The Whole Story

After leaving Small Valley, Xiao Yi Xian followed Gu He's instructions and had Xiao Lan fly a little higher. It took her a little longer to return to Qingshan Town. She landed in an uninhabited spot outside town, hid the inner armor Gu He had given her beneath her clothes, then went straight to the proprietor of Myriad Medicine House to resign from her position as a physician. Although the proprietor, Yao Chen, did not want to let such a talented and attractive physician leave, the recruitment had been voluntary from the start, and he could not force Xiao Yi Xian to stay. However, Xiao Yi Xian's fuller waist, caused by hiding the inner armor, still caught Yao Chen's attention.

Xiao Yi Xian returned to her room to prepare for a bath. Meanwhile, Yao Chen summoned another female physician from Myriad Medicine House. After a mixture of threats and inducements, the female physician agreed to investigate the reason behind Xiao Yi Xian's unusual behavior. When she arrived at Xiao Yi Xian's room, Xiao Yi Xian had just finished fetching water. Since the inner armor was inconvenient to keep on her while bathing, Xiao Yi Xian placed it to one side.

When the female physician entered the room, she happened to see the inner armor gleaming with light. A strange glint flashed through her eyes. She felt that Xiao Yi Xian was being far too disloyal. Even if she did not intend to share such a treasure with her, she should at least have told her about it. Yet she was preparing to leave without saying a word. That was far too shameless. With that thought, more than half the guilt in the female physician's heart vanished.

Seeing the female physician enter, Xiao Yi Xian no longer had time to hide the inner armor. She could only avoid looking at it as much as possible, praying that the female physician had not noticed it. However, the first thing the female physician said was about the inner armor.

"Xiao Yi Xian, what's with that piece of clothing? It's so beautiful. Did you buy it today?" As she spoke, she pointed at the inner armor.

Xiao Yi Xian's expression stiffened. I really couldn't avoid this. I was too careless.

"Yes, I did. I went into town to buy clothes today, saw this one, thought it was beautiful, and bought it." For some reason, Xiao Yi Xian did not want to tell anyone else about Gu He, so she could only lie.

The female physician secretly mocked Xiao Yi Xian for lying so casually. If such an unusual piece of clothing had truly appeared in town, the shopkeeper would definitely have treated it as a prized display and would not have sold it easily unless someone offered a huge price. Xiao Yi Xian barely had any money on her, so how could the shopkeeper possibly have sold it to her?

"Really? Where did you buy it? I'll go buy one tomorrow too." As she spoke, she stepped closer to Xiao Yi Xian.

At this point, Xiao Yi Xian could only force herself to maintain the lie. She planned to finish bathing quickly, pack her things, and leave at once. She would not be here tomorrow anyway.

"It was at a new shop beside one of the herb stores in town. They sell clothes inside, and that's where I found this outfit."

"I see! Let me see what material it's made from." The female physician was already close to Xiao Yi Xian. While speaking to distract her, she reached directly for the inner armor.

Xiao Yi Xian's expression changed, and she hurriedly tried to snatch it back. However, once the female physician got hold of it, she immediately turned and left. Xiao Yi Xian was a step too slow, and her cultivation was far below the female physician's. She could only cry anxiously, "What are you doing? Give the clothes back, or I'll get angry!"

Standing at the door with the inner armor raised in her hand, the female physician sneered. "Hmph, so what if you get angry? I'm going to tell the proprietor right now that you found a cave estate and intended to keep it all for yourself, which is why you resigned. This is the proof. I'm sure the boss will reward me."

Without waiting for Xiao Yi Xian to reply, she ran out. Xiao Yi Xian watched her leave with a pale face but did not chase after her. She knew that with the gap in their strength, she would not be able to catch up even if she tried.

Xiao Yi Xian headed outside, intending to find an open area and call Xiao Lan over.

Yao Chen had been waiting nearby ever since the female physician went to Xiao Yi Xian's room. When he saw her emerge shortly afterward with a close-fitting garment that was clearly extraordinary at a glance, he knew there really was something behind Xiao Yi Xian's resignation, and that it involved obtaining a treasure. Then, when he saw Xiao Yi Xian leave her room without chasing after the female physician and head in the other direction instead, he felt that Xiao Yi Xian was very likely planning to leave directly. Yao Chen stopped hesitating and immediately circulated his Fighting Energy as he chased after Xiao Yi Xian. As he passed the female physician, he only had time to say, "Follow me," before continuing after Xiao Yi Xian.

