The villain has been playing badly for ten years

It was around dawn, the rain outside was easing, the sky was just beginning to turn pale, birds were chirping, the roof tiles were washed clean under the shadows of bamboo, and morning dewdrops were like beads on the bamboo tips and leaves.

Although there were doctors in the courtyard of the guesthouse, they were not alchemists and could only treat one or two of the injuries of the officials.

Ning Xiusu went to find a few uninjured officials and asked them to help find Pu Boyu's whereabouts.

Luo Buzhi looked up at him and was shocked to find some blood coming out of his waist.

"Your Majesty, you are injured and need treatment."

Ning Xiusu was too panicked just now and only reacted now.

The wound below the bloodstain had broken the skin a little. It might be because the burning sensation on the body was too strong. If it weren't for the reminder, I would have ignored the pain.

"I can take care of minor injuries, but if you want to find someone, I'll have to trouble Minister Luo."

Luo Buzhi nodded and responded respectfully.

He then went to the storage room in the east wing, which was originally a kitchen, but now looked like a small pharmacy.

Ning Xiusu treated his wound and changed his clothes.

At this time, hot steam was rising from the stove, but the fire was burning too hard.

He was busy in the house. Firstly, he was preparing to test whether Shifang Xuejie could be restrained by Miaowuqiong; secondly, he had indeed seen the elixir recipe, and if he did it the other way around, he would definitely be able to deduce the antidote.

He cut his wrist and the blood flowed into the bowl like cinnabar.

Meanwhile, on the small wood stove nearby, the Holy Lotus Heart had already melted into medicinal juice. The most important thing right now was to get Hua Jianbai to consume this life-saving substance.

The Holy Lotus Heart can be eaten raw, but its therapeutic effect will be increased if it is made into a pill.

He planned to make the elixir first, so he looked for some purple gold sand and crane grass, and also found some wheat flour, which were necessary ingredients for the elixir.

Fortunately... I have become familiar with the art of alchemy in recent days, so I am not as panicked as when I first resumed my old career.

But there is a trouble.

His eyes fell on a bronze furnace. This furnace seemed too old, with damaged walls and a loose lid, so the fire was unstable.

I don’t know where this little girl found this second-hand stuff.

But now we have to control the timing, we can't make any mistakes, and we can't fail.

Ning Xiusu thought of something and suddenly looked at the palm of his hand.

At the scratch, the bluish-gray aura remained, but there was a faint, invisible phosphorescence beneath the skin.

There has always been a strange aura in his body, and he can control it...

The dark lotus spirit fire?

It sounds like something weird.

As Ning Xiusu thought about it, a faint light ignited in his hand. The flame jumped, and it looked like a blooming blue lotus.

For alchemy, why not use this...

Suddenly, a burning sensation spread throughout his tendons and veins. Ning Xiusu took a deep breath but did not remove the ghost fire.

Miemie sat on the corridor outside the wing room, leaning on the railing, facing the lotus pond. She could just see wisps of smoke and some medicinal fragrance.

"I didn't expect that this prince knows alchemy and is also a spiritual practitioner?"

The knowledgeable officials also saw the smoke and immediately understood what was going on.

They were all veterans of the Privy Council and had been working under Lord Meng. However, they still didn't know much about this prince who had been in exile for a long time, and only thought that he was as useless as the rumors in the palace said.

Ning Xiusu locked himself in a kitchen filled with junk. The green flame of the furnace was burning as he was refining pills.

Not only the antidote, but also the Holy Lotus Heart.

Just then, an official rushed in.

The person who came was Li Ji. After knocking gently on the door, he bowed and said, "Your Highness, it's Master Meng who has returned!"

Hearing this, Ning Xiusu waved his hand to extinguish the flickering firelight and looked outside the house.

Meng Qilian was dressed in a black robe as dark as the night. He had a tall and straight figure and a strong outline. He walked into the courtyard with steady steps, like an unshakable mountain.

The lotus leaves in the pond are in full bloom, but they look a bit dilapidated.

Meng Qilian stopped beside the pool, his face looking a little haggard, and he looked exhausted and tired.

"Master Meng, you must be exhausted from all the traveling."

Ning Xiu walked out of the house slowly, his clothes flowing like clouds, and in the sunlight after the rain, his whole body glowed softly like jade.

