Divine Emperor of Heavenly Destiny

The small house fell silent for a moment...

From behind Chang Qi, Lu Chao slowly spoke, ”Master Fan, I’ll hand the Tiger Flame Second Prince over to you for now...”

Upon hearing this, Fan Jinhua immediately stepped forward to take Lu Chao’s sword, using it to keep Chang Qi restrained.

Lu Chao, meanwhile, walked over to Ren Hui. He tied her up, then stuffed a wad of ragged cloth into her mouth.

Finally, he woke her.

The moment she came to, all Ren Hui could manage was, ”Mmph! Mmph! Mmph!”

With the cloth stuffed in her mouth, she frantically muffled her cries, but Lu Chao cut her off with a question...

”Your master is a Medical Dao Master, isn’t he?”

”Do you have any poisons that are fatal and insidious, but take a while to act?”

”Preferably one that takes a long time to activate, and one that only your master can cure.”

Ren Hui’s eyes went wide. She shook her head, still letting out angry and terrified muffled cries.

But when Lu Chao pressed two fingers against her Heavenly Destiny Bone, she immediately nodded vigorously in terror. The answer was yes.

”Excellent. Go get it from your master,” Lu Chao said at once.

And so, Lu Chao escorted Ren Hui over to the unconscious Li Wumian. After some searching on his person, she quickly produced a vial of poison...

Lu Chao then removed the rag from Ren Hui’s mouth. ”Tell me about this poison.”

Her life in Lu Chao’s hands, Ren Hui didn’t dare to scream or shout.

She could only obey. ”This is the Fierce Demon Pill. My master developed it. After ingestion, the poison flares up every three days. Each time, the victim suffers a fate worse than death. They only die completely after a month.”

A chill ran through everyone in the small house. ’What a vicious poison,’ they thought.

This Li Wumian wasn’t a Medical Dao Master at all; he was clearly a Poison Master... Lu Chao already knew this, however. Fan Changcun was somewhat familiar with Li Wumian, and the two of them—one old, one young—had just discussed this very matter.

Lu Chao stuffed the rag back into Ren Hui’s mouth and stressed, ”And only your master can cure it?”

Unable to speak, Ren Hui could only nod in terror.

At this, Lu Chao couldn’t help but laugh. He tightened Ren Hui’s bonds, then took the Fierce Demon Pill and walked step by step toward Chang Qi.

As he walked, Lu Chao tipped a single pill from the vial and smiled at the Tiger Flame Second Prince.

Chang Qi froze, then stammered in absolute terror, ”What are you doing—Mmph! Mmph!”

Before he could finish, Lu Chao had already tossed a pill into Chang Qi’s mouth, clamped it shut, and forced him to swallow. Only after he was done did Lu Chao slowly turn to face Fan Changcun...

”Marshal Fan, this went more smoothly than I imagined.”

It had indeed gone smoothly. They had just been discussing the need for new bargaining chips to negotiate with the Tiger Flame King, and perhaps even all Six Great Flame Kings.

But before they could secure those chips, they had to solve the immediate crisis.

Now that Fan Changcun had been revived, Chang Qi, the Tiger Flame King, and the others were certain to move against Fan Jinhua. Therefore, they first had to escape Tiger Flame Royal City... and to leave the city, they needed hostages.

They had decided to use Chang Qi, and even the master-apprentice pair of Li Wumian and his student, as hostages.

But hostages alone weren’t enough. With their current strength, Lu Chao’s group had almost no chance of escaping Tiger Flame Royal City, even with hostages.

Thus, their only option was to make Chang Qi himself obediently cooperate in their escape.

But how could they make Chang Qi listen?

The best method was poison, but they had none... so they had to take Li Wumian’s.

It went even more smoothly than imagined...

It turned out that Li Wumian really did carry the incredibly insidious Fierce Demon Pill on his person.

Even better, Li Wumian had sent his guards away, allowing Lu Chao and the others to act quickly.

At that moment, Fan Changcun spoke, his voice aged...

”Jinhu, you can let the Second Prince go now.”

”If he dares call for the guards, we’ll kill Li Wumian on the spot. Then his poison will be incurable.”

Hearing this, Fan Jinhua immediately let Chang Qi go...

The prince crumpled to the floor. He knew full well that Li Wumian was a terrifying Poison Master.

GULP. He swallowed hard and asked in a trembling voice, ”What... what do you want?”

Lu Chao pressed his sword against Li Wumian’s neck and spoke slowly...

”Get us out of Tiger Flame Royal City... and don’t let anyone know what’s happening. Just pretend Li Wumian and his apprentice are leaving the city to gather herbs.”

”Remember, if you try any tricks, we will kill Li Wumian instantly.”

”Then, even if you torture us to death, you still won’t get the antidote. The poison isn’t ours to give.”

Mouth agape, Chang Qi looked from Lu Chao, to Fan Changcun, to the cold-faced Fan Jinhua, and finally to Fan Jinxiang... but she, of course, just gave him a cold look and ignored him.

She couldn’t possibly go against her grandfather’s decision. Her mind was a chaotic mess, but she understood the gravity of the situation.

In the end, Chang Qi could only nod heavily in agreement...

He called out from inside the house, ordering the Guards to bring Li Wumian’s carriage, which was waiting outside, into the courtyard.

He then dismissed the Guards and his own retinue, telling them to retreat outside the Fan Mansion for now. He explained that Li Wumian needed to perform a ritual in the courtyard to continue treating Fan Changcun, and no one was allowed to watch.

Finally...

The four of them—Lu Chao, Fan Changcun, and the others—boarded Li Wumian’s carriage.

Chang Qi, along with Li Wumian and his apprentice, were also put on the carriage. Finally, Fan Jinxiang took the reins and drove out of the Fan Mansion.

Chang Qi’s voice then came from within the carriage, ”One squad of escorts, follow us. The rest of you, wait here. I am accompanying Elder Li’s apprentice, Miss Ren, to pick an herb outside the city. We’ll be back soon.”

Although the escorts and the Guards found it a bit strange, they didn’t dare defy an order from the Second Prince.

Besides, a squad of his own escorts was going with him.

And so, amid a slight tension, the group left Tiger Flame Royal City without a hitch.

「After leaving the city...」

Inside the carriage, Chang Qi immediately said, his voice wrought with tension, ”You’re out of the city now! Give me the antidote and let me go!”

”We need to wait a little longer...” Lu Chao replied, perfectly calm.

And so...

They continued onward, their destination none other than the Sword Leader Kingdom—the very place where Cheng Yunsu and two thousand others were headed.

Two hours after leaving the city, the escorts following them grew suspicious.

But in the next instant, Lu Chao and Fan Jinhua moved to kill. They slaughtered every last one of the escorts, and with the job done, continued on their way.

...

「Meanwhile, back in Tiger Flame Royal City, chaos was erupting...」

The escorts and Guards left waiting outside the Fan Mansion had also grown suspicious. They stormed into Fan Changcun’s courtyard but saw no sign of Li Wumian performing a ritual. They then burst into Fan Changcun’s room.

But no one was there. Not a single person. Even Fan Changcun was gone.

Immediately, the Guards rushed to report the situation.

The Tiger Flame King was furious when he heard the news. He immediately dispatched troops in pursuit, who soon discovered the bodies of the escort squad.