Northern Li, Tianning, Western Zhou, and Tianan didn’t co purely for the Apricot Woods Conference, but to have dical City take the lead to help them all work together and destroy the Poison Sect, thus facing down the south central region’s commander-in-chief’s estate together.
Who would have expected this turn of events instead?
The dical academy was hard pressed to save itself now, much less coordinate their alliance. What these people wanted was decisive victory. They didn’t care about Gu Yuntian or Gu Qishao’s old scores! Many in the crowd could tell that this Northern Li physician was no simple man. How could a pure doctor say such incisive words now?
But none of them could guess his origins.
Very soon, Western Zhou’s crown prince Duanmu Baiye stood up as well. “For the moral and upright dical academy to know poison arts is really a surprise! Looks like Gu Qishao wasn’t lying. If he can raise Poison corpses, I expect you must know how to as well, right, Gu Yuntian?”
“Heheh, so it turns out the dical academy and the Poison Sect were jackals from the sa lair,” Tianning’s military officer guffawed. “As things stand, we not only have to destroy the Poison Sect...but dical City as well!”
Silence greeted his words.
Destroy dical City...
What frightening words. At least, no one had ever entertained the thought before today. But now everything had changed. What kind of reputation did the dical academy have left after Gu Yuntian’s box of goods? And its prestige? Most likely, even its own people were losing their heads over it all.
Departnt Head Ouyang glared at the instigators before he said, “Gu Yuntian’s activities are a reflection on him personally, and have nothing to do with the dical academy! The academy shall punish Gu Yuntian accordingly for the public! If there is anyone with evil intentions to slander the academy, don’t bla us for being brusque!”
Duanmu Baiye and the Tianning officer withered at his words and resentfully shut up. After all, the dical academy still held a monopoly across Cloud Realm’s dical community. If they offended them too much, it would only disadvantage them. Still, the Northern Li physician only laughed coldly.
“Gu Yuntian is the academy head. Could a single sentence from you, Departnt Head Ouyang, whitewash him or the dical academy? Departnt Head Ouyang, do you think you’re coaxing a bunch of three year olds?”
“No one else in the academy knew of Gu Yuntian’s doings besides Head Elder Ling! Back then, Little Qi was expelled for stealing dicinal ingredients. That was all we knew!” Departnt Head Ouyang retorted.
“Heheh, then what about those poison arts? Why does Gu Yuntian know those? And also, the Poison Sect was originally part of your dical City. The Poison Sect’s forbidden grounds are still under dical City control. How can you expect everyone to believe that there are no unspeakable secrets between the dical academy and the Poison Sect?” the old imperial physician challenged.
“It’s true that the Poison Sect was one of dical City’s strengths, but the dical academy destroyed them in the past for the sake of world peace. Truly, it was dical City’s oversight that allowed Gu Yuntian to learn poison arts and raise Gu Qishao in the forbidden grounds!”
Departnt Head Ouyang didn’t like to argue, but he was a smart man. He knew what the Northern Li imperial physician was aiming for. After a pause, he added, “Ladies and gentleman, please set your cares at rest. The dical academy won’t shield Gu Yuntian, much less Gu Qishao! Even if Gu Qishao was a victim, he colluded with Han Yunxi and the remnants of the Poison Sect to raise so many Poison corpses. He’s risked the safety of Cloud Realm Continent and committed unforgivable cris!”
Northern Li’s imperial physician was waiting for those very words. With Gu Yuntian off his high horse, the dical academy would still be willing to take the lead for their multi-nation alliance to suppress the south central regions. That was already enough.
“Soone co, capture Gu Yuntian and Gu Qishao!” Departnt Head Ouyang ordered.
Gu Yuntian had already abandoned himself to despair. He never took Little Qi’s hatred seriously, nor did he expect to fall so far. He had wanted to be the most outstanding researcher at the Apricot Woods Conference and rise to ninth rank Sovereign Doctor. But a female nobody had stolen his thunder instead! He had wanted to destroy everything about the Poison Sect and ford an alliance to do that while solidifying his position as academy head, but lost all standing and reputation on the sa stage!
He shut his eyes and allowed the guards to drag him away, still in the depths of denial. This has to be a nightmare! It must be!
anwhile, Gu Qishao’s icy glare simply froze the guards in their tracks. He swept his gaze across the crowd before finally resting on Departnt Head Ouyang. “Departnt Head Ouyang, which eye of yours saw this old man’s Poison corpses hurt a single person?”
Departnt Head Ouyang found himself unable to retort. Had anyone seen Gu Qishao’s Poison corpses injure another human being? No one! All they did was scare off the Carefree City people without injuring a single one.
“You haven’t hurt anyone, but you’re helping the descendant of the Poison Sect! You’re colluding with them!” Duanmu Baiye insisted.
Gu Qishao laughed next. “Crown Prince Ye, may I ask what kinds of atrocious deeds the Poison Sect has ever done? Have they killed your father or coveted your mother?”
“Gu Qishao, you’re seeking death!” Duanmu Baiye lost it and drew his sword to rush the man, but he simply kicked him back into the crowd.
“You can go die instead!” he snapped. Then he turned towards Departnt Head Ouyang with a face full of smiles. “Departnt Head Ouyang, why don’t you tell us just what kinds of heinous cris the Poison Sect committed in the past for the dical academy to kill them all? And destroy their entire sect?”
With Duanmu Baiye as an example, no one else dared to speak up. All of them waited quietly for Departnt Head Ouyang’s answer.
