Life Is Worse Than Death

The autumn wind stirred, and the scent of medicine filled the air.

In Cold Mountain City's medicinal market, in a low, ancient blue-brick shop in the northwest corner, a sign as dark as ink hung askew. Three bold, ancient characters in blood-red were deeply carved into the center of the plaque: Precious Medicine Workshop.

In front of the door.

The quiet of the bluestone-paved alley was broken by the sudden sound of footsteps.

The one who arrived was a slender youth with a pale, paper-white face. His steps were unsteady and weak, his whole body swaying as if a gust of wind could blow him over. He clutched a sack woven from hempen threads, its color a dark blue-black.

"Hoo..."

The youth gasped for breath, stopping before the Precious Medicine Workshop. As he bent over, he placed the sack at his feet. With a trembling hand, he took out a black handkerchief embroidered with a Manjusaka pattern and used it to wipe away the thick sweat from his brow.

It was Ye Tong!

He was the Medicine Boy of the Precious Medicine Workshop, and now, its sole owner.

Ye Tong tightly gripped the handkerchief, then raised his head, gazing at the plaque before him. His originally listless eyes slowly filled with a complex light. Ye Tong hated this place, yet he was also attached to it. It was his hell, but it was also his haven.

"Young Master is back!"

A low, hoarse voice emerged from within the Precious Medicine Workshop. A hunched old man, frail as a candle in the wind, leaning on a dragon-headed cane, shuffled out of the doorway. Judging by his appearance alone, he didn't seem to have many years left.

"Cough, cough..."

Ye Tong withdrew his gaze. Amidst a few violent coughs, he subtly wiped away the black blood trickling from the corner of his mouth with the handkerchief. He picked up the sack at his feet again, nodded, and said, "I'm back."

The hunched old man asked, "Did you find the Blood Ganoderma and Withered Bone Grass?"

Ye Tong stepped forward, brushing past the hunched old man, leaving behind only his faint voice, "Ninety-year-old wild Blood Ganoderma, one hundred and twenty-year-old Withered Bone Grass. However, all the Blue Silver the old man left behind is gone."

"It's gone, so be it." Hearing the youth's words, the hunched old man's wrinkled face relaxed. He turned and followed behind Ye Tong, smiling with satisfaction, "With Young Master finding these two main medicinal ingredients, he can live another two months."

Ye Tong's staggering steps did not falter, but his tone turned a bit colder, "Medicine Boy, can you stop saying the same thing every time? I know how long I can live! Go and prepare the medicine, I can't hold on much longer."

The hunched old man seemed not to notice the change in Ye Tong's tone. His smiling old face remained unchanged as he chuckled, "Young Master probably can't take a medicinal bath yet. There are guests in the shop, and they can't be turned away."

"Hmm?" Ye Tong's body stiffened. He glanced ahead at the ornate carriage parked at the alley entrance and asked with a frown, "Are they here for medicine?"

The hunched old man replied, "They are here for medicine!"

"Make them wait."

Ye Tong's steps quickened slightly. He passed through the arched corridor, circled the spacious courtyard, seemingly ignoring the three figures sitting cross-legged on cushions in the courtyard, and headed directly from the left corridor towards the archway of the side courtyard.

Several cushions were placed on the ground in the courtyard. The three people currently sitting cross-legged on them were: an elder with a head full of silver hair, over seventy years old, dressed in luxurious robes; a beautiful woman with lingering charm, wearing a light blue long dress; and a peerlessly beautiful young girl, like a celestial maiden descended to the mortal world.

They watched Ye Tong head towards the side courtyard and saw the hunched old man approach.

"Who is he?"

The middle-aged beautiful woman floated up, staring intently at the hunched old man as she asked.

The hunched old man chuckled and said, "My Young Master."

The middle-aged beautiful woman's delicate eyebrows furrowed. Her agile figure instantly darted forward, blocking Ye Tong's path before he could enter the archway. She coldly snorted, "Since you're back, hurry up and refine medicine for us. Our family elder's illness cannot be delayed. If it's held up because of you, you won't be able to bear the consequences."

"If you won't wait, then get lost." Ye Tong stopped, a cold glint flashing in his eyes, like a ferocious beast staring at the woman before him.

Ye Tong, he...

Felt his soul expanding.

He couldn't hold on much longer!

The middle-aged beautiful woman was stunned. She looked at Ye Tong in disbelief, as if she couldn't believe her ears.

How many years?

How many years had it been since she had heard such arrogant words? How many years had it been since she had encountered such an overbearing person?

It seemed that ever since she took over the Zhang Family Merchant Group more than ten years ago, no one had dared to speak to her with such arrogance and high-handedness. And he, a mere youngster, dared to...

"My Young Master said, if you won't wait, then get lost."

The hunched old man, leaning on his dragon-headed cane, slowly walked to the middle-aged beautiful woman's side. His expression was no longer full of smiles; it was as cold as frost.

The middle-aged beautiful woman became enraged. As her overbearing aura erupted, she sternly shouted, "We gave you face by entrusting the crucial task of refining medicine to you. Don't be ungrateful. Hurry up and refine medicine for us, otherwise..."

"Hmph, otherwise what?"

The hunched old man straightened his back. A surging, powerful aura erupted from him, accompanied by a surge of killing intent, revealing his absolute dominance. "Face is earned, not given. Although the old master... it's not your place to show off. Get lost..."

"Hiss..."

The middle-aged beautiful woman's pupils contracted, her body trembling as she instantly retreated several steps.

She never dreamed that this frail, hunched old man before her could unleash such a formidable aura. She felt as if she were facing not an old man, but a ferocious, terrifying primeval beast, an unparalleled fiend.

