Chapter 136: Medicines Must Not Be Recklessly Tested

"We are completely out of options. If we cannot take that Tu Tu Mountain City for supplies, all seventeen hundred of us will simply starve to death," Duan Xiaohe said, gazing in the direction of the Great Tang and letting out a long, heavy sigh.

"And then?" Lu Lelia asked leisurely, casting a casual glance at the vast and rugged mountain forest.

Duan Xiaohe had no "and then" prepared. Stymied by the question, he stared blankly at Lu Lelia, completely at a loss.

"Tu Tu Mountain City is the ancestral homeland of the Mengshe Zhao of the Nanzhao Kingdom. Even if you manage to capture it, you won't be able to hold it for long. Once Nanzhao launches a counterattack, you'll only be forced to flee back into these eastern mountains and slowly wait for death."

Lu Lelia spoke offhandedly, his words draining the color from Duan Xiaohe's face.

It wasn't that Duan Xiaohe hadn't considered an exit strategy for this routed army, but no matter how hard he racked his brains, he could not find a single viable solution. His current circumstances offered not a glimmer of hope.

"Do you have a better idea?"

Clinging to the desperate hope of a dying horse, Duan Xiaohe fixed his gaze intently on Lu Lelia.

"Hmm!" Lu Lelia grunted, pointing toward the precipitous mountain forest. "Nanzhao King Geluofeng is currently receiving imperial investiture from Tubo in Dahe City, leaving him temporarily with no inclination to mop up you scattered stragglers in Mount Wei. He likely assumes that anyone fleeing into these miasma-choked eastern forests is courting certain doom. Therefore, you should simply vanish into these mountains."

"Vanish? Over seventeen hundred grown men, how are we supposed to vanish?" Duan Xiaohe glared angrily at Lu Lelia.

"Scatter a few damaged weapons and pieces of armor about, stop raiding the villages at the foot of the mountain, and gradually, you will naturally fade away," Lu Lelia said with a faint, confident smile.

"And then?" Duan Xiaohe was growing frantic.

"The Nanzhao King's primary wife, Lady Fengyao, is originally a princess of the Bolongchuan Baimand tribe. She is beautiful, generous, and kind-hearted. Instead of harboring revulsion toward the displaced Tang stragglers, she has taken them in and provided medical care. I am on good terms with her. I can speak with her and see if she might temporarily shelter you. I believe this is your only chance of survival in Nanzhao."

Fighting in a foreign land, a defeated remnant army was like rootless duckweed, struggling to survive. After much thought, Lu Lelia could only pin his hopes on Fengyao.

Having personally experienced four grueling months of a wild-beast existence in the wilderness, how could Duan Xiaohe not understand the hardships involved? He glanced at his disheveled, ragged brothers-in-arms, and a sour ache rose in his nose.

"I understand that the method you propose is our only chance. However, for the safety of these brothers, I must still go and scout the situation personally before making a final decision."

"I see you are clever and cautious, truly possessing the talent of a military commander. Being a mere platoon leader is indeed a waste of your abilities," Lu Lelia said, looking at Duan Xiaohe with a trace of admiration.

"Hmph!" Duan Xiaohe let out a cold snort. "Did you think everyone could be like you, commanding a whole battalion and holding the sixth-rank secretary title in your early twenties?"

As the setting sun slanted westward, a thin mist rose once more through the jungles of Mount Weibao. A high-spirited Lu Lelia wore a faint smile as he led Duan Xiaohe and a dozen others across the mountain forest, preparing to descend.

"Ever since entering the Southwest, I've heard people describe the poison of this miasma as if it were a catastrophic flood or wild beast. In my view, it's really nothing to make a fuss about. Duan Xiaohe and his men roamed these miasma-filled mountains of Weibao for four months and came out just fine. We four have been brought into the mountains by you for nearly two days and remain entirely unharmed. Heh, it seems popular rumors shouldn't be believed blindly, but neither should they be entirely dismissed."

Fengyao's guard, Feng Huiying, shook his head, looking quite nervous at the mist shrouding the forest: "This miasma is the Mountain God's punishment for those who show him disrespect. Young Master, you must not speak so recklessly. Although we took the anti-miasma medicine given by the Lady, we still cannot afford to be careless. It is best if we leave the mountain quickly before sunset."

"When we first entered this forest, several hundred men fell ill and died from the poison. This miasma poison is fierce; it cannot be underestimated," Duan Xiaohe said with a pale, haunted expression, unwilling to recall the past.

Lu Lelia smiled faintly and said nothing, clearly unconcerned by their warnings. The dozen men marched on in silence, nearing the edge of the forest and about to emerge. Not far ahead, amidst a cluster of bushes, a golden light gleamed brightly, as if some treasure had been left behind.

Lu Lelia flew forward to investigate, but the pellet-sized golden light suddenly expanded to the size of a carriage wheel. Before he could react, it burst forth, neither rainbow nor rosy cloud, exuding an overpowering fragrance.

"What on earth is this?" The pungent aroma made Lu Lelia involuntarily draw a deep breath.

"Oh heavens! That is the mother-miasma! Young Master, you showed disrespect to the Mountain God and have drawn his wrath and punishment!" Feng Huiying cried out in despair, staring at Lu Lelia.

"Ha! What Mountain God's punishment? Look, aren't I perfectly fine?" Lu Lelia laughed aloud and turned back to walk toward them. Before taking two steps, his body listed to the side, and he collapsed onto the ground.

The group rushed forward to support him, only to find his face flushed, his eyes tightly closed, and the breath exhaling from his mouth scorching hot.

