The moment Xue Zhao stepped into the room, his eyes locked onto Jiang Feng like nails, and his voice cracked like thunder:
"Jiang Feng, you'd better tell me the truth! Why didn't Fan Qingyang and the others come back? Did you get them killed?"
His furious shout reverberated through the reception hall. Even those outside could hear it clearly.
News that the expedition team had been attacked and only Jiang Feng had survived had already spread like wildfire through the Medicine Hall. A crowd of curious onlookers had gathered outside the hall, craning their necks to find out what had happened.
"Manager Xue, I was questioning Jiang Feng. You barge in and start shouting accusations—do you really think so little of this old man?"
Xie Shu spoke with a cold expression, his tone tinged with displeasure.
Xue Zhao froze. Only then did he realize Xie Shu was there too. The ferocity on his face eased, and he quickly plastered on an apologetic smile.
"Please don't be angry, Shopkeeper Xie. I meant no disrespect to you. I was simply too furious."
He pointed at Jiang Feng, his tone still aggressive.
"You may not know this, but Jiang Feng has a rotten character. He's always been lazy and slippery, and he lies through his teeth. Plenty of apprentices have complained about him.
"I suspect there was no evil spirit at all. He clearly made up this absurd story to cover up his own crimes."
Xue Zhao spoke with such conviction that even Xie Shu began to waver.
He really didn't know Jiang Feng well, and he knew the boy had never been well liked at the Medicine Hall. He was pushed around at every turn.
He seemed pitiful, but who could say that a pitiful person had no hateful side?
Song Huai thought highly of the boy, but if he truly had a rotten character, Xie Shu would rather offend his old friend than send trouble to his doorstep.
He turned to Jiang Feng, his gaze taking on a more scrutinizing edge.
"Jiang Feng, tell me carefully what the evil spirit looked like, and how you escaped its clutches."
Seeing Xie Shu take his side, Xue Zhao's arrogance returned. He sneered in agreement.
"Exactly. Go on, tell us.
"I'd like to hear what kind of legendary adventure a Martial Apprentice who hasn't even reached the second level of the Blood-Moving Realm had, to survive at the hands of an evil spirit!"
Jiang Feng didn't look at the swaggering Xue Zhao. He had expected the man to come looking for trouble.
He answered Xie Shu's questions earnestly, speaking at an unhurried pace.
"Shopkeeper Xie, it was my first time seeing that evil spirit, so my description might not be entirely accurate.
"It had no physical form. It looked like a mass of black smoke twisted into a human shape. I'm not sure how it appeared."
"At first, it was attached to Fan Qingyang. Using his body, it went on to control the others.
"I only escaped by sheer luck. Fan Qingyang and the others had excluded me, so the thing didn't target me right away."
He paused as if recalling some detail, then added, "Everyone it controlled had a circle of thin black lines around their necks. And..."
As Jiang Feng's description grew more specific, Xie Shu's expression gradually changed. His initial doubt and scrutiny gave way to seriousness and concern.
As the Medicine Hall's resident shopkeeper, he knew far more than the people below him.
The traits Jiang Feng described matched the evil spirit that had recently infiltrated Black Water Town almost exactly.
That alone was enough to convince him Jiang Feng wasn't lying.
Xue Zhao, however, had no idea. As soon as Jiang Feng finished his description, he sneered.
"Make it up! Go on, keep making it up! Jiang Feng, how come I never realized you had such a talent for spinning stories?
"With a gift like that, you should go work as a storyteller at a tavern in town. Wasting away as an apprentice at the Medicine Hall is a real shame!"
He turned to Xie Shu and gave a solemn salute, his tone growing even more aggressive.
"Shopkeeper Xie, there's no need to listen to his nonsense any longer. I'll take him away and question him thoroughly. I'll get to the bottom of this!"
With that, he waved to his men behind him. "Move! Seize him!"
The men took the order and rushed toward Jiang Feng without a word.
Jiang Feng's gaze turned icy. His hand quietly found the dagger hidden at his waist.
The very situation he least wanted had arrived. If Xue Zhao got him under control, the truth would be whatever the man chose to invent.
After what had happened to Fan Qingyang, Jiang Feng didn't believe he had any chance of surviving.
Just as he was about to risk everything and fight his way out, an old but authoritative voice rang out.
"Everyone, stop!"
As the words fell, a heavy aura instantly enveloped the entire reception hall.
Everyone present froze in place as if under a restraining spell, not daring to move.
Xie Shu stepped out from behind the crowd, his expression cold as he stood in front of Jiang Feng. His gaze swept over Xue Zhao and the others like a blade.
"Xue Zhao, take a good look at where you are. This is not a place where you can run wild."
Xue Zhao's expression changed drastically, and the hairs on his back stood on end.
Only then did he suddenly remember Xie Shu's strength. The unremarkable-looking old man was a true Skin-Refining Realm martial artist.
He might not have been the strongest in the Benevolent Heart Medicine Hall, but he was certainly among its most powerful.
That was why even Wu Han and Wu Tian treated him with such respect and never dared offend him lightly.
Xue Zhao hurriedly bowed, his voice dropping several notches.
"I'm sorry, Shopkeeper Xie. I was out of line. I'll leave everything to you while we're here."
A glint of cold light flashed through Xie Shu's slightly cloudy eyes.
On the surface, Xue Zhao was admitting fault. Beneath that, he was reminding Xie Shu that Jiang Feng was still an apprentice under his authority. Once they left this room, Xue Zhao could still do whatever he wanted to him, and Xie Shu would have no right to interfere.
Xie Shu gave a cold snort and slowly withdrew his aura, his voice still icy.
"I can vouch for him. What Jiang Feng just said is most likely true.
"Besides, this sort of thing can't be faked. Whether an evil spirit has appeared or not can be confirmed by sending someone to the scene.
"But judging by his description, that wasn't the evil spirit itself. It was a Chang Ghost born from the evil spirit."
Even so, Xie Shu still seemed puzzled. He looked at Jiang Feng and asked gravely, "But even a Chang Ghost isn't something a handful of apprentices like you could deal with. Jiang Feng, how exactly did you escape with your life?"
Xie Shu already believed Jiang Feng. He was probably asking now out of curiosity.
Was it luck?
He didn't think Jiang Feng had much to do with the word "lucky."
The boy had survived this long at the Medicine Hall without being tormented to death. That alone meant he was tough as nails.
Seeing Xie Shu step in to defend him, Jiang Feng finally felt some of the tension leave his taut nerves. His hand quietly slipped away from the dagger at his waist.
Meeting Xie Shu's gaze, he answered earnestly.
"Shopkeeper Xie, I didn't escape from the Chang Ghost."
Xie Shu frowned even more deeply. "What do you mean?"
Jiang Feng's expression was calm and open as he said, word by word, "I killed it, then ran back."
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