He Zhiran and Mo Jiuye looked in the direction Village Chief Cui was pointing.
The house was on the far east side, presumably the one the government official had warned them was haunted.
From the outside, the house did indeed look nice, unlike the other crooked buildings.
But it was very small, probably only two rooms at most.
Aside from whether it was haunted, with just two such small rooms, how could they accommodate so many people?
Seeing a house they could live in, Xie Tianhai eagerly led his two sons towards it.
When Village Chief Cui saw him heading that way, a sinister smile flashed across his face.
Noticing this, Mo Chuhan quickly called out to the Xie father and sons to stop them.
"Uncle Xie, please wait. I’ll go take a look with you afterward."
He didn’t know what was suspicious about the house that led to rumors of it being haunted. The Xie family had no martial arts skills. If something dangerous happened, there would be no one to help them.
Xie Tianhai always listened to the Mo family. Hearing Mo Chuhan call out, he obediently stopped and came back with his two sons.
Seeing the Xie family coming back, Village Chief Cui was clearly somewhat disappointed, though he didn’t show it on his face. He solemnly said, "Pick whichever house you want here. Wherever you want to live, go ahead. I’ve fulfilled your requests already and won’t keep you company anymore." After speaking, he left, taking Cui Minglin with him.
Only after the Cui father and son had gone far away did Xie Tianhai angrily complain. "Do they want us to freeze to death in houses like these?"
Mo Jiuye stepped forward to placate him: "Uncle Fang, don’t worry. Let’s take a look first before deciding what to do."
By now the sky was already dark. Xie Chao had found two thick wooden sticks somewhere and lit them to use as makeshift torches.
Considering the women were timid, Mo Jiuye and Mo Chuhan decided the two brothers would go take a look around first while the others waited where they were.
He Zhiran knew the two brothers were going to check out the house in the far east. Naturally, she didn’t want to fall behind in this.
Under her firm insistence, the brothers finally agreed to let her tag along.
The three of them held a torch and walked towards the east, observing as they went in hopes of discovering a few more courtyards they could temporarily lodge in.
When they were halfway there, the three faintly heard sorrowful wailing coming from the east.
They immediately halted in their tracks.
"Little brother, something is definitely suspicious over there."
Mo Jiuye nodded slightly. "Right. Let’s try to walk more softly so we don’t alert them like startling birds."
The two brothers didn’t believe the talk of ghosts and spirits.
Even if there were some, they weren’t afraid.
The three tiptoed towards the east. The clearer the sounds became, the more suspicious Mo Jiuye felt.
With knitted brows, he said: "Big brother, don’t you feel like the voice sounds a bit familiar?"
"Little brother, you feel that way too?" Mo Chuhan asked in response.
"Let’s go, walk faster and go take a look."
As he spoke, Mo Jiuye had already grabbed He Zhiran’s small hand, quickening his pace by a lot.
As they drew near, they could confirm the sounds were coming from the house to the east.
From the agonized voice, they could tell it was a man, and his vitality was greatly diminished. If he wasn’t in immense pain, he wouldn’t be able to let out such loud wailing.
Mo Chuhan took the torch from Mo Jiuye. "Little brother, you and sister-in-law stay here and wait. I’ll go in and take a look."
When encountering this kind of unclear situation, it was most reasonable to leave someone outside as backup. Mo Jiuye didn’t object.
"Alright, big brother be careful."
Holding the torch, Mo Chuhan carefully entered the house.
After about ten seconds, he loudly shouted: "Little brother, come quick! It’s fifth brother. Fifth brother is still alive!"
Hearing this, Mo Jiuye pulled He Zhiran along as he rushed into the house.
In the torchlight, they could see that directly facing the door was a disheveled, tattered man.
The man was emaciated like skin and bones. His arms were spread apart and chained so he couldn’t move.
His eyes were unfocused as he ceaselessly cried out in anguish.
Mo Jiuye stepped forward to take the torch from Mo Chuhan and examined the man closely. "It really is fifth brother. How could he be here?"
By now, Mo Chuhan had already strode forward. He touched the chains, trying to figure out a way to rescue Mo Chongyuan.
He Zhiran immediately went to stop him. "Eighth brother, wait a moment."
Mo Chuhan looked at her uncomprehendingly. "Sister-in-law, with fifth brother like this, it’s very painful for him. I should rescue him first before anything else."
"Eighth brother, fifth brother has likely been poisoned. If you rescue him now, I’m afraid he’ll become even more out of control."
Ever since entering, He Zhiran had observed Mo Chongyuan’s condition. Based on his somewhat purplish eye sockets, she could confirm fifth brother had undoubtedly been poisoned.
As for what exact poison it was, she would need to examine him further to find out.
Right now should be when the poison was taking effect.
Mo Jiuye understood He Zhiran’s abilities. He knew she would never speak groundlessly.
Wanting to help persuade, he said: "Eighth brother, listen to Zhiran. She knows medicine and certainly won’t be wrong."
Mo Chuhan reluctantly pulled his hands back, unable to bear it. "Sister-in-law, what should we do now?"
He Zhiran didn’t immediately reply. Instead, she signaled for Mo Jiuye to hold the man down a bit more firmly. Then she stepped forward to take Mo Chongyuan’s pulse.
The results of her examination were indeed the same as what she had guessed.
Luckily, the poison Mo Chongyuan had wasn’t unfamiliar to He Zhiran.
Its effects were similar to the Loss of Spirit poison she made from the venom of Silver Ring Snakes.
It’s just that whoever concocted this poison had added several ingredients to drive one mad.
"Eighth brother, husband, fifth brother has indeed been poisoned. The poison he ingested can make people lose their senses and even become insane.
However, this kind of poison only makes one turn into this during attacks. I estimate it won’t be long before fifth brother regains his senses."
"How long will it take for fifth brother to regain his senses?" Mo Jiuye anxiously asked.
"Based on fifth brother’s current condition, his attack has probably been going on for some time already. I estimate no more than two hours for him to recover."
Upon hearing that fifth brother would have to endure such torment for two whole hours, Mo Chuhan felt extremely distressed.
"Sister-in-law, is there any good way to temporarily alleviate fifth brother’s suffering?"
A good method?
The best method was to first detoxify the poison in Mo Chongyuan.
Although He Zhiran was confident she could formulate an antidote, it wasn’t something she could immediately accomplish right now.
Currently, she still didn’t know what other medicinal ingredients had been added on top of the Loss of Spirit poison Mo Chongyuan had ingested. She needed to determine that before she could start preparing the antidote.
This required a process. Even if everything went smoothly, she would still need some time.
Shielding with her sleeve, He Zhiran took silver needles from her space and swiftly inserted them at several of Mo Chongyuan’s acupoints.
Very quickly, Mo Chongyuan quieted down as if he had fallen asleep, no longer struggling.
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