. Shaking his head, he said, “Originally, I had hoped to become friends with him, but I’m afraid I won’t be able to, now.” Duan Yu asked, “Why not?” Qiao Feng replied, “I have an extremely close bosom friend who died a violent death two months ago. Everyone says that it was Murong Fu who did the vile deed.” Duan Yu nervously said, “Using an opponent’s technique, utilizing it upon the opponent!” Qiao Feng replied, “Right! The injury which my friend died from was inflicted by someone using the skill which he himself became famous for.” As he said this, his voice became choked with sobs, and he looked very grieved. After pausing for a while, he said, “But there are many strange things which occur in the martial world, and its people are hard to fathom. I cannot place blame on someone solely based upon rumor and hearsay. Thus, I have come to Jiangnan to ferret out the truth.”

Duan Yu asked, “And what is the truth?” Qiao Feng shook his head. “It is hard to say at the moment. That friend of mine became famous long ago and displayed upright conduct. He had a meek, modest temperament, and handled things very rationally. He wouldn’t have offended young master Murong without a good reason. It’s very hard for a person to puzzle out why someone would have murdered him.”

Duan Yu nodded. He thought to himself, “On the surface, elder brother looks crude and straightforward, but on the inside, he is actually extremely careful and meticulous. He’s not like Mr. Huo, Guo Yanzhi, Sima Lin, and the others, who insist that young master Murong is the killer without even doing any independent investigations.” He asked, “Who, then, are the powerful opponents which you have arranged an appointment with?”

Qiao Feng replied, “They are…” Just as he said these two words, two beggarly fellows dressed in tattered clothes rushed towards them. Qiao Feng immediately fell silent. Exercising their qinggong, the two appeared before them in the twinkling of an eye. They bowed in unison. One said, “Chief, four people have rushed into the ‘Hall of Great Righteousness’. They’ve demonstrated exceptional skill. Hall-master Jiang, seeing that they seem to have come with evil intentions and concerned that he might not be able to hold them off, ordered the two of us to locate the ‘Hall of Great Benevolence’ and request aid.

Hearing that the two extremely respectfully address Qiao Feng as ‘Chief’, Duan Yu thought to himself, “So elder brother is the lord and master of some clan or sect.”

Qiao Feng nodded, then asked, “What type of people are they?” One man replied, “Three of them are females. One of them is a very tall, very skinny middle-aged man who is extremely unreasonable and arrogant.” Qiao Feng humphed. “Hall-master Jiang is a bit too careful. There’s only one opponent. Can it be that he can’t hold him off?” The man said, “Chief, it seems as though those three woman also know martial arts.” Qiao Feng chuckled, then said, “Fine. I’ll go check it out.” A happy expression appeared on the faces of those two, and they replied in unison, “Yes sir!” Letting their hands fall, they retreated behind Qiao Feng.

Qiao Feng said to Duan Yu, “Brother, shall you come along with us?” Duan Yu replied, “Naturally.” The two men led them westwards, following a crooked, winding path, until they arrived at a countryside farmland. The land around them was all very fertile, as there were many rivers intersecting all about the place.

After walking for a few li, they arrived by a forest filled with apricot trees. A strange voice could be heard coming from that forest. “Brother Murong went to Luoyang to meet with your chief. Why is it that the people of the Beggar’s Clan have come to Wuxi? Aren’t you intentionally avoiding him? It’s not a big deal if you guys are cowards and afraid of dying, but aren’t you guys tiring brother Murong out by causing him to make a trip in vain? Outrageous, this is totally outrageous!”

As soon as Duan Yu heard this voice, his heart began to beat frantically. It was precisely the voice of “Mr. Tis not so, tis not so”: Mr. Bao! He thought to himself, “Is miss Wang with him? Didn’t they say there were three women with him?” Then he thought to himself, “The Beggar’s Clan is the largest clan in all the world. Can it be that today, I have become sworn brothers with their chief?”

