Putting Eye Drops In

Fan Qingyang's tone was almost pleading. He was not familiar with Wu Tian, and the only person he could rely on now was Xue Zhao. Since they both served under Wu Han, surely Xue Zhao would give him some face.

Xue Zhao was also pondering in secret.

He recalled Jiang Feng's strange behavior that morning, as well as the faint scent of smoke lingering in that cramped little room. He too found the man suspicious, but he could not be certain.

"Fan Qingyang, did you truly see clearly that the person in the back courtyard storeroom was Jiang Feng? Do you dare take responsibility for your words?"

Fan Qingyang nodded desperately, the fat on his face jiggling along with the motion.

"I couldn't possibly mistake him! That voice, that build—it was absolutely Jiang Feng. There's no mistake!"

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Xue Zhao pondered for a moment, then walked up to Wu Tian and said in a low voice, "Young Master, I also think Jiang Feng's actions have been rather strange. He is indeed suspicious. How about we start by investigating him?"

Wu Tian did not particularly care. He had intended to turn the entire Medicine Hall upside down anyway. It made no difference where they began.

"Shopkeeper Xie, I'll go with them first. I'll have to trouble you to search the remaining people here."

Xie Shu, the attending shopkeeper, stroked his beard and nodded faintly. "Young Master, rest assured. Leave this place to me."

Before long, the group arrived at the small courtyard where the apprentices lived.

Eager to prove himself, Fan Qingyang charged ahead. With one kick, he smashed open the already dilapidated wooden door, then rushed inside and began a carpet-style search.

Wu Tian gave the guards behind him a look. Several burly men immediately crowded into the cramped room and began searching it from top to bottom.

Jiang Feng's expression remained calm throughout. He merely stood quietly to one side, watching the group bustle around the room.

There had not been much in the room to begin with, and it was turned upside down in no time. The guards came out empty-handed, while Fan Qingyang's face was filled with disbelief.

"Didn't you find anything suspicious?" Wu Tian asked coldly.

The lead guard nodded solemnly. "Reporting to Young Master, the room is very clean. There is nothing of value inside."

Fan Qingyang's expression had already turned rather ugly.

He refused to believe that Jiang Feng could have disposed of everything in such a short time.

He had known Jiang Feng for more than a day or two. It could even be said that, in the entire Medicine Hall, no one knew Jiang Feng better than he did.

Suddenly, his tiny eyes lit up. He turned and shouted at Wu Tian.

"That's not right! The things must still be hidden on him. He hasn't had time to put them back in the room! Young Master, search him quickly. He must be carrying something shady!"

That near-commanding tone made Wu Tian's brow furrow slightly. However, he did not flare up, merely glancing at the guards.

The guards all stepped up to Jiang Feng.

Jiang Feng did not resist. He even cooperatively raised both arms and allowed them to search him. After searching for quite some time, they only found a few pieces of broken silver in his robes.

"Young Master, as an apprentice at the Medicine Hall, isn't it normal for him to have a few pieces of broken silver on him?"

The silver on him had naturally come from Wu Han.

But silver did not have names written on it. Even if Wu Han himself came to identify it, he might not be able to tell.

Wu Tian said nothing, merely turning his cold gaze toward Xue Zhao and Fan Qingyang. The atmosphere became somewhat awkward.

After hesitating for a moment, Xue Zhao gritted his teeth. "There is still one place we haven't searched. Young Master, please wait a moment."

With that, he darted into the room and swung his fists, smashing apart every spot Jiang Feng had repaired that morning.

He was convinced that Jiang Feng's actions today had been strange for a reason. Nine times out of ten, the items had been embedded inside the walls.

Watching Xue Zhao wreak havoc inside the room, Jiang Feng let out a deep sigh and said in a low, sorrowful voice.

"Alas, if they wish to accuse someone, why need they lack a pretext? I only wanted to make my own life a little better, yet I ended up stirring up such trouble.

Could it be that I have to die before their wishes are fulfilled?"

If he did not put in some eye drops now, when would he? Those two were targeting him so viciously that they wanted him dead. Naturally, he would not let them have an easy time either.

His voice was not loud, but Wu Tian, standing nearby, heard every word. Wu Tian's expression immediately darkened.

He did not care whether Jiang Feng lived or died. A lowly nobody like him was not even on the same level. But what he cared about was someone daring to use him as a weapon, especially at such a critical time.

In only a short while, Xue Zhao came out dusting off his clothes, his face filled with confusion and unwillingness. He reported in a low voice, "Young Master, there truly is nothing related to Second Young Master. It seems... Jiang Feng was wrongly accused."

