Chapter 119: Condensation Pill
The cave was deeper and narrower than she had imagined. In some places, she almost had to crawl to pass through.
Sweat mixed with cold water seeping down from the well wall soaked her clothes, making them sticky and uncomfortable.
“Click.”
It's the sound of pebbles rolling.
Chen He's heart was in his throat, he held his breath, and the light of the fire wick flickered slightly.
Fortunately, she just accidentally dropped it.
She didn't dare look back, nor did she dare to think about how crazy Xue Minglan was upstairs.
She only knew that she had to move forward.
She had no idea how long she had been climbing.
Maybe a quarter of an hour, maybe longer.
Just when she was about to be driven crazy by the endless darkness and stench, a faint light appeared in front of her!
That light, unlike the orange light of the fire, had a hint of coolness.
There is a way out!
Shen He was invigorated and quickened his pace.
The further we go, the clearer the light becomes.
The fishy smell seemed to have faded a little, replaced by a strange smell... a mixture of herbs and dust.
Finally, she climbed to the end of the cave.
The light came from a low gap in front.
The gap was very narrow and located at the bottom of the stone wall, like a hole left by a brick that had been pried open by someone.
Chen He extinguished the tinder in his hand and carefully moved his head closer.
Suddenly, everything becomes clear!
This is a stone chamber made entirely of cold bluestone bricks!
It was not big, about half the size of an ordinary bedroom, with bare walls and only some hay piled in the corner.
The hole she had crawled out of was in an inconspicuous corner of the stone chamber, hidden by a half-covered stone slab. If you didn't look carefully, you wouldn't be able to find it at all.
Chen He's heart moved and he cast his gaze towards the center of the stone chamber.
really!
In the middle of the stone chamber, there was a simple stone bed!
There is a figure lying on the bed!
It was a woman, wearing a gray prison uniform, with dry and messy hair that almost covered most of her face.
There was a thick iron chain around her ankle, and the other end of the chain was deeply embedded in the stone wall!
The woman seemed to be asleep and did not move.
Chen He held his breath and was about to observe carefully when suddenly——
"Crunch—boom—"
A dull roar came from the other side of the stone chamber!
Chen He's pupils shrank, and he quickly retracted his head back into the cave, leaving only a thin gap for observation.
She saw that the stone wall facing her direction slowly slid to the side, revealing a stone door that was only wide enough for one person to pass through!
Immediately afterwards, a bright yellow figure slowly walked in, surrounded by a group of palace servants!
It’s the Queen!
The woman on the stone bed seemed to be awakened by the loud noise and sat up suddenly!
When she saw who it was, her face, which was covered by messy hair, was instantly filled with extreme fear!
“Plop!”
She rolled down from the stone bed, not caring about the clattering sound of the iron chains on her feet, and fell heavily to her knees!
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The woman slammed her forehead against the cold stone floor, making a dull sound.
“Your Majesty… Your Majesty, please spare my life… This servant… This servant deserves to die…”
Her voice was hoarse and dry, filled with desperate pleas, and her body was shaking like a leaf in the wind.
The queen sat down on a brocade stool brought by the palace maids, looking down at the woman on the ground who was as humble as an ant, without any warmth in her eyes.
She covered her mouth and nose with a silk handkerchief embroidered with golden phoenixes, as if she was disgusted by the smell here.
After a while, she spoke in a tone that was so calm that it was almost cruel:
"Get up and answer."
The woman trembled even more violently upon hearing this, but she dared not disobey. She struggled to get up, still with her head lowered, not daring to look at the queen.
"I want to ask you," the Queen's voice was like a sharp blade tempered with ice, striking Shen He's heart with every word, "When will the 'Condensation Pill' be refined?"
The voice of the woman in prison clothes was trembling and out of tune, with a desperate sob.
"This servant... This servant really doesn't know... Your Majesty... This servant really doesn't know..."
The queen snorted coldly, and a cold light flashed in her phoenix eyes.
