Seizing Medicine

As they spoke, everyone looked down toward the bottom of the ravine.

Several carts lay overturned halfway down the slope, while a large number of medicine chests were wedged amid the tangled fallen trees beside the cliff face.

Some of the chests had already tilted sideways, their ropes snapped, and the oilcloth covering them had been scraped through by stones. Below lay nothing but jagged rocks and rushing water.

After taking it all in, Zhang Yan quickly made arrangements: the Skin Tempering third-level disciples would secure the ropes.

The Skin Tempering second-level disciples would descend to the halfway slope and carry the medicine chests upward.

The Skin Tempering first-level disciples would form a long chain along the cliff face, serving as a human ladder to relay the chests from below to above.

Deng Qing naturally joined in as well. Half an incense stick later, he had descended to a point roughly thirty feet below the cliff top.

The wind howled between the mountainside walls, and the loose stones beneath his feet were slippery.

Deng Qing gripped the rope with one hand, received the medicine chest passed up from below with the other, then turned and handed it to the person above him.

Every turn required extraordinary care.

One careless move, and the chest could drag him off balance.

Wang Wei was above him. As he took a chest, he could not help cursing under his breath, "How is this fetching medicine? This is clearly moving things with our lives."

Deng Qing smiled but said nothing.

The group worked for nearly an hour, hauling chest after chest from the halfway slope onto the mountain road.

The outer covering of some chests had been worn through, and the scent of medicine faintly leaked out. Several chests bore seals marked for medicinal baths.

When Deng Qing saw those chests, his heart grew warm. The supplementary medicines he needed, such as Tiger Bone Powder, were most likely inside.

If these chests could be brought back, his medicinal bath would be settled.

The apothecary's chief shopkeeper personally inspected the seals. Once he confirmed that most of the medicine chests were intact, he finally let out a long breath.

Everyone began gathering the chests together again, preparing to load them onto carts and take them back to the county town.

Just then, urgent hoofbeats suddenly sounded from the other end of the mountain road.

At the bend in the road, a banner emerged—a great flag embroidered with a golden saber, snapping loudly in the mountain wind.

"People from the Golden Saber Sect. What are they doing here?"

"They must have heard this is the border between two counties and come to stir up trouble."

"The Golden Saber Sect has always been at odds with our Celebration Hall."

Amid the heated discussion, Deng Qing also raised his eyes to look.

More than twenty people had arrived, each carrying weapons. The three at the front rode on horseback, while the rest raced behind them, moving no slower than galloping horses.

The leader was a young man in dark yellow martial attire. A saber hung at his waist, and his burly frame and brows carried a cold, sharp aura.

Wang Wei leaned toward Deng Qing and whispered, "The leader is Chen Kong, an outer disciple of the Golden Saber Sect, Skin Tempering fourth level."

Chen Kong rode close, reined in his horse, and sent its head rising high. He leaped down from the saddle, his gaze sweeping first over the medicine chests before finally settling on Zhang Yan. Cupping his hands, he said, "Brother Zhang, long time no see. Looking at that sickly green color on your face, you surely did not sleep well last night?"

Zhang Yan returned the gesture. "Brother Chen, let us not beat around the bush. What are you planning, making such a grand show of it?"

Chen Kong said in a clear voice, "I received word that a shipment of medicine overturned in Blackwind Ravine."

"The eastern stretch of Blackwind Ravine falls within Dongting County's patrol jurisdiction."

"The county is strictly guarding against Donghuang Cult unrest. By order of the county magistrate, all large quantities of medicines, provisions, and weapons of unclear origin must first be sealed away, their owners identified, and only then returned."

"This cargo fell within Dongting territory. By the county magistrate's order, the Golden Saber Sect should seal it first."

The moment those words fell, everyone from Celebration Hall changed expression.

Zhang Yan held out his hand. "The cargo manifest."

Shopkeeper Zhang hurriedly pulled the manifest from his robes and handed it over.

Zhang Yan spread the manifest open and laid it flat across his palm. "Medicine from Tianshun Apothecary. The manifest, seals, and witnesses are all present. Ownership is clear, so there is no need to trouble the Golden Saber Sect with sealing it away."

