Chapter 324: Handbrother Alliance

Li Banfeng stood at the hospital room door, looking at Cui Tik and another person.

Who was this person? Li Banfeng had never seen him before, and it was hard to tell given the current circumstances.

Wan Jinxian's condition was very complicated; large patches of green boils had covered his body. And now, he faced the combined assault of Cui Tik and Li Banfeng. This was Cui Tik's hospital, so Wan Jinxian couldn't even find an escape route.

Fortunately, Cui Tik didn't go for the kill. He really wanted to kill Wan Jinxian, but at the moment, he was interested in other matters.

Cui Tik looked at Li Banfeng and said, "This is my senior brother. Although we're meeting for the first time, we've had a very congenial conversation. Please return to the ward to take care of your friend. My senior brother and I will go somewhere else to chat so as not to disturb you."

Li Banfeng returned to the ward, feeling a bit worried. Cui Tik had helped him; that was true. He and Cui Tik were friends; that was also true. But for Li Banfeng to completely trust Cui Tik, that was very difficult.

In Yaowang Valley, Cui Tik had nearly killed Li Banfeng. In Lanyang Village, Cui Tik had also sought out Li Banfeng. And now his senior brother had arrived.

The two had exchanged blows in the hallway just now; Li Banfeng had heard them. This senior brother seemed to be targeting Ma Wu, likely the one who caused Ma Wu's illness. Cui Tik was currently hostile towards this senior brother, but given Cui Tik's personality, he might become friends with him the next second.

With Zuo Wugang and Huo Ling in the ward, if it came to a real fight, they might not be at a disadvantage. But Li Banfeng needed to know what they were talking about.

Li Banfeng touched his earring. The Whispering Earring was tracking Cui Tik and Wan Jinxian's voices.

Cui Tik invited Wan Jinxian into the emergency room. Wan Jinxian hesitated for a moment, then followed him inside. Cui Tik took off his white coat and hung it on the door.

The Whispering Earring told Li Banfeng, "Master, he has a spiritual item that blocks scrying."

"Can you bypass it?"

In the past, the earring naturally wouldn't have had such a function. Zhou Yujuan, who made the earring, was only a first-tier scryer. But now the earring's tier was different; Li Banfeng had nurtured it bit by bit with others' flesh and blood.

The pendant on the earring swayed back and forth, and Li Banfeng gradually began to hear some sounds.

Inside the emergency room, Cui Tik asked Wan Jinxian, "You just said you killed your master to complete your apprenticeship. What does that mean?"

Wan Jinxian looked at Cui Tik but didn't speak.

Cui Tik reminded him, "I know you're trying your best to resolve the pathogens in your body, but you can't succeed. Your current situation is very bad. If you want to live, you must answer all my questions truthfully. I already know the answers to some questions and might be deliberately testing you, so absolutely do not lie to me."

Wan Jinxian nodded and asked, "At Yuezhou Third Hospital, were you the one who acted against Jiaqing?"

Cui Tik looked at Wan Jinxian and said, "Don't get the order wrong. I'm the one asking questions."

Wan Jinxian was silent for a moment, then said to Cui Tik, "Orthodox disease cultivators have a fixed lineage and belong to a fixed sect, called the Plague Gate."

Cui Tik shook his head and said, "I've been in Puro Province for a long time, and I've never heard of such a sect."

"Few people in the world have heard of the Plague Gate, because the Plague Gate usually only consists of one person."

Cui Tik asked, "How can one person be a sect?"

Wan Jinxian looked at Cui Tik, layers of doubt forming in his mind. This person was indeed a disease cultivator, that much was true. But this person completely ignored the rules of disease cultivation, which made it impossible for Wan Jinxian to understand the source of Cui Tik's cultivation. Was he really testing him?

"How did you enter the Daoist path?" Wan Jinxian asked.

Cui Tik smiled and said, "My process of entering the Daoist path was very peculiar. If I were to tell you, it would take a long time, but given your current condition, you probably don't have time to listen. So please hurry up and answer my questions."

Wan Jinxian also recognized the reality and didn't ask further: "The Plague Gate usually doesn't recruit disciples. Only when a disease cultivator feels they are at the end of their life will they open their door and take in three disciples, and only three. These three disciples must study under their master for a year. After a year, the three disciples must use the skills they've learned to fight each other for a month, and only one person can survive. The surviving disciple must sign a contract with the master, agreeing not to take on too many disciples in the future, but also not to let the sect's lineage die out, and to continue the Daoist path according to these rules. Then there's only one more thing to do: after the master dies, eat the master's body to successfully enter the sect."

"The master's corpse is the initiation elixir?"

Wan Jinxian nodded.

Cui Tik was silent for a moment, then asked, "Who established these rules?"

Wan Jinxian shook his head and said, "I don't know. These were the rules when I joined."

"You ate your master?"

"Otherwise, I couldn't have entered the sect."

"I see. Is that what you meant by, for most of the time, there is only one disease cultivator in the world?"

Wan Jinxian nodded and said, "That's why I don't understand why there's another fellow practitioner like you in the world. And what I understand even less is that this fellow practitioner is even a foreigner."

Cui Tik smiled and said, "There's something else I'd like to ask you. We disease cultivators are very long-lived because we can resolve illnesses. As long as we don't suffer a fatal injury, only time can take us away. If a disease cultivator is exceptionally long-lived, takes on disciples, and still hasn't died after many years, would he choose to commit suicide to complete this inheritance, or would he make his disciples wait indefinitely?"

