Chapter 4775 — On One Condition
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
Ren Zhongyuan was consumed with resentment, but matters had come to this pass and he could no longer keep goading the crowd against Wei Zhao—if he truly pushed Liu Ziqi too far, he himself would be the one left with a mess he could not swallow.
"Vice Chancellor Liu, if that's how you put it, there's nothing I can do—but if I can cure everyone of the poison, surely by then you won't be able to keep sheltering this brat? The matter of the poisoning must be investigated to the very end!" Ren Zhongyuan immediately began to haggle.
"You can neutralize the poison?" Liu Ziqi glanced at him.
"Indeed. Have you all forgotten that I am a fifth-rank alchemist? Now that we've confirmed it's heart-piercing anemone venom, I have a way to refine an antidote pill. Once everyone takes it, they'll naturally be safe and sound!" Ren Zhongyuan said smugly.
At these words the crowd rallied once more, every gaze fixed on Ren Zhongyuan with burning fervor—if he could refine the antidote, it would amount to saving all their lives.
"Then how many can you refine?" Liu Ziqi asked with a frown.
"This antidote pill is a little complicated, but the ship has stores of every ingredient. I can refine one pill per hour!" Ren Zhongyuan's face still wore that smug look. The venom of the heart-piercing anemone was no trifling thing, and the corresponding antidote reached a full fifth rank; that he could produce one in an hour was already astonishing.
"One pill an hour? Then how long can all these people hold out?" Liu Ziqi's brow furrowed at once. There were nearly a hundred Eastern Continent disciples present—relying on Ren Zhongyuan alone, would they have to wait a hundred hours? And that was assuming he never slept!
Only two hours had passed and already three were on the verge of succumbing. Never mind a hundred hours—at this rate, it would not take even ten before most of them were dead!
"Huh? Well, that..." Ren Zhongyuan was struck dumb. He had been wholly bent on framing Wei Zhao, thinking that once the boy was done for he would simply step forward and cure everyone, and had overlooked this crucial point: how was he to cure so many?
At once every face in the hall turned ashen. They had finally grasped at a last straw, only to find it truly was just a straw—it could not save their lives. At this rate, were they simply to sit and wait for death?
Seeing that blank look on Ren Zhongyuan's face, Liu Ziqi, who had still harbored a shred of hope, was left utterly speechless. They had been away from West Island for more than a day; turning back now was out of the question. This time the situation really had grown grave.
With her strength, Liu Ziqi was confident she could suppress the venom, but the others could not. The longer things dragged on, the more Eastern Continent disciples would succumb, and then they would surely die in whole swathes.
If so many perished at once, Liu Ziqi would have no face to answer to the various Eastern Continent academies upon her return. With such a blot on her record, she would never again be entrusted with any weighty charge.
The crowd sighed and lamented; over the already stifling air spread a mood of despair, and Liu Ziqi's expression turned grave as well. When people are driven to desperation they will do anything, and once someone resorted to desperate measures, this affair could never be settled amicably.
Just then Wei Zhao gave a faint smile and said, "Why not let me try?"
"What?" Everyone started at his words. Ren Zhongyuan looked at Wei Zhao as though at an idiot and sneered with contempt, "Try? Do you know what you're saying? My antidote is a fifth-rank pill—what would you try it with? Don't tell me you're a fifth-rank alchemist too?"