" Sure .." Song Lian began , " What we want is simple. "
He turned to Liu Ying , " We saw that you managed to cleanse the contaminated water , we want to know how you did it."
Liu Ying turned to look at Yang Changtian , who nodded back at her. Liu Ying turned back to look directly at Song Lian , " I'm willing to exchange the secret for the medicine , but I need to be sure that you have it , therefore you must hand over the medicine to us first."
Song Lian sneered at this , " And what makes you think that we will agree to that , you give us what we want first , then we will give you the medicine. "
Liu Ying returned his sneer with equal passion , " Ever heard of the phrase ' Beggars can't be choosers ' ? You don't have the power to bargain with us here. "
Song Lian kept gazing at Liu Ying , " Oh ? What makes you think that exactly ? "
Liu Ying smirked , " Oh , I don't know , maybe it was the fact that you were desperate enough to potentially risk your lives to come here to loot us so that you could get your hands on the thing we used to cleanse the water. " Liu Ying walked over to a wall and leaned on it. " I'm assuming your water sources are almost gone , and you desperately need to find a way to get water. So when you saw us successfully managing to clean the contaminated water , you were overjoyed. And when you saw that we were wiped out , you immediately decided to raid the village to find the miracle solution. That just screams desperation to me , doesn't it Mr. Li, Mr. Yang ? "
Li Cheng and Yang Changtian just nodded their heads.
Song Lian and Liu Ying were stuck in a mental battle , neither was backing down. But finally Song Lian relented , his losses were greater than Liu Ying's as he had a whole village depending on him. So he agreed.
" I agree, tomorrow we will go back and bring you the medicine ."
" No , only one of you will be allowed to go . The rest of you will be released when the trade is done. " Yang Changtian declared.
Song Lian now directed his gaze towards Yang Changtian , " Two people will go ." He wasn't backing down on this , the journey back would be too hard just for one person.
Yang Changtian stared at him for a while with his eyes narrowed , " Agreed . But you will also bring two of our members along ."
" Agreed ," Song Lian didn't hesitate. " Old Jin and Ling , you two will go back and inform the Village Elder about the situation , and bring the medicine back."
Yang Changtian turned to a disciple , " Ask Mo Ling and Da Xiong to come here ."
The disciple left and soon came back with Mo Ling and Da Xiong in tow.
" Senior brother Yang , you called us ? " Mo Ling asked.
" Mo Ling , Da Xiong , you two will accompany these two back to their hideout and bring back the medicine. " Yang Changtian said to them , pointing at Old Jin and Ling.
" When will we set off Mr. Yang ? " Da Xiong asked .
Yang Changtian turned towards Liu Ying, " Ms. Liu, when will the effects of the sedative wipe off completely ? "
" It'll likely be another hour before they are back to their normal state." Liu Ying explained.
" Great , you all will set off in 2 hours. Go and prepare for the mission." Yang Changtian instructed.
Mo Ling and Da Xiong nodded in acknowledgement and were about to step out , when Liu Ying walked over to Da Xiong and pulled him into a corner. She whispered something to him , and they saw Da Xiong nodding at her before exiting the hut.
" What was that about ? Yang Changtian asked curiously .
" Nothing important ." Liu Ying replied.
Yang Changtian shot a glare at Liu Ying , but decided to let it go.
Song Lian suddenly spoke up ," Now that we reached an agreement , can you answer some of my questions ?"
Yang Changtian , Li Cheng and Liu Ying looked at each other before nodding simultaneously. "As long as you allow us to ask you some questions in return , " Yang Changtian agreed.
" I agree ," Song Lian agreed almost immediately.
The three of them looked around and spotted a bench and a wooden crate , Liu Ying decided to settle down on the crate while Li Cheng and Yang Changtian sat down on the rickety bench.
" Okay , you can start with your questions first." Yang Changtian gave Song Lian the green light.
" My first question is , you mentioned that you were attacked by some Crazies when you arrived at the village , how did you all manage to chase them away ? "
" Oh we didn't chase them off , we demobilized them using sedatives , tied them up and locked them in an underground cellar we found." Yang Changtian answered simply.
Song Lian was flabbergasted to hear this , " How in the world ? "
" Ms. Liu happened to have extremely strong sedatives on her , " Li Cheng simply stated.
Song Lian broke out in a cold sweat , " Can she see the future or something ? " he mumbled under his breath.
" Your next question ? " Li Cheng urged Song Lian to continue.
" That day , the corpse miasma lifted without any explanation , even Shaman Hu was confused when she heard about it. Were you the ones who dispersed the miasma ? "
" Ms. Liu also happened to have herbs that could cleanse the corpse miasma ," Yang Changtian began.
" Okay , now I'm certainly sure she can see the future or something." Song Lian's mumblings to himself got louder. Liu Ying looked at him with her eyebrow raised while Li Cheng was trying hard not to burst out in laughter.
" Okay then , my final question is how did you fake the miasma ? "
" Simple , geysers ." Liu Ying answered .
Song Lian , Kong and Ling stared at her in confusion. But Old Jin remembered what she was talking about immediately.
" You mean the sealed off geysers upstream ? " Old Jin asked.
This only made Song Lian and the others more confused.
" What are geysers ? " Ling asked confused, he had never heard about geysers before.
" Geysers are natural springs that constantly boil and shoot water and smoke up high, many people consider them gateways to hell ," Old Jin explained. " How could I forget about those sealed off geysers? But Ms.Liu , geysers naturally have a very high pressure ,suddenly unblocking them would have been fatal ."
Liu Ying just nodded at Old Jin , " You're right , that's why we didn't simply unblock them directly."
Yang Changtian and Li Cheng were nodding along , they remembered when Liu Ying burst into their hut while they were in the middle of a discussion , to inform them that she had found a system of geysers.
