Ouyang Peng smiled all the way, his face glowing with happiness as he took Zhiyan here and there, wanting to buy her anything fun that caught his eye. If she hadn't stopped him, he probably would have taken the whole street back home.
"Daddy, let's go sit upstairs, Yanyan is hungry." Zhiyan tugged at Ouyang Peng's hand and shook it, pointing to the two-story restaurant in front of them, saying, she just wanted to find a quiet place to talk to him properly.
"Alright, Daddy will take Yanyan up there." Ouyang Peng's face was filled with doting love. If it weren't for the fact that Zhiyan had grown quite a bit taller, he would be carrying her everywhere he went.
Upon reaching the second floor, Ouyang Peng ordered a private room. After the waiter had served them tea and taken their order with the menu, he went downstairs. Zhiyan sat quietly in her seat, her delicate and tender cheeks tinged with a trace of worry. She looked at Ouyang Peng, who was beaming with joy, and suddenly found it difficult to speak.
"What's the matter, Yanyan?" Ouyang Peng sensitively noticed her unusual behavior and asked.
"Daddy, do you believe Yanyan is capable of protecting herself?" Zhiyan asked in return, her clear eyes without a hint of impurity.
"At the clan gathering, Yanyan amazed everyone with her talent, which is well-known to all. Coupled with your intelligence, protecting yourself should be no problem." Ouyang Peng boasted unhesitatingly. An advanced-level Sage at the age of nine, she was probably untouchable amongst her peers.
"Then, Daddy should know that with my cultivation talent, I am bound to leave this place sooner or later." Zhiyan said lightly, looking at Ouyang Peng. As soon as her words fell, she saw Ouyang Peng's body jolt violently, his pupils dilating, a look of panic spreading across his face.
"I know Daddy loves me and cherishes me, but after all, I need to grow up. I cannot live forever under your wings. In this world where the strong feed on the weak, to not be bullied, one must possess enough strength to bully back..." Zhiyan narrowed her eyes, her gaze piercing through Ouyang Peng to look out of the window at the blue skies and white clouds, with a refreshing breeze on her face. The air outside held the taste of freedom she had long been seeking. The Ouyang Residence wasn't her home, so leaving was just a matter of time. Ever since she woke up that day, she had been thinking about this problem.
"Is leaving really the only option?" Ouyang Peng's voice was hoarse, his tone low, filled with a desperate hopelessness.
If he hadn't been so weak, Yanyan wouldn't have suffered so much, nor would she have thought about leaving in pursuit of strength. In the end, it was all his fault for being an incompetent father. A sense of guilt and self-reproach began to spread in his heart, his dark pupils flickering with a hint of pain.
"Leaving is a must, but not now," Zhiyan said firmly, nodding her head. Her tone then softened to comfort him. Even if she wanted to leave, she had to wait until Ouyang Peng's illness was completely cured. With her current cultivation base, using Yang Energy to treat him should pose no problem.
"Alright then, Daddy won't stop you. Once you become a real expert, you must remember to come back and see Daddy," Ouyang Peng sighed, a hint of helplessness crossing his face. According to Yanyan's personality, once she made a decision, she would not easily change her mind. Since that was the case, he could only accept it, especially since they still had time to spend together.
Midway through the meal, a commotion suddenly erupted outside their private room, with chaotic footsteps and urgent shouts...
"Speak up, what poison did you put in our meal? Why is our master in such a state after eating it!" A voice shouted forcefully like thunder, startling everyone in the restaurant who put down their bowls and chopsticks in fear upon hearing about the poisoning.
Zhiyan raised her eyebrows and stood up from her seat immediately, heading towards the corridor of the private rooms. She saw the spacious passageway crowded with people, and an old man with white beard and hair lying on the ground, his face deathly purple, dark blood seeping from the corners of his mouth. His body was shivering, a look of agony etched on his face.
The elder was accompanied by a servant in green, who now bore a fierce expression and was staring angrily at the proprietor.
"It's actually Chancellor Wen, how could he end up here?"
"Chancellor Wen, heavens, this restaurant must have the audacity of a lion, to actually dare to poison the Chancellor."
The crowd buzzed with discussion, and the man lying on the ground was undoubtedly the top scholar-official of the current dynasty. Zhiyan's gaze swept towards the man in green, just in time to catch the fleeting pride in his eyes. A slight smirk tugged at her lips as she strolled gracefully to the elder's side under Ouyang Peng's approving look.
Uh, what does this little girl want to do?
The onlookers watched the tender and delicate child with puzzled expressions. The man in green was at first stunned, but then scoffed when he saw Zhiyan crouch down to take the pulse, continuing his aggressive spat with the proprietor. After all, the deed was done, and now he simply needed to extort a hefty sum before slipping away. He did not take Zhiyan seriously at all.
"How is it, can he be saved?" Ouyang Peng also squatted beside Yanyan, nervously asking. Although he wasn't often at home, he was aware of Chancellor Wen's deeds.
He was an official known for his integrity and uprightness, a rare good officer. Most importantly, in this era where Spiritual Energy was prevalent, he had attained heights that not even a Sage could reach, relying solely on his scholarship. Although blind in cultivation, no one dared to underestimate him.
"This is a very stubborn poison, having almost reached the heart and lungs. To eradicate it completely won't be possible in a short while," Zhiyan shook her head, then took out silver needles from her bosom. She inserted them at the heart area, abdomen, and the arteries of the limbs amidst the sighs of the crowd, halting the poison's spread. Next, she needed to force out some of the poison.
With a thought, the Yang Energy within her flowed through the silver needles into the elder's body. Zhiyan closed her eyes, and her Spiritual Sense traveled along with the Yang Energy. She first left a portion of the Yang Energy to guard the heart and lungs, then allowed it to spread outwards. With each bit of progression, the sinister aura of the poison diminished, replaced by the decreasing Yang Energy. It seems the toxin was even more formidable than she'd anticipated, for although Yang Energy possessed the power to smelt and burn, the poison showed signs of retaliation. She could not afford the slightest negligence.
Ten minutes had passed, and beads of sweat formed on Zhiyan's forehead. Ouyang Peng looked on with concern, suddenly regretting allowing Zhiyan to administer treatment. In his heart, not even the Emperor himself, standing before him, could compare to even a single hair of Yanyan's.
Zhiyan's brows furrowed as she watched the elder intently. Just now, she had already transferred the fifth dose of Yang Energy to combat the poison. All that remained was to see the elder's will to survive.
The cyanosis on the elder's face had lightened considerably, and his body shook less than before. The onlookers gazed at Zhiyan with an indescribable sense of awe; could it be that merely two needles had such miraculous effects? Incredible, could this child be a divine physician?
The brawny man in green looked skeptical. This poison was exceedingly fierce, colorless, and tasteless, ranking within the top ten on the Mainland list of poisonous drugs—the Throat-Sealing Powder that sealed the throat upon contact with blood. Even if a person was aware, they couldn't utter a single word, and most importantly, anyone who took it would perish in moments. Even consuming a Detoxification Pill would do no good.
Could a little girl like her neutralize such a poison? Pfft, the likelihood was no different than a dead person climbing out of their grave.
While the brawny man scoffed to himself, the elder on the ground opened his eyes before the eyes of all present. His gaze was calm, wise with an edge of sharpness, piercing through the crowd and landing squarely upon the brawny man.