When the beggars approached Qining, Zhao Wushang had already pulled out his sword a few inches and said coldly: "Are you going to rebel?"
All the beggars stopped immediately. Although Qi Ning still looked at each other angrily, they also showed a hint of fear. At this time, they did not forget that Qi Ning was the Jin Yihou of the Great Chu Kingdom.
Although the Beggar Gang has countless members and is the largest gang in the world, it still does not dare to really confront the imperial court.
Among the twenty-eight helmsmen of the Beggar Clan, the Ghost Golden Sheep Branch is already among the top three helmsmen in terms of strength and gang members. Although the twenty-eight helmsmen have the same status and are on an equal footing, every time the Beggar Clan meets At the time, Bai Shenghao's words clearly weighed more than most of the helmsmen.
He has tens of thousands of people under him, and these tens of thousands of Beggar Clan disciples all look up to him.
It's just that these key figures in the Ghost Golden Sheep Branch know very well that the Beggar Clan's disciples are mixed, good and bad. It's not an exaggeration to say that they are just a mob. Even if they are among the top three among the twenty-eight helms, those who are truly famous in the world There are only a dozen or so characters.
If there is a real conflict with the imperial court, it will undoubtedly be a disaster for the ghost golden sheep at the emperor's feet.
At this moment, he heard a cough. Qining followed the sound and looked over, only to see a person slowly walking out of the darkness in the corner.
The man was in his early fifties. He did not wear white linen mourning clothes, but he had a white scarf wrapped around his head. In his hand was a bird-headed staff. Under the light, the bird-headed staff was completely black and glowed with a faint light. It was obviously a bird-headed staff. Made of fine iron.
This man was slightly fat, with bright eyes, and a goat's beard floating under his chin. When Qi Ning saw this man, his heart trembled.
"If you have something to say, there is no need to get into a tense situation." The man's voice was low: "I, the Beggar Clan, and the Jinyi Hou Mansion have no enmity. We will stay in harmony until the matter is clarified."
Qi Ning glanced at Bai Shenghao and saw Bai Shenghao's body bowing slightly and his expression slightly respectful. He immediately understood and cupped his hands to the old man and said, "Senior is the Elder Suzaku of the Beggar Clan, right?"
The old man looked at Qi Ning and said with a smile: "Marquis Jinyi has good eyesight."
Qi Ning thought to himself that these people are respectful to you, even Bai Shenghao is so respectful in front of you. It doesn't actually require any good eyesight to guess your identity.
"Marquis Jinyi calls me "Senior", which shows that the Marquis is also a man who understands etiquette and propriety." The old man raised his hand and said: "Get a seat for the Marquis!"
Soon someone brought a rather old chair, and Qining was not polite and sat down in the hall.
"The Marquis just said that he wanted to prepare an antidote?" Elder Suzaku sat down opposite Qi Ning, still holding the iron staff in his hand, "I dare to ask, the old beggar, does the Marquis know medical skills?"
Qining looked at the black iron staff, and now he could see it more clearly. The iron staff was uneven, as if there was a snake coiled around it. The snake was very realistically carved, and the top of the iron staff was a The head of a bird and the beak of a bird are like long thorns. I thought this person is the elder Suzaku, but I don't know if the head of the staff is the Suzaku
If nothing unexpected happens, this iron staff may represent the identity of Elder Suzaku.
"I don't understand, but there are people who understand." Qining said: "Elder Zhuque, you should know in your heart that if this poison is not detoxified, not only will your beggar gang be destroyed, but the entire capital will also face a huge disaster. .”
Elder Zhuque nodded and said, "Does the Marquis know what kind of poison this is?"
"I don't know." Qining shook his head and said, "And I think the most important thing now is not the time to figure out what the poison is."
"oh?"
"Elder Suzaku knows better than me. Many of your Beggar Clan disciples have died now, but this is just the beginning. If I guess correctly, a large number of people in your sect are still infected with the epidemic virus." Qining stared at Elder Zhuque's eyes: "What exactly happened after the epidemic broke out? Elders should have seen it?"
Elder Zhuque's expression became solemn, he nodded and said: "It's extremely terrifying!"
"Elders, do you know that it's not just you Beggar Clan disciples who are infected now? I dare not say about other places, but it has begun to spread on the Qinhuai River, and some people have already had attacks." Qining looked serious: "That is to say, as early as A few days ago, the epidemic had spread rapidly in the capital. I can't determine the exact number of people infected now, but it must be a shocking number."
Elder Zhuque frowned and said, "Master Hou comes here tonight, does he really have nothing to do with other people?"
"Are you talking about the Black Lotus Holy Cult?" Qining said: "I don't know about the Black Lotus and the White Lotus. I only know that if we continue to waste it like this, more people will die."
Elder Zhuque asked curiously: "What does the Marquis mean by this?"
"Most of you Beggar Clan disciples live together. If someone has an epidemic, you can quickly control it and prevent it from running around." Qining said: "And judging from your tone, you have realized the seriousness of the problem. It’s just that your eyes have always been on the Beggar Clan. In the past few days, you have been trying to find ways to solve the problem of poisoning among the disciples within the Beggar Clan.”
More than a dozen beggars around looked at each other, and it was obvious that Qining had guessed correctly.
"Have you been spying on our beggar gang?" a person on the side asked roughly.
Elder Zhuque suddenly looked at the man, with a cold light in his eyes. The man immediately lowered his head and stepped aside.
