Killing Them and Breaking Their Spirits?

Smack!

A hand abruptly clamped down on Bearded Man's forehead. With one hand behind his back, Mu Li asked softly, "You know what to do, right?"

"..." Bearded Man clenched his teeth, his jaw muscles bulging as he breathed heavily. His lowered eyes were filled with humiliation and fury.

Unbothered, Mu Li turned his head toward another direction. Two people were kneeling there, tightly bound: a woman and a child of about ten.

"...I know," Bearded Man said after taking a deep breath.

"You know who sent you, right?"

"I know..."

"Was it the leader and the Young Leader who sent you?" Hemon asked blandly from the seat of honor.

"I went on my own. No one forced me..." Bearded Man slowly closed his eyes. "It was me!"

"It was me!!"

"What a smart man." Mu Li smiled and patted Bearded Man on the shoulder in praise.

The next morning.

As usual, Xiao Yi Xian left her residence and headed to Myriad Medicine House to see patients. But the moment she stepped outside, she noticed something strange about the atmosphere.

Some people on the street smiled and nodded to her. Treasure or no treasure did not matter to them; they only knew that Xiao Yi Xian had saved their lives.

Some flushed red with shame when they saw her, deeply embarrassed that they had harbored murderous intentions toward their savior yesterday.

Others had flickering eyes and restless expressions. Qingshan Town was not small, and Xiao Yi Xian was not its only physician. Quite a number of people had never been treated by her, so naturally, they had no thoughts of repaying her kindness.

But... there were simply too many people grateful to Xiao Yi Xian. They did not dare act rashly. If they caused trouble, they would be cutting themselves off from Qingshan Town. Perhaps during a mission or while sleeping, one of their own companions might stab them in the back.

"Xiao Yi Xian truly has quite a reputation..." Mu Li said blandly as he and Hemon looked down from a tall building.

"It can't be helped. She has saved a great many people." Mu Li's expression darkened. "Even you and I were treated by her."

"In Qingshan Town, Xiao Yi Xian has an invincible golden body. Whoever dares touch her will be condemned by countless people."

"Then what do we do?" Hemon rubbed his head, fury simmering in his narrow eyes.

As one of the witnesses that night, he knew full well that the treasure was real, and that it was in Xiao Yi Xian's hands... at least part of it was. Knowing it was there but being unable to take it was maddening!

"Then break her golden body!" Mu Li said with a light laugh. "Money moves people's hearts. We just need to tell everyone that the treasure is on her."

On the street.

Xiao Yi Xian's face darkened slightly. These people were paying even more attention to her now, which meant the matter of the treasure was continuing to ferment.

As Xiao Yi Xian walked, her heart gradually sank to the bottom. After so many years, she had grown deeply attached to Qingshan Town.

Her fingers moved lightly. Within her sleeve, her jade-white hand grasped a jade slip. It was time for her to leave Qingshan Town. This was a soul jade slip for contacting Lu Bu, but... she did not know whether he was still in the Magical Beast Mountain Range.

Shaking her head, she put the jade slip back into her Ring. Xiao Yi Xian suppressed the faint regret in her heart. Perhaps the outcome would have been better if she had left with him back then.

But just as her thoughts wandered, a figure suddenly rushed out from the side with a piercing whistle through the air, reaching for Xiao Yi Xian's neck.

"Hahaha, Xiao Yi Xian, come with me. Let's find another place and have a proper talk about the treasure!"

A scar-faced middle-aged man with a thin body, sharp monkey-like features, and green Wind Attribute Dou Qi flowing around him grinned viciously.

"Bastard! Stop!" People along the street immediately shouted, Dou Qi of various colors erupting from their bodies at the same time.

But the man had struck without warning, and his Wind Attribute specialized in speed. The surrounding people had no time to offer aid.

As for Xiao Yi Xian... she had never imagined that, in broad daylight, a mercenary would dare attack her in Qingshan Town. Was he tired of living?

Xiao Yi Xian instinctively circulated the Dou Qi within her body and stepped back to evade him. A Dou Shi could not yet project Dou Qi outward, and she did not want to expose her strength.

But Xiao Yi Xian had underestimated him. Wind Attribute Dou Qi was simply too fast. In the blink of an eye, Scarface seized Xiao Yi Xian, his five fingers clamping tightly around her slender, fair neck.

"Hahaha, come with me!" Scarface snarled, grabbing Xiao Yi Xian and preparing to dash toward the Magical Beast Mountain Range.

However...

A violet-gray sheen spread up along the skin of his arm, while a numb, stinging sensation surged from his palm.

Scarface's expression changed drastically. His right hand, which held Xiao Yi Xian, had already turned violet-gray. He instinctively released her, but the poison in his arm did not stop spreading just because he had let go. It continued to creep upward.

In only a few breaths, his entire right forearm had turned violet-gray...

"Damn it..." Scarface's expression changed sharply. He was a decisive man. With a sudden slash of his left hand, a brilliant blade flashed, severing his entire right forearm at the elbow.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle~

The instant it hit the ground, blood from the severed arm splashed onto the street, immediately corroding a small pit into the ground.

"Y-you... what kind of poison are you?" Scarface asked in horror, clutching his severed arm as he staggered backward. Had he not acted decisively, the poison might have reached his heart and killed him.

He shot Xiao Yi Xian a resentful glare, then used a Dou Technique to flee toward the Magical Beast Mountain Range. Qingshan Town no longer had any place for him.

The sudden changes left everyone around them stunned. The Xiao Yi Xian they had believed to be weak and harmless actually possessed such terrifying methods.

"What terrifying poison..."

Watching the severed arm on the ground gradually corrode and melt away, the mercenaries felt a chill rise from the depths of their hearts. That man had merely touched Xiao Yi Xian, yet he had ended up like this...

"Wait... Xiao Yi Xian's Dou Qi cultivation seems very strong!" one mercenary cried out. At the moment Xiao Yi Xian had unleashed her Dou Qi, he had felt an immensely powerful pressure.

"So the treasure is real?" another person whispered excitedly.

"..."

On the street, Xiao Yi Xian pressed her red lips tightly together, her face slightly pale. Hearing the deliberately hushed discussions around her, she felt her scalp tingle. Not daring to remain any longer, she hurried toward Myriad Medicine House.

By all rights... she should have gone home. Yet for some reason, she still came to Myriad Medicine House, still wanting to begin her day of consultations.

From the tall building overlooking the street, Mu Li and Hemon exchanged a look, both seeing wild delight in the other's eyes. They had originally only intended to force Xiao Yi Xian to reveal her strength.

But they had not expected to expose not only her true strength, but also such a huge surprise.

"She's a Poison Woman..." Hemon whispered in amazement. Xiao Yi Xian's golden body had not only been broken, but the demon hidden beneath it had been revealed... With just a little manipulation, even if she was not a demon, she would have to become one!

They did not dare seize the treasure of the beloved Xiao Yi Xian. But they still had plenty of nerve to turn Xiao Yi Xian into a demon, then seize the treasure in the name of eliminating that demon!

"Haha, Uncle He, I'm going down there. That poison has great use for me!" Mu Li laughed and leaped down.

"No problem. Then I'll go kill Scarface. He knows a little too much." Hemon laughed as well and sprang out, kicking off the ground repeatedly as he pursued the direction Scarface had fled.