“I don't want this kind of Poison Earthworm. I want the kind that evolves naturally.”

Although this development technique could produce strong and powerful Poison Earthworms, it had adverse side effects. Furthermore, it went against the law of nature, so it was not a long-term plan.

The Little Mute hesitated for a while. Then, he raised his hand and made a strange gesture. Ye Jiuge understood immediately.

“You mean that the natural way takes a long time?”

The Little Mute nodded.

“It's alright. It's fine if it's a slower process. As long as you can develop naturally evolved Poison Earthworms, I will trade you five Spiritual Beast Pills for one,” Ye Jiuge offered generously.

The Little Mute's eyes brightened, and he nodded forcefully.

“If you need anything, feel free to tell me. I will try my best to meet all your needs.”

This time, Ye Jiuge wanted to spare no effort. The Little Mute was straightforward. He tried to explain by gesturing with his hands, but he felt that it wasn't sufficient. He dipped his finger into the tea and wrote “Second-grade Blackfly Gra.s.s” on the brown table.

“You're going to use second-grade Blackfly Gra.s.s as supplementary feed for the Poison Earthworms?” Ye Jiuge asked curiously.

Blackfly Gra.s.s was a Spiritual Herb that resembled a housefly. It was usually used to treat festering wounds. Although it was a Spiritual Herb, it grew plentifully and was not expensive. She could afford it. Again, the Little Mute nodded.

“Your handwriting is quite good; who taught you to write?” Ye Jiuge asked as an afterthought. Very few commoners these days were literate. Even Chief Chen could not recognize many words, let alone an adopted orphan like the Little Mute.

Alarm flitted across the Little Mute's face. He frowned and scribbled out a line of words: “Didn't you say that you're not interested in anything besides Poison Earthworms?” The phrase had a questioning tone, as though he'd been lied to.

“You don't need to worry. I was just asking out of curiosity. Go and sleep. I'll get someone to bring the Blackfly Gra.s.s over later.”

Ye Jiuge immediately stopped thinking about investigating the Little Mute. Who cares about his background so long as he can do his work?

The Little Mute watched Ye Jiuge closely for a while to ensure that she harbored no evil intentions. Then, he smoothed his knitted brows, turned around, and returned to the house.

Ye Jiuge wiped away the words on the table. Then, carrying the food boxes which the Little Mute had emptied, Ye Jiuge went to find Bai Songling to ask for some Blackfly Gra.s.s. She did not expect Bai Songling to rush up like a hurricane just as she reached the door. He dashed out and pulled her along.

“Oh no! The demonic poison in His Highness has flared up. Quick, follow me!”Read more chapter on vipnovel.com

“Let's go!”

Ye Jiuge quickly threw the food boxes to one side and followed Bai Songling to the Dongling Prince Mansion. Dongfang Que lay on the majestic bed. His eyes were shut tightly, and his handsome face was deathly pale. His lips had turned icy blue, and his body was as hard as ice.

Ye Jiuge placed her fingers on Dongfang Que's wrist. It felt like touching a piece of ice. She could not feel his pulse. She opened her Spiritual Eye and observed that the Spiritual Power in his elixir field was a mess. She could vaguely make out a blurred white spider. Needless to say, the Ice Snow Spider King's poison had flared up.

“Why would the poison flare up without rhyme or reason?” Ye Jiuge asked Bai Songling.

“Today, the Emperor summoned His Highness to the palace to ask about Imperial Consort Xi. The poison suddenly flared up after he returned,” Bai Songling explained through gritted teeth. “It must have been the Empress, that vicious woman. Her poisons are so mysterious that even G.o.ds and spirits cannot predict them, and His Highness was unable to protect himself from her.”

“Why didn't you make His Highness consume a Poison Detection Pill before going to the palace?” Ye Jiuge asked. If Dongfang Que had swallowed the Poison Earthworm before entering the palace, it would have at least warned him.

“I forgot.”

Bai Songling was so single-mindedly fixed on keeping the Poison Earthworm a secret that he had not even told Dongfang Que about it. Ye Jiuge rolled her eyes at him.

“Why didn't you forget about yourself instead?” she chided.

“Indeed. Please, stop reprimanding me. I've already kicked myself over this.”

Bai Songling seemed to regret his misstep so much that he almost kneeled to beg Ye Jiuge.

“Help me remove His Highness's upper garments,” Ye Jiuge instructed, preparing to apply her needle techniques to save Dongfang Que.

Without fooling around, Bai Songling removed Dongfang Que's upper garments. His skin was smooth and firm. The shape of his muscles was beautiful and attractive. It was easy to see that he had been training. Ye Jiuge took a good look in silence before she took out her Lightning Fire Needle and jabbed it into Dongfang Que's acupuncture point. However, a strange and cold energy forced the needle out.

Ye Jiuge refused to be deterred, so she injected more Spiritual Power. The Lightning Fire Needle, glowing with faint violet light, pierced into Dongfang Que's body. Although the needle had successfully entered his body, if every jab required Spiritual Power, Ye Jiuge feared that she would not be able to last until the end of the treatment.

Seeing Ye Jiuge's expression change, Bai Songling worriedly asked, “Eldest Miss, what's wrong?”

Ye Jiuge shook her head. “His Highness's poison is too powerful; I cannot eradicate it completely.” With her current Spiritual Power, she could not expel all of the poison from Dongfang Que's body.

“What should we do? The usual medicine cannot suppress His Highness's poison either!” Bai Songling exclaimed.

He looked anxiously at Dongfang Que, fearing that the prince could stop breathing at any moment. Just then, Ye Jiuge thought of something—the Little Mute's Poison Earthworm. The thing had a powerful dispelling effect on poison; it might cure Dongfang Que. Since there were currently no other solutions, she had to give it a try.

Ye Jiuge took out the jade bottle containing the Poison Earthworm and pa.s.sed it to Bai Songling. She said, “Feed His Highness this.”

When Bai Songling opened the bottle and saw the black-colored Poison Earthworm, a scowl immediately came across his handsome face, as though he'd taken a bite of a bitter Chinese goldthread. If he really fed it to Dongfang Que, he would make him suffer for it. Forget it, there is no other way to save him. Bai Songling pinched open Dongfang Que's mouth. Without any hesitation, he poured in the Poison Earthworm.

The Poison Earthworm followed the path from Dongfang Que's throat into his stomach. Ye Jiuge opened her Spiritual Eye and clearly observed the Poison Earthworm commence fighting with the spider's image once it entered Dongfang Que's elixir field. The two beasts were evenly matched, and neither gave way to the other. They made a mess of the Spiritual Power in Dongfang Que's elixir field.

In his unconscious state, Dongfang Que frowned. Light blue sweat droplets escaped from the pores of his body. Then, he suddenly opened his mouth and vomited a mouth of icy blue blood. Bizarrely, the blood froze as soon as it landed on the floor.

Ye Jiuge took the opportunity to apply her needle, and a few flashes of purple light landed on Dongfang Que's body. In particular, she gave forty-nine jabs to the two sides of his backbone to suppress the spider image's toxins. The Poison Earthworm seized the opportunity and counterattacked. Frantically, it engulfed the spider image.

Dongfang Que vomited a mouthful of blood for every inch of the spider image that the Poison Earthworm engulfed. Gradually, the blood turned a pale red, then it became bright crimson. At that moment, the image of the spider was almost annihilated. Ye Jiuge gave a small sigh of relief, and her needles landed a little bit slower.

All of a sudden, the spider's image expanded tremendously. Now, it was about to engulf the Poison Earthworm instead.