Xiu'er picked up A'Li and stepped away in apologies.
Chun Yi came up next to Xiu'er and whispered into her ear while the Master examined Kun Shang's body.
"There is no such thing as a cure for my poison. How can you be so sure? And even if there is, why would they help us?"
Xiu'er gave her one annoyed look and shrugged her off. She hated Chun Yi but there was nothing she could do to prevent her from seeing the girl. She never wanted for this to happen and wasn't expecting Kun Shang to be Chun Yi's target. Was he her target? Xiu'er was getting more sure now. If he was, Chun Yi did a great job making it look like an accident. Maybe that's why she hated her. Chun Yi was so meticulous and careful about exposing herself in the act. She used the Four Evil Gates Heroes to get close to Kun Shang, and then make it look like an accident that she poisoned him.
Of course, Xiu'er was smart enough to see through that. A regular person would have truly thought it was an accident, but not her. Maybe it was because she never trusted the strange girl in the first place. The incident with Yaoyao may have been a mishap, but why must Chun Yi continue to remain so cruel underneath and use her poison to harm more people? She is so evil.
If Chun Yi's mission was to kill Kun Shang, then she already failed from the beginning because Xiu'er would do everything in her power to not let that happen. He was special to her, the one she had been looking for and he must stay alive for as long as possible. Doesn't matter what happened to her, she must use everything in her power to keep him alive until he does what he was meant to do.
After checking Kun Shang's body, Master Quan looked up at the people who came with him. Recognizing Chun Yi but not the rest, she said that Chun Yi shouldn't be here. Hidden Butterfly Valley and the Western Sect don't get along very well. The only reason she opened the gate for them was because she thought Chun Yi was a messenger from Hidden Butterfly Valley. Master Quan instantly declined to save Kun Shang.
"This is White Mountain," she said, "the Western Wind Ethereal Sect. Unfortunately, we do not have much medicine in this cold barren place. I'm afraid he will die in the next half an hour." Master Quan gestured towards the exit. "I'm sorry, but you must leave before the Grandmaster knows about this."
"Please," Xiu'er begged. "Can't you do anything for him?"
"There is nothing I can do for him anymore. It's too late. His heartbeat is barely pumping, his blood has already frozen, and his organs are immensely damaged." Master Quan turned to look at the dying man. "If I am correct, he was poisoned by a person in his room."
The way she said it sounded like a question but no one dared to answer it. What followed was a heavy air of silence, hovering over the group of people who surrounded a body-size sled. Nobody moved or even tried to breathe loudly. After a while, the Master lowered her head and walked away.
"The Heart Cleansing Spring!" Xiu'er exclaimed. "Lend me the Heart Cleansing Spring." She continued to count the remaining minutes in her head, desperately trying to save this stupid man.
The Heart Cleansing Spring was a sacred item for the Western Sect that had spiritual energy in its purest form. It's a spring with special water of frigid cold temperature well below freezing, but the water never actually freezes. People without strong internal energy will freeze upon touching the water, thus only accessible to those with strong enough qi to handle the cold. The pure spiritual energy in the Spring was used to cleanse and recover internal energy at an exceptionally fast rate.
Master Quan stopped in her tracks and turned to her. "The Heart Cleansing Spring is a sacred item only utilized by carefully selected students. Not many knew about it, how did you know?"
Xiu'er didn't say anything but plead to the Master with her eyes. Ten minutes left. Please!
"I'm sorry, I really cannot allow--"
"Brother!" She called out to her sibling.
Silang stepped up and started ranting off on something that sounded like a poetry recital.
"Unsteady is that cypress boat, in the middle of the river. His two locks looped over his brow, he swore that--"
"Stop!" Master Quan muttered in a low voice, her mouth opened in amazement. "Where did you learn that from?"
"Master Quan, I beg of you." Xiu'er's heartbeat was racing at the moment . "Please just let me save his life and I will tell you everything you need to know. He only has a few minutes left. I just want to save him. I beg of you!"
Master Quan bit her lip. She wasn't supposed to let anyone in, let alone allow them to use the sacred Spring but a slight part of heart was starting to waiver. "I'm sorry. I truly can't--"
"He swore that he truly was my comrade, and till death would love no other--" Silang continued.
"Fine!" She swallowed, looking from Silang to Xiu'er. "The Heart Cleansing Spring may be yours to use to save this man. Although, I should let you know that he will still die anyway. No one has ever survived from the poison of the Holy Cursed Lady. However, as part of our job of keeping upright in the martial arts community, we will do our part of offering help. Whether he lives or not, that has already been decided."
Master Quan was shocked at herself as she looked back and forth from Xiu'er to Silang. She had just allowed them to use one of the most sacred tools in their Sect. Could it be the poem or could it be the man who was reciting it? It was both.
Who are they? She couldn't help but think.
Master Quan abruptly made preparations for the sacred Spring to be used. Today, she had been swept away by two mysterious people who knew secrets they weren't supposed to know. If they knew about the poem and the Spring, what else did they know? Most importantly, are they prepared to lose their life for this knowledge?
Nevertheless, whatever their motive was for coming here, it appeared they were just trying to save a man's life. But why did Chun Yi come with them? How were they acquainted with the Holy Cursed Lady?
Master Quan wasn't prepared to ask them any questions yet. She knew the man must be taken to the Spring immediately and that they must be tired from the trip: climbing the mountain while dragging a sled with someone in it. She had the disciples take Silang, Xiaogua and A'Li to their rooms to rest. Chun Yi was led to a different location.
Master Quan personally led Xiu'er and two trusted disciples, who dragged Kun Shang's body, to a hidden cave where the Heart Cleansing Spring was located. It was a small spring inside a cave the size of a room, and adjacent to a wall. A tiny waterfall fell from a hole in the wall into the spring. No matter how freezing the water was, defying all logic that it should be frozen, the water stayed runny and showed no sign of ice.
Xiu'er specifically requested that no one should bother her from here on as she began the curing session of the Holy Cursed Lady's poison.