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Chapter 19: Baring Fangs
"Forget it, what does it have to do with me."
Lan Chang'an didn't want to meddle in other people's affairs. After all, the herbs that were being coveted weren't his anyway.
That old man's sickly appearance was not a sign of longevity. At most he could drag on for twenty or thirty more years before Lan Chang'an could dance on his grave.
Lan Chang'an avoided his sharp edges and had little interaction with him.
However, there are some things that couldn't be avoided just by trying to stay out of it.
...
Several days later at dawn.
"Who did this!"
Lan Chang'an was in meditation when he was awoken by the sudden shout.
"Everyone gather!"
Elder Ge Yi's furious voice echoed through the residential area of the herb garden. Ge Yi's authority in the medicine garden was undisputed by anyone.
Around twenty people trickled in sparsely, including guards, herb growers, and mundane laborers. Ge Yi stood in front of a medicinal field, pointing at a messy patch of trampled herbs under his feet. In his hand was a mushroom-shaped remnant of a medicinal herb. From its shape, it seemed to have been gnawed on by some animal.
"This morning I came to collect some supplementary medicinal ingredients, and saw this situation." Ge Yi's gaze from under his swollen eye sockets carried a cold, oppressive feeling. He scanned the crowd, his eyes finally resting on Lan Chang'an's face.
"Lan Chang'an, what were you doing last night? Explain this situation."
"Last night I was meditating and resting. I'm not aware of what happened here, it still needs investigating." Lan Chang'an told the truth.
The medicinal field was quite large, he couldn't possibly guard it day and night. But since he wasn't on guard duty last night, and losses occurred in the field, he bore undeniable responsibility as the resident guard.
"Hmph! Dereliction of duty!"
Ge Yi exuded the spiritual pressure of the seventh layer of Qi-Refining. The Mu family cultivators present didn't dare let out a breath.
"Fine! You'd better investigate and get to the bottom of this! I'm refining pills and need those ingredients. If there are any lapses, I'll take you to Moonheart Island to see the Mu family's ancestor!" Ge Yi was like an exploding powder keg, his voice near a roar.
"See the ancestor?"
The Mu family cultivators immediately looked dumbfounded.
"Could the pill that elder is refining..."
"Exactly!" Ge Yi said proudly. "Among the spirit pills I'm refining, two are needed by the venerable ancestor."
Lan Chang'an ignored his threat and squatted down to inspect the trampled medicinal field.
His brow gradually furrowed. From the appearance of the damaged herbs, it seemed they had been destroyed and eaten by some demonic beast or spirit animal.
Spirit beasts were prohibited in the medicine garden. If it was a demonic beast, how did it infiltrate the garden's spell formations without alerting anyone?
"Elder Ge, my initial assessment is that it was a rat-like demonic beast, or a spirit animal being controlled, that sneaked into the herb garden." Lan Chang'an stated his speculation.
"Lan Chang'an, don't try to excuse yourself by blaming it on some spirit beast infiltration. This incident was due to your dereliction of duty, you can't avoid responsibility."
Ge Yi coldly snorted, unsatisfied with Lan Chang'an's response.
Lan Chang'an remained silent. As the resident guard, it was indeed hard to shirk responsibility.
Should he blame his subordinate Mu family cultivators under him? That would only further isolate him. As an outsider family member, his authority was insufficient to begin with.
"Oh no! Elder Ge, Warden Lan, a four-hundred-year-old blood spirit mushroom is missing!"
A cry of alarm came from one of the herb growers inspecting the field.
"A four-hundred-year blood spirit mushroom!"
An uproar erupted on the scene. This was an extreme loss. A four-hundred-year blood spirit mushroom was an extremely rare spirit herb, the entire Mu family didn't have many.
Lan Chang'an's expression changed slightly. An incident involving such a high-level ingredient had become quite serious.
He looked at Ge Yi with puzzlement. If this was a frame-up, the method was far too simple and crude. Of course, simple methods didn't mean they were useless.
"It seems this incident can't simply be explained as a spirit beast infiltration or 'failure to guard properly'." Ge Yi's icy gaze swept across everyone present.
"There must be someone in the medicine garden stealing from the inside!" A stone stirred up a thousand waves as the Mu family members were shaken.
Several family member's eyes unconsciously glanced towards Lan Chang'an. After all, Lan Chang'an was an outsider. Before he came, the medicine garden had always been peaceful.
"From now on, no one may leave the medicine garden. Let the family elders dispatch someone to investigate." Ge Yi issued his order.
The Mu family cultivators had no objections. Even without Ge Yi's instructions, several Mu family cultivators were already watching Lan Chang'an to prevent his escape.
Lan Chang'an didn't try to run. Whoever fled at this point would be under suspicion and become a target.
Finally, everyone elected the elderly fifth-layer Qi-Refining spiritual planting master to return to the clan and report the incident.
This elder herb planter was a Mu family senior near the end of his life but had diligently worked his entire life, trusted by all.
To clear any doubts, before leaving the elder publicly allowed everyone to search him.
"This whole incident is very strange..." Lan Chang'an fell into contemplation.
Could it be that just because he was an outsider with no backing, Ge Yi decided to frame him? To pin the coveted stolen ingredients on him?
