It was past four in the morning, and not much time was left before dawn. In a few tens of minutes, the sky would lighten, and the masked man would detonate the bombs.
Yuan Chengji would die, and so would Yuan Keying!
The thought sent a tremor through Yuan Chengji’s heart. He could die, but his daughter absolutely could not.
Yuan Chengji looked at the bomb, hesitating.
On one hand, he didn't want Jiang Lan to live. On the other, he didn't want Yuan Keying to die.
He was torn.
Time ticked by, minute by minute. The masked man seemed in no hurry, sitting on the sofa and watching the clock on the table.
Let's see who outlasts whom!
The dagger was still stuck in Yuan Chengji’s wrist, and blood flowed ceaselessly. If things went on like this, he might bleed to death before dawn.
Once Yuan Chengji died, Yuan Keying was sure to follow.
As time passed, Yuan Chengji felt dizzy and lightheaded, struggling to hold on.
At the same time, the east began to show a hint of pale gray.
Dawn was breaking!
The masked man took out the remote control, slowly stood up, and walked towards the exit, looking as if he was about to detonate the bomb.
"Yuan Chengji, you have a tough mouth."
"Then, die together with your daughter."
"Goodbye."
The masked man walked out without a moment's hesitation, the remote control in his hand conspicuously visible.
At the final moment between life and death, Yuan Chengji couldn't take it anymore. He shouted, "Enough! You win! I'll tell you, the poison Jiang Lan took is Qi Yin San."
What?
The masked man's eyes instantly changed.
Qi Yin San. The masked man knew this name. It was a super special poison recorded in ancient texts, rumored to be refined from a mixture of 26 different poisons.
Its toxicity was extremely potent and its nature complex, with its toxicity changing every moment.
It was impossible to treat based on any single type of toxicity.
No wonder Jiang Lan's body was so peculiar, her attributes constantly shifting, as if she harbored more than one poison within her.
So, it was Qi Yin San at play!
Of course, Qi Yin San was not entirely incurable, but it was extremely troublesome.
First, one needed to know the formula of the 26 poisons that made up Qi Yin San. Then, one needed to know the proportion and order in which these 26 poisons were refined.
Only by precisely matching this proportion and order could an antidote be created.
Even one mistake would be fatal!
Misidentifying a poison, a slight error in proportion, or the wrong order would not only fail to cure the victim but would also cause immediate death!
Therefore, unless the person who concocted the poison personally prepared the antidote, others would be helpless.
The types of poisons, their proportions, and their order – there were simply too many factors that could influence the outcome.
In ancient times, being poisoned by Qi Yin San was essentially a death sentence, with no hope of survival! If not for the extraordinary skill of the Medicine Immortal, who managed to preserve a sliver of Jiang Lan's life, she would already be a corpse.
The masked man's pupils dilated, and he was furious.
He walked up to Yuan Chengji and roared, "Where is the formula?"
Yuan Chengji pointed to the underside of the coffee table. "There's a hidden compartment underneath. The formula is inside."
The menacing masked man reached out and felt, indeed finding a hidden compartment beneath the coffee table. He opened it, and there was a medicinal formula inside.
The masked man was overjoyed.
With the formula, everything would be easy.
But…
When the masked man opened the formula, his disappointment was evident.
The formula only listed the 26 types of poisons. It did not specify the proportions or the order!
What was he supposed to do?
Did the masked man have to try them one by one?
Good heavens, how long would that take?
The masked man grabbed Yuan Chengji by the collar and berated him, "Why are only the types listed, without the proportions and order? This formula is incomplete!"
Heh heh.
Yuan Chengji chuckled.
He said contemptuously, "I bought this formula and Qi Yin San from the underground market at a great expense. Everything is here, and there is nothing else. You say it's incomplete? Then I don't know."
The masked man was enraged.
He kicked over the coffee table and pulled out the hidden compartment.
It was empty.
There was nothing else inside the hidden compartment.
The masked man froze. He had thought that knowing the poison would allow him to cure Jiang Lan, but given the current situation, finding the correct combination from the countless possibilities within less than 20 hours was akin to finding a needle in a haystack.
Could Jiang Lan still be saved?
"Bastard!"
The masked man drew his flying knife and swung it towards Yuan Chengji’s neck.
Yuan Keying once again stepped in front of Yuan Chengji. "Don't hurt my dad!"
The knife stopped again.
Hoo—
The masked man took a deep breath to calm his emotions. Anger and rage were useless. The deed was done, and he had to focus on finding the correct formula, not waste time here.
He put away the flying knife.
The masked man gave Yuan Chengji one last look and said, "You have to thank your daughter for being so good, otherwise, you would have died at least ten times today. For your daughter's sake, Yuan Chengji, I'll spare your dog's life. Leave Jinling immediately after dawn. If I ever see you in Jinling again, I will kill you!"
With that, the masked man turned and left.
Yuan Chengji cried out anxiously, "Wait! You haven't disarmed the bomb yet!"
The masked man casually pressed the remote control.
The bomb detonated!
However, it was only the equivalent of a small firecracker. With a 'pop,' it didn't even break Yuan Keying's skin, causing only a slight sting.
It turned out the bomb was fake. The masked man had no intention of killing Yuan Keying from the start.
"This…" Yuan Keying blinked, quite surprised.
She looked back at the masked man, watching his receding figure.
The sky had brightened by now.
The first rays of morning sunlight fell on the masked man, allowing Yuan Keying to clearly see his entire form, except for the masked face. Everything else was in plain view.
Suddenly, Yuan Keying's heart trembled violently.
This build, she was too familiar with it!
Was it… Lu Ming?
How could it be? No way?
In an instant, tears welled up and streamed down Yuan Keying’s delicate face.
She shouted, "Lu Ming!!!"
However, the masked man seemed not to have heard her, his steps never faltering as he strode out of the Yuan residence.
Was he Lu Ming?
Was he?
Yuan Keying squeezed her eyes shut, tilting her head back and weeping bitterly, tears flowing uncontrollably.
At this moment, Yuan Keying's heart was utterly shattered.
Meanwhile, Yuan Chengji was also filled with grief. If that was indeed Lu Ming, then Yuan Chengji had personally destroyed his daughter's love and severed their bond.
"I… I'm sorry." Yuan Chengji said with a heavy heart.
Yuan Keying could no longer hear anything.
Only sobs remained.
From this day forward, the Yuan family in Jinling ceased to exist.
No one knew where the father and daughter went, only that they had traveled far away.