Poisoning to Death

Ye Tong suddenly looked up. Although the powerful suction from the Book of Life and Death instantly devoured all the Vital Energy in his body, his sharp eyes still noticed that in a flash, Um Bato's body trembled violently, and the blade energy he had attacked with began to dissipate.

"Pfft..."

The Medicine Slave's dragon-headed staff, which he had smashed out, broke through the weakened blade light like a hot knife through butter and struck Um Bato's head, killing him instantly.

"What's going on?"

The Medicine Slave was stunned. He had braced himself for serious injury, using his strongest move to fight Um Bato head-on, but how was Um Bato's attack broken so easily? How was he killed so easily?

"Cough, cough..."

Ye Tong's body went limp. If the long saber in his hand hadn't been stuck in the ground, supporting his body, he would have probably fallen face-first onto the ground. His cough, due to the burning pain in his lungs, brought up saliva tinged with blood. Ye Tong calmed the surging blood and Qi within him and looked at the Medicine Slave, shouting, "What are you waiting for? If they get killed, those twenty Silver Crystals will be gone."

The Medicine Slave snapped back to reality, suppressing his confusion, and turned to charge at the other black-clothed assassins.

Mu Xiaochen was fighting fiercely with several black-clothed assassins, constantly finding himself in perilous situations. He could only dodge the assassins' attacks by exerting all his strength. However, he was still confident he could protect himself for a short while. His only worry was that his two female companions wouldn't be able to hold on.

The Medicine Slave killing that burly black-clothed man made him ecstatic.

However, when he heard Ye Tong's words, his body trembled slightly, and caught off guard, his left arm was torn open by another black-clothed assassin, leaving a bloody wound.

Mu Xiaochen was frustrated!

As the son of the Zifu County King, with such a noble status, he was actually less important than twenty Silver Crystals. Did that young man only care about money and wealth? Didn't he know that befriending him, gaining his favor and gratitude, was a hundred times better than those twenty Silver Crystals?

"Ignorant brat."

Mu Xiaochen grumbled inwardly, very displeased.

The Medicine Slave's intervention posed a huge threat to those black-clothed assassins. Their cultivation had all broken through to the Innate Realm, but apart from Um Bato, the strongest among the others was only at the Innate Triple Stage. Facing the Medicine Slave, a Xiantian Triple Stage expert with rich combat experience and ruthless attacks, in just four to five minutes, three more people were tragically killed.

"Retreat!"

A voice filled with grief and indignation came from one of the black-clothed assassins.

Instantly.

The remaining seven or eight black-clothed assassins abandoned their attacks, pushed back the Medicine Slave and the other three with all their might, and turned to flee into the distance. They carried some kind of thunder beads, and after escaping a hundred meters, they threw them behind them. The violent explosions blocked the feigned pursuit of the Medicine Slave and the others.

The Medicine Slave returned to Ye Tong's side and cupped his fists, saying, "Young Master, I have not failed in my mission."

Ye Tong nodded with satisfaction. He wouldn't tell the Medicine Slave that he was the one who caused Um Bato's sudden problem at the critical moment. What he needed now was to seize the time to get those twenty Silver Crystals.

"Hand it over!"

Ye Tong stretched out his hand towards Mu Xiaochen.

Mu Xiaochen was stunned, then realized what Ye Tong was asking for. A hint of embarrassment appeared on his handsome face as he said, "Can I owe you? I only have four Silver Crystals left. However, I still have some Blue Silver banknotes, which should total around forty thousand taels."

Ye Tong frowned, displeased, and said, "The son of a County King, and yet so poor? You can't even afford a mere twenty Silver Crystals?"

"Pfft..."

The two women, having narrowly escaped death, had just relaxed when they heard Ye Tong's questioning. The two looked at each other and couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Mu Xiaochen chuckled sheepishly, "We've been out for a while. We brought quite a lot of Silver Crystals with us before, but we've used some up during this time, and also exchanged some for other things, so only this much is left. How about this, I'll give you the four Silver Crystals first, and as soon as we leave Cold Mountain City, I'll immediately give you the remaining sixteen Silver Crystals."

Ye Tong asked curiously, "You can get Silver Crystals in Cold Mountain City?"

Upon hearing this, Mu Xiaochen immediately showed a proud demeanor and said, "My Mu family's businesses are all over the Sky Net Empire, especially within Zifu County. Which city doesn't have our family's shops? If I wanted to, let alone a mere twenty Silver Crystals, even two hundred or two thousand Silver Crystals, I could produce them in minutes."

"Such a rich fellow!"

Ye Tong gave him a thumbs-up, exclaimed in admiration, and then said, "Then what are you waiting for? Give me those four Silver Crystals first!"

"Uh... Okay, okay, okay."

Mu Xiaochen quickly took out four Silver Crystals and handed them directly to Ye Tong. Although Ye Tong was willing to save him because of the Silver Crystals, he was still very grateful to Ye Tong and the Medicine Slave in his heart. After all, no amount of wealth was worth more than life. A life-saving favor was a life-saving favor, and mere money was far from enough to repay it.