A man who spoke with a northern accent loudly replied, “Did young master Murong make an appointment in advance to meet with our humble clan’s chief?” Mr. Bao replied, “It makes no difference whether they made an appointment or not. Since young master Murong went to Luoyang, the chief of the Beggar’s Clan can’t just up and leave and let him have made the trip in vain. Outrageous, simply outrageous!” The other person said, “Did young master Murong send a message or a scroll informing our humble clan?” Mr. Bao replied, “How should I know? I am neither young master Murong, nor the chief of the Beggar’s Clan. How would I know? This question of yours makes no sense. Outrageous, totally outrageous!”

Qiao Feng’s face sunk, and he quickly strode into the forest. Following him in, Duan Yu saw that within the forest was two groups of people facing each other. Behind Mr. Bao stood three females. As soon as Duan Yu’s gaze came across one of the maiden’s faces, it froze there.

Naturally, the young maiden was Wang Yuyan. She let out a soft exclamation. “You came as well?” Duan Yu replied, “I came as well.” He stupidly stared at her, utterly enraptured. Wang Yuyan blushed and she turned her head away. She thought to herself, “This person is staring at me like that. He’s so rude.” But she knew that Duan Yu greatly admired her beauty, and so she couldn’t help but secretly feel happy instead of being angry with him.

Standing on the opposite side of Bao Butong was a bunch of beggars in tattered clothing. When the person standing in front saw that Qiao Feng had arrived, a look of great joy appeared on his face. He immediately rushed forward, and led all of the beggar’s behind him into a deep bow. They called out in unison, “Chief, we, your subordinates pay our respects to you!”

Clasping his fists, Qiao Feng replied, “Brothers, it is good to see you.”

Bao Butong still had a look of arrogance on his face. He said, “Hmph, so this is chief Qiao, leader of the Beggar’s Clan? My name is Bao Butong. I’m sure that you’ve heard of me before.” Qiao Feng replied, “So it is Bao the Third! I’ve long admired your illustrious name. It is my good fortune to be able to meet you today.” Bao Butong replied, “Tis not so, tis not so! What illustrious name do I have? I only have a stinking name! Everyone knows that I, Bao Butong, like to provoke disputes and insult people with my words. Heh heh, chief Qiao, you are in the wrong for coming so casually to Jiangnan”

The Beggar’s Clan was the largest clan in the world. The chief of the clan held a position of great venerance and respect; the disciples of the clan treated him as though he were a living divinity. Seeing how impolite Bao Butong was towards their chief, and hearing his reproachful words, everyone present was filled with righteous indignation. Behind hall-master Jiang of the ‘Hall of Great Righteousness’ stood six or seven people who were gripping the hilts of their sabres, or clenching their fists. All of them wanted to charge forwards.

But Qiao Feng only lightly replied, “How am I in the wrong? Mr. Bao, please advise me.”

Bao Butong replied, “My family’s young master Murong knows that you, chief Qiao, are an outstanding personage, and that there are many amazing figures within the Beggar’s Clan. Thus, he personally rushed to Luoyang to pay his respects to you. How could you so contentedly come to Jiangnan instead? Outragous, simply outrageous!”

Qiao Feng smiled. “If I had known in advance that young master Murong was going to honor us at Luoyang with his presence, I would have respectfully awaited his arrival. Please forgive me for the sin of failing to meet a guest.” As he spoke, he cupped his fist in a salute.

Duan Yu secretly applauded him. “Elder brother’s words are very courteous and totally in keeping with his status as the leader of a clan. If instead he had gotten into a verbal battle with Mr. Bao, he would have lost some status instead.”

