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n“You’re quite literally coming apart,” the elder said. “I’m sorry, I can’t help you.”

nGuo Zhenghe stayed silent for a bit before saying, “I take it that you have family and children, old man.”

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n“What do you mean?” Miao Zhaoxing immediately looked up. Those words made him feel uneasy.

n“Get me treated, or some of you will be going to the grave with me. You have one day. Now get to work.”

nGuo Zhenghe coughed as he rose, leaving the old man shuddering from fury behind. The elder wanted nothing more than to clap that young man, who dared to threaten him, to death.

nHe hurriedly called Miao Qingfeng and told him what had happened.

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n“What? The chief was killed?” He was very shocked to learn that. To his knowledge, the chief was almost invincible. He wondered just how formidable the killer had to be to kill a being like their chief.

n“Who is that Guo Zhenghe?” the elder asked.

n“He is someone with an impressive background, a member of some great clan,” Miao Qingfeng said. “You know that things outside work differently from how they work here.”

n“Are his threats are real?” the elder asked.

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n“I’m afraid so.”

n“Sigh, what should we do?” The elder was feeling very anxious. He had diagnosed Guo Zhenghe and knew the young man was in a very dire state. It was the kind that was beyond saving.

n“He is severely ill now, and it’s beyond my skills to treat. If Miao Xihe was still around, he might have been able to do something.” The elder called the former chief by name then. That was something he dared never to do if Miao Xihe was in the village.

n“Are you sure the chief is dead?” Miao Qingfeng asked.

n“I’m sure of it,” the elder said. “It’s more than just the picture. Guo Zhenghe is so seriously ill because he drank Miao Xihe’s blood.”

n“He did what?” Miao Qingfeng was thoroughly shocked.

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n“He drank the chief’s blood?”

n“He was probably afflicted with the curse and had no other means of getting cured, so he had to resort to such means,” said the elder, who was feeling anxious. “It’s too bad for him that Miao Xihe’s blood was both miraculous medicine and potent poison. Now, his body is on the verge of total collapse.”

n“That’s it. The Blood Orchid!” The elder’s eyes glittered.

n“That might not work,” Miao Qingfeng said. He knew that Miao Xihe had been constantly researching the Blood Orchid.

n“We’ll see after trying it,” the elder said.

nHe was one of the villagers with the highest status at the moment. With seniority bestowed by age and the absence of Miao Xihe, many would have heeded his words.

nThe Blood Orchid was quickly prepared.

n“What is this?” Guo Zhenghe, who received news regarding possible treatment, was shocked to see the flowers with blood-like colors.

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n“The Blood Orchid is one of the sacred medicines in the legends of Miaojiang,” the elder said. “It is capable of treating various illnesses. Prolonged intake renders one always vigorous and youthful.”

n“Is it that miraculous?” Guo Zhenghe asked. “How do you take this thing?”

n“Just ingest it as it is.”

n“Good, very good.” Guo Zhenghe took one of the flowers and shoved it into his mouth. He chewed it a little before gulping it down.

nThere was a distinct scent and sweetness to it. After some time, he felt warmth in his stomach, which made him feel rather comfortable.

n“Right.” He ate about 10 flowers. He felt his body slightly warming. The effects seemed plausible.

n“It seems to be working, but we’ll see,” he said.

nIn a bamboo building in the village…

n“What? Did you say he killed Uncle?” Zhao Yinghao was very angry when Miao Qingfeng told him that Miao Xihe was dead, especially that the chief’s death had to do with Guo Zhenghe.

n“I’ll avenge Uncle.”

n“Give it a rest!” Miao Qingfeng pulled him back.

n“If you go up and kill him, then what? Do you become a fugitive on the run? Do you have any idea who he is or how huge the forces behind him are?”

n“What do we do? Do we just forget about Uncle altogether?” Zhao Yinghao asked in return.