“The Poison Sect sold poisons to outsiders and risked the lives of the common people. Moreover, they even developed the art of nurturing poisons to make Poison humans, Poison corpses, and the undying Poison Gu humans. They wanted to destroy all lives with their poisons! If they hadn’t been destroyed, Cloud Realm Continent would have long turned into Hell on Earth!” Departnt Head Ouyang declared righteously.
Gu Qishao’s laughs grew louder. “These are nothing but hypotheses from the dical academy. Dare I ask whether the Poison Sect publicly opened stores to sell off poisons? Did they actually do anything outrageous or terrible?”
Departnt Head Ouyang was rendered mute. There was precious few records on the Poison Sect’s history because it was all spread by word of mouth. Both rumors and historical records alike lacked any clear accounts of their cris. As the silence stretched on, Gu Qishao’s voice seed exceptionally bright and clear.
“Did they?”
No one answered him. Even those who wanted to retort couldn’t, because a place like this demanded proof. Next, Gu Qishao asked, “Ladies and gentlen, do you know why Gu Yuntian knows poison arts? Do you know where I learned my nurturing poison skills from?”
A complicated look flickered through the Northern Li imperial physician’s eyes. He wanted to say sothing, but ultimately stayed quiet.
“There’s a secret only privy to the academy heads of the dical academy. Unfortuantely, my father accidentally revealed it to .” Gu Qishao gave Gu Yuntian a aningful look, but the listless man sprawled on the ground seed like a balloon that had lost all air. He showed no reaction to anything around him.
In truth, Gu Qishao had discovered the secret after sneaking back to dical City and doing research based on his childhood mories. Gu Yuntian hadn’t told him everything. In fact, Gu Qishao long had his counters in place to defeat Gu Yuntian, but he hadn’t moved because it was a double edged sword. Still, he was going ahead and risking everything this ti for Poison lass’s sake! He had promised to let her acknowledge her status and sect openly and free of cares!
Gu Qishao continued, “In the past, the dical academy and Poison Sect shared control of dical City. The Poison Sect intended to cure poisons, so they raised poisons doctors. They were never going to use poisons to hurt people. Unfortunately, the dical academy grew jealous as the sect increased in strength. The Poison Sect only raised Poison humans and Poison corpses as a way to defend themselves against the dical academy’s increasing control over their matters. It was never to hurt the world’s people. Instead, the dical academy were the ones to leak their poisons to the outside world, then news of their poison nurturing skills to wreck their reputation. In the end, the academy joined hands with dical City’s various clans to destroy the Poison Sect and seal its grounds...”
“Nothing but nonsense!” Departnt Head Ouyang interrupted.
Gu Qishao couldn’t be bother to deal with him. “After the dical academy eliminated the Poison Sect, the academy head back then didn’t completely destroy its books and records, but claid them for himself. They were secretly passed down to each successive head from then on.”
Even Academy Head Gu raised his head at those words as he realized the seriousness of the situation--and Gu Qishao’s true motives. He wasn’t just here to seek revenge on him, but destroy all of dical City! He wanted to stop him, but it was already too late.
Gu Qishao said, “My father and my poison arts both ca from those poison manuals. There’s two boxes’ worth of books, all hidden in the secret underground chamber in my father’s back courtyard. You can search for them if you don’t believe !”
Now everyone including Departnt Head Ouyang had fallen silent. Were Gu Qishao’s words true?
All they had to do was search Gu Yuntian’s back yard to verify the facts.
Departnt Head Ouyang and his other two fellow heads, as well as the three elders of the council, all exchanged glances. None of them had any idea about this, nor did they want to believe it. But in the end, they were afraid! Suppose it was true? Then dical City’s reputation would be completely destroyed. No matter what, they had to protect the city!
Gu Qishao’s nacing air didn’t feel like a joke. They couldn’t risk such a threat!
At this mont, Departnt Head Lin scooted over to speak with Departnt Head Ouyang in hushed tones. It was a rare mont for the two rivals to stand together.
Soon enough, Departnt Head Ouyang ca to a prompt decision. “Gu Qishao, you’re willing to make up such lies just to absolve the Poison Sect of its cris? Do you think everyone will be tricked by your fabrications? Soone co, ah, capture both father and son! The dical academy must punish Gu Yuntian severely to give the world’s people an answer! As for the plans to eliminate the Poison Sect, I ask everyone to still stay on for a few more days after the Apricot Woods Conference ends. We must unite our efforts to discuss strategies together!”
Departnt Head Ouyang signaled with his eyes before a large group of guards rushed over to stop Gu Qishao from saying anything more. But soon enough, more dical apprentices rushed onto the scene to whisper in Departnt Head Ouyang and Departnt Head Lin’s ears.
Whatever they said left nasty expressions on the two n’s faces. They exchanged helpless glances just as restless noises rose from beyond the forest. The last row of the seated ran into the forest and back out again with bad news.
“The dical academy’s in trouble! Big trouble!”
“Everyone, hurry over and take a look! It’s really bad!”
“I never would’ve thought! Never at all!”
As more shouts ca from the rear, the front grew restless. Tang Li and Ning Jing were the first to leave, followed by old Wang from dicine City and their respective elders. Mu Qingwu beca the third until gradually, more and more people left the scene. Even the representatives from Northern Li and Tianning went to investigate, leaving the upper levels of dical City with no choice but to chase after them.
Soon enough, the scene was all but deserted except for Gu Qishao, Han Yunxi, and Gu Beiyue...
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