Unexpectedly, Bao Butong continued to press the case. Nodding, he said, “You did commit the sin of failing to meet a guest. Although there is the saying that ‘the one who commits an offense unknowingly has done nothing wrong’, whether or not the sinner is to be punished lies wholly in the hands of others!” Just as he was feeling very self-satisfied, several people within the apricot forest began to loudly laugh in unison. The sound of their laughter shook the heavens. Within the midst of the laughter, someone said, “I’ve long heard that Jiangnan’s Bao Butong loves to let out dog farts. You really live up to your reputation!”

Bao Butong replied, “As the saying goes, a loud fart doesn’t stink, and a stinky fart isn’t loud. The dog’s fart I just heard was both stinky and loud. Can it be that it came from the six elders of the Beggar’s Clan?”

That person replied, “If Bao Butong is aware of who the six elders of the Beggar’s Clan are, how does he dare to continually spout nonsense?” Before the sound of their words had died away, four old men out from behind the apricot forest. Some had white beards and white hair, others had faces which were glowing with health. Each of them held a weapon in their hands, and they formed a rectangle around Bao Butong, Wang Yuyan, and the others.

Bao Butong naturally knew that the Beggar’s Clan was not only the largest clan in the world, but also the top clan amongst the best large clans. The experts within the clan were as plentiful as the clouds. Its six elders naturally had an even more impressive reputation in the martial world. But he had a naturally arrogant disposition, and ever since he was young had an attitude of fearing neither heaven nor hell. Now, seeing that he had been secretly surrounded by four of the six elders, he quietly groaned to himself, “That’s not good, that’s not good. Looks like today my illustrious reputation will be dragged through the dust.” But he didn’t outwardly show any fear at all. He said, “What instruction do you four old fellows intend to offer me? So you want to get into a brawl with Mr. Bao? Why haven’t the other two elders appeared as well to help you out? Hiding and sneaking about, are they intending to ambush me? Good, good, absolutely great! Mr. Bao loves to fight!”

Suddenly, a voice sounded out from mid-air. “Who is the person who likes to fight more than anyone else in the world? Is it Mr. Bao? Wrong, wrong! It is Jiangnan’s ‘Gust of Wind’, Feng Bo’e!”

Raising his head, Duan Yu saw that a man was standing on a branch of an apricot tree. The branch continuously waved up and down, but the man simply bobbed up and down along with it. The man appeared to be thirty two or thirty three years of age, had a small, thin frame, hollow cheeks, and a rat-like beard split into two strands, and drooping eyebrows. He looked extremely ugly. Duan Yu thought to himself, “It seems that this person is the ‘fourth brother Feng’ which Ah Zhu and Ah Bi were talking about.” Indeed, he heard Ah Bi call out, “Fourth brother Feng, have you heard any news about the young master?”

Feng Bo’e called out, “Wonderful. We’ve met up with some excellent opponent’s today! Ah Zhu and Ah Bi, we’ll discuss the young master’s affairs later.” He somersaulted down from the branch, throwing himself at the short and stout elder who stood north of their group.

That elder was wielding a steel staff. He suddenly struck out with it, attacking Feng Bo’e’s chest. This steel staff was as thick as a goose egg, and when it struck out, it carried with it a vigorous wind. The force of it was fierce and awesome indeed. Feng Bo’e shot his body up, stretching out his hand to seize the staff. The elder flipped his hand around. The staff trembled, then the other end shot out and attacked Feng Bo’e’s chest again. Feng Bo’e cried out, “Wonderful!” He suddenly ducked down, snatching at his opponent’s waist. The steel staff had already struck out and could not immediately be retracted to block this blow. Seeing how close the enemy was to him, the elder countered with a flying kick to his stomach.

Feng Bo’e slanted his body and dodged this kick, then actually continued the motion and attacked the red-faced elder to the east side. With a flash of dazzling white light, a broadsword appeared in Feng Bo’e’s hand and he launched a horizontal chop. The red-faced elder was wielding a demon-headed sabre. The sabre was extremely long, with the back of the sabre being thick and the cutting part sharp and thin. Seeing Feng Bo’e chopping at him, he lifted up his demon-headed sabre to directly blocked the chop with one of his own, intending to slam the edge of his blade against Feng Bo’e’s. Feng Bo’e called out, “Your weapon is too fearful. I’m not going to directly clash mine against it!” He leapt a few meters, then launched a backwards chop towards the white-bearded elder at the south side.

