"Which son of a bitch dares—"
The curses from Hemon, the third-in-command seated below the head seat, abruptly cut off.
A young man who looked barely grown was sitting beside him, legs crossed, a large black halberd cradled in his arms.
Blood still dripped from its blade.
When?!
Everyone present shrank their pupils, their faces filled with shock.
They hadn't even noticed when the boy had entered!
"Kid, who are you? Do you know what kind of place this is?"
Mu She asked with a dark expression, his gaze betraying a hint of cunning and wariness.
"Who am I?"
The boy smiled faintly, rested one hand on Hemon's shoulder, and surveyed the crowd with a teasing expression.
"Weren't you just talking about me?"
"Y-you're Xiao Yuan?!"
Gan Mu, the second-in-command, was the first to react. Xiao Yuan smiled and gave a slight nod.
"Mhm. Congratulations, you got it right. As a reward, you'll be the first to die in a moment."
He spoke so casually, as if he didn't take them seriously at all. That sent Hemon, the third-in-command, into a fit of rage!
"Damn it, you little bastard—"
Before he could finish, a powerful gust of force shot straight at his face.
Xiao Yuan remained calm, a faint smile still on his lips. Using Hemon's shoulder for support, he sprang into the air and spun around.
Then, right before Hemon's contracting pupils, the boy's heavy, powerful whip kick exploded against his face, his full strength bursting forth!
Bang!!
Ripples like waves suddenly burst through the air. Hemon's brutish, ferocious face exploded apart, and his body slammed into the wall!
Stone fragments burst everywhere, blood spraying in all directions!
Hemon, the third-in-command and an Eight-Star Dou Zhe, had just died like that?
Gan Mu hadn't even managed to recover when the black halberd shot through the air toward him.
In the blink of an eye, its sharp point pierced through Gan Mu's chest. The tremendous force lifted him off his feet and pinned him to the wall, like a piece of decoration.
The Wolf Head Mercenary Group's second- and third-in-command had died in an instant.
Xiao Yuan ambled over to Gan Mu, casually pulled out the Heaven-Slaughter Halberd, then summoned the Ten Thousand Soul Banner and collected the two men's souls. Afterward, he planted the banner in the ground.
He crooked a finger at Mu She, seated in the head position, and teased:
"Come on. Let's play."
That day, no one knew what had happened inside the Wolf Head Mercenary Group.
They had only seen black clouds blotting out the sky, with chains raining down from above like divine punishment!
Not a single member of the Wolf Head Mercenary Group survived. The group was erased from Qingshan Town!
Nobody even knew who had done it!
They only knew that the three leaders of Wolf Head had died grisly deaths.
One had his head smashed and embedded in a wall;
one had a gaping hole torn through his chest, his organs churned to pulp;
and the leader, Mu She, had been hacked into a human stump and hung in the middle of the Wolf Head Mercenary Group's reception hall, like a chandelier!
Everyone who heard about it wore a look of horror.
They were terrified. What kind of powerful figure could have struck with such ruthless cruelty?
But even more people said this was the Wolf Head Mercenary Group getting what it deserved, brought on by their own actions.
However, they were even more surprised to discover that Myriad Medicine Pavilion wasn't open for business that day.
Usually, even when Xiao Yi Xian went out to gather herbs, Myriad Medicine Pavilion still sold medicinal herbs and all kinds of healing medicines.
But that day, its doors were tightly shut, with no sign they would open.
Just as the many mercenaries who had gathered began discussing the matter,
in the rear courtyard,
the faint sound of grinding medicine came from Xiao Yi Xian's bedroom.
A jade pestle slowly circled inside the stone mortar, grinding the dried herbs into powder bit by bit.
Then she poured it out
and mixed it with other medicinal powders, preparing a poison.
Xiao Yi Xian had learned this from the Seven-Colored Poison Scripture. Just one packet of the powder could poison a Dou Shi!
But it brought her not the slightest comfort.
Her mind kept flashing back to everything that had happened earlier in the Magical Beast Mountain Range.
She thought of Xiao Yuan's unspoken promise in the stone chamber to help her control her Woeful Poison Body.
She thought of when Xiao Yuan had given her the Seven-Colored Poison Scripture.
She thought of Xiao Yuan battling the Wolf Head Mercenary Group, and how he had deliberately left Mu Li alive for her, so she could resolve her doubts...
Xiao Yi Xian herself could no longer figure out what she felt for Xiao Yuan, the younger brother she had only just accepted two days ago.
Perhaps she should have simply left this place of trouble with Xiao Yuan back then. Wouldn't that have been the best choice?
Then Xiao Yuan wouldn't have had to brave the Wolf Head Mercenary Group alone for her sake and walk into danger...
"Ugh..."
She had lost count of how many times she'd sighed that day.
Xiao Yi Xian set down the pestle, propped her cheek on her hand, and gazed out the window at the sky.
Worry filled her beautiful eyes.
She regretted it deeply.
"I wonder how things are going for Xiao Yuan..."
Just then, a second voice suddenly sounded inside the room.
[I'm back, I'm back. The Wolf Head Mercenary Group is done for~]
[But those Wolf Head guys really were weaklings.]
[They didn't give me much soul power or money, and they barely had any second-tier Magic Cores. What a bunch of paupers. Tsk...]
It was Xiao Yuan!
Xiao Yi Xian sprang to her feet and hurried toward the door, wanting to see whether her adopted younger brother had been hurt.
But just as she put her hand on the door, she heard another thought from Xiao Yuan.
[But now that I think about it, how should I face Xiao Yi Xian?]
[Should I pretend I'm injured to get her sympathy, then recuperate for a few days and get closer to her?]
[Doesn't seem like a good idea... I'm a Dou Ling, after all. If I got hurt fighting a bunch of Dou Zhe and Dou Shi, I'd lose all face!]
[No, no. I'd better think of another way to fool this kind and beautiful big sister.]
Hearing these thoughts from inside the room, Xiao Yi Xian was so angry she almost laughed.
She had been so worried about him, and in the end, he was thinking of pretending to be hurt just to tease her!
What a wicked little brother!
Xiao Yi Xian put her hands on her hips in a huff, then slowly opened the door a crack.
She saw Xiao Yuan sitting on the steps with his back to the door, and an idea came to her.
She slipped out one smooth, pale hand and carefully reached for Xiao Yuan's ear.
As Xiao Yuan sat lost in thought, he suddenly felt a sharp tug on his ear. Instinctively, he got to his feet, following the force.
"Ow, ow, ow! Let go, let go!"
"Hmph, I won't!"
Xiao Yi Xian pretended to be furious.
"Your big sister was so worried about you, and there you were muttering to yourself about tricking her! Today, I'm going to teach you a proper lesson as your adopted big sister!"
"I was wrong, I was wrong. I won't do it again, Big Sister Xiao Yi Xian!"
Xiao Yuan hurriedly begged for mercy.
But inside, he was startled.
How could he not have noticed Xiao Yi Xian sneaking up behind him?
He was only playing along with her.
But...
[Did I just accidentally say my thoughts out loud?]