In an instant, the entire Huaxu Square was completely razed to the ground.
Outside, it was complete chaos.
The Shadow Guard and Xuan i tried to charge inside without a second thought, but Cao Jin blocked their path.
"There’s miasma inside!"
The Shadow Guard was frantic. "I don’t give a damn about any miasma! My master is in there!"
"And the Princess Consort!" Xuan i’s expression was just as grim.
But Cao Jin adamantly blocked them from entering. "The imperial guard has taken control of this area."
The Shadow Guard exploded in fury. "Is this any ti to be spouting rules? If anything happens to our master, I’ll wipe out your entire imperial guard!"
Though Xuan i didn’t start cursing like the Shadow Guard, her eyes were filled with murderous intent.
Cao Jin glanced at the two of them. "If sothing truly happens to Prince Qing, it would be better to have people left to avenge him than to hand our enemies an advantage."
He then looked at the Shadow Guard, his tone leaving no room for argunt. "Get her out of here."
Without another word, he turned and began directing his n to go in and rescue the survivors.
"What does he an by that?"
The Shadow Guard’s voice was tinged with panic.
Xuan i, however, glanced across the square, then turned and bolted.
"Where are you going?!"
In the enclosed space ford by rubble and shattered timber, all the commotion from outside was completely blocked out.
Song Lianhe struggled to drag the man to a relatively clean spot, then collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily.
Looking at the unconscious man, her heart ached as if pierced by a needle.
’Who knew Zhen Niang could be so vicious? To think there was a pit of venomous creatures right under Huaxu Square!’
A "pit of venomous creatures" was just that—a pit filled with countless snakes and other poisonous beasts. They were all kept together without being fed, so when maddened by hunger, they would devour one another in a grim display of survival of the fittest.
A pit this large seed less for the Miao people’s practice of raising Gu and more like a thod of cruel punishnt. Over a long period, combined with the dampness underground, the corpses had rotted away to nothing, not even bone fragnts. In ti, the decay of these venomous creatures produced a toxic, non-degrading gas—miasma.
With Huaxu Square built over it, the gas was safely contained. But now that the area had been leveled, the miasma would be released.
’This is ancient, subterranean miasma! In the world of miasmas, this stuff is basically a great-grandmother!’
Exposure to ordinary miasma might cause dizziness and vomiting at worst. Severe cases could lead to malaria-like symptoms: high fever, chills, and organ failure.
But this miasma was caused entirely by the corpses of venomous creatures, buried and sealed away for years. One could only imagine the consequences of its release.
Normally, a fire could be lit to temporarily disperse it. ’But lighting a fire in this enclosed space would be like tossing a firecracker down a sewer. Even if the manhole cover doesn’t fly sky-high, Zhou Cangyan and I would.’
’The entire Li Zong Pass is probably in for a catastrophe...’
’But whether it was a catastrophe or not was a problem for later. The priority right now was for the two of them to survive!’
She had rushed toward the opening out of pure desperation, with only one thought in her mind: ’I can’t let him be buried in there!’
But she had underestimated the power of the gunpowder. Far from saving him, she feared she would be buried here as well.
In the final monts between life and death, it’s said your life flashes before your eyes in just a few seconds.
She had experience with dying.
But unlike the last ti she died, lying in a hospital bed counting her regrets, in that instant, the deafening roar vanished. Her mind filled with a white mist, from which a figure faintly erged, seemingly within arm’s reach.
Just as she tried to get a clearer look, a powerful hand grabbed her, and she was pulled into a solid embrace.
The mont she realized who it was, the thunderous roar returned to her ears.
With all her senses rushing back, she clung to his waist in terror, burying her face deep into his chest.
"Zhou Cangyan..." Her trembling voice was barely a whisper, swallowed by the earth-shattering chaos around them.
And yet, he heard her.
"Don’t be afraid. I’m with you."
In that instant, tears welled up in Song Lianhe’s eyes.
A sense of peace washed over her.
’Who could possibly understand how devastating those words were?’
He didn’t say, "Don’t be afraid, I’m here." He said, "Don’t be afraid. I’m with you."
Even in death, he would be by her side.
He wouldn’t let her be alone again, lying in a hospital room until the very end, with only the pitying gazes of doctors and nurses and their soft sighs of "Such a sha, so young..."
Song Lianhe hugged him tighter. She couldn’t speak, only nod frantically.
’Together, then,’ she thought.
’It’s not like I haven’t died before.’
It seed Fate truly valued her life. When she opened her eyes again, everything was silent.
The man was still shielding her securely beneath him.
His head rested in the crook of her neck, his thick lashes casting a lovely shadow. His eyes were shut tight, hiding his cool, light-brown irises from view.
He was completely still.
Song Lianhe’s breath caught in her throat. Without thinking, acting on pure reflex, she raised a trembling hand to check if he was breathing...
She let out a sharp sigh of relief.
’Thank goodness!’
He wasn’t dead. But she quickly realized they were now trapped in another terrifying situation—surrounded by miasma.
’Thankfully, I have Miasma Pills!’
Back at the dical Clinic, she had relied on her "Seven Dragon Balls"—a set of seven legendary first-aid miracle drugs—to establish the clinic and make its na known far and wide.
She gently pushed the man off her and imdiately sat up.
Thanks to Zhou Cangyan’s protection, she was completely unscathed, without so much as a scratch.
But when she looked at Zhou Cangyan, his back was a bloody, mangled ss.
The wounds were from rolling several tis to dodge falling beams, getting gashed in the process.
In several places, the flesh was torn open, the wounds so deep the bone was visible.
"You idiot... You’re supposed to be the main villain... How could you save soone?"
Choking back a sob, she took out the white pill and fed it to Zhou Cangyan.
But it was her only extra-strength Miasma Pill.
She had given it to Zhou Cangyan without a second thought.
Fortunately, Song Lianhe had other antidotes. She took every single one that might have even a slight effect.
But she knew that any dicine would eventually wear off. If they couldn’t get out soon, it was a dead end for both of them.
She glanced at his wounds, then at her own filthy night clothes. Decisively, she took off the outer layer, then her clean under-tunic, before putting the night clothes back on.
The surface area of his wounds was too large, and Song Lianhe had limited dication for external injuries. She could only prioritize the most severe gashes. Taking a needle from her satchel, she plucked a strand of her own hair, threaded it, and began to suture his wounds.
Given the circumstances, this was the best she could do.
The miasma began to pour out from the ground nonstop. The sll was so acrid it made her eyes burn and her throat choke, bringing tears to her eyes.
Shielding her face with a veil, Song Lianhe wiped away her tears as she continued to stitch.
She had mostly studied pharmacology when she was with her grandfather. Her surgical suturing skills were rusty, as she’d never had any real practice. As a result, the stitches on Zhou Cangyan’s back were far from neat.
’But with all the scars already on his back, he probably wouldn’t mind a few more ugly ones,’ she thought.
Song Lianhe started to cough. "COUGH, COUGH..."
The accompanying nausea and dizziness were undeniable signs that she, too, had been poisoned.
The only difference was that thanks to the pills she had taken, the poison was simply taking effect more slowly.
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