It was no wonder Lin Chuan was shocked; she had not been poisoned yesterday, yet she was poisoned upon returning today. Clearly, something had happened.
Lin Chuan took a deep breath, flicked his wrist, and let the chopsticks in his hand drop lightly onto the dining table. Then, he scooped Su Qingxue up into his arms and ran upstairs.
Just then, Mother Wang happened to come out. Seeing this, she could not help grumbling to herself, "These young people today are truly so impatient. At least finish your meal first."
Carrying Su Qingxue to the second floor, Lin Chuan randomly pushed open a door and laid her down on the bed.
He had no idea whether this was Su Qingxue's bedroom, but he could not afford to worry about that now.
The poison in Su Qingxue's body was extremely potent; every second of delay added a layer of danger.
Without hesitation, he reached out and unbuttoned her shirt.
Two plump rabbits had been locked inside a slightly undersized cage. The moment the cage opened, the two rabbits sprang out with astounding bounce.
Lin Chuan hurriedly chanted the Heart-Cleansing Mantra in his heart. Although his mind was free of distracting thoughts, the visual impact of Su Qingxue's oversized full-body mask was still far too intense.
Without the mantra, it would have been impossible to look away. Finishing the chant once, Lin Chuan murmured an apology.
Then, he pressed his palm directly against Su Qingxue's chest. The next instant, the Daoist robe Lin Chuan wore fluttered without any wind, and the curtains not far away began to thrash wildly at the same time.
Ordinary detoxification methods were too late now; he had no choice but to use true qi to restore Su Qingxue's bodily functions to normal levels so that she would recover in a couple of days.
Ten minutes later, the temperature in the entire room had risen by more than ten degrees, and a faint mist hung in the air.
A rare thin layer of sweat appeared on Lin Chuan's forehead. Using true qi to forcefully purge all the toxins from Su Qingxue's body was no easy task.
Gradually, Su Qingxue regained some consciousness. When she tremblingly opened her eyes and found Lin Chuan's hand resting on the magnificent peaks before her chest, shame and anger drove her to raise her hand and slap him.
"Smack!"
Lin Chuan did not dodge the blow, because dodging would have left a tiny residue of poison inside Su Qingxue's body—there was still the very last fraction left to clear.
"Smack!"
Su Qingxue delivered another slap, her face icy as she said, "I truly never expected you to be such a person! Get out of here!"
Lin Chuan withdrew his hand, his face somewhat pale. He had expended a great deal of true qi during the procedure, and though he had wanted to dodge the second slap, he failed to avoid it.
"Miss Su, you were just poisoned. I was detoxifying your body."
Lin Chuan's expression remained very calm; he did not fly into a rage from embarrassment over being slapped twice, but instead explained in an even voice.
"I don't want to hear you speak! Get out!"
Su Qingxue grabbed a pillow from the bed and hurled it at Lin Chuan. Frowning slightly, Lin Chuan sidestepped to dodge it.
As he turned back to speak, he caught sight of Su Qingxue holding back her tears, her beautiful eyes glaring fixedly at him.
This was the first time Lin Chuan had ever seen a girl cry. He had never witnessed a single girl weep before in his life.
Even though there were martial aunts and martial sisters up on Qingliang Mountain, they had never cried in front of him.
For some reason, seeing Su Qingxue's crystal-clear teardrops slide down her fair, tender cheeks made Lin Chuan feel as though his heart had been struck heavily. It gave him a sharp, rather uncomfortable ache.
Was this the terrifying power of women?
Even crying possessed such destructive force. If it were any of his martial brothers, martial sisters, or his master crying, Lin Chuan would not have wavered in the slightest even if they cried their eyes out.
"I wasn't lying to you. I really was detoxifying you. I'm sorry."
With that, Lin Chuan turned and left the room.
As he closed the door, he could still faintly hear Su Qingxue's soft sobs from within.
Lin Chuan glanced back at the door and muttered to himself, "Women down the mountain really aren't to be trifled with. Master, I miss you all so much."
Muttering thus, Lin Chuan walked downstairs. When he reached the dining room, Mother Wang had already finished eating and was cleaning up.
The bowls that had been placed on the dining table were now completely empty—nothing was left.
Lin Chuan rubbed his stomach; he still hadn't eaten his fill.
At that moment, hearing footsteps, Mother Wang came into the dining room. Seeing the slightly swollen red handprint on Lin Chuan's face, she immediately asked with concern, "My goodness, Son-in-law, what happened to you? Did you have a fight with the young lady?"
