Chapter 1481: Youthful-Countenance Pill

They did not go anywhere in particular, merely farther away from Ice and Snow Pavilion. Worried that Chuan Ying might have been followed, they found a great gorge buried beneath wind and snow and entered a cave in the cliff wall.

Outside, the wind howled through the gorge, driving snow before it. Inside the cave, there was an illusory sense of warmth. With his cultivation restrained, Chuan Ying repeated the same question. “Who exactly are you people?”

Yun Ji studied him. Inwardly, she had to admit that this man truly was extraordinarily handsome. If she had still been an inexperienced young woman, she might not necessarily have been able to resist his charm either.

Speaking in a slightly hoarse voice, Niu Youdao replied, “Who we are isn’t important. What matters is that I know your secret.”

Chuan Ying said darkly, “I have no secret!”

Niu Youdao said, “You mean you want Granny Xue to learn that you’re one of Wu Chang’s people? You should know what will happen to you once Granny Xue finds out.”

Now that the matter had been laid bare, Chuan Ying could no longer cling to any hope. His expression changed, but he forced himself to say, “I don’t care who you are. At worst, I die. Don’t think you can threaten me with anything.”

Niu Youdao gave a soft “Oh?” and said, “Then let me remind you of something. You have a daughter now.”

“After Granny Xue kills you, what do you think she’ll do? Will she allow your daughter to grow up and seek revenge one day?”

“I know that old demoness better than you do. After she kills Xue Luo’er’s husband, she won’t keep Xue Luo’er, a woman who bears hatred toward her, at her side either.”

“You think your death will settle everything?”

“You, Xue Luo’er, and your daughter—none of you will survive.”

Chuan Ying’s expression changed violently. The muscles in his face twitched so hard that the face of the most handsome man beneath Heaven actually became somewhat distorted.

Niu Youdao added, “Since I came here, you no longer have the right to refuse me. So don’t refuse.”

“Otherwise, Xue Luo’er and your daughter won’t even live long enough for Granny Xue to deal with them.”

“Xue Luo’er and the child seem to have just left Ice and Snow Pavilion. They were heading for Star-Plucking City, weren’t they?”

“I forgot to tell you. They probably won’t have a chance to reach Star-Plucking City.”

“You’ve already seen the abilities of the people around me.”

The meaning in his words could not have been clearer.

Chuan Ying’s eyes widened instantly. “Beast!”

With a grief-stricken roar, he charged wildly at Niu Youdao, intent on fighting him to the death.

Niu Youdao stood there without a ripple of emotion.

Protective astral qi erupted around his body.

Bang!

Chuan Ying was blasted backward, staggered, and crashed to the ground.

Niu Youdao tilted his head slightly and said indifferently to Yun Ji, “Since he refuses to cooperate, send word over there. Dispose of both mother and daughter.”

Yun Ji was momentarily startled.

There had been no such arrangement beforehand.

Had people actually been sent to capture Xue Luo’er and her daughter?

More importantly, there was no way to contact anyone near Xue Luo’er directly from here.

But Yun Ji understood almost immediately. She nodded. “All right.”

She turned and began walking toward the cave entrance.

“Wait!”

Chuan Ying shouted in panic.

He struggled to his feet and yelled, “I agree! I agree to help you!”

Niu Youdao smiled.

What he had observed at the inn earlier had not been enough for him to be completely certain. He had only wanted to use Chuan Ying’s unguarded reaction now to confirm it once more.

The answer satisfied him.

He raised a hand.

Yun Ji stopped.

When she walked back, she more or less understood Niu Youdao’s intention as well.

As long as Chuan Ying genuinely cared whether that mother and daughter lived or died, there had been no need to capture them in the first place.

The fact that Granny Xue might kill them was already enough to threaten him.

Yun Ji could not resist giving Niu Youdao another look.

He was remarkably smooth at this sort of thing.

It did not seem like his first time doing it.

She muttered inwardly that there was indeed a reason he had insisted on coming personally.

Grief and fury covered Chuan Ying’s face. “What exactly do you want me to do?”

Niu Youdao said, “In truth, I’m helping you too.”

