Starting with a blind date with a female constable, you acquire the Nine Swords of Dugu.

For a moment, there was a deathly silence.

The crowd erupted in outrage.

"Senior Nie!"

"Heroic Elder Nie!"

"How dare you kill Senior Nie? Are you trying to make an enemy of the martial arts world?"

"Arrogant! Overbearing!"

"..."

In an instant, the martial arts practitioners stirred, drawing their weapons one after another. The sounds of swords being drawn echoed, their cold glints flashing in the afternoon sun. Some gripped their hilts tightly, while others had already taken their first steps.

Although the people dared not lay a hand on him, they all looked indignant. Some cursed under their breath, while others clenched their fists.

In their eyes, Nie Qingshan was a great hero who stood up for them, but Gu Guanqi killed him, which meant he was an enemy of all of them.

The crowd began to surge, like a pot of water about to boil.

The footsteps grew more frequent, and the glint of swords became increasingly blinding. Someone shouted, "Fight him!"

"Yes! Let's go for it! At worst, we'll lose our heads and get a big scar!"

The sound was like a tidal wave, one wave higher than the next.

Gu Guanqi snorted coldly, took a step forward, and brandished his Autumn Water Sword, instantly killing three or four people who rushed to the front and crossed the line he had drawn.

The body flew backward, knocking down a group of people.

The crowd was so startled that they all stepped back, exchanging bewildered glances.

Gu Guanqi stood expressionless at the doorway, sword still dripping with blood. He slowly raised the sword, channeled his inner energy, and said coldly, "Nie Qingshan attempted to kidnap a high-ranking official and has been killed on the spot. Now, anyone who dares to cross the line is his accomplice. Step forward, and I will continue killing!"

In an instant, the crowd involuntarily retreated, backing up to more than two feet behind the line. The crowd was still angry, but no one dared to cross the line again.

At this time,

Someone cried out in anguish, "Magistrate Zhou, you are the local official in charge of the people's livelihood, are you just going to stand by and watch this person commit such a heinous crime?"

"Magistrate Zhou, aren't you going to do anything about it?"

"..."

A groan erupted from the crowd, all putting pressure on Zhou Mingyuan.

Zhou Mingyuan covered his head in a daze; his hair was disheveled and half his face was covered in blood.

At that moment, he had only one thought in his mind.

Didn't you say that officials protect each other and that I shouldn't interfere?

immediately,

He took a deep breath, stepped forward, and declared firmly:

"Fellow villagers! I, Zhou Mingyuan, as the magistrate of Qiandeng County, hereby swear that the government will thoroughly investigate this matter and bring the truth to light. If anyone has indeed profited from the epidemic and disregarded human life, I will bring them to justice. However, if anyone takes this opportunity to cause trouble, I will not tolerate it either. Well then, that's all for today. Disperse..."

Zhou Mingyuan began to try to appease him.

This time, the appeasement was very effective; no one took any further action, and no one complained about officials protecting each other anymore.

Because of Gu Guanqi's direct action.

The scene has been completely intimidated.

The crowd began to loosen up immediately.

Some sighed and turned to leave. Others helped their weeping family members as they slowly dispersed. The martial arts practitioners, though filled with resentment, were helpless and sheathed their weapons, leaving in twos and threes.

Before long, the long street became empty.

Xue Fuling immediately pulled Gu Guanqi into the inn and drank a whole cup of tea in one go to calm herself down.

Gu Guanqi chuckled and said, "This is the first time I've seen you so emotional, Fuling."

Xue Fuling said, "I am neither a saint nor a cultivator of the ruthless path, so how could I be without emotions? Just now, when you killed Nie Qingshan, you really scared me."

"Are you afraid of causing a riot?" Gu Guanqi asked.

"No," Xue Fuling shook her head slightly and said, "What I'm afraid of is that if I cause a riot, everyone will attack you and you will get hurt. I'm very worried."

As she spoke, Xue Fuling looked at Gu Guanqi.

Gu Guanqi was also looking at Xue Fuling.

Their eyes met, and neither of them looked away.

Gu Guanqi said slowly, "Then I will try my best not to worry you in the future."

"Okay, fine." Xue Fuling nodded, then said, "However, if you kill Nie Qingshan, you'll be in big trouble later."

"I'm not afraid of trouble if I dare to kill him!"

……

Not far away, in that restaurant.

The bamboo curtain swayed slightly, and Fourth Master and Wang Changfeng remained seated there.

Fourth Master asked, "Sect Leader Wang, what are your thoughts?"

Wang Changfeng did not answer immediately, but pondered for a while before saying, "Nie Qingshan is really a good-for-nothing."

