Grandma sat on the couch, closed her eyes and listened to Tang Xiu and Tang Ji about the results of the investigation. Hong Gu stood behind her and massaged her shoulders.

  "Are you sure nothing is missing?"

  "Yes, we checked for three days and no book collections were lost."

  Tang Jing's answer made Grandma open her eyes: "Have you found any clues about the thief?"

  Tang Jing lowered his head: "Not for the time being."

  "Go down!" Grandma said, waving her hand. Tang Ji immediately retreated, but Tang Xiu stood still in his original position, which made Tang Ji look at him in surprise. However, he didn't stop and continued to back out calmly.

  "Anything wrong?"

  "Yes." Tang Xiu responded with a sound, but didn't make any further movements. Grandma glanced at Tang Xiu and patted Hong Gu's hand, and Hong Gu immediately understood the hint and retreated.

  "Go on."

  Tang Xiu took out two rolls of cloth from his bosom and placed them on the table, opening them to reveal the damaged bamboo slips that were attached to them.

  "Master of the door, look."

  Grandma got up and took a closer look.

  "These fragmented and disjointed texts were unclear for a long time, and I couldn't make sense of them. However, when I examined them today, I found that they had been restored in order by someone..."

  Her expression unchanged, she reached out and touched the remaining fragment: "Does anyone else know about this?"

  "Master Men, you once said that regarding these two volumes of ancient books, no one is allowed to mention it to others, so I didn't even tell Tang Ji."

  "Let me keep these two ancient books for now, they can be used as substitutes later."

  "Yes."

  "And this matter still cannot be told to others."

  "Yes."

  Grandma waved her hand, and Tang Xiu immediately retreated.

  Her grandmother stared at the missing part of the neatly arranged remnants, muttering to herself: "It seems... this person is here for poison."

  ……

  I handed the lunchbox back to Hua Rou.

  "How was it? Was it good?"

  Hua Rou smiled as she took it, but the smile on her face soon faded, and then she grasped Mu Junwu's wrist with a serious expression.

  Admiring you, I take a look at Hua Rou, and then take a look at her pinching her own wrist, slightly suspicious: "Not right?"

  Hua Rou's eyebrows furrowed together: "The previous poison has been resolved, but you've added new poison to your body."

  I was startled by your words and raised an eyebrow.

  "What else did you bump into?"

  I shook my head at you.

  He didn't touch anything, and for these three days he was also exceptionally careful and attentive, so it shouldn't have been possible for him to be poisoned again.

  Hua Rou furrowed her brow in thought, muttering to herself: "Master said that mixed poison is hard to solve, and the method of using poison to attack poison might lead to poisoning... could it be..." Hua Rou suddenly slapped her forehead, a look of distress on her face: "Oh no, Mu Da Ge, I... I may have made a mistake!"

  "You mean..."

  Hua Rou said anxiously, "I want to give you an antidote, and I'm confident in the method of detoxification. However, your body doesn't just have that one poison. I haven't figured out what those accumulated old poisons are inside you, so if I rashly give you an antidote, it might... trigger new poisons!"

  Mo Jun's eyes widened slightly as he comforted Hua Rou by patting her hand: "It's alright, you can just slowly detoxify the poison from my body, can't you?"

  Hua Ruo heard this and quickly burst into tears: "But with my current skills, I basically can't see what poison is on you, nor do I know the antidote!"

  "You won't die for a while anyway."

  He had long known that the poison in his body was incurable. Since even the great Poison Master couldn't cure it, how could he have any hope for Hua Rou?

  Ke Hua Rou's eyes reddened as soon as she heard him say that: "Mu Ge, I swear! I will definitely figure out what poison is in your body at the fastest speed and get rid of it!"

  Mo Jun was taken aback for a moment, then rushed to smile at her: "Okay, I'll wait for you."

  He couldn't tell her that he was already in a state of despair, but her concern and efforts made him feel that the road to desperation was no longer bitter.

  ……

  In the dead of night, in a secret room, Tang Jiuer furrowed his brow as he watched Hua Rou practice her internal energy, his face gradually turning ugly.

