Under One Person: The Taoist Priest Descends the Mountain

A dozen seconds later, Cheng Mo stopped abruptly, his body as steady as a rock. After confirming that there was no more black mist left in the corridor, he dared not be careless and reopened the doors of the sleeper compartments one by one to check.

Their luck wasn't too bad; of the three compartments closest to the Gu Master's corpse, only one was occupied, and there was only one person inside...

Unfortunately, the car window was only half open, and he collapsed unconscious in the narrow aisle. Several irregular, ulcerated red patches appeared on half of his face and exposed arm.

Cheng Mo immediately went forward to open the window for ventilation, and then squatted down to check.

The pulse is rapid and weak, the body is hot, yellow and turbid fluid is oozing from the wound, the tongue is dark purple with a greasy coating, and there are gray spots in the eyes.

"External toxins invade internally, heat toxins accumulate, and dampness and stagnation obstruct the flow..." Cheng Mo's mind raced, flashing through the traditional Chinese medicine theories and emergency treatment methods taught by his master over the years.

He had no Qi to expel the poison, so he could only rely on his understanding of the body and traditional methods to save him.

Cheng Mo first pressed the Renzhong, Neiguan, and Hegu acupoints to stimulate him to regain consciousness.

If the effect is not obvious, press the chest and abdomen with a specific rhythm and use guided breathing to help regulate the flow of qi.

Then, with swift, sharp strokes, he applied pressure to the acupoints and meridians on the limbs, sometimes lightly, sometimes heavily, attempting to stimulate the flow of qi and blood through physical stimulation, pushing out superficial toxins and delaying their deep invasion.

After working for almost ten minutes, Cheng Mo's forehead was drenched in sweat. This meticulous work was far more tiring than a fight.

Finally, the middle-aged man's breathing gradually became more stable. Although he was still unconscious, his face was no longer so bluish-black, and there were no signs of further deterioration in the ulcers.

Cheng Mo stopped, wiped his sweat, and a sense of doubt arose in his heart.

This poison... seems rather strange. It's highly toxic, takes effect quickly, and causes horrific skin ulceration.

However, the middle-aged man's airway did not have severe edema or blockage, and his heart rhythm was still normal.

Could it be that this thing's real purpose isn't to kill?

Boom boom boom!

Just then, a knocking sound came from the roof of the car. The next second, Xia He climbed back out of the car window and immediately saw the person lying on the ground. She was shocked: "This person... is dead?"

"He's fainted, but he won't die for now." Cheng Mo shook his head, his brows still furrowed. "He'll be hospitalized for a few days and get IV fluids; he should pull through."

"What on earth happened?" Xia He glanced at the connection point with lingering fear. "Who was that dead guy? Why did he attack us in such a vicious way?"

Cheng Mo pondered for a moment and said, "Judging from the methods and actions, it's very likely that this is retaliation by an accomplice of the two human traffickers we arrested. And there's probably more than one. I'll give Uncle Hua a call."

"Yes, yes!" Xia He nodded repeatedly. "Tell them to handle this quickly! They're too arrogant, actually chasing us onto the train!"

Cheng Mo took out his phone and dialed Hua Feng's number.

After a few beeps, the call was connected.

Cheng Mo cut to the chase: "Uncle Hua, we've really been retaliated against."

"What?!" Hua Feng's voice suddenly rose on the other end of the phone. "What happened? Where are you now? Are you safe?"

Cheng Mo briefly recounted the process, emphasizing the other party's identity as a Gu Master and the strange characteristics of the Gu poison.

"...Now an ordinary person has been poisoned by Gu. I have done some first aid and the person is not in immediate danger, but I am not sure if the toxin has been completely removed, or if there will be any aftereffects or a second attack."

Hua Feng urgently asked, "Where are you now? What's your next stop? I'll arrange for backup immediately!"

Cheng Mo said, "The next stop should be... Dazhou Station. Also, our carriage needs professional disinfection; the traces left by that poison are a bit strange."

"I'll coordinate with the people and railway authorities in the southwest immediately!" Hua Feng instructed them. "Xiao Cheng, you and Miss Xia, protect yourselves and don't come into contact with any suspicious items! I'll make the arrangements right away!"

After hanging up the phone, Xia He leaned over and asked, "So now... are we going to stay with this unconscious guy until we get off at the station?"

Cheng Mo nodded: "Yes, just in case, let's wait for them to arrive first..." Before he could finish speaking, a series of hurried footsteps came from the corridor outside.

