Starting with helping Zhao Kai ascend the throne in the snow

"Qingfeng, sit down and rest." Shen Qing hurriedly invited Xuan Yuan Qingfeng to sit down after seeing her travel-worn face.

"Shen Lang, didn't you say the barbarians were going to attack the city? Why haven't I seen any sign of the barbarian army?" Xuan Yuan Qingfeng asked with concern as soon as he sat down.

“Xuanyuan girl, you’re too late. The barbarian army has already been forced back by Shen boy’s scheme.” Li Chungang stroked his beard and said from the side.

"Shen Lang, I'm late and couldn't help you." Xuan Yuan Qingfeng looked at Shen Qing in surprise when she heard the old sword god's words. Then, a hint of pride appeared in her eyes. This was the man she had chosen, who could single-handedly repel tens of thousands of barbarian troops.

"Qingfeng, you've come at the perfect time. With you here, you're my solid support." Shen Qing was deeply moved that Xuan Yuan Qingfeng had come all this way. He wasn't a blockhead who couldn't understand romance.

"Tsk tsk, you two young people are being so mushy here. This old man can't stand it anymore." The old sword god clicked his tongue and got up to walk outside.

Upon hearing this, Xuan Yuan Qingfeng blushed and playfully punched Shen Qing's chest. But the next second, her expression changed drastically. A sharp sword aura shot out from Shen Qing's chest acupoint, instantly cutting her palm and drawing blood.

"Qingfeng, let me see what's wrong with your hand?" Shen Qing saw that Xuan Yuan Qingfeng's hand was injured and hurriedly turned to the old sword god to ask, "Senior, what happened?"

Xuan Yuan Qingfeng glanced at Shen Qing's chest with a puzzled expression, then turned his gaze to the old sword god.

"Oh dear, I forgot to tell you, the sword energies I sealed in your vital points on your chest must not be touched lightly, otherwise they will trigger a counterattack, thus reducing the time for suppressing the poison. Just now, Xuanyuan girl triggered the sword energy attack, and I estimate that the suppression time will be reduced by at least three days." The old sword god slapped his forehead upon seeing this, looking annoyed.

"Gu poison? Shen Lang? What exactly is going on?" Upon hearing the old sword god's words, Xuan Yuan Qingfeng disregarded his hand injury and hurriedly looked at Shen Qing with concern.

Seeing this, Shen Qing immediately recounted how Yin Tong had poisoned her, and at the same time, she smiled and comforted Xuan Yuan Qingfeng, saying, "You don't need to worry about me, I have a way to remove the poison from my body."

“Yin Tongzhen deserves to die, I will wipe out his entire family.” Xuan Yuan Qingfeng said with a frosty expression, then as if she had thought of something, she turned to the outside and said, “Uncle Hong, bring him up to me.”

Then a series of hurried footsteps sounded, and Hong Biao, a guest elder of the Xuanyuan family, and two retainers escorted in a disheveled barbarian woman.

"Huh, Li Ying? It's you?" Shen Qing said in surprise after seeing the barbarian woman's face.

The woman brought up by the Xuanyuan family's retainers was none other than Li Ying, who had been released by Shen Qing yesterday. It was unclear how she had ended up in Xuanyuan Qingfeng's hands again.

"Shen Lang? You know this barbarian woman?" Xuan Yuan Qingfeng looked at Shen Qing with a hint of suspicion.

Shen Qing felt Xuan Yuan Qingfeng's gaze and couldn't help but shiver. He hurriedly explained, "She is the granddaughter of the leader of the Li Yue tribe. Yesterday, it was through her that I forced the barbarian army to retreat."

Shen Qing hurriedly recounted the whole story to Xuan Yuan Qingfeng.

“I see. On my way to Kuaiji City, I spotted her lurking suspiciously outside the city, so I captured her.” Xuan Yuan Qingfeng said, then turned to Shen Qing and asked, “Now that the barbarians have withdrawn, is she no longer of any use?”

Shen Qing nodded and casually replied, "We really don't need her anymore."

