Tang Lici returned to her room. Meng Qinglei was waiting for her inside, and upon seeing her enter, he smiled with delight. “Today Master Wenxiu and Tianxunzi came up the mountain, willing to contribute their efforts against Fengliu Shop. With these two’s assistance, the sword association will be like a tiger with added wings.”

Tang Lici smiled. “To receive Master’s and Senior’s assistance is Tang’s good fortune.” She picked up the cold tea from the table, took a shallow sip, and let out a breath. “How many people did the two seniors bring?”

Meng Qinglei replied, “One hundred and twenty-two people. All the buildings of the sword association are completely full. Master brought mostly young women, so I fear it wouldn’t be appropriate for them to lodge together with everyone else.”

Tang Lici nodded. “How is the skill of the cook sent from Ningyuan County?”

Meng Qinglei laughed. “The cook sent by Wanqiao Studio naturally has exquisite skills. Everyone praises him greatly.”

Tang Lici smiled slightly. “Then please have the kitchen prepare a vegetarian feast. Tonight I’ll host a welcoming banquet for Master and the others.” After a pause, she pondered. “As for lodging for the Mount Emei sect members, please have them move into Fulian Residence first. For more suitable accommodations later, I’ll think of another solution.”

“Isn’t Miss A’Shui currently living in Fulian Residence? Hero Cheng also ordered that no one approach.” Meng Qinglei was surprised. “If Master Wenxiu moves in, where should Miss A’Shui relocate?”

Tang Lici said, “Have her stay in the small side rooms with Zi Yun.”

Meng Qinglei was startled again. “The small side rooms…”

The small side rooms were quarters for maids and servants. There were very few maids and servants in Shanfeng Hall—only Zi Yun, plus two sweeping boys, two tea-serving children, and three cooks. The living conditions were naturally inferior to Fulian Residence. Having A’Shui move to the small side rooms was almost treating her as a servant. Though Meng Qinglei found this strange, at this time the greater situation took priority. “I’ll immediately have people prepare Fulian Residence.”

Tang Lici nodded and exhaled lightly. “If you encounter Yu Furen, have him come find me.” Meng Qinglei was steady by nature and didn’t ask questions, accepting the order and departing.

More and more people gathered on Haoyun Mountain, and morale had reached a peak period. Tang Lici sat down, her snow-white fingers supporting her forehead. With current manpower, battling Fengliu Shop, which had been operating for ten years, might not put them at a disadvantage. But the more numerous and mixed the troops, the greater the possibility of backlash. How many people had taken the Crimson Ghost Nine Heart Pills? During the Central Plains Sword Association period, how many subordinates had Yu Konghou recruited? How many trusted confidants had he planted? Everything remained unknown.

To decide on war meant they must win.

Without an antidote for the Crimson Ghost Nine Heart Pills, no matter how many troops the Central Plains Sword Association had, it would all be in vain.

She sat for quite a while, picked up the cold tea for another sip, when the door opened with a “creak” and Yu Furen walked in.

“Lici.” After the battle at Camellia Prison, Yu Furen had originally called her “Young Master Tang,” later changed to “Tang Lici,” and now simply addressed her by name. “News came from Jihe Valley. The antidote…” He lowered his voice. “There may already be clues.”

Tang Lici’s eyes moved slightly. “When coming and going, was anyone following?”

Yu Furen smiled slightly. “No.” Though young, he wasn’t foolish. Since the incident with Yu Qifeng, he had become much more composed.

Tang Lici sighed softly. “How is Fang Pingzhai?”

Yu Furen pondered. “His study of sound-killing techniques seems quite successful. He’s completely focused.”

Tang Lici frowned slightly. “What about Liu Yan?”

Yu Furen coughed lightly. “His medicine refining has been successful. He wrote you a letter, but he seems very irritable. Perhaps it’s from living with those poisonous herbs for these past months.”

“A letter?” Tang Lici asked. “What letter?”

Yu Furen removed his outer garment. Sewn into the inner lining of his outer robe was a thin oil packet. Seeing this, Tang Lici smiled. Yu Furen also smiled wryly. “I was afraid of encountering Liu Yan’s enemies on the road. But even if this letter were intercepted, I don’t think anyone could understand it.”

