Why am I poisoned again?

The machete swung down hard, but only struck thin air.

The assassin looked down at the knife in his hand, then at the empty alley in front of him, his pupils shrinking sharply.

He turned his head sharply, and Xu Xian was already at the other end of the alley, leaning against the wall with one hand on his eight-sided sword, blood still seeping from the wound on his chest.

The drug dealer stood on the rooftop, utterly horrified.

"What kind of movement technique is that!"

"Lingbo Weibu" (a martial arts technique).

Xu coughed once.

"I just learned this last night, so I'm not very good at it yet. If I were, you wouldn't even be able to touch my shadow! You three ungrateful wretches, you think you can kill me with this level of skill? Your playing is awful... I'll take you first!"

He activated the Lingbo Weibu technique, his figure flashed in place, and in the blink of an eye he had already closed in front of the musician, raising his hand to unleash the sixth move of the Holy Spirit Sword Technique!

Sword Six's sword light drew a blue arc in the twilight, aiming straight for the musician's throat.

The musician was startled, but reacted quickly, plucking the strings with all ten fingers, and the music exploded!

Xu Xian felt as if he had been hit in the head with a hammer, his chest heaved, and he spat out a mouthful of blood, his sword veering off course by three points.

The sword sliced ​​across the musician's right arm, blood splattering as he passed the musician and landed at the alley entrance.

The woodcutter's knife came from behind like a shadow, aiming for his neck. He gritted his teeth and activated the Lingbo Weibu (a martial arts technique), his feet creating a gust of wind. He flashed again, and the woodcutter's knife only managed to cut off a strand of hair that was slowly falling down in mid-air.

Xu Xian appeared at the other end of the alley, leaning on the ground with his octagonal sword, panting heavily. His fingers, gripping the sword, trembled slightly, but he let out a cold laugh.

"Three cowards, trying to act like assassins? You win if you can even touch my heels!"

The three assassins exchanged glances. The poison master reached out and snatched the spider back into his sleeve. His figure flashed across the rooftop and disappeared.

The cleaver-wielding assassin grabbed the musician and disappeared into the alleyway in a few leaps.

Xu Xian stood there, expressionless, looking around. Once he was sure the other person was gone, he finally couldn't keep up the act and coughed up a mouthful of black blood.

"Impressive! He left without hesitation, acting decisively and without any hesitation. No wonder he's a professional assassin... He was sure he had me figured out today, which is why he talked so much nonsense. Next time, he probably won't say a single word of nonsense."

As soon as he finished speaking, the Eight-Sided Sword slipped from his hand and fell onto the bluestone slab with a clatter.

He looked down at his empty right hand, his entire arm numb from his fingertips to his shoulder, completely devoid of feeling.

I tried my left hand; my fingers could still move, but I couldn't make a fist anymore.

  

Both my hands were numb, and I couldn't pick up the sword.

He looked down at the eight-sided sword on the ground, took a deep breath, lifted his foot, hooked and flicked the sword with his toe, and then bit the hilt.

Then, he activated his Lingbo Weibu technique and rushed towards the Inspection Department with all his might.

The wind blew his hair back, and saliva flew wildly down the hilt of his sword, but he gritted his teeth and dared not let go.

This sword is worth a fortune, just as much as his head; it cannot be lost!

As they passed the gate of the Inspection Office, the old gatekeeper Qi Sheng was dozing under the eaves, holding his pipe, when he suddenly felt a gust of wind. After the wind passed, he saw a figure floating behind it.

The figure had a sword in its mouth and was lunging forward stiffly, its posture extremely bizarre.

Qi Sheng pulled the pipe out of his mouth, squinted at it for a few moments, then put it back in his mouth. He didn't understand much about young people's affairs.

...

Old Sun was squatting in front of the medicine stove, preparing a pot of new medicine. Green bubbles were bubbling up from the stove, and the whole room was filled with the pungent smell of herbs.

He dipped a little bit with his bamboo chopsticks, put it in his mouth and smacked his lips, his brows furrowing. Then he threw a handful of unknown dried grass into the pot.

The door was suddenly kicked open.

A figure lunged straight in, crashing face down onto the ground. The Eight-Sided Sword clattered as it slid out and struck the edge of a table leg.

Old Sun's bamboo chopsticks froze in mid-air as he looked down at the stiff body on the ground.

