Chapter 140: Chapter 140
「Miss! Sit down quickly!」
Bunny Heroine turned her head and saw Wu Qiu and Shi Dong rushing over, supporting Medicine Master Wen back to the camp. Googlᴇ search NoveIＦire.net
Medicine Master Wen's face was still covered in green marks. She sat on a rock, regulating her breath, seemingly trying to expel the toxins from her blood through her vital energy.
Seeing this, Yan Qing vaguely realized the difference between alternate characters and the locals—for the former, it was merely a toxin that would vanish in seven seconds. But for people like Medicine Master Wen, they had to rely on metabolism to flush out the toxins in their bloodstream.
No wonder Ye Kai was so confident in Ziluo Smoke. In his perception, Ziluo Smoke had a long duration, and its symptoms were extremely painful. Even if he didn’t pursue the target, he could poison a Messenger to death. He couldn't possibly imagine a strange anomaly like an alternate character, who rapidly metabolized the toxin without any symptoms at all. He must have assumed the alternate character possessed some token that weakened toxins.
Little did he know—that was just a basic trait of a game character.
Bunny Heroine handed over a Healing Pill. Medicine Master Wen didn’t stand on ceremony and took it without hesitation.
Healing Pills were certainly not a cure, but Messengers had strong vitality. As long as the health points were restored, the toxins could be naturally suppressed.
「I’m sorry, little sister.」The first thing she said after suppressing the toxin was an apology:「I originally intended to take care of them all myself, but in the end, it still sullied your hands.」
Yan Qing was quite curious. After all, Ye Kai had been utterly convinced that ordinary people would be writhing in unbearable pain after being poisoned, losing all combat ability. The alternate character was immune simply because she wasn’t human. So how did Medicine Master Wen resist it?
「There’s no method.」Medicine Master Wen calmly said,「But it’s only a bit of pain—what can it possibly do to me? They put too much faith in such heretical tricks, and that’s why they were slain by you and me. But what about you, little sister—are you alright?」
Such a strong tone! Bunny Heroine couldn’t lose either!
「My brother makes me eat Bitter Melon every day. That’s way worse than this little bit of poison.」Bunny Heroine said airily,「I just farted it out. If you all take a deep breath, you might even catch a whiff of the poison.」
Hearing that, Wu Qiu and Shi Dong immediately went off to loot the corpses for any tokens, leaving Medicine Master Wen sitting alone on a rock, her lips twitching. But she couldn’t seem to come up with a reason to run away.
「Just kidding. As if poison gas could be released that easily.」Bunny Heroine reassured her,「It was just a regular fart.」Medicine Master Wen instinctively resumed breathing after the first part—but choked into a coughing fit after the second.
Before long, the maids returned with the spoils of battle—just two pairs of gloves and a few bottles of Healing Pills. Medicine Master Wen glanced over and saw the black glow on the gloves. She shook her head:「Contaminated Demon-Path Tokens. Useless to anyone. Just toss them.」
From this, it was clear why Demon-Path Messengers were so disliked—their tokens became permanently bound.
Even if they died, their most precious tokens couldn’t be used by anyone else. Yet they specialized in killing Messengers. In smaller garrisons, even if reports came of Demon-Path Messengers appearing, the authorities would likely pretend not to notice.
Medicine Master Wen suddenly remembered something and earnestly said to Bunny Heroine:「Little sister, when that Demon-Path thief mentioned the secret art of refining, I paused only to deceive him. I wasn’t actually interested. My goal is to inherit the Foundation Legacy and return to the Zhou Kingdom for revenge. I have absolutely no intention of walking the Demon Path.」
Bunny Heroine nodded and asked,「What is this secret art of refining?」
Medicine Master Wen hesitated for a moment:「The secret art of refining is a method by which Demon-Path thieves convert regular tokens into Demon-Path Tokens. The same token might manifest different abilities in different Demon-Path Messengers. Some of those powers are even stronger and more practical. So they recorded the transformation process. As long as the successor follows the steps, they have a high chance of obtaining the desired power… That’s all I know.」
Yan Qing recalled that the Hundred-Poison Silk Palm did indeed have two added effects: increasing poison duration by two seconds and reducing recovery item effectiveness by 70%—both quite useful.
But Yan Qing had never heard of such a thing as a secret art of refining in the game. No player guide mentioned it either. If the newly added Asura tags were randomized, players would have cursed the developers to hell and back. Since no such uproar had happened, the more likely explanation was... Asura tags weren’t random for players. They could select the ones they wanted in-game.
But for native Demon-Path Messengers, it probably was random, hence the birth of this mystical-sounding "secret art of refining." Probably no different than the belief that drawing cards at 4 a.m. increased your chances.
They couldn’t leave the bodies out there to attract wild beasts. By the time Wu Qiu and Shi Dong finished digging holes to bury them, dawn was already breaking. Medicine Master Wen said,「You can both get a bit more sleep. I’ll take the watch next.」
「Are you sure you don’t want to rest a bit more?」Bunny Heroine asked,「You don’t look fully recovered.」
「No need to worry.」Medicine Master Wen took a small box from her bosom and opened it to reveal an emerald earring. The dangling jewel emitted a faint blue glow. It was unmistakably a Rare Token:「The Earring of Eternal Blessing suppresses abnormal states and speeds up my recovery.」
Yan Qing blinked. If you had something , why didn’t you take it out earlier? Also…
「This is called the Earring of Evil-Banishment.」Bunny Heroine said.
Medicine Master Wen paused slightly, then smiled faintly:「Sorry, little sister. I still prefer Earring of Eternal Blessing as its name.」
Yan Qing had only corrected the name out of habit, and since Medicine Master Wen insisted, he let it go.
Once Wu Qiu and Shi Dong went into the tent, he had Bunny Heroine ask another question that had been nagging at him:「Since you seek revenge, why not choose the Demon Path? If you had a Demon-Path Token, even without my help yesterday, you could’ve defeated that villain.」
「I’m not saying you should walk the Demon Path, big sis. But my brother once said—if you can’t find justice within the bounds of rules, then crime is no longer a shameful choice.」
Medicine Master Wen fell silent for a moment:「Your brother is right. But my father was already a traitor guilty of deceiving the ruler. If even I became a Demon-Path thief, wouldn’t our entire clan truly be a lineage of evil? My revenge isn’t just about killing enemies—I want to restore the honor of the Medicine Master Family of Bashui, to return to the Zhou Kingdom with dignity… Revenge is only a trivial beginning. Greater goals await me.」
Both Bunny Heroine and the off-screen Yan Qing listened intently. Medicine Master Wen’s voice was gentle and steady, lacking dramatic intonations, simply laying out her thoughts plainly. But her conviction in every word was so strong that it gave each sentence a quiet power—needing no embellishment, yet full of authority.
「So, little sister, how about joining me in achieving great deeds?」She suddenly smiled, turning to extend another invitation to Bunny Heroine.
「So sleepy.」Bunny Heroine slipped into the tent. Yan Qing also logged off and went back to sleep.
The morning wind rustled through the forest, leaves rustling, carrying away the scent of blood in the air.
Medicine Master Wen sat on the ground, leaning against a stone, cradling the Soul-Severing Spear in her arms, staring blankly at the pile of firewood burning low.
She reached out and touched the Earring of Eternal Blessing, a complex expression crossing her face.
“Earring, return of the son, earring, return of the son…” she muttered under her breath, then suddenly let out a soft snort, the corner of her lips curling into a bitter smile: “That old war-dog bastard… like hell he’d ever have such gentle thoughts…”