For two months now, most of the various martial arts gangs in Zhuqi County had already dispersed, fleeing the area, and the tens of thousands of refugees who had fled the county seat had not fully returned; the county was quite empty. The scars left by that great turmoil were slow to fade. Outside the city walls, the mass grave had gained several thousand more corpses. Traces of fighting and burning by martial artists could still be seen throughout the city streets, taverns, and inns.

On this day, a young man from a remote village, carrying a bundle on his back, walked into the county seat and headed toward the Herb Gathering Hall in the northwest district. This estate, spanning several hectares, had been completely burned down during the great martial chaos. All the gold, silver, martial arts manuals, medicinal herbs, and any items of value had been thoroughly looted. Even the bricks, tiles, and structural beams from the ruins were secretly taken by the county residents to rebuild their own homes.

The disciples and retainers of the Herb Gathering Hall had long since scattered—either dead or in flight.

Three or four stray dogs and wild cats sniffed around the piles of rubble, digging for scraps. Occasionally, they would raise their heads, their dull, murky eyes glancing briefly at Ye Qin. Finding him no threat, they returned to digging, unearthing corpses buried deep beneath the ruins.

A mix of emotions surged within Ye Qin, bringing forth a feeling that things were no longer as they should be.

He had lived in this place for five or six years, entering the Herb Gathering Hall at the age of eleven. He had studied the art of herb gathering and the Zuo Wang Sutra under Master Herb Gatherer Wang. For three years, he had followed Xie Ze into the mountains to collect herbs with his four fellow disciples, before they parted ways to gather herbs individually. In the blink of an eye, five or six years had passed. Yet, one Medicine Assembly had managed to destroy the Medicine King Gang and the Herb Gathering Hall, organizations rooted for centuries, down to their very foundations.

He left the ruins of the Herb Gathering Hall and went to an open-air tavern near the county post station—a popular spot for travelers—to rest and have some tea. He planned to stay in the county for a few days, concoct some spiritual elixirs, and then set off for Wan'an City, the capital of Pingzhou, to venture out and see the wider world.

Some idle, shiftless men in the county gathered in small groups around the rough tables under the awnings. Ordering a few pots of cheap wine, a plate of fried beans, and a dish of pig liver, they could spend half the day holding forth with great vigor, appearing as if they knew everything.

Ye Qin found an inconspicuous spot in the tavern and sat down.

“In the last two months, the Medicine King Gang has become the target of universal scorn. Not only was the Herb Gathering Hall in our Zhuqi County smashed to pieces, but their main headquarters and branch halls in the Pingzhou capital and the eight county seats were all wiped out one by one, making them the first of the Ten Great Gangs of Pingzhou to be completely eradicated. Tsk, tsk, that was a grand operation!”

“Good riddance! I always disliked those sons of bitches at the Herb Gathering Hall. They always walked around with their noses in the air, looking down on everyone. Serves them right that they met a bad end—it’s truly satisfying to see.”

“Alas. Do you gentlemen know about the Nan Clan Immortal Family? They were truly immensely powerful. I heard the Nan Family once ruled the Ten Great Gangs of Pingzhou. But nine of the ten gangs rebelled against them. The ensuing fight led to rivers of blood flowing across the land.”

“A pity. The three Immortals of the Nan Family all vanished in that battle. Otherwise, I would certainly have begged them to take me as a disciple and learn those heaven-shaking immortal arts.”

“Pah! Look at your mangy dog appearance; you think an Immortal would favor you? Maybe in the next life. If I were to seek tutelage, then that would be more likely.”

“Are any of the Nan Family still alive?”

“It is rumored that one old Immortal died. After that old Immortal displayed his awesome power and fought his way out of the city, his corpse was found outside the city the next day. The other two younger Immortals have not reappeared. Who knows if they are alive or not.”

“I personally witnessed a Flying Immortal kill the Nan Family’s Elder Immortal. That Nan Family Elder Immortal is now buried in a mass grave outside Zhuqi County. Over the last two months, many grave robbers have flocked there, searching everywhere for the Nan Family corpses, hoping to find immortal scrolls. But it seems no one has succeeded yet. Why don't we try our luck too!”

Ye Qin dismissed the amusing chatter of these ruffians with a slight sneer. After finishing his tea, he rested in the tavern for a while, then tossed a few copper coins onto the table for the tea, preparing to head to his own small private courtyard in the county.

He happened to see, not far from the tavern, beneath a large tree, a boy of about fifteen or sixteen, wearing a wrinkled white outfit, standing there. He had a sword strapped to his back and was rubbing his stomach with one hand, clearly hungry, staring enviously at the big men at the tables heartily drinking and eating meat. It seemed he hadn't had a full meal in a long time.

Ye Qin paused abruptly, his footsteps halting.

With his eyesight and memory, he never forgot anyone he met even once. Was this youth not Nan Zhongjie? Why was he here, and why did he look so down and out?

