Chapter 5: Secret Room, Soul-Returning Grass

Inside the secret door was a short passage. Every two meters on both sides, a massive night pearl was embedded in the upper walls, illuminating the corridor as bright as day.

It was unclear whether the Big Ice Cube had failed to notice Qiyueban following him or simply didn't care; he didn't look back, continuing to walk forward with footsteps that, no matter how one looked at them, seemed somewhat hurried.

The passage descended with a somewhat steep slope, built with steps.

After traveling about twenty meters, they arrived at a flat stone chamber of approximately thirty square meters.

The stone chamber was similarly embedded with massive night pearls in every corner. Qiyueban glanced up, suppressing the urge to pry one out and take it with her, before turning her gaze toward the rows of medicinal herbs on the wooden shelves within the room.

So, this was a secret medicinal storage room.

The perimeter of the storage room was lined with rows of medicinal herbs, each row having five layers, with one row on each of the four walls.

In the center of the stone chamber sat a small table. Qiyueban cast a glance at it; the small table appeared to be made of marble. The tabletop was not large, only about one meter in diameter.

Around the stone table were two small stone stools, also made of stone, presumably for people to use for resting.

Ignoring Qiyueban, the Big Ice Cube walked straight toward the corner of the wall on the left side of the entrance. He took an exquisite small box from the second shelf and paused slightly for a moment as he turned around.

He raised a hand to brush away a stray lock of hair, then turned back to sit on the stone stool in the middle of the room, placing the exquisite small box onto the marble tabletop.

Although the Big Ice Cube had been facing away from Qiyueban just now, and although his gaze was still icy and his entire body seemed to radiate a chill, someone as keen as Qiyueban could still scent a trace of blood in the air.

It seemed the Big Ice Cube had just coughed up blood.

He thought he had concealed it skillfully, but who was Qiyueban? She was one of the most outstanding female assassins of her past life; her sensitivity to the scent of blood was no less than a cat smelling fish or a dog seeing a bone.

Watching silently, she saw the Big Ice Cube open that exquisite small box. The moment the lid was opened, Qiyueban was shocked.

All her previous pretenses of being timid, weak, fearful, and cautious vanished completely.

In their place were shock and envy; Qiyueban even raised her hand to wipe the corner of her mouth, brushing away the saliva that had almost escaped.

It turned out that inside that exquisite small box was a medicinal herb.

It was a very, very rare holy medicine for treating poison, capable of neutralizing a hundred toxins, named the Soul-Returning Grass.

True to its name, legend had it that if a person who had just drawn their last breath could hold a single drop of Soul-Returning Grass juice in their mouth, they could be brought back to life and see the sunlight once more.

With this Soul-Returning Grass, couldn't the mysterious toxin in her body be neutralized?

Unable to suppress the excitement in her heart, Qiyueban's eyes stared fixedly at the Soul-Returning Grass inside the exquisite small box on the marble table. She unconsciously took a step forward, standing opposite the Big Ice Cube.

As if sensing something was wrong with Qiyueban, the Big Ice Cube raised his head and swept a glance at her with eyes as cold as thousand-year-old ice.

If an ordinary person had met that gaze, they would likely have collapsed to the ground begging for mercy long ago.

But who was Qiyueban? She was a top-tier female assassin who never blinked when killing; what kind of storms had she not weathered? Would she be afraid of his gaze?

Qiyueban didn't give the Big Ice Cube the time of day. Her eyes remained glued to the Soul-Returning Grass in the exquisite small box. She took another step forward, already standing right against the marble tabletop.

Looking at Qiyueban's greedy expression, the Big Ice Cube frowned.

Since when had his deterrent power become so pathetic? How could he not even scare a little girl of only eight or nine years old?

Originally, when he saw that a mere seven or eight-year-old girl had broken into the Medicinal Storage Pavilion, he had abandoned the idea of killing her. Who would have thought this little girl, who wasn't even quite sensible yet, would follow him into the secret chamber?

If it weren't for the fact that his poison was currently acting up and he was desperate to find the Soul-Returning Grass to neutralize it, he wouldn't have allowed this ignorant little brat to follow him in.

The Big Ice Cube stared at the greedy-faced Qiyueban with icy eyes, seemingly contemplating whether it would be better to kill her now or... kill her later?

Just as the Big Ice Cube was about to lose his patience and move to restrain Qiyueban—

"Soul-Returning Grass? It really is Soul-Returning Grass! Ah! I'm saved!"

Qiyueban's cheerful voice rang out at the perfect moment. Her voice was beautiful and pleasant, like a clear spring refreshing the heart, making one forget all troubles.

Similarly, it caused the intense killing intent in the Big Ice Cube's eyes to fade significantly.

Quietly withdrawing his hand that was about to strike, the killing intent in the Big Ice Cube's eyes slowly turned into curiosity.

This Soul-Returning Grass was an extremely precious and rare divine medicine for detoxification; legend said only three existed in the world.

Although many people knew of its great reputation, almost no one had actually seen it.

Even if one happened to encounter it, it would likely be difficult to recognize.

This was because the Soul-Returning Grass looked almost no different from ordinary mugwort. Unless one was an experienced old physician with exquisite medical skills and an extremely precise grasp of medicinal herbs, it would be impossible to distinguish this divine herb from a pile of mugwort.

Hearing the shock that escaped Qiyueban's lips involuntarily, the Big Ice Cube showed not a hint of surprise on the surface.

He feigned indifference, casting a casual glance at the precious herb in the exquisite box.

The red leaf-root portion that identified it as Soul-Returning Grass was cleverly obscured by a yellow cloth strip used to secure the herb within the box.

Without that part being visible, even experienced old physicians wouldn't dare to identify it as Soul-Returning Grass without careful thought. So, how could this little girl, who looked only seven or eight, be so certain it was Soul-Returning Grass?

Furthermore, the appearance of Soul-Returning Grass was not as similar to mugwort as the legends suggested; instead, it looked identical to a weed called Mosquito Grass.

How did this little girl of only seven or eight know these things?

The Big Ice Cube scrutinized Qiyueban without showing his hand.

Meanwhile, Qiyueban was completely immersed in her own joy, not noticing at all the danger hidden within the scrutiny of the Big Ice Cube's sharp eyes.

Soul-Returning Grass! This is truly wonderful!

Heaven is actually quite considerate; it didn't let me die the moment I transmigrated, but instead gave me a glimmer of hope.

Perhaps Heaven pities my sorrow and my physical suffering, and cannot bear to see me perish like this.

Qiyueban narcissistically thanked the so-called Heaven in her heart, completely forgetting that the owner of the Soul-Returning Grass was still standing right in front of her.

She couldn't help but reach her hand toward the exquisite small box.

"Do you want to die~" A pleasant male voice, carrying icy shards and a long trailing note, drifted into Qiyueban's ears, making her shudder violently.