84: Chapter 84 Seven-Step Deadly Powder

Seeing Jiang Biehe unleash a lethal volley of throwing darts because Su Ying had called out to him, Meng Li frowned. He quickly used Transferring Flowers and Grafting Trees to control the two from a distance, making them dodge urgently.

However, because he was a step late and the operation was hurried, combined with the distance, Su Ying and the other woman were still hit by the darts.

Afterward, Meng Li tapped his feet repeatedly, quickly inserting himself between the two parties and blocking Jiang Biehe's group.

Jiang Biehe and the others had witnessed Meng Li's strength and instinctively halted their steps upon seeing this.

A second later, Jiang Biehe waved his hand and said, "Retreat!"

With that, he turned and fled.

The rest of the group followed suit upon receiving the command.

Meng Li wanted to give chase, but he heard Su Ying say feebly, "The hidden weapons are poisoned."

Meng Li's footsteps paused. He turned around and walked to her side to check the situation, seeing a throwing dart stuck in her shoulder; the wound had already turned black.

He hurriedly pulled out the dart and used his fingers to channel power, sealing the vital acupoints around the wound to suppress the spread of the toxin.

Afterward, Meng Li looked at the woman whose face was covered by her hair. Seeing a dart stuck in her arm, he similarly pulled it out and sealed her acupoints.

Seeing this, Su Ying fumbled through a bag she carried, found a porcelain bottle, took out a pill to swallow, and then handed one to the woman with the covered face.

"Jiang Yu Feng, this is a detoxification pill."

Meng Li was stunned upon hearing this.

Yu Feng?

Jiang Yu Feng?

He looked closely and discovered that the woman really was the Jiang Yu Feng who Jiang Biehe claimed had returned to Mount Emei. However, her appearance had undergone a massive change: her originally rosy and nearly flawless face was now covered in festering scars, bordering on disfigurement.

This appearance instantly made Meng Li think of Jiang Biehe's Qi Deviation.

Then, he suddenly remembered that Jiang Biehe's face had been perfectly fine just now.

Clearly, Jiang Biehe was lying about Jiang Yu Feng returning to Mount Emei!

Jiang Biehe's scheme against Jiang Yuyan had failed, so he had transferred the toxins produced by his Qi Deviation into Jiang Yu Feng.

Jiang Yu Feng swallowed the detoxification pill and, noticing Meng Li's gaze, hurriedly covered her face with her hand while turning her head away. "Don't look! I'm disfigured! I'm very ugly!"

Seeing this, Su Ying opportunely changed the subject and thanked Meng Li. "Young Master Meng, thank you for saving us."

Soon after, she recalled how her dodging the darts just now was very similar to when she dodged the Old Ancestor of the Five Poisons' sneak attack—both times she was pulled away by an invisible force. A flash of inspiration hit her, and she blurted out, "Back at the Poison King Heroes Gathering, were you also the one helping in secret?"

Meng Li nodded.

"Then Young Master Meng, you have saved me twice."

"I cannot repay the kindness of being saved. If there is ever a place where you need my help, Young Master Meng, just say the word. Su Ying will definitely do her utmost."

Su Ying made the promise with gratitude.

Meng Li's eyes flickered slightly, feeling a bit uncertain in his heart.

According to the usual tropes, shouldn't she offer herself in marriage to repay the life-saving debt?

Was he ugly? Impossible!

In an instant, he understood. It was likely because he already had a family.

After making her promise, Su Ying seemed to think of something and couldn't help but ask in confusion, "Young Master Meng, why didn't I see you at the scene back then?"

Meng Li replied, "I don't like trouble, so I used a disguise."

Only then did Su Ying understand.

Next, Meng Li asked, "What's going on with you two?"

"Miss Jiang, didn't you return to Mount Emei? Why are you here, and why are you being hunted by your father and his men?"

"And Miss Su, why are you being hunted along with her?"

Jiang Yu Feng bit her lip and was about to answer when she suddenly felt dizzy and was about to collapse.

Meng Li instinctively reached out to support her.