Puzzled, Ye Qin scanned the white-clothed youth with his Spiritual Eye Technique. It was indeed him; a faint white stream of energy existed within his meridians—roughly the magical power of the first layer of the Qi Refining stage.

Two months had passed since that battle. Why was Nan Zhongjie still in Zhuqi County?

Ye Qin picked up his bundle and walked toward Nan Zhongjie, wanting to ask what was going on.

Nan Zhongjie, catching a glimpse of a strange young man approaching him out of the corner of his eye, was initially unconcerned. But when he quickly sensed that the newcomer was also a cultivator, his face instantly changed, turning pale white.

For cultivators, the spiritual pressure created by differences in cultivation level could not be hidden from the other party. Ye Qin was at the fourth layer of Qi Refining, holding a strong spiritual pressure deterrent over Nan Zhongjie, who was three layers lower. If they were further apart, perhaps it wouldn't be noticeable, but once they were within ten zhang, this spiritual pressure would become increasingly intense.

Nan Zhongjie retreated a few steps, immediately gripping the hilt of the sword on his back, and asked fearfully, “Who are you, and what do you want?”

Ye Qin didn't wish to frighten him. He stopped walking and said calmly, “I am a passing cultivator, with no ill intentions. I just happened to see you here. I find it strange; you are a cultivator after all, so why are you so destitute? Didn't your family provide you with enough money?”

“Are you truly just a passing cultivator?”

“Of course. Didn’t you see I’m carrying a bundle and on the road? I came from somewhere else and plan to stay in this county for a few days before leaving.”

“Then~, then do you know anyone from the Feng Clan of Dingzhou?”

“I do not.”

Ye Qin shook his head.

Seeing that this unfamiliar cultivator was only a year or two older than him, and his tone was gentle and polite, suggesting no malice, and seemingly unconnected to the Feng Clan of Dingzhou, Nan Zhongjie finally relaxed a little. He glanced at his current miserable appearance, lowered his head somewhat ashamed, “I have brought shame to my family.”

Ye Qin chuckled inwardly, asking the obvious: “Oh, brought shame? What happened?”

Nan Zhongjie was rather forthcoming, and Ye Qin’s amiable demeanor quickly opened his floodgates. “Two months ago, my father sent me to pursue a martial artist named Wei Yuan. But that Wei Yuan was too cunning; he actually had several decoys. I killed a fake one but lost the real one while tracking him, and I couldn't find him anywhere afterward. When I returned to the Yongfu Tavern, I discovered my father had already fought his way out of the county. When I found him outside the city the next day, I discovered he had already been brutally murdered by members of the Ten Great Gangs. After I buried my father, I stayed in the county waiting for my cousin. But my cousin’s whereabouts are also unknown, and he hasn’t shown up yet. I didn’t carry many valuables with me, and I’ve spent almost everything I had pawned off over the past two months. For the last couple of days, I’ve been eating wild game outside the city, but I’m not very good at roasting meat—it always gets scorched. I haven’t had a decent meal in days.”

The more Nan Zhongjie explained, the more bewildered Ye Qin became. How could a cultivator run out of money? “If you have no money, you still have your spiritual power! You could easily earn some, for example, by robbing—uh~, perhaps that isn't appropriate; it diminishes your status. Even if it were necessary to rob the rich to help the poor, or just ‘borrow’ temporarily, repaying it later when you have funds. No matter what, you shouldn’t be reduced to starvation, right?”

Nan Zhongjie’s innocent eyes widened: “Originally, I intended to find some work to earn money for food. But I searched the entire city, and shopkeepers would flee in terror upon seeing my appearance; no one would hire me. Also, Elder Brother, the ancestral teachings of my Nan Family strictly forbid relying on immortal arts to commit arson, looting, or evil acts. Unless the Clan Head commands it, I cannot take things that belong to others, much less rob them.”

“…”

Ye Qin was momentarily speechless.

The people of the Nan Family were indeed peculiar. The previous Clan Head, Nan Tianba, was exceptionally talented, ambitious, and somewhat roguish. The next Clan Head, Nan Tianxiong, though low in cultivation, was ruthless and did not hesitate to annihilate the leadership of the Ten Great Gangs to consolidate the Nan Family’s position. As for Nan Zhonghao, he was excessively arrogant and foolishly challenged the foremost expert in Pingzhou, Tie Yuyang, to a sword contest, resulting in his defeat and death. This Nan Zhongjie, however, was somewhat too timid, adhering strictly to the ancestral teachings and unwilling to take anything from secular mortals.

Ye Qin’s grievances with the Nan Family were mainly caused by Nan Tianba alone. Nan Tianba’s primordial spirit was utterly destroyed, and his grudges with the Nan Family were now settled. Toward this Nan Zhongjie, he genuinely held no malice.

Ye Qin knew well that Nan Zhonghao had been dead long ago; Nan Zhongjie would never see his cousin return. He spent a few copper coins and ordered a large plate of cooked beef from the tavern keeper near the city gate, then told Nan Zhongjie to sit down under the big tree and eat.