Chapter 271 — A Pair of Twin Sisters
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 5
Shen Mu and the Little Poison King had swapped prescriptions seven or eight times in a row, and both were somewhat flustered; after all, it was their first time working together, and there were bound to be rough edges, places where their coordination fell short. What was more, each was nursing a stubborn determination to get the better of the other.
The tonic Shen Mu had put into that red pill for the Little Poison King was not merely thirty or fifty times the normal dose but close to sixty times, and the vial of poison the Little Poison King had given Shen Mu had likewise been strengthened. The two were testing each other's skill, but the Emperor and the Imperial Preceptor of Jingping were the ones who suffered for it, tormented by the pair until they were half dead and yet unable to move, unable to struggle, unable to cry for help. The Emperor's body began to shrink.
Before long it had shrunk to its usual size, but it kept shrinking, and soon it was as small as a newborn infant. "I really ought to have hidden axemen all around this hall and had them hack these two villainous miracle doctors to pieces.
. .
" thought the Emperor, drowned in hair. Meanwhile the Imperial Preceptor of Jingping's body was swelling.
Not only swelling, the Imperial Preceptor also felt as though something had grown out of his backside, something like a furry tail. His armpits itched too, and he sensed extra bones sprouting from the bones of his shoulders, crack crack crack, growing outward, as though a pair of wings were about to emerge. Had two great wings grown out, that would have been one thing; the trouble was that they stopped growing at a foot or so.
The bodies of the two men turned now icy cold, now burning hot; sometimes it was as if they had fallen into hell and were rolling on a mountain of knives, and sometimes it was as if they had become immortals or gods, utterly blissful, but bliss was the most dangerous state of all, for it meant their souls were dissolving. At other times pains came surging from every part of their bodies, a thousand times worse than heart-piercing agony; at other times it was as if ten thousand needles had pierced them all over; at still others it was as if they had been steeped in a jar of unbearably sour vinegar.
In the great hall, Shen Mu sat on the hair that carpeted the floor, brush in one hand, chin propped on the other, staring blankly into space.
Not far off, the Little Poison King paced anxiously back and forth, brows locked, ceaselessly calculating how to effect a cure. Both had run into difficulties; several times Shen Mu lifted his brush and could not bring it down, and several times the Little Poison King snatched up his brush and laid it down again. Outside the hall, Ling Yuxiu poked her head in, and seeing the two of them fretting, asked in a low voice, "Cowherd, how goes it?
" Before Shen Mu could answer, the Little Poison King chuckled. "You must be the Sixth Princess? " Ling Yuxiu thought for a moment.
"My brother is now the eldest prince, so I suppose I really am sixth in rank.
" "The eldest prince, that is, the present Crown Prince Yushu.
" The Little Poison King said stiffly, "Congratulations, Sixth Princess. By this quack's method of treatment, your brother will soon be able to ascend the throne and proclaim himself emperor.
" Ling Yuxiu was startled.
She looked imploringly at Shen Mu and stammered, on the verge of tears, "Cowherd, are you really going to doctor my father to death?
" "Don't be afraid, little sister.
He won't die.
" Shen Mu comforted her, then sneered, "Before I doctor the Emperor to death, the Imperial Preceptor of Jingping will have been treated to death by this fool. Without the Imperial Preceptor of Jingping to prop up your brother, even if he becomes emperor he won't last a few days before he is overthrown!
" Ling Yuxiu was about to cry. "You are just trying to frighten me, aren't you?