26: Chapter 26 The Truth Remains Unknown

The tip of the water-dividing thorn pierced through that flickering purple-gold light without the slightest resistance, emitting a faint sound like shattering glass.

Following that was the dull sound of flesh being pierced.

The sinister grin on He Yunqi's face froze completely; he slowly lowered his head to look at his own chest.

The pitch-black body of the thorn had precisely embedded itself into his heart.

There was no spray of blood, only a thin line of dark red blood slowly seeping out along the blood groove.

He opened his mouth as if to say something, the blood-red light and madness in his eyes receding like a tide, leaving behind only boundless emptiness and a trace of... unbelievable bewilderment.

"I... eighteen years old... Qi Perfection..."

A rattling sound came from his throat, broken words spilling out along with blood foam, his eyes beginning to lose focus as if about to fall into the abyss of memory.

Jiang Hanzhou watched him with an expressionless face, his wrist twisting violently!

"Argh—!"

He Yunqi's body convulsed violently, his final vitality completely crushed by that twist.

"My apologies," Jiang Hanzhou's voice was cold and clear, interrupting the memories he was about to drown in, "I have no interest in hearing about your past."

He pulled back the water-dividing thorn.

He Yunqi's body collapsed backward softly, falling face-up onto the shattered bluestone slabs with a "thud." His eyes were wide open, staring at the moonless, starless night sky, completely silent.

The purple-gold light in his chest struggled violently the moment the host died, emitting a sharp, intangible hiss as it tried to escape.

Jiang Hanzhou was quick-eyed and nimble-handed; his left fingers hooked like claws, his palm enveloped in pale golden Qi, and he lightning-fast reached into the bloody hole pierced in He Yunqi's chest!

What he touched was not warm flesh, but a slippery, cold, and frantically writhing living thing!

"Still want to run?"

Jiang Hanzhou snorted coldly and suddenly clenched his fingers!

"Squelch!"

With a teeth-grinding dull sound, that purple-gold light was forcefully grabbed and dragged out by him.

Under the moonlight, the thing revealed its true form.

A strange insect the size of a fist, resembling a twisted silkworm pupa, its entire body covered in eerie purple-gold patterns, with thousands of fine blood-colored legs.

At this moment, it was tightly restrained by Jiang Hanzhou's pale golden Qi, still writhing unwillingly, emitting a cold and hungry aura.

The Thousand Tribulations Nirvana Gu mother worm!

Jiang Hanzhou glanced at it, took out an empty white jade bottle originally used for holding a Medicinal Pill from his bosom, pulled out the stopper, and without hesitation, shoved the strange Gu, which was still faintly pulsating, inside and quickly capped it.

A subtle knocking sound immediately came from inside the jade bottle, but it quickly subsided.

He didn't look again at He Yunqi's corpse and leaned down to quickly search his bosom.

Soon, his fingertips touched a thin book.

He took it out and looked; the cover was made of some dark red leather, wordless, and cold to the touch.

Jiang Hanzhou didn't have time to examine it closely and tucked it into his own bosom as well.

Almost at the same time, vague voices and footsteps came from the distance, rapidly approaching the direction of the main residence.

Clearly, the commotion from the fight just now had alerted the guards or other apothecaries in the stockade.

Jiang Hanzhou did not linger; his figure flickered, blending into the shadows of the night, and he silently swept out of the backyard, disappearing into the shadows of the buildings in the direction of the ancestral hall after a few leaps.

He returned to the guest room where he was staying, quickly changed out of his clothes stained with a faint scent of blood, put away the water-dividing thorn, and properly hid the jade bottle and the nameless book. Only then, as if he had just been startled, did he push open the door and walk out.

...

The next morning, He Yunqi's corpse was discovered.

The entire Shahe Stockade, and even Chief Administrator Chen and his party at the temporary camp, were alarmed.

The backyard of the main residence was in a mess.

Bluestone slabs were shattered, vegetation had withered and turned black, and an indescribable, cold, fishy stench lingered in the air.

He Yunqi lay face-up in a pool of blood, a shocking bloody hole in his chest, his complexion gray and defeated, black blood faintly seeping from his seven orifices, his death miserable.

On the bed, the old stockade master He Kun, though his breathing was weak, miraculously still hung onto life.

Chief Administrator Chen's face was livid; he brought the bailiffs and several apothecaries to carefully examine the scene.

"The vegetation is completely withered, vitality extinct, and the lingering aura is sinister and bone-corroding..." Elder Sun stroked his beard, his brows locked tight. After a long while, he said in a deep voice, "Such methods are definitely not ordinary vendettas or robbery. Judging by these signs, it looks like... the 'Life-Devouring Yuan-Seizing' evil technique rumored to be used by the Heavenly Evil Cult!"

"Heavenly Evil Cult?!" Chief Administrator Chen's pupils constricted. "Elder Sun, are you saying that remnants of the Heavenly Evil Cult returned to kill Young Master He? Perhaps... it's because Young Master He developed a method to restrain their evil poison, ruining their plans, and they sought revenge?"

