Chapter 849 - 851: Diao Yao and Chu Hai Blocking the Way_1
Bai Ruozhu was about to reach out to call Diao Yao, but at a glance, she saw Chu Hai, with a cold expression, standing not far behind Diao Yao, so the words she wanted to blurt out were swallowed back down.
Even though she could only see Jiang Yichun’s back, she could still feel the chill emanating from his whole body.
"Brother Jiang, where is Sister Ruozhu? I have an urgent matter to find her for," Diao Yao said loudly, standing in front of Jiang Yichun’s horse.
"I have public duties to attend to, don’t block the way," Jiang Yichun said coldly, having been very annoyed since he saw Chu Hai arrive.
But Diao Yao refused to step aside, "I must find Sister Ruozhu to save someone’s life—I know she came to Jiangnan with you. We have been following all the way here. Which horse carriage is she in? If you don’t say, I’ll find her myself."
The guard immediately blocked Diao Yao’s path, and without a word from Jiang Yichun, they would not let Diao Yao pass.
Bai Ruozhu was somewhat anxious inside the carriage, as she had a good impression of Diao Yao, and she also roughly guessed the intention of Diao Yao’s visit: that Chu Hai’s poison had not been completely cured, so they had come to seek her help again.
Diao Yao didn’t want to start a fight carelessly and, seeing that someone was blocking her, quickly went to grab the reins of Jiang Yichun’s horse, saying, "Don’t go, I just want to find Sister Ruozhu to help with the detoxification. Once the poison is cured, we will leave and not delay your journey."
Chu Hai had already approached, and he stood there coldly, saying to Diao Yao, "That’s enough, if they are unwilling, then so be it. The poison won’t kill me; I will just find another solution slowly."
"No!" Diao Yao said resolutely, "You say it won’t kill a person, but it erodes your nerves day by day; you will gradually become as rigid as wood."
Her voice was somewhat agitated, resulting in her inadvertently exerting too much strength. Being naturally powerful, she nearly pulled Jiang Yichun’s horse to the ground.
Jiang Yichun hadn’t expected this young lady to be so strong; he quickly leaped up, steadying the horse that was about to fall, and then pulled the reins out of Diao Yao’s hands. Since he was reluctant to lay hands on a young girl who was acquainted with Bai Ruozhu, he had not made a move against Diao Yao.
But the moment he landed, Diao Yao suddenly charged over—not to attack him, but to grab his sleeve, crying out, "Brother Jiang, I beg you, let us see Sister Ruozhu!"
"Let go!" Jiang Yichun said coldly. Diao Yao, who knew martial arts and was strong, had grabbed his sleeve before he could react after steadying the horse.
Diao Yao wouldn’t let go, so Jiang Yichun channeled his inner strength and flicked his sleeve, trying to shake her off. As a result, Diao Yao clung on tightly; when he shook her off, the sleeve was also torn off at the cuff.
Watching from above, Tu Ying could no longer bear it and muttered under her breath, "This young lady is shamelessly clinging on just because she is a woman—let me handle her."
"Tu Ying!" Bai Ruozhu called out urgently, but Tu Ying had already charged forward. In fact, Tu Ying had seen that Diao Yao was skilled in martial arts and possessed deep inner strength, and she had become itching for a challenge.
Tu Ying rushed over and, without a word, started fighting with Diao Yao. However, she didn’t attack fiercely, clearly aiming to spar a few moves. Fortunately, Diao Yao also didn’t want to fight back, and after exchanging a few strikes, she backed away.
"Sister Ruozhu is not available to treat you, so don’t delay our journey. Please leave," Tu Ying said loudly.
Bai Ruozhu also came down from the carriage, carrying Dengdeng, and went up to say, "Diao Yao, stop causing trouble. We have public duties to attend to and are in a hurry, and besides, I am unable to cure the poison in your senior brother."
On seeing Bai Ruozhu, Chu Hai’s calm eyes flickered, especially when he heard Bai Ruozhu say she was unable to cure the poison, a look of disappointment flashed through his eyes.