Liu Ying discovered them when she was analyzing the map. Apparently the original settlers who established this village discovered these and thought that they were portals to hell due to the smoke and constant boiling of the water in them So they had them sealed off with boulders. Figuring that they might be able to use this to their advantage , she had some juniors dispatched to scour the area to see if there are any other geysers around , she deduced that since the people blocked the geysers all those years ago, the pressure underground must've been major , but the rocks were not dislodged , so there might be other alternative geysers that were currently active relieving the pressure.
The juniors came back with good news , there were indeed some geysers a few miles away from the village . They were constantly actively spraying smoke and water into the surrounding area , but they were hidden away by a thick canopy of trees that were likely nourished by the mineral rich spring water.
Liu Ying immediately set off to check it for herself. Confirming that the source is likely the same , Liu Ying went to discuss it with Yang Changtian and Li Cheng.
Li Cheng and Yang Changtian were reminiscing about their childhood when a voice interrupted them. " Mr. Yang , Mr. Li , I have to discuss something with you."
Li Cheng and Yang Changtian looked at each other , " Come in ," Yang Changtian answered.
Liu Ying stepped inside , " I found some sealed off water geysers nearby. And my scouts found some more deep into the forest located south from here. I'm sure that they are from the same source." she said, all in one breath.
Yang Changtian and Li Cheng were considered. " And how exactly is that relevant or useful to us ? " Yang Changtian finally asked.
" Well , we can use it to create fake miasma." Liu Ying stated matter of factly.
Realisation hit Yang Changtian and Li Cheng , Liu Ying did tell them that she was planning of creating some fake miasma to lure the survivors out.
" This is wonderful news." Li Cheng said excited. He wanted to go see the geysers himself. For years he's heard of these strange holes in the ground that spray water and smoke into the air continuously. Some people even consider them portals to hell.
" I am going to open the sealed up geysers in the village and then seal off the geysers at the forest , that way we can redirect the spring water back into the geysers in the village." Liu Ying continued explaining. " I was also wondering , do you have someone knowledgeable in woodworks ?"
" Woodworks ? What for ? " Yang Changtian asked again.
" I need help building a system that we can use to redirect the water from the hot springs into the water in the river ." Liu Ying answered.
" When the hot water meets the cold water of the river , it'll naturally start smoking." Li Cheng chipped." .
" Well , my junior brother Zilong is familiar with woodwork." Yang Changtian replied. " I'll have him lend you a hand."
" Thank you , now if you excuse me gentlemen , I have to go draw out the plans for tomorrow's operation." Liu Ying simply stated and left.
Yang Changtian asked a disciple to go inform Zhou Zilong , and turned back to look at Li Cheng , the both of them stared at each other for a while and simply resumed their conversation. They were unfazed as they were already used to Liu Ying's eccentricities.
" By the way Brother Yang , has His Highness replied to your letter yet ?" Li Cheng asked curiously.
Yang Changtian just shook his head , " No the reply is late . And you ? Did you get a reply from Baihua ? "
Li Cheng also shook his head , " Let's wait for a while longer , after all it is a great distance for the bird to cover."
Yang Changtian nodded in agreement. The winds of the Northern territory shifted recently and the birds had to travel against the wind current , so it was normal for the birds to take longer.
" Brother Yang , what do you think about Ms.Liu's plan ? Li Cheng asked, diverting the subject.
" Honestly I think it's very dramatic , but somehow it fits her." Yang Changtian answered, breaking out into a small smile. " Imagine creating fake miasma just to fool our targets. I'm just glad she's trying hard to make sure that no one else gets injured in this mission"
Li Cheng also smiled, shaking his head. " I must say , while she's a very silent person who doesn't speak much , she certainly has a flair for drama , not a boring day goes by when you're working with her. She looks and acts cold , but she's a warm hearted person. "
Yang Changtian just nodded in agreement, while he trusted Liu Ying a lot more now , he was still slightly guarded against her, after all she was dispatched by the King. But he couldn't ignore the fact that this mission was made easier by Liu Ying's presence.
Liu Ying felt her nose itching , so she pulled out a silk handkerchief to wipe her nose. " Someone must be talking about me ," she mumbled to herself . She resumed her work , and soon she was interrupted by a shadow approaching her tent. " Ms.Liu , Senior Brother asked me to lend you a hand." It was Zhou Zilong.
" Oh , Mr. Zhou, please come in." Liu Ying replied.
Zhou Zilong entered the tent . " Please Mr. Zhou sir down , I've also asked Jin Wei to join us , he should be here shortly."
Zhou Zilong nodded and sat down across Liu Ying. " Ms.Liu , Brother Yang mentioned something about you needing someone experienced with woodwork ? "
Liu Ying nodded at him , and pointed at the half complete sketch of a pipe system. " I need help making this Mr.Zhou , and unfortunately , I am not too experienced with woodworking." Liu Ying gradually explained the whole plan to him.
Zhou Zilong studied the sketch for a while before looking back up .
" I think this is possible Ms.Liu , I just spotted a warehouse where they stored bamboo , and it still had some left . We can use bamboo to create the pipes." Zhou Zilong replied.
" That's wonderful news Mr. Zhou , then I thank you in advance ."
" Senior , I'm here..." a cheerful singsong voice broke out.
" Come to Jin Wei ." Liu Ying replied without lifting her head.
Jin Wei entered the tent and without waiting for Liu Ying's instructions he sat down next to Zhou Zilong.
Liu Ying just stared at him with an eyebrow raised shaking her head. " Jin Wei , I have a very important task for you."
Jin Wei sat up straight , " What can I do for you Senior ? "
" Something very important…." Liu Ying said, breaking out into a smile.