Chapter 52 – Astray Demon Lord’s Son (10)
Regaining his voice with effort, Qi Ming asked if there was a way to detoxify the poison.
“There is a way, and also, there isn’t,” the elder replied. “Before the poison completely merges, consuming the heart’s blood of a demon royal could cure it.”
If the heart’s blood wasn’t available, blood from the tip of the tongue could also work; theoretically, the latter might even detoxify faster.
However, the demon clan royal family had been entirely wiped out more than a decade ago, making this solution practically impossible.
The elder conjured a wooden box from thin air and said, “All we can do now is alleviate some of the pain. This is Anshen Grass. Take it and plant it in a basin with clean water. Place it by the bedside. It won’t reduce the pain, but it will help soothe the mind.”
Qi Ming watched as the elder took out a flower from the box. Its green leaves and light blue petals were fresh, as if just plucked from the soil.
He reached out and took the flower.
After handing over the flower, the elder put away the wooden box and was about to say something when he looked up and asked, “Where’s the young man who was behind you just now?”
Qi Ming was momentarily stunned. Turning his head, his pupils contracted slightly.
All his attention had been on the elder, and he hadn’t noticed that the person standing behind him had disappeared.
He looked at the servant beside him. The servant glanced towards the door, which had changed from being tightly closed to slightly ajar. When the elder had taken out the flower, they too had been focused on it. By the time they noticed the person moving towards the door, it was too late to stop him. Since he had come to see the person in the room, they weren’t sure whether to intervene.
…
Zhou Ji had already entered the room.
Lacking the energy to close the door completely, he only pulled it slightly shut behind him as he stepped inside. Turning around, he immediately saw the person sitting on the bed.
With long hair draped over his shoulders, the person had been looking out the window, resting his face in his hand. Upon hearing the noise, he turned his head, his half-closed eyes opening slightly.
Zhou Ji’s gaze fell on the bandaged hand, and he walked closer in silence.
“You…”
The speaker couldn’t finish their words. The person walking toward the bed bent down silently, his broad palm sinking deeply into the soft hair of the person on the bed.
The scent of rain filled the air, a searing heat emanated from behind, and the taste of blood spread in the mouth. Chen Luosong raised his eyes to look into the dark pupils that were so close.
His heavily injured body lacked strength, and he involuntarily leaned back. Someone supported his waist and neck, preventing him from collapsing.
Time felt both long and short. There was a brief pause for breathing. Zhou Ji lowered his eyes, seeing the person who could barely support himself struggling to raise a hand. The outer robe slipped from his shoulder, and his long hair followed.
Knowing exactly what he had done, Zhou Ji did not continue any further actions. Before being pushed away, he got up voluntarily.
There was no sense of resistance. A weight pressed down on his head, bringing a familiar cool feeling.
“……”
Meeting the light-colored pupils directly, Zhou Ji felt two light pats on his head and heard the other person take a breath and say softly, “It’s all right now.”
All the strength was only enough for two pats on the head. The raised hand fell again, and Chen Luosong watched as the dark eyes that had moved away for a moment instantly came close again.
The taste of blood returned, and he was led to swallow with some difficulty.
“Creak—”
The half-closed door opened. The person who hurriedly walked in turned to look at the bed, his face still filled with worry. Upon seeing the scene before him, his expression froze, and he couldn’t take another step.
It was a sight he had never witnessed before and something he had never been particularly interested in.
The hand of the person who passively endured hung limply at one side, not pushing the other person away.
Qi Ming remembered that the other person had mentioned he didn’t like being touched, so he usually took special care to avoid it.
However, the current scene had gone far beyond the scope of simple touch.
The elder of the Medicine Valley stood to the side. Despite his vast experience, he couldn’t help but be stunned and glanced at the expression of the person next to him.
This relationship… seemed rather complicated.
The impact of this scene was too overwhelming. Even after the person on the bed, exhausted from overexertion, lay back down and the three in the room moved to another chamber, the eldest son of Qi still hadn’t recovered. The scene he had just witnessed kept replaying in his mind.
A maid poured tea, and after taking a sip to forcibly calm his mind, he looked at the person sitting to one side and asked, “What is your relationship with him?”
Zhou Ji avoided answering directly, simply saying, “I need to take him back.”
Having seen him and confirmed he was still alive, Zhou Ji’s eyes no longer held the lifeless look they previously had, but his gaze remained cold. Like the other person, he showed no fear even in the presence of the prince.
Qi Ming’s nearly stalled brain began to function again, surprisingly quickly in this situation. He said, “Without name or status?”
He continued, “The medicines here are the most comprehensive, and it’s the most convenient place to consult with doctors.”
His meaning was clear—he wanted to keep the person there.
Neither was willing to back down.