The white-bearded elder wielded a steel mace in his right hand. The surface of the mace was covered with spikes. It was a weapon designed to penetrate an opponent’s outer defenses. Seeing that Feng Bo’e had launched a backwards chop, but that the red-faced elder had not yet fully retracted the power of the chop from his demon-headed sabre, he felt that if he warded off the blow right now, it could be construed as the two elders launching a pincer attack against Feng Bo’e. He greatly valued his own status and was unwilling to fight against him two on one. Immediately, he sidestepped and dodged the attack instead.

He didn’t know that Feng Bo’e simply loved fighting. The more thrilling the fight, the more happy he was. He didn’t really care too much about who the winner was or who the loser was, and never followed any of the ordinary rules to fighting. When the white-bearded elder sidestepped the attack, it was obvious to every present that he was intentionally giving way. But Feng Bo’e paid no attention at all to the customary rites and rituals of the martial world. Upon seeing that there was a weakness to be exploited, he struck out with four chops in a row. All of them were advancing and attacking strokes, carrying with them the force of the fluttering wind and and incomparable swiftness.

The white-bearded elder didn’t expect him to take the opportunity to attack. This was truly impolite, and he hurriedly waved his mace to block. He had to take four steps back before regaining his footing. By this time, he had been backed against an apricot tree and no longer was able to retreat any further. He launched a horizontal strike with his mace. The technique he just used was his best skill for going from defense to offense to kill an opponent. He didn’t expect that Feng Bo’e would shout out, “Lemme fight another one!” Instead of blocking, he simply retreated, his broadsword spinning about in a circle as he launched an attack against the fourth elder. By the time the white-bearded elder’s attack was launched, the opponent was long gone. He was so angry that he repeatedly let out angry breaths, causing his white beard to fly up high.

The fourth elder had two very long arms. In his left hand, he was carrying a very soft weapon. Seeing Feng Bo’e charge at him, he lifted his left arm and unveiled his weapon. It was a gunnysack used to hold rice. As the wind blew into it, the gunnysack opened and expanded. He struck out with the open in the sack towards Feng Bo’e’s head, trying to cover it.

Feng Bo’e was both startled and delighted. He cried out, “Wonderful, wonderful! I’ll fight with you!” There was nothing more he liked better than fighting. If his opponent’s utilized unusual techniques or strange weaponry, he would go wild with joy, much like how a person who loved to go sightseeing might react when seeing a famous mountain or a large river, or how a person who loved eating and drinking might react when tasting a wonderful new dish for the first time. He had never even heard of anyone who used a gunnysack as a weapon, much less fought with him. He was so overjoyed that the surplus joy turned into caution, as he carefully jabbed out with his broadsword, wanting to see if he could use his weapon to poke holes in the sack. The long-armed elder tossed the gunnysack to his right arm, then, spinning his fist, launched a punch at Feng Bo’e.

Feng Bo’e raised his head upwards, dodging the blow, and was just about to launch a counterattack with his broadsword against the elder’s lower parts. But the long-armed elder had mastered an extremely brilliant fist technique known as the “Arm Passing Through”. Just when it seemed the energy from his punch had dissipated, new energy appeared and his fist continued forward another half-foot. Fortunately, Feng Bo’e was a person who loved fighting and had been through over a thousand battles, large or small. He could come up with ways to improvise his way out of a bad situation like none other, and as the fist came towards his fast, he opened his mouth and chomped at it. The long-armed elder had expected to be able to knock loose a few of his teeth with this punch. How could he have imagined that just as his fist reached Feng Bo’e, Feng Bo’e would open his mouth and bite at him with all those pearly white teeth? He hurriedly withdrew his hand, but was just a bit too late. He let out a loud cry as Feng Bo’e’s teeth drew blood from the tips of his fingers. Some of the onlookers began to curse violently, while others began laughing loudly.

