The Martial Saint Started from Scavenging

Inside the stone chamber, Ye Sheng's eyes were bloodshot, and his blood and qi began to circulate through his internal organs and meridians, though extremely weakly.

Half an hour later, he condensed the little bit of blood and energy he had managed to gather into an invisible awl, and struck it again and again against the icy curse mark nailed into his meridians.

"puff--"

He spat out a mouthful of blood, which splattered onto the cold stone wall, its red color glaringly bright.

The pain was excruciating, so intense that Ye Sheng's head was buzzing and his vision was blurring.

But he gritted his teeth and persevered, sustained by a single thought: "Brother, wait for me."

These four words kept him from collapsing.

However, just as Ye Sheng was preparing to break through the seal again, the heavy iron door of the stone chamber creaked open from the outside.

Immediately afterward, a thin figure entered carrying a food box. The person wore a servant's gray robe, and their face was covered with a cloth, revealing only their eyes. But those eyes were clear and bright, like a mountain spring.

Ye Sheng's heart tightened, and he immediately stopped what he was doing, staring at the person who had just arrived.

"Come on, let's eat." The man placed the food box on the ground, his voice not loud.

Ye Sheng was startled: That voice...it's Su Wan?

He could hardly believe his eyes. He never expected to see Su Wan in this place and at this time.

Su Wan gave him a wink, then squatted down and began to put the items out of the food box one by one.

A bowl of white rice, a plate of green vegetables, and a bowl of steaming chicken soup.

The aroma of the food immediately filled the entire stone chamber.

"Eat it while it's hot, it won't taste good when it's cold." Su Wan handed over the chopsticks.

Ye Sheng didn't answer. He stared at Su Wan, his mind full of questions, unsure where to begin.

Su Wan noticed it.

She walked to the door, peeked out and looked around, then quickly closed the door and said in a low voice, "This isn't the place to talk. You should eat quickly so you'll have the energy to escape."

"I've laced the food the guards outside are eating with a sleeping potion. If they eat it, it'll give them enough sleep to last an hour. We need to escape within that hour."

"How did you end up here?" Ye Sheng asked, his voice filled with surprise and uncertainty.

"It's a long story."

As she spoke, Su Wan took out a small porcelain bottle from her bosom and handed it to Ye Sheng, saying, "This is a Meridian Fusion Pill, which can dissolve the Frost Locking Meridian Curse on your body. Take it quickly, so you can at least recover some of your strength."

"I dare not take the pills you gave me." Ye Sheng's expression was solemn, and his eyes showed obvious vigilance and wariness.

"I won't harm you. Take your medicine first, and then I'll explain everything to you in detail. If you really don't trust me, then you should at least consider Ye Kai's feelings."

Hearing this, Ye Sheng stared at Su Wan for a long time before finally not hesitating and swallowing the medicine without pulling out the stopper.

As soon as the pill entered his stomach, a warm sensation dissolved within him, like spring water, slowly seeping into his dry and cracked meridians.

The icy curse marks that were originally like steel needles stuck in his body began to loosen and melt away little by little after being soaked in this warmth.

Ye Sheng quickly closed his eyes, activated the "Thick Earth Technique," and guided the newly gathered true energy to the wound to slowly heal it.

"How did you know I was locked up here? And where did you get this antidote?" he asked while regulating his breathing.

"As soon as I returned to the sect, I heard that you had gotten into trouble." Su Wan's expression was solemn and her voice was low. "I didn't expect that you and Ye Kai would come to the Qingyun Sword Sect, and even get into so much trouble."

She paused for a moment, then continued, "I asked my master to refine the antidote. He is a late-stage Golden Core alchemist."

Upon hearing this, Ye Sheng's heart stirred, and he began to carefully examine Su Wan.

She's completely different now, even after a few months apart.

Although he was wearing coarse cloth servant's clothes, his unique temperament, which emanated from within, could not be hidden.

Her skin had become fairer, her eyebrows and eyes had matured, and her eyes sparkled with brilliance, making her even more beautiful than Liu Qing and Shen Qingqiu.

More importantly, Ye Sheng could even sense a trace of spiritual energy emanating from her.

