Stones scattered as a fist struck them with brutal force. Blood trickled slowly from the knuckles, dripping onto the ground, yet the owner of the fist seemed entirely oblivious.

“Xiao Rou…” A Can cried out in agony, a wild ferocity flashing in his eyes, and he slammed his fist against the stone again.

His childhood sweetheart, Xiao Rou, was dead, and the overwhelming pain rendered him incapable of restraint.

“Revenge. I will avenge you. It was that man, Chen Feng, who took you from me. I swear I will never let him live!” He made a ruthless vow.

If it hadn't been for Chen Feng, he wouldn't have been forced to leave his home; if it hadn't been for Chen Feng, Xiao Rou would still be carefree by his side, and she wouldn't have died. Therefore, he hated Chen Feng with a burning, corrosive intensity!

For the past month, he had been searching ceaselessly for an opportunity to kill him, but Old Man Yan guarded Chen Feng too closely; there had been no chance whatsoever.

Old Man Yan was a Grandmaster in the world of cultivation. Seeing Chen Feng in such an abnormal state, he naturally felt compelled to save him. A Can, however, was the complete opposite—he only desired an opening to strike him down!

After venting for a long while, the hatred in his heart subsided marginally. A Can washed the blood from his hands, pulled on his clothes, and headed back toward their lodging.

“Ah, A Can!” A voice called out.

“Grandpa Yan, I’m here,” he responded, hurrying forward a couple of steps.

Grandpa Yan was wearing a deep charcoal gray tunic. On the fabric, embroidered in fine thread, was the unique insignia of a healer. This was his most formal attire for going out, rarely worn otherwise.

“A Can, what happened to your hand?” Old Man Yan inquired.

“Oh, I used too much force while practicing earlier!” A Can replied casually.

“You need to be more careful!” Old Man Yan chided lightly. From his pocket, he produced a bottle of medicinal powder as if by magic and began to apply it.

“Thank you, Grandpa Yan,” A Can exclaimed. A cooling sensation spread over his hand; the injured knuckles were already starting to feel numb and tingly. He knew, without a doubt, that this small vial contained potent medicine for external wounds.

“Change into a clean set of clothes, and come out with me!”

“Go out? Where to?” A Can asked, perplexed.

“Chen Feng hasn’t woken up in a month. I’ve devised a new prescription, and I plan to go to Longyang City to trade for some necessary herbs,” Old Man Yan explained.

The mention of Chen Feng again made A Can clench his fists until his knuckles turned white, but an immediate smile followed: “Certainly! I’ll go change right now!” With that, he sprinted back to change into clean clothes, driving the carriage and horses to the front once he was ready.

“Grandpa Yan, you need to trade for herbs? I’ve seen you cultivate tens of thousands of varieties here; what else could you possibly need to trade for?” A Can asked from inside the carriage.

“Ah, I’m looking for a single Earth Spirit Grass. This particular item is quite rare; only Old Man Dun Lun in Longyang City possesses one. So, I intend to trade for it with him,” Old Man Yan said with a smile.

“Earth Spirit Grass? That must be precious,” A Can inquired pointedly. “What will you use to trade for it?”

“The Earth Spirit Grass is indeed very valuable, but Elder Jun gave me ten Perfect Crystals. I’ll see if I can use those to trade for it!” Old Man Yan said after a moment of hesitation.

“Ten Perfect Crystals?” A Can ground his teeth, a cold glint in his eyes. Hmph. Go trade for the Earth Spirit Grass. If you can’t get it, I wonder how you plan to wake Chen Feng up!

In an instant, he made his decision.

The two drove toward Longyang City. The location was a valley, still over two hundred li from the city gates, making a single-day journey impossible. Therefore, as night fell, they passed through a small town and found lodging.

This small town fell under Longyang City’s jurisdiction, belonging to the Eke Family, so it had not been affected by the recent turmoil of war.

They stopped the carriage and checked into an inn, staying in a single room without pretense.

Old Man Yan had no inkling of A Can’s ulterior motives and even showed him the Perfect Crystals he carried for a while.

A Can could not sleep for a long time. He had to find a way to sabotage Grandpa Yan’s trade to ensure Chen Feng remained unconscious. Finally, around midnight, Old Man Yan drifted into a deep sleep.

I’ll steal five Perfect Crystals. Then we’ll see how you trade. Without the Earth Spirit Grass, you won’t wake him up! he thought malevolently.

Old Man Yan had divided the ten Perfect Crystals into two pouches—this was a subtle trick of his. Presenting all ten at once when trading was drastically different from offering five first, then the remaining five. Presenting them in two installments gave him room for negotiation, facilitating haggling. If the initial five weren't accepted, he could offer ten. Revealing all ten at once often prevented the other party from feeling they had gained an unfair advantage.

It was akin to buying a piece of clothing. If an item was truly worth one unit, but you offered one hundred and fifty without budging on price, few merchants would agree. But if you opened by asking for three times the price, or even five times the price, the transaction would likely flourish…

This was psychological warfare, a tactic merchants frequently employed.