Wan Jinxian scratched at the boils on his body: "I don't know what the situation was before, but my master's master was a very long-lived person. He thought he was at the end of his life, so he took on disciples, but my master accompanied him for nearly fifty years before he died. This also caused my master to only enter the Daoist path at the age of sixty-five and only become a second-tier practitioner by the day he died."

Cui Tik smiled and said, "It seems you're quite lucky. Your master wasn't that long-lived."

Wan Jinxian shook his head and said, "My master was also a long-lived person; it's just that he was too old at the time."

"So you killed him?"

Wan Jinxian burst another boil and counter-asked Cui Tik, "What's the point of asking so many questions about me and my master?"

Cui Tik shrugged, "My apologies. It seems I've brought up some unpleasant memories. Let's talk about something useful. Why did you target Ma Junyang?"

Wan Jinxian said, "You should be able to guess that. Ma Wu has a friend named Li Qi."

"You targeted Li Qi because you wanted to get the Mysterious Red Lotus in his possession?"

Wan Jinxian didn't deny it: "Didn't you save Ma Wu for the Mysterious Red Lotus?"

Cui Tik shook his head and said, "No, I'm not interested in the Mysterious Red Lotus."

Wan Jinxian sneered.

Cui Tik said, "It's fine if you don't believe me, but I'm telling the truth. Li Qi and I are friends, but I'm really not interested in the Red Lotus. What truly interests me is you. You, the Ling brothers, and some other people—those with status, influence, and power in Puro Province—seem to be taking orders from someone from another province, right?"

Wan Jinxian didn't answer.

Cui Tik asked again, "That person from another province is named He Jiaqing, right?"

Wan Jinxian still remained silent.

Cui Tik licked his lips. The boils on Wan Jinxian's left hand receded significantly.

"Senior brother, do you see? I can cure your boils, but you can't cure them yourself. Your life is in my hands."

Wan Jinxian sighed deeply and said, "You once acted against He Jiaqing; don't you know the inside story?"

As soon as he finished speaking, more boils appeared on Wan Jinxian's body.

Cui Tik frowned slightly and said, "Senior brother, don't ask me questions again, or you'll pay the price. Since He Jiaqing is your leader, does your organization also have a sect name?"

"You could say so. Jiaqing gave it the name Brotherhood Alliance. We refer to each other as brothers."

"What is the purpose of your alliance? He Jiaqing is the heir of the He family; he lacks neither money nor status. What exactly does he want to do?"

Wan Jinxian looked at Cui Tik and slowly said, "He wants to rebuild a different Puro Province."

"Different? What's wrong with Puro Province? What kind of Puro Province does he want?"

Wan Jinxian pondered the appropriate way to explain: "I'm not trying to ask you a question in return; I want to know something. Have you been to the Inner Province?"

Cui Tik nodded and said, "Yes, I went with a travel permit. It's an annoying place, but the people there were very kind to me. In the Inner Province, they call me a 'friendly foreigner,' treating me even better than people in the Outer Province. The people who treat me worst are those from Puro Province; they always call me a 'dead foreigner.' Actually, I'm a good foreigner, and I deeply love Puro Province."

Wan Jinxian said, "If you've been to the Inner Province, you should know some things. You should know how much suffering those practitioners who've surpassed the tenth tier have endured there."

Cui Tik nodded and said, "I know that."

Wan Jinxian continued, "As for the Outer Province, there's even less to say. If you've had contact with the Frontier Inspector, you should understand how much Puro Province has been exploited by the Outer Province."

Cui Tik nodded: "I know something about that too."

"Puro Province has suffered too many losses, being ruined beyond recognition by the Inner and Outer Provinces. He Jiaqing told me that he wants to restore Puro Province's dignity and allow all its people to live with dignity. I trust this young man, so I follow him. Have I made myself clear this time?"

Cui Tik nodded: "He is a remarkable person. I deeply respect him."

Wan Jinxian looked at his body covered in boils and said, "Junior brother, I've lost to you. I'm truly convinced. I've seen countless diseases in my life, but I've never encountered boils this difficult to deal with."

Cui Tik smiled and said, "Are they more difficult to deal with than the boils you put on He Haiqin?"

Wan Jinxian blinked and smiled helplessly, "You saved He Haiqin too? I'm truly impressed by you; you really are my nemesis. Since I've already lost, if you want to kill me, just do it quickly. If you can let me live, then just state your conditions. Don't leave me hanging like this, making us both uncomfortable."

Cui Tik considered for a moment, then took a deep breath. The boils on Wan Jinxian's body quickly disappeared.

"Junior brother, you're letting me go just like that, no conditions?"

Cui Tik shook his head and said, "Of course there are conditions. I'm very interested in your Brotherhood Alliance, and I'd like to hear more about your affairs. Can you tell me?"

Wan Jinxian asked, "What else do you want to hear about?"

"I want to hear about the future."

Wan Jinxian was startled: "How would I know about the future?"

Cui Tik smiled and said, "Then tell me when you do know."

The words were a bit convoluted, but Wan Jinxian understood. He touched his own spine and felt a crystal-clear boil.

Cui Tik stood up and said, "Senior brother, there will always be one boil on your body that won't disappear. I can't say for sure which one it will be. If I ever want to know news about the Brotherhood Alliance in the future, you must tell me."