"The mother of miasmas strikes and acts instantly. We cannot delay; we must rush him to the Lady at once. Her miraculous medical skills may yet preserve his life." Feng Huiying hastily directed the others to lash Lu Lelia onto a horse, and they galloped away at top speed.

Lu Lelia's clothes had been burned away. Cleanly scrubbed, he was left completely naked on Fengyao's bed, continuously fumigated with aged wood smoke. Yet after lying unconscious for a day and a night, he still showed no signs of waking.

Fengyao's face looked deeply fatigued. She gazed with heavy concern at the unconscious Lu Lelia and shook her head helplessly.

"The poison of the mother-miasma is exceedingly difficult to cure. Whether little brother Lelia can pull through depends entirely on the will of the heavens."

Duan Xiaohe leaned in several times to look at Lu Lelia, whose face remained flushed as though he were smiling in his sleep, but words failed him.

"Little brother Lelia contracted this mother-miasma poison for your sakes. I will not violate his wishes and will arrange a hiding place for you. If you have anything to say, feel free to speak plainly."

Fengyao looked up at Duan Xiaohe, her gaze returning immediately to Lu Lelia's face.

"My Lady! With Lord Lu's life and death hanging in the balance, how could I, Duan Xiaohe, care only for my own safety? Back in Mount Weibao, many of our brothers fell gravely ill. Lacking medicine and food, we could only boil tree bark and leaves into water and feed it to them. In just two days, most of the brothers' illnesses miraculously improved, and their vigor returned. I was wondering if this method might also work for Lord Lu."

Duan Xiaohe composed his expression and finally summoned the courage to voice what he knew.

"Was that bark and those leaves from the same tree?" Fengyao asked curiously.

Duan Xiaohe shook his head. "No, so I'm not certain which one held the miraculous property that healed so many of our brothers."

"Send men to gather both the bark and the leaves. Prepare the decoction according to your method first, and let him drink it to see what happens," Fengyao waved her hand wearily.

In a hazy delirium, Lu Lelia felt as though he had returned to his days in the deep mountains of the Five Poisons Sect. The soft bedding, the serene fragrance—it felt so comforting that he had no desire to wake up.

When he had fallen unconscious and lay upon Fengyao's bed years ago, he had dreamed such romantic, enchanting dreams. Now it felt as though he were reliving them, only with greater vividness and intoxicating realism.

Groggily opening his eyes, he stretched his arms out comfortably, only to touch something delicate and smooth. Turning his head, he discovered that Sister Fengyao was lying right beside him.

"Oh!" Lu Lelia stared blankly at Fengyao as she lazily turned toward him. "Am I still asleep in a dream?"

"What? Have you dreamed something like this before?" Propping her head in one hand, Fengyao looked at Lu Lelia, looking breathtakingly charming.

"Hehe!" Lu Lelia smiled smugly. Believing himself still trapped in a dream, he threw caution to the wind. "When I was back in the Five Sacred Sects, I used to dream of this. I never expected to have such a dream again today."

A blush crept over Fengyao's cheeks, and she playfully tapped Lu Lelia on the forehead. "You little scoundrel, what on earth runs through your mind all day long?"

Stunned for a moment, Lu Lelia pinched his own face hard, wincing in pain. Disbelieving the reality before him, he nearly jumped out of bed.

"Ah! This isn't a dream? What is going on?"

"What else could be going on? You contracted the mother-miasma poison and lingered unconscious without waking. After we gave you the medicine brought by that General Duan, you attempted to violate even your sister here while in your delirium. Sister couldn't shake you off and had no choice but to yield to you, you little scoundrel."

Fengyao tried to sit up, but her limbs felt weak and uncooperative.

"That scoundrel Duan Xiaohe! What kind of medicine did he feed me? Is that stuff meant to be taken casually?" Lu Lelia felt like crying without tears, too ashamed to face Fengyao.

"Very well, very well. Sister Fengyao has already been devoured by you; what more could you possibly be dissatisfied with? However, it seems the medicine brought by General Duan is truly miraculous in treating this miasma poison."

Without dwelling further on their current predicament, Fengyao instead turned her thoughts back to the medicinal herbs.

After resting for a moment, Fengyao ignored the distressed Lu Lelia, got up, tidied herself, and went to inspect the bark and leaves brought by Duan Xiaohe.

"This bark was stripped from the golden chicken tree, and these leaves were plucked from the golden bar tree. Which of the two holds the power to cure the miasma poison?"

Holding the golden chicken bark in one hand and the golden bar leaf in the other, Fengyao fell into deep thought.

"Hmm!" Idly playing with a golden bar leaf as she lay back beside Lu Lelia, Fengyao found her limbs growing weak once more. "It seems this golden bar leaf not only fills a man with boundless energy, but also makes him remarkably vigorous in that regard. The cure for the miasma poison must indeed be the bark of the golden chicken tree."

"Sister Fengyao, you're using me as a test subject for medicine, aren't you?" Lu Lelia pulled a long face, looking at Fengyao with discontent.

"You have no idea how many lives can be saved by identifying the miraculous cure for this miasma poison. Besides, you've taken Sister's body—do you really consider yourself hard done by?" Fengyao gave Lu Lelia's standing pride a light, unceremonious slap.

"I've been thoroughly fleeced... but I want another serving." Rolling over, Lu Lelia ignored Fengyao's plea and pounced once more.

"No. Testing it on you alone is not enough to confirm its efficacy. There are still many Tang soldiers in White Chess Valley whose miasma poison has not been cleared. I must verify it on them as well."

Fengyao's gaze drifted toward the depths of White Chess Valley, as if speaking to herself.

"Sister Fengyao! You can't be serious?" Lu Lelia stared at Fengyao in shock and indignation.

"What are you thinking!" Fengyao slapped him playfully on the head.