Fourth Master laughed and said, "I didn't expect him to be unable to withstand even one move. The title of the number one person below the eleventh floor is a bit exaggerated."

Wang Changfeng nodded and said, "Nie Qingshan's martial arts skills certainly don't match his reputation, but they're not entirely unreliable either. The main factor is Gu Guanqi's swordsmanship; it's truly formidable. Although he only used one move just now, I could still discern its essence—a counter-attack, adapting to any situation. At such a young age, his swordsmanship is so advanced; he truly deserves the title of Twelfth Floor!"

Fourth Master paused, fiddling with the thumb ring, and asked, "Can Sect Leader Wang still kill him?"

"able."

Wang Changfeng's gaze fell on the distant view outside the window, and he said:

"Because my swordsmanship has no flaws, it has transcended techniques. Without techniques, there are no flaws."

He slowly raised his right hand, making a loose grasp as if he were holding a long, jet-black sword.

"My sword lies in its artistic conception."

After saying that, he got up and left.

Outside the window, the dust on the long street had settled, and the sunlight gradually slanted westward, turning the entire street into a warm, golden hue.

……

The night was as dark as ink, and all was silent.

The lights in the back hall of the Qiandeng County government office stayed on all night.

In the morgue, seventeen corpses lay in a row, each covered with a white sheet. The air was thick with the smell of medicine and decay; even with the doors and windows wide open, the stench was still overwhelming.

Xue Fuling stood before a long table, in front of which lay the corpse of a middle-aged man. In her hand she held a small knife as thin as a cicada's wing, and with extremely light and slow movements she dissected the deceased's stomach.

Gu Guanqi stood beside her, holding an oil lamp, the firelight casting distinct light and shadow on her profile.

After a long time,

Xue Fuling straightened up, covered the body with a white cloth, and slowly said, "Like the bodies we dissected before, this body also died from poisoning, and the poison was the same."

"Can you tell what kind of poison it is?" Gu Guanqi asked.

Xue Fuling said, "It's not a direct poison, but a poison produced by mixing medicinal herbs. When Qing Sui Cao is mixed with Jie E Hua and Xuan Rong, it produces a poison that causes numbness. Some doctors even use this poison specifically to relieve pain. However, a small amount can relieve pain, but a large amount can lead to paralysis and hardening of the meridians."

If ingested internally, the lungs and internal organs will be paralyzed, but the person will not feel pain. The poisoned person will not notice anything amiss until their heart is almost stopped, at which point it will be too late.

Gu Guanqi said, "So, someone deliberately poisoned him?"

Xue Fuling said, "If someone deliberately poisoned it, that would be relatively better. What I'm worried about now is that the workshop that made the pills used the wrong medicine. The pills contain three kinds of medicinal materials: Xuanrong, Jie'ehua, and Qingfan. Among them, Qingfan, after being dried, is very similar to dried Qingsui grass."

Most importantly, each of these medicinal herbs is non-toxic on its own, and some even have spleen-strengthening and stomach-nourishing effects. They are usually stored without much concern because most people are unaware that a mixture of *Xuanrong*, *Jie'e Hua*, and *Qing Sui Cao* can be highly toxic.

Gu Guanqi was startled and said, "If the workshop used the wrong medicine, then we're in big trouble."

"So, we'll go find Magistrate Zhou now and get the details."

While speaking,

The two walked out of the morgue, intending to find Zhou Mingyuan, but as soon as they stepped out, they saw Zhou Mingyuan walking hurriedly towards them.

"Medical Master Xue, Medical Master Xue, I've made a major discovery!" Zhou Mingyuan said, holding an account book in his hand. "I just organized the recent records about the epidemic prevention pills and found that all the people who died in the past few days actually took the same batch of pills, while those who took other pills were completely unaffected."

As soon as Zhou Mingyuan said this,

Gu Guanqi and Xue Fuling's expressions both changed.

Zhou Mingyuan noticed that Xue Fuling and Gu Guanqi looked off and quickly asked, "What's wrong? Did you find out something?"

Xue Fuling hesitated for a moment, then said, "Magistrate Zhou, we just dissected a corpse..."

Xue Fuling recounted her findings to Zhou Mingyuan, concluding, "If what you're saying is true, then there's a problem with that batch of medicinal herbs; they mistook Qing Sui Cao for Qing Fan."

Zhou Mingyuan's face turned deathly pale instantly, his body went limp, and he almost collapsed to the ground. Fortunately, Gu Guanqi reacted quickly and caught Zhou Mingyuan immediately.

Gu Guanqi and Xue Fuling could understand Zhou Mingyuan's reaction; in fact, this reaction was the normal one.

