Quinn Shepherd picked up his brush and began writing out the spirit medicines and poisons he needed. The magistrate of Purple Thorn City came to pay his respects, but Lina the Spirit Fox blocked him at the door, saying: "Young Master isn’t seeing guests these days."
Helpless, the magistrate could only leave.
Serena Yunxiang was busy contacting the Sykes Family, having them notify the Cult brothers and report to the emperor as soon as possible. She also asked the elders to select experts proficient in the Five Ghosts Relocation Art and urged them to arrive quickly.
Quinn handed her the prescription. Serena Yunxiang glanced at it and saw hundreds of different herbs listed—many she’d never even heard of. She said, "These spirit medicines will be very hard to find. We’ll have to search through pharmacies in every city to gather them all, and it’ll take quite a bit of time."
Quinn exhaled a breath of turbid air and smiled, "The days I granted Blaise Rift are precisely for searching out spirit medicines—and to wait for the Cult experts and the emperor to arrive. Otherwise, why would I let him consider for so long?"
Serena Yunxiang sighed, "To be your enemy, one would have to be careful not to choke even while eating. I’ve already notified the Holy Cult—aside from a few elders, those most skilled in the Five Ghosts Relocation Art are in the Nimble Hands Hall."
"Nimble Hands Hall?" Quinn was momentarily stunned, looking puzzled.
"Nimble hands, empty pockets—they’re thieves, naturally."
Serena Yunxiang laughed, "Most members of Nimble Hands Hall are thieves. In the past, they’d sneak into big households and move their treasures, but it was all small-time. Later, the emperor recruited them into the army to transport enemy supplies, and many earned great merit—some even hold high official ranks now."
"So that’s how it is."
Quinn suddenly understood and praised, "Every trade has its champions—so even thieves can rise to wealth and rank. I have to tell Crippled Joe about this!"
Still, he felt a pang of worry—Crippled Joe and the others were blocking the High Heaven gods at the Godsever Mountains, and he had no idea how the battle was going.
"With Apothecary there, it should be fine."
Even so, he couldn’t help but worry. Apothecary could heal the wounded and save lives, but that battlefield was full of gods and demons. If someone were killed outright, not even Apothecary could save them.
Serena Yunxiang went to have the Cult disciples prepare the medicinal ingredients, while Quinn wrote out a prescription for his own treatment and sent Lina the Spirit Fox to the city’s pharmacies to fetch the herbs. After all, using the Lunar Ark had burned through his life force—if he could recover it, he’d do everything possible to restore himself.
After two or three days, Quinn felt much better. He brought the Flood-Dragon King and its flood-dragons to the Fragrant Well courtyard and called out, "Senior Brother Blaise, do you need me to treat your injuries?"
"No need!"
Blaise Rift was on guard: "A skilled doctor is also a skilled poisoner. If I take your medicine, I might die without ever knowing how!"
Quinn glanced at his wounds—there was no more bleeding, but plenty of broken bones, and he looked miserable. "If you don’t treat that leg, it’ll be ruined; you’ll have to walk on one leg. In two days, you’ll need to saw it off. The injury is spreading, corroding the healthy parts, and your body will slowly rot away."
Blaise Rift sneered, "Are you trying to scare me? I’m a god—how could my flesh rot? You hit me with the moon, not a divine art—it was just brute force, not a proper spell. My flesh won’t rot!"
Quinn sighed, "That moon is a divine artifact forged in the Pioneer Era. Of course it’s packed with divine arts. The moon is pure yin—lunar qi is best at rotting flesh. Avoiding treatment is foolish, but who’d have thought even a god could be so stubborn?" With that, he flicked his sleeve and left.
Blaise Rift just kept sneering.
Quinn walked out of the Fragrant Well courtyard. Serena Yunxiang had prepared some of the spirit medicines. "There are still a few we haven’t found, but the Cult brothers are searching. As soon as they’re located, we’ll have them shipped here by fast boat."
Quinn checked the medicines. "With what we have now, I can’t kill him—just take a leg."
Serena Yunxiang was startled and whispered, "How are you going to take his leg?"
Quinn smiled faintly and instructed, "Anyone nearby with even the tiniest wound—even just a needle prick—shouldn’t stay here. Have them move at least a li away from the Fragrant Well."
Serena Yunxiang probed, "What if someone with a needle prick hasn’t moved yet?"
"Then they’re doomed."
Quinn picked through the medicines without looking up. "The spot where they were pricked will first turn into a tiny hole, then slowly widen. In two or three hours, the rot will spread throughout their body, even their bones will decay."
Serena Yunxiang shuddered and hurried off.
The Fragrant Well was a famous landmark in Purple Thorn City, but few people lived nearby. Serena Yunxiang simply had the magistrate order everyone out of the area.
Quinn refined and brewed his medicine—the scent was colorless and odorless, nearly impossible to detect. After two days, Blaise Rift sent for Quinn. He sealed up the finished medicine for later use and returned to the Fragrant Well courtyard, where Blaise Rift sat on the ground. His injured leg was now completely rotten, and the decay was still spreading into healthy flesh.
"Did you do something to me?"
Blaise Rift’s eyes blazed as he stared at Quinn, his voice hoarse: "My leg’s gone bad so fast—it must be your doing!"
Quinn stepped forward and examined him carefully, then shook his head. "I told you—you refused treatment, but didn’t believe me. The Lunar Ark’s moon is no ordinary thing. If you’d let me treat it earlier, you could’ve kept the leg. Now it’s too late—the flesh is rotten, the marrow’s dead. The only way to stop the rot is to amputate."
Blaise Rift’s face twitched as he stared at Quinn, but seeing no sign of deceit, he slumped and said, "If I lose the leg, I’ll only have one left—how can I bargain with you then?"
Quinn replied earnestly, "My medical skills are quite advanced—I can graft another leg onto you. I have three spare god-level legs here; pick the one you like. After the amputation, rest a couple of days and I’ll attach it for you."
Blaise Rift’s expression flickered, torn between hope and suspicion. Suddenly he asked, "Do you know why I’m called Blaise Rift?"
Quinn shook his head.
"A white colt flashes through a crack—gone in an instant."
Blaise Rift said calmly, "That’s about my speed. I’m the fastest in the world—no one can see me, and in a blink I’m a thousand li away. If I lose this leg, how can I ever be that fast again?"
Quinn nodded. Back in the Great Ruins when he faced the three High Heaven gods, he’d taken one out by surprise, but Blaise Rift was the toughest—his speed was like lightning. Even with the Ninefold Heaven Eye Art at full power, Quinn could barely track him, and only after fighting across thousands of li did he finally cripple Blaise Rift’s leg.
"Even with one leg, you can still run fast."
Quinn tried to comfort him: "Crippled Joe from my village only has one leg, but his speed is unmatched in the world. Look at your rotten leg—let me saw it off for you."
Blaise Rift’s body trembled, his voice hoarse: "Aren’t you a divine doctor? Isn’t there any way to save it?"
Quinn replied sadly, "If only you’d come two days ago… Now, if we amputate, you’ll still have one good leg. If you wait any longer, we’ll have to cut you in half. But don’t worry—Butcher from my village was cut in half and still lives well. He walks with his arms, and never has to worry about peeing."
Blaise Rift’s face twitched violently, and he gritted his teeth: "Fine—cut it off!"
Quinn handed him the Worryless Sword with an apologetic look. "You’re a god—I don’t have the skill to amputate your leg. You’ll have to do it yourself."
Blaise Rift gripped the sword hilt, trying to steel himself, but tears streamed down his face.
Quinn felt a pang of guilt and was about to speak when Blaise Rift let out a howl and, with one swing of the sword, severed his own wounded leg!
Quinn was stunned, but quickly stepped forward to stop the bleeding, put away the Worryless Sword, and took out three legs. He said sincerely, "Pick one. I truly want to save you from disaster, so I’ll do everything I can to graft a new leg for you—so you can still flash by like a white colt. Don’t worry, these three legs are from Star Khan’s collection—top quality, not worse than your original. You know Star Khan, right? He’s a collector—if it’s not god-level, he won’t bother."
Blaise Rift gritted his teeth through the pain, sweat pouring down his forehead. He eyed the three legs warily, his voice hoarse: "How do I know you haven’t tampered with them? A skilled doctor is also a skilled poisoner—if you’ve done something to these legs, I’ll be duped for sure."
Quinn met his gaze with absolute sincerity.
Seeing Quinn’s expression, Blaise Rift felt a bit ashamed but still couldn’t trust him. His eyes darted, and he pointed to the shortest god-leg. "I’ll take that one."
Quinn smiled and handed him the leg, putting the other two away. "Don’t worry. Keep the leg with you, and when you’re feeling better in a few days, I’ll come by and attach it. If it’s in your hands, you shouldn’t have to worry about me tampering, right?"
Blaise Rift nodded and sighed, "I shouldn’t have doubted you. I trust you have a healer’s heart. For the next few days, I’ll handle my own recovery—no need for your medicine!"
Quinn snorted, "You still don’t trust me. Fine—if you need any spirit medicine, just tell the spellcasters outside the courtyard to fetch it. I won’t interfere." With that, he turned and left.
Blaise Rift called for a spellcaster and wrote out a prescription for them to fetch the medicine.
Outside the courtyard, Serena Yunxiang’s eyes flickered. She whispered, "Cult Master, should we tamper with his medicine?"
"No need."
Quinn asked, "Have all the spirit medicines I need arrived?"
"Still missing a few."
Quinn went to check and thought for a while. "It’s almost enough." He took out the remaining two god-legs, preparing to brew medicine and poison them.
Serena Yunxiang cried out, "Cult Master, what are you—"
"Even though I let him keep that god-leg, he definitely won’t use it. In a few days, he’ll ask me to bring out the other two and pick one to graft on."
Quinn carefully brewed poison, planning to hide it in the legs. His intense focus was unnerving. "I don’t know which leg he’ll pick, so I’ll poison both. As for the leftover poisoned leg, I plan to—"
He activated his vital energy, his techniques ever-changing as he swiftly concocted a strange poison. "—return it to Star Khan when I get the chance! What do you think of that idea?"
Serena Yunxiang shivered, her face pale, and stammered, "Cult Master, I’ll never covet your position again!"
"What nonsense!" Quinn turned and flashed her a bright, sunny grin—just a big-hearted boy full of youthful energy.
Serena Yunxiang shuddered.