Listening to the excited voice of Dashan, Lin Zaozao sighed softly and quickly turned her head to look at the mountain.
Bathed in the cold moonlight, Lin Zaozao immediately spotted the long line of people behind the mountain.
She remembered that when she left Canglan Country, there weren't so many guards accompanying her!
As Dashan and the group came closer, Lin Zaozao finally saw that those following behind Dashan were assassins dressed in black, their wrists bound.
"Dashan, are these people assassins?"
"Yes! They're all puppet assassins sent by Purgatory Valley. We killed the puppeteers controlling them, and seeing them all dumbfounded, we brought them back."
Dashan inserted his giant sword into the stone and grinned foolishly.
"Dashan, these puppet assassins are like blocks of wood. What's the use of bringing them back?"
Lonely Mountain, who had been silent until now, looked at the puppet assassins behind Dashan and asked coldly.
"Mo, Demon Lord Gu Shan, why are you here?"
Before Lonely Mountain could answer, several childish voices reached Lin Zaozao's ears.
"Sister Zaozao, we're back!"
"Sister..."
"Sister Zaozao, why did you run so fast? Where are Zhaocai and Jinbao?"
"Sister Zaozao..."
"..."
Listening to these cheerful voices, Lin Zaozao turned around to see Er Bao, Sanbao, Wu Bao, Si Bao, and Liu Bao, the five children, rushing towards her.
Before Lin Zaozao could reach out and embrace them, Gu Shan swiftly took action, gripping Er Bao and Sanbao by their necks, lifting them off the ground.
"Pond-dwelling little poisoners from Purgatory Valley! How did you end up here? Who sent you to approach Zaozao? Speak up, or I'll strangle you now!"
Seeing Er Bao and Sanbao's eyes rolling back from Gu Shan's grip, Lin Zaozao hurriedly approached and patted Gu Shan's arm, signaling him to let Er Bao and Sanbao go.
"Gu, Gu Shan, Er Bao and Sanbao are not little poisoners anymore. I've already cured them of the poison on their bodies. Please release them quickly. If you continue, you'll end up strangling them."
Hearing Lin Zaozao's explanation, Gu Shan looked at Si Bao, Wu Bao, and Liu Bao, who were baring their teeth at him, with a serious expression.
After giving them a disdainful glance, Gu Shan casually threw Er Bao and Sanbao to the ground.
After tossing them aside, Gu Shan wiped his clothes with an air of disdain. Looking at his furrowed brow, one would think that he had just squeezed a lump of feces instead of choking Er Bao and Sanbao!
As soon as Er Bao and Sanbao landed, they immediately joined forces with the other children and pounced straight at Gu Shan.
"Er Bao, Sanbao, all of you, stop right there! Stop it! If you dare to harm my husband, I'll spank your little bottoms into eight pieces!"
Just as Lin Zaozao finished roaring, Gu Shan effortlessly smacked the five children to the ground.
"Pathetic! So weak."
Hearing Gu Shan's disdainful voice, Lin Zaozao lowered her head and looked at Liu Bao and Er Bao, who were lying on the ground unable to move. They were completely dumbfounded.
Did Gu Shan really not make a move just now?
At least she didn't see Gu Shan make a move.
But before Lin Zaozao could fully recover from her shock, Gu Shan finished wiping his hands and took out a pair of golden gloves from his waist. After putting them on, he squatted down on the ground and held Er Bao's neck, carefully examining him.
"Judging by the depth of your eyes, you should be a high-ranking little poison person from the Poison Pond. Aren't all the high-ranking little poison people in the Poison Pond supposed to lose their own consciousness? How come you still have your own thoughts?"
"Who are you? How do you know all this?"
Er Bao, holding Gu Shan's hand with both hands, asked in shock.
"Er Bao, he is Demon Lord Gu Shan, the owner of the Eighteen Floors and the savior of Purgatory Valley!"
Emerging from the shadows, Da Bao pulled a little poison person and placed him aside, then walked towards Gu Shan.
Da Bao knelt down in front of Gu Shan.
"Lord Demon!"
Looking at Da Bao kneeling in front of him, Gu Shan seemed to have discovered a new toy. He let go of Er Bao in his hand and turned around, reaching out to grab Da Bao's neck.
After carefully observing for a while, Gu Shan said affirmatively,
"I saved your life!"
"Yes, Lord Demon. My two brothers and a younger brother were also saved by you. If they didn't die, they should be in your Eighteen Floors."
Da Bao looked at Gu Shan and said gratefully.
Hearing Da Bao's words, Gu Shan involuntarily took a deep breath. He sniffed and turned around slowly, walking towards Lin Zaozao. Pointing at Da Bao kneeling on the ground, he asked in shock,
"Zaozao, did you really restore this little poison person to his current state?"