"Zhongying, do not be rude."

The silver-haired elder, dressed in luxurious robes, reprimanded the middle-aged beautiful woman. He strode forward, his eyes carrying a hint of apprehension and apology. He cupped his fists and said, "My daughter was rude, please forgive us. Since your Young Master is temporarily occupied, we will wait. As compensation, we will offer double the price for the medicine."

"Young Master?" The hunched old man turned to look at Ye Tong.

Ye Tong's body trembled almost imperceptibly. His face turned even paler. As his throat sweetened, blood surged up, and he swallowed it down, but a trace of blood still seeped from the corner of his mouth.

He laboriously raised his arm, wiped the blood from his lips, and his voice seeped through his clenched teeth, "Ten times."

After speaking.

Ye Tong struggled to lift his feet and stepped through the archway of the side courtyard. However, his steps were even more unsteady, and his body trembled more noticeably, like an old man at the end of his life.

Zhang Zhongying opened her mouth, but no words came out. Although anger still lingered on her face, she had keenly noticed the blood seeping from the corner of Ye Tong's mouth in an instant.

And... the young man's current state.

She suddenly felt that the person leaving before her was not like a young man, but rather like an old man at the end of his life, on the verge of exhaustion. Not only did she have this feeling, but her father, Zhang Pinsou, and that stunningly beautiful girl also felt the same way.

"Can he... do it?"

A strange glint flashed in the stunning girl's eyes as she turned to look at the hunched old man.

The hunched old man waved his hand, interrupting the stunning girl's words. A hint of worry appeared on his wrinkled face. After hesitating for a moment, he said in a deep voice, "If you want medicine, wait outside."

With that said.

The hunched old man stepped through the archway of the side courtyard without hesitation.

At this moment, the hunched old man's steps even became a bit lighter. Catching up to Ye Tong, he said in a low voice, "Young Master, please wait a moment. Today, this old servant will prepare the medicine for you!"

"Cough cough..."

Ye Tong stopped, handed over the sack in his hand, and then took out the black handkerchief embroidered with the mandala pattern again.

A gentle breeze blew, and yellow leaves fluttered like butterflies. The bluestone ground seemed to be covered in golden waves. In the side house, sandalwood incense was lit, and the faint scent of sandalwood gradually diffused, filling every corner of the room.

The walls were black, and the small windows were tightly shut.

Inside the house, a glaring blood-red Eight Immortals table was placed in the main hall. On the table sat a cauldron, half a meter tall, entirely dark and lustrous. Eight lifelike, coiled dragon patterns, as if they were true spirits, were carved with exquisite detail, leaving one breathless. Above the center of the room hung a dark purple coffin, bringing a chilling aura to the room.

Beneath the purple coffin.

Steam rose from the stone vat, swirling and misty.

The hunched old man stood beside the stone vat, looking at the slightly trembling Ye Tong, and said in a low voice, "Young Master, the Hundred Poisons Liquid is ready. Hurry and get into the vat."

Ye Tong nodded slightly, watched the hunched old man leave the room, and then the door was closed from the outside. Only then did he, with trembling hands, remove his clothes one by one.

Streamlined muscles, fair skin.

However!

On this skin, as white and smooth as sheep fat, were scars of various lengths, crisscrossing and shocking to behold.

"Mmmph..."

Ye Tong stepped into the stone vat, immersing himself in the dark green, viscous liquid. Instantly, a needle-like pain surged through every nerve in his body like a tide, and a low groan escaped Ye Tong's throat.

Pain piercing the heart!

Pain seeping into the bone marrow!

For this kind of pain, Ye Tong had experienced it thousands of times since childhood, even more agonizing than this, like being cut into a thousand pieces or walking through hell.

After a muffled groan, he immediately sat cross-legged in the stone vat, guarding his mind, and silently circulated the Marrow Cleansing Poison Scripture. If it weren't for the supreme technique of the poison lineage that he cultivated, he would have died countless times over the years. Not to mention, he had to constantly suppress that divine soul...

The medicine is poison.

He is also poison.

His body needs to use poison to counter poison, to prolong his life.

In the main courtyard.

The hunched old man slowly stepped out of the side courtyard gate. His hunched body suddenly trembled almost imperceptibly, and his spine straightened considerably. His deep gaze swept over the three people in the courtyard, lingering intently on the courtyard gate, with a hidden killing intent.

A moment later, the hunched old man tapped the ground with his dragon-headed cane. Without even looking at the three, he said, "I advise the three of you to leave immediately, otherwise, if it affects the central pool and you suffer a bloody disaster, do not blame this old servant for not warning you."

Zhang Pinsou frowned and remained silent. The stunning girl showed a hint of surprise and glanced at the courtyard gate.

However.

A hint of anger appeared on Zhang Zhongying's beautiful face as she stared directly at the hunched old man and snorted, "Once we get the medicine, we will leave immediately. Otherwise, your few words of intimidation will not achieve your goal of making us leave."

"You don't want to leave?"

The killing intent in the hunched old man's eyes did not diminish, but a strange smile appeared on his aged face. "In that case, even if we meet, it won't be related to my Young Master's karma, will it? Suit yourselves."

Three ghostly figures suddenly appeared silently on the courtyard wall, their voices filled with thick sarcasm, like waves surging: "The old dog by the Poison Demon Huo Lanqiu's side is quite benevolent! The lives of three ants could stir your pitiful kindness..."

The hunched old man's eyes were like torches as he stared intently at the bald old man leading them, saying coldly, "Yin Yang Old Monster... Mu Wutian!"