Bao Butong said in a perfect deadpan, “Fourth brother Feng, this technique you just used, ‘Lu Dongbin Bites the Dog’, really lives up to its reputation! You’ve practiced it to a legendary, mythical level. That you can reach such a level is all due to you spending ten bitter years, braving summer heat and winter frost, practicing this technique and biting to death one thousand eight hundred white dogs, black dogs, and splotchy dogs.”

Wang Yuyan, Ah Zhu, and Ah Bi all began to laugh. Duan Yu laughed, “Miss Wang, you know everything there is to know about the martial arts of the world. What school or clan does this technique of biting people belong to?” Wang Yuyan smiled slightly, “This is a skill which is unique to brother Feng. I don’t know it.” Bao Butong said, “You don’t know it? Heh heh, you are too ignorant and ill-informed! ‘The Nine Great Stances of Lu Dongbin Biting Dogs’. Each stance contains eight orthodox and unorthodox biting techniques. Eight times nine is seventy two, giving this style a total of seventy two biting techniques. This is an extremely high level martial arts technique!” Seeing how delighted Wang Yuyan was in listening to Bao Butong’s nonsense, Duan Yu also wanted to make a few jokes. But suddenly he realized, “That long-armed elder is one of elder brother Qiao’s subordinates. How can I make fun of him?” He hurriedly shut his mouth.

At this time, the sound of roaring wind could be heard, as the long-armed elder waved his gunnysack about, turning it into a yellow blur and enveloping Feng Bo’e within his techniques. But Feng Bo’e’s own broadsword techniques were brilliant and wondrous, and he used it to impede the enemy’s advance, allowing him to fend the elder off. Only, he did not know all the techniques of the gunnysack, and he had already experienced the power of the ‘Arm Passing Through’ fist technique. The ‘technique’ he had used to counter it, ‘Lu Dongbin Bites the Dog’, only landed by sheer luck earlier and could not be used again. Thus, at this time, he didn’t dare slacken up in the slightest.

Qiao Feng, seeing how Feng Bo’e was able to take on the long-armed elder’s ‘Arm Passing Through’ fist technique for over a hundred stances without being defeated, was secretly astonished. His impression of young master Murong went up another level.

The three other elders of the Beggar’s Clan retreated to one side, raptly watching the ferocious battle.

Ah Bi saw that Feng Bo’e would not be able to hold out for long, and grew worried. She asked Wang Yuyan, “Miss Wang, this respected elder uses a gunnysack as his weapon. What type of technique is this?” Frowning, Wang Yuyan said, “I’ve never read about this sort of technique in the books. The fist technique is the ‘Arm Passing Through’ fist technique. As for the gunnysack technique, it seems to possess the strength of the ‘Thirteen Circling Soft-Whip Strikes of Dabie Mountain’, combined with the techniques of the ‘Eighty One Three-Sectioned-Staff Techniques’ of Hubei’s Ruan family. It seems as though that the gunnysack technique is something he himself invented.

Her voice was not particularly loud, but the words, ‘Thirteen Circling Soft-Whip Strikes of Dabie Mountain’ and ‘Eighty One Three-Sectioned-Staff Techniques of Hubei’s Ruan family’ thundered in the long-armed elder’s ears. Originally, he was a disciple of Hubei’s Ruan family, having learned the three-sectioned-staff techniques from them. Afterwards, he committed the great offense of killing one of his elders. Thus, he changed his name and abandoned the three-sectioned-staff, refusing to ever use it again, so that no one would ever know of his origins. Unexpectedly, although he had done the best he could to abandon the martial arts he learned as a child, in the midst of a major battle he automatically revealed some of them. He was astonished. “How is it that this girl knows about my origins?” He thought that the shameful deeds which he committed decades ago were known to this girl. With his attention thus diverted, Feng Bo’e launched a series of broadsword attacks which he found difficult to cope with.