  When the flower gently exhaled and withdrew its move, she coldly rebuked: "Although you have mastered this third layer of moves, you must not be careless or impatient. The most important thing is to stabilize your inner breath, if you are unstable, you will only hurt yourself, be careful!"

  "Yes, Master." Hua Rou replied after which she looked at Tang Jiu'er with expectant eyes: "Master, I've already learned the third layer now. Can I start learning the fourth layer?"

  "It's still early."

  Hua Rou heard this and was overcome with grief, hanging her head in shame, her expression revealing deep regret.

  Tang Jiuer frowned again: "Do you want to learn quickly?"

  "Hmm." Huā Róu looked up at Táng Jiǔ ér: "I don't know if Master can..."

  "Why are you in such a hurry?" Tang Jiuer's eyes were vigilant, before Hua Rou had never been impatient, but these days she seemed to have a greedy intention.

  "Hmm, I... I want to experience the feeling of being able to recognize and solve all the poisons under heaven."

  Tang Jiuer gazed at Hua Rou's gentle expression and sincerely said, relaxing his shoulders, placing his hand on her shoulder: "In the world, all things, if you rush, you won't reach."

  Hua's lips parted slightly and then closed again.

  "The biggest taboo in martial arts training is having a restless and impatient mind. When practicing the No-Gap Poisonous Skill, you must progress gradually and steadily, step by step, to reach the highest level. If you rush for quick results, your foundation will be unstable, and it's highly likely that you'll suffer a backlash, which may cause light damage to your mental state or severe consequences..."

  "What's heavy?"

  Tang Jiuer's eyelid twitched: "Dead."

  Hua Rou's expression changed slightly, and she nodded her head, saying: "Yes, Master, I understand."

  She was very depressed, but she soon came up with a new idea.

  Since I couldn't learn the poison technique quickly to help Mu Ge distinguish poisons, I could only rely on making poison and testing poison to figure out what kind of poison was on his body.

  ……

  Zhou Feng carried a box of materials to the family house when Hua Rou was leaning on the table, pen in hand, signing her name on a book.

  Zhou Feng deliberately turned his back on Hua Rou, and only after she left did he put the box on the table and ask the person in charge: "What did she take?"

  "Tsang Er Gun." The manager muttered, "The Poison Room has been acting strangely lately, ordering all sorts of poisonous materials one after another. In the past few days, they've come to collect seven or eight different kinds already."

  Zhou Feng heard this and his eyes rolled over once, then he immediately stretched out his hand to grab the signed booklet and flipped it open.

  His hands were rough and scarred, with some areas having white patches without blood color, while others had sunken pits left by missing flesh.

  He flipped through the records page by page, his eyes gloomy and venomous.

  ……

  At dusk, it was time for the Tangmen disciples to have dinner.

  Ke Zi Qi, however, sneaked into a secluded and deserted courtyard. She cautiously looked around to make sure no one was following her before entering the courtyard.

  "Master Feng!" Zi Qi rushed to the person waiting in the corner, bowed and saluted. Tang Shi Qi turned around and looked at her: "What's the hurry to send a signal to see me?"

  "Feng Zhu, we found out that Hua Rou recently brought back a large quantity of drug-making materials from her family's house."

  "So?"

  "Feng Zong has no idea, the other day, I and Zi Hua made several moves but couldn't get rid of her, even using Gu Bone was quietly resolved by her. We suspect that Hua Rou has long known how to make poison and antidote, it's likely... she is a well-trained successor."

  Tang Shi Qi's expression changed upon hearing this and she fell silent for a moment before taking a step forward and grabbing Zi Qi's hand.

  "What's with Hua Rou, don't worry about it! If you can't become the true number one in the Poison Room, then during the trial..."

  "Feng Zhu, please rest assured, I am absolutely a disciple of Poison Master's focused cultivation."

  "I want zero tolerance for mistakes!"

  Zi Qi nervously swallowed: "I understand."

  "Remember, I hate it most when someone lets me down."

  Zi Qi's face turned pale with fear: "Master Feng, rest assured, Zi Qi will never disappoint you."