Chen Kong sneered. "You say it is clear, and that makes it clear?

"If I simply let you take the medicine away, how will my Golden Saber Sect answer when the county office questions us afterward?"

Zhang Yan said, "Then have Tianshun Apothecary submit the paperwork at your county office afterward. But the medicine is leaving with me today."

As soon as he said that, Celebration Hall's people immediately stepped forward to shield the medicine chests, while the Golden Saber Sect disciples all pressed hands to their saber hilts.

The apothecary clerks backed away again and again in fright, scarcely daring to breathe.

Chen Kong said coldly, "It seems Brother Zhang does not intend to give me any face."

Zhang Yan said, "I can give you all the face you want. But not the medicine. Zhang has a mission to fulfill."

Chen Kong slowly rested his hand on his saber hilt and smiled. "I have long heard that Brother Zhang's palm techniques are steady and his blood and vitality profound. I have long wished to experience them for myself.

"How about this? If Brother Zhang can defeat me, you may take the goods away.

"If not, then we will handle this according to the rules."

Zhang Yan gave a cold snort without answering. He first looked toward Shopkeeper Zhang, since this medicine belonged to the apothecary.

Shopkeeper Zhang knew that if they delayed any longer, the medicine would spoil. Gritting his teeth, he nodded at Zhang Yan.

Zhang Yan cupped his hands toward Chen Kong. "I have also long wanted to see just how much heat Brother Chen's Yin Saber possesses."

"Try it, and you will know!"

As his words fell, Chen Kong drew his saber. Its blade was narrow and curved, and it gave a clear ring as it left the sheath.

Zhang Yan did not use a weapon. His hands slowly lowered, blood and vitality surging through his palms as a heavy, blazing warmth gradually spread from his body.

The next instant, Chen Kong moved first. He sprang up and swung his saber straight at Zhang Yan, the blade flashing so swiftly it carved a golden line through the air.

Deng Qing saw only a blur before the saber had reached Zhang Yan.

Zhang Yan twisted aside and stomped his foot. Gravel flew up from the mountain road as he dodged sideways, advancing instead of retreating, then struck his palm toward Chen Kong's shoulder and chest.

Chen Kong withdrew his saber and slashed back. The blade skimmed past Zhang Yan's arm, so fast its path was almost impossible to see.

Zhang Yan's arm sank, blood and vitality swelling beneath his skin and flesh as he forcibly shook apart the saber force.

The instant saber and palm collided, even the windblown sand beside the mountain road was sent spiraling upward.

The moment the two exchanged blows, the surrounding disciples immediately retreated.

Deng Qing also took half a step back. After watching only a few exchanges, he was utterly shaken.

Fast—too fast. Chen Kong's saber was fast, but Zhang Yan's palms were fast as well.

It was not merely speed. The force and blood vitality the two unleashed were far beyond anything a Skin Tempering first-level martial artist could match.

Deng Qing had fought Mountain-Crossing Wind, a Skin Tempering second-level martial artist, to the death. Yet as he watched Zhang Yan and Chen Kong fight, he finally understood just how far he stood from a true outer disciple.

For a time, saber flashes and palm shadows intertwined across the mountain road. The two fought dozens of exchanges in rapid succession, neither able to do anything to the other.

Chen Kong suddenly gave a cold laugh. A tiny black bell slid from his left sleeve.

The bell was no bigger than a thumb and black all over. Chen Kong gave it a gentle shake, and its ring sounded like a grieving ghost weeping beside one's ear.

Suddenly, a cloud of gray-black mist burst from the bell. Hugging the ground, it shot forward and pounced at Zhang Yan's back.

Everyone from Celebration Hall was horrified. Someone cried out, "A ghost pet?"

Deng Qing's heart jolted as well. He had long heard that evil spirits existed in this world, but hearing about them and seeing one with his own eyes were entirely different things.

Deng Qing felt a chill run down his back as he watched. If that thing lunged at me, I probably would not even be able to touch it, much less drive it back.

He fixed his eyes on Zhang Yan, wanting to see how he would respond—and hoping to steal a little skill from the encounter.