6: Willow Slender Song

Three days later, Fang Huai exchanged his full bottles of Evil Qi for contribution points and also traded for some detoxification pills, finally clearing most of the Spider Venom from his body.

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In the following days, whenever Fang Huai entered Miasma Valley to collect Evil Qi, he was constantly on the lookout for any Pei family Disciples following him.

He didn't see any Pei family Disciples, but he noticed two women and one man with unfamiliar faces constantly following behind him.

These people seemed to have realized that Fang Huai had a way to find the source of the Evil Qi; they followed not far behind him, collecting the residual Evil Qi after he finished his gathering.

Although it was a bit annoying, since they were only picking up his leftovers and kept a sufficient distance, Fang Huai let them be.

Another three days passed. Just as he filled a bottle of Evil Qi and was preparing to return to the Miscellaneous Labor Valley, the three of them waved at him.

"Halt!"

Fang Huai pulled out the stone knife from his robe, took a defensive stance, and shouted for them to stop.

"Senior Brother, there's no need to be nervous," one of the women spoke up. "I am Liu Xiange, and these are Zhang Zhu and Shen Yuan. The three of us have been at the Corpse Fiend Sect for over a month now."

The woman's voice was clear and cold. She had a delicate figure and a pretty face, with a carved stone hairpin tucked into her bun. Her eyes shimmered with Spiritual Qi.

In comparison, the man and woman behind her appeared extremely ordinary.

"If you have something to say, say it. If not, get out of the way."

After the incident with Jin Xiaoxiao, Fang Huai was exceptionally wary of pretty women in the Demonic Sect and had no desire to deal with them.

Liu Xiange blinked and said, "Senior Brother, your complexion is dark and your chest feels congested; it seems you are still plagued by residual poison."

[Liu Xiange]

[Mortal]

[Poison Resistance (Grey)] [Gu Poison Body (Black)]

[Poison Resistance: Resists poison]

[Gu Poison Body: Natural affinity for Gu poison]

"Speak!" Fang Huai's interest was piqued; this woman seemed to have some skill.

Liu Xiange's head swayed slightly as a red-headed centipede about a foot long crawled out of her bun, slid down her skin into her clothes, and soon poked its head out of her sleeve, looking curiously at Fang Huai.

[Blood Gu Centipede]

[Gu Insect]

[Docile (Grey)] [Immune to a Hundred Poisons (Red)]

[Docile: Only docile towards its master]

[Immune to a Hundred Poisons: Can withstand a hundred types of toxins, but perhaps not the hundred and first]

"Its name is Little Red. It's good at detoxifying and can remove the residual poison from Senior Brother's body."

Without waiting for Fang Huai's consent, she grabbed his hand and brought it close to the centipede.

The centipede raised its fangs and bit down.

Fang Huai was terrified and tried to pull his hand away, but Liu Xiange held his wrist. "It's alright, it's very well-behaved and won't hurt you."

As the centipede sucked, Fang Huai did indeed feel his body lighten slightly, and he finally relaxed.

However, while staring at the centipede, he felt an inexplicable sense of hunger.

After half a quarter-hour, the centipede let go and crawled back into Liu Xiange's sleeve.

"See? I didn't lie to you!" she said playfully, narrowing her eyes.

"I shouldn't accept rewards without merit. What do you want from me?"

Having accepted a favor for nothing, Fang Huai felt awkward about continuing to drive the three of them away.

"To be honest, although the three of us have been in the sect for a while, we haven't a clue how to find the sources of Evil Qi."

After Liu Xiange spoke, Zhang Zhu took over:

"Last month, we barely managed to scrape together five bottles of Evil Qi. After turning in the mission, we didn't even have enough contribution points left to buy miasma cleansing pills.

If it weren't for Junior Sister Liu's Little Red to drive out the miasma poison, the three of us would have been buried here already."

As Shen Yuan listened to Zhang Zhu, her eyes reddened. "I thought coming here would lead to great things, but I haven't even begun my cultivation, and I'm already on the verge of death.

After following Senior Brother these past few days, we realized you are an expert who knows where the Evil Qi is thickest. So, we've come shamelessly to ask if we can team up with you to collect it."

