"It’s just mountain spring water. What kind of taste could it have?" Wu Qiuyun looked at Mu Cheng in bewilderment and picked up the cup.
Mu Hanyan gave a slight start. She had watched as the cup Mu Cheng was holding was filled, and it looked exactly like the one she was drinking from. Even if Mu Cheng wanted to harm her, he surely wouldn’t poison himself in the process.
Just as Wu Qiuyun was about to drink the water, Mu Hanyan waved her hand and swept the cup away. With a clanging sound, the cup fell to the ground, and the water scattered across the dirt.
"What happened?" Wu Qiuyun jumped in surprise and asked loudly.
Mu Cheng was also startled and, after snapping back to reality, hurried to pick up the cup. Unfortunately, the spring water had already seeped into the soil, leaving not a drop remaining.
"Brother Han Yan, what are you doing?" Mu Cheng asked, somewhat annoyed.
"Mu Cheng, what did you put in the water?" Seeing that Mu Cheng showed no signs of a guilty conscience, and even had the audacity to question her in return, Mu Hanyan’s confusion deepened, so she asked directly.
Upon hearing this, Wu Qiuyun also looked at Mu Cheng with a puzzled expression.
"It was an Elixir given to me by Fourth Miss Zhao, called the Bone Marrow Transformation Pill. It’s a Divine Pill treasured by the Zhao Family for a thousand years. What a waste to have lost it ," Mu Cheng said regretfully.
"What, the Bone Marrow Changing Qi Pill!" Wu Qiuyun’s face changed drastically.
"Yes, actually, Fourth Miss Zhao meant well and wanted to help us out. Fearing Brother Han Yan might not accept it graciously, she entrusted it to me. I was worried Brother Han Yan might hold too deep a prejudice against her, so I quietly slipped it into the water. What a pity, Brother Wu, you were unlucky and missed out on the good fortune," Mu Cheng explained.
"Missed out on the good fortune? Heh." After listening to Mu Cheng’s explanation, Wu Qiuyun could only give a wry smile without a word. Although he didn’t know who Fourth Miss Zhao was or what grievances they had between them, he was aware of one thing—the naive Mu Cheng was being manipulated without even knowing it.
The Bone Marrow Transformation Pill erodes the meridians and marrow, dissolving Qi... it is, in fact, a top-grade poison.
"What’s wrong?" Seeing the change in Wu Qiuyun’s expression, an unsettling feeling suddenly rose in Mu Cheng’s heart as if he had overlooked something.
"Hahahahaha, Mu Hanyan, this time I want to see if you still have such good luck." At that moment, Fourth Miss Zhao’s wild laughter abruptly filled the air.
"What... what’s going on?" Watching Fourth Miss Zhao emerge, along with Zha Zhenglin and the other four young Swordsmen, Mu Cheng realized something but didn’t want to believe it and asked her.
"Idiot, don’t you get it? You were deceived. That Bone Marrow Transformation Pill is indeed a Divine Pill, but a Divine Pill that rots the bone, corrodes the marrow, and dissolves Qi—a top-grade toxin," Wu Qiuyun said with pity, as he saw the frantic look on Mu Cheng’s face and gave the answer.
"No, that can’t be. Tell me he’s lying," Mu Cheng still refused to believe it, looking desperately at Fourth Miss Zhao.
"Of course, what he said is true. Only a fool like you would fail to see the facts," Fourth Miss Zhao replied coldly. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ novel·fiɾe·net
She had been hiding in the shadows the entire evening, waiting to reveal herself only after witnessing Mu Hanyan drink the spring water that had been laced with the Elixir. She was no longer in the mood to waste her words with Mu Cheng.
"You’ve been using me?" Mu Cheng looked at Fourth Miss Zhao in agony, feeling as if the softest part of his heart had been ruthlessly stabbed, the pain like a knife twisting inside him.
"Nonsense, the feud between me and Mu Hanyan is do-or-die. Did you really think a few words from you would resolve it? Naive. Utterly foolish," Fourth Miss Zhao said dismissively.
Her face no longer held the spoiled charm of before; instead, it was cold and sinister, like a venomous snake wearing a beautiful mask.