The Whole Town Knows

Medusa had already set her sights on the Green Lotus Core Flame, and things on the Snake-Person Race's side would not descend into chaos anytime soon. There was no point in Ye Xiu going there now, so he had originally planned to stay in Qingshan Town for a while.

The Ten Thousand Medicine Pavilion was a good place—he had somewhere to stay and someone to talk to. More importantly, Ye Xiu was quite interested in Xiao Yi Xian. Not in that sense, of course, but because of her Woe Poison Body.

This constitution could rank among the top five in the entire Dou Qi Continent. Unfortunately, it came with a major problem: one had to consume poison to advance, and in the end, that poison would consume them as well.

Moreover, Ye Xiu had always felt that his Innate Medicine Body and Xiao Yi Xian's Woe Poison Body seemed to have some sort of connection.

One was a medicine body, the other a poison body. Just hearing it gave him the faint feeling that they complemented each other.

"Senior?" Seeing him standing there lost in thought, Xiao Yi Xian called out softly. "If you don't mind, would you like to rest here for a while? I'll make you some tea."

Ye Xiu nodded. "Sure."

Xiao Yi Xian's residence was not large. The front was a shop where she treated patients and dispensed medicine, while the back held a small courtyard with two rooms. She led Ye Xiu into the main hall, poured him a cup of tea, then stood beside him, seemingly unsure what to do.

Ye Xiu took a sip of tea and glanced at her. "Sit down. Why are you standing there?"

Only then did Xiao Yi Xian sit, placing both hands on her knees and keeping herself primly still.

"Do you usually treat people here?" Ye Xiu asked.

"Mhm." Xiao Yi Xian nodded. "There are many mercenaries in Qingshan Town. They often get injured while hunting magical beasts in the mountains, so I help tend to them. Sometimes I also sell herbs I gather myself."

Looking at her delicate face, Ye Xiu suddenly asked, "Have you ever felt that there was something unusual about your body?"

Xiao Yi Xian froze. "Unusual? No..."

"For example," Ye Xiu said, staring into her eyes, "have you ever had any special reaction after coming into contact with poison?"

Xiao Yi Xian's expression changed at once.

She truly did have a secret.

Ever since she was young, she had discovered that consuming poison not only failed to poison her, but instead made her feel wonderful. The Dou Qi within her body would grow as well. But the drawback was severe—when she had accidentally consumed poison as a child, everyone in her village had died because of it.

"How did you know, Senior?" Xiao Yi Xian asked nervously.

Ye Xiu waved a hand. "Don't be nervous. I'm not trying to make things difficult for you. Your constitution is very special. It's called the Woe Poison Body, one in ten thousand. But it's a long story. I'll explain it properly when I get the chance."

Xiao Yi Xian opened her mouth, wanting to ask further, but seeing that Ye Xiu had no intention of continuing, she could only swallow her questions.

"Then... how long will you be staying in Qingshan Town, Senior?" She changed the subject.

Ye Xiu thought about it. "At least a month."

The most important reason Ye Xiu planned to remain in Qingshan Town was another woman.

Before long, Yun Yun would come to the Magical Beast Mountain Range to demand Purple Spirit Crystal from the Amethyst Winged Lion King.

And the Amethyst Winged Lion King possessed the Companion Amethyst Source. After devouring it, one could obtain Purple Flame. Before acquiring a Heavenly Flame, Ye Xiu still needed beast fire. Using solidified Dou Qi flame to refine medicine was ultimately less effective than using beast fire.

He certainly could not fight the Amethyst Winged Lion King alone, so he would have to borrow Yun Yun's help.

Xiao Yi Xian smiled politely. "Then if you don't mind, Senior, you can stay here with me. There's an empty room anyway, and no one usually comes by."

"Sure, I don't mind." Ye Xiu glanced at her. "But aren't you afraid I might do something to you?"

Xiao Yi Xian blushed and lowered her head. "Senior is a Dou Wang expert. If you really wanted to do something, I wouldn't be able to stop you anyway..."

Ye Xiu laughed. "Alright, then I'll stay."

Over the following days, Ye Xiu settled down in Qingshan Town.

Whenever he had nothing to do during the day, he would wander through the Magical Beast Mountain Range to see whether anything was happening. Sometimes he went alone; sometimes Xiao Yi Xian went herb gathering, and he followed along.

Xiao Yi Xian knew this part of the Magical Beast Mountain Range like the back of her hand. She knew where herbs could be found and where danger lurked. With Ye Xiu accompanying her, she became bolder and dared venture deeper into the mountains.

Before long, people in Qingshan Town began gossiping.

"Hey, did you see? There's a man beside Miss Xiao Yi Xian now."

"I saw, I saw. He's quite handsome, but no one knows where he came from."

"I heard he's staying at Xiao Yi Xian's place. The two of them enter the mountains together every day..."

"Xiao Yi Xian has always been neither warm nor cold toward everyone. Why has she suddenly grown so close to a man?"

"Who knows? Maybe she hired him as a guard."

"A guard? What can a green kid like that protect? He looks like some pretty boy."

As the gossip spread, it eventually reached the ears of several mercenaries.

In a place like Qingshan Town, mercenaries were everywhere. People who lived with their lives on the line year-round were never particularly mild-tempered. Whenever they saw something they disliked, they wanted to meddle.

One afternoon, Ye Xiu returned alone from the Magical Beast Mountain Range. As he reached the entrance of town, several people stopped him.

There were three mercenaries, all clad in leather armor with blades at their waists. One look was enough to tell they were seasoned mountain hands. Their leader was bald, with a scar across his face, and he looked quite fierce.

"Kid, stop." The bald man blocked the middle of the road.

Ye Xiu stopped and glanced at him. "What is it?"

The bald man looked him up and down, then sneered. "You're that pretty boy staying at Xiao Yi Xian's place?"

The other two mercenaries laughed along with him.

The bald man stepped forward and reached out to poke Ye Xiu in the chest. "Kid, Xiao Yi Xian is from Qingshan Town. You're an outsider, yet you're living at a young lady's place. What kind of behavior is that? Don't you know the rules?"

Ye Xiu's gaze turned cold as he said calmly, "What rules?"

"What rules?" The bald man laughed. "If outsiders want to make a living in Qingshan Town, they need to pay their respects, understand? Us brothers have been running this area for years. You came here without even bothering to greet us?"

Another mercenary chimed in, "Exactly. You're with Xiao Yi Xian every day, always together. Who do you think you are? Do you even deserve it?"

Ye Xiu looked at the three of them and sneered. "So you came here to pick a fight?"

The bald man's expression hardened. "Kid, if you know what's good for you, get out of Qingshan Town right now, or else—"

Before he could finish, a terrifying aura erupted from Ye Xiu, crashing down like a mountain.

The three mercenaries' legs gave out, and they dropped straight to their knees, their faces as white as paper.

"D-Dou Wang?!"

The bald man's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. He was only a Dou Zhe, but he had seen enough of the world to know that such pressure was absolutely beyond what a Da Dou Shi could possess!

Ye Xiu looked down at him. "What did you just say? You wanted me to get out?"

The bald man trembled all over and smashed his forehead against the ground. "F-For—Senior, spare me! I failed to recognize your greatness. I didn't know it was you, Senior..."

With a flick of Dou Qi from Ye Xiu, the three mercenaries were instantly beheaded, blood spraying everywhere.

That very night, all of Qingshan Town learned of it! A Dou Wang was staying at Xiao Yi Xian's home!