Just as they were about to feed her a pill, a playful voice echoed.

​"Oh dear…she seems hurt."

​Larae froze; she snapped her head towards the source of the voice. There stood a tall, handsome man, waving playfully at her. Larae blinked. In her entire life, she had never seen such an outrageously handsome man.

​"I–um…this…that, she—ah! Xinyi! My friend here suddenly fainted!" She even forgot that she was talking to a stranger.

​The other woman, Lirae, nodded.

​"I heard a woman's scream from afar, so I came to check what had happened." Rahu smiled amicably, his voice as gentle as it could be.

​"No…we, we do not need any help. Please," Lirae spoke, although she said that. Her expression said otherwise. Seeing this, Rahu's smile widened.

​"Are you sure? I'm an alchemist, you know. I know you couldn't trust me, but at least let me have a look at her condition? That much is okay, right?"

​Hearing his words, Lirae's expression hardened. A choice, either it was her friend's condition or trusting an unknown man to touch her friend.

​"What are you hesitating for!? Her life is in danger! He's an alchemist; we could at least know what had affected her! Sir, please check her."

​Larae hurriedly interrupted in panic. Hearing her words, Rahu shook his head.

​"I'm not that type of…guy. I can't just touch any woman without her permission, if this lady here doesn't agree. I'm not going to touch her," Rahu shook his head and sighed dramatically.

​"Lirae! Couldn't you see how nice this guy is!? Now hurry!" Seeing his attitude and words, Lirae gritted her teeth. Larae's words were the final nail in the coffin.

​"...Alright, sir. Please, check her. She is a close friend of mine, so please be a bit gentle," she finally gave in. Hearing her words, Rahu smiled amicably.

​"Don't worry, I'm not that kind of guy."

​If Vivianne were here, she would definitely dig a hole in the ground in sheer embarrassment and anger.

​Rahu stepped towards the unconscious girl. Squatting down, he extended his hand and touched Xinyi's forehead with his two fingers.

​After a few seconds, he retracted his hand and frowned, "W-What's the matter? Is she alright!?" Lirae asked hurriedly, but his frown gave her no reassurance.

​"Hmm, this…this is quite serious. She is affected by a poisonous plant called…Essence Sealing Orchid. But…"

​"B-But what!?"

​"But the main problem is, the poison and her…bloodline is clashing constantly, resulting in this…vegetable state." Rahu shook his head; his voice sounded so sad that he almost looked like a saint at that moment.

​"...WHAT!? N-No way!" Larae shook her head in disbelief.

​"B-But she was alright just a few minutes ago, and we haven't even touched or eaten anything strange these few days!" Lirae shouted. She gripped Xinyi's hand as tightly as she could.

​"Well…I just told you the problem, the rest is up to you." Saying that, he slowly stood up. His actions alarmed the already perturbed girls.

​"W-Wait! Is there a solution for this!?" Larae asked, her expression almost moved Rahu to tears…almost.

​"Sigh, there is. But it requires an enormous amount of resources and time; I don't have the resources. So…" He paused, eyeing the vulnerable lambs below him. He could've kidnapped her right this instant, but… It's too wasteful to miss chances like this.

​"You're saying you want to…?" The two girls naturally understood what his words implied: he won't do it for free, that much they could manage, but taking him back to their base to treat her? Now, that's the matter of higher-ups.​

"There's not much time left, you know? Even if her bloodline manages to beat and erase the poison, by that time, her body would be too vulnerable to even defend itself from the raw mana. It would overwhelm her and in the worst case scenario…she'll die."

​"No, no, no! Let's go, we don't have time for this stupid debate!" Lirae hurriedly spoke. The moment she heard the words 'she'll die', her heart was already drumming in her chest.

​"This…I know it's not the right time to bring this up, but I'm not exactly strong enough to return alive the moment things go south…" Rahu barely managed to suppress his grin from breaking out. The situation was too funny.

​"I… will guarantee your safety! Now, please, let's go," Lirae spoke, already carrying Xinyi on her back. Standing up, she gestured towards him to follow her.

Larae too nodded, although both of them did tell him that. They were unsure and uncertain themselves.

​"...Heh, alright. Let's go."

​…

​After a few minutes, they soon found themselves in front of a large gate. It was solid wood, and it appears to have been carved recently.

​In front of the gate, two guards stood with a large spear in their hands. Rahu nodded in his mind. The guards were strong, he could tell just by their stance.

​Lirae and Larae quickly arrived at the gate with Rahu following them.

​Seeing this, one of the guards narrowed his eyes.

​Raising his spear, he pointed it at Rahu. "Anyone other than the blood of Rudras is denied," he spoke in a cold tone.

​"Wait, sir. He is an alchemist! Xinyi has suffered from an unknown poisonous plant, and she is in a grave condition! You do know whose wife she is, right?" Larae said, although they had prepared for this, it was still not a good thing to bring an unknown man to their base.

​Just as the guard was about to reply, a terrifying pressure descended on them.

​"XINYI!!" A red-headed hulk descended from the sky; his presence was monstrous. Landing in front of Lirae, he snatched Xinyi from her hands.

​He quickly checked for her pulse. After confirming the pulse rate was normal, he sighed in relief.

​He didn't even bother to glance at Rahu, for him. Handsome or not, all below the Spirit Realm were ants.

​"STATE! What happened to her?" he spoke, hearing his words. Larae quickly briefed him about the situation. Hearing this, his eyes narrowed. Turning towards the guards, "Bring that ant in my tent and be quick."

"Oh?"

...

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