Chapter 5. The Moon Master Sent Me to Develop Nanxun

During these few days of recuperation at Poison Spirit Sect, Xin Jiao Zhou temporarily put aside the miscellaneous thoughts in her heart and relaxed for a rare few days.

After sending someone back to report her safety to Feng Yan, she idled around in the Poison Spirit Sect.

On the other hand, Feng Yan was so busy handling the sect’s affairs for Xin Jiao Zhou that he couldn’t spare a moment, while the “culprit” Xin Jiao Zhou didn’t feel uncomfortable at all, gladly accepting the pleasure.

It was truly leisurely!

Upon receiving Xin Jiao Zhou’s letter, he could no longer sit still.

Three days later, someone came from the sect.

The man’s slender waist was wrapped in a black robe, his cold and stern aura paired with that delicate face was like the bright moon, making people unable to look directly at him.

Seeing that person’s clothes, Hua Rong’s expression cracked slightly.

When did his Poison Spirit Sect become so close to the Demon Sect, with people coming to visit every other day? Moreover, these two uninvited guests were acting too familiar, treating his Poison Spirit Sect like an inn!

Being a sect master like this, there was really no dignity to speak of…

Hua Rong watched the two people conversing with a resentful look on the side.

“How have you been lately?” Xin Jiao Zhou originally wanted to exchange a few polite words with Feng Yan in front of others before getting to the point.

But unexpectedly, the other party didn’t let go of this topic.

“Not good.”

Feng Yan’s expression was serious, even solemn, but he was saying words completely contrary to his demeanor, looking utterly deflated.

Xin Jiao Zhou: “…”

Even though the words were on the tip of her tongue, she silently swallowed them all back.

Xin Jiao Zhou’s cold, hard face softened a bit, but her tone didn’t change much, still with her usual indifference: “What’s wrong? Did they give you a hard time?”

Having received attention from her, Feng Yan’s mood improved considerably, his expression loosened, and his serious face immediately seemed to be unable to hold up.

Suppressing the corners of his mouth that couldn’t help but want to fly up, he said: “Yes. After all, our legitimate sect master is still here, how could it be my turn to manage those people?”

—— Hmph! What an ungrateful little one! Doesn’t he think about who’s been working day and night for him! If I didn’t come, would he have forgotten about me completely!

Hearing this, Xin Jiao Zhou’s eyes narrowed slightly, her thin lips parting: “Ruo Feng.”

“Here.” Ruo Feng walked out from the shadows.

“Go fetch some paper and a brush, I want to draft a letter.” Xin Jiao Zhou’s tone turned cold, speaking solemnly.

“No need.” Feng Yan glanced at Ruo Feng.

He spends quite a lot of time with little Zhou.

It’s fine for little Zhou to relax, but how dare he be idle!

Feng Yan’s heart was both bitter and sour.

Ruo Feng stood bowing not far away, waiting for instructions, suddenly feeling a chill. The feeling came somewhat inexplicably, but his intuition was always accurate.

Sure enough, he heard Feng, the great gate master, speak.

“Those people are not worth my attention.” The next moment, Feng Yan changed the subject abruptly, “However, right now, I do have a matter that needs your approval.”

Feng Yan seemingly casually swept his gaze past Xin Jiao Zhou’s back, continuing: “Nanxun is currently short of some manpower, I want to borrow some people from you…” His seemingly casual words were like a devil’s whisper.

Go “develop Nanxun”? If Ruo Feng really believed that, then he might as well have eaten ten years of the sect’s food for nothing.

This was clearly exiling him! This wasn’t just borrowing for a few days, probably without a year or half, he wouldn’t be able to return…

“I will arrange suitable people to fill the vacant positions. There are plenty of candidates, you don’t need to worry about this.”

Feng Yan smiled at Xin Jiao Zhou, his expression gentle. However, it made both Ruo Feng and Hua Rong shudder at the same time.

Although Hua Rong didn’t understand the intricacies as well as Ruo Feng, he instinctively felt that Feng Yan was not a simple person, not as gentle as he appeared on the surface.

“Alright, let’s do as you say.”

Ruo Feng knew that the master still had quite a bit of trust in Feng Yan.

He had done a lot for her, sacrificed a lot for the Heavenly Sword Sect.

To her, he was no longer the childhood competitor, nor would he be the traitor from the Zhou faction who poisoned her, but a fellow disciple, a brother as close as blood.

She believed that if he did something, he must have his reasons. He wasn’t a person who only cared about temporary personal interests, he was loyal enough to the Heavenly Sword Sect, valued it enough, more than anyone in the sect, including her, he cherished it, was faithful to it.

In this game, those people lost because they misjudged Feng Yan’s ambition and underestimated his feelings for the Heavenly Sword Sect. Feng Yan had ambition, but not the ambition to become the sect master, but the ambition to make the Heavenly Sword Sect an unshakeable, insurmountable peak existence in the world.

Internal strife within the sect was all harm and no benefit to the Heavenly Sword Sect. If this internal strife would do more harm than good to the Heavenly Sword Sect, he wouldn’t let it happen.

Perhaps only Xin Jiao Zhou felt that the person opposite her was genuinely smiling gently at this moment. The two people behind her had already fled early under Feng Yan’s overwhelming pressure.

“How about you? Have you been well lately?” Feng Yan returned to the main topic.

“I’m fine.”

These simple words were better than anything else.

He knew she had never been fond of many words.