Almost simultaneously, his phone rang again, and when he looked, it was Hua Feng again.

"Xiao Cheng, the train police have been notified and are on their way. Just hand over the poisoned passenger to them. Neither of you should get involved further. Protect yourselves, and contact me immediately if anything unusual happens!"

"Understood." Cheng Mo had just replied when three uniformed train police officers appeared at the door of their compartment.

The leader quickly scanned the room and then asked, "Hello, we received a message that a passenger here has suddenly fallen ill and fainted?"

Cheng Mo hung up the phone and nodded. "Yeah, my friend went to wash up and came back to find him passed out here." He pointed towards the connection point. "He seemed to have vomited, so we didn't dare move him."

Xia He blinked her innocent, watery eyes and nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes, I found him! We don't know him at all!"

The train police received instructions from their superiors to "take the patient away, control the scene, and not take any other measures against the two young men and women next to the patient."

"Okay, leave the man to us." The lead driver signaled to the two men behind him to step forward and carefully lift the unconscious middle-aged man up.

Another police officer pointed to the corridor floor and asked, "We saw some stains in the corridor. Did you put them there?"

He really wanted to ask the two young men what they had seen and what had happened, but... he could only try to find out indirectly.

Xia He shook her head vigorously, pointing at the middle-aged man being carried away: "It wasn't us! He's the one who threw up! It was filthy!"

Cheng Mo: "..."

Indeed, beautiful women are born to lie!

Two train police officers carried the person away quickly. The last officer gave Cheng Mo and Xia He a deep look and said, "You two should also be careful."

Once the train police officer disappeared into the connecting area between the carriages, Xia He immediately puffed out her cheeks: "Those guys went too far! Little Taoist priest, I can't let this go!"

Cheng Mo turned to look at her: "You want to get revenge?"

"Of course!" Xia He nodded vigorously, her eyes shining brightly. "We'll find their hideout and wipe them all out!"

Cheng Mo seemed to be deep in thought. When he was cultivating in seclusion on the mountain, he tried his best to comprehend the Dao through his own actions, practicing non-action and not doing anything deliberate. He cultivated at sunrise and rested at sunset, eating when he was hungry and drinking when he was thirsty. He also let his poultry and livestock find their own food.

But now that we've come down the mountain, my master said that entering the world is for cultivation, which means there's human intervention. Taoism advocates non-action, which contradicts entering the world.

Then why not temporarily set aside inaction? As the saying goes, Confucianism and Taoism complement each other, with Confucianism as the foundation. Take on the Confucian responsibility, right injustice when you encounter injustice, and find out where the wicked are and uproot them.

Cheng Mo nodded: "It's not impossible, but we don't have any leads. Do you know how to investigate a case?"

Xia He laughed smugly, leaned closer to him, and lowered her voice: "Hehe, I overheard someone on the roof of the car making a phone call, saying they were going to take revenge on us."

Cheng Mo looked at her with droopy eyelids: "Why didn't you say so earlier?"

"It's not too late to say now!" Xia He grabbed his arm, looking like she was about to do something big behind the scenes. "Come on, let's keep an eye on him. When the time comes, we'll follow them, find their hideout, and wipe them out in one fell swoop!"

Cheng Mo felt this wasn't safe: "Keeping an eye on them is fine. But since we don't know their exact strength, we shouldn't act immediately once we find their location. Contact All Telecom and let the company lead the charge."

Xia He nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, you're the most cunning little Taoist priest."

Cheng Mo: "...How is this insidious? This is the kind of self-preservation instinct that a normal person should have."

Xia He raised her index finger and shook it: "No, no, no, that's insidious."

Cheng Mo was silent for two seconds: "...If you say so, then go find the person."

"I'm looking for it," Xia He said matter-of-factly. "I only heard the voice, I didn't see what it looked like, I have to listen carefully."

Cheng Mo shut his mouth, deciding not to argue with the girl for the time being.

Xia He pulled Cheng Mo along and began searching the carriage.

She paced back and forth in the sleeper car aisle, head tilted to the side, like a wary little animal. Occasionally, a passenger would open their door, and she would approach them with a smile, asking, "Uncle/Auntie, did you hear any strange noises just now?"

Most of the passengers she asked were initially dazzled by her appearance, then shook their heads blankly.

Finding nothing, Xia He decisively changed tactics: "Let's go to the hard-seat carriage! There are more people there, maybe we can hear you!"

Cheng Mo followed her, plunging from the relatively quiet sleeper area into the hustle and bustle of the hard-seat carriage.