Speculation

At the mountain hollow, where Yang Heng had been ambushed last night.

Early in the morning, the place was packed with people, their discussions buzzing endlessly.

The people present formed two circles. The medicine shop masters and the guards stood in the inner circle, while the apprentices remained outside.

In the inner circle, Lei Xiong stared at the blood-red ground with tightly furrowed brows. His deep gaze rested on the distance, and no one knew what he was thinking.

"Lord Lei, have you discovered anything? How many died? What killed them, and why did they all die here?" Master Wang, the leader among the medicine shop masters, looked at Lei Xiong and asked.

At those words, ten thousand horses galloped through Lei Xiong's heart.

Damn it, I'm not some divine detective. How the hell would I know how many died or what killed them? I only know how to kill, not bury people—let alone investigate cases.

Of course, he could not say that aloud. He had to maintain a martial artist's bearing.

Since nine people had failed to return, he could give an approximate figure: eight or nine dead. With the ground so red, it could not have been caused by the blood of just one or two people.

As for the cause of death, Lei Xiong swept his gaze around and found many wolf pawprints on the ground. At once, an idea formed in his mind.

With so many traces of wolves, yet not a shred of flesh or a single bone to be found on the ground, everything had been cleaned up spotless. It had to be the work of wild wolves—and not just one, but a whole pack.

As for why they had all died here, there were footprints nearby left by several people lying in wait. Needless to say, they had been planning to ambush someone and rob them of their medicinal herbs. Yet a pack of wild wolves had suddenly passed by, and they had all met miserable deaths in the wolves' jaws, their corpses unable to remain whole.

Lei Xiong carefully examined his own wild conjecture. The more he considered it, the more convincing it seemed. It was as though that truly was what had happened.

Lei Xiong continued looking into the distance. Only after several breaths did he speak.

Lei Xiong said blandly, "Based on my many years of experience roaming the martial world, this is what happened..."

"In the end, they all died miserably in the jaws of wild wolves."

Lei Xiong laid out the nonsense he had concocted in his mind in an even tone. After hearing it, everyone nodded repeatedly, thoroughly convinced. They secretly praised him, A martial artist truly was a martial artist. His experience was indeed vast—one look, and he knew the full course of events. Astonishing, truly astonishing!

"Enough. This matter ends here. No more discussion. Go gather herbs."

Master Wang turned toward the apprentices and spoke with a stern expression.

Once the apprentices had disappeared into the depths of the forest, Master Wang turned back to Lei Xiong, anxiety written across his face. "Lord Lei, the deaths of the other apprentices are one thing, but Yang Heng's death is no small matter.

Before we set out, Shopkeeper Chen specifically instructed me to keep a close eye on Yang Heng and avoid letting anything happen to him if possible. It is said that a mysterious martial artist stands behind Yang Heng, one of incomparably formidable strength.

If that person learns that Yang Heng died a miserable death, will he blame us?"

Lei Xiong smiled carefreely. "You need not worry about that. I know about the martial artist behind Yang Heng. That mysterious martial artist left Yang Heng at our medicine shop without even greeting us. If something happened, he could not blame us.

Besides, how could we have known that a martial artist stood behind Yang Heng? Yang Heng himself never made that matter public, did he?"

"Yes, yes."

"We did not know that a martial artist stood behind Yang Heng. It was all merely speculation. Who knew whether it was true or false?" Master Wang was a shrewd man himself and immediately echoed him.

"Alright, that's that. I still have matters to attend to, so I'll be leaving first."

After saying that, Lei Xiong turned and strode into the forest, going to search for the Intermittent Flower.

Since that flower had appeared on this mountain before, perhaps it still grew somewhere within the mountain, waiting for him to find it.

In order to obtain the Intermittent Flower, Lei Xiong went to great lengths. Not only did he personally climb the mountain to search for the herb, he also mobilized the medicine shop's apprentices and disciples to seek it out, declaring that anyone who found it would be richly rewarded.

Unfortunately, after an entire year, there was still no sign of the Intermittent Flower.

As he walked along a forest trail, a question suddenly surfaced in Lei Xiong's mind.

Who had taken that Intermittent Flower before him?

Could it really have been an outsider martial artist?

But even if it had been an outsider martial artist, how could it have been such a coincidence that he arrived just ahead of Lei Xiong and picked the flower?

In the vast mountains, how had he precisely located that herb?

Lei Xiong did not believe there could be such a coincidence in this world.

Afterward, he had questioned everyone who knew the flower's location. Aside from Yang Heng, he had asked them all and found nothing unusual.

As for why he had not questioned Yang Heng, he feared that the martial artist behind Yang Heng had been secretly following him all along. Thus, he did not dare act rashly.

This apprentice death incident was also connected to Yang Heng. Lei Xiong felt that the matter was not so simple.

Perhaps Yang Heng had not died at all, but had been taken away by the martial artist behind him. That Intermittent Flower had also been picked by that person. If so, the whole matter could be explained.

The truth should have been this: the apprentices ambushed Yang Heng, only for the martial artist behind Yang Heng to lure in a wolf pack and slaughter them all. Wanting to avoid exposing his identity, he had no choice but to take Yang Heng away.

At that thought, Lei Xiong suddenly smacked his forehead and said, "I'm damn smart. I actually managed to figure out something this complicated. Not easy—truly not easy."

Right after that, Lei Xiong sighed and muttered to himself, "Sigh... So what if I figured it out? Without the Intermittent Flower, it's all joy in vain. Spending my whole life in the Blood Strengthening Realm—wouldn't that be the death of me?"

Lei Xiong continued deeper into the mountains in low spirits.

Yang Heng had no idea that his departure had stirred up so many wild thoughts in Lei Xiong's heart. Vaguely, Lei Xiong seemed to have pieced together the whole sequence of events, except he had counted one extra person.

There was no martial artist behind Yang Heng. Yang Heng himself had done everything.

At this moment, Yang Heng was sprawled atop a pile of grass, sleeping soundly. After running all night, both his physical strength and mental energy had been greatly depleted.

Physical strength could be replenished by eating, but at his current stage, sleep was the only way he could restore his mental energy.

Not to mention a Blood Brave Disciple like Yang Heng—even Blood Strengthening martial artists, peak Body Tempering Realm martial artists, and even experts of the Organ Refining Realm needed sleep to restore their mental energy.

Cultivating the mind was something martial artists only had to consider after the Body Tempering Realm. It was still one hundred and eight thousand li away from Yang Heng's current level.

Yang Heng slept for a full day and night before waking the next day—the fourteenth day of herb gathering.

The moment he woke, Yang Heng felt completely refreshed, filled with an indescribable sense of ease. The world before his eyes also seemed clearer and brighter.

Before Yang Heng could savor the feeling, his stomach suddenly began growling.

Having gone a full day and night without food, it was perfectly normal for his stomach to growl.

Yang Heng took out the remaining dried beef and began wolfing it down. Before long, all five or so remaining pounds of dried beef had entered his stomach. With the help of the Marrow Cleansing Pearl, the nutrients it contained were digested and absorbed by his body at tremendous speed.

Very quickly, Yang Heng felt strength gradually returning to his body, while his qi and blood grew a little stronger as well.

His qi and blood were now as thick as a thin cord, but he was still some distance away from meeting the requirements to break through to the Blood Strengthening Realm.