A Lesson

(Forget Worry)

Although Chu Xiaotian had a powerful body, after spending the entire morning climbing up and down, Xia Xue's antics had nearly left him completely drained. After handing the last scarlet lingzhi to Xia Xue, Chu Xiaotian lay straight down on the ground and refused to get up.

"Big Brother Xiaotian, get up! We still have lots of herbs to gather." Xia Xue walked over to Chu Xiaotian, who was sprawled there like a puddle of mud, then crouched in front of him and spoke sweetly, smiling brightly. Her delicate hands took hold of his arms and gently shook them, her manner quite coquettish.

"Ah..." Under normal circumstances, Chu Xiaotian would have been fired up and taken the chance to feel her up a little. But this time, at Xia Xue's words, he could only cry out before tipping his head to the side and passing out, too exhausted to move. In the instant before he lost consciousness, he thought he saw a glint of slyness flash in Xia Xue's eyes.

"Heehee, you wouldn't tell me the truth, so I'll tire you out until you collapse. Hmm, just collapsing isn't enough. I'll have to make you suffer a little, too." Looking at Chu Xiaotian lying motionless on the ground, Xia Xue chuckled to herself. Her gaze kept sweeping over the dense forest, as if she were searching for something she could use to torment him.

Poor Chu Xiaotian. He would never have guessed in his dreams that Xia Xue had made him gather herbs all morning just to teach him a lesson. All because he hadn't told her where he'd gone the night before.

Half a quarter of an hour later, Xia Xue and Chu Xiaotian were heading back to the valley where they lived. On Chu Xiaotian's back was a yellow stone nearly as tall as he was, weighing at least three or four hundred jin. This was the last medicinal ingredient Xia Xue had mentioned. According to her, the stone's core was an excellent material for alchemy, but it could only be extracted during the refining process. Her Qiankun Bag was too small to hold it, so he'd have to carry it back for her. Chu Xiaotian had nearly collapsed again, but after a few "sweet words" from Xia Xue, the stone ended up on his back.

"Xiaoxue, are you going to that old lecher's shop? Didn't we gather plenty of herbs this morning?" On a street in Greenwood Town, Xia Xue and Chu Xiaotian walked side by side toward the town's only herb shop, the Hundred Herb Pavilion. Chu Xiaotian's body had to be said to recover remarkably quickly. He'd carried that stone back in the morning and collapsed as soon as he got home, but after eating a few grilled fish, he was bouncing around again, following Xia Xue into town to buy herbs.

"Mm, alchemy requires lots of herbs, so what we gathered earlier isn't enough, of course. We can't go deeper into the forest to gather them, so we can only buy them at the Hundred Herb Pavilion. Besides, I still haven't given them the pills I promised last time. If I keep putting it off, they'll think I've gone back on my word. Then they might stop selling me herbs, and that would be a disaster." Xia Xue nodded slightly and glanced at Chu Xiaotian with a smile.

That was indeed the truth. Although the shopkeeper at the Hundred Herb Pavilion wouldn't dare offend Xia Xue, she couldn't afford to offend them, either. She had to buy from them many herbs she wasn't strong enough to gather herself. And as long as she sold her pills to the Pavilion, they sold her herbs at the same price they paid to buy them. For an alchemist like Xia Xue, who had no powerful backing, that was a considerable temptation.

Xia Xue had stated a fact, but the faint note of helplessness and vulnerability in her voice made Chu Xiaotian's blood surge. An urge to sweep away every obstacle in her path welled up in him, and the words spilled straight from his heart. "Xiaoxue, don't worry. Once I can defeat the monsters deeper in the forest, I'll take you there to gather herbs. Then you can pick whatever you want. You won't have to go to that old lecher's shop again and let him take liberties with you."

"Wonderful! You said it, so you'd better grow stronger soon!" Xia Xue seemed to have forgotten that Chu Xiaotian couldn't cultivate. The moment he finished speaking, she was already clapping and cheering around him, her face alight with delight.

"Don't worry. You won't have to wait long." Xia Xue's reaction stirred Chu Xiaotian again, and he couldn't help grabbing her hand. He was finding it harder and harder to resist getting handsy with her.

This time, Xia Xue didn't immediately wrench her hand free. She let him hold it for a few breaths before slipping it away. Then she looked into Chu Xiaotian's eyes and slowly nodded. She still couldn't say she particularly liked him, but at least she liked him a little now. Although Chu Xiaotian holding her hand made her shy, she didn't dislike it.