So, they had come to seek refuge with Fang Huai.

Collecting Evil Qi alone wasted a lot of resources, and after the incident with the Black Death Spider, Fang Huai also wanted someone to help him keep an eye on the Pei family.

The three of them had detoxification skills, so keeping them around would indeed be useful, but he couldn't let them get a free ride.

"Teaming up with you is fine, but I have a few requirements."

"No problem!" the three of them replied in unison without a second thought.

"Don't be so quick to agree. These requirements require you to swear upon your Dao Heart and must be followed.

First, regardless of how much Evil Qi you collect each month, each of you must give me one bottle."

"This..."

Zhang Zhu wanted to say something, but Liu Xiange stopped him and signaled for Fang Huai to continue.

"Second, among the four of us, I am the leader, and you must follow my commands. If I encounter danger, you must not abandon me."

As Fang Huai spoke, he observed their expressions. If they had agreed without any hesitation, they would certainly be planning to deceive him.

In that case, he would have simply turned and left.

Seeing their hesitant looks, he instead believed they were sincere about the cooperation and continued:

"Third, you must not tell anyone our secrets or reveal our whereabouts. As for anything else, I'll mention it when I think of it."

After finishing, Fang Huai wasn't in a hurry for them to agree; he just watched them quietly.

Seeing that no one spoke, he turned and said, "It's getting dark. Since you have no sincerity for cooperation, let's part ways here."

"Senior Brother, I agree!"

Before he had gone far, Liu Xiange called out to him, "I swear upon my Dao Heart that unless Senior Brother betrays the three of us, we will certainly follow by your side."

With Liu Xiange leading the way, Zhang Zhu and Shen Yuan also agreed.

"Meet me at the entrance tomorrow at the Hour of Chen."

————

After parting with Liu Xiange and the others, Fang Huai hurried back to the Miscellaneous Labor Valley. Along the way, he gathered some wild vegetables and millet for his evening meal.

During this time, for some unknown reason, he found himself picking several stalks of poisonous grass as if possessed.

A mixture of wild vegetables and millet was simmering in the pot, smelling fresh and crisp. On any other day, it would have certainly whetted his appetite.

But today, Fang Huai had no appetite at all.

"Strange. Usually, I could eat a whole cow, so why does looking at this pot of delicious food make me feel nauseous today?"

His chest felt uncomfortably tight, as if countless ants were scratching at his heart. Feeling exceptionally irritable, he looked at the poisonous grass by the stove.

He grabbed the poisonous grass and threw it into the pot, and the irritability in his heart seemed to lessen slightly.

He picked up a bowl of the bright green vegetable soup, his heart full of trepidation. "It's only slightly poisonous; it should be fine, right?"

"They say to fight poison with poison. I just cleared the Spider Venom and was bitten by that red-headed centipede for a long time. Eating some poisonous grass to fight poison with poison should be reasonable..."

He downed it in one gulp.

Delicious!

The scratching sensation in his chest also diminished significantly.

After sitting quietly for fifteen minutes and seeing no discomfort, Fang Huai served himself another bowl... After finishing the entire pot of vegetable soup, Fang Huai's belly was round and full. He suddenly thought of Pei Hu, who had burst from overeating, and broke into a cold sweat.

"Am I... addicted to poison?"

Fang Huai paced back and forth. "Why does my body feel more comfortable after drinking the poisonous vegetable soup?"

Unable to figure it out, he could only attribute it to the Body Tempering Art, thinking that since there was that red-headed centipede to suck out the poison anyway, it shouldn't be a big problem.

However, this Body Tempering Art hadn't progressed for a long time.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Just as he was thinking, a rapid knocking came from the door, accompanied by a woman's sobbing. "Senior Brother, please open the door! Save me!"

Sigh!

Who told me to be so kind-hearted?

Supporting his round belly, Fang Huai shuffled to the door. The moment he opened it, a teary-eyed woman fell into his arms.

"Thank you for saving me, Senior Brother..."

[Body Tempering Art - Entry Level: 67/100]