After properly securing Li Xin's body, Xu Lin set off alone up the mountain with a heavy heart. Along the way, his mind raced as he desperately tried to think of a countermeasure, with only a single thought filling his mind: how to ensure the safety of his family. Yet, no matter how hard he racked his brains, he could not come up with a foolproof solution.
Meanwhile, the members of the Xu Clan gathered at the summit were waiting anxiously for Xu Lin's return. Catching sight of him coming into view, they eagerly rushed forward and spoke all at once, bombarding him with questions.
"Young Master, how did it go? Where are General Li and his men?"
"Young Master, are you hurt?"
"Young Master..."
Facing the noisy commotion, Xu Lin raised a hand and pressed it downward, signaling for quiet. When the area finally quieted down, he took a deep breath and said slowly, "Everyone, you can rest easy now. Li Xin and his army have been eliminated, so we are in no immediate danger. As for me, I am quite alright—thank you all for your concern. You have all been under intense stress the entire day, so go and get some rest. I need to discuss a few matters with my father."
Hearing this, the members of the Xu Clan finally breathed a sigh of relief. Realizing the danger had passed, they dispersed to rest.
Xu Lin pulled Xu Fu aside and asked in a low voice, "Father, do you know what is going on here? Did you really give me the Immortal Pill while I was unconscious? And what about the pill you gave General Li? Why did he say it had no effect at all, while I seem to have the effects of the Immortal Pill coursing through me?"
Xu Fu pondered for a moment before replying, "Liner, the pill I gave Li Xin should have been the real one. As for why he claimed it had no effect, I have no idea. I only ever took one pill out of the medicine cauldron, and initially, I had no intention of giving it to him. But he used your life to threaten us, and I figured that if I refused, he would have killed us on the spot, leaving us unable to answer to the Qin Emperor. So, I decided to play it by ear—give him the pill first, and then figure out another way. That was how I ended up giving him the Immortal Pill. By all accounts, it should have worked. As for the changes happening in your body, I am just as clueless."
Xu Lin frowned deeply and ventured a guess, "Father, could it have anything to do with that medicine cauldron? When I woke up, I was lying right on top of the cauldron fragments. Is it possible the lightning earlier shattered the cauldron, leaving its medicinal potency trapped within the fragments, and when I happened to land on them, the power seeped into my body through contact?"
Xu Fu's eyes suddenly lit up as if a sudden realization had struck him. He said to Xu Lin, "That is entirely possible! It seems to be the only explanation that makes sense. Liner, wait here a moment; I am going to take a look at the cauldron." With that, he rushed impatiently toward the location of the cauldron fragments.
Xu Fu carefully picked up a fragment, examining it closely as if trying to pierce through the entire world with just this tiny piece. He even brought it close to his nose and sniffed, but detected no unusual odors or energy. He then meticulously inspected every single fragment, yet found absolutely nothing.
Xu Fu frowned and fell deep into thought. Recalling the sight of his son earlier, he muttered to himself, "When I found Liner, he was covered in blood and lying right on top of the fragments. Could it have something to do with his blood? Perhaps blood can act as a bridge connecting the two..."
The more Xu Fu thought about it, the more plausible it seemed, and he immediately sprang into action. Without hesitation, he bit his finger, smeared his blood onto a fragment, and waited quietly to sense any changes. After a moment, however, he shook his head in disappointment—still no abnormality. Refusing to give up, he tried several other fragments, but the results remained equally discouraging.
Slowly standing up, Xu Fu wore a grave expression as he walked step by step back toward Xu Lin.
Seeing his father approach, Xu Lin asked anxiously, "Father, did you find anything?"
Xu Fu shook his head and replied, "No. I examined the fragments carefully, but found nothing unusual. I even bit my finger and touched them with my blood, yet nothing changed. It seems the fragments are not the cause. Even if they were, it is possible your body has already absorbed all of the medicinal power. I only wish these fragments really did hold such power—then we could use them to answer to the Qin Emperor."
Xu Lin was equally baffled. He thought to himself, *"If this isn't the reason, what else could it be? The changes in me must be related to the Immortal Pill, yet I never took it, and the pill Father gave General Li was genuine. Where on earth did things go wrong?"*
With that, father and son fell silent once more, both wearing expressions of deep thought.
Just as the two of them were pondering, a servant suddenly ran over and cried out, "Clan Head! Young Master! This is terrible! Zhang Gan is fading fast—you need to come and see him right away!"
