The old man of the Yan family sighed heavily, unable to utter a word, while Tang Xiaolan, standing nearby, her eyes immediately reddened, burst into tears and collapsed onto the ground as her legs gave way.

It was clear that Tang Xiaolan had been under immense pressure keeping the secret from Yan Liangfei for so long, and now that the elder had spoken it, she could no longer hold back, weeping uncontrollably.

“Mother, Mother!” Yan Liangfei’s tears involuntarily streamed down his face, and he rushed to embrace his mother.

“My good son, my good son!” Tang Xiaolan hugged her son tightly, burying her head in his shoulder, her tears soaking the collar of his shirt, and stuttered out, “It’s not just your grandmother’s poison; the deaths of your father and grandfather are also inextricably linked to the Jiang family!”

“What!” Yan Liangfei was struck by shock again, crying out involuntarily, “Father, and Grandpa? Didn’t they both fall off a cliff while gathering herbs on the mountain last year?”

“Wuwu… Before going up the mountain to gather herbs, your grandfather and your father had already been poisoned by the Jiang family’s Yinhua toxin. The reason they fell from the cliff while gathering herbs was precisely because they were afflicted by the Yinhua toxin, causing them to be disoriented on the mountain, leading to the fatal fall!” Tang Xiaolan cried, realizing she could no longer conceal the truth. She poured out the secret she had held in her heart for over a year to her son. “It was also because your grandmother suspected that your father’s and grandfather’s accidental deaths were not simple mishaps. After carefully examining her own body, she discovered she too had been poisoned by that Yinhua toxin. Fortunately, the poisoning was shallow, allowing her to use other medicinal poisons to suppress the Yinhua toxin.”

The Yinhua toxin acted upon the nerves, amplifying human desires and confusing the mind, with its influence growing over time. Throughout the entire Northern Suburbs, and indeed all of Huaxia, only the Jiang family possessed the skill to execute such a thing without anyone noticing.

Tang Xiaolan stroked Yan Liangfei’s hair, continuing to choke back sobs, “It is fortunate that neither your grandmother nor I were deeply afflicted by this Yinhua toxin. Our Yan family is in decline, now left with only you, our sole descendant. But the Jiang family has already seized the territory of the Wang family on Yanming Mountain and is currently at the peak of its power. We simply cannot fight the Jiang family. That is why your grandmother decided not to tell you anything, to protect you, and arranged for you to leave the Northern Suburbs to seek refuge with your maternal grand-uncle, Guo Yong.”

“The Jiang family!!!” Upon hearing this, Yan Liangfei’s fury rushed to his head. Veins bulged on his arms and temples. He shot to his feet, clenching his fists so tightly that his nails dug into his flesh, yet he felt no pain. He cried out in anguish, “Jiang family! The feud between you and us is one that cannot be shared under the heavens! I, Yan Liangfei, will surely make your Jiang family pay in blood in this lifetime!!!”

At that moment, Yan Liangfei’s face contorted, resembling a terrifying demon from the underworld, showing distinct signs of qi deviation.

“Fei’er!!” Yang Xiaolan screamed in immediate alarm upon noticing her son’s change.

“Fei’er!!” The old woman of the Yan family was even more worried seeing Yan Liangfei like this. Her initial reluctance to tell him these things, even wanting to send him to Changjing, stemmed from the fear that he would be unable to accept this reality. Now, she could not stop wiping the tears from her eyes, nor did she care if she could grab him; she reached out her hand.

Crack!

It was Zhang Yang who moved, taking a single step to instantly appear beside Yan Liangfei. He brought one hand down in a horizontal chop towards Yan Liangfei’s neck, knocking him unconscious before the young man could act out in his madness.

Yan Liangfei let out a miserable cry and then fell straight toward the ground.

“Fei’er!”

Although Tang Xiaolan knew Zhang Yang meant no harm, her heart clenched sharply. She rushed over to cradle Yan Liangfei, examining him up and down, terrified that the blow and fall might have caused some hidden affliction in her precious son!

After withdrawing his hand, Zhang Yang took out a silver needle. He lifted one of Yan Liangfei’s hands, channeled his internal energy through the needle, and unhesitatingly plunged it into the Laogong acupoint on his palm. Then, his index finger flashed like lightning, tapping twice on the Zanhu acupoint just inside Yan Liangfei’s eyebrow!

Both the Laogong and Zanhu acupoints serve to calm the spirit and stabilize emotions. Combined with Zhang Yang’s internal energy, this forcefully suppressed the volatile emotions and spirit that Yan Liangfei’s agitation had unleashed.

It was extremely fortunate that Zhang Yang was nearby and acted so swiftly. This not only stabilized Yan Liangfei’s state of mind at that moment but also protected him from falling into qi deviation, which could have caused severe long-term consequences for his future cultivation.

The fierce expression on Yan Liangfei’s face gradually calmed. Although his eyes remained shut, he was no longer as terrifying as before.

Seeing Yan Liangfei calm down, Tang Xiaolan and the old woman of the Yan family finally breathed a sigh of relief. Now that Yan Liangfei was the sole remaining descendant of the Yan family, all their hopes rested on him. If anything happened to Yan Liangfei, even if people from the Medical Sage Zhang family arrived to save them, it would be entirely useless.

