OFTLHFRO C132

Chapter 132: On Antidotes

“Huh?”

Luo Mingchen didn’t quite understand. “You didn’t formally take him as a master?”

“No.”

Huo Yan explained: “He forced me to acknowledge him. Locked me in with the poisonous creatures in his palace and said if I couldn’t recognize them all, then I might as well die. Later, a group of righteous sect cultivators stormed the place. In the chaos, Xiao Lin rescued me. I saw him beaten half to death, jumping into a cliff shrouded in miasma. That was the end—the Demon Palace was destroyed.”

Ah, this…

Luo Mingchen hadn’t expected Huo Yan to have such a past.

No wonder his expression had changed so sharply at the sight of the so-called Soul-Capturing Fruit.

“So, do we still count him or not?”

Huo Yan didn’t answer that, only saying instead: “He was a madman.”

Hearing the tangle of emotions in his voice, Luo Mingchen comforted him: “It’s alright. Let’s not dwell on it. If he really shows up again, we’ll find him. Maybe it isn’t even him—it could just be a fruit, nothing more.”

“Mm.”

Huo Yan pulled him tightly into an embrace.

And Luo Mingchen, heart aching for what Huo Yan had gone through, gently patted his back.

Only, as he patted, he suddenly felt an itch at his waist. Grimacing, he caught Huo Yan by the ear. “Behave.”

Huo Yan ignored the protest in his words, rubbing against him affectionately, already tugging at his clothes.

If Luo Mingchen had truly meant rejection, he wouldn’t have pulled on his ear—he would have grabbed his hand.

Fortunately, it was winter. With all the layers of clothes, wrapped snug in scarves, there wasn’t much to love about undressing.

Before leaving, Luo Mingchen got his petty revenge by picking out a pale-blue outfit for Huo Yan—one embroidered with red petals.

Don’t ask where he’d bought it; the answer was for fun.

But with Huo Yan’s figure being that of a living clothes rack, even such a bizarre combination couldn’t look ugly. At worst, it seemed a little strange. Yet, paired with Huo Yan’s calm expression, the strangeness melted away, and it looked as if it were nothing more than everyday wear.

The longer Luo Mingchen looked, the more he felt he’d shortchanged himself.

If it hadn’t still been snowing, he’d have forced Huo Yan to wear that red gauze shirt outside.

Sensing his husband’s gaze, Huo Yan lowered his eyes to him. “What is it?”

Luo Mingchen: “…”

That face—he never tired of looking at it.

“…Let’s go.”

With a face sculpted to his exact taste, Luo Mingchen could never stay mad for long.

They didn’t ride horses. The two of them ran all the way to the city gates, leaving Liu Changlian staring slack-jawed.

What was with these two?

Horses standing by, yet they chose to run in the snow. How idle could they be?

After inspection, Luo Mingchen saw the soldiers, no longer bearing wounds on their bodies, and felt the results were decent.

From Huo Yan’s plan, it was clear—he wanted to train a corps loyal only to him. They had to be capable in every respect, versed in dismantling traps, poisoncraft, reconnaissance, and counter-reconnaissance.

In short, he was shaping a squad of special forces.

Once chosen and sworn into the new unit, these men were essentially severed from Huo Yuntao.

If Huo Yuntao regained command of the Huo Army, this group would be marginalized and doubted.

Thus, they were now tied to Huo Yan’s ship.

None of them were particularly outstanding in the army before—mid-tier at best. Not important enough to be trusted, but not willing to settle for mediocrity.

So when Huo Yan promised a specialized unit, with pay multiplied tenfold, and death benefits sent to their families—none refused.

The first thing Xiao Lin said when he saw Huo Yan was: “General Huo, where did you buy that outfit?”

Huo Yan replied evenly: “Does it not look good?”

“…Not exactly, just… odd.”

Unable to describe it, Xiao Lin let it drop. “Anyway, we found a firepit thirty li east, at the foot of a hill. No idea when it was left.”

Luo Mingchen considered. “Could it be enemy scouts?”

Thirty li away—far enough to sound distant, but it was already past the border. The firepit couldn’t have been left months ago, not with snow falling.

And with rumors of war, spies were only to be expected.

After a pause, Huo Yan ordered: “Set traps there over the next few days. Starting tonight, send two teams.”

“Alright.”

Usually careless, Xiao Lin was cautious when needed.

After all, who wanted to die early?

To lose one’s life over negligence would be far too pitiful.

On the way back, Xiao Lin frowned. “You really aren’t riding horses?”

To this, Luo Mingchen only kept his polite smile. “We’re training.”

Xiao Lin didn’t think much of it and chuckled. “Well, we’ll head off then.”

Their unit returned to camp. Once they’d gone, the couple made their way back.

At the city gate, they saw two Bing City soldiers arriving for antidote.

Huo Yan handed it over, asking: “How fares General Wu today?”

One soldier answered: “General Huo, the general is much improved, only still somewhat weak.”

“Tell General Wu to rest well. No wine. Meat he may take sparingly.”

“Yes!”

When they left for Bing City, Luo Mingchen turned to ask: “If that really was an enemy scout, with Wu Qing in his current state—if fighting breaks out, won’t we be at a huge disadvantage?”

“Mm.”

When Huo Yan said no more, Luo Mingchen pressed: “That poison you gave him—does it really require croton powder and cold water?”

Huo Yan looked at him. “Do you think I was deliberately tormenting him?”

“What else?”

Luo Mingchen had never heard of such a treatment. And even after the antidote, the man still suffered nightly agony.

“That is the method of detoxification.”

Seeing Luo Mingchen’s face full of disbelief, Huo Yan added: “That man’s poisons were always strange and bizarre. I merely made a few modifications.”

Huo Yan looked genuinely serious, so Luo Mingchen couldn’t help but laugh. “Alright then.”

Back at camp, Huo Yan took Ruan Feng, Li Yunde, and Ji Bowen to discuss matters with Hu Zhongyi.

Meanwhile, Luo Mingchen returned to their residence.

He picked a suitable spot, set up a makeshift greenhouse with hay and coarse cloth, and planted a few of the vegetable seedlings he’d brought from his space.

He wasn’t sure they could survive in such cold, so he planted a few of each.

It was already the second lunar month, yet it had snowed heavily the night before. Even mutated crops might not withstand it.

Xiao Chen, helping to build the shed, watched Luo Mingchen set the fragile sprouts into the soil. To be honest, he didn’t hold out much hope.

But since they were Luo Mingchen’s seedlings, he said nothing.

Because Huo Xinyue had seen a man vanish yesterday, Luo Mingchen spent the whole day accompanying the children.

Huo Yuhui still studied and practiced calligraphy.

Huo Xiang, unlike him, preferred practicing fists over brush strokes. He pestered Zhu Qing to teach him qinggong.

Ever since Zhu Qing had shown off by leaping onto the roof, Huo Xiang’s world had opened wide.

Usually restless, he was somehow able to endure the dull grind of foundational practice.

Meanwhile, Huo Xinyue, chastised yesterday, no longer mentioned the disappearing man. She sat on her bed playing with a large wooden maze disk.

Inside was a bead that couldn’t fall out, rolling through twists like a labyrinth.

Ziyuan had apparently found it for her.

The more Luo Mingchen watched, the more it looked like some sort of formation.

Sure enough, when the bead finally dropped into a small hollow, the pattern on the disk swiftly rearranged itself.