Chu Qing Ze nodded, not having time to dwell on the other person's identity.
He opened the medicine bottle, and a pungent aroma wafted out.
He placed the bottle under Rong Zhi's nose, trying to get her to inhale it.
After a long while, Rong Zhi showed no change, her complexion only continuing to pale uncontrollably.
"How can this be?" Chu Qing Ze touched her throat in confusion.
"What's going on?" Cheng Yi Chen stared at the unfamiliar junior, inexplicably finding him somewhat familiar.
"The Ma Fei San cannot be inhaled, and she is still conscious. If her throat were to be cut in this state, she would die from the pain."
Even if she didn't die from pain, she would instinctively struggle due to the agony, and if her internal energy were triggered, not only would her life not be saved, but it would accelerate her death.
"You young man are truly unreliable. She's already fainted, how can she inhale anything?"
Upon hearing this explanation, Cheng Yi Chen became even more anxious and moved to lift her.
There were so many imperial physicians in the palace; surely one of them could save her life!
Although there was a risk of exposure, he couldn't afford to worry about that now.
At this moment, Chu Qing Ze suddenly let out a cry of surprise.
"The needle is poisoned!"
Cheng Yi Chen was taken aback. He hadn't noticed it before, but Rong Zhi's complexion seemed to have changed too rapidly.
After a normal person dies, although the body decays, it doesn't change too quickly in a short period, especially as the weather grows colder.
Yet, in less than fifteen minutes, Rong Zhi's face had turned ashen, and it even appeared to be developing spots.
"Damn it! She truly doesn't want to live!"
To seal her throat with a silver needle was one thing, but to poison it as well.
"At this point, we can't afford to hesitate. Hurry and remove the needle, and seal all her acupoints!"
Cheng Yi Chen urged, and Chu Qing Ze had no choice but to set aside the Ma Fei San.
Even if the acupoints were sealed, only immobilizing her, the pain would still be present.
The agony of cutting open the trachea could not be resolved by sealing acupoints.
He raised his hand and flicked it, tapping several acupoints on Rong Zhi's body.
He picked up a small knife, heated it over a flame, tilted Rong Zhi's chin, gritted his teeth, and began.
The process was long. In the past, Chu Qing Ze had experimented on countless corpses, but this was the first time he was truly facing a living person.
Under the lamplight, his slender fingers gradually became stained with blood.
A silver needle, as fine as a strand of hair, was removed. It emitted a dark, black color under the light.
"It is indeed poisoned! It's Qian Ri Zui."
Qian Ri Zui, though it sounds like alcohol, is actually a potent poison in the martial world. Once encountered, death is swift, with no chance for rescue.
Upon realizing it was this poison, Chu Qing Ze's expression grew solemn.
On the bed, Rong Zhi's wound had been sutured. The stitches were fine, but a trace was still visible, like a worm crawling on her neck.
Her eyes were tightly shut, and she was silent.
Chu Qing Ze tested her nose with his finger; there was no breath.
He then felt her chest; it was cold, with no heartbeat.
His hands froze, his mind went blank.
"She's dead..."
His voice was no longer his own.
"Let me see."
Cheng Yi Chen pushed him aside and examined her with a solemn expression. However, his examination differed from Chu Qing Ze's. He only touched the wound with his hand, then quickly formed a mudra with his fingers, calculating something unknown.
"Can this poison be cured?"
"Yes... but what's the use? She's already dead."
Chu Qing Ze leaned against the wall, utterly dejected.
He had known her for so long, she was both a mentor and a friend. At times, he even saw her as his late Grandmaster.
She could cure the Seven Day Fiend Poison and bring Zhang Ya Jing back to life, yet such a formidable person had died so easily.
He couldn't believe it was real.
"As long as the poison can be cured, hurry and detoxify her, restore her body to normal. I have other methods."
As long as her body was intact, it wouldn't be too difficult.
Chu Qing Ze was initially skeptical, but seeing the other's determined expression, he returned to search for medicinal herbs.
Qian Ri Zui was not an overly insidious poison. Its difficulty lay in its rapid onset and subtle symptoms, making it hard to detect. Even when detected, there was little opportunity for rescue.
Why hadn't he discovered it sooner? Why hadn't he noticed it earlier?
His face pale, he rummaged through the herbs, finally finding a small medicine bottle in a corner.
Chu Qing Ze rejoiced and eagerly attempted to administer the antidote to Rong Zhi, but he soon encountered a problem.
The pill could not be swallowed.
"Hurry and detoxify her!" Cheng Yi Chen concealed several talismans behind his back and urged.
"It can't be swallowed..." Chu Qing Ze was utterly frustrated.
Even the Ma Fei San from before couldn't be inhaled, let alone a pill.
"Then what other method is there to detoxify her?" Cheng Yi Chen's veins bulged on his forehead.
Detoxification required taking medicine; if she couldn't take medicine, what use was detoxification!
He had gone to great lengths to revive Rong Zhi. If she died again now, all his efforts would be in vain.
"Wait a moment, there is another way!" Chu Qing Ze suddenly lifted his head.
The method to cure the Seven Day Fiend Poison, the process of bringing Zhang Ya Jing back to life.
"Quick! Go boil some water!"
"Boil water?" Cheng Yi Chen blinked in surprise. Why boil water now?
But seeing Chu Qing Ze already gathering herbs, realizing it was all for detoxification, he went to the kitchen.
