Atop Mount Huashan
Linghu Chong: Master, my junior disciples have been poisoned by the Five Venom Cult. We must find an antidote quickly to save them.
Yue Buqun: Your Master knows. I am already refining an antidote; it will be ready in exactly seven-times-seven, forty-nine days. Do not be anxious, Chong’er.
Linghu Chong: But the disciples likely won’t last more than three days! How can we wait forty-nine? I heard the Songshan Sect has an antidote. Should I go and plead for it?
Yue Buqun: Chong’er, you are being foolish. How can Zuo Lengchan be trusted? The Songshan Sect’s medicine is likely problematic.
Yue Lingshan: Father, Master Fangzheng of Shaolin and Taoist Master Chongxu of Wudang have arrived to visit.
Yue Buqun: Please, invite them in.
Fangzheng: Master Yue, we heard that members of your sect were poisoned by the Five Venom Cult. My sect has a proven remedy. Perhaps we could…
Yue Buqun: I thank the Master for his kindness. Though the Huashan Sect is modest, the toxins of the Five Venom Cult are not beyond my skill. I have already begun refining an elixir; the poison will be neutralized in forty-nine days.
Chongxu: Master Yue, “distant water cannot put out a fire nearby.” I fear your disciples cannot wait forty-nine days. My Wudang Sect also has several effective remedies that could be of help.
Yue Buqun: Since both of you are so kind, it would be ungracious of me to refuse further. Why don’t you both write down a detailed list of the herbs used, the refining process, and any potential side effects? Once I have reviewed them and found no issues, I shall send Chong’er to your sects to request the medicine. How does that sound?
Fangzheng & Chongxu: Given our standing in the martial arts world, would we really deceive you with fake medicine? Master Yue, your impossible demands are truly disheartening. We bid you farewell!
Yue Buqun: Safe travels, gentlemen. Sigh. I am merely being cautious; why do they say I don’t trust them? Would I gamble with the lives of my disciples? Everything I do is out of concern for them!
Linghu Chong: Master, the disciples won’t survive three days. Forty-nine days is far too late! You don’t believe in Songshan’s cure, and you create hurdles for Shaolin and Wudang. Are their lives even in your heart?
Yue Buqun: Say no more, Chong’er. Your Master has already purchased a vast amount of medicinal ingredients. If we use the medicine from Songshan, Shaolin, or Wudang, won’t all these ingredients go to waste? Once my refining is complete, even if those currently poisoned cannot be saved, any future victim from other sects will come to Huashan seeking the cure. Your Master is building an eternal legacy for our sect!
Linghu Chong: For the sake of ingredient profits and personal fame, you would sacrifice the lives of my fellow disciples. No wonder the world calls you the “Gentleman Sword.” What a “Gentleman Sword” indeed!