Nan Shiying and Ji Jinmo were unaware of Gui Lao's misunderstanding, and even if they knew, they likely wouldn't have cared.
"Medicine Venerable, do you truly not care about Feng Quan's life or death? If I die here today, I guarantee you that Feng Quan will not see the sun tomorrow," the man in black threatened with a grim expression after regaining his ability to speak.
He hadn't expected the imperial court's people to arrive so quickly, nor that the arrivals would be Ji Jinmo and Feng Luan. He couldn't fathom where things had gone wrong, but it was futile to ponder such matters now. He could only gamble, betting that the Medicine Venerable still cared about Feng Quan's fate.
"Noisy!" Gui Lao waved his hand, and the shadow instantly transformed into a large palm, striking the man in black forcefully across the face. The impact was so great it nearly snapped the man's neck. His neck didn't break, but the mask was knocked off, revealing an ordinary face with no distinguishing features.
"Hmm, I haven't seen him before, a stranger!"
"Medicine Venerable?" Nan Shiying blinked slightly upon hearing the title. She hadn't heard of this name before, but someone called by this name should have a connection to Medicine King Valley, shouldn't they? "Are you the Medicine Venerable who rebelled and left Medicine King Valley years ago?"
Nan Shiying hadn't heard of him, but Ji Jinmo knew that back then, the most skilled physician in Medicine King Valley wasn't the current valley master, but the valley master's junior brother – Medicine Venerable Chong Lou!
"Rebelled?" Nan Shiying finally understood why the other party kept asking about why her old man left Medicine King Valley; it was because of this.
"He's speaking nonsense!" Gui Lao was still unwilling to admit it, even though Feng Luan's master had likely left Medicine King Valley after discovering his senior brother's clandestine practice of refining child servants.
Nan Shiying pursed her lips. You're clearly lying. However, since the other party refused to admit it, neither Nan Shiying nor Ji Jinmo intended to force him. After all, as long as they prevented the Medicine Venerable from succeeding, half the mission would be accomplished.
Nan Shiying stood up and smiled at the man in black, whose face was swollen into a pig's head. "Although I know these words are useless, I still want to ask, are you willing to confess yourself?"
The man in black's gaze towards Nan Shiying was filled with malice, showing little regard for her. He opened his mouth, and blood first flowed out, accompanied by several teeth. His voice was lisping, but he still stubbornly asked Gui Lao, "Medicine Venerable, you truly don't care about Feng Quan's life or death? You rebelled from Medicine King Valley years ago to save them. Only Feng Quan has survived all these years, depending on you for nearly thirty years. Do you really want him to die without a burial place?"
Gui Lao was silent for a moment before replying, "If he dies, I will exhaust all means to find the person behind you and kill them, kill all of you. Including your wives, children, parents, brothers, and sisters. If so many people are buried with him, his death will be worthwhile."
"You are a madman, a madman!" The man in black had never expected the Medicine Venerable to be such an extreme person. He truly could not tolerate any threats. If threatened, he would rather perish together than compromise even slightly.
He wanted to say more, but Nan Shiying dislocated his jaw. "So much nonsense, truly noisy!" Her impatient demeanor was almost identical to the Medicine Venerable's. However, during an interrogation, Nan Shiying encountered such a tough bone for the first time. She crouched down, looking at the man who was disfigured by torture, and turned to ask Gui Lao, "Do you mind if I flay him alive in your room?"
Gui Lao's eye twitched. He felt his temples throbbing. After a two-second silence, he raised his hand and clenched it slightly. A vast shadow spread over the man in black, its edges curling upward like a giant dish.
"Flay him!" Gui Lao waved his hand. Nan Shiying reached out and poked the upward-curling edge of the shadow. It felt like touching chilled jelly, cool and smooth. "Give me a scalpel." Nan Shiying had a new method; flaying no longer required digging a pit and pouring quicksilver. A scalpel would suffice.
Gui Lao waved his hand, and the shadow-formed tendrils pulled open the wardrobe door, retrieving a scalpel from a drawer within. He handed it to Nan Shiying. Nan Shiying took the scalpel and casually stripped off the man in black's clothes.
Ji Jinmo's face was darker than the shadows in the room. Nan Shiying gripped the scalpel's handle, the blade grazing the man in black's skin. Her eyes, at this moment, were filled with golden light. As her pupils dilated, the golden light rapidly spread throughout her eyes, radiating brilliantly, almost causing the shadows controlled by Gui Lao to shatter and dissipate.
Gui Lao was slightly stunned. Could these eyes of hers actually restrain his shadow patterns? After Nan Shiying fully unleashed her abilities, she could even glimpse his subcutaneous tissue through the man in black's skin. Indeed, after completely digesting and absorbing the Buddha Fruit, her ocular abilities had advanced to a new level.
The tip of the scalpel felt slightly cool as it slid across the skin, sending a shiver through him. Just the thought that this madwoman was going to flay him alive with such a small scalpel made the man's soul tremble. The moment the scalpel cut through his skin, his eyeballs bulged as if about to pop out of their sockets. Before his piercing screams could reach the heavens, a wad of cloth was stuffed into his mouth.
"Don't rush, don't rush, it's only just begun." Nan Shiying bent slightly, her scalpel slicing from the man in black's chest to his abdomen, creating a long but shallow wound. Then, Nan Shiying turned the scalpel horizontally, its edge grazing the wound's border, separating the subcutaneous tissue from the skin. With her left thumb and index finger, she gripped the cut skin and inserted the blade underneath. She worked with a seriousness and devotion akin to sculpting a work of art. Gui Lao stood up and crouched on the other side, watching her actions up close. He couldn't help but gaze at her eyes. These eyes were perfectly suited for a physician.
The man's eyes widened. More than the pain, what brought him despair was the profound terror from the depths of his soul. Never before had he wished for death to come any faster. At this moment, even fainting seemed like a luxury.
"Mmmph, mmmph~" he choked out. He wanted to say, just let him die.
Seeing the plea in the man's unfocused gaze, Nan Shiying paused her actions with a hint of lingering interest. She removed the cloth from his mouth and then reset his jaw. "Speak, who are you, what organization do you belong to, who are the members of your organization, and what is the purpose of kidnapping Feng Quan? And... where is Feng Quan at this moment!"
"I... I..." The man gasped, his chest heaving like a bellows. "Medicine... Medicine Venerable, I hope you won't regret your choice today!"
As soon as the man finished speaking, Nan Shiying grasped his chin. Her expression was stern, and frost seemed to burst from her eyes. She sneered, "Trying to bite your tongue off to commit suicide? You..." It was sheer wishful thinking. Nan Shiying couldn't finish her sentence because the scene before her exceeded her imagination! The man beneath her dissolved into a pool of blood at a visible speed.