She didn't even open her mouth, but a female official next to her, dressed in dark clothes and with a stern face, understood, stepped forward, untied the sword at her waist, and presented it to her with both hands.
The scabbard was simple, but the hilt had a faint smell of blood.
The queen took it with her bare hands. Her movements did not seem awkward at all, but rather familiar as if she had been holding weapons for a long time.
“Swish——”
The long sword was unsheathed, bringing with it a cold light, illuminating the queen's well-maintained but now cold and ruthless face.
She raised her wrist slightly, and the cold sword tip touched the cheek of the woman in prison clothes, whose original appearance could no longer be seen.
Chen He's heart suddenly tightened!
It was not until this moment, with the light reflected from the sword, that she was able to see clearly with horror!
There is not a single piece of clean skin on that woman's face!
The crisscrossing sword marks were of varying depths, with new ones stacked on top of old ones, like a spider web that had been cut countless times and then barely glued together, hideous and terrifying!
Some of the wounds have scabbed over and are dark purple; others are still tender pink, with the skin slightly turned outward.
This is not a face at all, it's clearly a piece of rag that has been repeatedly ravaged!
"It seems that you still haven't learned your lesson."
The queen's voice remained calm, as if she was talking about something very ordinary.
Before she finished speaking, she suddenly turned her wrist!
“Sizzle—”
The slight sound of flesh being cut by a sharp blade sounded particularly harsh in the silent stone chamber!
A new bloodstain appeared on the face of the woman in prison clothes!
Bright red blood beads rushed out, winding down along the horrible old scar, dripping onto the dirty prison uniform, spreading a small dark spot.
The already ghostly face was now even more bloody and eerie, so spooky and weird that people dared not look directly at it!
Chen He almost screamed in the dark, covering his mouth tightly and digging his nails deep into his palms!
The woman on the stone bed let out a suppressed groan, her body trembling violently, but she didn't even dare to dodge.
She seemed... accustomed to this torture.
“Woo… woo…”
Blood and tears blurred her eyes, and she cried, but her voice was hoarser and more desperate than before.
"Your Majesty... This servant... This servant really doesn't know... Please, Your Majesty... Please, Your Majesty, please forgive this servant..."
"Spare you?" The queen sneered, and gently patted the bloody face with the sword, as if teasing a humble pet.
"I am curious about the authenticity of your identity as a woman of the Cloud Clan."
Her voice suddenly became sharp, with a hint of impatience and bitter sarcasm.
"Aren't the daughters of your Yun Clan known for being able to give birth to countless poisonous insects with just a drop of their blood, and to bring back the dead to life?"
"Isn't your blood capable of making all the strange and miraculous medicines in the world?"
"What?" The Queen leaned forward, her eyes gleaming with madness. "You can't even refine this mere 'Ninghua Pill'?"
"Are you trying to fool me, or... are you from the Yun Clan just a bunch of deceitful scoundrels?!"
Upon hearing this, the woman in prison clothes suddenly raised her bloodstained face, and for the first time, her eyes showed an emotion other than fear - it was extreme panic and a hint of... humiliation.
She slammed her head heavily on the ground, making a dull "bang" sound.
"Your Majesty, you are wise! Your Majesty, you are wise!"
"'Ninghua Pill' is the supreme holy medicine of our Yun Clan! It is not an ordinary medicine!"
Her voice rose with excitement, but still contained a strong sense of fear.
"This recipe has been lost for thousands of years. The ancient books of our clan only record it in a few words, and the details are not clear! For hundreds of years, no one in the Yun clan has ever… never been able to truly succeed in refining it!"
"How could this servant know the recipe for some ancient sacred medicine?"
"Please have mercy, Your Majesty! Please be clear-headed! Every word this servant says is true. If even a single lie is true, I will willingly endure the pain of a thousand poisonous insects gnawing at my heart!"
She fell to the ground, her body shaking, her forehead against the cold stone slab, not daring to lift it up even a little bit.
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