Xia Xue didn't mind Chu Xiaotian holding her hand, but plenty of people in Greenwood Town did. With her looks, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call her the dream girl of every man in town. Countless people had vied to flatter her and get close, only to be ignored. Yet now she was showing favor to this boy who looked like a savage. Even if they forced themselves to stay calm, they couldn't manage it. Three burly men glared at Chu Xiaotian and strode over, blocking the pair's way.

"Greetings, Miss Xia. May I ask who this young brother beside you is? We've never seen him before. My brothers and I would like to get acquainted. Would you introduce us?" Even the smallest of the three men stood a full six feet three inches tall, and his arms were several inches thicker than Chu Xiaotian's thighs. Standing in front of the pair, the three men formed a wall of muscle. The one who spoke was the "shortest" of them. Without waiting for Xia Xue or Chu Xiaotian to answer, he reached out and grabbed Chu Xiaotian.

The burly man's strength was far beyond Chu Xiaotian's. Chu Xiaotian couldn't dodge in time, and the man caught his hand in a firm grip.

"Young brother, I'm Cheng Yuhu, the third of the Greenwood Three Tigers. It's a pleasure to meet you. What's your name?" Cheng Yuhu beamed as he gripped Chu Xiaotian's hand with both of his and shook it over and over, as though they were old friends meeting at last. But the muscles bulging along his arms made it clear that he was squeezing hard. All three wanted to teach Chu Xiaotian a lesson, but couldn't attack him in front of Xia Xue. So they had to settle for this way of tormenting him.

Cheng Yuhu was at the eighth stage of Body Refining, and his arms together could exert over a thousand jin of force. Now he was squeezing Chu Xiaotian's hand with all his strength, clearly intending to crush it completely.

Rage surged through Chu Xiaotian. He and this man had no grudge, yet the moment they met, the man had attacked him with such vicious force. His malicious nature was plain to see. With Cheng Yuhu squeezing him like that, Chu Xiaotian felt as though the bones in his hand were about to shatter. But he wasn't an easy mark, either. Although he couldn't match the burly man's strength, the Corpse Poison within his body could be formidable when he controlled it.

Cheng Yuhu was secretly pleased. The moment he'd taken hold of Chu Xiaotian's hand, he'd realized that Chu Xiaotian's cultivation was at most at the fourth stage of Body Refining. If someone at that level could keep his hand intact while Cheng Yuhu gripped it like this, then pigs could fly.

Hmph, brat. That'll teach you not to know your place. Don't think having a beauty take a liking to you is something to enjoy. Without strength, all it'll bring you is misery. With a cold smile tugging at his lips, Cheng Yuhu stared at Chu Xiaotian and gradually increased the force in his hands.

What surprised him was that although sweat was beginning to bead on the other boy's face, he still hadn't cried out in pain. More importantly, a cold smile had appeared on the boy's lips too.

Cheng Yuhu couldn't imagine why Chu Xiaotian was still smiling when his hand was about to be crushed. But he soon understood. Before that smile had faded, a chill spread from Chu Xiaotian's hand. Cheng Yuhu shuddered violently, his body plunging into an icy abyss. He hurriedly let go and staggered back several steps. When he opened his palms, he saw a small cut in the center of each one, just like a mark from a fingernail. There was no blood around the wounds; instead, their edges had turned an eerie purple. A tingling itch spread from them throughout his body. The purple was visibly spreading, and the itching grew more intense along with it.

"Poison! You dared poison me, brat? Big brother, second brother, capture him alive! I want the antidote from him!" Cheng Yuhu wasn't ignorant. One look at his palms told him what the purple was. His face changed dramatically, and he immediately ordered his two older brothers to seize Chu Xiaotian and force the antidote out of him.

"You vicious brat! You dared hurt my brother. If I don't teach you a lesson today, you won't know how fearsome the Greenwood Three Tigers are!" Cheng Dahu was Cheng Yuhu's eldest brother. Hearing Cheng Yuhu's shout, he gave a cold snort and clawed at Chu Xiaotian's shoulder with his right hand. The third tiger didn't say a word; he simply swung a pitch-black iron rod as thick as a child's arm toward Chu Xiaotian's knees. If that blow landed, it would be a miracle if Chu Xiaotian's legs were left intact.

Chu Xiaotian had little experience fighting, but he'd already prepared for an attack when he sent the Corpse Poison into Cheng Yuhu's body. The two tigers struck viciously, but thanks to his foresight, neither attack landed. He dipped his body slightly to evade Cheng Dahu's claw, then sprang to the side instead of retreating, dodged the iron rod, and pounced toward Cheng Yuhu, who stood behind the other two with both hands poisoned.