Chapter 292: Sneaky Moves

Chapter 292: Sneaky Moves

In the current urgent situation, Liu Shuqin and the others were tirelessly working on the antidote.

They had taken the Immortal’s advice and set out to create a potion to break the curse.

The results were predictable: one failure after another.

Lin Nuo chuckled to himself, thinking that this group wouldn’t be able to make it at all after everyone in the city was dead.

The lethality of the Blood Splitting Curse was rather slow, functioning like a gradual curse that took time to kill.

During that period, the blood energy of those affected slowly leaked out, naturally getting absorbed by Yu Sha, who then became stronger.

Lin Nuo speculated on Yu Sha’s rough plan: the first wave of victims were the ordinary citizens in the city, killing them off first and absorbing their blood energy to gain strength before moving on to the second wave of targets.

The second wave consisted of the powerful individuals in the Lin family estate and other survivors who had been struck by the first wave of Blood Splitting Curse. Once Yu Sha gained strength, his Blood Splitting Curse would be even harder to break using his own spiritual power.

Gradually advancing, step by step, Yu Sha was starting to resemble a true villain.

Lin Nuo walked to the pharmacy where Liu Shuqin was refining medicine. Liu Shuqin, deep in her thoughts when she saw Lin Nuo arrive, hurriedly set aside her work to greet him.

“Junior Martial Brother, you’re here! Quickly, take a seat.”

Liu Shuqin busily made tea for Lin Nuo and offered him some pastries from the table.

“Junior Martial Brother, this place is a bit shabby, please don’t mind it.”

“Not at all, it’s quite good.”

Lin Nuo sat down and, instead of immediately drinking the tea, instinctively took out a long needle to test it.

Liu Shuqin covered her mouth and chuckled, “Oh my, Junior Martial Brother, how cautious you are! Don’t worry, this tea was brewed with Shi Li’s water, it’s completely fine.”

“Caution is always wise.”

Lin Nuo looked at the long needle after pulling it out.

It hadn’t changed color, so it was safe to drink.

Only then did Lin Nuo dare to sip the tea, letting out a long breath.

Not bad, the tea Liu Shuqin brewed was of good quality, fragrant and leaving a lingering aftertaste.

“How’s the progress on the medicine?” Lin Nuo asked out of concern.

“Not optimistic. We’ve tried many methods, but none have succeeded. The side effects have been numerous; I feel quite guilty towards the citizens.”

“It’s okay, it’s not your fault, just do your best.”

On the surface, Lin Nuo looked concerned, but inside, he was secretly delighted.

If they couldn’t make the antidote, then great! It’d be best if they could never make it, and everyone in the city would just die.

“Thank you for your concern, Junior Martial Brother. In the face of such a disaster, I always feel so helpless.”

With a soft sigh, Liu Shuqin was interrupted by a physician knocking on the door of the pharmacy.

“Miss Liu, Doctor Wu is looking for you; please come and see him.”

Liu Shuqin nodded and replied, “Okay, I’ll be there shortly.”

After the physician left, Liu Shuqin turned her gaze back to Lin Nuo and said softly, “Sorry, Junior Martial Brother, I have something to attend to and can’t keep you company for now. If you don’t mind, feel free to stay here. I’ll be back soon. Oh, and I’m still refining medicine; could you help me keep an eye on the fire?”

“Sure.”

Lin Nuo nodded, and soon Liu Shuqin left the pharmacy.

The pharmacy wasn’t large, but everything was neatly arranged. Liu Shuqin, being a refined lady, naturally paid attention to cleanliness.

This was her exclusive pharmacy, devoid of others. She often researched medicine, so various medicinal texts and detailed notes were laid out on the desk.

She diligently studied her books and listed many formulas that adhered to pharmacological principles, currently boiling a potion based on one of those formulas.

Lin Nuo briefly glanced over the formulas she had written, but none had a way to remove the Blood Splitting Curse.

One formula, however, contained the necessary ingredients for breaking the Blood Splitting Curse, but it was incomplete. Even if it was brewed, it wouldn’t work.

It looked close to being completed, but in reality, it was still far off.

The missing ingredients were crucial, needing both Ghost Wind Herb and Li Ren Dry, but these two needed to be mixed with the original formula. According to general medical principles, the side effects would be tremendous, potentially fatal.

Of course, that was just general medical logic.

Because of pharmacological constraints, very few people would take such risks. As a physician, one would definitely choose remedies with small side effects that are effective.

No experienced physician would go the route of “let’s risk it!”

Yet Liu Shuqin, being kind-hearted, surely wouldn’t think that way.

Lin Nuo didn’t worry; anyway, the medicine was bound to remain unrefined. He was just here to enjoy the show.

“Senior Sister, are you in there?”

Su Kexin arrived with a basket of herbs, knocking on the pharmacy door.

Not seeing Liu Shuqin, she noticed Lin Nuo inside instead.

“Senior Martial Brother, what are you doing here? Where’s Senior Sister?”

“She’s gone out for a bit. I’m just keeping an eye on the fire. Do you need something?”

“Um, I brought some herbs for them. Here’s what Senior Sister wanted; I need to give it to her.”

“Just leave it here; she’ll be back soon and I’ll let her know.”

“Oh, good! Thanks, Senior Martial Brother!”

Su Kexin took out some herbs from her basket and placed them on the table before turning to leave.

Lin Nuo approached to see what was there.

Some precious herbs, but completely unrelated to the removal of the Blood Splitting Curse.

However, as he rummaged through the herbs, he was astonished to find the Ghost Wind Herb and Li Ren Dry mixed in!

“What…”

Lin Nuo was somewhat shocked. How did this key pair of herbs end up here?!

What was going on? Had Liu Shuqin already comprehended this marvelous formula?

Lin Nuo wasn’t sure, but given his villainous mindset, he certainly assumed so.

If these two herbs were combined with the previous formula and boiled together, they could potentially break the Blood Splitting Curse.

Good thing he showed up, otherwise, she could’ve really made something!

Heaven was helping him; it just so happened Liu Shuqin was out, making it the perfect time for some mischief.

He could ruin the effectiveness of these two herbs, add them into the potion, and if it didn’t work, Liu Shuqin would naturally reject this plan.

Perfect.

Lin Nuo quickly shut the pharmacy door and began to sabotage the herbs, slightly damaging them with a little spell before returning them to their original spot.

It had been a while since he employed such tactics, so he felt somewhat rusty. There were slight marks on the herbs’ surfaces, which could be detectable upon careful inspection.

No issue; she probably wouldn’t meticulously inspect every single herb anyway.

After Lin Nuo finished his mischief, he resumed watching the fire as Liu Shuqin returned after a while.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Junior Martial Brother!”

“No worries. I need to visit my mother now, so I’ll be taking my leave.”

Lin Nuo said, rising to leave. It was about time to check on his mother to prevent any mishaps.

After Lin Nuo left, Liu Shuqin noticed some herbs on the table and curiously asked, “Hmm, whose herbs are these?”

At that moment, Su Kexin rushed back in, saying, “Oh no, Senior Sister! I’m so sorry! I delivered the wrong herbs! These aren’t for you, your ones are right here. I need to take these back to Doctor Zhou!”

Su Kexin quickly took out different herbs from her basket to hand to Liu Shuqin, ready to take back the original ones.

“Hold on! Kexin, have these herbs been examined by you?” Liu Shuqin noticed the details.