"Surveillance?" Qi Ning glanced at it and sneered: "We are not from the same world, and I don't have time to monitor you. But I know that the beginning of this epidemic started with your beggar gang. You can The disciples in the Control Gang were running around, but those innocent people were caught off guard. How could they stop their family members from rushing into the streets?"
Bai Shenghao's lips moved slightly, but Elder Suzaku was right next to him, but he did not dare to say anything more.
Elder Zhuque thought for a while and then said: "Maybe there was some misunderstanding before. Lord Marquis, our Beggar Gang and your Jinyi Hou Mansion had no relationship before, but tonight people from your Hou Mansion suddenly came to our door and asked us to borrow a corpse. , and also said that if there is delay, the Beggar Gang will be in disaster. Many disciples have died in these days, and the brothers in the gang are tensing up, and they are a little impulsive in doing things." He said in a deep voice: "Release the people. !”
Bai Shenghao hesitated for a moment, then winked at one of them, and that person immediately got off.
"Qi Feng came here to borrow a corpse so that we can prescribe the right medicine, figure out the reaction between the poison and the body, and prepare an antidote as quickly as possible." Qi Ning said: "If the antidote cannot be prepared If you come out, the Beggar Clan will indeed suffer disaster."
Elder Suzaku nodded slightly and said, "What the Marquis said is absolutely true. So, is there someone skilled at the Marquis who can prepare the antidote?"
"I dare not guarantee it, but we will do our best." Qining said: "This is not to save a certain person, nor is it just for you beggars. There are too many people infected this time. We must Give it your all.”
Seeing Qi Ning's serious face, Elder Zhuque thought for a moment and finally said: "To be honest with you, Lord Marquis, our Ghost Golden Sheep Branch also has experts who know how to poison. When the poison first appeared, we did not notice it and just thought it was a disease." Disease, but people fell one after another, and we realized the seriousness of the problem. Not only did we help the experts who knew medical skills, but we also invited several apricot masters from the world. Finally, we learned that the disease was spreading among the Beggar Clan. It is an extremely powerful poison. Just as the Marquis said, this poison is not only extremely toxic, but also contagious. In just a few days, more than 40 brothers of the Beggar Clan have died, and there are also Two to three hundred people were infected."
Qi Ning said in shock: "Two or three hundred people in your beggar sect have already been infected?"
Elder Suzaku smiled bitterly and said: "The disciples of the Beggar Clan always stay in groups and move around each other. The disciples of my Ghost Golden Sheep live in harmony and love each other. They have the same clothes and food...!"
"Then where are these infected people?" Qining didn't have time to listen to his nonsense and asked directly.
Elder Suzaku said: "The old beggar knew that the situation was serious. After discovering that the poison could be contagious, he immediately issued an order to divide the infected disciples into several places and place them there, and sent people to guard them to prevent them from appearing in front of others." He stood up and said: "Can Mr. Hou move?"
Qi Ning nodded. Elder Suzaku held a cane and led the way. Qi Ning followed behind. Zhao Wushang and others were about to follow, but Elder Suzaku turned around and said, "Don't worry, our beggar gang will not bring disaster upon itself. I won’t hurt the Marquis. If you are willing, feel free to follow me.”
Zhao Wushang and others' duty was to protect Qining, so they followed behind.
Going out from the back door of the main hall, there is another large courtyard behind, and there is a row of wooden houses behind it. They look like they have been abandoned for a long time and are quite dilapidated, but there are still lights inside.
Elder Zhuque walked to the window and opened a window. Qining stepped forward and took a look inside. He saw that there were more than 20 beggars in the not-so-spacious room, some lying on haystacks, and some He leaned against the wall and looked at their faces. They were all depressed and desperate. Many people had blisters on their faces, and blood flowed from the blisters, which was extremely disgusting.
"Hey, is it... is it him?" Qi Ning glanced at a person and was startled for a moment. He made a sound. There were very few beggars inside who raised their heads. The beggar Qin Ning saw also raised his head and looked over, and saw Qi Ning outside the window. His face was startled for a moment, and then he stood up from the ground. Walking seemed to be very difficult, and he walked straight towards Qining.
Zhao Wushang followed Qi Ning. When he saw the beggar approaching the window, he went to protect Qi Ning, but Qi Ning raised his hand to stop him. He saw the beggar coming to the window and clinging to the window sill.
Elder Suzaku frowned slightly. The beggar looked at Qi Ning, but he already showed gratitude. His voice was weak and feeble: "Hou... Lord Hou, you are a great kindness and kindness. I will never forget it. I can only... I can only repay you in the next life." ...!" Suddenly he turned his head, covered his mouth, and coughed violently, as if he was afraid that his saliva would splash on Qi Ning, then he turned around and said with a bitter smile: "Little... little man is going to die...!"
Elder Zhuque asked doubtfully: "Do you know Mr. Hou?"
The beggar said: "Back to the elder, that time... that time we were kicked out of the drug store, it was... Mr. Hou helped us to fight against the injustice, and then... And then he also helped us pay for the medicine...!"
Elder Zhuque's body was shaken, and Qining sighed: "How is he now?"
This beggar was the same beggar who took his companions to Jishi Hall to seek medical treatment that day, but was rejected by the drug store. Later, Qining came to help. It was also the time when Qining first saw the epidemic situation.
"He...!" The beggar naturally knew who Qining was asking, and said with a wry smile: "He is already dead...!"