"I'm a herb gatherer around here. I saw all that blood and those corpses earlier. It scared the wits out of me. You fellows didn't run into a blind bear, did you...?"
The young man rambled on, seeming a little slow-witted.
Han Shou was a martial artist by background. He only had to smell the medicinal broth to know there was nothing wrong with it, so he sipped it slowly. A trace of warmth spread through his belly, and a sinister glint returned to his eyes as he looked at the boy.
Although this kid had saved him, he'd have to kill him to keep things under wraps once he'd recovered a little.
But aloud, he said gratefully, "My brother and I suffered a terrible disaster. I'm deeply indebted to you for saving me, young friend. You mentioned the corpses... Could my elder brother have... died?"
His face went blank. Great fat tears immediately rolled down his cheeks, and his grief seemed so genuine that even Fang Yuan couldn't help silently giving him a thumbs-up.
"Alas... there was nothing I could do. I've already buried your elder brother. Once you're feeling better, I'll take you to the place so you can find your way there, dig up his remains, and let him return to his roots..."
Fang Yuan comforted him.
"I truly can't thank you enough. You saved my life, and there's no way I can repay you. Even if my brother and I have to be your oxen and horses in our next lives, we'll repay your kindness!"
Han Shou knew nothing yet and was still putting on a spectacular performance.
"Heh... there's no need for that, really!"
Fang Yuan rubbed his head and smiled with an honest, simple look.
At the moment, Han Shou was much like a vegetable, needing Fang Yuan's help just to move. Naturally, he couldn't cook up any schemes.
He had looked around and confirmed that they were in a place deep in the mountains, which put him at ease. Seeing Fang Yuan reading by himself, he grew curious. "Young friend, what are you reading?"
"This is a good thing my father passed down to me!"
Fang Yuan held out the booklet. "There are just quite a few characters I don't know..."
He looked at Han Shou, a hint of embarrassment flashing in his eyes. "Could you read them to me?"
"Hmm... The joints of the bones and claws; tendons come first, form and intent second... Like a fierce eagle, swift and sudden in its attack... Isn't this the Eagle Claw Skill?"
Han Shou read a few lines and immediately looked down on the booklet.
But when he saw the boy's eager expression, he chuckled to himself. His face, however, showed hesitation. "This... is a martial arts manual. Are you sure it's all right to let me read it?"
"I can't understand it anyway. Why don't you teach me, big brother?"
Fang Yuan deliberately sounded eager.
Mm, you've chosen your own path to death. You can't blame me for it!
That was what Han Shou thought, but he put on a righteous expression. "You saved my life, young friend. What's the harm in explaining a few characters?"
"Then that's great! How do you read these characters?"
Fang Yuan looked impatient to learn.
"Mm, this is Guanyuan. It's the name of an acupoint on the body!"
"What about this one?"
"Bone Sea!"
"Qi Yuan!"
Han Shou explained offhandedly, coldly sneering to himself all the while.
If that mountain boy practiced according to his explanations, it wouldn't take long for him to suffer cultivation deviation and die.
This man... truly has a heart as poisonous as a scorpion's!
Little did he know that Fang Yuan was also grinding his teeth inwardly. By contrast, the manual Steward Lin Benchu gave me has nothing wrong with it.
The reason was simple: Fang Yuan could read and understood medicine. If the manual Steward Lin had given him were flawed, Han Shou could have simply read it as written, given his knowledge.
Instead, he was deliberately twisting the explanations, making the other man look innocent by comparison.
"Oh, big brother Han, how do you read this character?"
At that thought, a cold glint flashed in Fang Yuan's eyes.
"This one? It's called Mingmen, a vital point on the body!"
Han Shou made up an answer without thinking, then suddenly changed expression. "How did you know my surname was Han?"
"Not only that. You weren't explaining it this way before!"
Fang Yuan sprang several steps away, sneering as he openly called him out.
Han Shou's face flushed. In his haste, he'd explained without thinking it through, and now his words contradicted what he'd said earlier. He'd given himself away.
But the next instant, his expression changed. "You little brat, you were pretending to be stupid to trick me?"
"Han Shou, you disgrace to your sect. We're even, then!"
Fang Yuan leaped out the door and shouted from a safe distance.
"Damn it, you slippery little brat!"
Han Shou had recovered quickly. He now held a copper button between his fingers, waiting for his opponent to approach. Even if he had to use several self-destructive methods that stimulated his qi and blood to suppress his injuries, he would shoot the boy dead. He hadn't expected the kid to be so slippery; in the blink of an eye, he'd vanished.
"Wait! I was wrong just now. Young friend, if you're willing to treat me, I'll teach you the true divine skills and secret arts of my sect!"
With the enemy in the dark and himself exposed, Han Shou would be in trouble even if Fang Yuan didn't burn the house down—he could simply stop bringing him food. He had no choice but to swallow his pride.
"Forget it. You dare do this over a few shallow martial arts manuals. How could I ever dare learn your 'divine skills and secret arts'?"
