Chapter 59: The Poisoning Incident

  Su Dong and Zhou Xing returned to the inn, but Su Dong didn't tell Zhou Xing where he had been during that time, instead covering it up vaguely.

  Only Yang Tai and some instructors and apprentices from the martial arts schools had checked into the inn, but not all of them were there to compete. Most were just there to experience the atmosphere of battle and take a look at other people's martial skills to broaden their horizons. A qualified warrior who only practices behind closed doors is not good enough; they also need to expand their vision.

  Su Dong and Yang Taosi greeted each other, then went out for a drink with Zhou Xing's two proud apprentices, Xuan Yuanfeng and Li Yu.

  Su Dong was in the Tianxing Martial Arts Hall, but he wasn't very familiar with the people there. After all, Su Dong's spiritual power was strange and he had killed a teacher from the hall before, so the people in the hall either avoided him or were hostile towards him.

  Zhou Xing and his apprentices got along well with Su Dong, but as for Yang Taosi, the two were still at odds, both being stubborn and neither willing to give in first.

  After three rounds of wine and five flavors, Xuan Yuan's enthusiasm said: "I heard that this martial arts conference has changed its rules and will conduct a very cruel life-and-death battle! And each martial arts school also took out tempting prizes, it's very exciting."

  Su Dong was taken aback and curiously asked: "A fight to the death? Didn't you say it's a friendly martial arts gathering? If someone gets hurt, wouldn't that ruin the harmony?"

  "What kind of nonsense is 'making friends through martial arts'? How many people don't die in the martial arts world every year? It's just a nice-sounding name, but as long as you seize the opportunity, who doesn't fight to the death?"

  "This year is different, the mainland is about to enter an ice-sealing period, and the ice-sealing period means a chaotic world. The various martial arts schools discussed it and decided to forget about their reputations for now. After all, they have accumulated a lot of resentment over the years, so why not just have a fair fight? It can also boost the morale of the warriors."

  Even the normally honest Li Yu said, "Master is right, a life-and-death battle doesn't count for much. What's really interesting is the spoils of war. I heard that our martial arts school has produced a Lingwu-level powerful soldier, and other families have also taken out top-grade treasures to motivate their warriors to fight bravely."

  Everyone gasped in unison. On the mainland, a Spirit Martial-level sword was rarely seen, and its price had skyrocketed. However, Su Dong didn't show much reaction to this. He currently possessed three swords: Qing Niao and that slender sword like a willow branch were both Spirit Martial-level, while the broken sword Can Yun was unclear, but definitely not low in level. This wasn't even counting the Spirit Martial-level heavy sword he had given to his brother Su Ning.

  Four people talked for a while, and Xuan Yuanfeng suddenly said: "By the way, there is a demon growing in your spiritual field, you should know about this matter?"

  Su Dong smiled and said: "What kind of monster? It's just a slightly larger black wood fern, a second-grade spiritual medicine, you're not like you've never seen it before."

  As soon as this was said, Zhou Xing, Li Yu, and Xuan Yuanfeng simultaneously shook their heads.

  "Never seen before."

  "Never seen before."

  "Only ghosts know what that is."

  Su Dong was suddenly speechless, and the large black wood fern he had inadvertently created seemed to have sparked a lot of interest.

  "These days, that giant black tree fern has grown even taller, a full four meters! It's like a big tree now, you can sit under it and enjoy the cool breeze. And what's more, there are often strangers going to take a look, all sorts of shady characters, many of whom seem to be practitioners." Xuan Yuan said in a low voice.

  Su Dong let out a bitter laugh and said, "What can I do? That Black Wood Fern doesn't listen to me anyway. It's grown like this, if it wasn't being targeted by someone, that would be strange! However, from what I've seen, the Black Wood Fern is still far from maturity, so no one should make a move at this time. The real danger will come next spring."

  Everyone was stunned and curiously asked: "Can't you make it through the winter with this black tree fern?"

  Su Dong nodded in agreement: "It's highly likely."

  Everyone was speechless, Ling Nong had a way, planting in spring and harvesting in autumn. It's said that in the south, there are people who can plant two seasons of spiritual fields, but in the north, it has been this farming rule since ancient times. Su Dong actually managed to get through the winter with black wood ferns? This is really too rare!

  With a full stomach and enough wine, the group returned to the inn. Before they even entered the door, they saw two horse-drawn carriages parked outside the inn, with some unfamiliar people hurrying in and out.

  "Who are you? I've already booked this inn." Zhou Xing grabbed a young man who was running into the courtyard and asked.

