"Hey, young fellow, new to Qingshan Town? If you're looking for a mercenary company, consider ours. Our captain is He Meng, an Eight-Star Dou Zhe and a renowned fighter here in Qingshan Town."
At the entrance to Qingshan Town, Xiao Yan, who was driving the carriage, was stopped by a bald, burly man who tirelessly rattled off the benefits of his mercenary company.
"I don't need a mercenary company. Could you move aside, brother?" Xiao Yan waved impatiently. They had spent five days jolting along the road since leaving Wutan City, eating in the wind and sleeping beneath the sky. Worn out by the journey, they needed rest.
But the burly man from some unknown mercenary company had absolutely no sense of the situation. He simply thought Xiao Yan's clothes made him look like the wealthy young master of a great clan, so he was doing his utmost to sell his company's services.
But all Xiao Yan wanted was rest...
Seeing that Xiao Yan had no intention of paying him any attention, the burly man grew angry.
"Listen, young fellow, our company is one of the Myriad Medicine Pavilion's designated mercenary companies! It just so happens that the pavilion recently returned from the Magical Beast Forest. Normally, people couldn't hire us even if they wanted to!"
"Even if you were designated by the Billion Medicine Pavilion, I still..." Xiao Yan was about to curse him out.
"The Myriad Medicine Pavilion still exists? I thought you'd disappeared long ago." Xiao Yi Xian's voice suddenly came from inside the carriage.
The burly man froze, unable to imagine who would be bold enough to say such a thing on Qingshan Town's turf. Then he saw the carriage curtain slowly lift, revealing a face he would never forget for the rest of his life.
Inside the carriage sat a purple-haired girl in a black-and-white dress, an amused expression on her face. A little black-haired girl lay sprawled across her long, straight legs.
The little girl's soft snores struck the burly man like drumsticks pounding a drum, frightening his very soul out of him.
"P-Poison Immortal!" The burly man scrambled and stumbled into Qingshan Town, shouting pleas for help such as "The Poison Immortal is back!" as he fled.
Somewhat speechless, Xiao Yan looked at Xiao Yi Xian, who sat upright inside the carriage, and asked, "Senior sister, didn't you say you were known as 'Xiao Yi Xian' in Qingshan Town?"
"Well..." The amused smile on Xiao Yi Xian's face instantly gave way to a crimson blush. "That was my title originally, but then a few things happened."
Just a few things? That title, Poison Immortal, sounds like a major villain no matter how you look at it. Xiao Yan no longer had the energy to comment.
"Does this mean we can't enter Qingshan Town?"
"It's fine. The strongest person in Qingshan Town should only be an Eight-Star Dou Shi. I can sort this out quickly. Just wait a moment." Xiao Yi Xian waved her hands repeatedly, signaling that Xiao Yan need not worry.
Hearing this, Xiao Yan relaxed. His senior sister was at least a One-Star Dou Ling. Beating a few Dou Shi would be a mere side dish for her.
As the burly man brought the news back, a commotion quickly swept through Qingshan Town. Before long, the entrance was packed with seventy or eighty Dou Zhe in matching uniforms. Only one of them was a Dou Shi, and they all appeared to belong to the same faction.
Xiao Yan saw that their uniforms all bore the same flame emblem. They were probably from that so-called Myriad Medicine Pavilion, right?
The mercenaries surrounded the three of them completely. No one made a sound. Each had covered their mouth and nose with fine cloth, and all stared solemnly at Xiao Yi Xian inside the carriage.
Before long, a young man swathed from head to toe in white bandages slowly emerged from the crowd. Only one eye was exposed, but that lone eye held madness and despair.
"Pavilion Master." The sole Dou Shi among the mercenaries hurried forward to protect the bandaged man, afraid Xiao Yi Xian might suddenly attack from inside the carriage.
The bandaged man completely ignored his subordinate's attempt to curry favor. He took another two trembling steps forward and addressed Xiao Yi Xian in a spine-chilling voice. "Xiao Yi Xian... you actually came back. This time... I'm going to savor you properly!!!"
The madness in the bandaged man's eye deepened.
"Isn't this guy insane?" Xiao Yan pointed at the bandaged man and turned to ask in bewilderment. "Someone like him can lead a faction?"
"He is indeed the leader of the Myriad Medicine Pavilion. I've forgotten his name. A Nine-Star Dou Zhe and a First-Rank Alchemist. He always had sinister designs on me. When I advanced to Dou Shi, I put some poison in his food to get back at him." Xiao Yi Xian suddenly sighed.
"Who knew he'd have no appetite that day? He gave the entire table of food to his subordinates as a reward, and more than thirty of them died on the spot. Afterward, I intended to kill him outright, but Qingshan Town's town chief stopped me. Still, I beat him within an inch of his life."
More than thirty people poisoned to death. So that was where the title Poison Immortal came from...
"When did this happen, senior sister?" Xiao Yan asked, the corner of his mouth twitching.
"Three months ago."
Not much time had passed. No wonder everyone in Qingshan Town still remembered Xiao Yi Xian so vividly.
Still, Xiao Yan felt no sympathy for those who had been poisoned. He did not consider himself morally above others, and besides, what adventurer did not have a few blood debts on their hands?
Those who killed had to be prepared to be killed. That applied to everyone.
"Xiao Yi Xian! Why won't you answer me?! Is this man your new mark? What makes him better than me?! Speak!!!" The bandaged man grew increasingly agitated.
"He's probably gone mad." Xiao Yan pointed at the bandaged man.
"Yes. I was very angry at the time, so I landed several heavy blows on his head. I just didn't expect him to survive even that." Xiao Yi Xian pressed a hand to her forehead. She was about to wake Qing Lin and deal with the mercenaries herself when Xiao Yan stopped her.
"Qing Lin is still sleeping. Let's not disturb her." Xiao Yan stepped down from the carriage, loosened up his limbs, then clenched his fists and spoke confidently.
"There are a lot of them," Xiao Yi Xian reminded him.
"It doesn't matter. To catch the bandits, seize their king first." Xiao Yan chuckled, then abruptly vanished from in front of the carriage.
When he reappeared, his fist was less than thirty centimeters from the bandaged man.
The pupils of the Dou Shi beside the bandaged man contracted sharply. He lunged forward to shove the bandaged man aside, then hastily threw a punch to meet the incoming blow.
Bang!
The sound of flesh colliding rang out. Xiao Yan retreated two steps and looked at his fist in surprise as flames rose from it.
High Black Tier Dou Technique: Earth Flame!
The Myriad Medicine Pavilion's Dou Shi was instantly sent flying backward. Had the crowd not been right behind him, with a group of underlings catching him, he would have lost all face.
"A One-Star Dou Shi raised on pills?" Xiao Yan's gaze was cold. This Myriad Medicine Pavilion Dou Shi's aura was incredibly unstable-even far more unstable than Xiao Yan's had been when he advanced to Four-Star Dou Zhe by repeatedly devouring beast flames.
Although Xiao Yan considered this Dou Shi beneath notice, the surrounding mercenaries thought otherwise. However unstable he might be, a Dou Shi was still a Dou Shi! Never mind defeating one-an ordinary Dou Zhe who could merely exchange a few moves with a Dou Shi already qualified as a renowned fighter.
"Again!" Xiao Yan stepped forward once more and charged straight into the crowd, seemingly giving the surrounding mercenaries no consideration at all.
Before you continue