“Those who are not of our kind will surely have different hearts. Since they are useless, let’s kill them.” Xuan Yuan Qingfeng said, preparing to have his retainers take Li Ying away.

"Wait." Shen Qing was startled by this and immediately spoke up to stop him. He really didn't expect Xuan Yuan Qingfeng to handle things this way; it was completely beyond his expectations.

"What, you've taken a fancy to this barbarian woman?" Xuan Yuan Qingfeng looked at Shen Qing with an unfriendly tone.

"What the hell is going on?" Shen Qing muttered to himself, "How did I get so bewitched and get involved with that tigress?" But he said seriously, "The Baiyue barbarians are adjacent to Yuezhou, and they will definitely be a key target for us to guard against in the future. Only by keeping her around can we get some specific information about the Baiyue barbarians from her."

"Right, since she's a barbarian woman, she must know about the Sparrow Tongue Heart-Eating Gu." Thinking of this, Xuan Yuan Qingfeng looked at Li Ying and said, "Tell me, do you know about the Sparrow Tongue Heart-Eating Gu?"

"Hmph, now that I'm in your hands, kill me if you want, but don't expect to get any information out of me." Li Ying tossed her disheveled hair and glared at Xuan Yuan Qingfeng with resentment.

To ensure that Shen Qing had not broken his promise, she hid alone outside Kuaiji City to monitor the situation inside, but she never expected to encounter this unreasonable and domineering woman.

Li Ying is 17 years old this year. Her strength, comparable to the peak of the fourth rank, is definitely among the best of the younger generation. However, she did not expect to be powerless against the woman in front of her and was severely injured and captured.

"Miss Li, I've been afflicted by the Sparrow Tongue Heart-Eating Gu. If you know how to cure this Gu, please let me know, and I will plead with Qingfeng to let you leave." Seeing that the two were about to clash after just a few words, Shen Qing hurriedly stepped forward to stop them.

"You've been poisoned by this kind of curse?" Li Ying looked at Shen Qing in surprise.

"Yin Tong cast a spell on me," Shen Qing readily admitted.

"Uh." Li Ying's expression stiffened slightly after hearing that it was Yin Tong who had used the Gu. Yin Tong had been secretly trading with their Li Yue tribe, so the Gu worm in Yin Tong's possession was very likely given to him by his grandfather.

Li Ying paused for a moment, then said, "Lord Shen, I know about this kind of Gu worm. Our Li Yue tribe has it."

Hearing this, Shen Qing suppressed his excitement and asked, "Miss Li, do you have an antidote for this kind of Gu poison?"

Xuan Yuan Qingfeng also quietly pricked up her ears. If this barbarian woman really had the antidote, she wouldn't mind letting her go. Compared to Shen Qing's safety, what was a mere barbarian woman?

“I don’t have the antidote.” Everyone was visibly disappointed when Li Ying said this. “However, if I’m not mistaken, Yin Tong’s Gu worms were given to him by my grandfather, and he must have the antidote.”

Faced with Li Ying's sudden turn of events, Shen Qing almost couldn't keep up. However, upon learning that Li Ze possessed the antidote, he felt a great weight lifted from his shoulders. Now that Li Ying was in his hands again, he believed that Li Ze wouldn't refuse if he exchanged her for the antidote. Moreover, obtaining the antidote from Li Ze was far more convenient than searching for a solution in the pirate world.

Upon hearing Li Ying's words, Xuan Yuan Qingfeng raised his head, about to say something, but was stopped by Shen Qing.

Li Ying clearly had a problem with Xuan Yuan Qingfeng, and he didn't want Xuan Yuan Qingfeng to provoke Li Ying's rebellious mentality.

"Miss Li, I'd also like to trouble you to write a letter to your grandfather to ask for an antidote for the Gu poison. I promise that as soon as I get the antidote, I'll let you leave immediately." Shen Qing coaxed her like a big bad wolf trying to lure a little white rabbit.

Perhaps because Shen Qing had left a good impression on Li Ying, Li Ying hesitated for a moment before agreeing to help Shen Qing write the letter. After all, she also wanted to return to the Li Yue tribe as soon as possible and did not want to stay in Kuaiji City.