Fang Yuan's voice carried a taunting edge. "Brother Han, you're so powerful. You'd best go quietly to your death."
Fang Yuan knew his own limits. In cunning, scheming, and martial arts, he was no match for Han Shou.
The other man's injuries looked severe, but there was no telling when he might recover—or force them down through sheer will. So Fang Yuan wouldn't take the bait. He'd simply send him to his death.
He'd rather start from scratch and practice shallow martial arts that he knew were sound than dance with a tiger.
"Good boy!"
Han Shou's eyes shifted, and nobody knew what new scheme he was plotting.
Just then, Fang Yuan's ghostly voice drifted in. "Mr. Han, don't bother trying to come up with any schemes. Your life is already in my hands!"
"In your hands?!"
Han Shou sneered. "There was nothing wrong with that medicinal broth. How could I possibly—"
He broke off mid-sentence.
Because he suddenly remembered that he'd been unconscious earlier, entirely at the other man's mercy. Couldn't Fang Yuan have done whatever he wanted with him?
"That's right. I mixed Qi Luo Fragrance into your bandages. On its own, the fragrance only cleanses and stops bleeding; it does no harm to the body. But when it comes into contact with the Can He Zi in the medicinal broth, it causes a little trouble. It makes the patient's limbs stiff, and can even cause parts of the body to rot..."
"Mixed poison?!"
Han Shou's face grew grave. He circulated his qi slightly and indeed felt his limbs stiffen, but a cold smile still appeared on his face.
No matter how many schemes the other man had, he was still only an ordinary person. How could he understand the terrifying power of a martial artist who had broken through five gates?
A mere mixed poison was nothing. With his Internal Breath and Physical Quality, he only needed to endure it for a while, and it would naturally dissipate.
All he had to do now was figure out how to lure that detestable boy inside and kill him in one move—or keep him talking long enough to buy time.
"Oh? You seem pretty confident in yourself!"
Fang Yuan's voice came from outside, tinged with surprise. "Looks like martial arts experts really can handle this kind of poison?"
Hearing that, Han Shou felt as though he'd sunk into a bottomless abyss.
The other man sounded confident, as if he weren't afraid or worried in the slightest.
But after briefly suppressing the poison, Han Shou had discovered in horror that the stiffness in his limbs was returning. Even his flesh had begun to visibly rot.
"I forgot to tell you... I added some other ingredients to the mixed poison I made. It's even more potent!"
As shocking screams continued to echo from inside the house, Fang Yuan's expression remained impassive, still as an ancient well. He glanced at his attributes:
Name: Fang Yuan Essence: 1 Qi: 1 Spirit: 1.4 Age: 18 Cultivation: None Skills: None Specialties: Medical Skill [Level 1], Planting Skill [Level 3] Medical Skill [Level 1]—Can treat simple injuries, including minor external wounds. Herbs can provide an additional healing effect.
"An additional healing effect. Turned the other way around, that means it can also strengthen a poison! But the key factor is probably the Pearl-tailed Snake's venom, isn't it?"
After waiting a while, the house fell silent. Only a hair-raising sound of corrosion continued to come from inside.
Fang Yuan covered his nose and mouth with a white cloth and sauntered in. He immediately saw the wooden plank bed, eaten through with countless holes, and a puddle of pus on the floor.
"Was it really that effective?"
Even Fang Yuan, the one who'd made it, was dumbfounded by the horrifying results. "At least it saves me the trouble of disposing of the body..."
He picked up the scattered clothes, intending to burn them and destroy all evidence.
Han Shou's origins were clearly no ordinary matter, and he represented trouble. After using him, Fang Yuan intended to wash his hands of the whole affair and avoid getting involved any further.
"So... what treasure was he expelled from his sect for?"
He looked at Han Shou's boots, a smile spreading across his face.
The other man had hidden the object extremely well. If Fang Yuan hadn't instinctively glanced at the boots as soon as Han Shou woke up, he might have overlooked it entirely.
He immediately stepped forward, took out a dagger, and cut Han Shou's Cloud Boots to pieces.
A sheet of black cowhide paper appeared in the lining of the right boot's sole.
"Is this the treasure he was willing to betray his sect and kill his senior brother to keep for himself?"
Looking at the crooked, indecipherable lines on the black paper, Fang Yuan couldn't help guessing, "A treasure map? And it looks incomplete... Damn it..."
The thing had been hidden so securely that it would have been impossible to find without cutting the boot apart. That showed Fang Yuan just how much Han Shou valued it.
But what use was an incomplete treasure map, even if he had it?
Fang Yuan was baffled, but decided to keep it anyway. Then he built a fire and burned Han Shou's clothes, washed away the dirty water, and dumped it into a deep ravine.
From then on, Han Shou truly disappeared from the world. No one would ever find him again.
"I did forget to ask which sect he belonged to. The only major sect nearby seems to be the Gui Ling Sect?"
Only after destroying all the evidence did Fang Yuan have time to let his thoughts wander. "It's a pity I didn't get a Divine Skill Manual, but compared to the risk, this was absolutely worth it."
Before you continue