He retreated three steps in a row, hurriedly dodging aside. Seeing that Feng Bo’e’s broadsword was about to arrive, he immediately sent out a flying left kick, striking at Feng Bo’e’s right wrist. With a wave of the broadsword, Feng Bo’e chopped at his foot. The long-armed elder kicked out with his right leg as well in tandem, sending his body into mid-air. Feng Bo’e saw that, despite his great age, this elder was strong and vigorous, not at all inferior to younger people, and couldn’t help but exclaim, “Wonderful!” With a whooshing sound, Feng Bo’e launched a punch at his kneecap. As the long-armed elder’s body was in midair, it was very difficult for him to dodge this attack. If it landed, his kneecap would disinitegrate and his leg would snap.

Feng Bo’e saw that his opponent refused to change his move, despite his fist almost having reached the elder’s kneecap. Suddenly, he felt as though the sound of the wind had picked up. His opponent had opened the mouth of his gunnysack, and was about to cover Feng Bo’e’s head with it! Although he could shatter the elder’s kneecap with this punch, it would be a huge disaster for his head to be covered with the gunnysack. He immediately changed his punch into a sweeping strike, intending to sweep aside the gunnysack strike. The long-armed elder inclined his right arm slightly to the side and spun the bag about, capturing Feng Bo’e’s fist within it.

The difference in size between Feng Bo’e’s small fist and the huge opening in the gunnysack was significant. Although it was easy to cover Feng Bo’e’s fist, there was no way it could actually trap it. As soon as Feng Bo’e retracted his hand, it came out from within the gunnysack. Suddenly, he felt slight pain on his upper arm, as though it had been pierced by slender needles. When he took a look, he felt great shock; there was a tiny scorpion attached to his upper arm! This scorpion was smaller than most, but it was multicolored and bright, appearing to be very fearsome. Feng Bo’e knew that he was in trouble, and immediately exerted all his strength to shake the scorpion off. Unfortunately, the scorpion’s stinger was firmly lodged in his arm, and no matter what he did, he could not shake it off.

Feng Bo’e hurriedly stretched out the broadsword in his right arm, slapping the flat of it against his left arm. With a clapping sound, the multicolored scorpion was smushed. But if the long-armed elder put this scorpion in his bag, its venom definitely wouldn’t be something which could be easily dealt with. Even ordinary beggars were extremely adept at using poisonous substances, much less one of their six elders. He immediately leapt three meters away, withdrawing an antidote from his robes and immediately swallowing it down.

The long-armed elder did not pursue him. Putting away his gunnysack, he instead turned to stare at Wang Yuyan, thinking to himself, “How did this girl know that I am from Hubei’s Ruan family?” Bao Butong was extremely concerned. He hurriedly said, “Fourth brother, how do you feel?” Feng Bo’e waved his left arm a few times, but felt nothing out of the ordinary. He was very puzzled, thinking to himself, “It’s impossible for the multicolored scorpion in the gunnysack not to have some oddities about it.” He said, “No problem…” Just as he said these words, with a thudding sound, he fell down, face-forwards….

Bao Butong hurriedly propped him up, repeatedly asking, “What’s wrong? What’s wrong?” The flesh and muscles on Feng Bo’e’s face had stiffened into an extremely forced smile. Bao Butong was shocked. He immediately sealed the acupoints around Feng Bo’e’s wrist, elbow, and shoulder, intending to stop the progress of the poison. How could he know that the poison of the multicolored scorpion acted extremely quickly? Although it wasn’t so lethal as to ‘seal the throat upon touching blood’, it was on a similar level. The venom acted more quickly than even the toxins of vipers. Feng Bo’e opened his mouth, wanting to speak, but all he could muster out was a few horrifying croaking sounds. Seeing how deadly this poison was, Bao Butong feared that it might already be too late to save him. Feeling inconsolable grief and rage, he let out a loud howl and threw himself at the long-armed elder.

