4: Chapter 4 Showdown! Foundation Establishment Pill for a Way Out

The four words "treated as accomplices" struck the Sword Attendant's heart like an ice pick.

The Sword Attendant trembled violently. His hand gripping the sword shook uncontrollably. He looked in terror at the swaying black shadow outside the door, then at this mysterious servant before him, and finally at his master, who was hanging by a thread on the couch. Tears instantly gushed out. "I... what should I do..."

On the couch, Zhao Hansong's finger moved almost imperceptibly.

"Trust me, your master might still be saved. Trust the people outside, and we will both die today." Lin Ye's voice was extremely low, yet resolute.

He took a step forward, not to threaten, but to hold the glowing foundation establishment pill directly in front of the Sword Attendant. "This Medicinal Pill can sustain his life. But before I give it to you, you must first see the truth."

Without waiting for the Sword Attendant to react, he pointed sharply at the ice scale in Zhao Hansong's hand. "Look at this cut! It's smooth and sharp—it's a sword wound, not a tear from a Yao Beast's teeth! Your master was ambushed from behind, and then it was disguised as the work of a Yao Beast!"

The Sword Attendant was struck as if by lightning. He threw himself to the bedside, trembling as he pried open Zhao Hansong's fingers to look closely at the scale. Sure enough, the minute cutting marks at the base of the scale were clearly visible under the faint glow of the Medicinal Pill.

"It... it is a sword wound..." The youth's face turned as pale as paper, his memories flooding back instantly. "That day, it was Senior Brother Chen who invited Master to hunt the python... Only Master returned, covered in blood, saying the Ice Scale Python had gone berserk..."

"Senior Brother Chen?" Lin Ye pressed.

"Senior Brother Chen Mo from the inner sect! Master's best friend!" The Sword Attendant's voice turned shrill, filled with despair. "He... he even sent people to deliver 'condolence' Medicinal Pills today... I fed them to Master..."

"Damn it!" Lin Ye's heart sank. If Chen Mo was the culprit, then the Medicinal Pills he sent were likely not meant to save a life, but to take one!

He immediately looked at the top of Zhao Hansong's head. The golden countdown for the Opportunity was still ticking away, but a faint trace of black Qi seemed to have appeared below it. Meanwhile, the gray countdown for the Sword Attendant's deadly tribulation had suddenly shortened by a small fraction!

"The Medicinal Pills you fed him might be problematic." Lin Ye spoke rapidly. "Right now, we are in the same boat. That Black Fiend outside is likely sent by Chen Mo to silence you; the excuse of catching me is just a cover to kill you and your master!"

The Sword Attendant was still young, and his mind was in chaos from the successive revelations, but his loyalty to his master overcame his fear. He looked at Lin Ye with bloodshot eyes. "Can... can you really save Master?"

"Using this, I can at least temporarily stabilize his injuries and buy us time." Lin Ye handed over the foundation establishment pill. "But you must help me deal with the people outside, and also—"

His gaze swept sharply toward the long sword in the Sword Attendant's embrace. "Give me what you have hidden inside that sword. It concerns your master's grievance, and it concerns your life and mine."

The Sword Attendant shuddered, looking at Lin Ye in disbelief, instinctively holding the sword tighter. How could this person know?!

"There's no time to hesitate!" Outside the door, Black Fiend had already begun using spiritual power to strike the Restriction, causing ripples on the light blue film. Fatty Wang was also cursing.

The Sword Attendant looked at his master's increasingly gray complexion, then at the warm foundation establishment pill in his hand. Gritting his teeth, he pressed hard on the end of the sword hilt—the gray jade was pressed in, and a thin, cicada-wing-like compartment popped out from the side of the hilt. Inside, a corner of a letter stained with dark brown blood was revealed.

He pulled out the letter, his hand shaking violently, but he didn't hand it directly to Lin Ye. Instead, he said in a hoarse voice, "I will open the Restriction and let them in. You... you hide behind the screen in the inner chamber. If you make any suspicious moves, or if you can't save Master..." A look of determination flashed in his eyes. "I will destroy this letter and then kill myself; you will get nothing!"

This was the most resolute countermeasure the youth could think of.

Lin Ye looked at him deeply. "Deal."

He grabbed the corner of the blood curse secret letter; it felt ice-cold to the touch, and a sinister, chilly aura surged up his arm, which he forcibly suppressed with his willpower. He quickly scanned the beginning, which was shocking— "Chen Mo, the debt of killing a brother must be repaid with blood..." It was indeed a suicide note and a blood curse!

He darted behind the heavy screen in the inner chamber and held his breath.

The Sword Attendant took a deep breath, wiped away his tears, and stuffed the foundation establishment pill into Zhao Hansong's mouth, using spiritual power to dissolve it. Then, he walked to the door, his face already replaced with a panicked expression, and shouted outside, "Don't, don't attack the Restriction! I'll open it! That thief just forced his way in, injured me, and ran towards the bamboo forest behind!"

As he spoke, he pinched a spell formula and tapped the Restriction light film.

The light film rippled and opened a gap.

Black Fiend was the first to flash inside. The aura of the sixth layer of Qi Refining was unleashed without reservation. His cold gaze instantly locked onto the Sword Attendant before sweeping toward the silent inner chamber. "Ran away? In which direction?"

Fatty Wang also rushed in, his small eyes darting around greedily, shouting, "Search! That brat must be hiding nearby!"

The Sword Attendant pointed behind the pavilion, his voice trembling. "He... he jumped out of the back window and headed toward the deep forest in the west..."

Black Fiend, however, did not move. He sniffed, smelling the lingering, faint, unfamiliar aura (left by Lin Ye) in the air like a hound, then looked toward the inner chamber, his mouth curling into a cruel arc.

"Little brat, lying is not good."

He suddenly raised his hand, and a streak of black Qi shot out like a poisonous snake, not aiming at the Sword Attendant, but straight at the closed door of the inner chamber!

"Boom!"

The wooden door exploded!

At this moment, on the couch, Zhao Hansong, having taken the foundation establishment pill, seemed to have regained a trace of extremely faint color on his gray face. One of his fingers moved gently again.

Amidst the billowing dust, Black Fiend's cold, smiling voice rang out:

"My friend behind the screen, will you come out yourself, or should I invite you out?"