"So, I need your help. While I’m treating her, you need to ensure Miss Chu Er remains conscious and self-aware at all times. Simply put, don’t let her forget who she is."
Cui Tiq’s treatment began. No medication or instruments were involved. He simply had Chu Er lie flat on the ground while he sat beside her, motionless as a clay sculpture.
Li Banfeng asked Chu Er, "What’s your name?"
"Chu Huaiyuan."
"Which Taoist Sect are you from?"
"Bitter Cultivation."
"Are you male or female?"
Chu Er glanced at Li Qi. "Do I need to strip for you to see?"
Li Qi didn’t know what else to ask; he and Chu Er had never had much to say to each other.
"Why did you save me?"
Chu Er laughed. "Don’t play dumb. I’ve taken a liking to you. Can’t you tell?"
"Why would you take a liking to me?"
"For me, there aren’t that many ’whys’."
"Did you cause Ma Wu to become like that?"
Chu Er shook her head. "A small part was my doing; the majority was the Ling Family brothers. I dealt with Ma Wu because he stole my business, and I wanted revenge. As for why the Ling Family brothers dealt with Ma Wu, I don’t know their reasons. They’re from the Brotherhood Alliance, so it might be related to Lu Xiaolan."
Li Qi was stunned. "You know about the Brotherhood Alliance?"
Chu Er chuckled. "In your eyes, I’m just a stupid, foolish madwoman, aren’t I?"
Li Banfeng shook his head. "I don’t think you’re insane."
Chu Er clenched her fists, then let out a long sigh. "Not only do I know about the Brotherhood Alliance, I also know their leader is He Jiaqing. I’m aware He Jiaqing is in the Outside Provinces, yet he’s been secretly controlling the Brotherhood Alliance. His reasons for targeting Ma Wu could be for the alliance’s benefit or due to personal grudges, since they were both once Lu Xiaolan’s fiancés."
Li Banfeng then asked Chu Er, "Since you know the Brotherhood Alliance’s objectives and their complexities, why did you still cooperate with them?"
Chu Er blinked. "It’s not like this is the first day we’ve known each other. Do you think I overthink things that much when I act?"
"Buying the Hundred Joy Gate—was that also instigated by the Brotherhood Alliance?"
"I genuinely wanted the Hundred Joy Gate. Of course, their encouragement did play a part in it."
Chu Er looked at Li Banfeng. "Are you feeling a little sorry for me?"
Li Banfeng touched his chest and shook his head. "It doesn’t hurt."
Chu Er sat up angrily. "Do you even have a heart? You must have torn it out and eaten it yourself!"
Li Qi stared at the back of Chu Er’s head for a long time. The swelling there seemed to have vanished.
Li Qi then looked at Cui Tiq. Cui Tiq’s cheeks were twitching and slowly beginning to swell.
Chu Er looked at Cui Tiq in surprise. "You cured me?"
Cui Tiq glanced at Chu Er and smiled. "Miss, I didn’t cure you solely for your sake. Could you please leave us for a moment? I have something to say to Li Qi."
Chu Er looked at Cui Tiq’s condition and then at the way Cui Tiq was looking at Li Qi.
After a long moment of stunned silence, Chu Er lowered her head and walked into the distance, looking dejected.
Cui Tiq turned to Li Qi and said slowly, "Don’t ask me why I did this. For me, there aren’t that many ’whys’."
Li Banfeng nodded slightly. "I won’t ask."
Cui Tiq added, "In your eyes, am I just some paranoid, crazy Foreign Devil?"
Li Banfeng didn’t know how to respond.
"Seeing me like this, don’t you feel a little sorry for me?" Cui Tiq’s face swelled, the swelling on his forehead nearly covering his eyes, and the swelling on his cheeks almost engulfing his mouth.
Li Banfeng touched his chest and said, "Honestly, it doesn’t hurt."
Cui Tiq looked at Li Banfeng and gasped with difficulty. "I... I have one last wish. I... I hope you can help me fulfill it. If anyone asks about the Knife Labor Ghost’s poison... what it’s like... you must tell them..."
"Tell them what?"
"Tell them it’s really, utterly delicious!" Cui Tiq took a deep breath, his bloated cheeks slowly deflating.
He seemed to be sucking something from his own cheeks.
GULP! GULP!
Cui Tiq swallowed several mouthfuls of an unknown fluid, and his face gradually returned to normal.
His face returned to normal, but trouble was brewing in Cui Tiq’s stomach.
He clutched his chest and coughed relentlessly until he spat up blood. Only then did his breathing ease somewhat.
"This taste... so primitive, yet so pure. As perfect as sashimi."
Li Qi looked at Cui Tiq. "Have you neutralized the Knife Labor Ghost’s poison?"
Cui Tiq shook his head. "That’s not accurate. Firstly, it’s not a poison; it’s a type of pathogenic focus. In the terminology of the Outside Provinces, it would be called a Rabies Virus. Biologically, Rabies Viruses are classified into different categories. But to me, a Rabies Virus is a form of life. Manipulating living pathogenic foci is a crucial foundation of my Taoist Sect. The virus from the Knife Labor Ghost is extremely potent. Whether I can control it depends on my strength and luck. I didn’t possess such strength initially, but the power of our Grandmaster was a great help, and my luck today has also been very good."
"So, you’ve managed to control the Knife Labor Ghost’s virus?"
"Not yet," Cui Tiq shook his head. "It’s not as easy as you might think. Once infected by the Knife Labor Ghost’s virus, there’s no cure unless the afflicted limb is amputated,"