Su Ying took her pulse to check the situation, then said solemnly, "The poison on the darts is more potent than I expected. The standard detoxification pills I carry can't neutralize it."

After saying that, she also felt a bit faint.

"Then what should we do?" Meng Li asked.

It wasn't that he didn't understand the way of medicine and poison, but in terms of skill level, he temporarily couldn't compare to Su Ying.

Su Ying said, "The things I have on me aren't enough, and I've been poisoned myself. To detoxify, we must go back to the Inn where I'm staying and find my mother for help."

With that, she tried to lead the way, but after just two steps, she swayed.

Meng Li had no choice but to support her with his other hand, then asked, "Tell me the address. I'll use my Lightness Skill to take you there."

"Okay." Su Ying agreed and gave him an address.

Meng Li was a bit surprised after hearing it, because that place wasn't far from the Inn where he was staying.

Then, he said softly, "Forgive my rudeness."

After speaking, Meng Li put his arms around Su Ying and Jiang Yu Feng's waists respectively, holding them tightly in his embrace, then used his Lightness Skill to set off.

Leaning in Meng Li's embrace, Su Ying felt a strange sense of peace, as if she had ducked into a harbor that could shield her from the wind and rain.

This kind of peace was something she had never experienced before.

At the same time, smelling the scent on Meng Li's body, she felt her face heat up, and her heartbeat accelerated uncontrollably.

It must be the toxins in her body starting to spread and take effect!

Su Ying guessed privately, but then felt a bit puzzled: What kind of poison is this? These symptoms don't seem to be recorded in medical books. It feels a bit strange, yet not unpleasant—even a bit intoxicating.

On the other side, Jiang Yu Feng also felt something unusual.

As for her face heating up and her heart racing, she roughly understood it was likely due to her first intimate contact with a man.

But the thoughts that followed were different from Su Ying's.

He saved her, and even after seeing her disfigured face, he didn't feel afraid or disgusted...

He already had a family, and one of them was even her half-sister.

By that logic, was he her brother-in-law?

Jiang Yu Feng's eyes dimmed, yet she felt a trace of inexplicable throb in her heart, especially when she caught Meng Li's scent.

Brother-in-law...

As the final party involved and, in a sense, the biggest beneficiary, Meng Li didn't feel much. It was just holding one in each arm; he had already experienced this between Tie Xinlan and Jiang Yuyan, and he had done even more intimate things more than once.

The impact this situation had on him was at most like a dragonfly skimming the water—a slight ripple before returning to calm.

Traveling swiftly with his Lightness Skill, the three of them soon reached their destination.

It was already the middle of the night, and the Inn had long since closed its doors.

Following Su Ying's direction, Meng Li entered directly through a window.

Inside the room, Su Rushi, dressed in red with hair half black and half white, was startled when she saw the window suddenly opened from the outside. She instinctively pinched the Silk Needles hidden in her sleeve for self-defense.

When she saw her daughter Su Ying, her expression changed, and she loosened her grip.

Meng Li spoke, "Senior Su, they've been poisoned. Please lend a hand."

Hearing this, Su Rushi didn't stop to ask questions. She hurried to the window, helped Su Ying into the room, and laid her on the bed.

Seeing one hand free, Meng Li picked up Jiang Yu Feng horizontally, hopped through the window into the room, and then placed her on a stool.

Seeing this, Su Rushi first checked on Su Ying's condition.

After checking, she frowned and said, "They've been hit with 'Seven-Step Life-Snatching Powder'."

Seven-Step Life-Snatching Powder?

Meng Li's heart tightened.

Seven-Step Life-Snatching Powder, as the name suggested, was derived from the legendary Seven-Step Snake, which was said to kill within seven steps of a bite. The effect wasn't as exaggerated or bizarre as the legends, but it was truly lethal. Ordinary people would quickly fall into a coma after being poisoned and would surely die if not treated within a day.

Su Ying and Jiang Yu Feng were able to hold on until now without fainting because he had sealed their acupoints in time and they had taken detoxification pills.

"How do we neutralize this poison?"

...