Chapter122

No wonder Oswyn turned out like that. Compared to his two senior brothers, Elara actually felt Oswyn was already doing pretty well. At least in her memory, Oswyn hadn't done anything that would embarrass himself this badly in front of everyone.

He had just spent half an hour calming himself down and was finally feeling better, but now someone poked right at his sore spot again, and this time there was no way to avoid it. Oswyn was about to lose it.

Before Elara could even open her mouth to respond to the two senior brothers staring at her, Oswyn completely exploded.

He suddenly stood up and unleashed a wild outburst at the two senior brothers who hadn't seen him in a long time and were just showing concern. The scolding was so fierce that both of them were left dumbfounded. They had no idea why their little junior, whom they came to support, was suddenly so furious.

In the end, these two senior brothers who hadn't seen Oswyn in two years didn't even get to eat a single bite before being completely driven out of the dining hall by his angry shouting.

Everyone nearby was left stunned and completely silent. Even Elara didn't expect Oswyn to be this aggressive when he went all out. It seemed like he had really been holding back with her before, keeping his temper in check.

This meal ended in a strange, hard-to-explain atmosphere. After driving the two brothers away, Oswyn didn't return to the dining hall. His face was flushed with rage as he stormed off.

Outside the window, the sky had already darkened.

Elara had come to the Miracle Doctor Valley today not only to see this place that was said to bring the dead back to life, but also to stay the night and rest well before heading out again in the morning.

Now that it was late, she stood up and called everyone to head to their assigned guest rooms. The children had already prepared them.

But as soon as Elara had returned to her room, washed up, and barely laid down, Uno appeared kneeling at her bedside holding a twitching animal.

"Your Highness, these snakes, rats, birds, and insects were found inside and around this room. Each of them has been implanted with Gu worms from the Puppet Sect."

Elara half-opened her eyes while lying on the bed, looking at the small creatures Uno held.

The Puppet Sect really wasn't wasting any time. Did they think the Plumera State's princess was some useless joke like in the rumors? How else could they dare to send these things here so openly?

"Also, Your Highness, the Wei scouts discovered that these puppet-controlled creatures are spread all across the Miracle Doctor Valley. Almost every mountain has some mixed in among the normal wildlife."

Elara's face slowly filled with sarcasm. Every mountain? So someone had already set their eyes on this legendary place before she even arrived?

"Are there any fighters inside the Miracle Doctor Valley?"

Uno shook his head. "So far, none have been found. According to legends, the people here only use medicine and poison. Even the youngest apprentices are masters of healing and poison arts. They can easily detect Gu poison and defend themselves. Also, the valley is surrounded by overlapping Five Elements arrays. If someone tries to force their way in, the formation will protect them."

That made sense. Even if they didn't know martial arts, for a sect to last this long, they had to have their own way of survival.

After thinking for a while, Elara said, "Tomorrow when we leave, keep ten of the Wei here. Have them monitor the valley closely. Report anything strange immediately."

"Yes."

Early the next morning, after a good night's sleep, Elara checked the surveillance report from the Wei guards. She found that the puppet cult members only released a few small animals near her and didn't do anything else. While ordering people to keep watching, she washed up and got ready to eat breakfast at the dining hall before heading out again.

There were no problems that morning. The puppet cult members didn't appear again. In the dining hall, only the senior and second senior brothers who had been kicked out by Oswyn yesterday were there.

They sat far away from Elara, staring at her with a gloomy look, but they didn't come closer or speak.

After a night of calming himself, Oswyn seemed completely back to normal. As soon as Elara entered the dining hall, he came out from the back kitchen with several plates of food. He sat beside her, calmly serving her and saying that the medicine she needed to take later had to be replaced with a new batch from the valley.

Once they finished eating and Elara drank the newly prepared medicine that wasn't as awful as before, she took the initiative to say goodbye to the two silent senior brothers sitting on the other side of the hall and to the master in white still in the alchemy room. She left behind some gifts for her first visit and any trouble she caused, then, with the help of the young disciples from the valley, she led the group that had rested all night along with Oswyn, who needed more training, down the mountain toward Anqu Town.

