Chapter Ten: Danger Returns

The Ghost Doctor quickly grabbed a vial from the stone shelf, pried off the lid, and rushed over to Tong Jin, scattering its contents onto the large venomous ant still latched onto Tong Jin’s arm.

"Squeak—" A shrill sound echoed. The Corpse-Sinking Venomous Ant actually released its grip on the flesh, gnashing its mandibles, and spun away, flying back into the stone box.

The Ghost Doctor’s face turned grim as he grabbed Tong Jin’s arm. "Huh?"

Tong Jin had been waiting in terror for the sensation of poison to spread through his body, assuming that even if he didn't die, he would at least lose a layer of skin. Hearing the gasp of surprise, he turned his head toward the Ghost Doctor in confusion.

"This wound..." the Ghost Doctor muttered, raising Tong Jin’s arm to inspect it closely.

The wounds on Tong Jin’s arm were not bleeding profusely as they had during the previous bite; instead, there were only four small punctures oozing a few drops of blood. It looked as if he had simply been pricked by a common thorn—there was absolutely no sign of the symptoms that usually followed a bite from a Corpse-Sinking Venomous Ant.

A storm raged in the Ghost Doctor’s heart. This was unheard of. To be bitten by a Corpse-Sinking Venomous Ant—an adult one at that—and show no sign of poisoning was impossible. Frowning deeply, he pulled an ointment from his robe and applied it to Tong Jin’s arm.

Even after the ointment was applied, Tong Jin remained standing there, stunned, his clothes soaked with sweat.

The Ghost Doctor blinked, then burst into hearty laughter.

"Old ghost, what are you laughing at? Hurry up and save me!" Tong Jin cried out, his voice choked with sobs.

Suppressing his laughter, the Ghost Doctor decided to tease him, deliberately pulling a long face. "Kid, if you have any last words, speak them now. We’ve had a decent run together; I’ll do my best to fulfill your final wishes."

Unexpectedly, Tong Jin began to wail, "Old ghost, I don’t want to die! My revenge hasn't been avenged. My family was slaughtered by those bastards from the Soul-Guarding Pavilion, leaving only me. I have to stay alive to seek vengeance. You’re a divine doctor; you must have a way to save me..." By the end, tears and snot were streaming down his face.

"Hahahaha!" The Ghost Doctor could no longer hold it in, clutching his stomach as tears of mirth welled in his eyes.

Tong Jin’s howling came to an abrupt halt. He wiped his eyes, staring blankly at the Ghost Doctor.

"Oh, you’re going to be the death of me, kid," the Ghost Doctor said, rubbing his aching stomach. "Relax, you aren't going to die. Not only will you live, but you won't even have a scar. Look for yourself!" He lifted Tong Jin’s arm into his line of sight.

Tong Jin’s eyes widened. Where the ant had bitten him, there were only four faint, dried spots of blood. "That wasn't a Corpse-Sinking Venomous Ant that bit me, was it?" Tong Jin asked suspiciously.

"Bullshit, that was a genuine adult venomous ant, the only one I have," the Ghost Doctor gasped, still recovering from his laughter.

"Then why am I fine?" Tong Jin asked.

"How should I know? You’re a freak! If it were anyone else, they would have died a dozen times over by now, yet you still have the energy to wail like that." The Ghost Doctor shook his head, amused by the memory of Tong Jin’s crying.

"Ah!" The Ghost Doctor suddenly exclaimed, as if remembering something. "That's it!"

"What is it?" Tong Jin shifted his gaze from his arm to the Ghost Doctor, curious.

"When you were unconscious, this adult venomous ant bit you once. If I’m not mistaken, that is what triggered the eruption of your Yin-Yang constitution," the Ghost Doctor mused. "In that sense, you survived the bite of a Corpse-Sinking Venomous Ant. It seems that, thanks to the efficacy of some spiritual medicine in your body, you have developed an immunity to its venom."

