Xiao Yi Xian?

Suddenly.

A handful of powder was scattered toward Xiao Yu's face.

Poison?

He instinctively held his breath, but a faint dizziness still washed over him.

The hand gripping the other person's neck yanked her toward him.

"Ah..."

A startled cry escaped the woman's lips.

Xiao Yu pivoted, slipping aside as she lunged at him, and released his grip on her neck.

He brought his fingers together like a blade.

Thump!

His strike landed cleanly against the back of her head. The woman went limp, as if all the strength had been drained from her, and crumpled to the floor.

Afterward, Xiao Yu went to the door, opened it, and stepped outside.

His thumb brushed the ring on his hand. A faint glimmer flashed, and a pill appeared in his palm.

Xiao Yu quickly tossed it into his mouth and swallowed.

A few seconds later, the dizziness gradually faded. At last, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Good thing I made a few antidote pills while refining medicine earlier." Xiao Yu had always lived by the principle that one should never intend to harm others, but should always guard against others.

He turned to look into the room. In the dim light, he could make out only a silhouette, not the person's face.

Just as Xiao Yu was about to approach and check, the argument downstairs grew even louder.

I hit her with my palm. She probably won't wake up anytime soon. I should go downstairs and see what's happening. Maybe I can find out who she is from them. After weighing his options, Xiao Yu shut the door.

In front of the medicine shop, Xiao Lin and several employees stood in a tense standoff with a group of people.

Woken by a furious knocking at the door, Xiao Lin had learned that someone wanted to search the medicine shop for a thief. He had immediately objected.

"There are plenty of medicines and medicinal herbs in this shop. If all of you rush in and something goes missing, who's going to take responsibility?"

"Enough. I absolutely won't agree. I've never seen the thief you're talking about, and I have no idea who it is. There's no way they're in the shop."

"Think the Myriad Medicine Pavilion's reputation is enough to scare us? If you push me too far, aren't you afraid one of the Xiao Clan elders will come over?"

Faced with the burly man's relentless pressure, Xiao Lin refused to give ground.

The burly man at the front looked grim. His brow furrowed even deeper when Xiao Lin demanded a specific description of the thief.

That night, Mr. Yao had suddenly flown into a rage and ordered them to search for someone.

Although they were claiming to be looking for a thief, the burly man was one of the few who knew what was really going on.

The so-called thief was actually Xiao Yi Xian.

Not long ago, for reasons the burly man didn't understand, Mr. Yao had suddenly confined Xiao Yi Xian and announced that she had died while gathering herbs.

Since he and the others were Mr. Yao's trusted men, they had been responsible for keeping watch over Xiao Yi Xian all this time.

But they hadn't expected Xiao Yi Xian to escape.

"I can promise you, we'll only look around. We won't touch a thing. If you're worried, you can follow us the whole time."

Remembering Mr. Yao's instructions before they had set out, the burly man could only soften his tone.

Xiao Lin was immediately put in a difficult position.

Deep down, he didn't want to offend the Myriad Medicine Pavilion or cause trouble for the clan.

"What's going on?"

Just then, Xiao Yu walked over.

Xiao Lin quickly explained the situation.

A woman? The Myriad Medicine Pavilion? She knew how to use poison?

Xiao Yu picked out a few key details and thought of someone.

But he wasn't sure.

That afternoon, he had heard from quite a few people that she was already dead.

"Eldest Young Master Xiao, please make an exception for us." The burly man cupped his fists.

Xiao Yu said coolly, "There's no exception to be made. Go back."

The burly man froze. "Eldest Young Master Xiao..."

"Can't you understand plain language? If you want to search, search somewhere else. Your Myriad Medicine Pavilion has given our Xiao Clan Medicine Shop a hard time again and again. And now you want me to make an exception for you? Where's your shame?" Xiao Yu cut him off coldly.

Seeing that the Xiao Clan Medicine Shop wouldn't yield, whether through force or persuasion, the burly man recalled Mr. Yao's instructions and stopped holding back.

"Every shop in Green Mountain Town is being searched tonight. Eldest Young Master Xiao, forgive me!" The burly man waved his hand.

Behind him, more than a dozen people surged forward, flooding into the shop.

"Protect the young clan leader!"

Seeing this, Xiao Lin ignored his trembling body and shouted as he moved to shield Xiao Yu.

But an arm stretched across his path. Xiao Lin was forced back two steps, and then he saw Xiao Yu charge straight at the crowd.

A short while later.

Xiao Yu stood in the middle of a crowd sprawled across the ground.

"Y-young clan leader is already this strong? He doesn't seem any weaker than Third Young Master." Xiao Lin stared, dumbfounded.

Earlier, when Xiao Yu had faced Iron Head and Mu Li, Xiao Lin hadn't been able to tell just how strong he was.

But this time, more than a dozen people hadn't even been a match for him.

Inside the shop, the other employees' jaws nearly hit the floor.

If they hadn't heard the shopkeeper call him the young clan leader, they might have wondered if that youth was some kind of humanoid magical beast.

Not one of the dozen-plus men had managed to withstand even a single punch or kick.

"Lock up and go to bed." Xiao Yu walked back inside, tossed out the words coolly, and headed straight upstairs.

Coming back to his senses, Xiao Lin gave the employees their instructions.

Then he hurried after Xiao Yu and went upstairs.

Xiao Yu asked, "Is there something else?"

"Young clan leader, I was wondering if we should move all the pills in the shop into one place. Even the Myriad Medicine Pavilion has been robbed. Could the thief come here too...?"

As Xiao Lin spoke, he watched Xiao Yu open the door. His voice trailed off.

"No need. Nobody's going to come steal anything." Xiao Yu closed the door.

In that brief moment, Xiao Lin had glimpsed a figure lying indistinctly inside. Judging by the person's black clothes, she didn't look like a good person.

Was that the thief the Myriad Medicine Pavilion was searching for?

Xiao Lin was stunned. He didn't linger and returned to his own room.

Just how strong was the young clan leader? The Myriad Medicine Pavilion had so many people out tonight, nearly turning Green Mountain Town upside down, and the young clan leader had already caught the thief?

Inside the room.

Xiao Yu lit a candle, and its golden-orange glow illuminated the entire room.

He crouched beside the figure on the floor, rolled her over, and removed the covering from her face.

In an instant, a delicate face came into view.

"That should be right."

Xiao Yu murmured to himself, then busied himself for a moment before tossing the woman onto the bed.

The medicine shop was left undisturbed for the rest of the night.

On the bed, a figure slowly opened her eyes, confusion and bewilderment in her gaze.

Where am I?

Xiao Yi Xian stared up at the bed curtains. They seemed completely unfamiliar—not the decorations in her own room.

The next second.

Scattered memories flashed through her mind, and her eyes instantly cleared.

Someone knocked me out!

Xiao Yi Xian immediately tried to get up, only to realize that her hands and feet were bound. She couldn't move at all.

Her body jerked upright, then slammed back down onto the bed with a muffled thump.

"You're awake?"

At that moment, a voice came from the side and reached Xiao Yi Xian's ears. It sounded like a man. She immediately turned her head.

On the floor not far from the bed sat a young man with regular features and a handsome face, a faint smile at the corners of his mouth.

"You were the one who knocked me out last night?"

Xiao Yi Xian could hardly believe it. The young man before her was clearly not very old.

From what she had sensed last night, that person's strength had definitely been beyond that of a two- or three-star Dou Zhe.