Chapter 237: Chapter 237: Apprehensive

Hearing Qing’s name in their conversation, Lu Xiao’s brow furrowed. “Did Qing tell you that I touched her mother’s things, and that’s why the former witch doctor is unhappy and has brought down this punishment?”

The man, caught off guard by the question, looked flustered. He refused to meet Lu Xiao’s eyes, looking away and saying with flimsy denial, “It wasn’t Qing. We thought of it ourselves!”

The others chimed in, “Yeah, it wasn’t Qing! We came up with it on our own!”

It was obvious this group was covering for Qing. How could Lu Xiao not see it?

She sneered. “If that’s the reason, then why didn’t the former witch doctor punish me directly? Why the people of the Canghe Tribe instead? Is she displeased with me, or with you? I’m a little confused.”

Faced with Lu Xiao’s questioning, the group was momentarily at a loss for words.

Seeing them speechless, Lu Xiao couldn’t be bothered to waste any more words on them. She turned directly to Shield. “Let’s go see the Old Chieftain.”

After saying that, she turned to Mao. “Go to the homes of the sick and ask what they’ve eaten, drunk, or used recently. Be thorough.”

“Okay!” Mao replied, then turned and ran off.

Shield glanced at the crowd that was still gathered, unwilling to leave. “Don’t you understand? Every minute you waste here could mean death for the sick. The only one who can save everyone now is Her Excellency, Lu Xiao. If you think she’s the problem, then go ask Qing if she can handle this!”

Faced with Shield’s challenge, the surrounding crowd looked resentful, but they also knew that Qing couldn’t solve this problem.

The crowd dispersed. Lu Xiao followed Shield, taking Ares and Fred with her, and went straight to the treehouse.

When she saw the Old Chieftain, the elder was lying in bed, her face a ghastly blue. Lu Xiao knew at a glance that these were symptoms of poisoning.

She turned to Shield. “Have everyone else leave. And prepare some warm water.”

Shield heard her and nodded. “Alright, I’ll do it right away.”

After he left, Lu Xiao had Ares and Fred guard the door to prevent anyone from coming in and disturbing them.

Once everything was ready, Lu Xiao placed her hand on the Old Chieftain’s forehead and sent her purification power inside.

Other problems might have been difficult for Lu Xiao to solve, but if it was poison, it was no problem at all for someone with her purification ability.

The more important thing now was to find the source of the poison.

A poisoning incident on this scale couldn’t be a natural disaster. It had to be man-made.

The Old Chieftain’s condition looked severe, but it was mostly due to her age. With Lu Xiao there, she quickly regained consciousness.

As soon as she saw Lu Xiao, the Old Chieftain grasped her hand. “You saved me?”

Lu Xiao patted her hand reassuringly. “Chieftain, try to remember what you ate or did today. Did you see anyone?”

The Old Chieftain heard this and thought back carefully. “Nothing special today. I ate the same food the tribe always eats. After my meal, I had some of my own brewed floral tea. I drink it all the time, and it’s never been a problem before.”

As the two were talking, Mao ran back.

Hearing the commotion, Lu Xiao turned and let Mao in. “Did you get all the answers?”

Mao nodded, but his face was hesitant. “I asked all the families that had someone fall ill. There’s nothing unusual. The things they ate, drank, and used were all normal, with no difference from any other day.”

That was what he couldn’t figure out.

Just then, the sound of several people collapsing came from outside. It was some of the people who had been lingering nearby.

Ares and Fred quickly ran over to check and saw them foaming at the mouth—a clear sign of poisoning.

Nearby, water was BUBBLING away in a clay pot.

When Lu Xiao came over, she sensitively detected something wrong with the water. “Where did this water come from?”

The person next to them, who was also in charge of boiling water, spoke up. “It’s… it’s the water we always use?”

He said, pointing to a stone vat not far away.

The tribe’s water was all drawn from the Cang River. Every day, someone was responsible for filling the tribe’s stone vats.

Lu Xiao strode over and dipped her hand into it. Her brow furrowed immediately. “Mao, go tell Shield to have everyone stop using the water from the stone vats.”

Although Mao didn’t know why Lu Xiao was saying this, now was not the time to ask for reasons. He heard her and immediately turned to go inform Shield.

Lu Xiao had the poisoned people carried into the house. After purifying the toxins from their bodies, she turned and went back to see the Old Chieftain.

The Old Chieftain, who had heard Lu Xiao’s words from inside the room, asked, “What’s going on? What’s wrong with the water?”

“I suspect someone poisoned the water. Is there anyone in the tribe who knows how to make poison?”

“How could there be? That’s impossible,” the Old Chieftain answered with great certainty.

Lu Xiao naturally believed her, but people change. Perhaps no one knew how before, but that might not be true now.

And whoever this person was, they had to be found.

Lu Xiao leaned close to the Old Chieftain’s ear and explained the plan she had devised.

The Old Chieftain listened and nodded. “Alright, we’ll do as you say.”

At that moment, Qing, who had remained at home, was both excited and anxious.

She was excited because Lu Xiao would soon suffer, but anxious that what she had done might be discovered.

But despite the panic in her heart, she had to maintain a calm facade. To avoid suspicion, she had even drunk the poisoned water herself and was now just waiting for it to take effect.

Just then, Shield’s voice came from outside the door. “Everyone, listen up! Do not drink any more water from the stone vats! Her Excellency, Lu Xiao, has confirmed that the water is poisoned! Everyone, do not drink the water from the stone vats! Her Excellency…”

Hearing this, Qing shot to her feet, her face filled with terror. ’How could it be? How could they have discovered the water was poisoned so quickly?’

Qing panicked, not knowing what to do. ’Does the Chieftain know?’

Once fear took root, it was hard to shake.

She kept thinking, kept mulling it over, magnifying her fear.

Then, she heard someone outside run up and shout to Shield, “Hurry back! The Chieftain is fading! Her Excellency, Lu Xiao, got poisoned while she was treating the Old Chieftain!”

The voice was loud enough for many people to hear.

Then came the sound of Shield’s panicked movements and the person running away.

Qing’s eyes widened. She stumbled out of her house. ’I have to go see for myself if it’s true!’

On the way, many people who had heard the news were rushing toward the treehouse, so she didn’t seem out of place joining them.

But right at that moment, a sharp pain twisted in her stomach. The poisoned water she had drunk was taking effect.

’So this is how awful it feels when the poison kicks in.’

To keep herself going, and also worried that something might really happen to her, Qing popped a prepared antidote into her mouth.

After swallowing the antidote, the abdominal pain did indeed lessen. She couldn’t help but think, ’Platinum really didn’t lie to me.’

Because she had acted in a hurry, she had learned how to make the antidote but hadn’t tested it before administering the poison.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep