Su Muyu swung his longsword, only to have it forcefully repelled by a Medicine Puppet's palm strike. The impact sent a violent tremor through his grip, nearly knocking the sword from his hand.
The Great Strength Diamond Palm! Su Muyu inwardly gasped. Upon closer inspection, he realized the four gray-robed men were all bald, their heads marked with nine ordination scars—they were Buddhist monks. Before he could ponder further, the other three Medicine Puppets attacked, employing techniques like the Dragon Claw Hand, Flower-Picking Finger, and Thousand-Hand Tathagata Palm. Their internal energy was pure and profound, their movements refined—these were orthodox Buddhist martial arts. Su Muyu fought defensively as he retreated, shouting sharply, "You are Buddhist masters! Why aid evil?"
The four ignored him completely, their assaults growing ever more relentless.
Bai Hehuai shook his head, eyes closed. "It's no use. Once turned into Golden Body Medicine Men, they lose all consciousness and obey only Ye Ya's commands."
"And if Ye Ya dies?" Su Muyu asked.
"Then they will stop," Bai Hehuai replied.
"Hmm." Su Muyu continued parrying the four monks with his sword, his gaze flicking toward Ye Ya in the corner. But the monks' attacks were like a raging storm, far surpassing the earlier Medicine Puppets. With Bai Hehuai in tow, he found himself momentarily unable to break free.
Ye Ya sneered. "These four monks, now Medicine Puppets, know no fatigue. They could punch here all night—until their bones shatter, until their flesh splits—and still not stop. But tell me, young master, can you swing your sword all night?"
Su Muyu ignored him, whispering instead to Bai Hehuai, "There is a Buddhist technique that can purify the mind. Even if one has fallen into hell, it can bring their spirit back to the mortal world for an instant. I want to try it."
Bai Hehuai frowned. "You know Buddhist techniques?"
"This one isn't difficult—it just demands greater internal energy," Su Muyu said solemnly. "Cover your ears."
"First closing my eyes, now covering my ears..." Bai Hehuai was both exasperated and amused but complied, pressing his hands over his ears.
Su Muyu immediately held his breath, channeling all his internal energy to his chest. Then, with a roar, he bellowed, " HAA! "
The pure, unadulterated force of the Buddhist Lion's Roar erupted, shattering the already broken shards of water vases on the ground. A fierce gale swept through, forcing Ye Ya to stagger back. The four monk Medicine Puppets abruptly halted their attacks, a glimmer of clarity returning to their eyes.
Ye Ya gasped in shock. "The Buddhist Lion's Roar Technique!"
Seeing the monks pause, Su Muyu's heart leaped—the technique had worked! He quickly called out, "Masters—"
Ding ling ling...
A chime of bells rang out. Su Muyu looked up to see Ye Ya retreating into the corner, lightly shaking a small bronze bell in his hand.As the sound of bells rang out, the eyes of the two Medicine Puppet monks returned to their dull, lifeless state. The remaining two Medicine Puppets exchanged a glance before suddenly letting out a fierce shout and striking each other with their fists. In almost the same instant, they shattered each other's chests into a bloody mess. Such a brutal sight even made Su Muyu's heart skip a beat, but before he could think further, the last two Medicine Puppets charged at him again. Su Muyu steeled himself, intending to sever their limbs and end this desperate struggle once and for all. However, before the two Medicine Puppets could close the distance, their bodies suddenly exploded, sending flesh and blood flying in all directions. Without his oil-paper umbrella this time, Su Muyu could only rely on sword wind to block the onslaught. By the time he retreated to a corner with Bai Hehuai, the ground before them was already covered in foul blood.
When Su Muyu looked up again, Ye Ya's figure had already vanished.
Under the cover of night in Nan'an City, Ye Ya swiftly made his way toward the city gates, muttering to himself, "Even monks with Buddhist external martial arts can hardly withstand the potency of the Golden Body Medicine Man... Could it truly be as the book says—that only those born with innate martial veins are the sole candidates to become Golden Body Medicine Men?"
"Su Muyu." Bai Hehuai suddenly called out softly in the courtyard.
"Hmm?" Su Muyu lowered his head slightly, only to spot a drop of Black Blood on Bai Hehuai's neck. His expression turned to shock. "How did this happen?!"
Bai Hehuai, her entire body weak and limp, collapsed into Su Muyu's arms. "There's a jade vial at my waist. Take the medicine inside for me."
Su Muyu hurriedly retrieved the vial from her waist and placed a white pill into Bai Hehuai's mouth. She swallowed it with difficulty. "Take me back to the Medicine Manor. There's a carrier pigeon I raised in the backyard. Release it—it will send a message to Medicine King Valley. Xin Baicao will come here. Have him come to save me."
"Understood!" Su Muyu picked up Bai Hehuai and rushed toward Crane Rain Medicine Manor.
At Crane Rain Medicine Manor, Su Changhe and Su Zhe had just finished cleaning up the corpses strewn across the ground when Su Muyu burst in, carrying Bai Hehuai on his back. Su Zhe rushed forward in alarm. "What happened?! What's wrong with Hehuai?"
Su Muyu dashed into the room and laid Bai Hehuai on the bed, his voice grave. "The Miracle Healer has been poisoned. I failed to protect her."
Su Zhe froze. "Poisoned? How is that possible? She's the daughter of the Poisonous Woman from the Wen family, the grand-disciple of Medicine King Xin Baicao, and has a body immune to all poisons. What poison could possibly affect her?"
Su Muyu sighed softly and stepped out of the room. "The Poison of the Medicine Man."
"What? The Poison of the Medicine Man?" Su Zhe sucked in a sharp breath. "What do we do now?"
Su Muyu walked to the backyard and spotted the carrier pigeon Bai Hehuai had kept there. A message tube was tied to the pigeon's leg, already containing a letter inside—it seemed Bai Hehuai had prepared for this in advance. After releasing the pigeon, he rushed to the front yard and grabbed the oil-paper umbrella from the corner.
Bai Hehuai lay on the bed, her consciousness fading in and out as she weakly grasped Su Zhe's sleeve. "Father... tell him not to go out. Have him wait here until Xin Baicao arrives."
Su Zhe glanced at Su Muyu outside the room. Su Muyu turned his head and looked back.Su Zhe sighed softly, "Alright." Although he agreed, he didn't say anything more to Su Muyu, because he knew that despite Su Muyu's outwardly gentle and courteous demeanor, once he made a decision, no one could change his mind.
Su Changhe raised an eyebrow. "Do you want me to go with you? It seems that Ye Ya won't be easy to deal with. I'll be his Undertaker. Don't worry, I'll get the antidote before I kill him."
Su Muyu shook his head. "No need." He glanced once more into the room, then leaped into the air and gave chase.
Recalling the look in Su Muyu's eyes just now, Su Changhe stroked his small beard and smiled. "Haven't seen that expression on him in a long time. When he looks like that, he's about to kill someone. When Umbrella Ghost of Dark River truly wants someone dead, he's even more terrifying than this Undertaker."
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