Then Feng Yan asked about what had been on his mind: “How is your body?”

“No major issues, just a bit of minor poison left.”

Seeing Feng Yan frown, Xin Jiao Zhou imperceptibly quickened her speech a bit, explaining: “Sect Master Hua has agreed to help remove it. Elder brother need not worry.”

But her little trick couldn’t fool him.

From her words, it clearly meant that the poison hadn’t been resolved yet.

As for why it hadn’t been resolved until now? The worst case scenario was that there was currently no cure for this poison.

How could he not worry?

If his plan had been more meticulous, his thoughts more cautious, his arrangement more secure, he wouldn’t have let those old fellows find a loophole, and she wouldn’t have fallen into danger.

In the end, he was still too weak, unable to protect her completely…

“Is there anything lacking now? If you need anything, just tell me, I’ll get it for you.” Feng Yan showed concern, eagerly wanting to know the progress of the detoxification.

Seeing Feng Yan like this, he must have guessed.

It seemed she couldn’t hide it from him. Xin Jiao Zhou sighed lightly and said calmly: “Hua Rong wants to return to the Medical Immortal Valley to consult ancient texts and perfect the prescription. Only after completing the prescription can we start preparing for the detoxification.”

Her expression was as indifferent as if she were talking about something unrelated to herself.

—— She’s always like this, acting as if she doesn’t care at all! Other things are fine, but how can she be so indifferent about matters concerning her own life and death?

Feng Yan was angered.

Seeing Feng Yan’s expression change, Xin Jiao Zhou quickly interrupted before he could react: “The lunch should be ready, let’s go eat first.”

To increase the persuasiveness, she calmly brought up others: “Hua Rong and the others are waiting for us.”

In his hurry to see her, he hadn’t eaten properly on the way.

With Xin Jiao Zhou’s reminder, Feng Yan did feel a bit hungry and couldn’t help but rub his stomach.

The poison couldn’t be removed immediately, and people couldn’t starve to death without eating.

“Mm, let’s go.”

Successfully persuaded, Xin Jiao Zhou couldn’t help but secretly sigh in relief.

When the two arrived at the main hall together, the dishes and chopsticks had already been set out.

Hua Rong was about to send a small servant to call for people when he saw the two appear at the door.

“I’ll set out tomorrow.” He elegantly took out a list from his sleeve, his fingernails clean and round, holding the paper between two fingers and handing it to Xin Jiao Zhou, saying, “This is a list of auxiliary herbs that need to be prepared. Before the formal treatment, you should take herbal baths according to what’s written here, which can temporarily suppress the toxicity and delay the onset. During this period, remember not to use your internal energy, and do not eat food that activates blood and qi.”

Xin Jiao Zhou took the list and handed it to Feng Yan without asking Hua Rong anything more. In any case, follow the doctor’s orders.

But Feng Yan was meticulous and listened carefully. These medical instructions seemed a bit strange, especially the last two sentences “During this period, remember not to use your internal energy, and do not eat food that activates blood and qi.”

Isn’t one usually told to use internal energy to suppress and help detoxify when poisoned? How come in little Zhou’s case, she can’t use internal energy?

And not being able to eat food that activates blood and qi made Feng Yan feel even more puzzled. Medical treatments generally emphasize activating blood and removing stasis, and little Zhou isn’t a man who would have monthly periods, so why can’t she eat food that activates blood and qi?

Feng Yan finished lunch with a heavy heart.

After sending Xin Jiao Zhou back to her room, he was already anxious and immediately went to Hua Rong’s study.

When he arrived, he found that Hua Rong was already waiting for him there.

“You knew I would come to find you?” It wasn’t that Feng Yan was narcissistic, but the other party simply couldn’t hide things in his heart. With a smug expression that said “I knew you would come to find me, so I waited for you here in advance” and “I know what you want to know”, it made him firmly believe that he had guessed correctly.

“Go ahead, what do you want to ask?” Hua Rong elegantly raised his arm and smoothed out his sleeves which didn’t have a single wrinkle.

That appearance was truly a bit irritating, but now he was the one asking for help, so he could only suppress his temper.

“What exactly is her body’s condition now?” He couldn’t help but ask about his confusion, “Why can’t she use internal energy and why must she avoid food that activates blood and qi?”

“Hm? You don’t know either?” The person opposite seemed surprised, then frowned and lowered his eyes, using his hand to support his chin in thought.

“What do you mean?” Feng Yan’s uneasiness grew.

He frowned, his gaze gradually becoming sharp, his face like ice, as if waiting for some kind of sentence.

“She shows signs of qi deviation.” Hua Rong looked up and said seriously.

“What?!” Feng Yan was shocked.

“You can’t believe it either, right?” Hua Rong asked and answered himself, “Neither can I.” After saying this, he nodded quite approvingly before continuing: “Her internal energy is deep and pure, her foundation is stable, but when I observed her meridians internally, it’s indeed the sign of impending qi deviation…”

…

The next day, after Hua Rong left, Feng Yan also asked Xin Jiao Zhou to return to the sect with him, saying that there were suddenly urgent matters in the sect that needed them to return immediately to handle.

Xin Jiao Zhou didn’t suspect anything. At the moment, besides going back with him, she seemed to have nothing else to do. With nothing else to do, she agreed to Feng Yan and set out on the journey back with him.

As for Ruo Feng, he had already been urged by Feng Yan to be dispatched to Nanxun right after lunch yesterday. The beautiful name for it was: developing Nanxun.