"Hmph, wrongly accused?" Wu Tian snorted, his tone growing increasingly grim. "In my view, this was likely deliberate. You two sang one tune and echoed another—did you think that because I had just arrived, I would be easy to fool?"

The moment his words fell, a terrifying aura suddenly spread from Wu Tian's body, firmly enveloping Xue Zhao and Fan Qingyang.

Xue Zhao's face instantly turned deathly pale. Fan Qingyang trembled all over, his legs going weak as he dropped to his knees on the spot.

"Young Master, I... I absolutely had no such intentions!"

Xue Zhao had never expected Wu Tian's reaction to be so extreme. He opened his mouth to explain, yet had no idea where to begin.

Wu Tian said no more. He stepped forward and clamped five fingers around Xue Zhao's shoulder like iron pincers. He moved so quickly that everyone merely saw a blur before his hand had already sunk deeply into Xue Zhao's shoulder socket.

Then his fingers exerted force, releasing a burst of inch force. With a sickening crack, Xue Zhao's shoulder blade was crushed to powder by Wu Tian's bare hand.

"Aah—!"

A heart-rending scream exploded from Xue Zhao's throat. His entire body instantly went limp, beads of sweat as large as peas rolling down his forehead. With his other hand, he clutched desperately at the collapsed shoulder socket, trembling violently from head to toe.

"Young Master Wu... I-I truly know my mistake. Please, spare me this once!" Xue Zhao pleaded repeatedly, his voice distorted by the agony.

Fan Qingyang, kneeling nearby, was already shaking like a sieve, all color drained from his face. If the ground had opened with a crack, he would have plunged into it without hesitation.

Wu Tian remained expressionless, his gaze cold as ice forged from frost. Slowly, he raised his other hand, spreading his fingers again as he unhurriedly reached for Xue Zhao's other shoulder.

Xue Zhao's face was full of terror. Instinctively, he wanted to flee, but that aura had nailed his body firmly in place.

Before a true martial artist, fleeing was no different from courting death.

Just then, a burst of hurried footsteps came from outside the courtyard.

Moments later, a black-clad guard hurried into the courtyard and bowed. "Young Master, Second Young Master has awakened. He wishes to see you, saying that he has an extremely important matter to tell you in person."

"I understand. I'll go at once."

Wu Tian answered without looking back. The hand hovering above Xue Zhao's shoulder, about to exert force and crush it again, finally withdrew slowly. He casually brushed at his sleeve, as though he had merely flicked away a speck of dust.

He looked coldly down at Xue Zhao, who lay limp on the ground, and said each word distinctly, "Do not play tricks in front of me again. Remember, you will not get a second chance."

Xue Zhao nodded as if pounding garlic, even his voice trembling. "Young Master... rest assured, it will never happen again..."

"Hmph. Continue searching. Turn the entire Medicine Hall upside down. Tonight, I want news of the thief."

After tossing out those words, Wu Tian left the courtyard with his guards and attendants.

That terrifying pressure abruptly vanished, and Fan Qingyang's body went limp as he collapsed onto the ground. A large wet patch had already spread beneath him, reeking foully.

He struggled to raise his head, intending to say a few concerned words to Xue Zhao, when he saw a black palm carrying the whistle of wind swing straight toward his face.

Slap!

A crisp slap echoed through the entire courtyard. Fan Qingyang's fat body was sent rolling two and a half times across the ground before barely coming to a stop. Half his face had swollen into a pig's head, while shattered teeth mixed with bloody spittle scattered across the ground.

"It's all because of you, you stupid pig!" Xue Zhao's face twisted viciously, the fury in his eyes nearly bursting forth. "If not for you, how would I have fallen into such a state? I truly want to skin you alive right now!"

He had originally wanted to use this opportunity to climb the high branch of the Wu Family's eldest young master. Yet now, not only had he gained nothing, he had provoked the other man's disgust and even lost the use of an arm.

He placed the entire debt on Fan Qingyang's head.

"If you aren't ten parts certain, don't come looking for me again! Otherwise, I will personally kill you!"

After dropping those words, Xue Zhao rushed from the courtyard without looking back, heading straight for the Medical Hall. He feared that if he delayed even one more step, this arm would be ruined beyond saving.

Fan Qingyang wriggled about on the ground for quite some time before painfully managing to climb back up. He felt wronged to the extreme. He had clearly seen Jiang Feng, and he had not lied from beginning to end. How had things turned out like this?

He turned his head toward Jiang Feng, who was lazily leaning against the doorframe and watching the show, his eyes filled with venomous resentment, hatred nearly solid enough to take form.

"Jiang Feng, just you wait... I will make sure you die an ugly death!"