While everyone was anxiously searching for Li Yue Shu's whereabouts, Li Yue Shu, who had been carried along like a chick, finally regained her mobility.
However, the old man remained wary of her. Even though she could move, her actions were limited to simple movements, and eating was exhausting.
Li Yue Shu decided to use her remaining strength to treat the wound on her arm and detoxify herself.
She had directly injected the syringe into her arm earlier, leaving a large bruise and bleeding profusely. It hurt terribly!
Just as she finished, she heard footsteps approaching from behind.
Li Yue Shu quickly put her things away into her spatial dimension, feigning weakness and looking at the large flatbread in her hands.
"It's past noon, aren't you hungry, Madam Shen?" the old man asked, walking up to her and gracefully sitting on a large rock nearby.
Li Yue Shu looked up at him and sneered, "If you wanted me dead, you could have just done it. Why add something else to it?"
Saying this, she threw the flatbread in her hand towards him.
The old man glanced at the flatbread at his feet, showing no embarrassment at being exposed.
He picked up the flatbread, gently brushed off the dirt, and handed it back to Li Yue Shu. "This flatbread tastes good. I prepared it specifically for Madam Shen, to mask some unpleasant smells."
Li Yue Shu tugged at the corner of her mouth. "Should I be grateful for your thoughtfulness?"
The old man smiled. "You're welcome."
Li Yue Shu: "..."
She looked at the flatbread in front of her and didn't reach for it. "You said you wanted to take me as your disciple, but then you fed me poison. That doesn't seem logical, does it?"
The old man seemed patient and explained, "This is a test. If you can endure it and survive, then you will naturally be my disciple."
This was the first time Li Yue Shu had heard of such a bizarre thing.
She had never agreed to become his disciple, so why should she accept such a test!
After a moment's hesitation, Li Yue Shu took the flatbread but didn't eat it.
"This poison causes immense pain, but it's not fatal. With repeated consumption, one should slowly develop immunity," Li Yue Shu said slowly. "The test you speak of, it must involve more than just taking it this one time, right?"
With this poison, if one couldn't endure it, they would die in agony. If they could endure it, they would gain immunity to common poisons.
As she spoke, the old man's eyes lit up. "You know a lot about poisons?"
Li Yue Shu simply smiled without a word.
Seeing this, the old man became somewhat excited. "Then what do you think of my poison?"
Li Yue Shu looked at the flatbread in her hand and said, "Perhaps there's room for improvement."
With that, before the old man could react, she took a bite and chewed it slowly.
Then, she raised her hand and wiped her mouth.
The old man looked at her hand and found nothing unusual. His suspicions were allayed.
After a while, Li Yue Shu's face changed. The flatbread in her hand fell to the ground.
Clutching her stomach in pain, her body curled up, and she collapsed onto the ground.
She seemed to be enduring some immense suffering, her whole body trembling uncontrollably.
The old man remained composed, sitting on the large rock with a benevolent smile on his face.
He watched Li Yue Shu's agony with the detachment of someone watching a play.
But the next moment, Li Yue Shu suddenly stopped reacting.
The old man paused, then asked with confusion, "Madam Shen?"
There was no answer.
The old man frowned.
After taking his poison, no one could endure the pain without moving. Had she given up so quickly?
The old man's smile faded. He stood up and walked over, reaching out to pull Li Yue Shu up.
But as soon as he grabbed her, a sharp pain shot through his arm.
Startled, the old man quickly let go and dodged.
He lifted his sleeve and saw a bleeding pinprick on his arm.
At the same time, Li Yue Shu, who had been lying on the ground as if unconscious, stood up on her own. Her face showed no pain, nor any sign of weakness.
The old man stared in disbelief. "How did you do that?"
Li Yue Shu, of course, wouldn't reveal the secret of her spatial dimension.
She patted the dust and grass off her clothes. "Instead of worrying about that, you should check the poison on yourself."
The old man froze and quickly grabbed his wrist.
After assessing his condition, his eyes widened, and he instinctively looked at the pinprick on his arm.
The rapid spread was characteristic of poisons that were deadly upon contact with blood. But this poison wasn't fatal, it was just...
"Thud!"
The old man suddenly collapsed, his head hitting the rock he had been sitting on with a loud thud.
Li Yue Shu felt no sympathy. She looked down at him from above. "This is just a warning. If there's a next time, I'll take your life!"
She made no attempt to hide her killing intent, as if she had a sword in her hand and would strike immediately.
But she didn't kill the old man. She simply used his own method against him.
If one endured it, they would be fine, perhaps a little weak. If they couldn't endure it, they would die in agony.
Li Yue Shu watched the old man writhing on the ground in pain with great interest, showing no sympathy.
In less than the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, their roles had reversed.
Sweating profusely, the old man's kindly and amiable facade finally crumbled. He glared fiercely at Li Yue Shu.
"You wait... Old man... will never... forgive... forgive you!"
Li Yue Shu raised an eyebrow. "I'll be waiting!"
The old man's gaze was sinister. He had no time for bickering and quickly pulled out bottles and jars of medicine to detoxify himself.
Li Yue Shu didn't stop him. She wanted to see how capable this old man was.
To her surprise, the old man managed to detoxify himself in two quarters of an hour.
Li Yue Shu observed the old man thoughtfully, a hint of confusion in her mind.
In the original book, the only person with such ability was A Yi in the future; this old man wasn't even present.
Could it be that in the timeline of the original book, this old man had already died?
The torment of two quarters of an hour had drained almost all of the old man's strength.
He lay limply on the ground, covered in sweat, gasping for breath.
Li Yue Shu suppressed her doubts, stood up, and without a word, dragged him towards the nearest government office.
If she let him go easily, he would definitely come back, and then he might implicate others in her family.
Since she already knew his intentions, she would directly hand him over to the authorities to be locked up, preventing him from causing trouble again.
She also needed to hurry back. With so many people at home, if she returned too late, they would worry.
After leaving the government office, Li Yue Shu, seizing an opportune moment when no one was paying attention, slipped into her spatial dimension.
Her journey had been rough, and she looked quite disheveled. She needed to clean up before returning, so as not to worry everyone.
And she needed to check her body.
Although she hadn't swallowed the poisoned flatbread, it had entered her mouth, and the poison was potent. She must have been somewhat affected.
Fortunately, it wasn't a serious problem; she could slowly recover with care.
After emerging from her spatial dimension, Li Yue Shu prepared to head straight home. However, after walking for a while, she suddenly stopped.