A Lesson

Chapter 19: A Lesson

Although Chu Xiaotian possessed a sturdy physique, being dragged up and down all morning by Xia Xue's methods left him nearly exhausted. After handing the final fire-red lingzhi to Xia Xue, Chu Xiaotian collapsed onto the ground, refusing to get back up.

"Brother Xiaotian, get up! We still have so many herbs to collect," Xia Xue said, walking over to the puddle of a man that was Chu Xiaotian. She crouched before him, a sweet, radiant smile on her face. Her slender hands grabbed his arms and gave them a gentle shake, acting quite coquettish.

"Ah..." Under normal circumstances, Chu Xiaotian's blood would have been boiling, and he would have taken the opportunity to steal a few touches. But this time, hearing Xia Xue's words, he could only let out a shrill cry, his head lolling to the side as he fainted from sheer exhaustion. In the moment he lost consciousness, he thought he saw a flicker of cunning in Xia Xue's eyes.

"Hee hee, that'll teach you not to tell me the truth. I'll make you collapse from exhaustion. Hmm, just collapsing isn't enough; I still need to give you a taste of bitterness." Xia Xue watched the fallen Chu Xiaotian, whispering to herself with a bright smile. Her gaze swept across the dense forest, as if searching for something else to use to torment him.

Poor Chu Xiaotian would never have guessed that he had spent half the day gathering herbs simply because Xia Xue wanted to punish him for not telling her where he had gone the previous night.

Half an hour later, Xia Xue and Chu Xiaotian headed toward the valley where they lived. On Chu Xiaotian's back was a yellow stone, nearly as tall as him and weighing at least three or four hundred pounds. According to Xia Xue, this was the final "herb" she needed; the stone heart inside was an excellent material for alchemy, but it could only be extracted during the refining process. Since her Qiankun Bag couldn't hold it, he had to carry it back. Chu Xiaotian had nearly collapsed again at the time, but after a few of Xia Xue's "sweet words," the stone ended up on his back.

"Little Xue, are you going to that old lecher's shop again? We gathered so many herbs this morning; isn't that enough?" Walking side-by-side down a street in Greenwood Town, they were headed for the Hundred Herb Pavilion, the only shop in town that traded in medicinal herbs. It must be said that Chu Xiaotian's recovery was incredibly strong; although he had collapsed from carrying the stone earlier, after eating a few grilled fish, he was back to his lively self, following Xia Xue to town to buy medicine.

"Hmm, alchemy requires a lot of herbs, and what we have isn't enough. We can't go deeper into the dense forest to gather more, so we have no choice but to buy them at the Hundred Herb Pavilion. Besides, I still haven't given them the pills I promised last time. If I don't deliver them soon, they might say I've gone back on my word and stop selling me herbs in the future. That would be a disaster," Xia Xue nodded slightly, turning to look at Chu Xiaotian with a smile.

This was the truth. While the manager of the Hundred Herb Pavilion dared not offend Xia Xue, she could not afford to offend them either. Many herbs she currently lacked the strength to gather herself had to be purchased from the Pavilion. Moreover, whenever she sold pills to them, they provided her with herbs at their own acquisition cost—a significant temptation for an alchemist like her who lacked a powerful backing.

Xia Xue stated the facts, but the trace of helplessness and vulnerability in her tone made Chu Xiaotian's blood surge. A desire to sweep away all obstacles for her welled up from within, and his thoughts spilled out: "Little Xue, don't worry. Once I'm strong enough to defeat the demonic beasts in the depths of the forest, I'll take you there to gather herbs myself. You can pick whatever you want, and you won't have to go to that old lecher's place and let him harass you."

"Really? Really? You promised! You'd better hurry up and get stronger, then!" Xia Xue seemed to forget that Chu Xiaotian was incapable of cultivation. As soon as he finished speaking, she clapped her hands and circled him, looking absolutely delighted.

"Don't worry, I won't make you wait too long." Her reaction stirred Chu Xiaotian's emotions, and he couldn't help but grab her delicate hand again. He realized that in front of Xia Xue, he was finding it increasingly difficult to keep his hands to himself.

This time, Xia Xue didn't immediately pull away from his clutches. She let him hold her hand for a few breaths before gently withdrawing it. She looked into his eyes and nodded slowly. While she couldn't say she was deeply in love with him yet, she at least had some affection for him. Being held by him made her shy, but she didn't feel any repulsion.

