The cave wasn't very deep. After entering and turning left a few steps, the space suddenly opened up, revealing a small man-made stone chamber.
Due to the lack of sunlight, torches hung on the walls; the shadows of the people were cast on the walls, matching the dim torchlight, giving the stone chamber a bandit hideout vibe straight out of a TV drama.
At the entrance of the stone chamber, there was a movable stone placed there, presumably to block the cold wind.
Xiao Feng observed all around for a while and found that the cave had quite a few bottles, jars, sand pots, and pestles, not much different from the setup in Zhao Guo'an's villa.
"Did you carve this out?" Xiao Feng asked Sun Shijie.
"How could I have!" Sun Shijie chuckled, "Not to ntion my old age now, even if I went back twenty or thirty years, I wouldn't have this ability.
This cave has been here for a long ti. We used to hide in here when picking herbs in the mountains during rainy or snowy weather. It's considered a refuge for herbalists. There are several rooms further in; you can freely choose one to rest in."
Xiao Feng nodded understandingly; this explanation was reasonable enough.
"It looks like you all have external wounds. I have so ready-made external dication here, take it and use it," Sun Shijie opened a small cabinet in the corner and took out a porcelain bottle and handed it to Xiao Feng.
Xiao Feng held the porcelain bottle, feeling a bit hesitant in his heart...
Although Sun Shijie had never shown much malice towards him and his companions, targeting only Su Yuzhuo, in such an unclear situation, it was best to remain cautious and vigilant.
At this mont, Zhao Guo'an snatched the porcelain bottle from Xiao Feng's hand and said, "Let apply the dicine for you..."
He opened the seal of the porcelain bottle, seemingly unintentionally, brought it to his nose for a sniff, and his expression changed instantly.
Xiao Feng accurately caught that mont but didn't rush to ask questions.
Clearly, Zhao Guo'an discovered so anomaly, and Xiao Feng was eager to see how he would react.
"Senior, this dicine is old and has lost most of its effectiveness; it won't be very useful," Zhao Guo'an turned around and said.
Sun Shijie remained calm: "Indeed, it's old, but given the current situation, sothing is better than nothing. A good plaster is one that draws out pus. Use it for now; I'll gather so herbs tomorrow morning and make a new redy."
Zhao Guo'an was visibly conflicted for a while before turning around and walking toward Xiao Feng.
Xiao Feng maintained a calm expression, as if unaware of anything, and stretched out his hand, the wound on the back of his hand a remnant from his previous encounter with Uesugi Yumi.
As Zhao Guo'an ca closer, holding Xiao Feng's arm, he was about to sprinkle the powder on his wound when suddenly his hand shook.
"Crash!"
The porcelain bottle dropped to the ground and shattered, spilling the white powder, resembling the commonly seen Yunnan Baiyao in pharmacies.
"Sorry, slipped my hand," Zhao Guo'an apologized.
Sun Shijie opened the small cabinet again and took out an identical porcelain bottle, smiling like a benevolent elder: "No worries, I have many of them. It's inevitable to have bumps and scrapes when picking herbs, so I kept a few."
"..." Zhao Guo'an was dumbfounded; is this really happening?
A traditional Chinese doctor who doesn't focus on curing illness but researches on harmful poisons, are you kidding ?
Receiving the offered porcelain bottle, Zhao Guo'an's heart was truly tangled to the extre. He knew there was sothing wrong with the dicine, but should he use it on Xiao Feng?
"What are you spacing out for? Hurry up," Xiao Feng urged, "my arm's getting sore from holding it up."
Zhao Guo'an imdiately got a bit angry, thinking, I'm doing this for your good, and this is your attitude?
But it was obvious that this couldn't be said out loud, so he could only open the seal and reapply the dicine.
Xiao Feng continuously observed Zhao Guo'an's expressions; he wasn't sure if Zhao had completed so sordid deal with Sun Shijie, but judging by the earlier reaction, Zhao clearly didn't want to harm him.
Of course, judging soone cannot be based on a montary feeling; having a soft spot earlier doesn't an it's reliable now.
As he pondered, a "Crash!" sound echoed.
The sound was very familiar, identical to the sound when the porcelain bottle previously hit the ground, except it was louder this ti because it was intentionally smashed...
"What kind of traditional Chinese doctor are you!" Zhao Guo'an pointed at Sun Shijie's nose and cursed, "Always researching harmful poisons, not doing any real work. How do you dare show your face to your ancestors when you die?"
The words "poison" made everyone assu a posture as if ready to fight at any mont, looking at Sun Shijie with hostile eyes.
Yet Sun Shijie laughed instead of getting angry, looking at Zhao Guo'an with interest: "Aren't you afraid of death?"
"Even if I die, I'd die cleaner than you; at least I could face my ancestors with a straight back, but how about you?" Zhao Guo'an angrily retorted.
"Hahaha!" Sun Shijie let out a hearty laugh, his gaze full of gratification: "Boy, I knew I didn't misjudge you!"
Zhao Guo'an was about to speak but was interrupted by Xiao Feng: "Explain what's going on first, don't talk around in riddles; it's annoying to listen to!"
"What's going on?"
Hearing these words, Zhao Guo'an was instantly infuriated: "The situation is that this old chap poisoned , and both of these bottles on the ground are poison. If I don't cooperate with him to kill you all, he won't give the antidote. I'm about to die; are you satisfied now?"
Xiao Feng patted Zhao Guo'an's shoulder: "Good intentions! It's just that your acting is so poor, making it hard for anyone not to notice sothing unusual. To be honest, I almost couldn't resist taking action against you earlier."
Zhao Guo'an nearly lost it, exclaiming in frustration: "At this point, you're still mocking . Hurry up and get him to hand over the antidote!"
"What did you an by saying you didn't misjudge us?" Xiao Feng turned his gaze to Sun Shijie.
It would be a lie to say he wasn't moved by Zhao Guo'an's refusal to harm him even under such circumstances.
Though much of it was due to his reverence for his ancestors, it proved that Zhao was a righteous person.
Thus, emotionally and logically, Xiao Feng couldn't just ignore it.
Sun Shijie stroked his beard and smiled: "It's simple, he passed my test."
"Test, my ass!" Zhao Guo'an erupted in anger: "I'll give you one more chance, are you giving the antidote or not?"
"They say seeing is believing, but sotis what your eyes see isn't real. In other words, what you feel may not truly be the truth," Sun Shijie spoke with an enigmatic tone.
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