Hearing the sound, Meng Qilian turned around. There was an indescribable depression and solemnity between his eyebrows, even a little serious.

It was not until she saw him that her brows relaxed slightly. She walked quickly forward and asked worriedly.

"Nian Zheng, you were badly injured that day, how are you now?"

Ning Xiusu felt something was very strange about him, but he still smiled and said, "I'm fine."

However, Meng Qilian frowned slightly again and said something after a while.

"Sorry, Nian Zheng..."

Meng Qilian seemed a little annoyed, and suddenly clenched his hands into fists, his face extremely gloomy:

"I was unable to invite the alchemists from the Shangqing Sect. I don't know why they are still so concerned about what happened back then..."

Ning Xiusu knew what he was talking about and said calmly, "They don't want to come, is it because of me?"

"Nian Zheng, they are too narrow-minded."

Meng Qilian said, seeming a little indignant, and pressed his lips into a line again:

"The Qianluo Mountain Gu medicine has caused great suffering in Nanzhao City, yet these alchemy practitioners act so arrogantly, saying that there is no order from the Supreme Emperor."

Ning Xiusu patted his shoulder and said, "Master Meng, some things can't be rushed."

"But, but you... Nian Zheng, what should we do about the backlash of Blood Shadow!"

"I've already taken life-saving medication."

"What about the poison..."

Meng Qilian looked towards where Hua Jianbai was. "When I came back, I heard that Guard Hua was injured and the poison had taken effect."

Ning Xiusu was more worried about Hua Jianbai's situation than anyone else. He gestured to the storage room behind him and said with a slightly lowered gaze:

"Resuming my old business, it depends on how much I remember. I hope I haven't given it all back to my hometown."

"You...you mean, you're refining the elixir?"

"Minzhi, I should know how to make the antidote, but I'm still missing one ingredient. I'll have to trouble you."

"What is it?"

"When the mines were cleared, there should still be some temples dedicated to them."

Meng Qilian was stunned when he heard this. "Nian Zheng, those boxes are kept in the government office as evidence, but the medicinal pills in the boxes are clearly wrapped with Gu insect eggs, wrapped in a layer of wax."

He said, and paused again:

"Also, this item should be related to the matter of the Ice Pill, but I don't know if it has any connection with those people in the clan."

Ning Xiusu said slowly, "I've seen the recipe. The ice pill from Qianluo Mountain contains an additional ingredient, Bailuofu. The ice pill made from the two should be the lead for the Gu."

Meng Qilian asked, "You mean, the function of the Ice Pill is to treat the Gu placed in the shrine box?"

"Yes, the offerings in the temple are made with the blood of ten directions."

Meng Qilian was puzzled: "Ten Directions Blood Drain, why have I never heard of this thing?"

"It's a strange insect. Its flowers bloom for a thousand years without bearing fruit. It's formed when a certain insect devours its rhizome, and it can lay countless eggs in a single day."

Ning Xiusu said, looking towards the bamboo forest not far away:

"This kind of Gu is originally harmless, but when combined with the Ice Pill, it becomes something that causes people to mutate. That's why the child ghosts and the monsters in the mines are also like this..."

Meng Qilian understood, but when he looked at Ning Xiusu, he was very surprised: "But Nian Zheng, where did you know these things?"

"Hey, to tell you the truth, I met a Yanren at the bottom of the sea..."

Ning Xiusu simply recounted his adventure at the bottom of the sea, and concluded, "That Yan-man said I have the antidote, so I have to use the Ten-Directions Blood Drain to stimulate the medicinal properties."

"You want to test the medicine on yourself?"

Only then did Meng Qilian realize that his wrist seemed to be wrapped with some gauze.

"Nian Zheng, you...how can you hurt yourself like this!"

"Master Meng, there should be no other way now. If what that Yanren said is true, finding a recipe for the antidote would restore peace to the area."

Meng Qilian's gaze slowly swept across his face, and a barely perceptible solemnity flashed in his eyes.

He took a deep breath and said, "Okay, I'll get it."

After saying this, he went out again.

Ning Xiusu fiddled with the alchemy furnace for a while, and amidst the wisps of green smoke, he at least refined the Holy Lotus Heart into a golden pill.