Hearing this, the two of them nodded silently, as if they had steeled themselves. Xiao Jiu said, "It's okay. We'll just endure it when the time comes. But what about you..."
Hearing this, Tang Youyou smiled and said, "At this time, you still have the time to worry about me? I made this medicine, so there must be an antidote.
It's just that we've all been in contact with the ice flower. If we show no symptoms at all, it will surely arouse suspicion. Taking this pill will spare us the pain and only leave some red marks."
At this point, Xiao Jiu frowned and said, "We just need to pretend to be in pain then."
Hua Ling beside him also nodded. The group took the things there and left the cave. When they came to the cave entrance again, the scholars had disappeared.
Seeing this, Xiao Jiu let out a snort and said with a sneer, "I didn't expect that these people can run so fast when they're trying to escape."
When they first went in, they were all listless, with one illness after another popping up. They were so afraid of missing out on saying they were sick that they might die earlier.
Just as they were about to leave, there came a gasping sound from a distant corner.
They followed the sound and only saw clearly under the firelight that it was Xiao Hei and Lao Bai.
Xiao Jiu quickly helped the two on the ground up. Together with Hua Ling, they took the two towards the cave entrance.
"Why are you here? Weren't you out of danger just now? Those people should have taken you out."
However, Xiao Jiu's three consecutive questions made the two of them shake their heads helplessly.
"Just now, a hyena suddenly appeared from somewhere. It took us a great deal of effort to take it down, but we were bitten and couldn't move." After Xiao Hei finished speaking, he suddenly choked with sobs.
Lao Bai took over the conversation and continued, "So, those people were afraid that the hyena would come back, so they rushed out without caring about us."
After saying that, the two of them fell silent.
Seeing this, Tang Youyou shook her head. She didn't know what to say and finally managed to say, "Sometimes, you can't bare your heart to some people. If you can protect yourself, there's no need to be a hero."
What she said was indeed true, for many people are two - faced.
At this point, the group walked outside. When they reached the cave entrance, Tang Youyou saw the crowd in front of her. They were all exhausted, and their faces were full of vicissitudes.
Xiao Jiu was not someone who would swallow an insult. Seeing these people lying comfortably on the ground outside, he sneered and said mockingly, "I didn't expect you all to be so carefree. Have you found all the things you need for the exam? Or do you feel less competitive pressure now that some of your teammates are gone?"
Hearing this, a proud middle - aged man walked towards him from a distance and said, "I wonder what you mean by that? Does our resting here offend you?"
Hearing this, Xiao Hei on the other side couldn't stand it and immediately retorted, "So, do you think it's okay for you to step on others' corpses to get ahead?"
After Xiao Hei finished speaking, he gave the man a fierce glare.
Being talked to like this, the man instantly blushed and immediately scolded him, "Do you mean that we're heartless and unjust?"
Tang Youyou glanced at the man in the distance and then at the few people who had been rude at the beginning. When she was still a bit dazed, she saw their faces clearly.
In an instant, the atmosphere among them became highly charged.
Lao Bai grabbed Xiao Hei, who was about to explode, and whispered something in his ear. Xiao Hei glanced at Tang Youyou beside him and then calmed down.
The words among them were all conveyed through their looks.
Xiao Jiu took out a packet wrapped in leaves from his bosom, looked at the crowd in front of him, and sneered, "Just now, I noticed that there seems to be someone among you who has something you've been looking for."
Hearing this, the remaining scholars instantly looked at the middle - aged scholar and asked in surprise, "Brother Li? What's this..."
Hearing the doubts of the people behind him, Brother Li turned to look at them and asked, "I don't know what they mean. What do you mean by something you've been looking for? I don't even know myself."
However, Tang Youyou looked at his actions and showed a meaningful smile. This man's reaction was quite interesting.
It was just a probing question, yet he looked so panicked. Isn't this just like the proverb "There's no three hundred taels of silver buried here"?
Seeing this, Tang Youyou glanced at Xiao Jiu and said seriously, "Just now, we retrieved the thing you've been looking for, but now the ice flower is in someone else's hands."
At this point, it immediately piqued everyone's interest. The thing they had risked their lives to look for for so long was actually right beside them?
Hearing this, a rich young man immediately asked, "Who on earth is this person? Since he has the ability to obtain the ice flower, why is he so low - key in front of everyone?"
The young man's words were full of sarcasm. When they reached Brother Li's ears, they made his face look ugly. Brother Li frowned tightly but still forced out a smile.
"You can't say that. Maybe this person has his own concerns. After all, everyone wants such a good thing. He might be taken advantage of."
What he said was not without reason, but Tang Youyou's curiosity about him grew even stronger.
Xiao Jiu took out the small packet of powder in his hand and scattered it towards the many scholars in front of him. It took a while for the powder to drift away with the wind.
The rich young man asked curiously, "I wonder what Young Master Xiao Jiu is up to this time? What's the use of these things?"
Hearing this, Xiao Jiu simply explained the function of the medicine, which hit the mark for most of them, and they didn't have many objections.
However, Brother Li, who had been so aggressive just now, now took the excuse of going to pee and left the crowd for a while.
Seeing this, Tang Youyou glanced at Xiao Hei beside her and said with a gentle smile, "In this desolate mountain, I'm still a bit worried about letting Brother Li, such a gentle scholar, go out alone. Xiao Hei, why don't you accompany him so that he won't get lost on the way back?"
Her words were full of implications. Even Lao Bai beside her couldn't help but let out a snort of laughter. Xiao Jiu even admired her and said, "You're really amazing. You can come up with such an excuse."
Tang Youyou sneered and said, "Why don't you think about why this person would come up with such a far - fetched excuse?"
The excuse was really a bit far - fetched.