After a long while.
Once they had confirmed that Yang Heng had gone far away, the apprentices began discussing what had just happened.
Even now, they found the change in Yang Heng impossible to believe. No matter how they racked their brains, they could not understand how his strength had surged overnight, as though he had become a completely different person.
A sallow-faced man dressed in coarse linen was the first to speak:
"Everyone, tell me—how did Yang Heng become like a different man overnight? He turned freakishly strong."
"Could he have been possessed by some ghost or monster?"
"Possible, possible."
"It must be a ghost or monster possessing him. Otherwise, there's no explanation."
"Didn't they say ghosts cast no shadows in sunlight?"
"Yang Heng had a shadow behind him when he went out!"
A rather shrewd-looking man said with certainty.
"It's good as long as he isn't possessed by a ghost or monster."
Everyone patted their chests and let out long breaths.
Ghosts—those mysterious beings—had been spoken of among the common folk since time immemorial, something people feared deeply.
Whenever something unexplainable happened, people tended to blame it on ghosts and monsters, as if that made it seem reasonable.
Since Yang Heng was not possessed by a ghost or monster, everyone's fear of him immediately lessened considerably.
If he truly had been possessed, then living in the same room with him at night...
The thought alone made them shudder.
"Since he isn't possessed by a ghost or monster, how did Yang Heng suddenly become so fierce? Even Biao Ge was no match for him?"
"Yeah... yeah."
"If we don't get to the bottom of this, we won't sleep soundly at night. Think about how we treated him before. If he harbors improper intentions toward us at night, the consequences would be too dreadful to contemplate."
"That's true. We have to be on guard."
Everyone looked deeply troubled.
At that moment, the shrewd man casually glanced at Li Kui. Seeing him lost in thought, he hurriedly asked:
"Brother Kui, you're always by Master Zhang's side and have seen much of the world. If you've got an idea, tell your brothers about it."
"Yeah, Brother Kui, tell us."
Everyone spoke up together and looked toward Li Kui.
Brother Kui?
Hearing that form of address, Li Kui sneered inwardly.
These bastards had shoved him forward as a shield, leaving him alone to face Yang Heng.
He remembered it crystal clear.
Now they knew to ask him? Where the hell had they been earlier?
But...
His eyes shifted as Li Kui thought to himself, Now that they share a common enemy, I might as well set this matter aside for the moment. Once Yang Heng is dealt with, I'll settle the score with them.
He knew full well that Yang Heng might spare the others, but the grudge between himself and Yang Heng ran too deep. Yang Heng would never forgive him.
Though he did not know why Yang Heng had spared him just now, perhaps Yang Heng had been wary of his relationship with Master Zhang.
But one day, Yang Heng would definitely come to settle accounts with him.
With such a venomous wolf watching him from the shadows, he could not sleep peacefully either.
Li Kui knew that when dealing with an enemy, one either did not strike—or struck to kill in a single blow, leaving them no chance to grow.
He had read quite a few storybooks where gang leaders had given their enemies time to grow, only to die by their hands in the end.
He would not make that mistake.
Before, he had bullied Yang Heng as much as he pleased because Yang Heng posed no threat to him. But now that Yang Heng had bared his fangs, he could no longer be allowed to run wild.
These people might not be reliable at critical moments, but using them to keep watch over Yang Heng's every move in ordinary times was not a bad idea.
Having thought it through, Li Kui put on a magnanimous expression, as though he would not hold it against them, and voiced his opinion.
"If my guess is correct, Yang Heng took some kind of medicine that stimulated the body's potential, causing his strength to surge for a short time and giving him immense power."
"He let us off just now because the medicine's effects had already worn off, and he had no choice but to do so."
"Of course, this is only my guess. Medicine that stimulates the body's potential is exceedingly rare. I only learned of it by chance when I overheard Master Zhang chatting with a customer."
"Such medicine is not sold in Qingyang Town. Only large cities have it for sale, and ordinary people are not qualified to buy it. Only esteemed martial artists are qualified."
"By all reason, such precious medicine should never have ended up in Yang Heng's hands—unless a martial artist is backing him!"
The moment he voiced this guess, Li Kui's heart pounded wildly, and a chill shot straight to the crown of his head.
Could there really be a martial artist standing behind Yang Heng?
He had heard that Yang Heng's father was a Xiucai Scholar who had taught for many years. Perhaps he really knew a martial artist and had made him owe a favor.
Thinking of Yang Heng's warning gaze before he left, Li Kui grew more frightened the more he thought about it.
If there really was a martial artist behind him and Li Kui provoked him again, Hundred Herbs Pharmacy would not offend a martial artist for the sake of one apprentice. Then he would be dead beyond all doubt.
Yet if he simply let Yang Heng go, he could not rest easy either. Their grudge had already been forged. Once Yang Heng grew stronger in the future, Li Kui would surely be walking a road to death.
For a time, he fell into a dilemma, not knowing what to do.
While he was thinking, the crowd erupted.
Martial artist!!!
There was a martial artist behind Yang Heng!!!
At those words, monstrous waves rose in everyone's hearts, and their faces filled with disbelief.
That was a martial artist of noble status!
In all of Qingyang Town, with its population nearing fifty thousand, only three martial artists had emerged over the course of twenty years.
One could imagine how difficult it was to become a martial artist.
The reason no one in Qingyang Town dared provoke Hundred Herbs Pharmacy was precisely because it had a martial artist stationed there.
"M-Martial artist... Yang Heng has a martial artist supporting him."
"Brother Kui, you aren't joking with us, are you?"
One apprentice spoke in a trembling voice, looking at Li Kui with hope in his eyes, wishing desperately that this was all a joke.
But when he saw the complicated expression on Li Kui's face—regret mingled with fear—he already knew the answer. There truly was a martial artist backing Yang Heng.
Otherwise, given Li Kui's relationship with Master Zhang, he would not have shown such an expression.
Although Master Zhang held no low status in the pharmacy, compared with an esteemed martial artist, he was insignificant.
The others noticed the look on Li Kui's face, and their hearts instantly went cold.
At this moment, every one of them looked as though their parents had died, their faces full of regret.
If they had known things would turn out like this, they would never have joined in bullying Yang Heng, no matter what.
Regret!
What bitter regret for not knowing sooner.
"Yang Heng took our money. Being a man of great magnanimity, he probably... won't hold it against us."
"At most, he'll beat us black and blue. He won't go so far as to take our lives."
No one knew who said it, but the scattered light in everyone's eyes gradually returned, like drowning people at the bottom of the water finally drawing a breath of fresh air.
"Yeah, we don't have any deep-seated hatred with Yang Heng. He wouldn't kill us over this, he wouldn't."
Everyone spoke in unison, and more than half their fear vanished at once.
"Our grudge with Yang Heng isn't that deep, but Brother Kui..."
The words stopped halfway through.
As though remembering something, that apprentice glanced elsewhere, not daring to look at Li Kui. At the same time, he took several steps forward, moving away from Li Kui.
The other apprentices also, without prior agreement, distanced themselves from Li Kui.
One apprentice slapped his forehead. "Look at my memory. It's getting late—we should get to work. If the masters get angry, that'll be serious trouble."
"Yeah, yeah, let's get to work."
Amid a burst of noisy chatter, everyone hurried out the door.
Seeing their shameless faces, Li Kui's expression turned icy.
Yang... Heng, this is all your fault!
At that moment, he had made up his mind: he would kill Yang Heng!
Whether or not a martial artist stood behind him, even if Li Kui had to die, Yang Heng would die first.
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