Win and Be Merry, Lose...

Xiao Yi Xian was quite annoyed by those rumors, but she did not deliberately try to clear them up. The more some things were denied, the more guilty one seemed. Besides, the rumors were too outrageous, so before long, no one paid much attention to them anymore.

Though Qingshan Town covered a large area, its population was not large. In just a few days, those who should have known found out, and those who should not have known found out too. Other than being useful for bragging, the matter was utterly useless.

Just as everyone was gradually forgetting about it, someone discovered the remains of missing Wolf Fang Mercenary Group members at the bottom of a cliff.

In particular, Second Leader Gan Mu's remains had a small piece of women's clothing clutched in his now-skeletal hand. Judging by its pattern, it was very similar to the clothes Xiao Yi Xian usually wore.

At once, the atmosphere in Qingshan Town was no longer as relaxed as before. Everyone had imagined obtaining the items in those three stone boxes, and everyone had imagined taking away those piles of gold coins.

Then, they would not have to be these goddamn mercenaries anymore, nor would they have to keep living on the edge of a blade. They could go to a big city and enjoy a peaceful, stable life.

As mercenaries who spent their days fighting on the line between life and death, they understood the value of life better than anyone. If they had a choice... who the hell would come to the Magical Beast Mountain Range to scrape out a living?

If not driven by life's hardships, who would willingly train themselves into such skilled fighters?

Wasn't it nice to be a useless bum who ate and waited to die? But they did not have the means to do that. They could only give it everything they had in order to survive.

Once the rumors began, the way everyone looked at Xiao Yi Xian changed instantly. Though no one said it outright, their conversations were full of hints that they would be willing to serve as Xiao Yi Xian's bodyguards, so long as her price was right.

Xiao Yi Xian was endlessly irritated by this and immediately sought help from her employer, Myriad Medicine斋. But to her surprise, Pavilion Master Yao said protection was possible—as long as she handed over a share of the treasure.

Xiao Yi Xian stormed off in anger. She was kind, but she was not stupid. These bastards were masters at pushing their luck. If she relaxed even a little, she would only end up in deeper trouble.

"Hey, what do you think? Did Xiao Yi Xian really take that treasure?" In the tavern, several mercenaries sat together, chuckling as they discussed it.

"Hehe, isn't that obvious?" A mercenary whose face was flushed red from drinking swayed as he spoke.

"Otherwise, why do you think Gan Mu was clutching Xiao Yi Xian's clothing?"

"I don't think so." A relatively sober man beside him shook his head. "We already said that Xiao Yi Xian couldn't possibly take so many things by herself."

"Hmph! Idiot." Another man spoke disdainfully. "Don't you know there's something in this world called a Ring?"

"Think about it. Was the medicine case Xiao Yi Xian usually carried... very heavy? It wasn't!"

"But she could use it for an entire morning every time. That makes no sense at all! Maybe all the treasure was hidden in a Ring."

Upon hearing this, the slightly drunken mercenaries' eyes began to light up. It seemed to make a lot of sense. Forget the treasure—even a Ring alone was an exceptionally rare treasure to them.

"And another thing, think about it. When did Xiao Yi Xian start holding consultations for half a day?" Seeing that everyone had been drawn in by his words, the drunk continued.

"That's right! It was a year ago!"

"And that was exactly when the Wolf Head Mercenary Group underwent a major upheaval!"

At those words, the atmosphere in the tavern instantly became blazing hot. Everyone began to breathe heavily, their hearts pounding furiously in their chests.

They did not know how Xiao Yi Xian had done it, but that was not important. They only needed to know that such a possibility existed. The rest could be slowly uncovered.

Several mercenaries were already licking their lips, eager to make a move. They had always lived by licking blood from the edge of a blade. They wanted money, not their lives. For cultivation techniques, gold coins, or unknown treasures, they did not mind taking a gamble.

Win, and enjoy the brothels; lose, and work in the underworld!

It was only one life. From the moment they became mercenaries, their lives had ceased to matter. If their heads fell off, it would only leave a scar the size of a bowl. Eighteen years later, they would be heroes again!

Just as they rubbed their hands together, ready to down a bowl of liquor for courage before setting off...

Bang!

A wine bottle smashed viciously against the floor. The huge crash instantly stunned everyone in the tavern, freezing the heated atmosphere solid.

It was like glaring fiercely at a computer screen, ready to give it everything you had, only for a popup from the Main God Space to appear and ask whether you wanted to understand the meaning of life.

In an instant, their boiling blood froze. They were nearly scared into having heart attacks.

"You ungrateful bastards!" Bearded Man, his right arm wrapped in bandages, pointed at those people and cursed furiously.

"Tell me, who here has never been treated by Xiao Yi Xian? Who here has never used Xiao Yi Xian's medicine?"

"Is this how you treat the person who saved your lives? Is this how you treat Xiao Yi Xian?"

The mercenaries' expressions immediately became extremely unnatural. Their faces flushed scarlet, and they looked embarrassed, their lips twitching. Bearded Man had cursed them into the ground, yet none of them dared utter a word in rebuttal.

Every one of them had received more or less help from Xiao Yi Xian. Those things they had just said... filled them with shame.

"Never mind that no one even knows who took that treasure. So what if it was Xiao Yi Xian?" Bearded Man cursed. "Treasure belongs to the virtuous. So what if she took it? She found it first—shouldn't she get it?"

"You pack of bastards, I despise you!"

With that, he strode away. Several people in the tavern exchanged glances, overcome with shame, and left their seats one after another. They had let greed cloud their minds and lost their senses!

The drunken burly man from earlier curled his lips, muttered something under his breath, and silently left the tavern. He took several turns through the town, and after making sure no one was following him, slipped into a house in a secluded corner.

"Young Leader, this subordinate has failed." The drunken burly man knelt on one knee and spoke regretfully. "Originally, this subordinate could have succeeded, but... too many people have been saved by Xiao Yi Xian..."

Seated in the place of honor, Mu Li slowly shook his head. "It wasn't just you. Go. This is not your fault."

"Yes, Young Leader."

After the man left, Mu Li rubbed his brow with a headache. Xiao Yi Xian had bestowed kindness on too many people. A vague and intangible treasure alone was not enough to sway them...

"In that case... I'll make the treasure more specific!" A glint flashed through Mu Li's eyes as he gritted his teeth viciously.

Inside the room, Xiao Yi Xian formed hand seals with both hands and sat cross-legged on the bed. Purple-gray Dou Qi continuously rose around her body, while the fishy stench of poison slowly spread through the room.

After a while, a purple-gray Dou Qi gauze robe began to emerge over her body, and she opened her eyes at the same time.

"A Dou Practitioner..." Xiao Yi Xian's delicate brows furrowed as her pearly teeth bit her red lips. Rather than joy at her breakthrough, her face was filled with worry.

Just as the Poison Scripture had recorded, she could not control her craving for poison, nor could she control the rapid growth of her Dou Qi.

I shouldn't have awakened this poison body... Xiao Yi Xian scratched her hair regretfully and sighed.

Sorry, dear readers, I forgot to set a time... ┗( T﹏T )┛