The difference between a Dou Zhe and an ordinary person was fully revealed at that moment. Although Yao Chen had been more than twenty meters away from Xiao Yi Xian when he began chasing her, in less than a minute, the distance between them had shrunk to under ten meters.

"Xiao Yi Xian, what happened for you to leave in such a hurry?" A Dou Zhe had already formed a vortex of energy, allowing Fighting Energy to circulate through the body, so speaking while circulating it had little effect. However, before reaching the Dou Zhe realm, the Fighting Energy within one's body was inferior in quality to a Dou Zhe's qi. Moreover, without a cultivation method, it could not circulate through the body, making it impossible to regulate one's breathing. The moment she spoke, the Fighting Energy in Xiao Yi Xian's body would disperse. Under such circumstances, if her Fighting Energy dispersed, Yao Chen would immediately catch her.

Xiao Yi Xian did not answer him. She knew that Yao Chen would catch up to her very soon. At most, this would only let her hold on a little longer.

At that moment, Xiao Yi Xian's heart was filled with despair. She had only just gained a master who treated her so well, yet she had run into something like this merely by returning to pack her clothes. She did not even know whether she would ever be able to return to her master's side.

Sure enough, seeing that Xiao Yi Xian did not respond, Yao Chen knew that words were useless against her. He circulated his Fighting Energy at full force, determined to capture her as quickly as possible. Within minutes, Yao Chen caught up to Xiao Yi Xian and easily subdued her.

Yao Chen had the female physician, who had caught up from behind, bring Xiao Yi Xian back to her room. Once inside, the female physician presented the inner armor she had snatched as though offering a treasure. Yao Chen saw its faint blue glow and could sense the terrifying energy contained within it. The entire inner armor was seamless, as though it had naturally been formed that way. However, Yao Chen knew that was impossible. He could sense the aura of a magical beast from the inner armor, and it was the aura of a high-tier magical beast. This had to have been made from the essence of a high-tier magical beast.

"Proprietor, this is something Xiao Yi Xian obtained outside. I think it is very likely that she discovered an ownerless cave estate, and this is only one item from it. If we can get the exact information about the cave estate from Xiao Yi Xian, then you will surely gain even greater benefits."

After thinking it over, Yao Chen also felt that this was the most likely possibility. Otherwise, why would Xiao Yi Xian suddenly want to leave when she had been doing perfectly well? He could not help but rejoice. Although he disliked the female physician's character, she had helped him obtain such a treasure and such important information. Thus, he said to her pleasantly, "Very good. You have rendered great service this time. I'll give you fifty thousand gold coins first. If we truly learn of this cave estate, I'll give you another hundred thousand gold coins."

The female physician was overwhelmed with excitement. Those gold coins would be enough for her to live comfortably for the rest of her life without working. With tears of gratitude, she said, "Thank you, Proprietor. I'll definitely get the location of that cave estate out of Xiao Yi Xian as soon as possible."

Yao Chen thought it over and decided that it would be more effective if the female physician played the villain first, then he came in afterward to persuade Xiao Yi Xian. He agreed.

Thus, the female physician first threatened Xiao Yi Xian in every possible way, hoping to frighten her into revealing the location of the nonexistent cave estate. Xiao Yi Xian only wanted to stall for time. She planned to take advantage of their absence at night to use the materials in her room to prepare several doses of poison, then find an opportunity to bring them down tomorrow. Moreover, she believed that if Gu He did not see her return after so long, he would surely become suspicious and come to Qingshan Town to look for her. As long as she held out until tomorrow, things would likely take a major turn for the better.

Thus, neither the female physician's threats nor Yao Chen's attempts to reason with and emotionally persuade her could move Xiao Yi Xian.

After Yao Chen left, although Xiao Yi Xian had pretended to be strong in front of others, she was, after all, only a girl under sixteen. So much had happened that day, and once she was alone, Xiao Yi Xian finally dropped her disguise and began to cry.