Xiao Yi Xian gritted her teeth, a flash of murderous intent passing through her eyes.
She looked up at Xiao Yan. She didn't say a word, but her gaze said everything.
Xiao Yan smiled faintly and spoke with easy calm:
"Fine. As you wish."
His voice was calm, as though he were talking about something trivial.
In the next instant—
Hum!
Xiao Yan stretched out his hand. A ball of crimson-gold flame appeared out of thin air in his palm!
As the flames danced, they were both as bewitching as a red lotus and as majestic as the blazing sun. Their terrifying heat sent the temperature of the entire clearing soaring until it was almost suffocating!
Heavenly Flames!
Red Lotus Karma Fire!
Mu Li's pupils contracted sharply, his face full of terror.
He wasn't an alchemist, but he'd spent so many years in the Monster Mountain Range. How could he not know how terrifying Heavenly Flames were?
"P-please spare me, senior!"
With a thud, Mu Li dropped to his knees and kowtowed frantically, his voice trembling.
"Let me go, and my father, the head of the Wolf Head Mercenary Group, will give you plenty of money!"
"Lots and lots of money!"
"My father can give you anything you want!"
He kowtowed as he begged incoherently, tears and snot smeared across his face.
The Wolf Head Mercenary Group's mercenaries all dropped to their knees as well, kowtowing one after another.
Yet—
Xiao Yan didn't even spare them a glance.
"Money?"
A disdainful smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
"Do you think I'm short on money?"
Mu Li trembled all over. He opened his mouth, but found himself at a loss for words.
That was right...
Would a Dou Wang expert be short on money?
In the eyes of a Dou Wang, his money probably wasn't worth a damn!
"Senior, I..."
Mu Li tried to say more, but before he could finish—
Boom!
He suddenly felt a searing heat surge up inside him, rising from the depths of his soul and spreading through every limb and bone!
The flame didn't burn him from the outside. It ignited within his body!
From the inside out!
There was nowhere to run!
"Ah—!"
Mu Li let out a piercing scream. Crimson-gold flames engulfed him as he rolled frantically across the ground.
The flames were strangely uncanny. Though scorching hot, they didn't burn his clothes—they only consumed his flesh and soul!
That was what made Red Lotus Karma Fire so terrifying—
Anyone burdened with deep sins and karmic debt would be ignited from the depths of their soul, even without ever touching the Red Lotus Karma Fire!
The flames consumed the sinner; the heavier the sins, the fiercer the blaze!
For years, Mu Li had relied on the Wolf Head Mercenary Group's power to pillage and kill across the Monster Mountain Range, abuse women, and spill countless drops of blood. How many sins had he committed?
Now, all those sins had become the karmic flames that devoured him!
"Ah—!"
"Ah—!"
Mu Li screamed without pause, his cries as shrill as a vengeful ghost's.
His body twisted and writhed in the flames. His flesh was burned away bit by bit, the agony a hundred times more terrifying than being cut by a thousand knives!
The Wolf Head Mercenary Group's mercenaries were ignited by the karmic flames as well, rolling on the ground and wailing.
How many of them had no blood on their hands?
How many weren't steeped in sin?
Now, Red Lotus Karma Fire was their nemesis!
"Spare us... please, spare us..."
"We'll never do it again..."
"Please, kill me... just give me a quick death..."
Their wails, pleas, and screams mingled together and echoed through the clearing, making it seem like a living hell.
Watching the scene before her, Xiao Yi Xian's pretty face turned slightly pale.
She hated these people for their misdeeds, and hated them for killing her friends. But seeing them burned alive with her own eyes was still hard to bear.
This method... was truly vicious!
But—
When her gaze fell on the two cold corpses on the ground, the trace of pity in her heart vanished in an instant.
These beasts deserved to suffer like this!
Killing them outright would have been letting them off too easily!
"Ah—!"
The final scream cut off abruptly.
Mu Li and the Wolf Head Mercenary Group's mercenaries had turned into ashes on the ground. The wind scattered them until not even a scrap of bone remained.
The clearing fell silent once more.
Only the rustling of wind through the leaves and the roars of beasts in the distance broke the stillness.
Xiao Yi Xian stood there, staring blankly at the ashes for a long time without a word.
Though she hated those people, watching more than a dozen lives disappear right before her eyes still left her with complicated feelings.
"What is it?"
A gentle voice came from beside her.
"Feeling sorry for them?"
Xiao Yi Xian came back to herself and turned to look. At some point, Xiao Yan had landed beside her, a faint smile on his lips.
She shook her head and took a deep breath, pressing down the turmoil in her heart.
"No."
Her voice was calm, but carried a note of conviction.
"They deserved to die."
Xiao Yan nodded, a trace of approval in his eyes.
This girl had a fine temperament.
If it had been someone else, seeing a scene like that would probably have left them pale with fright and retching.
Though she felt some pity, she could still remain calm and distinguish right from wrong.
No wonder she had been a confidante who fought shoulder to shoulder with "Xiao Yan" in the original story.
"Xiao Yi Xian thanks you, senior, for your righteous assistance!"
She took a deep breath, then bowed respectfully to Xiao Yan, her voice clear.
Her manner was respectful but neither servile nor obsequious. Her clear eyes looked at Xiao Yan, full of gratitude.
Xiao Yan waved his hand and laughed.
"Hahaha... don't mention it. Just call me Brother Xiao Yan. I'm not much older than you. 'Senior' sounds weird!"
He paused, then glanced at the few injured mercenaries on the ground.
"By the way, they're your friends, right?"
Xiao Yi Xian was slightly taken aback, then nodded.
"Mm. They're guards and mercenary friends from Myriad Medicine Pavilion. They usually escort me when I go into the mountains to gather herbs."
"If we hadn't run into that bastard Mu Li this time..."
She bit her lip and didn't continue.
Xiao Yan nodded without saying anything more. He walked straight over, took out several pills from his Storage Ring, and handed them to the injured mercenaries and guards.
"Here, take these."
The mercenaries and guards were badly hurt. Some had broken arms, while others had been slashed several times and were bleeding heavily.
When they saw the pills Xiao Yan was offering, they all froze.
"Th-this is..."
An older mercenary took a pill and examined it closely. He immediately sucked in a sharp breath.
"A t-third-grade pill?!"
His voice trembled.
A third-grade pill!
What did that mean?
In the Monster Mountain Range, even a first-grade pill could sell for several hundred or several thousand gold coins. Second-grade pills cost tens of thousands, while third-grade pills were practically priceless!
An ordinary mercenary could work himself to the bone for a whole year and still not be able to afford a single third-grade pill!
And this senior was casually handing them out?
"Xiao... Xiao... senior, thank you!"
The old mercenary was so overwhelmed that he could barely speak, his eyes reddening.
"Our injuries aren't serious. These pills are far too precious; we don't deserve them!"
He hurriedly waved his hand and tried to return the pill, not daring to accept it.
The other mercenaries nodded repeatedly, all saying they weren't worthy of them.
"That's right, senior. They're only superficial wounds. We'll be fine after a few days' rest. These pills are too precious..."
"You've already done us an immense kindness by saving us, senior. How could we accept your pills as well..."
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