Chapter 277 — Departing for the East Sea

Zhang Zhishen prepared the suppressant antidote, then packaged it separately with the gu poison and handed it all to Yang Ce. Though refining the gu poison was remarkably simple, each person's method differed and the proportions of toxic substances varied, so the antidotes were not interchangeable—taken indiscriminately, they could cause death from the poison on the spot.

So even if these people found someone else skilled in the art of gu, it was unlikely they could readily undo this particular gu poison—unless it were a grandmaster of the craft like Lan Ling's grandmother or the Right Elder, and of course Ma Xiaoyao.

"I'll be away for a few days. While I'm gone, make haste and compound a drug that can delay the onset of this gu poison—about thirty doses will do," Yang Yanlan instructed Zhang Zhishen.

"Got it. Don't worry, Brother Yang, this one's easy to refine," Zhang Zhishen said with a nod.

Alliances built on mutual interest are the least reliable of all. The moment a third party offers greater benefits, such an alliance crumbles. Yang Ce understood this perfectly.

Since Tian Long had been able to buy these people, Yang Ce could buy them back—but there was no guaranteeing that among them there wasn't a true confidant of Tian Long who would turn around and report Yang Ce's plans to him. If that happened, all Yang Ce's efforts would be wasted.

And Tian Long's buying of men had been accomplished through a high-pressure policy of carrot and stick; he held the dirt on many of them, leaving them no choice but to betray Sun Lin.

So if Yang Ce wanted to turn these people, there was only one way: make rebellion their only option. If they kept working for Tian Long, they would have nothing waiting for them but death.

Only when their own personal safety was at stake would they grit their teeth and follow Yang Ce against Tian Long.

Yang Ce knew the art of acupoint striking and could make their lives a living hell, but that would only be temporary. He still needed these people to work for him, and he could not simply kill them.

A fleeting threat—though Yang Ce could surely instill in them a fear that seared into the bone and marrow—was never absolute. What if someone clung to a fool's hope and went crawling back to Tian Long? That would be disastrous.

So Yang Ce had to give them a real threat. Only after they had come under genuine threat would they not dare harbor the slightest disloyalty.

A little past one in the afternoon, Yang Ce received a call from Xia Xue. She had finished her business on her end and asked whether he was ready to set out. Yang Ce had everything prepared as well, so he drove over to pick her up, and the two of them set off together for Donghai.

The reason he had asked Xia Xue to accompany him was also that Yang Ce's identity was rather special and could not be disclosed to just anyone.