Lin Chuan shook his head, then nodded. He wasn't even sure if this situation counted as a fight.
Mother Wang smiled knowingly and said, "The young lady's temper can be a bit difficult. Do bear with her, Son-in-law. But apart from her temper, she is actually very kind-hearted."
"Wait a moment, Son-in-law, I'll go get you some anti-swelling and pain-relieving medicine."
Lin Chuan waved a hand. "No need to bother. Is there any food left? I didn't eat enough."
Mother Wang nodded with a chuckle. "There is. I saved some especially for you. I'll go heat it up for you."
After eating his fill, Lin Chuan pressed his hands to his face as true qi circulated through his meridians, instantly banishing the swelling.
Sitting on the sofa, Lin Chuan frowned in deep thought. A handsome guy was a handsome guy; even when frowning in thought, he looked devastatingly handsome.
"Why would she be poisoned like this? Could this be her destined trial?"
Lin Chuan looked up toward the second floor, his eyes brightening.
"Rather than sitting passively and waiting, it's better to take the initiative. Since someone wants to harm her, it must have a connection to her destined trial."
At this thought, Lin Chuan stood up, intent on heading back to the second floor. If he asked Su Qingxue where she had just been and whom she had met, he would naturally be able to figure out who wanted to harm her.
Yet he stopped halfway there, as the image of Su Qingxue glaring at him with tears in her eyes unbidden surfaced in his mind.
After a moment's reflection, Lin Chuan decided it was probably best not to go find Su Qingxue right now. To be honest, he was a little scared.
Instead, he went to ask Mother Wang for the address of Su Qingxue's company. He seemed to have caught mention of a company when Su Qingxue was making her phone call in the car earlier.
Going to the company to ask around should tell him where Su Qingxue had been today and whom she had met.
Slinging his bundle over his shoulder, Lin Chuan said goodbye to Mother Wang and left Yunjin Orient.
At that moment, standing by the railing along the Xing River, watching the sparkling ripples and listening to the endless flow of water, he wore a troubled expression.
He still didn't know his way around. Since he only knew a name, wouldn't he have to ask people for directions again?
Fortunately, however, he knew how to hail a cab.
Even if he had never eaten pork, he had seen pigs run. Although he had never descended the mountain before, through constant exposure, he wasn't completely out of touch with the modern world.
Imitating what he had seen others do, he stood by the roadside and waved down a passing taxi.
"Driver, please take me to Zhongshang Entertainment Building."
"Oh? Young man, judging by your outfit, I thought you were a Daoist priest from some temple. Are you heading to Zhongshang Entertainment to work? That's a hugely famous enterprise here in Lvteng City, and they say it's packed with beauties—it's practically the dream paradise for every man in all of Lvteng City."
No matter where in Huaxia one might be, taxi drivers were the most talkative breed, bar none.
"Really?" Lin Chuan put on a very surprised look.
"Of course! They say anyone who manages to get into Zhongshang Entertainment has to be top-tier in both looks and figure—seems that's a company rule.
"I gave a ride to a passenger once, she worked as a receptionist at Zhongshang Entertainment. Let me tell you, wearing a skirt suit and black silk stockings... that face, those legs—I swear I could play with that for ten years."
Mentioning Zhongshang Entertainment made the taxi driver's eyes light up with extreme excitement, though who knows what was driving him wild.
Lin Chuan smiled, at a loss for how to reply.
Suddenly seeming to remember something, he reached into his bundle, pulled out a stack of hundred-yuan bills, and handed one to the driver.
This money had been given to him by his masters before he came down the mountain, with strict instructions to spend sparingly. Strictly obeying their teachings, Lin Chuan hadn't spent a single cent of it until now.
The money given to him by that woman earlier had been used to buy Tang Ruhai's sincerity, so now he had no choice but to dip into the funds from his masters.
Peering through the rearview mirror, the taxi driver saw Lin Chuan pull a thick stack of hundred-yuan bills out of a ragged bundle, and his eyes widened instantly.
That stack had to be at least several tens of thousands!
After sitting in a daze for a long moment, the driver finally accepted the red bill, muttering inwardly that this handsome fellow didn't even know the first rule of wealth—never flaunt it.
As he handed the change back to Lin Chuan, a strange glint flashed in his eyes when he turned his head.