The short and stout elder who wielded the steel staff said, “You want to fight in turns and tire him out? Allow this shorty to spar with the heroes of Gusu’s Murong family!” His steel staff shot out, striking towards Bao Butong. This was an extremely heavy weapon, but he wielded it as though it were as light as a feather. His techniques were very quick and agile, as though he were actually using a sword. Although Bao Butong was extremely angry, his opponent was very powerful and he did not dare to ignore him. He intended to capture the short and stout elder and use him to force the long-armed elder to give Feng Bo’e an antidote to save his life. He immediately began to use seizing and capturing hand techniques, launching raids in between the hollow spaces left by the steel staff’s attacks.

Ah Zhu and Ah Bi each stood to one side of Feng Bo’e. Tears glimmered in their eyes as they cried out, “Fourth brother! Fourth brother!” Wang Yuyan had no knowledge at all regarding the usage of poison or the curing of poison, and felt very regretful. “In all the martial arts scrolls I’ve read, there was a lot of information regarding the usage of poison. Only, I believed all of that stuff was useless and didn’t even take a look at them. If I had at least glanced at them, I would remember at least a little bit and wouldn’t be totally helpless right now, able to do nothing but watch as fourth brother Feng dies an unnatural death.”

Qiao Feng, seeing how Bao Butong and and the short elder were evenly matched, knew that victory could not be determined for some time. He said to the long armed elder, “Elder Chen, please go ahead and cure Mr. Feng!” The long-armed elder was startled. He said, “Chief, this fellow was extremely impolite and his martial arts is not weak. If I rescue him, there’ll be no end of trouble in the future.” Qiao Feng nodded. “What you say is true. But for us to kill a master’s subordinates before even meeting him might be construed as us bullying the weak. It’s best for us to firmly plant ourselves on the moral high ground.” Elder Chen angrily said, “Vice-chief Ma was clearly killed by that brat from the Murong family. We’re here to take revenge, not to engage in moral or righteous posturing.” A look of slight displeasure appeared on Qiao Feng’s face. “Go and cure his poison first. It won’t be too late for us to slowly discuss other things later.”

Although elder Chen was extremely unwilling to do this, in the end, he did not dare to disobey his chief’s orders. He said, “Yes sir.” From within his robes, he withdrew a small bottle. Taking a few steps forward, he said to Ah Zhu and Ah Bi, “My chief puts benevolence and righteousness ahead of all other things. This is the antidote. Take it!”

Ah Bi was overjoyed. She immediately rushed forward to accept the antidote, then very respectfully curtsied to Qiao Feng and paid her respects to elder Chen as well. “Thank you, chief Qiao. Thank you, elder Chen.” As she took the antidote, she asked, “Elder, if I might ask, how should the antidote be applied?” Elder Chen replied, “After drawing out the poison in the wound, apply the antidote directly to the wound.” After pausing for a moment, he said, “If the venom isn’t totally drawn out, this medicine will do more harm than good. You should be aware of this.” Ah Bi replied, “Understood!” Rushing back to Feng Bo’e’s side, she lifted up her arm and was about to press her open mouth against the wound and suck out the venom.

Elder Chen loudly shouted, “Hold!” Ah Bi was stunned. “What is it?” Elder Chen said, “Females cannot draw the poison out!” Ah Bi’s face reddened slightly. “What’s wrong with females?” Elder Chen replied, “This poison has a cold Yin nature. Females are Yin by nature. To add even more Yin would be to increase the toxicity of this venom.”

Ah Bi, Ah Zhu, and Wang Yuyan all half-believed, half-doubted him. Although they felt his words were very stra