nycdaug Chapter 401: 3 Xiu had no choice but to ask the King for help
Chapter 401: 3 Xiu had no choice but to ask the King for help
"What? Shadow Gate?"
At night, in the tea room of Sanxiu Pharmacy, Xiuming looked at his master Sanxiu in shock. His hand holding the teacup couldn't help but tremble slightly and spilled some warm tea. He simply put the teacup down and continued to ask his master Sanxiu: "But since the Yingmen had already agreed to let Miss Yanyu go, why did they come to our door now?"
"Why else? You're just going back on your word and not keeping your promise!" Sanxiu was already very distressed at this time. Seeing that his apprentice was still concerned about this issue, he glanced at him unhappily and muttered.
"It seems that the Shadow Clan is not sincere in letting Miss Xuanyu go... The Shadow Clan has always been elusive. People only know about them by word of mouth, but few have actually seen their true face. And I heard that they are like an invisible net hiding in the countries of the Central Plains. No matter whether you are a noble or a commoner, once you are targeted by them, you will be doomed..." Xiu Ming quickly calmed down and wiped the tea spilled on the table with a rag, while continuing to sigh to himself.
"Stop talking. It gives me a headache just listening to you!" Before Xiuming could finish his words, Sanxiu started rubbing his temples again, getting annoyed.
"Master, since you can't bear to drive away Miss Xuanyu who is poisoned, you can only seek external help to protect the medicine shop." Seeing the sad face of his master, Xiu Ming lowered his eyes and thought for a moment before speaking.
"External help? We are provoking the Shadow Sect. Who dares to help us at this time?" Hearing his disciple's words, Sanxiu was not happy at all. Instead, he shook his head helplessly and sighed, "Even if we ask Magistrate Situ for help, it may be useless. It is better to arrange for these children in the village to go out early tomorrow morning to avoid them from suffering with us."
"Master, don't worry. We can't alert the government about this matter yet. After all, Madam Honghua and Miss Xuanyu have unclear identities. We won't know how to answer the county magistrate's questioning and it will backfire. Master, why don't you calm down and think about it carefully. Who else in this southern border can and will help Sanxiu Pharmacy?" Xiu Ming was a little amused to see his master showing a fearless look. Although the Shadow Gate was terrifying, Sanxiu Pharmacy was not at a critical juncture of life and death yet.
"Yan Zong?" After Jing Xiuming's reminder, Sanxiu thought about it carefully before widening his eyes in surprise, but soon waved his hand and pouted, "No, no, I will never drag my old face to beg him! Besides, you just said that the identities of the two sisters are unknown. Isn't Yan Zong smarter than County Magistrate Situ? With his suspicious nature, who knows what crime he will accuse the pharmacy of!"
"Master, you still don't understand the King of the Zong after all these years? For the sake of my senior sister, he would never cause trouble to the medicine shop. Even when it came to such a big thing as Junior Brother Huifeng, didn't the King of the Zong let the medicine shop be implicated? Besides, Master saved his life, and now he loves Junior Sister, so he has no reason not to help the medicine shop." Xiu Ming spoke to Master Sanxiu slowly and patiently.
"You are really thoughtful. Why involve your junior sister in this?" Although what Xiu Ming said did make some sense, Sanxiu glared at him again and scolded him with a stern face.
Seeing that his master was unhappy, Xiu Ming lowered his head with a bitter smile, not daring to say anything more.
"But you also said that the Shadow Clan is so powerful that even high-ranking officials and nobles don't take it seriously. Wouldn't it be a disaster for the prince to come here?" Then Sanxiu asked worriedly.
"Master, the roots of the Shadow Clan are ultimately in the West Moon Country, and the clan king is the younger brother of the current emperor and commands a large number of troops. They will probably have to think twice before offending the clan king."
"So, only the prince can save our Sanxiu Medicine Store, but he is now in Xuancheng, Nanying Prefecture, which is neither far nor near. Even if the carriage is fast, it will take a day or two to go back and forth, right? I hope the Shadow Clan won't act so quickly."
"No matter how fast our carriage is, it can't be faster than the messenger in the army?" Xiu Ming smiled gently again, and then said: "Master, have you forgotten that there is a Zongwang army stationed in Mucheng? Given the relationship between Master and the Zongwang, they will not ignore it."
After hearing what Xiuming said, Sanxiu couldn't help but secretly breathe a sigh of relief. However, he was unhappy when he thought about the strained relationship between him and the prince because of his apprentice, and now he had to risk his reputation to beg that kid. But there was no other way at the moment. For the lives of Sanxiu Medicine Store and the innocent children in the store, what did his reputation mean?
The next morning, before dawn, Xiu Ming hurried to the military camp with a letter for help written by San Xiu to Yan Zong. The general who was ordered to be stationed in Mucheng was also a fierce general under Prince Zong, named Ji Wu. General Ji Wu was shocked when he learned from Xiu Ming that San Xiu's pharmacy was targeted by Yingmen.
Just as Xiuming expected, everyone in the Zongwang Army knew about the relationship between their Highness and Sanxiu Pharmacy. Therefore, General Jiwu did not dare to be negligent and immediately ordered the messenger to rush to Xuancheng to deliver the letter. He also selected several soldiers with better skills from the barracks, disguised them and followed Xiuming into the medicine store to take precautions in advance.