He opened the oil packet and pulled out a sheet of white paper. Written on it with charcoal in crooked text were many characters, but they weren’t Chinese characters. Yu Furen couldn’t read a single word and didn’t know what was written inside.

Tang Lici took it and glanced at it, then placed it on the table, pondering slightly. “He feels very irritable?”

Yu Furen nodded. “The smell of those poisonous herbs makes me feel unsettled just breathing it in.”

Tang Lici’s fingers lightly tapped the table surface. “Here’s what we’ll do. Using the same method as when you came, secretly send A’Shui and Yu Tuan’er to Jihe Valley.”

Yu Furen asked curiously, “Send A’Shui and Yu Tuan’er to Jihe Valley?”

Tang Lici nodded. “Don’t make a fuss. Though the journey is dangerous, if we send too many people, it might draw more attention.”

Yu Furen laughed. “Sending two people there isn’t a problem, but will sending these two women to Jihe Valley really put his mind at ease?”

Tang Lici’s eyelids drooped slightly. “Perhaps it will make him more troubled.” She waved her hand. “Send them away tonight.”

Yu Furen nodded and was about to leave when he suddenly stopped. “How many hours have you slept these past few days? How much have you drunk?”

Tang Lici smiled faintly. “How much I’ve drunk… truly countless…” She sat supporting her forehead, looking very weary. “You go.”

“Alcohol can harm the body. Even with your enormous capacity, you shouldn’t indulge like this.” Yu Furen said. “As soon as I returned to the mountain, I heard many people praising you. Yesterday drinking with the Qingcheng Sect, the night before with Nine Blade Gate, this morning with the Flying Star Illuminating Moon brothers. Everyone says you’re bold and carefree, absolutely elegant and romantic.” He sighed. “You also have many old injuries. Even if not for the Central Plains Sword Association, you should take care of yourself.”

Tang Lici’s red lips curved slightly in a shallow smile. “Old injuries? You owe me a sword thrust… Shen Langhun owes me a blade cut…” She smiled like a romantic figure leaning against railings and spending money like water. “For my sake, you two should both take care. Drinking doesn’t tire me, but risking your lives for me is very tiring.”

“You…” Yu Furen knew Tang Lici wouldn’t listen to advice and could only sigh futilely. “Rest quickly. I’ll take good care of the two young ladies.”

Tang Lici nodded, watching Yu Furen leave. The sky gradually darkened, and the evening banquet with the Mount Emei sect drew closer, yet she had no appetite whatsoever.

She had no desire to sleep either. Countless thoughts surged through her mind—Fang Zhou, Chi Yun, Liu Yan, Shao Yanping, Xue Xianzi… The fates of thousands upon thousands of people rested on her shoulders. If she hadn’t said to Chi Yun “Go bring Shen Langhun and Liu Yan back to me,” if she hadn’t been injured in Luoyang, perhaps neither Chi Yun nor Shao Yanping would have died.

The oil lamp flickered to life, and in the lamplight many shadows swayed. She stared fixedly at them. Sometimes she knew they were all illusions; sometimes she didn’t know they were all illusions.

When both body and mind were exhausted, she very much hoped someone could help her, but she dared not entertain such thoughts of needing help. Words about needing help—she would die before speaking them.

Two light “tap tap” sounds came, the door opened, but the person outside didn’t enter. It was the tea-serving boy. “Young Master, the vegetarian feast is ready. Heroes Meng and Cheng and Senior Dong request Young Master to attend the banquet.”

Tang Lici smiled slightly. “I understand.”

Winter snow scattered, trees sprouted anew.

In Jihe Valley of Fengming Mountain, the coldest season of the year was gradually passing. Here natural fruit trees formed forests, streams ran clear, and the water contained abundant black fish shaped like carp with delicious meat that had no small bones. In winter the forests had pine grouse and foxes; in summer the fruit groves grew many kinds of fruit, and wild chickens and ducks were also plentiful. On the mountain walls on both sides of the valley were flocks of mountain goats that leaped on the rocky cliffs even in the coldest winter weather. Tang Lici’s claim that this place was rich was indeed no empty boast.

Drum sounds echoed in precise and moving rhythms. Fang Pingzhai beat the drums with abandon, singing loudly to accompany the drumbeats—quite carefree. Liu Yan, leaning on his walking stick, slowly approached the stream’s edge, gazing at the water surface where the accumulated snow was just beginning to melt. Reflected on that water surface was a pair of slightly frenzied eyes—the gaze seemed very cold, but the depths were full of confusion.

