Sun Tao looked utterly disappointed. It hadn’t been that long, yet Lin Wei had changed so much. Her perspective was now completely aligned with that of the Xiao father and son.

"Lu Ren, Gu Haoming..." Xu Yang smiled.

Others might not know, but he did. The reason they’d taken this mission was due to some shady business.

A place like the Hundred Medicine Hall, which specialized in collecting medicinal ingredients, was rife with opportunities for graft. He knew that those two, along with Hu Fengyi, had been sent to cooperate with the Hundred Medicine Hall’s Shopkeeper and embezzle some of the herbs.

They had sent him, an outsider, to join a team of three insiders. ’It’s a good thing I’m not the meddling type,’ he thought, ’or I’d have been silenced long ago.’

He considered revealing this, but on second thought, decided against stirring up more trouble. "Senior Sister Lin, did you seek me out just for this?" he asked. "If so, I can assure you that I’ve never said anything of the sort to anyone. Where did you hear this?"

He couldn’t be bothered to find a tactful way to warn her. From the looks of things, she wouldn’t believe him even if he told her to her face.

He also didn’t want to argue with her too much, lest he provoke Xiao Hua’s killing intent.

"I..."

Lin Wei opened her mouth, but in the end, she didn’t say where she’d heard it.

She had come here thinking Xu Yang was being ungrateful and was ready to give him a lecture, but after hearing his words, she couldn’t bring herself to say what she’d planned.

And now that she thought about it, given Xu Yang’s reclusive nature, he probably wouldn’t go around bad-mouthing Xiao Hua.

A smile broke through her tense expression. "It’s for the best that you haven’t," she said. "Uncle Xiao has no grievance with you, so why would he target you? He’s helping you. You should thank him when you get the chance. Don’t let people think that a disciple from our Weiyuan Hall doesn’t know gratitude."

Sun Tao looked like he was about to speak again, but Xu Yang put a hand on his shoulder. "Don’t worry, Senior Sister," Xu Yang said. "I’ll keep this in mind. I’ll thank Steward Xiao when I go to complete the mission."

Lin Wei was satisfied with this outcome. She soon stood up and left.

Sun Tao was confused. "Junior Brother Xu, why did you stop me? Xiao Hua obviously has ill intentions. Why not let me make it clear to Junior Sister Lin so she can see his true colors?"

Xu Yang gave a wry smile. "Senior Brother, I’d like to live a few more years. If I let Xiao Hua know I hold a grudge, it’d be a miracle if he didn’t try to eliminate me. Besides, Senior Sister Lin has clearly taken the Xiao family’s side. Nothing you say will convince her."

Sun Tao was stunned for a moment before nodding. "You’re right, I wasn’t thinking. How could she have changed so much?"

"Senior Brother," Xu Yang said, "once a woman falls for a man, she starts to see everything from his perspective."

After exchanging a few more words with Sun Tao, he left for the dining hall, and from there, went down the mountain to his post at the Hundred Medicine Hall.

Lin Wei’s appearance put him on high alert. To avoid being ambushed and killed on the road, he stopped returning to the Purple Sun Sect. Instead, he spent his money on inns within the city, staying in a different place each night.

Time passed slowly. Xu Yang paid a visit to the Four Seas Escort Agency and picked up a letter his sister, Xu Qing, had sent with them.

The young girl’s handwriting had improved considerably. Every line radiated her joy at receiving his letter as she recounted various bits of news from home.

Some time later, he collected his fifth Qi Replenishing Pill. He had now been at the Purple Sun Sect for four months, with only one month left until the new year.

The weather grew colder. One day, just as Xu Yang arrived at the Hundred Medicine Hall, Lu Ren came to find him.

"We received a Spirit Medicine during the day. Keep your wits about you tonight," Lu Ren warned.

Xu Yang’s heart sank.

Anything worthy of the name Spirit Medicine was a treasure, the kind of thing that was difficult to buy even if you had the money. In his month-plus at the Hundred Medicine Hall, this was the first time they had received something so precious.

Spirit Medicines had unimaginable, miraculous uses. They could refine one’s Root Bone, Strengthen the Foundation and Nourish the Essence, or even extend one’s life. They were especially effective for breaking through cultivation bottlenecks.

Some people spent their entire lives stuck at the Great Success Realm of Gang Qi, but with a single Spirit Medicine, they could instantly undergo Muscle and Marrow Cleansing and step into the Bone Marrow Cleansing Realm.

"Why not send it to the Sect immediately?" Xu Yang asked.

Keeping something like this at the Hundred Medicine Hall was a huge risk.

Cyan Yang City wasn’t far from the Purple Sun Sect; the trip would take just over a quarter of an hour. Once it was there, not even the most reckless fool would dare try to steal it from the Sect.

