Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 233 Circulating Internal Energy to Expel Poison
Just as Zhou Zhao was about to speak, he saw Su Changying suddenly lean over and lie down. With a gentle hook of his foot, the brocade quilt on the bed slid up and covered the two of them.

Zhou Zhao's vision was blurry, and she couldn't quite make out the person's face, but the familiar warm breath on her face made her feel a little awkward for a moment.

Although she was engaged to Su Changying, she was still young when he disappeared, and they often played around together.

The Su Changying of the past was a carefree youth, the later Changying was a ruthless general, quite unlike the one he is now...

Zhou Zhao was momentarily at a loss for what to do with his hands and feet.

She knew why Su Changying was acting this way, because she had also heard the footsteps going upstairs.

As Zhou Zhao was thinking, he saw Su Changying move and stir the quilt. Because he couldn't touch her, his movements were particularly contorted. Zhou Zhao watched and couldn't help but grin silently.

Su Changying looked at Zhou Zhao's carefree smile, but couldn't laugh at all.

Zhou Zhao has been poisoned; we need to detoxify him as soon as possible.

"Madam..." The footsteps stopped outside the window, and a respectful male voice came from outside.

Su Changying suddenly spoke up angrily, "Get out!"

Although it was clearly a man who opened his mouth, the voice that came out was that of a middle-aged woman, somewhat hoarse and filled with dissatisfaction and anger, clearly indicating that she was very unhappy.

The person outside the window dared not speak again and went downstairs with a thud.

As the sound faded into the distance, Su Changying rolled off the bed. Seeing this, Zhou Zhao also struggled to sit cross-legged and began to regulate her breathing.

Su Changying flicked her sleeves and sat down directly behind Zhou Zhao, also sitting cross-legged.

"I was worried that the bleeding from the wound would give away my whereabouts, so I used a strong wound medicine to stop the bleeding. Now I have to cut the wound open again to let it bleed. Please wait for me a moment."

Before Su Changying could react, she saw the dagger slip out of Zhou Zhao's sleeve. Without hesitation, she picked it up and made a cut, and black blood gushed out.

Because of the intense pain, Zhou Zhao trembled and felt a jolt throughout her body.

Just then, a pair of warm hands pressed against my back. "Release the acupoints, hold your breath and concentrate, and follow my true energy."

Zhou Zhao grunted with difficulty, and instantly felt a warm current flow into her body. The moment she released the acupoints, she felt her blood and qi surge, and the poison rushed straight to her heart. She had already experienced how powerful the poison was, after all, her vision was still completely black.

If Su Changying were to deliberately cause trouble and inject the poison into her heart meridian, even a celestial being would be powerless to save her.

But Zhou Zhao believed him, just as Su Changying never doubted that she would disbelieve him.

Gradually, Zhou Zhao felt a bitter taste in his throat, and a trickle of black blood flowed from the corner of his mouth.

The more Su Changying forced the poison out, the more frightened she became.

This poison was extremely potent. If Zhou Zhao hadn't reacted quickly and immediately sealed her acupoints to protect her heart meridian, she would probably have turned into a pool of blood by now. It was only because of her usual diligence and profound internal strength that she survived.

His Zhaozhao nearly lost her life while he was away. Just thinking about it made Su Changying feel his blood boil, and he wished he could draw his sword right now and slaughter this island of sin.

Su Changying calmed herself down and forced all the poison towards the wound. Black blood kept gushing out of the wound, and soon the room was filled with a strong smell of blood. Gradually, the black color faded and finally turned red.

Su Changying withdrew his palm, but Zhou Zhao in front of him swayed and collapsed backward, falling directly into his arms.

"Zhao Zhao!" Su Changying hugged Zhou Zhao tightly, moved her to a different position, and laid her flat on the bed. He glanced at the bloody wound, turned over and brought a copper basin of hot water, cleaned Zhou Zhao's wound, and then carefully sprinkled wound medicine on her.

Because of excessive blood loss, Zhou Zhao, who had initially intended to tease him, was now as pale as paper, with even his lips devoid of color.

Su Changying looked at him, took out a small medicine bottle from her bosom, poured out the only red pill inside, and put it into Zhou Zhao's mouth.

The pill melted instantly in his mouth. Zhou Zhao slowly opened his eyes, smiled at Su Changying, and said, "I've forced out all the poison, so I won't die. Why did you give me this life-saving pill?"

Although she didn't know what kind of medicine it was, she could sense its extraordinary nature.

Su Changying didn't speak, but reached out and gently touched Zhou Zhao's face. Her face was icy cold and had no warmth at all.

"The remaining poison hasn't been completely eradicated yet. I'll take you and Ah Huang off the island immediately. The Northern Army will handle things here. Let's leave now."

Zhou Zhao shook his head with a wry smile, "I'm afraid we won't be able to leave anytime soon. I didn't know you were on the island, and I was worried that those people would escape, so I scuttled the ship with Ah Huang. I had Ah Huang cause trouble everywhere and make a big commotion, thinking of sending Chen Jiyuan to find the Northern Army first. By now, he's probably already turned the world upside down."

As Zhou Zhao spoke, his expression turned solemn, "Because of Dai Changming's death, I focused all my attention on the four officials from the Court of Judicial Review who had contact with him. I neglected Chen Jiyuan. I never expected..."

Cui Zilu murdered Duke Zhuang of Qi.

She should have realized it sooner. As a minor official who served as a court historian in place of Li Youdao, how could she be considered a worthy ruler in front of those four men?
“It was my mistake. Chen Jiyuan is outgoing and has friends all over the Court of Justice. He is also on the same football team as Li Youdao. How could a good-natured person like him be controlled by a useless person like Xu Jin? He only entered the Court of Justice a little earlier than me. From the beginning, he was targeting me.”

Chen Jiyuan could be considered her underling at the Court of Justice, which makes sense.

"Actually, I should have been suspicious when Chen Jiyuan inexplicably followed Tao to the Lost City..."

Chen Jiyuan was Li Youdao's subordinate. Tao came up the mountain to supervise the examination. Why didn't he choose his own confidant and instead brought Chen Jiyuan along?
As Zhou Zhao was filled with remorse, she felt a warmth on her head. Su Changying's large hand touched the top of her head, and he gently rubbed it. "It's not your fault. Even the gods can make mistakes. Little Zhou, you can't possibly accomplish something that the gods haven't been able to do for thousands of years when you're only sixteen or seventeen."

Zhou Zhao was taken aback, and then gave a soft "hmm".

Just then, a loud bang came from outside, and flames shot up into the sky from a courtyard in the distance.

"It's Ah Huang! We really are all good at causing trouble..."

Chaos was breaking out outside. "Is the Northern Army lying in ambush nearby, waiting for your orders?"

Su Changying nodded, immediately understanding Zhou Zhao's meaning, "We'll go out now to help Ah Huang, knock him out and set a fire. When we see the smoke signal, Han Ze will bring people over."

As he spoke, he looked at Zhou Zhao, whose face was deathly pale, and said, "I'll carry you on my back."