"Yes, I did!"
Lin Zaozao nervously replied.
It's not surprising that she was too nervous. Gu Shan's expression was just too shocked at the moment.
"Then Zaozao, if you encounter this kind of little poison person again, can you still restore them to normal?"
Facing Gu Shan's hopeful eyes, Lin Zaozao was momentarily stunned. When she saved Da Bao and the others, the system gave her a super detoxification pill.
But now, she didn't have that kind of super detoxification pill. How could she save people?
[System, system, are you there?]
[I'm here, dear host!]
[Huh! The dog system just had honey, why does it sound so sweet when speaking?]
[Host, speak quickly if you have something to say, fart quickly if you have to fart!]
The sweet and gentle voice of the system suddenly turned into a cold and mechanical tone.
[Cut it out! Why did you give me that clipped tone before? System, Gu Shan asked me if I can still cure those little poison kids.
But System, when I was treating Da Bao and the others, I used the super Detoxification Pill you gave me to save them. Now I don't have the super Detoxification Pill, so how can I save those little poison kids?]
[Host, it's simple to get the Detoxification Pill! After you transfer the pain from the little poison kids, this system will reward you with a super Detoxification Pill through a random reward.
Once the little poison kids have taken the Detoxification Pill, give them a drop of Level 4 Marrow Cleansing Liquid.
That drop of Level 4 Detoxification Liquid not only restores the sanity of the little poison kids and puppets but also ensures that they will obediently listen to the host after they regain normalcy, without turning into killing machines.
Host, by saving those puppet assassins and little poison kids, you will accumulate a great deal of merit.
Moreover, the host doesn't always need the super Detoxification Pill to save people. After all, in your past life, you were a very powerful high priest!
As long as the host can find a way to restore their past life's ritual abilities, saving people will become much easier! You can save a large number of people at once, without having to save them individually!]
[That nonsense about ritual abilities in the past life has nothing to do with me now.
Besides, you stupid system, all those so-called random rewards are arranged by you. It's better to just give me the rewards directly!]
[You foolish host, think carefully. Besides the times when this system played tricks on you, have I not helped you every time you encountered difficulties?]
[Cut it out! It's precisely because you helped me that I'm willing to listen to you. Otherwise, I would have taken you out of my mind and crushed you into a clay ball to be planted in the ground!]
[You dumb pig of a host, stop blabbering here. If you have the time, help the little poison kid cowering in the corner detoxify!
He has been away from the Poison Pond for too long. If you don't detoxify him soon, he'll be on the verge of death.]
[Understood, you stupid system.]
"Zaozao, can you save those puppets and little poison kids?" Gu Shan held Lin Zaozao's hand, biting his lip and nervously asking.
"Gu Shan, I can save them. Not only can I detoxify them, but I can also restore their sanity. However, after I save them, they will be bound to serve me for the rest of their lives."
"That's good, as long as they can become normal people, that's all that matters."
Gu Shan released Lin Zaozao's hand and let out a long sigh. Then, as if he remembered something, he quickly grabbed Lin Zaozao's hand again and asked eagerly,
"Zaozao, by saving those puppets and little poison people, will it cost you anything?"
"Gu Shan, saving people now won't cost me anything. Look, when I just saved you, besides enhancing my temperament a bit, there were no negative consequences, right?"
Upon hearing Lin Zaozao's words, Gu Shan gazed at the figure before him. Under the radiant glow of the Buddha's light, Lin Zaozao appeared almost ethereal, as if not quite human. His handsome brows involuntarily furrowed.
The radiant aura enveloping Zaozao was truly blinding and unappealing to the eyes.
"Gu Shan, what are you thinking?" Zaozao questioned.
"Zaozao, if saving lives poses no harm to your body, I would like you to help save those puppets and the children affected by poison," Gu Shan explained. "Furthermore, there are others in Purgatory Valley who require assistance. However, Zaozao, I don't expect you to venture into Purgatory Valley to rescue them."
Gu Shan's pitiful gaze met Zaozao's, and she nodded repeatedly in agreement.
How could she refuse?
Her dear Gu Shan looked at her with such a forlorn expression. Even if he asked her to enter Purgatory Valley to save lives, she would willingly do so.
As long as her dear Gu Shan showered her with affection, she felt she could reveal her heart to him.
However, seeing Gu Shan's cold and distant demeanor, she realized that her wish might not be easily fulfilled.
"Zaozao, could you please save this poisoned child first? He has been away from the Poison Pond for too long. If we don't save him soon, he won't survive," Da Bao pleaded, tugging gently at Lin Zaozao's clothes.
"Alright, I'll save him right away. After all, Lin Zaozao, you are truly a remarkable healer. Rescuing a poisoned child is a piece of cake for you," she replied confidently.
