They ran quite a distance until Brother Long could no longer see Zhang Yang’s silhouette. Only then did he stop, panting a few deep breaths. The lesson from last time was vividly etched in his memory, as were the tragic fates of his companions as a warning.

He absolutely dared not provoke Zhang Yang; among everyone he feared meeting, Zhang Yang was definitely ranked near the top.

“Zhang Yang, this is all my fault!”

After they were far gone, Mi Xue clutched Zhang Yang’s arm and whispered softly.

She understood that without her, Zhou Yaozong would never have stooped so low as to deal with Zhang Yang, and the conflict between Zhang Yang and Huang San wouldn't have happened in the first place.

A femme fatale—Mi Xue had always thought such words were slander hurled at pretty girls, but now she truly felt the weight of it. If it weren’t for her, none of this would have occurred.

“This has nothing to do with you. You should think, thank goodness we were here today. If it had been someone else, wouldn’t they have succeeded?”

Zhang Yang smiled slightly, and Mi Xue nodded silently.

If it hadn't been them today, Zhou Yaozong would have successfully framed someone else, and everyone would have believed them instead of the customer.

After all, they presented evidence, and being security guards gave them greater credibility.

At that point, being fined or beaten would have been the least of it; they might even have been sent to the police station. Even checking the supermarket surveillance footage would have been useless, as they called the shots there.

“Xie Hui already knows you’re here. What are you planning to do?”

Zhang Yang asked with another smile. He hadn't spoken much to Xie Hui just now, but Mi Xue’s identity was indeed exposed.

“I came here to work, not for anything else. If he doesn’t want me here, I’ll just change to another place!”

Mi Xue shook her head dismissively. She walked forward, linking her arm through Zhang Yang’s, a smile returning to her face.

After all that commotion, Mi Xue had rushed out without even changing her clothes and didn't feel like going back to change now.

Zhang Yang, therefore, took her to another mall, where he bought her a few sets of clothes to change into first. At least it was much better than wearing the supermarket uniform.

Having been separated for almost half a month, their reunion felt like a newlywed’s bliss. Being together again, the time seemed to fly by—

Barely noticing the passage of time, it was already evening.

That evening, Zhang Yang returned home and personally cooked dinner. The two shared a very warm candlelight dinner, while Lightning and Shadow darted around the rooms, the two little ones constantly making noises.

Lightning had lived here for a long time, but it was Shadow’s first visit. The place held a novelty for the newcomer.

Initially, Mi Xue was a little frightened of Shadow, but once she discovered the little creature’s cuteness, Mi Xue quickly accepted it, even daring to hold it and stroke its fur.

Later that night, after Mi Xue had fallen asleep, Zhang Yang left home again and made a trip to Long Cheng’s villa.

It took Zhang Yang over ten minutes of walking outside to hail a cab, which made him miss his two new cars.

The vehicles had been sent to Yang Ling’s dealership for processing. Yang Ling was responsible for getting the license plates installed, and only after the plates were ready the next day would the dealership's staff deliver them to him. For tonight, he just had to endure.

Long Cheng wasn't at the villa, but he had left the key for Zhang Yang.

Zhang Yang moved a large box from Long Cheng’s house before taking another taxi back. The reason he made the long trip tonight was entirely for this box.

Inside this box were quite a few good things.

No matter what, Huatuo Residence had been operating for many years and was a well-known Traditional Chinese Medicine clinic in Shanghai. Over the years, they had collected a significant amount of high-quality medicinal herbs.

These herbs had been stored in special locations, hidden very securely.

Unfortunately, no matter how well they were concealed, it was useless against Zhang Yang. With Shadow around, no treasure could hide. With Shadow’s assistance, Zhang Yang quickly cleared out everything.

Since the items were hidden, he wasn't afraid of being discovered for taking them.

Besides, Zhang Yang was taking these things to concoct medicine. Once everything was processed into pills, the original herbs would vanish. By then, even if someone could guess what happened, they would have no evidence.

Returning home, Zhang Yang immediately opened the box and began sorting the herbs inside.

“Three-hundred-year-old He Shou Wu, what a treasure! Too bad it’s only one piece!”

“Sixty-year snake gall bladder—what a waste!”

“Hundred-year-old ginseng! There are several stalks—they told me they didn’t have any, the stingy lot!”

Every time he pulled out an item, Zhang Yang couldn't help but mutter under his breath. Although Huatuo Residence didn’t possess celestial treasures, they certainly had plenty of these aged, fine goods.

With decades of operation and such a large scale, all their assets were concentrated here; how could they be lacking?

Three-hundred-year He Shou Wu was far more valuable than hundred-year ginseng, but its age was insufficient. If it had reached a thousand years, it would have been a true celestial treasure, usable for brewing spiritual elixirs.

These treasures that grow on the earth—with the exception of a few unique items—usually have very high requirements regarding their age.

Only after truly passing a thousand years does the essence accumulated over time transform into spiritual energy. Only then can it be called a celestial treasure, capable of being used in spiritual medicine; anything less than nine hundred years was useless.

This was one reason why celestial treasures were so rare.