Hearing this, Xu Lin and his father hurried over to where Zhang Gan lay. Reaching his side, Xu Lin asked with deep concern, "Brother Gan, how do you feel?" As he spoke, Xu Lin observed Zhang Gan's condition: his face was tinged with black, and his breathing was so faint it seemed he could slip away at any second. Taking in Zhang Gan's complexion, Xu Lin felt a rising sense of dread. He parted Zhang Gan's garments and saw that the spot where the arrow had struck was now pitch black.
Xu Lin and Xu Fu spoke in unison, "The arrow was poisoned."
Surveying the wound and the color of Zhang Gan's face, Xu Fu declared, "It must be Heart-Piercing Powder. Within an hour, the poison will reach his heart, and at that point, even the descent of immortals could not save him. If the antidote had been concocted the moment he was struck, there might have been a glimmer of hope, but now that the poison has entered his heart, it is beyond saving!" Xu Fu shook his head repeatedly, his face filled with unbearable pity.
Xu Lin said with bitter hatred, "Damn that Li Xin! He actually used poison—how utterly despicable! And here I was just beginning to admire him, yet he stooped to poisoning his arrows. Father, haven't you concocted a Hundred Poisons Pill before? Can't it cure this?"
Xu Fu shook his head again. "Liner, although you have received my true teachings and possess a solid understanding of medicine, pharmacology, and toxicology, Heart-Piercing Powder is one of the top three poisons in the world, and no complete formula has ever been made public. Even I would need time to slowly analyze the poison before I could brew a corresponding antidote. However, the Hundred Poisons Pill should delay the spread of the poison and buy him another quarter-hour of life. If you have anything to say to each other, say it now."
Xu Fu took a small porcelain vial from his robes, poured out a brown pill, placed it into Zhang Gan's mouth, and then stepped away.
Slowly, color returned to Zhang Gan's face, and his eyes fluttered open. Catching sight of the anxious Xu Lin, he said, "Young Master, don't grieve for me. To have fought alongside you by your side—that alone has made me more than content."
"Brother Gan, stop calling me Young Master. I have always looked at you as an older brother; call me the way you used to when we were children!"
"Alright... Xiao Lin," Zhang Gan said weakly. "Ever since we grew up, I don't think I've called you Xiao Lin. Back then, I was foolish and called you Xiao Lin in front of outsiders, and the steward beat me half to death for it. After that, I learned my lesson and never dared to call you that again. But now the steward isn't here, and there's no one left to beat me for it."
"Brother Gan, you can call me that forever. No matter how old we get, you are my brother. I was even waiting for my future child to be born so I could have him take you as his godfather."
"Hahaha, good..." Before Zhang Gan could finish, a fit of laughter ended in a violent cough, and a mouthful of dark, black blood spilled from his lips—a clear sign that the poison had invaded his heart.
"Good, Xiao Lin. With those words from you, I, Zhang Gan, can die without any regrets. Though I won't live to see your child born, I know he will surely be a fine, upstanding man, and I suppose I will have left a legacy of my own after all. Hahaha..."
The two young men reminisced about the past, spoke of the recent battle and the plight they faced, alternating between tears and laughter, a sight that wrung the hearts of everyone watching.
As time ticked away, Zhang Gan's voice grew fainter and fainter. He looked at Xu Lin and whispered, "Xiao Lin... hearing you speak of the difficulties you now face, I thought of a plan. See if you think it might work." Without even waiting for Xu Lin's reply, he continued, "When you return to Xianyang, tell the Clan Head and the Qin Emperor that I, Zhang Gan, swallowed the Immortal Pill in secret. To atone for failing the Emperor's trust, you executed me by slow slicing and brought my body back to Xianyang to answer for it. Seeing my corpse, the Emperor should believe your story."
Hearing this, Xu Lin shook his head frantically as tears streamed uncontrollably down his face. Sobbing, he cried, "Brother Gan, how could I ever use you to escape punishment? You are my brother! If I did such a thing, would I, Xu Lin, even still be human? How could I ever have the face to live in this world?"
Zhang Gan replied, "Xiao Lin, listen to me. I know my time is short; I'm going to die anyway. What difference does it make what you do with my body? Let me do one last thing for the Xu Clan."
Xu Lin refused to answer, shaking his head with all his might.
Zhang Gan's breathing grew weaker, his words coming in broken gasps: "Xiao Lin... I'm begging you... just... say... yes..."
Not wanting Zhang Gan to leave with regrets, Xu Lin forced himself to give a fake promise: "Alright."
Hearing that single word, a satisfied smile touched Zhang Gan's lips, and his chest stopped rising and falling.