Western City Apothecary

The Western City Apothecary stood on an unremarkable street.

Its storefront was small, its signboard weathered, and dozens of rows of medicine drawers lined the wall behind the counter. During the day, most customers were servants from minor noble households, buying ordinary herbs to calm the nerves, improve circulation, or strengthen the bones.

When Bai Jin entered the Gate, the shopkeeper was bent over an abacus.

He looked up at Bai Jin and froze for a moment. Then he saw Tang San, Xiao Wu, and Zhu Zhuqing, and a smile spread across his face.

"What medicine can I get for you?"

Bai Jin looked at Tang San.

Tang San walked to the counter. His nostrils twitched slightly as his fingertips brushed the edges of the medicine drawers.

"Nightshade root, mandrake powder, red-thread vine, blood-sinking grass." He named them one by one. "Mixed together, these herbs numb the meridians, dull pain, and make the blood surge for a short time. At a higher dose, a person can no longer tell pain from excitement."

The shopkeeper's smile stiffened.

Xiao Wu frowned. "What kind of medicine is that?"

"It isn't medicine for treating illness," Tang San said quietly. "It's for screening people."

Zhu Zhuqing had already retreated to the Gate. With a slight shift of her body, she blocked the shopkeeper's escape route to the rear courtyard.

The shopkeeper gave a dry laugh. "Young sir, you must be joking. How herbs are combined depends on the physician..."

Before he could finish, Bai Jin tapped the counter.

He pressed a black broken token down before the shopkeeper's eyes.

The shopkeeper's pupils contracted.

In that instant, a Soul Ring lit up beneath his feet. He shot backward, and the wooden Gate to the rear courtyard exploded open.

Zhu Zhuqing moved.

The Hell Spirit Cat's speed turned her into a black blur in the cramped apothecary, but a cloud of blue-green poison mist suddenly surged from the shopkeeper, forcing her to dodge aside.

Tang San's expression changed. "Don't touch it!"

But Bai Jin had already vanished.

An instant later, the shopkeeper slammed into an invisible wall.

He had been only half a step from the back Gate, yet it was as though space itself had shoved him away. He crashed to the floor, his face full of terror.

"Why run?" Bai Jin strolled over. "I haven't even said who's paying for the medicine."

The shopkeeper gritted his teeth, and a poisoned needle slid from his sleeve.

It had flown barely three inches when it stopped in midair.

At the same time, a cold snort came from the apothecary Gate.

"What filthy thing dares trade on this old man's reputation for poison?"

The temperature inside seemed to drop.

A gaunt, green-haired old man stood in the Gate, his gaze like a blade steeped in venom. The moment he appeared, every herbal scent in the shop was overwhelmed by a fishy chill that made scalps prickle.

Xiao Wu instinctively took half a step back.

Tang San's gaze grew grave.

Poison Douluo, Dugu Bo.

Bai Jin turned his head toward him. "Your timing's good."

Dugu Bo sneered. "If I hadn't come, would everyone in Heaven Dou City think this shabby shop was selling Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor poison?"

Bai Jin considered that. "Having someone ride on your reputation is pretty embarrassing."

Dugu Bo's eye twitched. "Brat, who are you calling embarrassing?"

"Whoever asked."

Tang San quietly edged a step to the side.

He could see it now: when Bai Jin spoke to a Titled Douluo, courtesy never entered into it. Even more frightening, the other party actually seemed able to take it.

Dugu Bo stared at Bai Jin for a long moment, then turned his gaze to Tang San.

"Did you identify those herbs by smell?"

Tang San cupped his fists. "This junior knows a little about medicinal properties."

"A little?" Dugu Bo scoffed. "You smelled out blood-sinking grass in the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, and you knew the formula was used to screen people. If that's a little, every apothecary in Heaven Dou City should crawl back into the womb and start learning again."

Tang San's expression remained unchanged. "You flatter me, senior."

Interest deepened in Dugu Bo's eyes.

He was not a man who liked young geniuses.

