Her Name Was Bai Ling

Su Ming was very nervous. The burly man before him radiated far more vitality than Lei Chen, and Su Ming estimated that he was around the fifth or sixth layer of the Blood Condensation Realm.

A man like that was someone Su Ming could not possibly resist. If the other party harbored any ill intent, it would be difficult for Su Ming to escape disaster. But he wanted a large quantity of Luoyun Leaves, which meant he needed a lot of Stone Coins.

So he had no choice but to take a risk. Ever since the time he had hunted Yu Chi through the forest, he felt that some of his thoughts had changed. The knowledge recorded in the Beast Skin Book he had read at Grandpa's over the years had been deeply etched into his mind.

He vaguely felt that if he could not suppress his opponent with his cultivation, then he would have to make the other party hesitate in some other way. Only then would they avoid acting rashly.

That was why, before coming here, he had chosen to conceal his appearance and bring along a beast. He wanted to use it to intimidate the other party at the right moment.

Judging by what he saw now, it seemed to have worked fairly well. Yet Su Ming remained just as tense.

In truth, Su Ming was not the only one tense inside the leather tent. The burly man was even more nervous than he was. From time to time, the man glanced toward the spot where the beast had died. Whenever he saw the pile of bone fragments, his heart would pound faster—not from excitement, but from fear.

In his eyes, the person before him, wrapped from head to toe in animal hide, was shrouded in an unfathomable mystery. Combined with the shocking scene from earlier, that air of mystery put far more pressure on the burly man than Su Ming's tension did.

"This man is seasoned, speaks with composure, and strikes without mercy. He must be some reclusive Evil Barbarian from the nearby mountains... But from what he just said, he seems like a reasonable person... It's just that this strange medicine probably won't do much." As the burly man fretted, footsteps sounded outside the tent. A moment later, someone lifted the flap and entered.

The man who entered had a wooden expression. He stepped into the tent without a word and stood to one side, waiting for the One-Eyed Man to give him an order.

As soon as the man entered, Su Ming glanced at him casually. His vitality was not strong; he seemed to be at the second layer of the Blood Condensation Realm, just like Su Ming.

"Eat this, and this too!" The One-Eyed Man did not hesitate. He took out the Medicine Stone in his hand and handed over a stalk of medicinal herb, telling the man to consume both.

The man's expression remained unchanged. He took them, immediately put them in his mouth, and chewed a few times. Then he sat cross-legged nearby and circulated the blood within his body. But soon, his expression changed, as if he were surprised. Before long, he opened his eyes and stared blankly at the One-Eyed Man.

"It didn't have much effect... I just felt a little more than I usually do when I swallow Spirit-Decision Grass... about one layer's worth."

The One-Eyed Man's pupils suddenly shrank. His heart began pounding faster despite himself. He knew what this extra layer meant. With ordinary herbs, the effect might not be very noticeable. But if the medicine worked on herbs used by those above the sixth layer of the Blood Condensation Realm, then its value would be almost impossible to measure.

"Even if an ordinary herb is worth ten Stone Coins, this thing would only be worth one. But if the herb is worth a hundred, or even a thousand Stone Coins, then that extra layer..." The more the One-Eyed Man thought about it, the more excited he became. Still, he was unsure whether it would work just as well on higher-grade herbs.

"It's a pity I don't have many Stone Coins left..." After a brief pause, he quietly suppressed his excitement. Once he sent the other man away, he stood respectfully before Su Ming and forced a smile.

"Senior, this medicine is truly wondrous. How about this: I'll offer thirty Stone Coins for one. What do you say?" The One-Eyed Man did not dare offend Su Ming. In his eyes, Su Ming was an Evil Barbarian, and anyone who could produce such a medicine was no ordinary person.

"Thirty Stone Coins?" The price made Su Ming's heart pound, but his voice suddenly turned cold.

"Senior... thirty Stone Coins is already my limit, and we still don't know whether it works just as well on higher-grade herbs." The One-Eyed Man hurriedly spoke, but before he could finish, Su Ming interrupted him.

"No matter what herb you take, this will increase its effect by one layer out of thin air. If I didn't need to trade for a Barbarian Artifact, I would never sell it."

The One-Eyed Man hesitated for a long while, then gritted his teeth and nodded. "How many do you have, Senior?"

"Counting the one you wasted earlier, I have only one left!" As Su Ming spoke, he took a small bottle from his robes. Inside was a single dose of Dust-Clearing Powder.

The man's vision swam when he heard this, and his heart ached. Just as he was hesitating, he saw Su Ming rise and tuck the bottle back into his robes. Su Ming raised the left hand that had turned the little beast into a cloud of blood, and a chilling gaze emerged from beneath the animal-hide wrapping over his face. Remembering the dose he had used for the earlier test, the man hurriedly spoke.

"Senior, Senior, please... fifty Stone Coins! That really is my limit!"

Su Ming did not want to linger here. His eyes flashed as he answered decisively, "Fine. Including the dose from earlier, that makes a hundred Stone Coins in total!"

