Three days later, Madam Wu’s condition stabilized. Although she was still unconscious, her life was at least secured.
Bai Ruozhu instructed Wu Ke to have his n burn so drug powder and ash around the escort agency, especially in dark corners, to prevent any lingering poisonous insects. After three days of endeavor, they burned out seven or eight poisonous insects, which were promptly incinerated upon discovery.
Bai Ruozhu accompanied Madam Wu at the County Governnt Office for three days. The county magistrate carefully attended to them, not just providing lodging but also als, each al being lavish with fish and at; Bai Ruozhu and her companions took it as a ti to relax.
Finally, when Furball awoke, Bai Ruozhu communicated with him and instructed soone to summon Wu Ke, saying, "It’s ti to search for that extremity yin object at your escort agency to prevent any future influence on your wife."
Wu Ke repeatedly bowed in gratitude, "Madam Bai, we’re so thankful to you. If not for you, we wouldn’t know what would have happened."
Over the past few days, Wu Ke had co to a realization. His wife hadn’t conceived due to the extremity yin object, but the previous poison master found their escort agency suitable for breeding poisonous insects, and his wife’s body suitable for nurturing them, secretly implanting poisonous insects in her, creating the false appearance of pregnancy.
However, the poisonous insects had been in Madam Wu’s body for a long ti, causing her complexion to turn dark, so Wu Ke took his wife around seeking dical help, which allowed Gufeng to exploit the situation.
As for Gufeng saying they needed to gather ten thousand taels of silver, it was clearly a delaying tactic. Even if they managed to gather the amount, it would likely be when the poisonous insect inside his wife matured.
Wu Ke cursed Gufeng over a thousand tis these days, wishing him a miserable death.
Even Bai Ruozhu heard it a few tis but found it amusing; with people like Gufeng, whose body was infested with poisonous insects, how could he die peacefully?
Wu Ke urgently led the way, and Bai Ruozhu and others went to the Jinn Escort Agency.
"Furball, do a thorough search," Bai Ruozhu communicated with Furball as soon as she entered the agency.
Furball quietly perched on Bai Ruozhu’s shoulder, observing the surroundings.
Others didn’t notice his presence, except for Jiang Yichun and Jianqi, who were familiar enough to know he was on Bai Ruozhu’s shoulder.
Bai Ruozhu searched around the escort agency but found nothing.
"Is there anywhere we haven’t been to, like a storeroom?" she asked.
"Yes, there’s a storeroom, let lead the way," Wu Ke took everyone to a dilapidated storeroom, after searching for a while they finally found the key to the door.
Apparently, Gufeng had been searching the Jinn Escort Agency for so ti, so it’s understandable if he couldn’t find anything here.
Furball tilted his head and communicated with Bai Ruozhu, "Maybe, Master, you should go in and search carefully."
Inside the storeroom lay a thick layer of dust, indicating that it hadn’t been opened for a long ti.
"Get soone to move things aside one by one," Bai Ruozhu said, pulling Jiang Yichun away as she was sensitive to slls; the dust made her nose incredibly uncomfortable.
After a long period, the items in the storeroom were laid out one by one, Wu Ke and his n erged covered in dust and looking particularly bedraggled.
Bai Ruozhu asked Furball to check, and finally, Furball signaled Bai Ruozhu to inspect a sword, although it was uncertain if that was the one.
"What is the story behind this sword?" Bai Ruozhu asked while holding the sword.
Wu Ke studied it carefully and said, "This sword was commissioned by my father while he was alive, using Black Iron, but it wasn’t particularly sharp, so he threw it into the storeroom out of frustration. Later, he crafted another blade, which has now been passed down to ."
As he said this, he patted the sword on his waist and worriedly asked, "Could there be an issue with this sword?"
The sword sheathed was very ordinary, or rather simple, without any gemstone embellishnts.
She wielded the sword and examined it under the light, finding that its blade was darker than usual and even sowhat blackened. She handed it to Jiang Yichun, an expert swordsman, to have a better look.
Jiang Yichun flicked his finger across the blade, causing it to emit a whining sound and vibrate violently. But Jiang Yichun shook his head, "The material is inadequate, lacks flexibility, and may easily snap. Its sharpness and hardness are limited, nothing more than teoric iron."
"My father suspected that the smith had pocketed teoric iron and argued fiercely with him; later, different artisans were sought for sword-making," Wu Ke said.
"There are special minerals mixed in, but not teoric iron; it’s not the smith’s fault, but your father’s teoric iron wasn’t right," Jiang Yichun explained.
Wu Ke widened his eyes, "Could this be the extremity yin object? I rember my father purchasing the teoric iron from a reputable shop, so there shouldn’t be any deliberate harm."
Bai Ruozhu examined the sword blade and said, "Your father indeed bought teoric iron, but it was a type of extremity yin teoric iron, which led to the failed sword-making."
"Yes, regular people can’t tell in such cases, so mistaking it as teoric iron from the shop is understandable," Jiang Yichun added.
"How can this be!" Wu Ke said in disbelief.
Bai Ruozhu smiled and continued, "I once heard a story about teoric iron falling from the sky, originating from beyond, undergoing high-temperature burning as it landed. Thus, it’s very hard, ideal for weapons. Yet, teoric iron isn’t all the sa, so contain toxic elents. Once, a hunter found teoric iron on a mountain and brought ho a piece out of curiosity, but within two or three years, his family suffered unexplained deaths from incurable diseases. The villagers thought they were cursed, thankfully a passing expert identified the problem, removed the teoric iron, and the remaining family mbers avoided illness."
"It’s troubling to imagine gathering stones from the outside, truly frightening," Duan Fen wiped his forehead, never believing Bai Ruozhu’s story without their leader’s experience. However, the fact that his sister-in-law hadn’t conceived in seven years and was very frail forced him to believe it.
Wu Ke received the sword from Jiang Yichun with shaky hands, murmuring, "No wonder my mother never had children after that; all the while, my father lanted having too few siblings."
"Please leave the sword to ; I know how to handle it," Bai Ruozhu said while calming the agitated Furball. As soon as the sword was unsheathed, Furball confird it was the one.
"Ma’am Bai, will this not affect you?" Wu Ke anxiously asked.
Bai Ruozhu smiled, "Contact for a few days is fine; I’ll place it in the Astrology Tower upon returning to the Capital, where barriers will prevent its spread, sparing others from its effects. So it won’t be randomly discarded and picked up by soone else."
"That’s reassuring, thank you, Madam Bai," Wu Ke respectfully handed over the sword.
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