A contemptuous smile spread across Lu Ren’s face. "How many contribution points can you earn by playing it safe? Just be smart. If something happens, you just hide. Leave the rest to us, and wait for your share of the points."

Xu Yang had to fight the urge to curse them out loud.

For garrisoning the Hundred Medicine Hall, they would normally receive twenty contribution points a month. But if they resolved any trouble for the hall, or earned merit by fending off powerful bandits, they could earn extra.

Lu Ren and the others were obviously planning to use the Spirit Medicine as bait to lure in some thieves, so they could earn merit—and extra contribution points—by defeating them.

"Aren’t you afraid of this blowing up in your faces?" Xu Yang asked with a frown.

Just Lu Ren, Gu Haoming, and Hu Fengyi dared to pull a stunt like this? ’They might want to die, but I don’t.’

He would much rather play it safe than risk his life for a few extra contribution points.

But clearly, he had no say in the matter. Lu Ren probably didn’t either. After all, Lu Ren was officially a follower groomed by the Gu Family for Gu Haoming.

"Blow up in our faces?"

Lu Ren sneered. "You’re just too cautious, always sticking to the old ways. If we don’t take risks, how will we ever get ahead? If you were a little bolder, you’d have achieved Qi Cultivation Gang by now."

"Look at you. Plenty of people who weren’t as good as you are now Gang Qi experts, while you’re still in the Qi Gathering Realm. It’s all because of that timid personality of yours."

No risk, no resources.

Their year had its Top Ten and its Ten Heroes. The year before had its own powerhouses, as did the Outer Disciples from the year before that.

Trying to make a name for yourself among the Outer Disciples without taking risks is a pipe dream.

"It’s been almost two months since I mastered Qi Cultivation Gang, and I still don’t even have one Gang Qi Martial Arts technique. That’s because I don’t have the contribution points to exchange for one."

"Now that I’ve been posted to the Hundred Medicine Hall, I finally have a chance to earn some real merit. How can I let it slip by and just waste away my years?"

"I understand you’re afraid to get in a fight since you haven’t even cultivated Gang Qi. That’s why I’m telling you to be smart, so you don’t get your throat slit without even knowing it."

Lu Ren quickly left. He was completely impervious to reason, singularly focused on earning merit and rewards.

If he was this set on it, Gu Haoming and Hu Fengyi were likely the same, and Jin Lei too. His words alone would have no effect.

Night fell quickly. He heightened his five senses to their absolute peak, not daring to slack off in the slightest.

The second watch of the night came and went, and soon the third had passed as well. Just as Xu Yang moved under a large tree, his ears picked up the faint sound of something slicing through the air.

He whipped his head around, just in time to see a dark figure drift onto the top of the wall. Their eyes met.

Xu Yang’s heart sank. ’So there really are people who aren’t afraid to die, coming to pluck the tiger’s whiskers from the Purple Sun Sect for a Spirit Medicine.’ And of all the luck, they had to appear in his sector. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

The man’s aura was powerful. His Gang Qi blazed like a fire, making him seem like a human furnace standing on the wall.

However, Xu Yang could sense that the man was only at the Initial Stage of Gang Qi. His cultivation was not that different from his own—in fact, it might even be a little weaker. He must have broken through very recently.

’Daring to steal a Spirit Medicine with only an initial Gang Qi Cultivation? Does he have a death wish?’

"How dare you!"

Just as this doubt surfaced in his mind, he heard Lu Ren’s furious roar, followed immediately by the sounds of a fierce battle.

It wasn’t just in Lu Ren’s direction; the sounds of fighting also erupted from the main warehouse entrance, the area guarded by Gu Haoming and Hu Fengyi.

This wasn’t a theft; it was an open robbery. And it wasn’t just one or two people.

"Guarding the warehouse with just a Qi Gathering Cultivation? Die!"

The figure on the wall let out a roar and shot down like a sharp arrow.

Xu Yang’s expression flickered.

He hadn’t revealed his aura, yet this man had pegged him as having only Qi Gathering Cultivation. The intruder obviously knew who he was; it would be impossible to be so certain of his cultivation level without even exchanging a blow.

’Those idiots,’ he thought. ’It really has blown up in their faces.’

If this man knew his details, then the other attackers surely knew about Lu Ren and the others, too.

It made sense. With hundreds, even thousands, of Outer Disciples, gathering information on them wouldn’t be difficult.

BOOM!

The man was masked, but his exposed eyes blazed with intense killing intent. His Gang Qi surged violently. Before he even got close to Xu Yang, he had already blasted a wave of Gang Qi through the air, causing it to rumble and roar.