Ye Tong happily took the four Silver Crystals, then directly threw two to the Medicine Slave, before asking, "Why were those assassins chasing you?"

Mu Xiaochen shook his head and said, "I don't know, but someone must have paid to have assassins hired from the Left Camp to kill me."

Left Camp?

Ye Tong firmly remembered this name, then smiled and asked, "As the saying goes: 'Save a person completely, send Buddha to the west.' Now that the time is about right, you've been chased so miserably, do you want revenge? As long as you can afford the Silver Crystals, I can help you kill all those assassins."

"You?"

Mu Xiaochen couldn't help but chuckle, with a hint of disdain, he said, "If I'm not mistaken, although you are a cultivator at the Houtian Triple Stage, you are frail and sickly, with little strength, right? You can help us kill all the assassins who escaped? Heh heh... Stop joking."

Ye Tong feigned anger and shouted, "Add another twenty Silver Crystals, and I'll do what I say. Doesn't your esteemed Mu family have businesses all over the Sky Net Empire? Don't you have shops in every city? Can't you produce two thousand Silver Crystals in minutes? Add twenty more, okay?"

"You..."

Mu Xiaochen stared blankly at Ye Tong, hesitated for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "Alright, seeing how confident you are, I'll trust you this once! Anyway, for me, it's just a matter of twenty Silver Crystals, nothing significant."

"Generous!"

Ye Tong exclaimed in admiration and said to the Medicine Slave, "Take me and chase in the direction those black-clothed assassins fled. By the way, take these Detoxification Pills first."

Detoxification Pills?

Except for the Medicine Slave, Mu Xiaochen and the other two were stunned. When they quickly examined their bodies, they showed expressions of horror, because they vaguely sensed that their body's strength was slowly draining, and the circulation of Vital Energy in their meridians seemed to be slightly obstructed, making it less smooth.

They took the medicine and pursued.

After a full hour, the five of them saw two corpses that had died from poisoning on the mountainside of the Eleventh Mountain. These two were the Left Camp assassins who had previously surrounded and attacked Mu Xiaochen and the other two.

"Two!"

Ye Tong nodded in satisfaction.

Mu Xiaochen finally understood. Although the cultivation realm of the young man before him was extremely poor, he was skilled in poisoning. When he was fighting the killers from the Left Camp earlier, he hadn't even noticed when Ye Tong had poisoned them.

If Ye Tong hadn't given them the antidote earlier, they would probably have died from the poison, just like these two killers.

Mu Xiaochen, with a hint of wariness, gave a thumbs-up and praised, "Young Master Ye, you're amazing."

"My name is Ye Tong."

This was the first time Ye Tong had revealed his name.

Mu Xiaochen chuckled, "Brother Ye Tong, no matter what, you saved our lives. Such a great kindness cannot be repaid with a mere few dozen Silver Crystals. Therefore, I will definitely repay your life-saving grace in other ways in the future. Shall we continue the pursuit?"

Ye Tong smiled noncommittally and said, "Let's pursue for another quarter of an hour. If we don't find any more traces of the Left Camp killers, then we won't pursue anymore. It means they also have very precious detoxification pills."

Half a quarter of an hour later.

The five of them found eight more bodies within a dozen kilometers, all of them killers from the Left Camp who had previously surrounded and attacked Mu Xiaochen and the other two.

This outcome shocked the three of Mu Xiaochen.

Ye Tong originally didn't have much confidence in the poison he refined. Although it was the most potent poison he could refine, he wasn't sure if it could kill experts in the Xiantian Realm. Now, it seemed he had been worrying for nothing.

"One thousand taels of Blue Silver."

Ye Tong beckoned with his finger, his expression calm.

Mu Xiaochen was confused, "What do you mean?"

Ye Tong said exasperatedly, "I used the most potent poison and helped you kill all these Left Camp killers. With the twenty Silver Crystals you promised as repayment, there's no need to pay extra. However, those three detoxification pills were refined with great effort and a large amount of precious medicinal ingredients. Charging you only one thousand taels of Blue Silver is already a friendly price."

A friendly price?

Mu Xiaochen and his two confidantes exchanged glances. Strange thoughts popped into their minds simultaneously: Did this young man named Ye Tong not have any experience with money? Or did he die of poverty in his previous life?

He's so money-grubbing!

A money-lover!

Mu Xiaochen forced a wry smile, took out Blue Silver banknotes from his pocket, and casually handed one to Ye Tong, saying, "Ten thousand taels, here you go."

Ye Tong's outstretched hand froze in mid-air. With a slight frown, he retracted his hand and shook his head, saying, "I don't accept rewards without merit. I must take the Blue Silver that belongs to me, but I won't take what isn't mine. Please exchange it for a one-thousand-tael banknote; I can't make change for ten thousand taels."

"This..."

Mu Xiaochen and the other two were instantly impressed by Ye Tong. Just now, they had thought Ye Tong was money-grubbing and a greedy person, but unexpectedly, he was so principled.