Forcing me to become a concubine? Remarrying the Ninth Prince, she'll be pregnant all over the

"Old man, to be honest, we are indeed not border residents from the west."

"We came from the capital, not for anything else, but to search for the Gu poison, the Mirage Heart Sand."

Lin Wantang told the truth, hoping that sincerity would be reciprocated, and that she could learn the secret of the Mirage Heart Sand from the old man as soon as possible, find the twin Awakening Dream Fennel, and that Wei Wujiu was still waiting for her.

Upon seeing this, Li Jinzhi stopped pretending and knelt down on one knee. "Old man, we have no intention of harming anyone. There is a very important person who has been poisoned by the Mirage Heart Sand and is suffering greatly. The poison is getting worse and worse, and we are afraid that his life is in danger. We hope that you will tell us the truth so that we can help you detoxify and save him."

Zhang Jin didn't say anything, but he also knelt down devoutly.

The old man silently squinted at the three of them, then put his pipe back down and sighed, "No comment."

Lin Wantang was slightly taken aback, then prostrated herself on the ground again: "Grandpa, the person who was poisoned is my husband, he..."

The old man didn't want to listen anymore, so he got up and repeated, "No comment, see you out."

The two burly men on one side understood what the old man said and immediately dared not disobey. They stepped forward, dragged Lin Wantang, Li Jinzhi, and Zhang Jin, and drove the three of them out of the village without saying a word.

As if fearing the three might return, they summoned many men from the village, who, armed with weapons, stood guard at the two entrances to the village, their posture one of strict vigilance as if facing a formidable enemy.

The Miao people are averse to life, and they are especially wary of and guard against the mention of Gu poison.

Not long ago, Jiang Sijiu and Wei Liu disguised themselves and entered the village in the same way. The Miao people would give beggars food and drink, but they would never let them stay overnight. Once they were full, they would kick them out. Jiang Sijiu and Wei Liu tried to persuade them, but to no avail. Finally, the two went into the mountains and searched for several days. Luckily, they found a twin flower. After picking some leaves, they went back into the village to inquire. Only then did they manage to learn from an old woman that it was the Twin Dream-Awakening Fennel, which could cure the Mirage Heart Sand. She refused to reveal any more information.

Left with no other choice, Lin Wantang returned to the mountains with Li Jinzhi and Zhang Jinxian. Following Jiang Sijiu's instructions, the three of them searched for a long time but failed to find any similar twin flowers.

As night fell, the three, still unwilling to give up, returned to the village and hid in the shadows once more. Lin Wantang looked at the burly men who were keeping watch over the village and whispered to Li Jinzhi and Zhang Jin, "We can't rush things..."

"Although the Miao people are wary, they also value relationships. Most of them are simple and kind, but they don't like outsiders interfering in their affairs. We can't rush things; we have to find a solution slowly."

As she spoke, she turned her gaze back to the village, carefully observing the activity within.

Coincidentally, not long after, a heart-wrenching cry of a child was heard, followed by the sight of a woman carrying a child of two or three years old, running quickly out of a stilted house, ignoring the men behind her trying to stop her, and rushing into the courtyard of the old man who had chased people away earlier.

The woman was crying and saying something, and the child was still wailing. The man who had caught up also spoke to the old man.

The distance was too great for Lin Wantang to hear or understand, but it seemed that the child had suddenly fallen ill and was seeking the old man's help to treat him.

It's unclear how things were handled, but the old man called a man, a woman, and a child into the house. The crying continued, and it was heartbreaking to hear.

The child's crying barely stopped all night. As dawn broke, the child's crying gradually subsided, but the woman's wailing sounded even more mournful.

Lin Wantang hadn't slept all night. Although exhausted, her attention was fixed on the old man's courtyard. She lowered her voice and, amidst yawns, asked Li Jinzhi, "Why is it a woman crying now? That child... can't be cured?"

"I think so." Li Jinzhi yawned repeatedly. After all, traveling day and night, even his iron body couldn't withstand such exhaustion. He took out two flatbreads and handed them to Lin Wantang, saying, "This kind of remote village is not lacking in medical care. There are herbs all over the mountains and fields. It's just that their methods of saving people... are probably a bit strange."

He didn't know the specifics, he was just guessing and talking nonsense. Seeing that Lin Wantang waved her hand and didn't take the pancake, he broke off a piece and shared it with Zhang Jin.

Lin Wantang remained quietly observing. When she saw the woman running out of the house crying and carrying her child, she hesitated for a moment, then quickly got up and ran straight over, ignoring the villagers patrolling the village entrance.

"I can save that child! Let me try!"

She shouted, making no attempt to lower her voice, as if afraid the old man and woman in the distant courtyard wouldn't hear her, "Let me try! There's still hope for that child!"

In fact, Lin Wantang didn't know what illness the child had, or whether the old man had a suitable way to treat it, but she felt that this was an opportunity and might as well give it a try.

Sure enough, when several burly men at the village entrance blocked and chased her away, the old man also came out of the courtyard. When he was close to the village entrance, he shouted something, and the burly men stopped chasing her away and instead gestured for Lin Wantang to follow.

Li Jinzhi and Zhang Jin quickly followed her and entered the old man's courtyard again.

The woman was still crying her eyes out, tightly holding the nearly lifeless child in her arms, and staring at Lin Wantang with great vigilance.

The old man questioned, "You say you have a way?"

Lin Wantang nodded: "I know some medical skills, you can let me try, saving lives is the most important thing."

The old man thought about it for a moment, and for some reason softened his attitude in the end, gesturing for the woman to give him the child.

The woman kept shaking her head, but the old man said a few more words, and then the man beside her forcibly handed the child to Lin Wantang.

As she took the child's pulse, the old man said, "This child has contracted a strange illness for some reason. He has convulsions all over his body, and his condition fluctuates. He often falls into a coma. We have fed him many herbs, but none of them have been effective."

After a pause, the old man seemed to know what Lin Wantang was going to guess, and then said, "It's not Gu poison. The people in our village don't practice Gu to harm people. You people from the Central Plains shouldn't make wild guesses!"

Lin Wantang nodded, indicating that she had taken it to heart, but her attention was still focused on the child's chaotic pulse. Her expression changed slightly as she repeatedly checked the pulse on the child's two wrists. Finally, she carefully handed the child back to the woman and then solemnly looked at the old man: "Old man, there is something strange about this child's illness, but I can cure it."

"But I have a condition. Saving this child is no problem for me, but what about my husband? I hope the elders will be lenient and compassionate, and after I have saved this child, tell him all the secrets of the Mirage Heart Sand, without hiding anything from him."

"I swear to God that once I know the secret of the Mirage Heart Sand and the antidote, I will never use this poison to harm anyone. If I break this vow, may I be struck down by heaven and die a horrible death!"

Lin Wantang's expression was solemn. She raised her finger and swore an oath in front of everyone. Her words were sincere and composed, yet also showed a resolute determination that left no room for negotiation.

The old man looked at her, frowned and sighed. Then he looked at the woman with a face full of grief and anxiety, and the dying child in her arms. He could no longer insist on his stubbornness and had to say, "Alright, I can agree to your request, but you must save the child first."