“Think about it. Once that old demoness is dead, you’ll never have to worry about her harming your family of three again.”

“Isn’t that so?”

Chuan Ying’s breathing quickened. “You want me to assassinate Granny Xue?”

“That is completely impossible. I would have difficulty even getting close to her. Even if I could, with her cultivation and strength, there is no chance I could succeed.”

“Poisoning her is even less possible. I cannot get anywhere near what she eats or drinks.”

Niu Youdao said, “You’re panicking and imagining things. I never told you to assassinate her.”

“If that old demoness were so easy to deal with, there would have been no need to wait for you.”

“For now, come with me.”

“Within a month, I’ll let you return.”

“When the time comes, you’ll naturally know what you need to do.”

“A month?”

Panic appeared in Chuan Ying’s eyes. “The medicine’s effect will expire in another half month.”

“If I don’t appear in time to collect the next pill, forget Granny Xue—even Wu Chang’s side will be impossible for me to explain to.”

“The medicine’s effect?” Niu Youdao was slightly startled. “Wu Chang is controlling you with poison?”

Chuan Ying froze. “You didn’t know?”

He had heard the other man say he knew the secret between Chuan Ying and Wu Chang, so he assumed the man knew everything.

Only now did he realize the stranger had known nothing about this.

Niu Youdao reassured him, “You don’t need to worry about poison. I can find someone to detoxify you.”

“Just come with me.”

He genuinely was not boasting.

After seeing the Ghost Doctor’s abilities, Niu Youdao knew the man truly was a master at detoxification. Perhaps there would not even be any need for the Ghost Doctor himself to act.

“No!”

To his surprise, Chuan Ying refused outright, waving his hands anxiously. “No need. No need.”

Niu Youdao and Yun Ji exchanged a look.

There was a chance to remove the poison, yet he did not want it removed?

There was such a thing?

Niu Youdao asked, “What poison are you suffering from?”

Chuan Ying clearly did not want to answer. He explained instead, “If I disappear for that long, Granny Xue is bound to become suspicious.”

“Then even if you want me to do something later, I won’t be able to.”

What he did not know was that this was precisely the result Niu Youdao wanted.

Niu Youdao wanted Granny Xue to take Chuan Ying away.

How could he possibly have overlooked something so obvious?

And Niu Youdao was the sort of man who became more suspicious the more someone refused to answer a particular question.

He immediately pressed, “Answer me. What poison is it?”

Chuan Ying forced out, “It isn’t really poison. There’s no toxicity involved. It doesn’t need an antidote.”

Niu Youdao’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Then we’ll do as I said.”

He tilted his head. “Take him away.”

Yun Ji immediately stepped forward to seize him.

“No!”

Chuan Ying retreated in terror until his back struck the cave wall and there was nowhere left to go.

At last he pleaded, “Wait a little longer. Let me receive Wu Chang’s medicine first, and then I promise I’ll do everything I can to help you. All right?”

With his spiritual power sealed, where could he possibly flee?

Even if he could use it freely, he would still be no match for Yun Ji.

Yun Ji had already seized him and begun pushing him toward the cave entrance.

Nearly in despair, Chuan Ying finally let out a grief-stricken cry.

“Youthful-Countenance Pill! It’s the Youthful-Countenance Pill!”

“Wait!”

Niu Youdao abruptly stopped them and gestured for Yun Ji to release him.

He walked up to Chuan Ying, seized his chin, and turned his face from side to side.

He asked in a deep voice, “This face of yours, this entire appearance—it was reshaped by the Youthful-Countenance Pill?”

Chuan Ying nodded with a miserable smile.

His face was filled with the grief of someone whose secret had been exposed.

He understood far too well the vast difference between possessing a handsome face and an ugly one.

Now that someone had suddenly torn away the illusion, his feelings were something an outsider could never fully understand.

Youthful-Countenance Pill?

Yun Ji looked puzzled.

What was a Youthful-Countenance Pill?

She had never heard of it.

Niu Youdao stared at Chuan Ying and slowly said, “In other words, you used a false appearance to deceive Xue Luo’er?”

Chuan Ying laughed and cried at the same time, tears streaming down his face. “I can’t let Luo’er see what I really look like.”

