Xiao Yi Xian was standing on a wooden crate, bowing her head to bandage the arm of a burly man with a full beard.
Holding a roll of white cloth in her hand, her movements were extremely skilled; with just a few quick motions, she had the seeping wound wrapped tightly.
The burly man grimaced in pain and was about to howl, but the young girl reached out and pressed near his wound.
The scream at the tip of his tongue was forced back, replaced by a silly, comfortable smile.
“Thank you, Miss Xiao Yi Xian!
Your skills are truly divine!”
“Next.”
The girl didn’t respond, simply tossing the used waste cloth into a nearby bamboo basket.
Lu Heng stood at the doorway without pushing forward.
He was just here to take a look and confirm whether Xiao Yi Xian was indeed at the Thousand Medicine House at this point in time.
The current Xiao Yi Xian looked to be only twelve or thirteen years old.
A pale green ribbon was tied around her waist, accentuating a figure that hadn’t fully developed but was already beginning to take shape.
That face was indeed delicate and pretty.
It wasn’t the seductive charm of Ya Fei, nor the aloof coldness of Xiao Xun Er, but a kind of gentleness that made one feel comfortable just looking at her.
Lu Heng watched from a distance, having no intention of going up to strike up a conversation.
Now was not the time.
Approaching her rashly might lead to being mistaken for a lecher with ill intentions.
Lu Heng pulled down the brim of his hat and turned to leave.
At the moment he turned around, the girl standing on the wooden crate suddenly raised her head and glanced toward the street corner.
Many people stared at her every day; some with greed, some with lewdness, and some with a desire to please.
But this gaze seemed different.
Yet Xiao Yi Xian couldn’t say exactly what was different about it.
“How strange.”
Xiao Yi Xian’s hands didn’t stop as she sprinkled medicinal powder onto the next wounded person’s leg, quickly putting the figure of the black-robed youth out of her mind…
Lu Heng found a reasonably clean inn next to the Thousand Medicine House and checked in.
The room wasn’t large, but it had the advantage of being quiet.
He wasn’t in a hurry to go to the Mercenary Guild to find a team.
These makeshift Mercenary squads would draw their blades when it came to splitting money, but they would run faster than anyone else when encountering danger.
Acting alone was a bit more dangerous, but it was also more free.
After a simple dinner, Lu Heng sat cross-legged on the bed.
“I’ll adjust my state tonight and enter the mountains tomorrow.” Lu Heng closed his eyes and began to Cultivate, his breathing becoming long and steady…
Meanwhile, in a dilapidated house on the west side of Qingshan Town.
“Cough, cough, cough!”
A series of violent coughs broke the silence of the night.
Lai San curled up on a moldy wooden bed, his entire body shaking like a sieve.
He clutched his chest; every cough brought up a bit of dark red blood.
“Dammit…
that little brat…
his strike was so underhanded…”
Lai San cursed and let out another dry heave.
That black-robed kid’s palm strike had looked light, but when it hit, it felt like a venomous snake had burrowed inside.
A strange force remained lodged in his chest; not only could it not be neutralized, but it was also slowly devouring his Dou Qi.
If he hadn’t just spent a fortune on a bottle of Healing Medicine and gulped it down, he would probably be in a coffin by now.
“Creak!”
The broken wooden door was pushed open, and two tall, sturdy figures walked in.
The one in front was a bald man with a Scorpion tattooed on his head and a face full of flesh.
The one behind him had a scar running from his forehead to his chin, looking like someone not to be trifled with.
“Yo, Lai San, I heard you were played like a monkey on the street today?” The bald man grinned as soon as he entered, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth.
“And by a little brat whose hair hasn’t even grown in yet?”
“Get lost, Scorpion!” Lai San struggled to sit up, his face pale.
“I was just careless!
Who knew that kid had such a wicked Dou Technique!”
Scarface didn’t say anything; he pulled over a broken chair and sat down, staring at Lai San.
“You didn’t call us here just to listen to you complain, did you?”
Lai San took a deep breath, suppressing the sharp pain in his chest, a trace of malice flashing in his eyes.
“That kid is a fat sheep.”
“How fat?” Scorpion asked with interest.
“He’s wearing silk.
Although he’s draped in a black robe, I could see clearly that it’s high-quality material.”
Lai San licked his dry, cracked lips.
“Furthermore, he definitely has high-level Dou Techniques!
At least Profound Rank!”
“Profound Rank Dou Technique!”
Scorpion and Scarface looked at each other, their breathing becoming slightly heavier.
In a backwater place like Qingshan Town, a high-level Yellow Rank Dou Technique could be a family heirloom; a Profound Rank Dou Technique was the stuff of legends.
“Are you sure?” Scarface narrowed his eyes.
“If there really is a Profound Rank Dou Technique, even a low-level one, this kid’s background wouldn’t be simple, right?”
“Background?” Lai San sneered.
“A powerful dragon is no match for a local snake!
This is the Magical Beast Mountain Range!
As long as we do it cleanly, who will know it was us?
Besides, although that kid’s Dou Techniques are powerful, he’s only a Six-Star Dou Zhe, maybe a Seven-Star at most!
His Dou Qi is very unstable!”
Lai San’s words were half-true.
He actually wasn’t sure of Lu Heng’s strength, but he had to have his revenge.
Moreover, the grudge from that palm strike had to be washed away with the kid’s blood.
“I was careless today and got ambushed by him.” Lai San gritted his teeth.
“The two of you are a Nine-Star Dou Zhe and an Eight-Star Dou Zhe, plus me…
The three of us together will leave his life here!”
Scorpion rubbed the tattoo on his head and chuckled.
“If there really is a Profound Rank Dou Technique, won’t we brothers be able to walk tall in Qingshan Town from now on?”
Scarface pondered for a moment, his palm lightly tapping on the table.
“Let’s do it,” he spat out those two words.
“But for the loot, we want seventy percent.”
“Deal!”
Lai San agreed readily, but a cold glint flashed in his eyes.
As long as he could kill that kid, forget seventy percent, he’d give them everything…
The next morning, just as the sky was beginning to brighten, Qingshan Town was still shrouded in a layer of thin mist.
Lu Heng checked out early.
He changed into a set of light, tight-fitting clothes, still covered by the large black robe, and carried a simple travel bag.
He looked like a greenhorn who had just come out for experience.
Heading south out of town was the entrance to the Magical Beast Mountain Range.
The trees here were much taller than those outside, some reaching dozens of meters.
Their massive canopies blotted out the sun, making the forest feel somewhat eerie even in broad daylight.
Just as Lu Heng stepped into the woods, his footsteps paused slightly.
That feeling of being watched had returned.
And it was even more obvious than yesterday in town, even carrying an undisguised malice.
“Not even going to hide it anymore?”
The corner of Lu Heng’s mouth twitched.
He didn’t look back; he simply rolled up the map in his hand and tucked it into his robe.
His pace didn’t stop but instead quickened as he headed straight into the depths of the forest.
Because he was a Transmigrator, his current Soul Perception was far stronger than that of other Dou Zhes of the same level.
The three “tails” behind him were deliberately lowering their footsteps, but in Lu Heng’s perception, it was no different from them following him while beating drums and gongs.
One Seven-Star Dou Zhe, breath unstable and a bit chaotic—that was yesterday’s Lai San.
The other two were one Nine-Star and one eight-star.