The elder of the Medicine Valley didn’t drink tea; instead, he fiddled with the medicine grinder in his hand. After the two finished speaking, he looked up and said, “If he wants to live longer, he needs to go to the Medicine Valley.”
The room instantly fell silent.
“The illness he suffers from cannot be suppressed by ordinary medicine,” the elder said. “The Medicine Valley nurtures people. Staying there will make his body feel better until a cure is found.”
Qi Ming accurately picked up on the information hinted at in the elder’s words and asked, “Even you don’t know how to treat it?”
The elder simply shook his head.
There is a method, but it is an old one and no longer feasible. The Medicine Valley holds a vast collection of medical texts and numerous treatment methods for various illnesses. The elder had read them all and remembered seeing the illness described in one of the texts.
The text provided a treatment method requiring rare ingredients, most of which he had accumulated over the years. Although the medicines were precious, he was willing to use them for the sake of the benefactor’s descendant. However, the challenge lay in obtaining one particular ingredient found only in the demon realm’s extreme north.
At the time of the ancient records, the relationship between humans and demonic cultivators was not as antagonistic as it is now. The two races interacted, and medicines were shared. The herb that grew in the demon realm’s extreme north was rare, and because the area was a sacred place for demonic cultivators, few demonic cultivators could enter. Even fewer herbs could be harvested when they matured. Nonetheless, humans could obtain some if needed.
In the current climate of hostility, the extreme north had become the most heavily guarded area of the demon realm. The new demon lord aimed to cause chaos among humans and annex territories, making it nearly impossible to obtain the herb.
The illness was rare, so rare that no one had studied it extensively. The only known treatment method was the one described in the ancient text.
However, medicine had advanced over the years. The elder believed that if enough effort were put into research, a new cure could eventually be found. But the lifespan of a cultivator and a mortal differed greatly. By the time a cure was found, the patient might no longer be alive.
In the silence, the person sitting to one side spoke up, “So we just need to get that herb?”
The elder looked over with his aged eyes and nodded.
——
When Chen Luosong woke up again, the room was fully illuminated by candlelight.
As soon as he opened his eyes, the person sitting at the wooden table nearby noticed and stood up immediately without hesitation.
After leaving the adjacent chamber, Zhou Ji had returned to this room and had stayed there continuously. Seeing the person on the bed move, he understood the intention immediately. He approached and helped Chen Luosong sit up, carefully draping a robe over him.
Sitting up in bed, Chen Luosong took a sip of the warm water handed to him and asked, “How did you find this place?”
Zhou Ji didn’t elaborate, simply saying, “I found it by searching.”
Zhou Ji didn’t ask about the injuries, and Chen Luosong didn’t explain. The events of that night could be inferred from the footprints and carriage tracks that disappeared halfway down the road. With guards and a carriage, the person who appeared that night must have been of high status, likely a noble from the capital.
Unable to learn about the whereabouts of the Immortal Sect disciples from those demonic cultivators, Zhou Ji began his search here. Upon reaching the capital, he observed which places were more heavily guarded than others, which helped him narrow down the location.
Though it took some time, he eventually found him.
The only thing Zhou Ji couldn’t understand was why Chen Luosong was so severely injured. Having spent so much time together, he knew better than anyone else that Chen Luosong was careful about his own safety. Regardless of what happened, he shouldn’t have allowed himself to be so gravely hurt.
There should have been at least one more person present, someone from the Prince Duan’s Mansion. Based on the behavior of the mansion’s people, the other person likely wasn’t seriously injured, or perhaps not injured at all. Considering today’s events since entering the mansion, the other person that night was probably the eldest son.
Zhou Ji lowered his eyes and gently touched the bandage on the person beside him, asking, “Was it to save him?”
“No,” Chen Luosong replied. “It was for myself.”
Zhou Ji looked at him, at his light-colored pupils and the lips that had finally regained a bit of color.
The staff in the pharmacy always thought he was clueless, never seeing him as a real man when it came to this person. This had been the case with many previous incidents, including the lanterns.
He wasn’t ignorant, just afraid to think about it. He had always believed it was better to maintain the status quo rather than risk taking a wrong step and losing everything. He thought living a stable life like this would be enough.
But after today, his thoughts changed. He realized that the seemingly stable life held too many uncertainties, both in terms of people and events.
He was also greedier than he had imagined.
The room’s candlelight flickered, and after a brief silence, Zhou Ji’s other hand, which was hanging by his side, moved slightly. His Adam’s apple bobbed, and he said in a low voice, “I…”
“Knock, knock—”
As soon as he spoke, there was a knock on the door, followed by the flickering of the candle flame as the door opened.
Qi Ming walked into the room carrying clean clothes. He had a feeling—perhaps not just a feeling—that someone had given him a cold, almost deathly stare once again.
**TN
This novel is almost over so I’m gonna post twice a day now. 🙂