The Divine Doctor Valley sat between Marigold County and Anqu Town. Getting past it meant they had already completed half the journey.

Elara still rode on horseback with Uno guiding her. Oswyn gave her several boxes of new ointment before they left the valley. Although the following two days were still bumpy and exhausting, the ointment worked so well that it greatly reduced the discomfort.

That made riding bearable and even helped them move faster. Each day they could travel nearly one more hour than before.

Compared to when they went to the valley, their speed improved a lot. In just two and a half days, the whole group reached a spot not far from Anqu Town by noon on the third day.

The southern region of the Plumera State had Marigold County to the southwest. The southeastern area was entirely under the jurisdiction of Lijiang County.

Though Lijiang was one of the two large counties in the southern border along with Marigold, its land area was smaller. Most of it was made up of rugged forests and steep mountains.

It bordered a weak and isolated country called Youdan, which limited trade and farming opportunities.

So Lijiang County had always been less prosperous than Marigold. The county was quiet, with very few people. Even its main city was small and located far off from the path Elara and her group were taking.

Because of this, Elara temporarily gave up the idea of going to see Lijiang's main city while on the way to Anqu Town.

Anqu Town was a medium-sized town located in the northeastern part of Lijiang County.

According to System 92's data, even though Anqu was a medium-sized town in Plumera, it only had about five to six hundred residents in total.

A third of them shared the same family name, Qu. The Qu family was the wealthiest and most influential in Anqu, owning vast areas of fertile land and mountains.

The mine Elara wanted to purchase had been discovered in a mountain area owned by the Qu family. While riding in Uno's arms on horseback toward Anqu Town, Elara thought about how to carry out the trade once they entered the town.

When they were still about one thousand meters away, Uno softly called out to wake Elara from her thoughts.

Elara looked up at the distant town. To prevent any accidents, she stopped the entire army.

She found a hidden spot nearby suitable for setting up camp. Then she ordered General Qi to keep only the ten personal guards with them while the rest of the three thousand elite soldiers stayed hidden there to avoid alarming the townspeople.

After that, she had everyone change clothes, removing their formal robes and dresses, and putting on simple merchant escort outfits before continuing toward the town.

As they got closer to Anqu Town, Oswyn suddenly rode up beside them and halted the group. He frowned and said, "Wait, something's strange. The scent of ran flowers in the air is too strong. It seems to be coming from inside the town."

Elara looked at the town gate about fifty meters ahead. She sniffed the air carefully.

There really was a faint floral scent. But what caught her attention more was that the town seemed too quiet.

Even though they left most of the troops behind, their group was riding horses, and the noise should still have reached the town.

Still, Anqu Town remained completely silent, with no sound at all. Could the town have already been attacked by rebels before they arrived?

The thought came to her mind, but Elara quickly dismissed it. The town gate was intact, and a few townspeople could be seen moving around inside.

"There really is the scent of ran flowers, but the scent itself isn't poisonous," General Qi said as he rode closer, also sensing something odd.

"Ran flowers by themselves aren't toxic. They even help refresh the mind. But when mixed with certain things, they can produce all kinds of effects," Oswyn said while pulling a box of pills from the medicine pouch hanging near his horse's neck.

This medicine pouch was restocked with new supplies before he left the Divine Doctor Valley. "This place is suspicious. Let's all take the detox pills first."

The detox pills were quickly passed around. Elara took one from Uno and was about to eat it when Oswyn rode up beside her, held her hand, and took out another light-gold pill from his pocket.

"You take this one."

Without hesitation, Elara took the pill from his hand and swallowed it with two gulps of water. Then she noticed Oswyn still looking at her, a rare smile curving his lips.

Holding the water pouch, Elara paused. "What?" It was just a pill. Why was he suddenly smiling? Did something get into his head?

The smile on Oswyn's face vanished the moment she spoke. He