Solitary Branch Like Snow was a type of drug, so the Crimson Ghost Nine Heart Pills were also a type of drug—a special drug.

He gazed at the water surface. He and Tang Lici had grown up together. The Tang family sponsored his education, and he lived up to expectations by getting into M University’s pharmaceutical program. At one point he wanted to enter the school’s famous pharmaceutical research institute, but ultimately gave up because Tang Lici wanted to travel to Europe that year. He also failed to obtain his graduate degree because he didn’t submit his thesis in his final year, as Tang Lici went to Germany to see snow and he once again served as her bodyguard.

University, research institute, Germany, Europe… these were all matters from long, long ago. He forced himself to forget. The stream flowed with a very small sound, trickling gently. The water surface was as gentle as jade, reflecting his completely disfigured face.

Drugs weren’t conventional poisons, so creating antidotes was very difficult. The reason drug addiction was hard to overcome was that once addicted, besides the body producing withdrawal reactions, it also generated strong psychological cravings. These psychological cravings would drive addicted people to pursue drugs by any means necessary, and the cause of these strong psychological cravings was the drug’s stimulation of a certain brain region. The Crimson Ghost Nine Heart Pills, through stimulating the brain, allowed people to break through martial arts limitations—meaning they performed even stronger brain stimulation. But once the drug was stopped, withdrawal symptoms became more obvious, and breaking free from psychological cravings became even harder.

He had thought about this for a long time. Once brain nerve cells were damaged and changed, they were very difficult to restore. To prevent them from producing strong psychological cravings, he had to interfere with and suppress the region that sent out craving signals, reducing its activity efficiency.

Using drugs to kill an entire brain was easy, but killing part of it while keeping another part vital was very difficult. Wanting to use the extremely limited drugs at hand to suppress certain brain regions’ activity without hindering overall brain function was almost fantasy.

Moreover, the brain region that sent out psychological cravings was the same region that governed emotions. Even the slightest error would change a person’s temperament, making someone transform from passionate to cold, or lose the ability to understand emotions, turning them into a walking corpse. Taking a step back, even if this region’s activity was suppressed, once the intense psychological craving period passed, the brain would similarly develop dependence on the suppressant itself. Once the drug was stopped, it might trigger mania.

According to his calculations, the psychological craving period from Crimson Ghost Nine Heart Pills withdrawal lasted at least seven months. After seven months, to avoid mania from suddenly stopping the drug, the antidote had to be gradually reduced, and this reduction period might also last over half a year. So even if his suppressant could succeed in eliminating the Crimson Ghost Nine Heart Pills’ toxicity, each person would need at least a year and a half or even longer.

Such a long time—obviously most people couldn’t persist.

He felt very confused. He didn’t know if his current direction was correct. Perhaps he should abandon this suppressant concept and start seeking new drugs, seeing if there existed in the world some miraculous medicine that could directly eliminate the Crimson Ghost Nine Heart Pills’ toxicity? Or should he only directly eliminate the part of the toxicity that caused red spots and itching, while ignoring withdrawal symptoms?

Before him was a fog. The antidote was urgently needed, absolutely necessary, yet he didn’t know which direction to proceed. He had no confidence in himself or in anyone else. He neither believed he could create a suppressant that met requirements, nor believed that thousands of people addicted to Crimson Ghost Nine Heart Pills could take the antidote on time and in proper doses, persisting for a full year and a half. If he created an antidote but couldn’t make everyone take it on time and in proper doses, what meaning would such an antidote’s existence have? Only a very small portion of people would be saved—very few, particularly determined people.

If it were A’Li, he would definitely say: there are absolutely new possibilities. But now he understood that A’Li’s decisiveness and confidence didn’t necessarily come from calm thinking. He often made pronouncements before thinking of methods, because he never needed to think of methods before making pronouncements. He believed he could accomplish anything.

That was Tang Lici’s style, not Liu Yan’s style—just as being unable to bear failure was Tang Lici’s sorrow, but never Liu Yan’s sorrow.

He had always been a failure, someone accustomed to making mistakes—it didn’t matter if he made mistake after mistake.