Chapter 29: Overt Rivalry

To ensure the used tissue wouldn't give her away, Chaochao found a small stick and worked hard to bury it along with her droppings. Once finished, she stepped on the little mound of earth to pack it down, tossed the stick aside, and then dusted off her hands before emerging from behind the bushes.

Seeing Chaochao appear with the parrot that had been circling overhead, Li Wenyue wore a gentle smile, much like the one her aunt often displayed. Ignoring Li Wenyun, who was nearby grumbling and venting her frustration by pulling at the grass, she hurried over and unfastened the item from her waistband.

While Tuoba Qi and the others were displaying their formidable power, Xia Qing seized the opportunity to lunge at Ouyang Hai, who retreated into a corner, his back against the cold wall with nowhere left to run.

"Beauty beyond compare in a thousand autumns, a feast for the eyes is a fair lady; a face to topple cities and kingdoms, a feast for the eyes is a fair lady!" Liu Tianhao had completely ignored Cai Yong and Mi Zhu beside him.

Long Chen pushed open the door and stepped out, spotting Chen Wu'er waiting at the entrance at a single glance.

Qi Jun and Lin Xi had hit it off immediately and could naturally interact like friends, but in a setting like this, she simply couldn't muster the enthusiasm and could only hide silently to the side, saying nothing.

Surrounded by colorful, brilliant lanterns, the dazzling, multicolored lights softened Long's otherwise overly pale, sickly complexion. The frost melted into a misty haze, hazy and indistinct, as if he were an immortal who refused to reveal his true face to mortals, doing so on purpose.

He already knew what had happened outside; patients were appearing one after another within the organization, and he himself was experiencing some symptoms as well. He vaguely sensed that this matter was connected to the Nanshan Cemetery, yet he dared not leave Cang Er's side to investigate. He could only hope, day after day, that Cang Er would wake up soon.

"Uh, we just crossed the river at a shallow point; that spot could probably accommodate a hundred horses crossing at the same time!" Ju Yi pondered for a moment before speaking.

The strange boatman and the covered boat vanished in an instant, and even the stone tablet standing on the ground disappeared. As the thick fog dispersed, what appeared before them was a beach of scattered stones—there was no pier at all.

The group followed the cart to the ward; the anesthesia had not yet worn off for Grandma Mu. Mu Hanyan sat by the bedside, clutching Grandma Mu's hand tightly the entire time. Chen Naifu sat nearby with his arm around Chen Yi's shoulder. Chen Yi sighed softly upon seeing Grandma Mu on the hospital bed, and Chen Naifu rubbed Chen Yi's shoulder a few times without saying a word.

Long Hao walked forward. In the great hall before him, there was actually a statue—a statue of a bone dragon. The hall was quite vast, and besides the bone dragon statue in the center, there were nine bone dragon carcasses; one could feel that they no longer held any trace of life.

However, Xie Lang was just asking casually. Too many things had happened recently, and he couldn't even sort out his own affairs, so he didn't have much heart to worry about others at the moment.

"Understood, I'll go buy them tomorrow. Should I get gifts for the other teachers as well?" Mother Su was quite good at drawing inferences.

Upon hearing Yi Feng say this, the Third Elder stopped his questioning. Although Yi Feng only touched upon the subject, the information revealed was enough to make the Third Elder happy.

"But I never said I didn't want it." What Veles loved most was watching Malolit's disheveled state.

Because this mission was not about anything illicit—it was merely to recover the remains of martyrs—there was no need for secrecy. Moreover, this time Xie Lang had gone through the Vietnam branch of the Jiufang Pavilion to secure a "development investment" cover, making the operation entirely open and legitimate.

However, even if it were unusual, as Yi Feng looked at the medicinal herbs covering the ground, he couldn't help himself and began collecting them one by one.

This was the benefit of entering the Divine Art stage; since the body had already merged with the universe, there was no need to deliberately manipulate the primordial energy of heaven and earth. Every movement was effortless, yet carried infinite power.

Furthermore, aside from this, Li Hai was very eager to see who this so-called Medicine King, this living immortal, really was. If possible, Li Hai naturally hoped to learn from him the most appropriate method to treat the cold poison in his mother's body.