Ch 63 Part 1 – Confrontation (I)
Xue Chengxuan pondered for a moment before glancing slightly at Xue Clan’s First Elder. Elder Xue opened his half-squinted eyes and raised his gaze at Pei Mufeng: “Then we will bother Pavilion Master Pei to summon all Foundation Establishment medical cultivators from Xingluo City and Xingluo Pavilion.” His voice is calm, “Before the clan head arrives, I better solve this by myself.”
Pei Mufeng glanced at Meng Qi in silence and nodded slowly.
Elder Xue flicked his sleeves and got up. Although his hair and beard were completely white, his skin was still smooth and ruddy, and his appearance was no different from a middle-aged man in his thirties. The elder was also tall. When he was sitting, it wasn’t prominent, but after he stood up, he was slightly taller than Xue Chengxuan.
“Although this incident happens in Xingluo City, it is clearly aimed at Medical Cultivator Conference, humph.” He snorted coldly. “Since the other party has this intention, we cannot let them go with their way. I also ask Pavilion Master Pei to temporarily blockade Xingluo City’s eastern district. Except for the conference’s attendees, others are forbidden from entering and leaving.”
When these words came out, even Xue Chengxuan was stunned.
Meng Qi’s eyebrow raised slightly. She looked at Elder Xue, wondering why the person made this demand. Xingluo City wasn’t a small town like Qingfeng. This city was even bigger than Fentian City. The Ruyi Inn branch where Meng Qi’s group resided—two streets away from here—was already in the eastern district’s scope. Needless to say, there were many inns, restaurants, and various shops in this populous district; many were owned and ran by ordinary people.
What does First Elder Xue mean?
Pei Mufeng’s eyes narrowed slightly. He asked slowly: “Forbids unrelated people from entering and leaving?”
“Yes.” Elder Xue’s eyes glinted. “Except for people from the Medical Cultivator Conference, other unrelated people are not allowed to appear in the eastern district.”
Pei Mufeng’s eyes were cold, “Including the residents of this city?”
“Including the residents of Xingluo City.”
“No.” Pei Mufeng said, “I can let people clear a courtyard owned by Xingluo Pavilion plus four surrounding guest houses for Miss Xue and other Xue Clan’s people.”
“Not enough!” Elder Xue rebutted coldly, “The enemy is hidden and cunning, and obviously coming prepared. We must prevent a similar incident from happening again.”
“There are no less than several hundreds thousands of ordinary residents in Xingluo City’s eastern district.”
“So what?” Elder Xue’s eyes flashed with a cold light. “Pavilion Master Pei took the initiative to request the Medical Cultivator Conference to be held here, but you cannot even grant this small request?”
“Or, is Pavilion Master just wants to hold the conference in Xingluo City, but doesn’t care about the life and death of us medical cultivators?!”
Seeing the elder became more and more aggressive, Meng Qi felt strange. She glanced at Xue Chengxuan, and found the young man smiled wryly at himself.
Su Junmo stood beside Meng Qi. He held her sleeve and shook it gently.
Pei Mufeng seemed to be unable to refute Elder Xue’s accusation.
The atmosphere in the room became a little awkward.
At this moment, a soft groan came from the bed: “Uh…”
“Lingfeng?” Xue Chengxuan hurried to the bed and opened the curtain. “Are you awake?”
“Eldest Brother…” A soft voice replied. “What happens…I…ah! It hurts!” Xue Lingfeng suddenly screamed, and her originally soft voice turned into a shriek. Her body arched, and even the bed curtains were shaking: “E-eldest brother…it hurts…it hurts!!”
“It’s okay, brother is here.” Xue Chengxuan quickly put a pill into Xue Lingfeng’s mouth, then poured some powder into the incense burner next to the bed. The medicinal scent inside the room instantly intensified, and a bitter and slightly cool smell permeated the room.
Meng Qi took a deep breath. As one of the four major clans of Feng Alliance, Xue Clan’s medicine was naturally of high quality.
Not long after, Xue Lingfeng seemed to calm down. Her voice was muffled, with a slight tremor: “Eldest brother, am I poisoned?”
“Yes.” Xue Chengxuan answered. “How do you feel now? Do you remember what happened before?”
“Before…I…” Xue Lingfeng tried hard to remember.
“Don’t worry.” Xue Chengxuan comforted his sister. “Take it slowly.”
Meng Qi couldn’t help but be curious, and quietly moved two steps toward the bed. She slightly tilted her head and peeked inside from the gap between Xue Chengxuan. Meng Qi saw a girl with a delicate and beautiful but pale face. A few strands of sweat-soaked hair stuck to her cheek. Her lips were slightly dry, and a few drops of sweat were hanging on the slightly raised jaw.
It seemed that this girl was truly in great pain just now.
Meng Qi’s heart slightly stirred. Her eyes moved to Xue Lingfeng’s shoulders and towards her hands. Unfortunately, Xue Chengxuan’s body blocked her sight, and she couldn’t see Xue Lingfeng’s hands. From Meng Qi’s line of sight, she could only see the girl’s body trembled slightly, seemingly remembering something.
“I…I saw third elder sister!” Xue Lingfeng said suddenly, her voice was trembling.
“Jinwen?” Xue Chengxuan frowned. “Where?”
“I saw third sister just half a day away from Xingluo City.” Xue Lingfeng grasped her brother’s clothes. “I thought I saw it wrong. Eldest sister said that father didn’t let third sister come to the Medical Cultivator Conference this year and told her to practice well at home. I tried to chase and wanted to confirm if it was really third sister. T-then…”
Xue Lingfeng’s large eyes blinked, and her long eyelashes were trembling slightly. She looked very pitiful and distressing. “Then I passed out, and when I woke up, I saw you, eldest brother! I don’t know what happened in between. I don’t know at all!”
Meng Qi tilted her head even more, her whole body almost tilted to the side. She finally managed to catch a glimpse of Xue Lingfeng’s hand on Xue Chengxuan’s clothes. The girl’s fingers were white and slender. Her shiny fingernails were trimmed neatly and polished with a dye made from balsam flower’s juice. The pale pink color was very cute and suited her.
Move a bit—Meng Qi murmured inwardly. She couldn’t detect anything just by seeing the nails. At least, the hands had to move a bit so she could see whether there were also thin green lines on Xue Lingfeng’s palms.
This poison should be nothing for Xue Clan. What was troublesome was the array Xue Chengxuan had just said, which planted a special prohibition on Xue Lingfeng’s body.
“Lingfeng.” Elder Xue called with a heavy tone. “You should have a good rest. Don’t think too much.”
“Yes.” Xue Lingfeng replied softly. She let go of her brother’s clothes and tried to sit up properly before saying respectfully: “Many thanks for First Elder’s concern.”
“Mm.” Elder Xue nodded in satisfaction and turned his eyes back to Pei Mufeng. “Pavilion Master, can you do as this old man just asked?”
Xue Lingfeng’s eyes widened. She looked at her eldest brother, who slowly shook his head at her. Xue Lingfeng lowered her head and didn’t dare to say anything.
Meng Qi moved closer to the bed. She came here because she was curious about what happened to Xue Clan’s young miss that troubled even their talented heir. Meng Qi right now was no different from a sword fanatic who had just encountered a new sword technique and kept practicing tirelessly until he mastered the new technique. In Meng Qi’s case, she always felt itchy anytime she encountered poison, injury, or disease that she had never seen before.
