Xiao Yi Xian

"Crackle..."

The instant the young mercenary touched Nalan Sheng's shoulder, a burst of blue-white lightning suddenly shot out and slammed into his hand.

"Aaaah!!!"

The young mercenary screamed and instinctively jerked his hand back, only to find his palm charred black, its flesh a bloody mess.

At the sight, the other mercenaries' expressions changed drastically. They hurriedly backed away from Nalan Sheng to avoid getting caught in the crossfire.

"Will that do now?"

Nalan Sheng ignored the young mercenary's wails and addressed the stunned middle-aged man instead.

"O-of course."

Recovering from his shock, the middle-aged man hurriedly registered Nalan Sheng.

Seeing this, the young mercenary dared not trouble Nalan Sheng again. Instead, he slipped away while Nalan Sheng was not looking.

After all, someone as young as Nalan Sheng who was already a Dou Zhe could not possibly come from an ordinary family. He surely had a powerful clan behind him, someone a common mercenary could not afford to offend.

"Young man, this assignment is very simple. You only need to protect the Myriad Medicine Pavilion's herb-gathering team. The payment is five hundred gold coins."

After completing the registration, the middle-aged man said politely, "We'll pay you half in advance shortly. The other half will only be paid once the herb-gathering team returns safely. You have no objections, I take it?"

"That's fine."

Naturally, Nalan Sheng had no objections. He had not come for that paltry sum of gold. His target was Xiao Yi Xian.

A little over an hour later, on the outskirts of the Magical Beast Mountain Range.

A group of nearly a hundred people slowly made its way through the lush forest.

More than a dozen seasoned middle-aged mercenaries spread out in pairs around the main group, scanning their surroundings warily.

Meanwhile, over thirty mercenaries, including Nalan Sheng, formed an oval around the Myriad Medicine Pavilion's herb-gathering team, keeping them protected at the center.

Positioned toward the rear, Nalan Sheng swept his gaze over the members of the Myriad Medicine Pavilion's herb-gathering team before finally settling on a tall woman in a white dress with a slender waist.

She was none other than Xiao Yi Xian, who possessed the woeful poison body. Though her looks did not quite match Nalan Yanran's or Xiao Xun'er's, she was still a rare beauty.

In particular, Xiao Yi Xian possessed a naturally fresh, ethereal air that added even more to her charm.

Since Xiao Yi Xian was not even a Dou Zhe yet, and the mountain path was rugged, beads of sweat had already appeared on her forehead.

Watching Xiao Yi Xian pant softly and occasionally wipe her sweat with a handkerchief, Nalan Sheng could not help thinking, She really does make one's heart melt with tenderness~

The other mercenaries present wished they could step forward and serve as her beasts of burden, carrying Xiao Yi Xian straight to their destination.

But they all knew perfectly well that even if they shamelessly approached her, Xiao Yi Xian would probably decline with a smile.

As the group ventured deeper into the Magical Beast Mountain Range, magical beasts began attacking them.

After all, nearly a hundred people made far too much noise. Even with mercenaries scouting around them, they could not avoid every magical beast.

Fortunately, magical beasts on the outskirts of the Magical Beast Mountain Range were relatively scarce, and almost all of them were first-rank magical beasts.

Often, the moment a beast sprang from the bushes, several mercenaries would surround and attack it together, usually killing it in an instant.

But not every magical beast was foolish enough to charge head-on. Quite a few preferred ambushes.

The Crimson Ice Snake was a prime example. This first-rank, ice-attribute magical beast was fairly common on the outskirts of the Magical Beast Mountain Range.

Crimson Ice Snakes were not particularly powerful. In a head-on fight, an ordinary Dou Zhe could easily kill one.

Unfortunately, Crimson Ice Snakes rarely fought people head-on. They usually took advantage of their small size to hide silently in the bushes, then deliver an unexpected bite to passing prey.

If an ordinary Dou Zhe was careless enough to be bitten by a Crimson Ice Snake and received no treatment within half a day, the cold poison would congeal their blood until they died.

As a result, a few unlucky mercenaries were bitten by Crimson Ice Snakes lurking in hiding.

The instant those burly mercenaries were bitten, their faces turned deathly pale. Their limbs went cold and limp, leaving them unable to resist.

Had those mercenaries entered the Magical Beast Mountain Range alone, they could only have waited for death in such a situation. But reality was not a matter of what-ifs.

In reality, whenever the other mercenaries saw someone ambushed by a Crimson Ice Snake, they would swarm it and hack it to death, then bring the injured person to Xiao Yi Xian for treatment.

Under Xiao Yi Xian's care, those mercenaries could not instantly return to peak condition, but they recovered most of their vitality. They were more than capable of continuing on foot by themselves.

Time slowly passed. After killing dozens of first-rank magical beasts along the way, the group finally reached the herb-gathering area.

The dozens of herb gatherers, led by Xiao Yi Xian, began searching for suitable medicinal herbs with practiced ease.

Meanwhile, the mercenaries, including Nalan Sheng, began patrolling the vicinity in pairs.

Focused on gathering herbs, Xiao Yi Xian did not notice a shadow silently appear nearby and place an unconscious Crimson Ice Snake in the grass ahead of her.

Not long after the Shadow Ninja set it down, the Crimson Ice Snake regained consciousness.

Before the Crimson Ice Snake could figure out what was happening, it saw Xiao Yi Xian approach with a bamboo basket on her back. Without a second thought, it opened its mouth and lunged to bite her.

Thud!

Bitten on the ankle by the Crimson Ice Snake, Xiao Yi Xian's lovely face instantly turned deathly pale. Then her limbs went ice-cold, and she collapsed helplessly.

"Oh no! Something's happened to Xiao Yi Xian!"

"It's a Crimson Ice Snake! Don't let it escape!"

"Quick, give Xiao Yi Xian an antidote..."

Since many people had been stealing glances at Xiao Yi Xian's graceful figure, they noticed something was wrong the instant the Crimson Ice Snake bit her. They hurriedly gathered around, their faces full of concern.

The Crimson Ice Snake that had ambushed Xiao Yi Xian was immediately hacked into a bloody pulp by the enraged mercenaries.

The herb-gathering team members also hurriedly took out a medicinal pill that could neutralize the cold poison, preparing to feed it to Xiao Yi Xian.

"Aaaah-"

But the instant the herb gatherer's fingers touched Xiao Yi Xian's lips, a scream rang out. The person's whole body convulsed, foam spilled from their mouth, and in the blink of an eye, all signs of life vanished.

At the sight, everyone else's expression changed drastically, and they hurriedly backed away from Xiao Yi Xian.

Only then did they discover, to their horror, that Xiao Yi Xian's deathly pale face had turned an eerie blend of seven colors.