The woman, seeing the perplexed look on Lu Qingwan's face, said nothing further, merely instructing the disciples waiting outside, "Go, lead our two guests to the Hundred Poisons Ground."
"…Yes, Valley Master."
For some reason, Lu Qingwan felt a slight hesitation in the disciple's response.
Following him out of the Medicine King Tower, the disciple led them towards the back of the building.
Lu Qingwan launched into her talkative mode, "Young brother, what exactly is this Hundred Poisons Ground? Does it mean there are a hundred types of venomous creatures inside…"
Whether annoyed by Lu Qingwan or out of some caution, the disciple initially offered vague, perfunctory answers. By the end, he didn't even bother to go through the motions.
Lu Qingwan puckered her face and, supporting Feng Xiwu, followed along.
They arrived at a broken bridge, its wooden planks stretching from beneath their feet into the unseen distance.
The disciple bowed, "Esteemed guests, the Hundred Poisons Ground lies at the end of this broken bridge. Please."
With that, he stepped onto the bridge. Lu Qingwan, seeing this, supported Feng Xiwu and followed him. *Even if there's some trick*, she thought, *this disciple wouldn't risk his own life to harm us.*
However, it was precisely this step that plunged them into a pit.
The disciple had led them to the end of the broken bridge, onto what seemed like a viewing platform.
Turning back to face them, a smile still on his lips, he stomped his foot. The wooden planks of the bridge suddenly vanished.
In the instant of falling, Feng Xiwu tightly clasped Lu Qingwan's waist. They tumbled down the slope, rolling and bumping.
Something grew on the slope, scraping them painfully, their clothes offering little protection.
With a thud, they struck something and finally stopped. Lu Qingwan looked up to see only swirling mist, obscuring their point of origin.
She wanted to climb back up, but couldn't even discern a direction.
"Feng Xiwu, are you alright?"
Lu Qingwan patted the arm that held her waist tightly, a hint of nervousness in her voice.
"I'm fine, but we're not safe yet."
Feng Xiwu breathed, "This King grabbed a vine on the slope, but it's too thin to hold for long."
"And you're still so calm!"
Lu Qingwan, terrified, took a stone from under her hand and tossed it down, hearing no echo.
"There must still be some distance to the bottom. Do you have a knife on you?"
She had surgical scalpels, but they were useless at this moment.
"This King has a dagger in his sleeve, and you have one in your cloak pocket."
"Wait for me."
Lu Qingwan retrieved the dagger from Feng Xiwu's sleeve and felt for the one in her own clothes. The two daggers were of moderate length, better than nothing.
"Hold me tight."
Lu Qingwan said, driving the dagger into the slope before her. The surface was soil, but it felt hard beneath, suggesting something else underneath, strong enough to support their weight.
Lu Qingwan let out a sigh of relief. "Follow my rhythm. We'll move down slowly."
Fortunately, though the slope was steep, it was still a slope, not a true cliff, giving them a chance to save themselves.
Feng Xiwu also realized Lu Qingwan's intention and took the dagger from her hand. "Together."
"Then wait a moment."
Lu Qingwan no longer cared if Feng Xiwu discovered her secret. She retrieved a roll of bandages from her spatial laboratory and tied herself and Feng Xiwu together.
She left a short gap between them, allowing for limited movement without them becoming separated.
Then, like geckos, they clung to the slope and moved down inch by inch.
After an indeterminate amount of time, Lu Qingwan, panting, asked Feng Xiwu, "Do you feel anything strange?"
"If this King guesses correctly, this is likely where the Medicine King Valley cultivates highly toxic herbs to breed gu worms, five poisons, and other venomous creatures. That woman likely lured us here to kill us. Yet, so far, this King hasn't been attacked by any venomous creatures. You haven't had any trouble either, have you?"
"I…"
Just as Lu Qingwan was about to say she was fine, a large creature appeared before her eyes.
A black spider the size of a fist clung to a spot less than half a foot from her face, its eight hairy legs raising a chill.
Lu Qingwan's startled cry caught in her throat as she plummeted uncontrollably downwards. She made no attempt to steady herself, her only thought being to get away from the creature, even if it meant dragging Feng Xiwu down with her.
Feng Xiwu, not hearing Lu Qingwan's reply, found her sudden pull strange. Instinctively, he shielded her in his arms, and they rolled down together, tumbling into a pit with a *duang* sound.
The impact wasn't painful, but the prolonged rolling left them dizzy. Feng Xiwu was worse off, having been rolled around and then landed on by Lu Qingwan, taking a while to recover.
Lu Qingwan, forgetting her fear of the giant spider, nervously whispered, "Feng Xiwu, are you alive?"
Feng Xiwu's voice drifted up, "This King is not dead. Are you disappointed?"
Lu Qingwan sheepishly got up. "You can't blame me for that. Who told that monstrous woman to scare me with such a big spider?"
She attempted to engage in banter with Feng Xiwu, feigning composure, unaware that her face was devoid of color and her hands trembled so much she couldn't get up after several tries. Each attempt was weaker than the last.
Feng Xiwu sat up with a sigh and gently helped her rise. "It's not your fault. After we get out, this King will lead his men to flatten the Medicine King Valley for you."
"Let's worry about getting out before you start boasting."
Lu Qingwan looked around. All she saw were various medicinal herbs. However, "We need to leave cleanly. This place below is a swamp."
The surface appeared to be grass, but it swayed like a waterbed. If the current beneath were even slightly strong, this thin layer of grass wouldn't support their weight.
As Lu Qingwan spoke, she finally managed to stand. To her surprise, Feng Xiwu couldn't.
Lu Qingwan's heart skipped a beat. "Are you injured?"
Feng Xiwu shook his head with a wry smile. "That medicine seems to have failed."
"Impossible."
Lu Qingwan dismissed his words without a second thought. Anything from her spatial laboratory was guaranteed to be of the highest quality. How could it fail so easily? As she spoke, she grabbed Feng Xiwu's wrist to check his pulse. What she saw shocked her.
Taking out a dagger, she sliced open Feng Xiwu's pant leg. He flinched, "What are you doing?"
"Don't move!"
Lu Qingwan forcefully held his leg down and tore open the fabric. She saw several leeches, like nails, clinging to Feng Xiwu's knee, greedily draining his blood.