A thousand years—how could anything that grows on the ground for such a long time be easily preserved, especially since once these treasures generate spiritual energy, they become an absolute magnet for spirit beasts?

This made the quantity flowing into human hands even scarcer.

“Jee-jee-jee!”

Shadow chirped from the side again, circling the herbs Zhang Yang had laid out, as if trying to claim credit.

However, it wasn't actually interested in these herbs. Although the herbs were rare, they were ultimately ordinary items. Neither Lightning nor Shadow consumed such things in their raw form—though prepared pills were another matter.

The resulting pills were different from the original herbs; not only were their effects stronger, but they also tasted good. Unfortunately, they lacked spiritual energy, offering only limited replenishment for both internal energy cultivation and spirit beasts, meaning they could only serve as occasional snacks.

“Alright, I know you did well. I’ll reward you later!”

Zhang Yang patted the little creature. Back at Huatuo Residence, Zhang Yang had indeed used pills to entice Shadow into helping him locate these herbs. The little one was quite picky; it barely noticed these common medicinal ingredients.

“Jee-jee!”

Having received Zhang Yang’s confirmation, Shadow ran off satisfied to show off to Lightning. Zhang Yang continued sorting the spoils he had plundered.

The treasures were re-sorted and temporarily put away by Zhang Yang. In the next couple of days, he would prepare other auxiliary ingredients, and then he could concoct a large batch of pills.

These pills would have significant effects against many ailments and would make it more convenient for Zhang Yang to practice medicine in the future.

Sorting wasn’t difficult; broadly, it was divided into plant-based and animal-based categories.

There weren’t many animal items. Besides the two large scorpions, only that snake gall bladder held significant value.

Snakes don't live long; generally only twenty years or so. Any snake living past sixty was no longer ordinary. Such a snake was much more cunning.

These snakes were often called 'enlightened,' but they were merely cleverer, not as terrifying as the legends claimed, and they didn't even qualify as spirit beasts.

However, it was true that such a snake was a treasure from head to tail: the gall bladder, the venom, even the blood were far more potent than those from ordinary snakes, though still inferior to spiritual medicine.

Even so, they were far superior to many common medications.

The difficulty lay in a snake surviving sixty years—one in ten thousand. This was why Zhang Yang called the people who wasted them cruel; such a rare life force was simply squandered.

After finishing the sorting and properly storing everything, Zhang Yang clapped his hands with satisfaction.

He was very pleased with this haul. Since those people had gone insane anyway, keeping these things hidden would only lead to them spoiling and going to waste. Entrusting them to him ensured they would serve their highest purpose.

At this moment, Zhang Yang felt no guilt whatsoever. He had originally come prepared to pay money to purchase them. If they refused to sell, fine, but they had actually plotted against him and even invited members of the Xuanyuan family to deal with him.

If his internal energy hadn't recovered so much, and Lightning hadn't helped, his fate would surely have been tragic had they captured him.

Zhang Yang had never shown mercy to those who targeted him.

Taking their possessions was, in a way, compensation for himself.

As for the severe punishment they received, that was purely the result of their own greed. As a branch of the Zhang family, even if Zhang Yang wasn't from the main lineage, they should have maintained unity and harmony, not resorted to despicable methods to harm fellow clansmen.

Their final outcome could only be described as self-inflicted.

After a sound sleep, Zhang Yang woke up early the next morning.

He took two small venomous snakes from the cage, fed them to Lightning, and then began his own cultivation.

Lightning had starved for two days while they were in Shanghai. Zhang Yang hadn't brought many venomous snakes, and he had to hide them to avoid frightening others.

The supply he brought initially was quickly consumed by Lightning, forcing Zhang Yang to quietly buy more to replenish its intake.

Once fed, Lightning resumed playing with Shadow in the room. With Shadow around, Lightning was no longer as lonely, and the cheerful noise of the two little ones added much joy to the house.

“Little lazy cat, wake up for breakfast!”

After preparing breakfast, Zhang Yang smiled and knocked on Mi Xue’s room door. Their relationship had grown much closer, though they hadn't yet crossed that final threshold.

This left Zhang Yang feeling a slight regret, but he respected Mi Xue and understood she wasn't psychologically ready for that step.

“Give me a moment, I’ll be right out!”

Mi Xue’s voice came from inside the room. Zhang Yang smiled, walked to the side, picked up a newspaper, and began reading.

This was the morning edition delivered just that morning. After reading for a while, Zhang Yang’s lips curved into a slight smile upon seeing one particular news item.

Mysterious Toxin Causes Mass Insanity

This was the headline. The article reported that at a large Traditional Chinese Medicine clinic in Shanghai, over twenty doctors had inadvertently consumed a highly toxic substance during a meal, resulting in all of them turning mad.

Hospital examinations revealed the poison to be extremely potent and an unknown substance. The public was warned to be careful when eating, and not to consume unfamiliar items casually.

Zhang Yang wasn't surprised the hospital couldn't identify the cause; this was Lightning’s toxin. Fox Tail Sable Venom had never been encountered before; it would be strange if they could identify it.

With this news report, Zhang Yang felt much more at ease. Being written off as a case of collective poisoning meant that no one would suspect him. (To be continued……RQ)