The One-Eyed Man hesitated briefly, then immediately took a leather pouch from his robes and respectfully handed it to Su Ming. Inside were two white Stone Coins.

Stone Coins were valued by their color: gray was the lowest, black was worth ten, white was worth fifty, and purple was worth a hundred.

"Give me black Stone Coins!" Su Ming glanced at them and suddenly spoke.

The One-Eyed Man paused, but asked nothing. Instead, he took out ten black Stone Coins and handed them to Su Ming.

Su Ming accepted the coins and put them in his pouch. Then he tossed the small bottle to the other man, picked up the woven basket from the ground, and left without sparing the One-Eyed Man another glance. After leaving the tent, he did not act rashly. He wandered around the Tribal Market for a few laps. The moon and stars were bright, and torches blazed everywhere. There were still plenty of people in the market, but those who came to trade at this hour were mostly dressed like Su Ming. After making a few rounds and confirming no one was watching him, he hurried to several places where he had spotted Luoyun Leaves for sale earlier that day and bought more than sixty. Then he changed clothes in a secluded corner and left in a hurry. At the place where he had agreed to meet Lei Chen, he saw Lei Chen waiting there, yawning over and over. Without a word, Su Ming walked right past him.

Lei Chen paused, then quietly followed. One after the other, the two soon disappeared into the dark forest. They raced along, and Su Ming changed direction several times without stopping to rest. Only when dawn broke the next day did he finally stop, pale-faced and still shaken.

Lei Chen panted heavily. Although he was puzzled, he did not ask questions. Especially after Su Ming casually flicked five Stone Coins toward him. Lei Chen caught them, then immediately grinned with delight.

After resting briefly, the two set off again, racing toward their tribe. This time Su Ming did not stop at all; he ran at full speed. Each time he leaped, he seemed to move even faster. Though his cultivation was weaker than Lei Chen's, even Lei Chen was left gawking at his speed.

"This time, I made quite a haul... I'd planned to buy five Luoyun Leaves and try them out if I couldn't sell the Medicine Stone, but I didn't expect things to go so smoothly." As Su Ming hurried along, he looked thoughtful.

"That One-Eyed Man must have been scared by me, but I can't let my guard down. I need to get back to the tribe as quickly as possible." Su Ming remained cautious all the way. Even though he was now far from the Tribal Market, he still changed direction from time to time and used his experience in the forest to erase his tracks.

When the sun hung high in the distance, with noon still some time away, Su Ming and Lei Chen spotted their tribe. Only then did Su Ming truly let out a breath. A smile appeared on his face.

"We finally made it home. Su Ming, you still haven't told me how you knew Bai Ling was from the Black Dragon Tribe yesterday." Lei Chen was panting. As Su Ming slowed his pace, Lei Chen quickly blurted out the question he had been holding in for ages.

"Bai Ling?" Su Ming pictured the tall, exceptionally beautiful woman. He especially remembered the way she wrinkled her nose, her eyes gleaming with wild beauty.

"I didn't know she was from the Black Dragon Tribe." A smile touched Su Ming's lips. Bai Ling was the most beautiful person he had ever seen.

"That's impossible. If you didn't know, how could you say it with such certainty?" Lei Chen had thought about this question for a long time, but had never found an answer. Now, seeing that Su Ming still seemed unwilling to explain, he could not help growing impatient.

Su Ming glanced at Lei Chen and laughed.

"Lei Chen, don't tell me you like her?"

"Don't be ridiculous!" Lei Chen shook his head vigorously and muttered,

"She's too thin. I don't like that. I like them a little plumper..." Lei Chen scratched his head. Ever since he was a child, he had liked the sturdier girls in the tribe, and he still did.

Laughing and joking, Su Ming and Lei Chen ran toward the tribe. Their carefree smiles and friendship drifted through the cold winter air on the wind.

"The three people following Bai Ling had Black Dragon totems on them. Around here, only the Black Dragon Tribe liked painting Black Dragons on themselves." As they neared the tribe, Su Ming spoke with a smile.

Lei Chen heard this and immediately laughed bitterly. He had never imagined it would be that simple.

The journey was uneventful. Su Ming and Lei Chen returned to the tribe. In his own dwelling, Su Ming took out the Luoyun Leaves he had bought at the Tribal Market, his eyes filled with anticipation.

"Mountain Spirit Powder... I wonder what effect it will have once I refine it this time! Grandpa told me not to go out lately... I went there and back quickly, so I shouldn't have wasted too much time." After pondering for a while, Su Ming made up his mind.

At that very moment, in the Tribal Market far from Wu Mountain Tribe, a major event was unfolding!

The source of it all was that round dose of medicine!

After Su Ming left, the One-Eyed Man hesitated in his tent for a long time. He stopped seeing anyone who came to trade and, after wavering, finally gritted his teeth. Taking the small bottle containing the Medicine Stone, he hurried to the enormous purple leather tent where the owner of the Tribal Market lived.