“Even if I help you accomplish what you want, if she sees my true appearance, I’m afraid she won’t be able to accept me anymore.”

“I wouldn’t have the face to stand before mother and daughter either.”

Yun Ji could not help speaking. “If Xue Luo’er only wants you for your looks, a woman like that isn’t worth having.”

But Chuan Ying did not care only about that.

Xue Luo’er was not the only woman he had deceived, and her beauty was hardly exceptional in the first place.

More importantly, he had a daughter now.

Someday he would have to face that daughter too.

He did not want his own daughter to despise him.

There were feelings outsiders simply could not understand.

Niu Youdao merely took it as Chuan Ying refusing to wake from a beautiful dream.

He reminded him, “You should understand that Wu Chang is only exploiting your appearance to make you handle affairs for him.”

“The moment you lose your value, he will stop providing the pills.”

“Or once you lose your usefulness where Xue Luo’er is concerned, he may force you to leave mother and daughter and go seduce some other woman.”

“You should understand what the final result will be.”

“You’re drinking poison to quench your thirst.”

Chuan Ying stepped forward and grabbed his hand. “Sir, wait a little longer.”

“Once my next Youthful-Countenance Pill arrives, I’ll help you. All right?”

Niu Youdao smoothly pushed against his chest and forced him away. “I can provide you with more than enough Youthful-Countenance Pills.”

“After the matter is done, you can take Xue Luo’er and your daughter away together.”

Chuan Ying stared in shock and delight. “You have enough Youthful-Countenance Pills?”

Niu Youdao said, “Go back first.”

“I’ll return later with the pills and make the exchange with you.”

He tilted his head.

Yun Ji immediately stepped forward and released the restraints on Chuan Ying.

With his spiritual power restored, Chuan Ying still found it difficult to believe. “You truly have enough Youthful-Countenance Pills?”

If that were true, then after the matter was finished he would no longer need to endure Wu Chang’s threats.

Given the present state of the cultivation world, it would not be easy for Wu Chang to find him again.

He could completely take Xue Luo’er and their daughter away, hide their identities, and live in seclusion.

Niu Youdao did not waste more words on him.

After having Chuan Ying leave a means of contact, he departed with Yun Ji.

Wind and snow accompanied them on the road.

Yun Ji asked curiously, “What exactly is a Youthful-Countenance Pill?”

Niu Youdao said, “It comes from a sinister secret art of the Demonic Sect, an alchemical method known only to successive Sect Leaders of the Demonic Sect.”

“Each pill requires the blood essence of ten vigorous men, together with certain spirit herbs, before it can be refined.”

“You could call the Youthful-Countenance Pill a kind of appearance-changing medicine.”

“After taking it, a person can use spiritual power to adjust his features as needed. He can make himself uglier or more handsome.”

“I don’t know how the method fell into Wu Chang’s hands.”

Yun Ji looked doubtful. “If it’s a secret known only to successive Demonic Sect Leaders, how do you know the refining method?”

“Was it Zhao Xiongge?”

Niu Youdao brushed it aside. “More or less.”

In truth, the method was not known only to the Demonic Sect’s Sect Leaders.

It was recorded in the Demon Canon as well.

For such a sinister art to come from Li Ge was hardly strange.

Niu Youdao had handed over the Demon Canon, but naturally he had copied its contents first.

Yun Ji sighed. “I always wondered how Chuan Ying could be so extraordinarily handsome. I never imagined such a miraculous pill existed beneath Heaven.”

“Miraculous it may be,” Niu Youdao said, “but every pill costs ten human lives.”

“And the Youthful-Countenance Pill cannot be used for long.”

“Every pill forcibly draws on the user’s own life-source vitality.”

“If Chuan Ying keeps using them like this, sooner or later he will hollow himself out and suddenly die.”

“I doubt Wu Chang ever told him that.”

Yun Ji hesitated. “Ten lives per pill. You intend to refine a large quantity for him?”

Niu Youdao said, “I don’t know alchemy, and I won’t help him refine a large quantity.”

“When it is time for a dream to end, it has to end.”

[End of Chapter 1481]