"Could it be that she has already become a cultivator and embarked on the path of cultivation?"

Ye Sheng thought to himself.

"When I first joined the sect, I inquired about your whereabouts from many servants and spirit plant growers, and they all said there was no one named Su Wan. Could it be that you changed your name after coming here?"

Ye Sheng asked with a puzzled look.

"Um."

Su Wan nodded and explained, "I was afraid that the people from the Blood Pact Merchant Guild would find out, so I've been using an alias, Su Xiaoxiao, ever since I came here."

"I see. No wonder I've been asking around for so long without any news."

Ye Sheng took a deep breath and finally asked the question that had been weighing heavily on his mind, because he really didn't want to believe that Su Wan would leak the news of Ye Kai's special physique to Yun Zhonghe.

"Yun Zhonghe... how did he know about my younger brother's constitution? Did you tell him?"

Upon hearing this, Su Wan's expression changed.

She nodded, not denying it, and said in a low voice, "Yes. When I first joined the sect, Yun Zhonghe was the steward in charge of training new disciples. He asked all of us new disciples about our experiences before joining the sect."

"At the time, I didn't know who he was, but I told him about how you saved me at Shuilongdu and about your brother's illness."

"After hearing his story, I felt that he was particularly concerned about your brother's illness. Later, I heard that he even reported to the sect that he wanted to go down the mountain to Shuilongdu..."

At this moment, Ye Shengquan understood: Yun Zhonghe's first visit to him was not for him personally, but was aimed directly at Ye Kai.

However, Ye Sheng had another doubt: at that time, he had not yet entered the threshold of martial arts; he was just an ordinary practitioner. So why didn't Yun Zhonghe attack Ye Kai directly at Shuilong Ferry? Why did he wait until the two brothers left Shuilong Ferry and arrived at Mihun Ferry before making his move?

The thought that Yun Zhonghe had returned to the sect and that his target had always been Ye Kai caused a surge of anger and anxiety to rise from Ye Sheng's heart, burning his eyes red and making his knuckles turn white as he clenched his fists.

"Don't rush."

Su Wan seemed to sense Ye Sheng's worry and gently comforted him, "Ye Kai should be relatively safe now. Although Yun Zhonghe has ulterior motives, he wouldn't dare to make a move openly within the sect."

"Besides. Ye Kai lives in Willow Garden, which is Senior Sister Liu Qing's territory. No matter how arrogant Yun Zhonghe is, he has to think twice."

Ye Sheng remained silent, knowing that Su Wan was right.

But he also knew that since Yun Zhonghe coveted Ye Kai's physique so much, he probably already knew that the Dao Calamity Physique contained the power of creation. If that were the case, this person was capable of anything.

Thinking of this, Ye Sheng stood up and said urgently, "I have to go back to Willow Garden immediately."

At this moment, the seal on his body had been almost completely dissolved by the Meridian Fusion Pill, and his strength had recovered to 30%.

"No!"

Su Wan grabbed him and analyzed, "It's not safe for you to go back now. Think about it, Wu Fei is the second elder of the Enforcement Hall; he must have spies here. Once he discovers you've escaped, the first thing he'll do is send someone to Willow Garden to ambush you!"

"Then what do you expect me to do? Am I just supposed to stand by and watch Yun Zhonghe lay a hand on my brother?" Ye Sheng said in a deep voice.

"Come with me first! I'll escort you down the mountain. As for Ye Kai, I'll go to Willow Garden and bring him out to find you. Then, the two of you brothers can leave Qingyun City together."

"I......"

Ye Sheng wanted to say something, but Su Wan didn't give him the chance. She grabbed Ye Sheng's hand, pushed open the stone door, and rushed out.

At this moment, the guards outside had already been drugged and were fast asleep on the ground.

The underground passages of the Enforcement Hall were winding and labyrinthine. But Su Wan seemed to know the place very well, leading Ye Sheng through the maze, hiding from patrolling disciples and avoiding guarding spirit beasts.

After a while, she pushed open a hidden iron gate, pointed to a path that was mostly buried by weeds, and said to Ye Sheng, "This is already the outer perimeter of the sect. Just follow this path and you'll be able to get down the mountain."