Hands in the Dispensary

The Soto Great Soul Arena never closed at night.

The Dueling Platforms out front blazed with light, and shouts rose one after another. The dispensary in the back courtyard was much quieter. Only two lamps hung beneath the corridor eaves, their shadows swaying wildly in the wind.

As Yuan Yu, Tang San, and Ning Rongrong rounded the back courtyard, they saw a menial worker slip through a side door.

He wore the Spirit Arena's gray uniform and carried a medicine case. His shoulders were hunched tight as he walked.

Tang San said quietly, "That's him."

Yuan Yu asked, "You're sure?"

"His cuffs still carry the scent from when he delivered the letter. And he's handled Cold Vine Powder."

Ning Rongrong glanced at them both.

"One of you reads blade markings, and the other sniffs out medicine. You two have had practice."

Yuan Yu said, "Can't be helped. When you come from a poor place, you learn a few useful skills."

Ning Rongrong let that pass and headed straight for the main entrance.

Yuan Yu hurriedly caught her arm.

"Little princess, are you planning to walk right in?"

"What else?"

"We're here to find evidence."

Ning Rongrong took out a Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect Token.

"We can find evidence through the front door."

The guard at the dispensary entrance started to stop her, but stepped aside the moment he saw the token.

Ning Rongrong kept her voice low.

"I want to see the pharmacist."

The guard did not dare stop her.

Yuan Yu murmured, "That status of yours really comes in handy."

Tang San said, "Faster than climbing a wall."

A middle-aged pharmacist came out of the dispensary.

He bowed as soon as he saw Ning Rongrong.

"Miss Ning, what brings you to the dispensary so late?"

Ning Rongrong said, "Shrek fights tomorrow night. We're here to inspect our medicine case."

The pharmacist's smile stiffened.

"That's against the rules."

Ning Rongrong raised her eyes.

"Someone from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect nearly got hurt by a Medicine Blade in your Spirit Arena. Now I want to inspect the medicine, and you're talking to me about rules?"

Sweat beaded on the pharmacist's forehead.

Standing behind her, Yuan Yu nearly applauded.

The little princess's temper had been tested since she left home, but she had picked up a few skills too.

The pharmacist had no choice but to step aside.

Tang San entered the dispensary and soon found the medicine case prepared for Shrek's match the next night.

The dispensary smelled strongly of medicine.

Rows of cabinets lined the wall, each drawer labeled with a medicine's name. Tang San did not rummage through them. He only examined the area around the case.

There was a fresh scrape along the edge of its lid.

Someone had pried open the clasp, then fastened it again.

Anyone who had not spent years handling medicinal ingredients might have missed it.

Tang San opened the case, and his fingers stopped.

"It's been swapped."

Yuan Yu came over.

"What has?"

Tang San pinched up a little powder and held it to his nose.

"It looks like my Antidote Powder, but there's Cold Vine Powder mixed in."

"What would that do?"

"When heated, the powder would scatter before it could work. When Ma Hongjun used his line of fire to drive off the poison, the medicine would go astray, and the poisonous mist would scatter with it."

Tang San placed a little powder in a small dish, then borrowed a flame from a nearby lamp.

The powder heated up. A wisp of white smoke rose from it, then suddenly spread outward.

Ning Rongrong instinctively stepped back.

Tang San shielded her with his sleeve.

"It's a tiny amount. You're fine."

Yuan Yu stared at the spreading smoke.

"If we used this tomorrow night, Fatty's line of fire would carry the poisonous mist toward our back line?"

"Most likely," Tang San said. "I'd think the powder had failed, and Fatty would think he'd misdirected his fire. One mistake would be enough for Imperial Fighting to seize an opening."

Ning Rongrong gripped the token tighter.

"They want us to make the mistake ourselves."

Yuan Yu said, "And keep the Spirit Arena looking spotless."

If the poisonous mist ran wild on the Dueling Platform, Ning Rongrong and Oscar would be in the greatest danger.

Tang San's preparations would fall apart as well.

The pharmacist hurriedly said, "I didn't know. I never touched that case."

The Rosy Cloud Pattern glowed faintly.

Yuan Yu studied the pharmacist for a moment.