The fire in the stove burned fiercely, and Cheng Yi Chen sighed.
What bad luck. After being confined in Qian Ji Pavilion for so long, he finally got out, only to be first kidnapped, then handle a troublesome matter, and after finally finding the person he had revived back then, she died just as he revealed the truth.
He truly hadn't checked the almanac before leaving.
He, the esteemed Grand Preceptor, was here boiling water.
While waiting for the water to boil, Cheng Yi Chen quietly slipped outside and found Chu Qing Ze carrying a large bathtub. Xiao Jian Li was still unconscious.
When no one was looking, he stealthily jumped onto the roof and placed two talismans on the eaves.
Afterward, he returned to the kitchen as silently as he had left.
When everything was ready, Chu Qing Ze carried Rong Zhi into the bathtub filled with medicinal herbs.
Looking at Rong Zhi, who sat quietly inside, silent, Chu Qing Ze took a deep breath.
Although he had only seen it once, he had remembered the method Rong Zhi used to extract toxins from Zhang Ya Jing. He just didn't know if his internal energy could withstand it.
He held Rong Zhi's wrist and slowly infused his internal energy. Simultaneously, a faint ripple spread through the medicinal water in the bathtub.
Since Rong Zhi was unconscious and unable to take the medicine herself, he had to transfer the medicinal power through his internal energy.
The internal energy flowed slowly within Rong Zhi's body. Soon, Chu Qing Ze felt his strength waning, his face paling, and his hands began to tremble.
Talismans had already been placed around the room. Cheng Yi Chen, who had just entered, saw this scene, paused, and quietly retreated.
Pfft!
Chu Qing Ze spat out a mouthful of blood, his face ashen.
It's not working!
This was the only way. If he couldn't transfer the medicinal power, if he couldn't cure the poison in her body, she would be beyond saving.
However, her meridians were completely stagnant. Transferring medicinal power into them was like trying to make a wooden mannequin stand and walk; theoretically impossible.
He struggled to stand up and tried several more times, but he couldn't open the stagnant meridians no matter what. Instead, he himself coughed up several mouthfuls of blood.
Gradually, his vision began to darken.
Just as he was losing strength and about to collapse, a hand suddenly took over Rong Zhi's wrist. Chu Qing Ze fell to the ground, seeing it was Xiao Jian Li.
As Xiao Jian Li moved, the bathtub also began to stir.
It's working!
Chu Qing Ze breathed a sigh of relief, but couldn't help but cough up another mouthful of blood.
"Young man, if you can't do it, don't force yourself. There's a ready-made expert here, why wait?"
Cheng Yi Chen came before Chu Qing Ze, shaking his head and sighing.
"That method, ordinary people cannot use it. I've only seen her use it before."
He panted, thinking of the difficulty of the method, and his hope dwindled.
"It's working." Xiao Jian Li uttered a deep, hoarse voice. It wasn't loud, but it was firm.
Chu Qing Ze struggled to stand up and saw that the color of the water in the bathtub had faded significantly, and Rong Zhi's skin tone was slowly recovering, from ashen to a slight blush.
"How is this possible? You're not a doctor, how do you know?"
Chu Qing Ze was astonished.
Xiao Jian Li did not answer.
He had followed Rong Zhi for so many years; even if he didn't know how to do it himself, he must have learned by watching.
Centering himself, with a single-minded focus, he infused his internal energy into the other person's body bit by bit, opening the meridians.
By the time the water turned from clear to turbid, it meant the toxins in her body were gradually being expelled.
Cheng Yi Chen also let out a sigh of relief upon seeing this.
"It's almost done. Prepare some candles for me."
He said to Chu Qing Ze.
"How many?"
"As many as possible."
Chu Qing Ze hurried to prepare candles and found about a hundred. Cheng Yi Chen didn't stand on ceremony and took them all, arranging them in a circle around the room. Although it looked messy, upon closer inspection, it was clear he wasn't arranging them randomly but with a certain pattern.
Chu Qing Ze looked at Xiao Jian Li, who was treating Rong Zhi's injuries inside, and then at Cheng Yi Chen, who was arranging candles. He couldn't help but wonder who these two people were; they seemed quite capable.
About an hour later, Cheng Yi Chen had finished arranging the candles, and Xiao Jian Li had placed Rong Zhi, whose complexion had returned to normal, on the bed.
"Leave the rest to me. You two go out first."
After Cheng Yi Chen spoke, Xiao Jian Li did not leave but asked Cheng Yi Chen, "Guo..."
"Hmm?"
Before he could finish, he received a warning look from Cheng Yi Chen.
He had no choice but to swallow the word he was about to say.
"What is this for?"
"Of course, it's to save her life. You've healed her body just now; now we need to retain her soul. Otherwise, even if her body is healed, she'll be like a walking corpse, only able to lie down, unable to move or speak, no different from being dead."
Xiao Jian Li looked at the candles outside, observing them carefully.
"What, you don't trust me?"
Cheng Yi Chen seemed displeased.
"No, thank you for your hard work!"
Xiao Jian Li led Chu Qing Ze outside.
"Who is he, who are you, and what is your relationship with her?"
Chu Qing Ze finally couldn't help but ask.
Xiao Jian Li glanced at him, his eyes appraising. He hadn't looked closely when the three girls were brought over last time, but now, looking at the young man's appearance and his healing technique, it was inexplicably familiar.
"Then you answer me one question first."
"You say."
"What is your relationship with Chu Yu Heng?"