"Very likely!" Another apothecary pointed at He Kun and said, "Although Stockade Master He is weak, there are no signs of new evil poison invading his body. It must be that Young Master He used his own body as a shield to protect his father, while he himself suffered the poisonous hand... Sigh, Young Master He was so benevolent and filial, yet he met with such a disaster. Heaven is jealous of talent!"

As the news spread, the Shahe Stockade was filled with sounds of grief.

Many "cured" villagers wept bitterly, one after another expressing gratitude for Young Master He's great kindness.

"Young Master He was killed by the evil demons only to save us!"

"The heavens have no eyes! Why do good people not live long!"

"Young Master Yunqi... is our benefactor in Shahe Stockade, he is our second parent..."

In the temporary camp, the atmosphere was heavy and sorrowful.

Pharmacist Qu Fengchun let out a long sigh and said in a low voice to Jiang Hanzhou:

"What a pity... this youth He Yunqi had exquisite medical skills, a benevolent Heart-Nature, and was very responsible. If he could have grown up, he would surely have been a dazzling new star in the Dao of medicine in our Three Rivers Estuary. But unexpectedly... he fell here. The remnants of the Heavenly Evil Cult truly deserve to die!"

Chief Administrator Chen was even more furious and sternly ordered in front of everyone in front of the ancestral hall:

"Investigate! Thoroughly investigate for this official! Block all passages upstream and downstream of the Sha River, and strictly check all suspicious persons! The demons of the Heavenly Evil Cult dared to commit crimes under my nose, harming a righteous man, and defying the law! This official will definitely ferret them out, smash their bodies into ten thousand pieces, avenge Young Master He, and set the world right!"

He turned to the people of Shahe Stockade, his tone painful and firm:

"Young Master He heroically sacrificed himself to save his hometown; his heroic spirit is immortal! This official will immediately petition the Prefect to request merit and compensation for Young Master He! As for the losses of Shahe Stockade this time, the government will also allocate money and grain to help you all rebuild your homes and overcome the difficulties!"

Amidst the tears of gratitude and the gnashing of teeth in cursing the "Heavenly Evil Cult," the "epidemic" in Shahe Stockade, following He Yunqi's death, miraculously and rapidly subsided.

The remaining patients, although weak, saw their black spots gradually fade, high fevers disappear, and their consciousness recover, needing only proper recuperation to recover.

This further confirmed the theory that "He Yunqi developed the antidote, but was therefore killed out of jealousy by the Heavenly Evil Cult."

Several apothecaries felt deeply emotional, regretting He Yunqi's death while also feeling that with the epidemic controlled, the trip had not been in vain.

Three days later, Shahe Stockade held a simple yet grand funeral for He Yunqi.

The villagers came out almost in full force, dressed in snow-white, with wails shaking the wild.

Chief Administrator Chen personally supported the coffin, and Elder Sun and other apothecaries also accompanied the procession to the graveyard outside the stockade.

Jiang Hanzhou followed Pharmacist Qu Fengchun, standing on the periphery of the funeral crowd.

He watched that heavy coffin being slowly lowered into the dug-out pit, watched the yellow soil falling shovel by shovel, gradually burying the coffin lid, and also burying that "benevolent doctor" He Yunqi, who was deeply hidden, ruthless in his methods, and possessed exquisite acting skills.

The sunlight was a bit dazzling, and Jiang Hanzhou slightly narrowed his eyes.

There was no expression on his face, calm as a bottomless pool of water.

Only the hand hidden in his wide sleeve, fingers unconsciously and gently rubbing the cool jade bottle in the hidden pocket inside the sleeve.

The thing in the bottle, and the nameless book in his bosom, were the most real and coldest harvest beneath this farce of "plague" and "benevolent doctor."

"Let's go."

Pharmacist Qu Fengchun's voice sounded in his ear, carrying a bit of exhaustion and emotion.

"With matters here concluded, we should return to the Water Dock. After this battle, you have also gained some experience. The Jianghu is treacherous, and a benevolent heart in the Dao of medicine sometimes cannot withstand the schemes of monsters and demons... Sigh."

Jiang Hanzhou withdrew his gaze and replied in a low voice, "Yes, Steward Qu."

The two of them, along with the other apothecaries, said goodbye to Chief Administrator Chen and the people of Shahe Stockade, and boarded the shuttle boat waiting at the dock.

The oars moved, the boat left the shore, sailing against the turbid Sha River water toward the direction of the Canglang Water Dock.

Jiang Hanzhou stood at the stern, watching the gradually receding outline of the Shahe Stockade, watching the direction of the newly raised graveyard, his eyes deep.

The river breeze brushed his face, carrying moisture and the scent of distant marshes.

He gently pressed his chest, where a cool book was pressed tightly against his skin.

The jade bottle in his sleeve was silent.

The boat traveled further away, leaving the turbidity of the Sha River, the wails of the stockade, the new soil of the graveyard, and that slaughter and secret whose truth no one knew, all behind, beneath the vast and silent river surface.

The water surface was sparkling, reflecting the flowing clouds in the sky, as if nothing had ever happened.