Chapter 16: Shangguan Jun's Killing Intent

Listening to Liu Yi's words, the Ghost Doctor glared at her, his tone becoming much more severe: "I have told you, one of the greatest taboos for a physician is to become lax with a patient who requires long-term treatment by failing to conduct daily consultations and pulse readings. Tell me yourself, have you committed that great taboo again?"

In matters of medical skill, Yao Ze was extremely strict, and at this moment, he was also being harsh with Jun Liu Yi.

The person being criticized lowered her head, her face filled with self-reproach: "Master's reprimand is correct. This poison, Liu Yi, indeed only underwent a single diagnosis every morning, and no abnormality was discovered."

A single diagnosis every day?

Yao Ze frowned, suddenly stepping forward to carefully check Shangguan Keng's pulse, his expression growing increasingly grim.

Shangguan Jun's mind tightened; he exchanged a glance with Jun Liu Yi, and suspicion flickered in both of their eyes.

Withdrawing his hand, Yao Ze spoke solemnly: "There is a traitor in your Spirit Control Sect."

His tone was certain, and he became much more gentle toward Jun Liu Yi as he said, "Originally, this poison was administered after the toxin was expelled via the Ice Pillow. It has been over a year. If Liu Yi had insisted on at least one consultation every day, then there would be only one possibility: the person who administered this poison is familiar with pharmacology, and even more so, familiar with the time Liu Yi comes for her daily consultations."

Familiar with pharmacology, a traitor! The sense of unease in Jun Liu Yi's heart continued to spread.

There was a traitor in the Spirit Control Sect, and the same was true for the Divine Medicine Workshop and the Strange Gu Alliance. Combined with Ye Geyue's words and the information obtained, could it be that the people from the Divine Medicine Workshop were providing counsel to the person poisoning the Spirit Control Sect?

The clearer the clues became, the more her heart trembled with dread.

"Physicians gradually form a routine for checking and consulting patients, but over time, they become lax with those they look after long-term. Liu Yi herself is also injured, which has further reduced her necessary three daily examinations." Yao Ze said with a heavy expression, "The person who administered this poison put a great deal of thought into it. After Liu Yi's morning consultation, they found an opportunity to poison him. This poison, which blends chronic and acute effects, is timed perfectly to manifest at the exact moment of the daily poisoning. No wonder no one noticed."

"For two types of poison to merge and be potent enough to turn this Cold Jade Pillow into a death warrant, the medicinal efficacy must be incredibly violent and domineering." Jun Liu Yi's brows furrowed tightly. After a long, hesitant period of thought, she finally asked, "Does Master mean that this poison is seeping in bit by bit every day?"

According to Master's meaning, if the toxin has a specific time-based effect, it must be administered at a fixed time every day to ensure it remains undiscovered during her next day's consultation. Coupled with its aggressive efficacy, the fact that it could lie dormant without any abnormality during the next day's check-up proved how troublesome this poison was. And if viewed this way, the only people who had fixed daily contact with the Sect Leader were those two!

Jun Liu Yi was somewhat uncertain in her heart.

Within the Spirit Control Sect, were both of them traitors?

"Isn't it obvious!" Yao Ze's anger flared up again as he glared at Liu Yi. "I remember these pharmacological principles are things you learned right after entering the sect. You..."

Yao Ze, who was about to continue his scolding, suddenly realized something. Because he was conflicted by the need to expend great effort to expel the poison, and was also enraged that Liu Yi's carelessness had provided an opening, he had been unable to control his fury. But upon calming down slightly, he realized something was wrong.

Looking at the solemn and serious expressions of Jun Liu Yi and Shangguan Jun, he felt certain. Liu Yi's uncertainty wasn't because she had forgotten the pharmacology of the toxin, but because she dared not believe that the person coming to administer the poison every day was who she suspected!

At that moment, news arrived that a disciple from the Divine Medicine Workshop was requesting an audience with the Ghost Doctor. The Ghost Doctor rose and left, leaving space for the two of them to speak.

Jun Liu Yi walked to the bedside and once again checked Shangguan Keng's pulse.

Watching his father's haggard state upon the couch, the killing intent in Shangguan Jun's eyes was fully revealed.

"Does the Young Master truly believe this was the work of the Fifth Elder and the Sixth Elder?" Jun Liu Yi asked as she placed Shangguan Keng's hand back under the quilt.

She understood Shangguan Jun's current state of mind, yet she felt a vague sense that something was wrong.

"Aside from them, no one visits Father at a fixed time every day," Shangguan Jun said with a face as pale as iron.

The ruthlessness in his eyes startled Jun Liu Yi. She heard him say through gritted teeth, "Moreover, Old Yao also said this is a chronic poison administered day after day. Aside from the various Elders and the Fourth Hall Master who know your daily habits, who else could know? If I could, I naturally would not wish to suspect them."

"But..." Jun Liu Yi hesitated, "If we go by Ye Geyue's information, could there be someone else lurking?"

"Such as?"

Shangguan Jun and his father had relied on each other since childhood. Regarding Shangguan Keng's act of risking his life to save him, he had once been extremely resistant. She still vividly remembered the hostility Shangguan Jun had shown her when he was just rescued—even the ruthlessness with which he had nearly killed her. It was precisely because she understood him that she could understand his current behavior of failing to restrain his fury behind closed doors.

But...

The fact that things were this way made it even more suspicious.

Jun Liu Yi let out a long sigh and said, "If Master had not discovered it today, judging by the incubation period of this toxin, I would have discovered the abnormality as well. If the Young Master had sent someone, would they engage in such a risky behavior and use a pawn? Furthermore, if you remove the Sect Leader, how do you remove the Young Master? Even if the Young Master's disposal of the Fifth and Sixth Elders causes resistance among some disciples of the Spirit Control Sect, how much benefit could be gained from that?"

When a person is in a fit of rage, they naturally lose their senses; no one is an exception. Especially since so few people and things could affect Shangguan Jun, in this situation, he would naturally have more extreme reactions.

Therefore, she had to give him a reality check.

Hearing her reminder and seeing the determination in her eyes, Shangguan Jun frowned, but he gradually suppressed his anger and tried his best to calmly analyze the insights Jun Liu Yi had presented.

"Even if you continued with the fixed daily pulse readings, would you truly discover and save him before Father becomes beyond saving? Or rather, by then, when the life has vanished like a blown-out lamp, what could be investigated?"

Shangguan Jun's question made Jun Liu Yi realize that his intense rage was not due to being blinded by anger, but because he believed that if the discovery came too late, the Sect Leader's life would be gone. And at that point, there would be no living witness to investigate.

"It would, but it also wouldn't." Jun Liu Yi pursed her lips and lowered her eyes.

"This poison utilizes the Cold Jade Pillow to cause a conflict in toxicity. The medicinal agents I administer daily are meant to resolve the original poison within the Sect Leader's body; only in coordination with the effects of the Cold Jade Pillow can this cold poison be completely neutralized. Once the medicinal power takes effect and the cold poison gradually dissipates, the heat poison administered by the villain will gradually become impossible to hide. In other words, it *can* be discovered, but even if it is discovered, one must leave the Cold Jade Pillow, and if that happens, all previous efforts will be in vain."

Jun Liu Yi let out a long sigh. "In that case, the heat poison and the cold poison will repel each other. If one of the two poisons cannot be resolved within ten days, the Sect Leader will surely die."