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n“What should we do indeed.” Miao Qingfeng pondered that for quite a bit.

n“I have an idea. We’ll get someone else to do it for us.”

n“Someone? Who would that be?” Zhao Yinghao asked, feeling puzzled about it.

n“Someone who doesn’t know. Just stay out of this. Remember, don’t do anything rash.”

nMiao Qingfeng grabbed something and went to Miao Zhaoxing’s place.

n“Uncle, this is something that the chief entrusted to me for safekeeping before he left. Now that the chief is no more, I figure it’s best that you have it.” Miao Qingfeng handed a book to the elder.

n“Is this Miao Xihe’s medical book?”

n“Yes, it contains everything he recorded with regards to his research of medicine and bug curses,” Miao Qingfeng said.

n“Good, good. Qingfeng, I never doubted you for a second!” The elder flipped the pages, looking very pleased.

n“Hmm, I only see half of it.”

n“I have no idea about that. This is the only book entrusted to me.”

n“Well, no matter.” The elder nodded.

n“You can return to what you were doing.”

n“Sure.” Miao Qingfeng smiled and left.

nThe elder flipped the pages and began reading it. He knew the book was practically a treasure. While Miao Xihe had been overbearing and brutal with his methods, and many never dared to speak up against him despite being very irked, there was one thing all of them admitted. Their former chief had immense talents. When it came to matters relating to medicine and curses, Miao Xihe was so extremely talented that he might have been born to practice such things. He was able to pick up anything he learned seemingly in no time, and his research had been more thorough and insightful than that of his peers. He had not been attending much to the administrative affairs of the village. Instead, he dedicated most of his time and energy to such endeavors, which made the medical book in the elder’s possession all the more precious.

nHe flipped a few pages and paused. He was shocked. He read the contents written on that page over and over.

n“He really was daring!” The elder was in awe.

nGuo Zhenghe stayed in the village for three days. However, he later found that the Blood Orchids were inadequate in treating the illnesses he was afflicted with. The flowers did little but suppress them for the time being. He still coughed. At times, he coughed out blood. He again looked for Miao Zhaoxing.

n“The Blood Orchid isn’t working?” The elder was shocked to hear that.

nWhile the Blood Orchid was a sacred medicine of Miaojiang, it was still far from being some godly medicine. It was a type of magic herb, which, while boasting miraculous effects in certain regard, the flower was by no means a panacea.

n“You’ll need to think of something else,” Guo Zhenghe said. “Hurry up. I can’t just stay here indefinitely.”

n“I might have another way. It’s something I read in the medical notes left behind by Miao Xihe.”

n“Is it? Speak.”

n“We have a huge lake at the side of our village, which we call the Soothing of Gods Lake. There is a godly fish living inside the lake.”

n“Godly fish?”

n“Yes. According to the village records, the fish has at least been around for more than 300 years.”

n“A fish that is more than 300 years old. Are you thinking about catching it?”

n“Yes. The previous chief looked into the fish, as did Miao Xihe. In fact, there have been others who researched the fish in even earlier days. The fish lives in the lake. Our ancestors tried capturing it a very long time ago. They used all manners of poisons, yet nothing came of their efforts. As such, they speculated that it might have had something in its body capable of countering the poisons. The fish is said to be some demigod of sorts since it’s been around for over 300 years.”

n“Catch the fish then,” Guo Zhenghe said.

n“We’d like to, but we don’t have the right tools for it.”

n“I’ll get someone to help you out.”

n“It’s best not to let outsiders see the fish.”

n“No problem.”

nGuo Zhenghe acted swiftly and managed to clear the village of all other outsiders. The reason he used was that a terrifying poison was found in that place. He was concerned that they had gotten infected.

nProfessionals showed up in the village. They all brought weapons with them. These people were gathered by Xu Xinyuan. It made Miao Zhaoxing realize that what Miao Qingfeng said was true. This young man had a formidable force at his disposal. The village had boats, but all of them were small. That did not matter.

nThe operation for catching the fish commenced.

nThey tried using living things like pigs and goats, sending them floating to the surface of the lake. That was how the village been offering sacrifices to the fish for generations.

n“Would it appear?”

n“It would.”

nA huge shadow was seen in the lake when the pigs and goats reached a certain location.

n“It’s there.” Guo Zhenghe was shocked to see the size of the shadow under the water.

nThe villagers were not lying. It was a frighteningly huge fish with a length exceeding 32 feet. It was utterly unimaginable that such a huge aquatic creature was living in a freshwater lake.

nIn the northern village, thousands of miles away…

n“What? He’s at that valley now?”

n“Yeah, and it seems that the valley drove all the other outsiders out. Furthermore, there was a group of armed professionals secretly being brought inside the village.”

n“Tsk, tsk, tsk, well our Mr. Guo sure knows how to have fun,” Wang Yao said. He was a bit astonished by the news.

n“I’ve had my contacts keep a close eye on him,” Jia Zizai said. “There will be news soon enough. Now that Miao Xihe is dead, the village seems to have relaxed its defenses against the outside world. It’s a lot easier to learn what is going on in there now.”

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