Chapter 255
Ye Chutang had prepared all the medicinal ingredients needed to detoxify the poison long ago.
She had merely used buying medicine as an excuse to leave everyone’s sight. Then, following the route she had previously planned for Xi Ze, she went to look for Aman, who had failed to arrive on time.
Old Madam Qi grabbed Ye Chutang by the arm. “Tang’er, Zhou’er can’t manage without you right now. Write down whatever medicine you need and let He’an go buy it.”
Qi He’an hurriedly nodded. “Second Sister-in-law, leave this errand to me.”
Ye Chutang gently patted the back of Old Madam Qi’s hand. “Mother, don’t worry. I won’t let Azhou come to any harm. Third Brother doesn’t know anything about medicinal ingredients. I’ll have to buy them myself if we want the best.”
That left the old madam with no grounds to argue, and she could only let go.
“Then hurry back.”
“Mother, I may not be able to return quickly. I have to find Nan Xiao first and ask about the situation.”
Old Master Qi gave Old Madam Qi a slight shake of his head before turning to Ye Chutang.
“Tang’er, we’ll replace the ice in Zhou’er’s room in time. Go take care of what you need to do without worry.”
He believed that whatever Ye Chutang was doing, it was for his son’s sake.
“Father, I’ll come back as soon as I can.”
After saying this, Ye Chutang quickly left the inn.
She had not gone far when she sensed someone secretly following her.
The person was highly skilled. She turned around several times, yet never managed to catch him.
Of everyone in the inn, only one person possessed such exceptional concealment skills.
“Sun Chu!”
The man who had been called out appeared in front of Ye Chutang.
He awkwardly rubbed his nose.
“You’re pretty alert. What exactly are you going to do?”
“That’s none of your business. Stop following me, or I’ll let you experience the delightful agony of a poison flare-up.”
“No, please—I’m leaving!”
After confirming that Sun Chu had gone far enough, Ye Chutang hurried to an empty corner and used her earth-element ability to reach the entrance of the house where Nan Xiao was staying.
Nan Xiao lived in a chaotic area in the north of the city and had chosen a relatively quiet spot. It made gathering information easy while ensuring that his comings and goings would not attract attention.
Ye Chutang had just prepared to climb over the wall when Nan Xiao opened the door and stepped outside.
“Madam, what brings you here?”
“Let’s go inside and talk.”
Once they entered the dilapidated house, Ye Chutang asked, “What happened with Xi Ze?”
Judging by the distance and their speed, Xi Ze should have arrived in Jizhou City by noon.
Seeing the anxiety on Ye Chutang’s face, Nan Xiao hesitated.
He remembered Qi Yanzhou’s warning and ultimately chose to conceal the truth.
“He may have been delayed on the way. I was just preparing to search along the route. Madam, did something happen to Master?”
Ye Chutang realized that Nan Xiao was not telling her the truth.
But she knew him well. Once he decided not to speak, no amount of pressure would make him open his mouth.
She could only make Qi Yanzhou’s condition sound even more serious.
“Azhou is in very bad shape. I’ve done everything I can. If the witch doctor doesn’t arrive before nightfall, I’m afraid…”
Nan Xiao’s face turned deathly pale, and his hands clenched into fists at his sides.
“The witch doctor will definitely make it here!”
After saying this resolutely, he unclenched his fists and continued, “Madam, please look after Master. I’m going to find the witch doctor right now.”
Ye Chutang grabbed Nan Xiao by the arm.
She asked firmly, “You know where the witch doctor is, don’t you?”
Before Nan Xiao could deny it, she added, “This concerns Azhou’s life. If you know where the witch doctor is, tell me. I’ll deal with it.”
“Madam, I don’t know where the witch doctor is.”
Ye Chutang released Nan Xiao’s arm and stared intently into his eyes.
“Azhou’s life is hanging by a thread. I hope you won’t regret keeping this from me someday.”
With that, she turned and left.
Nan Xiao watched her retreating figure, his heart filled with inner conflict.
In the end, he still did not call out to her or tell her the truth.
After leaving the house where Nan Xiao was staying, Ye Chutang slipped underground.
She did not leave. Instead, she planned to follow Nan Xiao in secret.
Along the way, she also searched beneath the route she had mapped out to see whether there were any fast horses nearby.
The road was sparsely traveled, and the hot weather had driven even more people away.
If a horse were racing toward Jizhou City, there was a nine-in-ten chance that its rider would be the witch doctor.
But Ye Chutang continued all the way beyond fifty kilometers without finding any rapidly approaching horses. She saw only a few pedestrians and several carriages.
Something was wrong!
Even if Xi Ze and the witch doctor had been delayed on the road, the people Qi Yanzhou had arranged to receive them should have resolved the problem quickly.
No matter how slowly they were traveling, they should have reached within fifty kilometers of Jizhou City by now.
Yet there were no fast-moving horses on the road.
That left only two possibilities.
Either something had happened to the witch doctor, or she had already arrived in Jizhou City.
Ye Chutang had only just reached this conclusion when Nan Xiao emerged from the house.
He had disguised himself as a rough-looking man with a full beard and hurried toward the crowded slums where the city’s poor lived.
Ye Chutang locked onto Nan Xiao’s footsteps and moved underground in sync with him.
She could now almost be certain that the witch doctor was in Jizhou City.
But why had she not gone to the inn to remove Qi Yanzhou’s curse?
Carrying this question with her, Ye Chutang followed Nan Xiao through a winding maze of streets. Nearly the time it takes to finish a cup of tea passed before he finally stopped.
She was grateful that the northern part of the city was filled with poor residents and that the roads were made of dirt. If they had been paved with stone, it would have been easy to lose track of him in the crowded streets.
She found a secluded spot and emerged from underground while no one was looking.
Then she hid in the shadows and watched Nan Xiao.
To guard against the unexpected, Ye Chutang rubbed some medicinal powder onto her body. It could repel parasitic insects.
Nan Xiao knocked on the door in a pattern of three long knocks followed by four short ones.
Before long, the door opened.
As Nan Xiao stepped inside, Ye Chutang darted forward and slipped through the doorway behind him.
Nan Xiao sensed someone behind him and instinctively struck out.
“It’s me.”
Ye Chutang spoke just in time, and Nan Xiao immediately withdrew his hand.
He turned around and stared at Ye Chutang in shock. His face suddenly went deathly pale.
“Madam, why are you here?”
Before he could finish speaking, he pushed Ye Chutang away.
“Leave! Quickly!”
Caught off guard, Ye Chutang staggered backward. One foot stepped outside the house before she managed to regain her balance.
A clear, melodious ringing suddenly sounded beside her ear.
It was as though someone wearing bells around her ankles were stepping out a beautiful melody with every footfall.
The Witch Doctor A-Man!
The instant this name appeared in Ye Chutang’s mind, she turned toward the source of the ringing.
But Nan Xiao moved first, blocking her view and shoving her out of the house.
Bang!
The door slammed shut, cutting off Ye Chutang’s line of sight.
“This isn’t a place you should be. Leave!”
Nan Xiao’s furious roar came from inside, carrying unmistakable concern.
Ye Chutang knew he was deliberately driving her away because he feared the witch doctor would harm her or plant a parasitic curse in her body.
But now that she had come, she would not leave so easily.
A muffled groan drifted out from inside.
Not wanting to cause too much commotion, she did not kick down the door. Instead, she vaulted over the wall and entered the courtyard.
Nan Xiao was blocking the doorway when the enraged Aman struck him with a palm and sent him flying.
Ye Chutang caught Nan Xiao’s back in time, preventing him from falling awkwardly to the ground.
Nan Xiao spat out a mouthful of blood.
He quickly turned his head. The moment he saw Ye Chutang, he nearly vomited blood again.
“Madam, you… you shouldn’t have come in.”