A Can crept out quietly and found an attendant, bribing him with some silver. These inn attendants were notoriously resourceful, and before long, he had the matter settled to his satisfaction. He returned to the room, stole five Perfect Crystals, and replaced them with five stones of nearly identical size.

Old Man Yan was a healer; although he could concoct medicines that rapidly boosted cultivation, his personal cultivation level was not high. A Can worked with such dexterity that the sleeping master failed to notice anything.

The next morning, Old Man Yan dressed and habitually patted his pockets. Finding nothing missing, he was reassured, and the two continued their journey toward Longyang City, arriving by the afternoon.

A Can had visited Longyang City several times before, but the sheer prosperity of the towns he had previously seen could not compare to this place. The streets were packed shoulder-to-shoulder with people. While walking through the crowd was uneventful initially, they happened upon two men fighting nearby. One punch sent a man reeling directly into Old Man Yan. Out of concern, the old man steadied him, but the man immediately slashed the pouch containing the five stones with a blade, snatched the contents, and bolted.

The crowd was dense, and the thief vanished into the throng.

With Old Man Yan’s strength, he absolutely should not have been fooled by such a low-level trick, but precisely because he believed the other person was injured, he let his guard down for a moment, allowing the thief to snatch away the "stones"!

“I’ll chase him!” A Can followed close behind, also disappearing into the crowd after a short distance, leaving Old Man Yan anxious at the spot.

This thief was, naturally, the professional hired by A Can in the small town, his purpose being to steal those stones so that A Can could have an ironclad alibi. A Can slipped into the crowd, walked a short distance into a small alley, and paid the thief the remaining money.

After settling the payment, he intended to sell the five Perfect Crystals he now held. He loitered outside a shop for a long time, then hesitated. After all, Perfect Crystals were extraordinarily conspicuous; one slip-up wouldn’t just mean losing the money, but potentially losing his life.

Just then, his cultivation level was spotted by Reiner, who was on patrol. Reiner promptly dragged him to a secluded spot, knocked him unconscious, and absconded with the Perfect Crystals…

This entire sequence of events unfolded smoothly, without much complexity—in fact, it was almost suspiciously simple.

However, in truth, many things appear simple upon careful reflection, but they are often artificially complicated by human action.

A Can awoke bruised and battered and sought out Old Man Yan, lying that he had not only failed to retrieve the items but had also been beaten up. Seeing his wretched state, Old Man Yan believed him.

Besides, even if Old Man Yan had suspected the truth, given his proud nature, how could he ever admit being manipulated by a junior?

Having lost five Perfect Crystals, approaching Old Man Dun Lun became far more difficult. Nevertheless, since they had come all this way, Old Man Yan gritted his teeth and drove the carriage to Dun Lun’s residence.

………………………………………………………………

“They look like people from the Church. Inquiring about us—they must have ill intentions. What should we do now?” Cam asked.

“Once our supplies and equipment are ready, we’ll set out,” White replied casually.

“If we leave now, we’ll draw even more attention. I think we should wait a few days first. I need to pay a visit to an old friend,” Cam suggested.

“Your friend? You have friends in Longyang City, and you never mentioned it before?” White asked, surprised.

“Actually, I didn’t even know he was here. When my mother was ill, I looked for him for a long time and couldn't find him. Today, while circling the city with you, I saw his unique insignia. If I hadn't seen people asking about us, I would have gone to him sooner!” Cam said with a smile.

“What does your friend do?”

“Oh, his lifelong passion is collecting medicinal herbs. ‘Yipintang’ (First Grade Hall) is his establishment. I met him when I was collecting provisions back then!” Cam explained.

“Tell me how you two met?” White also leaned in, interested in the gossip.

“Heh, it’s quite a simple story. Back then, we were still following ‘Him,’ working for ‘Him.’ Do you remember that time when ‘He’ was severely injured?”

Cam’s reference to ‘Him’ was something White certainly knew about. “Of course, I remember. That time, He was ambushed and nearly killed. He rested for over a month before recovering!”

“Exactly. At that time, we desperately needed a Half-Root Flower to save Him. You know what a rare item that is—a spiritual object that only appears by chance. I inquired everywhere and finally learned that he had one here. But despite all my persuasive efforts, he wouldn't part with it. Coincidentally, he was being besieged by enemies seeking revenge. So, I brought my troops and eliminated all his foes for him, and only then did I obtain that Half-Root Flower,” Cam continued. “Later, we became close, and we started trading. A single team requires massive amounts of herbs, so we began cooperating with his pharmacy. Back then, his shop was called Baicaotang (Hundred Herbs Hall). After our defeat, Baicaotang seemed to suffer persecution; I didn't expect it to have become Yipintang!”

“Oh, so you mean the owner of Baicaotang? I know that name. It’s something like ‘Norton Luns,’ right?” White slapped his forehead, trying to recall.

“Yes, that’s him! That’s the headquarters of Yipintang right ahead. Let’s go take a look together!”

The two walked into the pharmacy together. (To be continued. For more, please log in to m, for more chapters, support the author, and support genuine reading!) First release