The Soul Master World had no shortage of geniuses, and they died quickly too. But Tang San was different. The boy's gaze was steady. After identifying the poison formula, he had not rushed to show off, nor had he lost his composure before a Titled Douluo. More importantly, when Tang San spoke of the herbs, he was not reciting a text. He was taking a life apart.

He understood what each herb did, how the body would change after taking it, and what would happen if someone could not withstand it.

If a young man like that studied poison, his future would be strange indeed.

Strange enough to make Dugu Bo's hands itch.

Bai Jin cut in. "Don't scare him. He's timid."

Tang San: "..."

Xiao Wu nearly laughed.

Dugu Bo snorted and reached out. The poison mist inside the shopkeeper immediately reversed course, drawn from between his bones by an invisible hand. The shopkeeper screamed, his face turning blue-green, unable even to maintain his Martial Soul.

"Speak." Dugu Bo's voice was icy. "Who gave you the formula?"

The shopkeeper's teeth chattered, but he kept his mouth clamped shut.

Bai Jin sighed.

"This one doesn't know how to behave."

He raised a hand, and Azure Blue light flashed at his fingertips.

The air around the shopkeeper suddenly collapsed inward. An invisible Gravity pinned him to the floor, his bones creaking.

"Don't kill him," Tang San warned.

"Relax." Bai Jin smiled. "I'm very gentle."

Tears streamed from the shopkeeper's eyes. "The back street behind the Auction House!" he rasped at once. "The Ledger's in a hidden compartment in the rear courtyard! We only mix the medicine. The people on the back street behind the Auction House are the ones who collect them!"

Zhu Zhuqing had already entered the rear courtyard.

A moment later, she returned with a thin Ledger and handed it to Tang San.

Tang San flipped through several pages, his frown deepening.

There were no names in the Ledger, only numbers, dosages, endurance times, and one note that appeared again and again.

Suitable for transfer to the Old Sacrificial Treasury.

He kept turning the pages and found several had been torn out, leaving fresh edges. Beside some of the remaining numbers were the words "crying," "fainted," and "unsuitable." A few others were circled in red, with a note beside them: "Blood runs hot; survived Killing Intent entering the body."

Xiao Wu saw those words and clenched her hands until her knuckles went white.

"They tested people like medicinal ingredients?"

Tang San closed the Ledger. "As a vessel," he said quietly.

The smile on Bai Jin's face finally faded a little.

Dugu Bo saw those four characters, and his gaze darkened too.

"The Old Sacrificial Treasury in the Imperial City should have been sealed tight long ago."

Bai Jin put away the Ledger. "Seems someone thought the seal wasn't tight enough."

"What is the Old Sacrificial Treasury?" Xiao Wu asked softly.

Dugu Bo looked out the window, his tone unusually serious.

"An old site left from before Heaven Dou Imperial City was built. They say many Soul Masters who died in battle were buried there. Later, the Killing Intent grew too strong, so the imperial family sealed it."

Tang San's heart sank.

Killing Intent. The Old Sacrificial Treasury. The black broken token.

The clues had come together.

Bai Jin bit through his candy stick and turned toward the door.

"Let's go. Next stop, the Auction House."

Dugu Bo frowned. "You're not going to question him?"

"Someone else will." Bai Jin pointed to the Spirit Hall sentry Lu Heng had left behind. "I'm in charge of getting us there."

At the Gate, he turned back toward Dugu Bo.

"Old Poison."

Dugu Bo's gaze turned dangerous. "What did you call me?"

"Do me a favor." Bai Jin smiled as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "Keep an eye on this medicine trail. Don't let them use your name to sell fakes again."

Dugu Bo sneered. "Why should I listen to you?"

Bai Jin thought for a moment.

"Because their wares smell awful."

Dugu Bo fell silent for a breath. To his surprise, the reason sounded agreeable enough.

"Get lost."

Bai Jin waved and led the others out into the rain-soaked street.

Tang San glanced back at the apothecary, but it was Dugu Bo's gaze that stayed with him.

That Titled Douluo understood poison far better than anyone Tang San had ever met.

And Dugu Bo was watching him too.

The green-haired old man narrowed his eyes, then suddenly chuckled.

"Blue Silver Grass, knows poison, and follows that monster."

"Interesting."