  "Since it's your inn, you'd better hurry back and take a look. Everyone in the entire inn has fallen ill. I came from the medical hall!" The young man said, shaking off Zhou Xing, holding a bundle of medicine and running towards the inn.

  "Dad!"

  Zhou Xing suddenly stopped in his tracks, then rushed forward. Su Dong and Xuan Yuanfeng followed closely behind him, with Li Yu bringing up the rear.

  Entering Mr. Zhou's room, I saw the old man's face was pale and he was vomiting non-stop, with a large stain on the floor, while a doctor from the hospital was taking care of him.

  "Father, what's wrong with you?!" Zhou Xing shouted loudly and rushed over.

  "I had no idea, I was just chatting with Master Yang, and suddenly they all started vomiting, maybe it's because of something bad they ate for dinner." Old Man Zhou said weakly.

  Mr. Zhou asked the doctor in a hurry, "It's too late today, treating the patient is urgent, I will come to investigate personally tomorrow, based on the current situation, it seems like food poisoning."

  Xuanyuan Feng pulled Su Dong from behind and whispered, "Tomorrow is the day of the Martial Arts Conference. It's too coincidental that everyone in the Full Guest House suddenly got food poisoning. Could it be..."

  Su Dong nodded slightly and frowned, saying: "Indeed it's too coincidental, but for now we still don't have evidence, so let's not jump to conclusions. You two hurry up and go outside to buy some water and food again, absolutely do not touch anything in the inn anymore."

  ……

  This night was a complete disaster, even the highest-ranking Yang Taosi collapsed, and Su Dong and his group had to take care of everyone. Fortunately, old acquaintance Fan Zhanggu got the news and sent some people to the martial arts hall overnight, which alleviated the burden on Su Dong and his group.

  The next morning, Su Dong and Zhou Xing, Xuan Yuanfeng, Li Yu met again, only to find that each of them had dark circles under their eyes, so they could only smile wryly at each other.

  Zhou Xingdao said: "The host wants you to go over there for a moment."

  Su Dong nodded and followed Zhou Xing to Yang Taosi's room.

  Yang Taishi was after all a martial artist, and his body wasn't bad. At this moment, he could already lean against the bed and eat some plain congee, but his complexion still didn't look good.

  "Close the door." Yang Taishi said softly as she saw Su Dong and Zhou Xing enter.

  Things were made quite mysterious, closing the door, Yang Tai thought called Zhou Xing and Su Dong to his side, staring at them for a while before sighing: "It seems that someone is targeting Tianxing Wuguan."

  Zhou Xing was taken aback and curiously asked, "Director, why do you say that? I heard that yesterday you ate some lake delicacies, perhaps those things were not clean?"

  Yang Taixu shook his head and said, "At first I thought it was a problem with the lake's freshness, but this morning when I woke up, I found that my spiritual power had been dispersed. It's very clear that this is the characteristic of the dispersing spirit pill. The person who poisoned us targeted our Tiān Xīng."

  Su Dong thought for a moment and said: "The dispersing spirit pill is an anesthetic, it only makes people lose their ability to act for a short time. If someone wants to poison them, they shouldn't use this kind of low-grade poison. It seems that the person who poisoned you doesn't want the Tianxing Martial Arts Academy to die, but just doesn't want you to take action in these few days."

  Yang Taixu pouted and said: "What are you guys? Su Dong, don't forget, you're also a part of the Tianxing Martial Arts Academy."

  Taking a deep breath, Yang Taishi said without hesitation: "Now the entire martial arts hall can't operate, Zhou Xing you are the head of the teaching department, Su Dong you are the president of the Wulin Society, among the people who can move now, your two positions are the highest, so today it's up to you two to lead the team and go to the Martial Arts Association."

  "Don't worry, the secret letter has been sent out. Don't think that Tianxing Martial Arts Hall is easy to bully. Although the Hansheng City branch is not strong, we have the backing of the Imperial Capital's Tianxing!"

  It seems like Yang Taixi has been infuriated, lying on the bed with a teeth-gnashing expression.

  After leaving the house, the four of them discussed and decided that since they were going to the Martial Arts Association, they should hurry up as it was already late.

  He then entrusted the people in the inn to Fan Zhanggui, Su Dong, Zhou Xing, Xuan Yuanfeng and Li Yu, and the four of them went out onto the street.

  Walking on the road, Li Yu shook his big head and sighed: "One warrior, two apprentices, plus Su Dong is still a member of Ling Nong Society. Our lineup is really miserable enough. If we go to the Martial Arts Conference, we will probably be bullied to death..."

  Today is also the third watch, it's just that the time will be quite late.

  ;