"These... are all medicinal herbs?"
"That's way too much!"
Early the next morning, Xiao Yexuan woke up in his room and stretched luxuriously. He had just opened the door, ready to go out for breakfast, when the sight before him left him dumbstruck.
The courtyard around his residence was packed with over a hundred horse-drawn carriages, all lined up in neat rows.
Every carriage was either piled high with wooden boxes carved with patterns
or filled with coarse pottery jars and iron basins, all of them brimming with assorted medicinal herbs. Their rich fragrance washed over him, refreshing his mind and spirit.
The tightly packed carriages nearly surrounded the entire courtyard, leaving barely enough room to walk.
At the front of the crowd stood Ning Rongrong, dressed in an exquisite pale-yellow princess gown. Seeing Xiao Yexuan's stunned expression, she couldn't help but curl her lips in satisfaction and lift her chin slightly.
She stepped forward and spoke in a voice as clear as a mountain stream:
"Sir, these medicinal herbs are only what I managed to gather around Heaven Dou City yesterday using the power of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect."
"Give us a few more days, and our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect will surely gather every medicinal herb on the entire continent and bring them all to you for refining pills!"
Xiao Yexuan didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and the corner of his mouth twitched.
He knew he had plenty of charm these days, and that the people around him thought highly of him. But he'd never imagined Ning Rongrong would go this far.
Had this girl emptied the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's warehouses in Heaven Dou City and hauled everything here?
Xiao Yexuan hurriedly waved his hands, refusing with exaggerated urgency, afraid Ning Rongrong might cause an even bigger commotion:
"Rongrong, this is way too much!"
"I don't need anywhere near this many herbs to refine pills. If they're all piled up here and something unexpected happens, they could all be ruined!"
"Rongrong, don't have your family gather any more herbs!"
"The ones here will keep me supplied for a long time."
"You can't throw the entire medicinal herb market into chaos on my account!"
"With so many herbs piled up here, what if someone outside falls seriously ill or suffers some other misfortune, only to find there are no herbs to buy? If my actions delay their treatment, I won't be able to live with myself."
The smugness on Ning Rongrong's face vanished as she listened, replaced by deep remorse. Her cheeks flushed faintly.
She looked at Xiao Yexuan with admiration, her bright, sparkling eyes seeming to hold stars:
"So that's what you were thinking, sir?"
"It seems I was wrong this time, sir."
"You want to refine pills not only to help us Soul Masters raise our cultivation faster, but also to use them to treat ordinary people, so they can escape illness and suffering!"
"Ah! Being able to meet you, sir, is the greatest good fortune of my life. It must be the reward for a hundred lifetimes of good deeds!"
"You're right, sir. I'll do as you say and absolutely won't go on such a buying spree for herbs again!"
The more Ning Rongrong spoke, the more excited she became. Admiration practically spilled from her eyes as she gazed at Xiao Yexuan, as though he were the most flawless person in the world.
Xiao Yexuan was already used to Ning Rongrong's sudden bursts of praise and admiration.
He merely smiled faintly and shook his head helplessly, then walked among the piles of herbs, inspecting them carefully. His fingertips occasionally brushed a leaf as he searched for any rare herbs he could use right away.
What he didn't know was that, not far from his residence, in a patch of thick grass,
two heads were carefully crouched low. A few broad leaves covered them, and their eyes were fixed without blinking on everything happening in the courtyard.
"So many medicinal herbs!"
Tang San's voice brimmed with barely restrained greed as his fingertips dug into the dirt beneath him.
"If all these herbs were mine, I could refine a huge number of the pills recorded in my Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record!"
"Even if I just sold all these herbs and traded them for rare metals and deadly poisons, how many Hidden Weapons could I make?"
"How could Ning Rongrong be so generous?"
"Why, when we were adventuring together, wouldn't she even give me a tiny fraction of this?"
"This is infuriating! She's practically asking to be killed!"
"If Ning Rongrong had been willing to give me even a few Gold Soul Coins, I'd have a whole stash of deadly poisons and Hidden Weapons by now!"
His bitter, gritted whispers drifted out of the grass like steel needles dipped in poison.
That's right. One of the two people watching from hiding was Tang San. Beside him stood Dai Mubai, his face equally gloomy.
Although Tang San had been severely injured the day before, with more than half the bones in his body broken, he should have been bedridden for ten days to half a month.
But this was the world of Martial Souls. In addition to combat Soul Masters, there were also many top-tier support and healing Soul Masters.
Flender didn't dare let Tang San remain seriously ill, fearing it might damage his foundation.
If Clear Sky Douluo Tang Hao came knocking, Flender couldn't bear the consequences of that thunderous rage.
So Flender spent a fortune making a special trip to the Nine Hearts Begonia Clan. He begged the current Nine Hearts Begonia Clan leader to intervene and use the power of the Nine Hearts Begonia Martial Soul to completely heal Tang San's injuries.
Once healed, the first person Tang San wanted to find was Xiao Yexuan.
He wanted nothing more than to tear Xiao Yexuan to pieces and soothe the hatred in his heart.
But Tang San also knew that Xiao Yexuan now had the Soul Saint Liu Erlong backing him. He couldn't find a suitable opportunity to strike.
But how could he accept that his younger sister had been led astray by Xiao Yexuan?
So he had dragged Dai Mubai here with him, and they were hiding in the grass, secretly watching Xiao Yexuan's movements.
Of course, if an opportunity presented itself, the two of them wouldn't hesitate to attack Xiao Yexuan.
What Tang San wanted most was to expose Xiao Yexuan's deception and find out what he'd done to make Zhu Zhuqing, Ning Rongrong, and Xiao Wu so infatuated with him.
At the same time, his heart was full of anticipation, the flames of ambition surging in his eyes.
If he could truly learn Xiao Yexuan's secret, discover that method,
then he, Tang San, could completely take Xiao Yexuan's place.
Xiao Wu would obey his every word, and Zhu Zhuqing would cling to his side like a docile kitten.
And Ning Rongrong, that little heiress, would shower him with wealth without end.
By then, he would be able to make countless Tang Sect Hidden Weapons. Even if the gods came, they would die beneath his assassins' hands!
Tang San stared at the mountain of herbs in the courtyard, his eyes bloodshot and his fists clenched so tightly they crackled.
He wanted nothing more than to rush in that very instant, snatch all these treasures, and stuff them into his Storage Soul Tool.
Just then, a dark figure walked in from outside the courtyard, moving as lightly as a cat.
She looked at the courtyard full of medicinal herbs and couldn't help smacking her lips. In a low voice, she marveled that the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's wealth truly lived up to its reputation, a trace of envy flashing in her eyes.
Then the girl hurried over to Xiao Yexuan, making her steps even lighter, as if afraid of disturbing him.
She held a small parcel wrapped in a black cloth bag. A cute pink bow was tied around it, making it look especially delicate.
The girl stopped, her cheeks faintly flushed. Her voice carried a hint of excitement and nervousness as she held out what she was carrying to Xiao Yexuan.
"Sir, this is the breakfast I... I made for you. I hope you like it."
Before you continue