Half of what he said was true.

The pharmacist had not swapped the medicine himself.

But he knew someone had come in.

Yuan Yu asked, "Where's the worker who came in just now?"

Sweat broke out on the pharmacist's forehead.

"What worker?"

Ning Rongrong said coldly, "Would you like to say that again?"

The pharmacist's lips moved.

"He left through the back door."

"You knew he came in."

The pharmacist did not dare look at Yuan Yu.

"I'm only a pharmacist. I do what the people above tell me."

Ning Rongrong asked, "Who are the people above?"

The pharmacist fell silent.

The Rosy Cloud Pattern did not light up.

The pharmacist truly did not know.

The people in the Spirit Arena were kept apart, layer by layer. The ones taking money did not know who paid it; the ones opening doors did not know what the visitors intended to do.

Yuan Yu wasted no more time.

He had already turned away.

"Little San, the medicine case is yours. Rongrong, keep an eye on the pharmacist."

"Don't worry."

The back alley was narrow, with puddles on the ground.

The worker had already reached its mouth.

He looked back, saw Yuan Yu, and immediately picked up speed.

The Thunder Pattern flashed beneath Yuan Yu's feet.

In the next instant, Yuan Yu was standing in front of him.

The worker turned to run.

Yuan Yu held the sheathed Sun Wheel Blade across his throat.

"Run again, and I'll keep your legs."

The worker's knees buckled. He nearly fell.

Yuan Yu did not deal with him there. He hauled him back to the dispensary.

Tang San had already put the medicine case in order. Ning Rongrong stood before the pharmacist, who did not dare say another word.

Yuan Yu dropped the worker on the floor.

"Who told you to swap the medicine?"

The worker kept his head down.

"I don't know."

The Rosy Cloud Pattern flashed.

Yuan Yu said, "Try another answer."

The worker's voice trembled.

"Someone paid me to put a packet of powder inside. His face was covered. I didn't get a good look."

"What did he give you?"

The worker pulled a small token from inside his clothes.

It was not large. A faint Snow character had been carved into it.

Ning Rongrong frowned.

"Snow?"

Tang San looked at Yuan Yu.

Yuan Yu took the token.

It felt cold in his hand, and its material was unlike ordinary iron.

Its edges had been worn smooth, as though someone had spent a long time turning it over in their hands.

But the carving of the Snow character was new.

When Yuan Yu rubbed it lightly with his thumb, he could still feel tiny burrs.

He turned it over and saw a fine scratch on the back.

It looked like the trace of an old mark that had been botched, then ground away.

Tang San leaned in for a look.

"The original mark was ground off. This Snow character was carved on afterward."

Ning Rongrong asked, "Then could the Snow character be a false lead too?"

Yuan Yu closed his hand around the token.

"Maybe it's fake. Or maybe it was made too obviously fake."

The Rosy Cloud Pattern gave him no answer. It only made the chill feel heavier.

This did not belong to Mr. Xu.

Mr. Xu was only the hand reaching out in front. Whoever had passed along the token was the real trouble.

Someone else was behind him.

Just then, footsteps sounded outside the dispensary.

The Spirit Arena supervisor walked in, his face dark.

"Lord Myriad Phenomena, what are you doing?"

Yuan Yu tossed the tampered powder onto the table.

"Catching a thief."

The supervisor saw the powder and the worker. His lips pressed into a thin line.

Ning Rongrong raised the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect Token.

"We'll keep tomorrow night's medicine case ourselves. And the Spirit Arena owes me an explanation."

The supervisor opened his mouth.

In the end, he could only nod.

Tang San packed the medicine case away again.

"This is enough."

Yuan Yu looked at the Snow-Character Token.

"I suppose tomorrow night's match time has changed too?"

The supervisor said nothing.

An attendant hurried in from outside.

"Supervisor, word from the VIP seats: tomorrow night's exhibition match has been moved up to the first bout."

Ning Rongrong gave a cold laugh.

Tang San slung the medicine case over his shoulder.

Yuan Yu smiled.

"Looks like they're afraid we'll have too long to prepare."

He put away the Snow-Character Token.

The Rosy Cloud Pattern glowed faintly.

Another hand had shown itself in this scheme.