Seeing him like this, Bai Ruozhu thought to herself that he had only himself to blame. So, "no zuo no die" remains true not only in Ancient Times but also in the modern era.
Diao Yao rushed towards Bai Ruozhu, but was stopped by Tu Ying. Tu Ying found Diao Yao very dangerous and was afraid that she might act impulsively, especially since Bai Ruozhu was holding a child in her arms.
"Sister Ruozhu, please try it! Previously, my martial uncle took my senior brother to seek help from the Divine Doctor to cure his poison, and it did save his life, but something went wrong with the antidote. The poison has mutated. He looks fine now and can still use his Martial Arts, but the poison is slowly destroying his nerves. If this continues for long, he’ll become a wooden person," Diao Yao said, starting to cry, clearly very worried about Chu Hai.
What Diao Yao referred to as a wooden person was probably what we call a vegetative state nowadays. Bai Ruozhu did sympathize with her and admired her passion and determination, but she really had no way of curing this kind of poison.
"Diao Yao, I truly can’t do anything, otherwise I wouldn’t be wasting your time here," Bai Ruozhu said, shaking her head.
Chu Hai glanced coldly at Diao Yao, his tone becoming a bit more severe, "Diao Yao, step aside. If she can’t cure it, then that’s the end of it."
Diao Yao turned back while crying, "Brother Chu, whom else can we turn to? Are we just supposed to watch you deteriorate day by day?"
"There is always a way to heaven; let them go," Chu Hai emphasized his last sentence a bit more strongly.
Sniffing, Diao Yao reluctantly moved aside.
Seeing Diao Yao cry until she was a complete mess, Bai Ruozhu felt somewhat reluctant to leave her like this, nodding towards her, she said, "I’ll take my leave."
Bai Ruozhu and Tu Ying got back into the horse carriage, and the procession continued moving forward. Diao Yao didn’t try to stop them anymore, but Jianqi whispered from outside the carriage, "Master, Diao Yao and Chu Hai are following behind our troop."
"Maybe they are also headed to Xuanlang City to find a doctor. As long as they don’t get in our way, don’t worry about them," Bai Ruozhu replied.
"Yes," Jianqi responded.
Tu Ying was very curious about Diao Yao and Chu Hai’s situation, and after praising Diao Yao’s Martial Arts skills, Bai Ruozhu explained that they were disciples of the Bihai Sect, and related Chu Hai’s poisoning incident.
"That, that man must be out of his mind, right?" Tu Ying couldn’t comprehend it at all - who would poison themselves just to end up in such a ghastly state, and then ask others to cure the poison?
Bai Ruozhu didn’t know how to explain it; some people become so obsessively engrossed in certain things that it leads to a pathological state, like Chu Hai’s crazed experimentation with poisons on himself because of his deep fascination with medical toxicology.
"I see that Lord Jiang doesn’t seem pleased with them at all. It’s not that the man has designs on you, is it? Yet, it seems that young Miss is fond of him. Things really are quite chaotic here," Tu Ying gossiped without any of the grace of a female hero, turning into a typical busybody.
Bai Ruozhu gave her a reproachful glance, saying, "What nonsense are you thinking about? He wanted to become my disciple, but I refused. They then moved in next door to my house, and it really annoyed everyone at home for a while."
Tu Ying chuckled mischievously, "A handsome male disciple... I doubt Lord Jiang, that jealous pot, would agree to that."
Bai Ruozhu’s mouth twitched; it was all because Jiang Yichun had spoken to Tu Ying before they set off, and now even Tu Ying knew he was the jealous type.
She could only give a dry laugh, saying, "I didn’t plan to take on disciples anyway. I’m hardly proficient myself; I would just be leading others astray."
Tu Ying chuckled knowing perfectly well why Jiang Yichun was upset earlier. Lord Jiang was obviously a number one wife-loving jealous pot.