"Huh?" Tong Jin asked in disbelief. "I was bitten by a Corpse-Sinking Venomous Ant while I was unconscious?"

The Ghost Doctor nodded. "And the reason it bit you was because you stole and ate my Earth Spirit Immortal Fruit!"

Tong Jin shook his head in confusion. "What does that have to do with the Earth Spirit Immortal Fruit?"

"That is a long story." The Ghost Doctor carefully closed the stone box housing the venomous ant, checked it once more, and then left the nest with Tong Jin.

The next morning, sunlight streamed into the cave. The Ghost Doctor rose from his makeshift wooden bed, looked at Tong Jin, who was still snoring on the large stone bed, and shook his head with a smile before quietly leaving the cave.

The night before, Tong Jin had pestered the Ghost Doctor with questions until dawn before finally falling asleep. It was then that he learned the Earth Spirit Immortal Fruit was the favorite food of the Corpse-Sinking Venomous Ant, yet it was also the key ingredient in a secret recipe for an antidote to the ant's venom.

Because Tong Jin had swallowed the fruit shortly before, his body naturally emitted a faint scent that the ants could clearly distinguish, causing them to swarm him as if he were a delicious meal. Ironically, this was a blessing in disguise. It was hard enough for an ordinary person to obtain a single pill refined from the fruit, yet Tong Jin had swallowed five whole ones. If the world heard of this, they would surely curse him for being a spendthrift. Tong Jin had clumsily refined them, and the stimulation from the ant's venom had triggered his Yin-Yang constitution, which, by sheer luck, fully integrated the medicinal power into his body. Whether one called him the ant's favorite snack or its natural nemesis, the result was the same: the Corpse-Sinking Venomous Ant could no longer pose a threat to him.

In the Medicine Valley, the lush vegetation glistened with a vibrant green after the previous night’s rain. The Ghost Doctor’s grey figure flashed out of the valley, moving through the dense forest outside to hunt.

Suddenly, his heart skipped a beat—a premonition of danger that had saved him from countless fatal situations.

He stopped instantly, held his breath, and hid within the dense canopy of a massive tree.

"Swish—swish—" Four figures darted through the forest, stopping right beneath the tree where the Ghost Doctor was hidden.

All four were cloaked in black robes. The leader did not hide his face—a cold, ash-grey countenance that scanned the surroundings. The Ghost Doctor did not know that this was the same cold-faced man who had been investigating the Ancestral Spirit Gate in the ruins of the Tong family residence.

"What is it, Pavilion Master?" a thin, withered figure in a black robe asked from behind.

"I sensed movement just now, but it has vanished," the leader replied.

"Heh heh heh... Pavilion Master, you are being too tense. Even if someone is here, we can just kill them," a cold, sinister voice remarked.

The Ghost Doctor’s heart trembled; he recognized that voice. It was the demoness who had tried to kill Tong Jin!

"Hmph, Yin Sha, if you hadn't bungled the job, the Pavilion Master wouldn't have to lower himself to come here," the withered figure sneered.

"Heh heh... if I hadn't spared that brat, that 'thing' would be trapped in the Tong family’s Ancestral Spirit space forever. The Pavilion Master should be thanking me for not killing him," Yin Sha said, though her eyes beneath the black hood cast a cold glance at the withered figure.

"Enough. This is no time for bickering. Find the Tong boy as soon as possible so we can be done with this," the leader commanded.

The four figures immediately vanished into the dense forest. The Ghost Doctor wiped the cold sweat from his temple. It was clear they were after Tong Jin, and their strength—just considering the demoness Yin Sha—was enough to kill him several times over. Not to mention, no one knew if there were others.

The Ghost Doctor steadied himself and was about to head back to the Medicine Valley when, the moment he turned, his body froze.

"We meet again, old man. Heh heh heh..." The shrill voice sounded right in his ear. Yin Sha had appeared behind him, just half a yard away, without a sound.