taken any other medicine?"
"There are only some medicines for treating colds, and I've had them checked. There shouldn't be any problems." He realized something, "Is there some other problem?"
Lin Niang examined Si Yanmo's pulse more carefully and finally realized something was wrong. "She doesn't have a cold; someone has poisoned her. While the Qi-restoring decoction helped her recover her vital energy, it also intensified the original poison. I'm afraid she..."
A loud roar came from outside, and her eyes drooped.
"What...does that mean?" Zhou Yanqing frowned slightly, a bad feeling creeping over her.
Lin Niang was also heartbroken. Although she hadn't known Si Yanmo for long, she genuinely liked the girl. But the facts were undeniable…
“Fuqi Decoction already damages the meridians, and with the toxins already invading the heart and lungs, he can’t hold on for more than a few days.”
"Is there... really no other way?"
He reached out and grabbed Lin Niang's wrist. "Lin Niang, you're from Lanyu. This is Lanyu's medicine. You must have a way, right?"
Images of Si Yanmo and his past bickering flashed through Zhou Yanqing's mind, but in the end, all the images froze on the girl's gentle smile and her words: "Isn't there still you?"
She trusted him so much, how could he let anything happen to her?
His eyes were red, and a tear slid down his cheek, making Lin Niang feel a pang of heartache.
She had watched Zhou Yanqing grow up since he was a child, and she had never seen him cry for any woman.
Lin Niang sighed and pondered for a long time before speaking: "There is another way, but it is also a matter of life and death."
Zhou Yanqing's dull eyes lit up again, and he tightened his grip on Lin Niang's wrist. "What's the solution?"
"Lanyu has a secret technique that involves administering the Luo Chan Gu to a seriously ill person, supplemented with medicinal soup. Within seven days, all illnesses will disappear, and the person will be brought back to life."
Lin Niang paused for a moment, then continued, "The success rate of this kind of Gu technique is extremely low. I've only used it once, and it failed."
"We should give it a try."
We must try whatever means necessary, even if it's only one in a thousand!
With things having come to this, Lin Niang had no choice but to return to Yun Jian Xuan to retrieve the Gu poison and administer it to Si Yan Mo.
Last time, she used this Gu worm on her close friend Li Yan, but that person still left.
Since then, whether it was an obsession or something else, she always tried to refine this Gu worm, but she has never used it on a human.
Now, when applied to Si Yanmo, she is extremely cautious with every step, afraid of making a mistake.
The pale-faced girl before her eyes was a reflection of Li Yan, who had begged her to save her years ago. Lin Niang hardened her heart, made a cut on the girl's wrist, and sent the Gu worm inside.
As the Gu worms slithered through her meridians, Si Yanmo, who had been lying on the bed looking frail and delicate, suddenly began to cough violently. Her pale face turned red again, and even the veins on her hands bulged out, clearly indicating that she was enduring intense pain all over her body.
Zhou Yanqing instinctively wanted to step forward, but was stopped by Lin Niang.
"Lin Niang, this..."
"This is the Gu worm searching for the damaged areas in her meridians," Lin Niang said calmly, but her hands trembled involuntarily.
If others have a 10% chance of success in doing this, then she has less than a 10% chance.
She was the only one who had ever witnessed her best friend die right before her eyes, even though she was talking to her one second and then passed away the next.
The renowned Gu master "killed" her friend with Gu worms on that day, and she had long since lost faith in her Gu techniques.
"Little girl, hang in there." She held Si Yanmo's hand and whispered encouragement in her ear, trying to give her strength.
Perhaps it was her words that had an effect, as Si Yanmo's body gradually calmed down.
Both she and Zhou Yanqing breathed a sigh of relief, but the next second, the person on the bed coughed up a mouthful of black blood...
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