Guesswork

In the mountain hollow, the site of last night's ambush on Yang Heng.

Early in the morning, the place was crowded with people, all discussing animatedly.

The assembled crowd formed two circles, with the Apothecary Shop masters and guard members inside, and the apprentices outside.

In the inner circle, Lei Xiong stared at the blood-soaked ground, his brow furrowed, his gaze fixed on the distance, lost in thought.

"Lord Lei, have you figured anything out? How many died? What were their causes of death, and why did they all die here?" Master Wang, the leader among the Apothecary Shop masters, asked Lei Xiong.

Lei Xiong's mind raced.

Damn it, I'm not some detective, how would I know how many died or why? I just kill, I don't clean up, let alone deduce things.

Of course, he couldn't say that aloud; he had to maintain his martial artist's demeanor.

Since nine people hadn't returned, he'd give a rough estimate: eight to nine dead. The ground was so red, it couldn't possibly be from just one or two people's blood.

As for the cause of death, Lei Xiong scanned his surroundings and noticed many wolf paw prints on the ground. Suddenly, an idea struck him.

So many wolf tracks, and not a shred of meat or a single bone found on the ground. It was completely clean. It must have been caused by wolves, and not just one, but a pack.

As for why they all died here, there were footprints left by several people crouching nearby. It was obvious they were ambushing someone to rob them of their medicinal herbs. But unexpectedly, a pack of wolves passed by, and in the end, they all met a tragic end in the wolves' mouths, their bodies not even remaining intact.

Lei Xiong meticulously examined his wild guess. The more he thought about it, the more convinced he became. It seemed like this was exactly what happened.

Lei Xiong looked into the distance again, and after a few moments, he spoke.

Lei Xiong said calmly, "Based on my years of experience traveling the jianghu, here's what happened..."

"In the end, they both met a tragic end in the mouths of the wolves."

Lei Xiong recounted his imagined scenario in a steady tone. Everyone listened and nodded repeatedly, completely convinced. They secretly praised, 'As expected of a martial artist, so knowledgeable. One glance and they know the whole story. Remarkable, truly remarkable!'

"Alright, this matter ends here. No more discussion. Go gather herbs."

Master Wang turned to the apprentices with a stern expression.

After the apprentices disappeared into the depths of the forest, Master Wang turned back to Lei Xiong, his face filled with anxiety. "Lord Lei, it's one thing if the other apprentices died, but Yang Heng's death is a grave matter.

Before we left, Shopkeeper Chen specifically instructed me to keep a close eye on Yang Heng and try to prevent any accidents. It's rumored that Yang Heng has a mysterious martial artist backing him, someone incredibly powerful.

What if this person finds out about Yang Heng's tragic death and blames us?"

Lei Xiong chuckled freely. "You don't need to worry about that. I know about the martial artist behind Yang Heng. That mysterious martial artist placed Yang Heng in our Apothecary Shop without even informing us. If anything happens, it's not our fault.

Besides, how would we know Yang Heng had a martial artist behind him? He never publicly stated it himself, did he?"

"Yes, yes."

"We didn't know about a martial artist behind Yang Heng; it was all speculation. Who knows if it's true or not." Master Wang, being sharp, immediately agreed.

"Alright, that's settled. I have other matters to attend to, so I'll be leaving now."

With that, Lei Xiong turned and strode into the forest, heading to find the Intermittent Flower.

Since this mountain had produced this flower before, perhaps it still grew somewhere in the mountains, waiting for him to find it.

To obtain the Intermittent Flower, Lei Xiong had put in a great deal of effort. Not only did he personally go up the mountain to search for the herb, but he also mobilized the Apothecary Shop apprentices and disciples to look for it, promising generous rewards to anyone who found it.

Unfortunately, after a year, there was still no news of the Intermittent Flower.

Walking along the mountain path, a question suddenly popped into Lei Xiong's mind.

Who exactly picked the previous Intermittent Flower?

Could it have been an outsider martial artist?

But even if it was an outsider martial artist, how could it be such a coincidence that they arrived just before him and picked the flower?

In this vast mountain, how did they pinpoint the location of this herb so precisely?

He didn't believe in such coincidences.

Afterward, he had questioned the few people who knew the flower's location. Besides Yang Heng, he had questioned everyone else and found no anomalies.

As for why he didn't question Yang Heng, he was worried that the martial artist behind Yang Heng was constantly following him in secret, so he didn't dare to act rashly.

This incident of the apprentice's death was also linked to Yang Heng. He believed the matter was not that simple.

Yang Heng might not be dead; he might have been taken away by the martial artist behind him. And the Intermittent Flower was also picked by him. If this were the case, the entire situation would make sense.

The truth of the matter should be this: the apprentices ambushed Yang Heng, but were slaughtered by the wolf pack, led by the martial artist behind Yang Heng. And since he didn't want to reveal his identity, he had no choice but to take Yang Heng and flee.

Thinking this, Lei Xiong slapped his forehead. "I'm so clever! I could figure out such a complex matter. It's not easy, truly not easy."

Then, Lei Xiong sighed and muttered to himself, "Alas... what's the point of figuring it out? If I can't get the Intermittent Flower, it'll all be in vain. Being stuck in the Blood Strengthening Realm forever, wouldn't that be the death of me?"

Lei Xiong listlessly continued deeper into the mountains.

Yang Heng was unaware that his departure had caused Lei Xiong so much speculation. Vaguely, Lei Xiong seemed to have figured out the entire sequence of events, only missing one person.

There was no martial artist behind him; everything was his own doing.

Yang Heng was currently lying on a haystack, fast asleep. The all-night chase had severely depleted his stamina and energy.

Stamina could be replenished by eating, but for mental energy, at this stage, he could only rely on sleep to recover.

Let alone Yang Heng, a Blood Brave Disciple, even a Blood Strengthening Martial Artist, or even a peak Body Tempering Martial Artist, and an Organ Tempering expert would need sleep to recover their mental energy.

Mental cultivation was something for Martial Artists beyond the Body Tempering Realm to consider; it was still a hundred thousand miles away for Yang Heng.

Yang Heng slept for a full day and night. The next day, the fourteenth day of herb gathering, he finally awoke.

Upon waking, Yang Heng felt a sense of comfort throughout his body, an indescribable lightness, and the world before his eyes seemed clearer and brighter.

Before Yang Heng could savor the feeling, his stomach rumbled loudly.

It was perfectly normal for his stomach to growl after not eating for a day and a night.

Yang Heng took out the remaining dried beef and began to devour it. In a short while, the remaining five catties of dried beef were all in Yang Heng's stomach. With the help of the Marrow Cleansing Pearl, the nutrients contained within were digested and absorbed by his body at an extremely rapid pace.

Soon, Yang Heng felt his body gradually regaining strength, and his Blood Essence had also grown a bit stronger.

His Blood Essence was now as thick as a thin rope, but it was still a distance away from meeting the requirements to break through to the Blood Strengthening Realm.