"Xiao Yi Xian, you heard all that?"
Xiao Yuan raised his chin and smiled.
Xiao Yi Xian gave a subdued hum.
She felt as if her heart were aching. Even though she'd learned the truth earlier from Xiao Yuan's thoughts, hearing it with her own ears still hurt.
Why had Lifei betrayed me?
We'd been as close as sisters for so many years...
She wanted to return to Myriad Medicine Pavilion at once and confront Lifei.
But in the next moment, blood gushed from Mu Li's throat, making her jump.
Clutching his neck, Mu Li let out a wet, choking sound. Disbelief filled his eyes as he toppled to the ground and went still.
"You... killed him?" Xiao Yi Xian asked in shock.
"Mm."
Xiao Yuan nodded frankly, flicked the blood from his spearhead, then put it away in his Storage Ring.
Xiao Yi Xian felt like her mind had stopped working.
Wasn't she supposed to be the one to kill the culprit at this point, according to how things normally went?
Why wasn't he following the usual script?
Xiao Yuan saw right through her thoughts and explained with a soft laugh:
"Scum like him aren't worth dirtying your hands over, big sister Xiao Yi Xian. So it's better for me, your little brother, to take care of it."
With that,
Xiao Yuan collected the Storage Rings from the men, then flicked out a spark of flame. A towering blaze instantly swallowed the corpses.
In the blink of an eye, they were burned to ash.
"All right, big sister Xiao Yi Xian. Let's go."
"..."
Xiao Yi Xian followed Xiao Yuan out of the stone chamber, but as she watched his back, her heart filled with complicated feelings.
She understood that Xiao Yuan had done it to take all the blame upon himself.
And the more he did that, the more indebted she felt.
She had no idea that Xiao Yuan had simply found it too much trouble to make her do it. Doing it himself was cleaner and quicker.
Still, after everything that had happened, Xiao Yuan found that his relationship with Xiao Yi Xian had somehow grown closer.
Perhaps he should thank that idiot Mu Li?
When they left the cave and returned to camp, they found the members of the Blood Battle Mercenary Group bound up like dumplings.
Xiao Yuan and Xiao Yi Xian helped untie them.
Once free, the mercenaries weren't concerned about their own injuries. Their first question was whether the two of them had been hurt.
Only after hearing they were fine did the mercenaries breathe a sigh of relief.
They didn't ask where the Wolf Head Mercenary Group had gone.
Xiao Yi Xian didn't explain, either. Instead, she chose to return to Qingshan Town that very night.
If Xiao Yi Xian and Xiao Yuan had returned safe and sound, then even a fool could figure out that Mu Li and the Wolf Head men were probably dead.
However, just before they reached Myriad Medicine Pavilion, Xiao Yi Xian tugged at his sleeve.
"Xiao Yuan, why don't you leave Qingshan Town? Mu Li's death won't stay secret for long. And his father is Mu She, the head of the Wolf Head Mercenary Group. He won't let you off."
"What about you?" Xiao Yuan asked curiously.
"I'll be fine. Myriad Medicine Pavilion will protect me, and the mercenaries in town are all on my side. Mu She won't dare do anything to me."
Hearing Xiao Yi Xian say that, Xiao Yuan nearly laughed aloud.
My foolish big sister. You're so adorably naive.
Mr. Yao at Myriad Medicine Pavilion values her reputation and treats her like a cash cow. Does she really think he'll offend the Wolf Head Mercenary Group to protect her?
If the Wolf Head Mercenary Group makes a move, Mr. Yao will be the first to sell her out.
Xiao Yi Xian bit her lower lip. How could she not know what Xiao Yuan's thoughts had just revealed?
But Mr. Yao had saved her life and given her a place to stay. He'd even recognized her talent and given her a chance.
How could she not repay that kindness?
Besides, she wasn't without a way to protect herself.
She'd already read the Seven-Colored Poison Scripture on the way. The poisons recorded in it could kill even a Da Dou Shi.
"Anyway, little brother Xiao Yuan, don't worry about me. Hurry and leave. Maybe we'll meet again someday, if fate allows."
After saying this, Xiao Yi Xian reached out and pushed him, urging him to leave Qingshan Town before dawn.
But Xiao Yuan stood his ground.
"If you think Mu She can't touch you, big sister Xiao Yi Xian, why do you think he can touch me?"
"Huh?"
Xiao Yi Xian let out a small gasp, apparently not expecting him to answer like that.
But when she remembered how Xiao Yuan had instantly killed more than ten high-level Dou Zhe in the stone chamber, her brows furrowed.
"Little brother Xiao Yuan, I admit your talent is extraordinary, but Mu She is a two-star Dou Shi. How could you possibly be his match?"
"Then how about we make a bet? If I can take care of the Wolf Head Mercenary Group, you'll leave Qingshan Town with me. How does that sound?"
"Do you really have to gamble with your life?!"
Xiao Yi Xian was getting anxious.
This was the first time she'd realized Xiao Yuan could be so stubborn!
But when she met his firm gaze, without the slightest room for compromise, she could only sigh helplessly.
"All right. If you really can do it, I'll leave with you. But you have to promise me that even if you can't defeat them, you'll still get out of Qingshan Town alive. Do you understand?"
"Don't worry. I could never bear to lose such a beautiful big sister."
"Hmph, what a smooth talker. Make sure you come back alive, understand?"
Xiao Yi Xian couldn't help reminding him again, like a worried older sister watching her little brother set out to make his way in the world.
As the saying went, a person's surroundings determined the limits of their vision.
Xiao Yi Xian was no exception.
In a poor, backwater place like Qingshan Town, the Dou Shi realm was already a distant sky that people could only look up to.
Anything beyond it was a realm most people had never seen in their entire lives.
And Xiao Yuan was so young, too.
The news of Mu Li's death spread fast.
Even though they'd covered their tracks thoroughly, Mu She had received word by the first light of dawn.
Several figures sat in the somber hall.
At the head of the room sat a middle-aged man with a gloomy look. He tapped his fingers lightly on the table and broke the silence first.
"I just received word from the Blood Battle Mercenary Group. My son Mu Li was killed by a brat named Xiao Yuan. What do you have to say?"
The middle-aged man's voice was hoarse, and his eyes were bloodshot. He had clearly just been crying.
But he could no longer hold back the hatred and fury in his eyes.
"Captain, I'm deeply sorry about the young captain's death. Given the way our Wolf Head operates, we'll definitely make them pay in blood!"
"But I heard that brat Xiao Yuan seems to have some connection to Xiao Yi Xian of Myriad Medicine Pavilion. If we act rashly, I'm afraid we won't gain anything from it..."
Everyone present knew just how much influence Xiao Yi Xian had. Many members of the Wolf Head Mercenary Group had once received her help, too.
"Hmph, she's just Xiao Yi Xian! Don't think I don't know that those Blood Battle bastards are backing that bitch! I don't care about anything else right now. I just want to kill that brat Xiao Yuan and avenge my son!"
Mu She slammed his hand down on the armrest, eyes bloodshot and veins bulging.
The aura of a two-star Dou Shi burst out without restraint, pressing down on everyone in the hall until they could barely breathe.
Just then, a breezy voice rang out from above, instantly dispelling Mu She's Dou Shi aura.
"Well, I heard you were looking for me. What can I do for you?"