Chapter 2597 — The Tragedy of Old Bi
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 2
"Mm, that's good then." Old Master Zhao nodded. "In that case, give Old Bi the other bowl of the barrier-breaking liquid!"
"Yes!" Old Mian hurriedly took up the other bowl and handed it to Old Bi, and Old Bi, without the slightest hesitation, tilted back his head and drained it in one gulp...
"Urk, urk, urk, urk... huff, huff, huff, huff..." After drinking the medicine, Old Bi's reaction was identical to Zhu the Second's before him. His hand spasmed, the bowl dropped, his face turned a purplish red, and he gasped sharply through his teeth in agony.
Because they had Zhu the Second's example before them, Old Bi's expression of suffering, falling into everyone's eyes, seemed commonplace enough, and no one worried overmuch.
But only Zhu the Leader and Zhu the Second knew that although Old Bi's initial reaction to the medicine was exactly like Zhu the Second's, the outcome would surely be different. Old Bi had not taken the antidote, and the only possible result was death.
"Aah—" Old Bi let out a miserable scream, his face turning even paler, but the crowd still paid it no mind, for it was much the same as when Zhu the Second had taken it—nothing to make a fuss over.
About an hour later, just as everyone was eagerly anticipating the moment when Old Bi's meridians would be restored and he would step into the heavenly realm, Old Bi suddenly let out an even more wretched scream: "Awoo—!"
"Bang!"
Then came a tremendous crash. Blood sprayed in jets from all seven of Old Bi's orifices; his legs kicked out once, and he dropped straight to the ground, seemingly unable to endure it any longer and dying as his body burst apart.
"This..." Apart from Zhu the Leader and Zhu the Second, who knew the truth in their hearts, everyone was dumbstruck. What on earth had happened? How had Old Bi suddenly died?
"What is the meaning of this?" Old Master Zhao was the first to recover from the shock, his voice carrying a roar of fury. "Zhu the Leader, what is the meaning of this? How did Old Bi die?"
"This... I don't know either..." Zhu the Leader now wore a look of utter panic and helplessness, his head drenched in sweat. "I... Old Master, I... I'm not clear on what exactly has happened either..."
It had to be said, Zhu the Leader was a fine actor. At this moment he portrayed ignorance, dread, and terror to perfection. But small wonder—all these years, before Chen Xi and her mother, he had done nothing but act. Had his acting been poor, would he not have given himself away long ago?
In the end he had failed to fool Wei Zhao, but that was only because Wei Zhao had a golden finger and could see through Zhu the Leader's true strength. Old Master Zhao, however, no longer harbored any suspicion of Zhu the Leader now. By all reason, if Zhu the Leader truly were the culprit, he could not possibly be this frightened!
If he had known all along that he meant to poison Old Bi to death, would he still be afraid?
By now, Medicine King Zhao had begun examining Old Bi's condition. His brows were tightly knit as he cautiously performed the autopsy. Medicine King Zhao was in truth a man of considerable ability. Never mind that he suffered repeated setbacks before Wei Zhao—at the level of the hidden families, he was still quite renowned. Otherwise, when Pi Zhitao had been injured back then, Old Master Pi could never have placed such high hopes on Medicine King Zhao.
"Medicine King, what is the situation? How did Old Bi die?" Old Master Zhao's expression was exceedingly grim.