"Xiao Xu? What's wrong with you again?"

The people on the ground did not answer.

Old Sun put down his chopsticks and quickly walked over to turn the man over. Xu Xian's body was stiff as a board, his face was ashen, his eyes were wide open, his mouth was wide open but he was not moving, and saliva was dripping from the corner of his mouth.

Old Sun was startled. He pinched the man's arm, which was as hard as cured meat. He then leaned closer to smell the man's breath, which had a faint sour and rotten smell.

"Poison again, what bad luck..."

He turned around and walked to the medicine cabinet, where he fished out a palm-sized centipede from a red lacquered wooden box.

The centipede was entirely crimson, slowly wriggling between his fingers, its countless legs drawing waves in the air.

Old Sun pulled open Xu Xian's shirt and placed the centipede on his chest.

"It's not a big problem. The poison is potent, but it won't kill you. Let my precious baby give you a bite and you'll be fine."

Xu Xian's eyes darted downwards, staring intently at the centipede slowly crawling on his chest. His Adam's apple bobbed, and he made a hoarse sound in his throat.

Old Sun patted him on the shoulder to comfort him.

"What are you afraid of? It won't kill you, it will only bite living people. The more stiff you are, the more it likes you. If you relax, it will ignore you. Look how well-behaved it is, it's even lying on your chest ready to bite you."

The centipede slowly crawled around Xu Xian's chest, then lowered its head and gently bit him below his collarbone.

Xu Xian's eyeballs almost popped out of their sockets.

Old Sun nodded in satisfaction, picked up the centipede, put it back in the wooden box, closed the lid, and sat back down in front of the medicine furnace to continue stirring his medicine.

"It'll be fine in fifteen minutes, just wait."

Xu Xian lay on his back on the ground, his body stiff, with only his chest rising and falling slightly. Drooling had already dripped from the corner of his mouth onto his chin. He could only resign himself to waiting.

In less than fifteen minutes, Xu Xian felt his limbs gradually regain sensation. He could move his fingers, then his wrists, and then his arms.

He slowly sat up, supporting himself on the ground, and moved his shoulders and neck.

He then got up from the ground, walked over to Old Sun and sat down, pinched his numb tongue, and mumbled something.

"Mr. Xun, my tongue feels a little stiff!"

"It will get better gradually, it's normal."

Old Sun stirred the green broth in the medicine stove with bamboo chopsticks, glanced at him sideways, and asked, "How did you get poisoned?"

"It's hard to say. I was chased by three people from Haozhai again. The one who raises spiders poisoned me when I wasn't paying attention. I only managed to escape thanks to my newly learned footwork. Otherwise, you would have to come to the mortuary to see me today."

He reached up and tugged at his tongue, saliva dripping down his fingers, but he felt his tongue had indeed softened a bit. He then continued his previous conversation...

"Speaking of which, why are you using insects now? I was poisoned by a spider. Can we use acupuncture and medicine in the future? Your methods are scary to watch. I have a phobia of things with lots of legs."

"Medicine is poison, and poison is medicine; they've been inseparable since ancient times, it all depends on how you use them... Arsenic is poison, right? But if the dosage is right, it can cure malaria. Aconite is poison, right? But if prepared properly, it can dispel cold and relieve pain..."

"My darling bit you with poison, that was a case of fighting poison with poison, do you understand? Acupuncture is good, but the poison has already traveled along your meridians to your limbs, acupuncture alone won't be enough."

Xu Xian said "Oh," stood up, and moved his hands and feet to make sure he could move his whole body.

He thanked Old Sun and turned to leave.

"Wait..."

Old Sun took a small porcelain bottle out of the medicine cabinet and called out to him.

"You're highly sought after these days, everyone wants a piece of your pie... Take this bottle of Five Poisons Cleansing Pill, it can cure most poisons, and even if it can't, it can prolong your life."

Xu Xian took the porcelain bottle, tucked it into his bosom, and carefully clasped his hands in a respectful gesture.

"Thank you, Mr. Sun!"

Old Sun waved his hand.

"Just thank you, Si Zheng. This was originally prepared for you by Si Zheng. Since you're here today, just take it. You're Si Zheng's darling now. If anything happens to you, Si Zheng will scold me again."

Xu Xian was slightly taken aback, then felt a warmth in his heart. He pressed the porcelain bottle against his chest and walked out of the medicine room.