Lan Chang'an had checked and there was no stolen property on him or in his hut. In order to frame someone, there had to be evidence, right?
If the Mu cultivators came to investigate and found no stolen goods or clues on Lan Chang'an... then there would be doubts about this whole situation!
The Mu family elders weren't fools, they would inevitably start to suspect Ge Yi.
Of course, it was also possible that a third party was trying to sow discord within the Mu family by muddying the waters.
...
Around noon.
The elder herb grower returned.
He was accompanied by investigators dispatched by the Mu family elders.
It was a man and a woman.
The graceful, gentle female figure was none other than the Mu family young lady - Mu Xiuyun.
The other, a scrawny man in a large cloak with a black hound following at his feet, only had the third layer of Qi-Refining, likely someone who specialised in investigation and reasoning within the family.
"Elder Ge, father is away on business, so I've brought someone to investigate today. We'll definitely arrive at a just conclusion." Mu Xiuyun gave a graceful curtsy, her voice gentle and melodious.
"No problem! Under special circumstances, that's understandable." Ge Yi stroked his beard with a smile, his tone amiable.
In truth, the Mu family's top fighting forces were currently occupied at the mines. Many internal affairs were being handled by Mu Xiuyun.
Mu Xiuyun's starry eyes turned towards Lan Chang'an with a hint of worry, about to say something.
"Woof! Woof..."
The scrawny man's black hound spirit pet grew restless, constantly trying to run outside the medicine garden.
"Hmm? Something's not right!"
Lan Chang'an's nostrils flared, but he only smelled normal medicinal herb aromas.
"My head... feels dizzy..."
At this point, several lower-cultivating Mu family cultivators began to sway unsteadily, with brownish spots appearing on their faces.
"Young Lady, be careful! There's poison—"
The scrawny man's body trembled.
His black hound spirit pet, after running a short distance, suddenly coughed up blood and collapsed.
"Who released the poison!" Mu Xiuyun's slender body swayed as she cried out in a clear voice, scanning everyone present.
However, she saw the mu cultivators collapsing and swaying to the ground.
Only elder Ge Yi remained unaffected, revealing a sinister smile.
"The young lady has a treasure that protects against poison?" Ge Yi gloated, glancing at the small sachet on Mu Xiuyun's waist that had now turned black and was emitting wispy black smoke.
Thump! Thump!
Aside from Mu Xiuyun, all the Mu family cultivators present were poisoned and collapsed to the ground. Those with low cultivation vomited blood and died on the spot. Those with better constitutions and higher cultivation were just knocked unconscious or paralyzed.
"What kind of poison did this old man release? There's not even a trace of a scent." Lan Chang'an and the black hound both detected the abnormality at the same time. He was just about to use a secret technique to expel the poison and consume an antidote pill, but he found that as soon as the strange toxin entered his body, it was rapidly dissolved and devoured by the mana of his Ancient Evergreen Technique.
Could the Ancient Trees Evergreen Technique have detoxifying effects? 𝐟r𝗲𝚎𝚠e𝐛no𝘃𝗲𝐥.c𝗼m
No, it was more like toxin dissolution.
This was an unexpected boon.
To avoid becoming Ge Yi's primary target, Lan Chang'an pretended to be poisoned and collapsed.
"Traitor! So it was you—" Mu Xiuyun's expression turned icy cold, her silver teeth clenched tightly.
Swish!
She forcefully channeled her magic power, a silver luminous haze shooting out from her sleeve like lightning towards Ge Yi.
Within the silver haze, the outline of a silver ruler could vaguely be seen.
This was a middle-grade magic weapon.
"Hehe, Young Lady Mu, your sachet couldn't fully block the 'Marrow Corroding Powder'. With just the sixth layer of Qi-Refining, even at peak state you'd be no match for me." Ge Yi said nonchalantly as he waved his sleeve.
A barrier of green inscribed patterns formed, shielding him. This was a mana force shield that only late-stage Qi-Refining cultivators could cast.
"Pong!"
The silver luminous haze exploded, the radiance of the ruler artifact dimming, its force spent.
It was inconceivable that Mu Xiuyun's artifact strike couldn't even break through Ge Yi's force field.
"Elder Ge, what are you trying to do? Why betray the Mu family?" Mu Xiuyun grunted, a faint brownish tinge appearing on her fair complexion. She inwardly cursed, as the toxin's invasion hampered her ability to fully exert her magical power.
"Heh! I originally just wanted to kill everyone in the medicine garden and make off with a batch of precious herbs. But with Mu Maode recently going to the Maple Leaf Huang family to discuss a marriage alliance, making you, his daughter, an important bargaining chip..." Ge Yi unhurriedly explained, waiting for the poison to further take effect on Mu Xiuyun.
"Tsk tsk, such an unmatched beauty, I really can't bear to ruin the flower in full bloom. Missy, if you surrender obediently, and allow me to take you captive, I'll spare your life."
Gazing at the elegant and exquisite Mu Xiuyun, Ge Yi curved his lip in a mocking smile.
Shua! Whoo!
His withered palms opened, black lines materializing that rapidly inflated into a dense black net spanning several yards, expanding as it stirred up a gray whirlwind that rushed towards Mu Xiuyun.