Because if someone poisoned so many people and caused their deaths, Zhou Mingyuan could avoid taking too much responsibility as long as he caught the culprit as soon as possible. But if the deaths were caused by a problem in the production process of the pills by the county government, then his time as county magistrate would be over, and he would inevitably be dismissed.

It's related to the epidemic, and so many people have died.

This matter is no longer just a matter for the county government; it's a matter that can reach the ears of the emperor.

"It's all over," Zhou Mingyuan said. "A total of 230 pills were made and distributed to the people in the city and surrounding villages. More than 170 pills have been distributed so far."

Xue Fuling quickly said, "Magistrate Zhou, this poison is actually very easy to cure. I will write a prescription right away. You should send someone to deliver the antidote to the people who bought the pills immediately. It can save many lives."

Zhou Mingyuan's eyes lit up, and he said, "Yes, yes, yes, timely intervention is key! There's still hope! There's still hope!"

Immediately,

Zhou Mingyuan hurriedly gathered his men.

Xue Fuling quickly wrote out an antidote prescription and handed it to Zhou Mingyuan.

This time, Zhou Mingyuan was more efficient than ever before. After all the manpower was assigned, he slumped in his chair, speechless.

Suddenly, footsteps sounded outside the door, and a constable entered, bowing and saying, "Sir, Young Hero Lin Qi of the Golden Saber Sect requests an audience."

Zhou Mingyuan said weakly, "Please let him in."

quickly,

Lin Qi walked in and greeted them with clasped hands: "Magistrate Zhou, Physician Xue, and Hero Gu."

Gu Guanqi and Xue Fuling returned the greeting.

Lin Qi said, "My fellow disciples and I just went to investigate and discovered something. The rumor that the Golden Spirit Grass can cure the plague originated from Qingfeng Temple."

At this point, he looked at Gu Guanqi and Xue Fuling and said, "Medical Master Xue, is it true or false that the Golden Spirit Grass can cure the plague? If it's false, then I have reason to suspect that Qingfeng Temple is retaliating against you. After all, that scoundrel Xuanchengzi was killed by Hero Gu, and Qingfeng Temple's leader, Yu Yuanqiao, and Xuanchengzi were nominally fellow disciples, but in reality, Yu Yuanqiao raised Xuanchengzi to adulthood, and their relationship was like that of father and son!"

Xue Fuling frowned slightly and said, "I don't know what's going on. Today, I personally witnessed several patients infected with the plague improve their condition after taking Jinling Grass. However, given the toxicity of the plague and the medicinal properties of Jinling Grass, taking it should theoretically worsen their condition. I haven't figured out why yet!"

"Qingfeng Temple, Qingfeng Temple..."

Just then, Zhou Mingyuan suddenly slammed his hand on the table and stood up, saying, "There's definitely something wrong with Qingfeng Temple." He quickly found the ledger that recorded the pills and said, "It was Qingfeng Temple that sold Qing Sui Cao to the county government as Qing Fan. That batch of medicinal herbs came from Qingfeng Temple. Now, the news that Jin Ling Cao can cure the plague also came from Qingfeng Temple. What a coincidence!"

Speaking of which,

Zhou Mingyuan became excited and said, "I think that's how it is. I've also heard about Xuan Chengzi's matter. That scoundrel was killed, and Qingfeng Temple's reputation was also damaged. So, Yu Yuanqiao must have thought of taking revenge on Doctor Xue because of this. He secretly replaced Qing Sui Cao with Qing Fan, and then spread the word that Jin Ling Cao could cure the epidemic."

This would both make Doctor Xue and Physician Gu targets of public criticism and subject them to assassination, and also ruin their reputations. In this way, he would avenge both Xuan Chengzi and the damage to their reputations. "I think that's the way to go. Let's prepare our men immediately and go to Qingfeng Temple to arrest them first thing tomorrow morning!"

Gu Guanqi and Xue Fuling both felt that Zhou Mingyuan's words were somewhat far-fetched, but also somewhat reasonable. After all, Qingfeng Temple was skilled in alchemy and traditional Chinese medicine, and theoretically it was unlikely that they would make such a basic mistake as misidentifying medicinal materials.

Xue Fuling was also curious about the Golden Spirit Grass and wanted to go to Qingfeng Temple to find out more, so she said, "I agree to go to Qingfeng Temple to find out!"

Lin Qi quickly added, "Yes, I think we should go too. If Yu Yuanqiao really dares to kill so many people to avenge that scoundrel Xuan Chengzi, I will make him pay the price!"

immediately,

Zhou Mingyuan, Lin Qi, Xue Fuling, and Gu Guanqi then decided to go to Qingfeng Temple the next day.