Xia Xue might not have minded, but many people in Greenwood Town certainly did. With her beauty, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call her the dream lover of everyone in town. Countless men had vied for her attention, yet she had ignored them all, only to show favor to this savage-looking boy. They couldn't stay calm even if they tried. Three large men watched Chu Xiaotian with cold eyes, striding over to block their path.

"Greetings, Miss Xia. I wonder who this little brother beside you is? He looks quite unfamiliar. We brothers would like to get to know him; could you introduce us?" The smallest of the three men was still at least 1.9 meters tall, his arms thicker than Chu Xiaotian's thighs. Standing before them, the three looked like a human wall. The one who spoke didn't wait for an answer, reaching out directly to grab Chu Xiaotian.

The man's strength was far beyond anything Chu Xiaotian could match. He couldn't dodge in time, and his hand was caught firmly in the man's grip.

"Little brother, I am Cheng Yuhu, the third of the Greenwood Three Tigers. I'm very happy to meet you. What should I call you?" The man's face was full of feigned joy, his hands shaking Chu Xiaotian's vigorously as if they were long-lost friends. However, the bulging muscles on his arms made it clear he was exerting force. All three wanted to teach Chu Xiaotian a lesson, but they couldn't act too brazenly in front of Xia Xue, so they resorted to this method to torment him.

Cheng Yuhu was at the eighth stage of Body Refining, possessing over a thousand pounds of force in his arms. By gripping Chu Xiaotian's hand with full strength, he clearly intended to crush it completely.

Chu Xiaotian's heart burned with rage. He had no grudge against this man, yet the fellow had resorted to such a vicious attack the moment they met. The cruelty of his nature was evident. Under the crushing pressure, Chu Xiaotian felt as if his hand bones were about to shatter. However, he was no pushover. While his physical strength couldn't compare to the giant's, the Corpse Poison within him, under his control, was far from ordinary.

Cheng Yuhu felt smug. The moment he grabbed the hand, he knew Chu Xiaotian's cultivation was at most the fourth stage of Body Refining. For someone at that level, it would be a miracle if his hand remained intact after being squeezed like this.

"Hmph, brat, that's for being so arrogant. Don't think you're so great just because a beauty favors you. Without strength, you'll only suffer more." With a cold sneer on his lips, Cheng Yuhu stared at Chu Xiaotian, increasing the pressure in his hands.

To his surprise, however, the boy opposite him, despite beads of sweat beginning to trickle down his face, didn't let out a single cry of pain. More importantly, a cold sneer, identical to his own, appeared on the boy's lips.

His hand was about to be crushed, yet Cheng Yuhu couldn't understand why Chu Xiaotian was still sneering. He soon found out. Before the sneer faded, a chill emanated from Chu Xiaotian's hand, sending a shiver down Cheng Yuhu's spine. He felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar and hurriedly let go, stumbling back several steps. He opened his palm to see two small scratches, the kind made by fingernails. There was no blood, but the edges of the wounds were a ghastly purple. A numb, itchy sensation spread from the wounds throughout his body. Visible to the naked eye, the purple color began to spread, and the itching sensation intensified with every passing second.

"Poison! You brat, you dare poison me! Big Brother, Second Brother, capture this kid! I need the antidote he's carrying!" Cheng Yuhu was no novice; the moment he saw his palm, he knew exactly what the purple color was. His face turned pale, and he immediately ordered his brothers to attack, hoping to capture Chu Xiaotian and force the antidote out of him.

"What a vicious brat, daring to hurt my brother! If I don't give you a taste of suffering today, you won't know the power of the Greenwood Three Tigers!" Cheng Dahu, the eldest, let out a cold snort. His right hand transformed into a claw, lunging for Chu Xiaotian's shoulder. The other tiger didn't say a word, swinging a black iron rod as thick as a child's arm silently toward Chu Xiaotian's knees. If that blow landed, it would be a miracle if Chu Xiaotian's legs remained intact.

Although Chu Xiaotian lacked combat experience, he had prepared for this the moment he infected Cheng Yuhu with the Corpse Poison. The two tigers attacked ruthlessly, but because he was prepared, their strikes missed. He sank his body slightly to dodge Cheng Dahu's claw, then moved forward instead of retreating, leaping to the side to avoid the iron rod and lunging toward the poisoned Cheng Yuhu behind them.