This sudden question startled Taiyan immensely. All this time, the Medicine Spirit had merely watched in silence, festered in silent anger, and attacked only by releasing miasma through the red walls. Taiyan had grown accustomed to its silent presence, never imagining it would suddenly speak.

However, Taiyan soon lost the luxury of astonishment, for she heard Nie Kong slump to the ground.

"Brother..."

The room was already thick with green, obscuring vision. Fortunately, Taiyan knew Nie Kong's location with perfect clarity. Her hands swept left, brushing against his motionless body. He felt as if he had fallen into a deep sleep, and anxiety immediately tightened its grip on her heart.

"Don't panic, don't panic, he won't die. We’ll guard him first, keep that thing from sneak-attacking again," Qingyue’s steady voice cut through the haze.

Having been with Nie Kong since their time in Lingyu City, she knew him intimately. She was also acutely aware of how he purged toxins; if the so-called 'Tenth-Grade Drunken Spirit Incense' truly threatened his life, Xiangxiang would have already absorbed it. The fact that Xiangxiang allowed Nie Kong to be overcome by the incense indicated an instinctive recognition that it posed no threat.

"Mhm-hmm."

Taiyan, inherently simple-hearted, felt lost when confronted by such an unexpected crisis. Hearing Qingyue’s instructions brought a sliver of calm. Her delicate form once again shifted into the shape of 'Hui Mou Grass.'

The leaves extended, coiling around Nie Kong’s body, while the blood-red 'Hui Mou Flower' turned to face the opposite red wall. Although Taiyan couldn't mobilize the power within her, manipulating her physical form for adjustments was manageable, though these changes carried no offensive capability themselves.

This arrangement meant that any spiritual or mental assault directed at Nie Kong, from any angle, would first have to pass through her primary form. The moment any hostile intent touched her, it would instantly trigger the latent power she concealed, leading to immediate consumption.

However, the nearly one hundred types of toxins used previously had been tricky to defend against. Thankfully, even though Nie Kong was unconscious, the little being inside him remained active.

A moment later, Qingyue couldn't help but ask, "Taiyan, is it still attacking?"

"No more."

Taiyan felt a flicker of confusion. The sensation of being observed still lingered, and she could sense the Medicine Spirit's excitement, yet after Nie Kong collapsed, it showed no further desire to attack. It seemed the assault that had lasted for hours had completely exhausted it.

Time drifted quietly by...

Without Nie Kong's absorption, the surrounding vitality slowly dissipated, soon retreating back to the six-sided red walls. The dim, verdant space became sharp and clear once more.

"What about now?" Qingyue asked, looking at Nie Kong, who was wrapped like a rice dumpling by the Hui Mou Grass.

"Still no attack. It seems it won't strike."

Taiyan retracted her leaves, and her graceful figure reappeared. She quickly looked down, seeing Nie Kong lying on the ground with his eyes closed, his cheeks flushed with a slight crimson—the very picture of a man drunk. Taiyan knelt beside him, worry etched on her face. "Qingyue, what should we do?"

Seeing Nie Kong in this state, Qingyue was also at a loss. She paced fretfully across his chest. "Neither of us understands medicine, nor do we know Nie Kong’s Nine Revolutions Golden Needle technique. We can’t save him."

Taiyan’s face was troubled. "If only Xiangxiang..."

Before she could finish, Qingyue took up the thread: "If only Xiangxiang were here. Anything related to medicinal power, it can absorb entirely. This 'Tenth-Grade Drunken Spirit Incense' must also be refined from a medicinal source to knock Nie Kong out, but for Xiangxiang, it poses no threat."

Hearing Qingyue say this, Taiyan suddenly understood. "You’re right! It's a pity Xiangxiang is still with that 'Phantom Eagle King' outside, it didn't follow us in."

"What is Xiangxiang?" The childlike voice suddenly echoed in the room again, soft and milky, yet full of curiosity.

"Like us, it's a Medicine Spirit, but it can absorb any form of medicinal power," Taiyan replied, then added with a huff toward the side wall, "My brother is immune to a myriad of poisons. What exactly is your 'Tenth-Grade Drunken Spirit Incense' that it could incapacitate him?"

"Oh, there’s a Medicine Spirit like that."

The childlike voice expressed surprise for a moment, then broke into a giggling laugh. "You two are wasting your effort. That 'Tenth-Grade Drunken Spirit Incense' isn't poison; it just makes people permanently immobile. If I had known he was susceptible to this medicine, I would have used it from the start, and I wouldn't be worn out like this now."

Taiyan angrily retorted, "You are truly wicked, wanting my brother to remain unconscious like this?"

"Exactly, not at all benevolent," Qingyue concurred.

"Who is wicked, huh? Huh? Huh? Huh?"

The voice immediately grew incensed. "I threw out so many herbs, finally luring someone over, and you three villains, hooligans, and robbers drove them all away in two or three days! Putting that aside, you even killed people in my swamp! Especially today, you actually threw in corpses with such heavy Death Qi, washing away all the 'vital energy' I had painstakingly absorbed these past few days! I’m furious! Furious! Furious... and you call me wicked? You call me unkind? None of you are kind; you are all villains!"

"..."

Taiyan and Qingyue exchanged a glance, both momentarily speechless.

Through those words, it was as if they could visualize a small child behind the red walls, flailing and cursing wildly. Indeed, they had always felt their actions alongside Nie Kong were perfectly justified, but from the Medicine Spirit’s perspective, they could indeed be considered villains, hooligans, and robbers.

Taiyan felt a little guilty and whispered weakly, "But that doesn't mean my brother has to stay unconscious forever, does it?"

The childlike voice seemed slightly relieved after such an outburst of frantic venting, yet it remained rather indignant. "Hmph, not only will I keep this worst villain from waking up, but I will also keep you two, the third and fourth worst villains, locked in here forever."

Qingyue couldn't help but ask, "Who is the second worst?"

The voice called out resentfully, "Who else could it be? Of course, that stinking eagle... Oh, thank you two fools for the reminder. I was planning to lock that one in here too, but now it seems enough to just drive it away, to avoid any unforeseen accidents... That’s letting it off easy!"

Towards the end, the voice sounded somewhat smug.

"How do you plan to drive it away?" Qingyue asked again.

"..."

No sound came back into that space for a long while.

…… ……RO