Xiu Ming thanked General Ji Wu and took the soldiers back to the medicine store from the barracks. After arranging for them to stay, he did not go to find his master Sanxiu, but turned to the courtyard where Xuanyu lived.
"Oh, who was that? It turns out to be Mr. Xiu Ming!"
As soon as he entered the courtyard, he saw Madam Honghua walking out of the house. Her charming laughter made Xiuming frown.
After a quick greeting, Honghua saw that Xiuming seemed hesitant to speak, and she also knew that now was not the time to play around, so she invited him into the house.
After hearing Xiu Ming's words, Hong Hua and Xuan Yu looked at each other. Zeng Si, who was standing beside them, was also surprised but also looked at Xuan Yu with a hint of worry.
Because Yanyu came from Yingmen, the three of them already knew that the backer behind Yingmen was the current emperor of Xiyue Kingdom, and this Prince Zong was now also the prince the emperor relied on the most. Judging from this relationship, they were not sure whether Prince Zong would help Mr. Sanxiu who was unaware of the hidden truth or help Yingmen?
"It turns out that Sanxiu Pharmacy is backed by the prince. No wonder this small medical shop is so hidden. And that kid following Sister Si Yao, that's why." Although Honghua had some concerns in his heart, he pretended to be nonchalant and smiled.
"Miss Xuanyu was a member of the Shadow Clan before, so she must know how terrible they are. We will not disturb the king unless it is absolutely necessary. Please rest assured, since you come to the pharmacy for medical treatment, you are our patients. We will protect you for one day in the pharmacy, but the premise is that no one will cause trouble for no reason." Xiuming was only thinking about the Shadow Clan at the moment, so he didn't pay attention to the hidden meaning in Honghua's words. Seeing the worry in Xuanyu and Zeng Si's eyes, he smiled elegantly, and only glanced at Honghua's face at the end of his words.
"Don't worry, I will hide away when the prince comes." Honghua knew what Xiuming meant. She raised her eyebrows disapprovingly and said lightly.
"Starting today, the prince's people have moved into the medicine store. Madam, if you don't have something urgent, please don't leave this small courtyard to avoid causing unnecessary trouble." Xiu Ming continued with a smile.
"Don't worry, Mr. Xiuming. Sister will stay in this courtyard well." Honghua's face showed impatience, but before she could speak, she was stopped by Yu Yu, who bowed to Xiuming solemnly and said, "Thank you Sanxiu Medicine Store for keeping us here during this critical moment. We will remember this great kindness in our hearts and will repay you when we have the chance in the future."
"Miss Xuanyu, you are too polite." Xiuming also returned the greeting slightly.
After Xiuming left, Yanyu turned to Zeng Si with a cold face and asked:
"Are you hiding something from me?"
"ingenious...."
"Oh, don't blame him. I didn't let him say it."
Zeng Si was so nervous that he opened his mouth, but Honghua interrupted him and said that since she couldn't hide it anymore, she simply didn't want to hide it anymore, and told Yanyu all the details.
"Once you enter the Shadow Gate, it's hard to get out once you turn into a ghost. This is the Shadow Gate!" Upon learning that the power-transforming elixir she took contained a strange poison, Xuan Yu did not react but just sneered.
"Xuan Yu?" Zeng Si held her hand tightly and called out worriedly.
"I'm fine." Instead, Yan Yu raised her hand and gently stroked his fair but sad face, smiling tenderly.
"Just stay here. Mr. Sanxiu and Sister Siyao are doing their best to treat your flower bite poison. Even if we can't make the antidote for the time being, I will find a way to get the other half of the antidote from Youmei." Honghua thought that her sister was just pretending to be calm because she didn't want to make them worry, so she comforted her again.
"If the Shadow Sect really chases us here, even if they can't find our people, they won't leave any of us alive, so we can't abandon Sanxiu Medicine Shop right now." Yan Yu still spoke calmly and turned to look at her sister, and continued: "And sister, don't work for the Shadow Sect anymore. After the medicine shop is safe, let's go back to the Poisonous Insect Valley, right?"
"Don't talk nonsense. Even if we go back to the Poisonous Insect Valley, we have to remove the flower bite poison from your body first!" Honghua's face turned cold instantly after hearing this. After saying this without allowing any argument, he turned around and walked out of the house angrily.
Watching her sister leave angrily, Huan Yu sighed helplessly. She really didn't want her sister to be trapped in the Shadow Gate because of her. Moreover, after taking the Hua Gong Pill and experiencing the pain of living a life worse than death, she no longer cared about life and death. So when she found out that she was poisoned again, she was truly fearless and so she was so calm.
"In the next few days, you and your sister should also strengthen your vigilance to prevent the Shadow Gate from invading." Then, Yan Yu turned around and gave instructions to Zeng Si in front of her.
"Okay." Zeng Si originally wanted to persuade Yan Yu to listen to Hong Hua's words, but seeing the determination in her eyes, he didn't dare to speak again, so he just nodded in response.