Lu Heng complained inwardly, but he ignored those gazes and continued walking, preparing to check out the Thousand Medicine House.
However, sometimes trouble is like gum stuck to the bottom of a shoe; the more you try to shake it off, the tighter it clings.
“Yo, which family’s young master has lost his way?” A sarcastic and high-pitched voice suddenly rang out from ahead.
Lu Heng didn’t stop, and he didn’t even raise his head; he simply shifted his direction slightly, intending to go around.
“Hey!
I’m talking to you, are you deaf?”
The owner of that voice clearly had no intention of letting this “fat sheep” off so easily.
A large, calloused hand reached out sideways, directly blocking Lu Heng’s path.
Lu Heng stopped and slowly raised his head.
Blocking his path was a man in his thirties wearing worn leather armor.
A centipede-like scar stretched from his left eyebrow to the corner of his mouth, and he was looking at Lu Heng with a crooked, mocking smile.
“Lai San, your reach is a bit too long.
He clearly looks like a greenhorn from out of town, and you’re still willing to target him?”
A Mercenary squatting at the base of a wall basking in the sun joined in the jeering.
The Scarface known as Lai San chuckled, unperturbed, and simply rubbed his fingers together at Lu Heng.
“Although Qingshan Town only has one street, it’s not a place where just anyone can wander freely.
Little brother, you look like a new face; don’t you know the rules here?
The toll is fifty gold coins.”
Fifty gold coins?
Several mercenaries watching the spectacle couldn’t help but whistle.
This Lai San was truly being greedy.
Usually, he’d only collect a few gold coins as a token.
Today, seeing the boy dressed so tightly and the high-quality fabric of his black robe, he treated Lu Heng like a fat sheep running away from home, ready to be slaughtered.
Lu Heng looked at the dirty hand extended right under his nose, and his brow furrowed slightly.
He was currently a Six-Star Dou Zhe.
And the Lai San before him had a flighty Aura.
Although he was a Seven-Star Dou Zhe, his Dou Qi was as turbid as sludge mixed with sand.
He had likely struggled to reach that level through sheer age and would probably be stuck at the threshold of a Dou Shi for the rest of his life.
These kinds of old hands were the most troublesome, and they were also the biggest bullies who feared the strong.
“Get lost.”
A single word escaped Lu Heng’s lips.
His voice wasn’t loud, but it carried a sense of impatience.
The air suddenly fell silent for a moment.
The surrounding mercenaries, who had been grinning and joking, were instantly stunned.
In Qingshan Town, outsiders who dared to speak to Lai San like that were either fools or truly had something to back them up.
But this kid—judging by his voice, hadn’t he even finished puberty yet?
The smile on Lai San’s face froze.
In front of so many peers, being told to “get lost” by a brat who hadn’t even grown hair yet—where was he supposed to hide his face?
“You little brat, I gave you face and you threw it back!”
Flustered and enraged, Lai San’s hand, which had been blocking the way, instantly turned from a palm into a claw.
With a gust of foul wind, he lunged for Lu Heng’s shoulder.
A faint, earthy yellow Dou Qi shimmered at his fingertips.
If this strike connected, even a stone would be crushed, let alone this boy’s tender skin.
“Lai San is getting serious!”
“This kid is done for.”
A series of schadenfreude-filled whispers broke out in the surroundings.
Lu Heng stood his ground, his figure beneath the black robe remaining motionless.
It wasn’t until the claw, carrying the force of the wind, was only half a foot from his shoulder that he suddenly raised his right hand.
This movement was as fast as a flash of lightning.
As his sleeve billowed, a slender, fair palm reached out.
Within the palm, a brilliant green light flared.
Profound Rank Low Level Dou Technique, Azure Wood Seal!
*Bang!*
A muffled sound of flesh colliding exploded.
Before Lai San’s aggressive claw could even touch a corner of Lu Heng’s clothes, his chest felt as if it had been struck hard by a sledgehammer.
In that instant, Lai San felt a strange force drill into his body.
It wasn’t just a simple impact; it was a domineering energy like the coiled roots of an old tree.
It instantly shattered his protective earth attribute Dou Qi and even began wildly extracting something from his Meridians.
*Pfft!*
Lai San’s eyes bulged, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.
He flew backward like a broken kite, landing flat on his back five or six meters away.
The scene instantly went silent.
The mercenaries who had been jeering just moments ago now looked like their jaws were about to hit the ground.
Everyone stared wide-eyed at the black-robed youth, who still maintained his palm-striking posture.
One move?
No, it didn’t even count as a full move!
That was Lai San!
A Seven-Star Dou Zhe!
An old hand who had survived in Qingshan Town for nearly ten years actually couldn’t even take a single move from this kid?
Lu Heng slowly withdrew his hand and walked over to the wailing Lai San, looking down at him from above.
Lai San was now filled with terror.
His chest burned with pain, and that strange green Dou Qi was still rampaging through his body, making it impossible for him to even circulate his own Dou Qi.
“If you don’t want to die, get lost.”
Lu Heng’s voice remained flat, devoid of any emotional ups and downs.
However, those eyes visible beneath the brim of his hat made Lai San feel as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.
“Yes…
yes…
this lowly one will get lost right now…”
Lai San scrambled and struggled out from the bamboo baskets, not even daring to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth.
He clutched his chest and stumbled into the crowd, not daring to look back once.
However, in Lai San’s eyes, there was a venomous rage.
Lu Heng scanned his surroundings.
The mercenaries who had previously looked on with mockery and greed now all showed wariness.
Some even instinctively took two steps back, clearing a wide path for him.
This was how the world worked; might was right.
Lu Heng pulled down the brim of his hat, ignored the group, and set off toward the end of the street.
After crossing two streets, a faint, refreshing scent of medicinal herbs wafted into Lu Heng’s nose.
Before Lu Heng, a simple and ancient building appeared in his sight.
Above the main entrance hung a plaque with the three large characters “Thousand Medicine House” written on it.
Although it couldn’t compare to the magnificent grandeur of the Mite’er Auction House, this Thousand Medicine House was already a rare place of elegance in a rough location like Qingshan Town.
At this moment, a long queue was lined up at the entrance of Thousand Medicine House.
Most of them were mercenaries who had just returned from the Magical Beast Mountain Range, each carrying injuries.
Some had blood-soaked bandages wrapped around their arms, while others limped on one leg, cursing and shouting in pain.
But as soon as they reached the front of the line, their voices immediately became gentle, some even speaking in a pinched voice.
“Miss Xiao Yi Xian, please be gentle.
Hehe, it doesn’t hurt, it really doesn’t.”
“Go, go, go!
You in front, hurry up!
Don’t waste Miss Xiao Yi Xian’s time!”
Lu Heng stood at the street corner, looking through the gaps in the crowd.
He saw that at the entrance of Thousand Medicine House, there were no chairs or tables for consultations; instead, several sturdy wooden medicine chests were placed there.
A young girl dressed in a pale white dress was standing gracefully on one of the medicine chests.
She didn’t look very old, perhaps even slightly younger than Lu Heng, with a slender and delicate frame.
That white dress looked somewhat out of place amidst the blood-stained and mud-covered mercenaries, as clean as a lotus flower blooming in a pile of rubble.
Because she wasn’t tall enough, she had to stand on the medicine chest to easily examine the wounds on the tall mercenaries.