Chapter 1859: Birds in the Same Forest

No matter what, Zheng Yang was her senior apprentice brother. She had once been infatuated with him, and if he had found a proper partner to settle down with, that would have been fine. But now he was with a potbellied middle-aged man—no matter what, it felt awful!

Since she, the dignified Hall Master of the Poison Hall, was displeased, how could the other party be pleased?

“Junior apprentice sister, don’t do anything rash. They’re just ordinary people…”

Unexpectedly, Wei Ruyan had no intention of leaving and even seemed eager to stir up trouble. Zheng Yang felt a sense of foreboding.

“No worries, no one will die!”

Ignoring him, Wei Ruyan sat down at the tea stall, a sweet smile on her face. “Boss, a pot of tea!”

After speaking, she sat quietly as if nothing was wrong, savoring the tea.

Seeing that she wouldn’t leave and knowing he couldn’t force her, Zheng Yang could only hold his forehead and sit down beside her, looking helpless.

“Brother Xiang, are we really going to the royal palace?” Su Feifei looked at the potbellied middle-aged man beside her.

“I told that Shen Zhui to get me some death warriors, and he still hasn’t done it. I think this guy doesn’t want to be king anymore!”

The fat middle-aged man called Brother Xiang snorted, a hint of ruthlessness flashing in his eyes.

“Daring to defy Brother Xiang’s orders, this Shen Zhui is indeed bold. If we don’t teach him a lesson, he might actually think he’s an emperor of an empire!” Su Feifei covered her mouth and chuckled, her eyes full of disdain.

In others’ eyes, the king was most revered, but in her view, he was nothing.

“Exactly, just the king of a small kingdom, and he thinks he’s someone. It’s only because I don’t want to make a big deal out of it that this guy has lived this long…”

Brother Xiang sneered, but just as he was about to speak, his face suddenly twitched, his knees went weak, and with a “thud,” he fell to his knees.

“Brother Xiang…”

Startled, Su Feifei was filled with terror.

She knew very well the strength of the man before her—he was even more powerful than King Shen Zhui, far surpassing the Supreme Realm. For him to suddenly kneel… it was impossible that nothing was wrong.

“Who’s ambushing me?”

Unexpectedly, this happened. Brother Xiang’s face twisted in rage as he looked around and gritted out.

“You’ve been poisoned with the ‘Ghost-Deceiving Heart Poison.’ To survive, you need someone to willingly offer their blood to exchange with yours. Otherwise, within the time it takes an incense stick to burn, you’ll bleed from your seven orifices and die, beyond the reach of gods or immortals!”

A faint voice rang out.

Following the sound, Brother Xiang quickly looked up and saw a young girl sitting at the tea stall, a steaming cup of tea in her hand.

“You… who are you? We have no grudges, why do you want to kill me?”

He hadn’t expected that she could poison him from such a distance, leaving him utterly defenseless. Her aura was unfathomable, impossible to see through. Brother Xiang knew he couldn’t fight back, so he dared not act rashly and clenched his teeth.

“There aren’t that many grudges in the world. I just find you unpleasant to look at!”

Wei Ruyan brushed a strand of hair with her hand, took a gulp of the strong tea, and said calmly, “Your time is limited. If you want to live, hurry up. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!”

“I…”

He circulated his true energy internally, trying several times to neutralize the poison, but found it impossible to dissolve. It seemed just as she said—he needed someone to exchange blood. His face dark, he turned to Su Feifei beside him. “Feifei, come here!”

“I…”

Knowing what he intended, Su Feifei turned pale with fear and backed away repeatedly.

In the face of life and death, even true love could hardly withstand it, let alone this kind of relationship.

“What, you want to defy my orders?” Seeing her retreat, Brother Xiang narrowed his eyes.

“I…”

Su Feifei trembled.

“Just a country girl, do you really think you’re noble? If you enjoy wealth and honor, you have to know there’s a price! Come here quickly and exchange your blood. If I recover, I’ll still dote on you as before. Otherwise, I’ll kill you right now…”

Brother Xiang raised his eyebrows, murderous intent blazing in his eyes.

To him, Su Feifei, Su Maoqing—they were all just tools to be used at will.

“No…”

Knowing that exchanging blood might mean instant death, Su Feifei stepped back again. But after only a few steps, she felt a force sweeping over her—Brother Xiang’s aura had already enveloped her. If she retreated further, she would be killed on the spot.

Her eyes dimmed, and Su Feifei was filled with sorrow.

A year ago, there was someone who truly liked her and confessed his feelings, but because he was poor, she rejected him on the spot… Who would have thought that this person would find a good teacher and rise rapidly, even being honored as a guest by King Shen Zhui.

She thought she had lost that opportunity, but then she met this Brother Xiang a year ago.

He treated her very well, even building a grand mansion for her. She thought he truly loved her, but now she understood… she was just a plaything.

“What do you think?”

Ignoring the quarrel between the two, Wei Ruyan smiled and looked at her senior apprentice brother beside her.

Only in the face of life and death can one test whether two people truly have feelings. Clearly, these two were just using each other!

“She… how she chooses is her own business. I can no longer interfere…”

Zheng Yang felt as if his heart was being twisted by a knife.

He had liked this girl since his ignorant youth. His greatest wish had been to be with her. He never dreamed that meeting again would lead to this outcome.

“I’ll give you a chance to be a hero saving a beauty… Don’t you want her to regret it? Now is the perfect time!”

Wei Ruyan was eager to watch the excitement.

“No need… I’ve completely let go!”

Zheng Yang shook his head.

Even if she regretted it, what then?

The two were already worlds apart, with no possibility of being together.

Moreover, she despised poverty and loved wealth. Even if they were together, she would only love his current status, not him himself.

So why bother with futile efforts?

“It’s useless for you to let go. If you don’t save her, she might die!”

Raising an eyebrow, Wei Ruyan continued drinking her tea, too lazy to say more.

Zheng Yang quickly looked up and saw that Brother Xiang’s eyes had turned red. He reached out with his hand, grabbed Su Feifei from a distance, and pulled her to him. Forming a sword with his fingers, he lightly slashed, and hot blood gushed from the girl’s fair wrist.

Exchanging blood was different from exchanging bloodlines. It simply meant replacing the poisoned blood with someone else’s blood. A second-star physician could do it; it wasn’t too complicated. Brother Xiang had abundant strength, and though heavily poisoned, his cultivation wasn’t suppressed. As long as he was careful, he could do it himself.

“Stop!”

Seeing that if the exchange really happened, the girl would surely die, Zheng Yang could no longer hold back and stood up.

Brother Xiang turned his head, his face ferocious.

“Zheng Yang… you, you’re back?”

Hearing the voice, the girl’s body trembled. She quickly looked at the approaching figure, and tears streamed down her face.

The voice was too familiar—it was the stubborn young man who had once confessed to her and been rejected.

Now, he was walking toward her step by step, his figure appearing immensely tall in the sunlight.