The mistress has no feelings, why do you provoke her?

The people of Northern Qi have always been ruthless in their use of poison. Thinking of this, Xiao Ji couldn't help but grit his teeth in frustration, blaming himself for being too careless.

Although he usually didn't care much about Mei's life or death, Mei contributed a lot to this mission.

If he were to let him die here due to the effects of the poison, Xiao Ji would ultimately feel guilty.

"The poison in your body needs to be forced out as soon as possible," Xiao Ji said to Mei with a serious expression.

Upon hearing this, Mei's lips curled up slightly, revealing a mocking sneer: "Whether I live or die is none of your business. I don't need your help."

Despite the excruciating pain, he still forced himself to raise his hand and press several acupoints on his wound in an attempt to alleviate the spread of the poison.

Although he remained defiant, his voice was noticeably weaker, and his breathing became rapid and disordered.

Xiao Ji could tell at a glance that Mei was already at her limit, and if she continued to hold on like this, her life would be in danger.

He frowned deeply and said in a deep voice that left no room for doubt: "Shut up if you don't want to die."

After saying that, he ignored Mei's attitude, forcibly put Mei's arm on his shoulder, and helped him walk quickly towards a cave not far away.

Yan Yan, being sensible, followed behind the two of them.

Throughout the journey, he kept his eyes alertly scanning his surroundings.

His small stature and every move he made resembled a miniature version of Xiao Ji, exuding a composure and alertness beyond his years.

Soon, Xiao Ji arrived at a cave with the heavily injured Mei.

The cave was filled with a damp atmosphere, and all around was quiet, with only a few rays of light shining in from the cave entrance, barely illuminating a small area.

He carefully placed the charm on a pile of straw.

Then, Xiao Ji turned to Yan Yan and quickly instructed, "Go and start a fire."

Yan Yan nodded sensibly and, without the slightest hesitation, immediately began to search carefully around the cave.

A short while later, he hurriedly walked into the cave carrying a bundle of firewood.

Immediately afterwards, he skillfully took out a tinderbox, gently blew on it and the flames leaped up, dancing and flickering on the dry wood.

Before long, a raging fire broke out, its orange-red flames illuminating the entire cave and gradually dispelling the chill from the group.

In the firelight, Mei's face appeared even paler than paper, devoid of any color, while his lips turned a strange bluish-black.

Yan Yan looked at Mei with concern, her clear eyes glistening with tears.

He tilted his head slightly and asked Xiao Ji in a soft voice, his voice trembling almost imperceptibly: "Father, will he die?"

Xiao Ji's expression was solemn. He glanced at Mei with a gloomy expression, then slowly shook his head and said firmly, "No."

Actually, he already had a good idea of ​​what was going on when he checked Mei's injuries earlier.

While the poison used by the Northern Qi people was indeed potent and ruthless, fortunately, Mei sensed something amiss the moment she was struck by the arrow, and decisively sealed her acupoints, thus slowing the rapid spread of the poison.

As long as the poison can be expelled from the body as soon as possible, Mei will be out of danger.

Moreover, given Xiao Ji's understanding of Mei, someone as cautious and knowledgeable in pharmacology as him would surely carry some life-saving elixirs.

Thinking of this, Xiao Ji reached out his large hand and began to grope Mei's chest.

Sure enough, they soon found some bottles and jars.

He carefully searched through it for a while and found the antidote.

He took one pill from it, gently pried open Mei's mouth, and stuffed the antidote into it.

Before long, Mei's originally rapid and disordered breathing gradually calmed down.

Seeing this, Xiao Ji secretly breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that he had found the right medicine.

Without hesitation, he reached out and tore open the clothes covering Mei's injured area, exposing the wound.

Then he pulled a dagger from his boot and heated it over a fire repeatedly.

The flames licked the dagger, making a sizzling sound, and the surface of the dagger gradually turned red.

Yan Yan instantly realized what her father was about to do, and felt a pang of pity. She subconsciously looked away, not daring to watch what was about to happen.

However, Xiao Ji said seriously, "Yan Yan, I want you to watch over this."

Yan Yan's big eyes were full of confusion. Xiao Ji patiently explained to him, "In the future, you will also encounter this situation yourself. Although your father can protect you, if you do not have the ability to protect yourself, you will not be able to face such emergencies in the future."

Mei gave a weak, scoffing laugh, her voice faint yet stubborn: "If anyone should be teaching this kid, it should be me."

Even at this critical moment of life and death, he still couldn't resist arguing with Xiao Ji.

Xiao Ji chuckled helplessly. After the dagger in his hand cooled down a bit, he looked at Mei and said, "Bear with it."

"Enough with the nonsense!" Meiyan said with a look of disdain.

He turned to look at Yan Yan, forcing himself to speak, "Boy, watch your father's methods carefully, and when you strike, you must be quick, accurate, and ruthless..."

Before he could finish speaking, with the last word still echoing in the air, Xiao Ji's dagger had already plunged into Mei's flesh without hesitation.

"Hiss..." Mei groaned, the sound squeezed out from deep in her throat, as if she had used all her strength to suppress it.

But when he caught sight of Yan Yan's worried eyes, he swallowed back the cry of pain that was about to follow.

Fortunately, Xiao Ji was skilled, and the whole process did not last too long.

Even so, Yan Yan, who witnessed this scene, felt heartbroken and her eyes reddened. Crystal tears welled up in her eyes and eventually burst out.

Yan Yan wiped away her tears haphazardly with her sleeve and asked in a muffled voice, "Does it hurt a lot?"

At this moment, Mei's face was as white as the first snow of winter, completely bloodless, and a layer of cold sweat broke out on his forehead, with large beads of sweat sliding down his cheeks. But seeing the tears on Yan Yan's face, he felt as if the dagger was not being stabbed into his body, but rather piercing straight into his heart.

Mei reached out and gently touched Yan Yan's head, saying weakly, "It doesn't hurt, Master, it doesn't hurt at all."

At that moment, he inexplicably felt that taking that arrow was worth it, after all, his apprentice had finally learned to care about him.

Yan Yan sniffed, as if she had made a major decision. She looked at Mei somewhat guiltily and whispered, "I won't call you 'old thing' anymore."

"So, you've finally agreed to acknowledge me as your master?" Mei's originally dim eyes brightened instantly.

The little guy tilted his head to one side with a haughty air, muttering, "I told you, I'll only call you Master for these few days, so don't push your luck..."

Even so, she still glanced at Mei cautiously.

Seeing the worry in his eyes, Mei Xin smiled with satisfaction.

In any case, he was content that his little apprentice now cared about him.