Free Web NovelChapter 1666: Chapter 1968: Relentless Pressure
"Elder Du."
In the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion, Su Mei appeared at Du Kang’s residence with a solemn expression. Du Kang asked, "What’s wrong?"
"I just went to check; the secret passage of the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion has been blown up."
"Destroyed?" Du Kang’s expression changed, and he said in a deep voice, "How is that possible? Only your Su Family and I knew about that secret passage. No one else could possibly know of its existence."
"I’m not sure how they found it. In any case, the only exit has been sealed, and we now have no choice but to retreat into the valley and think of another plan."
"That’s all we can do for now."
Before long, under Su Mei’s organization, all the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion Disciples retreated into the previous valley of Yangxin Pavilion. Upon entering the valley, Su Mei went straight to the only wooden cabin within it. She knocked on the door and, seeing no response for a long time, simply pushed it open and walked in. Standing inside and seeing the empty room, Su Mei frowned slightly, then found a dusty chair in the living room, and sat down by herself.
This wooden cabin had a long history, although she knew of its existence, she had never entered before. Her grandfather had warned her that a very mysterious existence lived in this cabin and that it was the foundation of the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion. So, she always regarded this cabin with curiosity and reverence.
The dust inside the cabin was not very thick, indicating that someone had been living there. What secrets were hidden in this wooden cabin?
As she pondered, Du Kang entered from outside and said, "Pavilion Master, our situation is not looking good."
"What happened?"
"I just asked the logistics personnel, and all the food supplies of the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion have been burned in the fire, not a bit left. Now, only Yangxin Pavilion’s food supplies remain, but the quantity is too little. If divided equally, it could last at most one and a half days."
"That’s not a big issue," Su Mei said, "as long as we have enough drinking water, lasting a week is not a problem."
Just as she finished speaking, hurried footsteps approached, and Song Ge peeked in from outside, saying, "Pavilion Master, Elder Du, something has happened. Many people have been poisoned."
"Poisoned?" Upon hearing this, Su Mei and Du Kang’s expressions changed, and they rushed out of the cabin. Quickly, the three of them arrived at the scene. At this moment, over twenty Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion Disciples lay on the ground, holding their stomachs, faces pale, crying out in pain. Su Mei glanced at the situation and asked, "What happened?"
Song Ge replied, "The logistics staff just made some food, and just as everyone ate halfway, this incident occurred. When I discovered it, I immediately told the others to stop eating to prevent them all from getting poisoned."
"Bring your food here and let me take a look."
As soon as Du Kang spoke, a Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion Disciple brought their food to him. Looking at the bowl containing pancakes made of coarse grains, Du Kang sniffed it. It had no special smell and was hard to tell if it was poisoned.
At this moment, a Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion Disciple rushed over from a distance, exclaiming urgently, "Pavilion Master, several brothers over there have inexplicably fallen unconscious."
Du Kang pointed to the pancakes in the bowl and asked, "Did they eat this?"
The person shook his head and said, "No, they only drank a little water."
Water?
Su Mei and Du Kang exchanged glances, a hint of shock appeared on both their faces. "Let’s go have a look," they said, quickly heading over. Just as the person said, more than ten people showed symptoms of unconsciousness, and their breathing was very weak, on the verge of death.
"There must be something wrong with the water," Du Kang said with a frown, "The pancakes used water but in a small amount, so those who ate the pancakes only showed mild symptoms, unlike those who directly drank the water."
"You mean they’ve sabotaged our underground water source?"
Du Kang nodded and said, "I’m afraid so. This Heavenly Dragon Sect is no simple matter; not only do they know about the secret passage we built, but they also know about our underground water source. Pavilion Master, the enemy knows our situation inside out; our predicament is bound to get worse."
Looking at the poisoned Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion Disciples, Su Mei said, "Saving them is the priority; everything else can wait."
"Save them? How?" Du Kang said in a deep voice, "All the medicine stored in the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion has been burned in the fire. Even if we know what poison they’ve been afflicted with, we have no medication to make the antidote, unless we can break through the Heavenly Dragon Sect’s defenses to find medicinal herbs outside."
Upon hearing this, Su Mei fell into silence.
The water had been poisoned, and so many of the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion Disciples were affected. If not treated promptly, they could all die. In this situation, the only solution was to break out; at least this way, there would be a slim chance of survival.
"Elder Du."
Du Kang seemed to guess what she wanted to say, and said, "Let’s not rush into a decision; we can’t have more people risking their lives for these ones."
"Elder Du, do you have any other solutions?"
Du Kang did not say anything, but got up and walked away. About ten minutes later, after arranging for the poisoned Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion Disciples, Su Mei and Song Ge found Du Kang. At the time, Du Kang was talking with the logistics staff. Seeing Su Mei and Song Ge approach, Du Kang waved them to go attend to other matters first.
"Elder Du, what were you discussing?"
"I was asking about the situation. Now that the underground water is no longer usable, without water, even the flour is useless. I just had the logistics staff check; there’s not much food left that can be eaten, just barely enough for two meals. Moreover, without water, we probably can’t hold out much longer. More importantly, those poisoned need immediate treatment, or they’ll surely die."
Su Mei chuckled bitterly, "I don’t know any of this; what I want now is a solution."
"There is a way," Du Kang said, "I thought about it earlier, let me break through alone. Once I escape the pursuit of the Heavenly Dragon Sect, I will find a way to contact help and grab some medicine back."
"Alone?" Su Mei was slightly shocked and shook her head, "No! That’s too dangerous."
"It’s better for me to risk danger alone than for everyone to risk it. Enough, you don’t need to persuade me more, my mind is made up; just let it be." After speaking, Du Kang looked up at the sky and said, "The sooner the better, I’ll set off after night falls and strive to return by tomorrow morning."
"Elder Du, please be cautious," Su Mei urged.
"Don’t worry, I know how to take care of myself." With that, Du Kang gently patted Su Mei’s shoulder and smiled slightly, "Trust me, the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion will weather this storm."