“Yan Liangfei has undergone severe shock; it would be best to let him sleep now,” Zhang Yang told Tang Xiaolan and the elder after completing his actions.

Tang Xiaolan held Yan Liangfei in her arms, only focused on wiping her tears and remained silent. The old woman of the Yan family again felt the urge to kneel before Zhang Yang, but he quickly supported her, preventing her from kneeling a second time.

“Old woman, rest assured. Now that I am here, you no longer need to fear the Jiang family!” Zhang Yang said with immense confidence as he supported the elder.

Although Zhang Yang was certain, the elder still showed a hint of hesitation. She glanced at Yan Liangfei lying in Tang Xiaolan’s arms, then turned back, wiped her tears, and after steadying her emotions, said to Zhang Yang, “Benefactor, please wait a moment.”

Saying this, the elder supported herself on the doorframe and walked into the house. Moments later, she returned carrying a square box wrapped in coarse hemp cloth.

“What is this?” Zhang Yang was momentarily stunned, asking doubtfully.

“This is a secret manual left to our Yan family by a senior master from your Zhang family back then,” the elder said, gently stroking the box wrapped in coarse hemp cloth.

“But many years ago, a terrible plague swept through the Northern Suburbs, killing many people. Our Yan family was powerless to stop it, so an elder from our family took this secret manual and left the Northern Suburbs, hoping to find the descendants of the physician Zhang family to help us treat the epidemic…” At this point, the elder suddenly showed a look of shame and continued, “But alas, that elder from our Yan family not only failed to find the descendants of the Zhang family, but over half of that manual was actually stolen by a mysterious person. It was only after the plague subsided that our Yan family elder returned to the Northern Suburbs with the incomplete manual. Now… all our Yan family has left is this small remaining portion of the manual.”

Zhang Yang was taken aback upon hearing this. He never expected that his ancestor had not only saved the Yan family but also left them a secret manual?

Taking the box from the elder’s hands, Zhang Yang uncovered the coarse hemp cloth and opened it. As he took out the manual and casually flipped through a few pages, he was utterly astonished again.

This incomplete manual in the box was not some rare pharmaceutical recipe; it was an unprecedented Classic of Poisons!

Even after just a cursory glance at these few pages, Zhang Yang was completely shocked by the content. This incomplete poison scripture not only recorded countless formulas for poisons that had long since vanished from Huaxia but also documented the methods for curing them. Within this fragmented volume were even some of the most notoriously deadly poisons known since antiquity.

And this was only the incomplete half of the manual. If it were the complete text, would it mean that this single poison scripture contained all the formulas for every poison in Huaxia over the last several thousand years, along with their antidotes?

No wonder the old woman of the Yan family could not only diagnose the Yinhua toxin afflicting her but also find other poisons to counteract the Yinhua toxin in her body. If she possessed the complete manual, the old woman of the Yan family could likely have found the antidote formula for the Yinhua toxin in the first half of the book herself.

Zhang Yang then realized that this was very likely the result of his ancestor traveling across the country, imitating Shennong tasting a hundred herbs, and painstakingly compiling this Classic of Poisons. If such a manual fell into the hands of evildoers or ill-intentioned people, it would surely spell disaster for all of Huaxia.

Who could that mysterious person who stole the larger half of the manual be?

“Benefactor…” Seeing Zhang Yang’s expression, the elder guessed what he was thinking and spoke, “Actually, the missing first half of this poison scripture is in the hands of the Jiang family.”

“In the hands of the Jiang family!” Zhang Yang was momentarily stunned. If this first half of the poison scripture fell to the Jiang family, it would undoubtedly be like giving wings to a tiger.

“My deceased old man told me this,” the elder continued. “The Wang family of the Northern Suburbs back then was the foremost noble family here. They lived in seclusion on Yanming Mountain, focusing entirely on cultivation, rarely interacting with outsiders. However, the Jiang family, which even our Yan family could not stand against at the time, suddenly saw a massive surge in power and wiped out the entire Wang family, seizing the foundation the Wang family had established over one or two centuries on Yanming Mountain.”

Zhang Yang had heard about this from Yan Liangfei—the Jiang family colluded with the Huyan family, causing their strength in the Northern Suburbs to skyrocket, making them arrogant and overbearing.

“My old man didn’t believe that a family established for only ten years, like the Huyan family, would pay heed to a small family like the Jiangs, whom they viewed as ants. So, he secretly went to Yanming Mountain and exhumed a remnant corpse of a Wang family member. Upon examination, my old man discovered that the Wang family members had been poisoned with toxins that had been lost for many years. Only then did we confirm that the missing half of the poison scripture must have fallen into the hands of the Jiang family, which gave them the confidence to collude with the Huyan family.” The elder sighed repeatedly as she spoke to Zhang Yang. “Especially in recent years, the Jiang family has even allied themselves with people from the Demonic Sect. Benefactor, it is not that we do not seek revenge; it is that the Jiang family’s current influence is simply too great. Now, as long as my grandson can be safe and sound, free from persecution by the Jiang family, I will die without regret.”

Hearing the old woman of the Yan family say this, Zhang Yang realized that the news concerning the Huyan family and the Demonic Sect had not yet reached the Northern Suburbs.