Recognizing Zhang Yang, Wang Daolin could only mutter this phrase repeatedly. If he hadn't been severely injured, his legs crippled, he would surely have kowtowed to Zhang Yang multiple times.

Though he was already seventy or eighty years old, he couldn't help but shed tears. However, this sudden surge of emotion caused a sharp, twisting pain in his vital organs, and with a groan, he spat out a mouthful of blood.

Zhang Yang rushed over, swiftly pressed dozens of acupoints on Wang Daolin's body, and then channeled a thread of his inner qi to help stabilize the circulation within him.

Wang Daolin had managed to hold on for so long solely through the inner qi sustaining him. Previously, shackled to the water dungeon wall by iron chains, he was immobilized. Now that he was freed, the relaxation, coupled with such extreme emotional swings, naturally caused his inner qi to rapidly deplete, indirectly consuming his very life force.

Since Zhang Yang had decided to save him, he could not stand by and watch him die before his eyes. While completely curing the accumulated injuries and sickness of Wang Daolin would be impossible in a short time, preserving his life was relatively easy.

Wang Daolin sensed the warm currents flowing through him and knew the young man before him was saving his life, filling his heart with renewed gratitude.

"How did you recognize me?" Zhang Yang asked, seeing that Wang Daolin had regained control of his emotions.

"I heard it from the young man who was imprisoned here with this old man before," Wang Daolin explained after calming himself. "He possessed some sort of magical artifact that the Jiang family desperately coveted, which is why the Jiangs had him locked in this water dungeon, intending to coerce him into handing it over."

Hearing this, Zhang Yang realized that what the Jiang family sought was the latter half of that peerless Toxin Scripture. The Jiangs, however, did not know that this Zhang Lin only possessed half of it, and the other half was conveniently hidden with the Yan family they were trying to harm.

"But the Jiang family didn't use torture on this young man; instead, they injected him with a toxic agent that induces intense excitement. Within a few days, this young man would frequently descend into madness, speaking incoherently. It was from his ravings that I heard him admit he was not a descendant of the Medical Saint Zhang family but someone intending to harm the Zhang lineage." Wang Daolin continued, looking at Zhang Yang. "If this old man's eyes do not deceive him, that sword of yours should be the renowned Cold Spring Sword from the Divine Weapon Ranking, and these two pets are a Fox-tailed Marten and a Treasure-Seeking Rat. With such deep resources, I truly cannot imagine who else you could be besides a descendant of the Medical Saint Zhang family."

"That is correct. I am the current successor of the Medical Saint Zhang family. My name is Zhang Yang," Zhang Yang confirmed, admitting his identity. He then told Wang Daolin, "However, the ones who truly slaughtered the entire Jiang clan were not me, but a descendant of the Yan family, Yan Liangfei."

"Little Yan? Where is that child?" Wang Daolin knew the most promising youth of the current Yan generation. Before the Wang family was annihilated, he had attended Yan Liangfei's full moon banquet and held a deep impression of that astonishingly talented child.

"I sent him back to the Yan family. In his quest for revenge, he nearly succumbed to demonic deviation, but fortunately, I found the White Flame Demonic Ginseng. Although he will lose all his inner qi from now on, with him being under twenty, recovering to the second layer of inner qi is only a matter of time," Zhang Yang nodded, then patiently recounted everything that had transpired, including the recent status of the Yan family.

Upon hearing that the Yan family had long been persecuted by the Jiangs, leaving behind only orphans and widows, and that Yan Liangfei had fallen into demonic deviation while seeking vengeance—though knowing Yan Liangfei would survive—Wang Daolin was overcome with emotion, grinding his teeth, "The Jiang family..."

"Don't agitate yourself!" Zhang Yang couldn't help but frown. The more agitated Wang Daolin became, the harder it was for him to control the inner qi within his body. If Wang Daolin continued speaking, he might collapse and die on the spot within moments.

"Descendant of the Zhang family, you are not only a benefactor to the Yan family but also to my Wang family!" Wang Daolin seemed utterly unconcerned with his physical condition, fearing instead that any second wasted would be too much. He urged Zhang Yang, "Please, Benefactor, do not waste your strength on this old man!"

Then, summoning all his remaining strength, Wang Daolin raised a trembling hand to grip Zhang Yang's arm. "All twelve members of my Wang family were destroyed by the Jiangs. This crippled body of mine deserves to die, but I clung to this last breath not only to see the day the Jiangs paid their due but also to find an opportunity to warn the Yan family to avoid the Jiangs' persecution. Now, the entire Jiang clan has been wiped out, and the Yan family... is safe. Both my wishes are fulfilled; I have no regrets in this life!"

"The Jiang family these past few years have been depraved, seizing my Wang family's assets to cultivate opium poppies and process them into narcotics for sale, thereby acquiring immense ill-gotten wealth... In the North Suburb county seat, their mansion's servants were all their accomplices. Benefactor, I beg you, do not spare these people..."

"What! The Jiang family dared to manufacture and traffic drugs!" Zhang Yang was greatly shocked, and at the same time, he finally understood why there was so much cash in the underground treasury!

Although the opium poppy has medicinal value, since the Opium Wars, this plant has been explicitly forbidden to cultivate. The Jiang family dared to defy the world's decree by growing opium to make drugs; truly, their sins were numerous and unforgivable!

As Daolin spoke, he coughed up another mouthful of blood. Having refused Zhang Yang's treatment, his life force drained rapidly; his entire appearance instantly aged, and his voice grew increasingly hoarse and rough.

Zhang Yang immediately moved to inject more inner qi, but Wang Daolin shook his head and continued, "Descendant of the Zhang family, this Wang Daolin has no way to repay your kindness. All I have to offer is a fourth-tier Spirit Beast Inner Elixir, accumulated through the good karma of my Wang family over a hundred years. That elixir is hidden behind the mural on the wall directly opposite the entrance of the villa... you may take it yourself..."

After uttering these last words, Wang Daolin closed his eyes and breathed his last, a smile of contentment fixed upon his face.

Zhang Yang knelt beside Wang Daolin, silent for a long time, before rising and leaving the underground water dungeon with Wuying and Shandian, uttering no words.

On the way out, Zhang Yang passed the treasure vault but did not spare another glance at the mountain of cash piled within. That money was tainted with the poison of crime, and Zhang Yang utterly disdained it.

Following Wang Daolin's instructions, Zhang Yang only retrieved the Inner Elixir hidden behind the mural in the villa's main hall and did not touch anything else in the residence.

The elixir was wrapped in a layer of unidentifiable beast hide, which clearly possessed the special ability to isolate all auras, which is why even the Treasure-Seeking Rat, Wuying, had failed to detect its presence.

After placing the elixir in his canvas bag, Zhang Yang proceeded to the villa's backyard, which extended to the cliff face of Yanming Mountain's rear slope. This entire area was planted with opium poppies, their delicate blossoms swaying gently in the breeze, emitting an intoxicating, sweet fragrance.

The Jiang family villa was built deep within the mountains of Yanming, offering a natural barrier. No wonder the outside world failed to discover the opium cultivation here.

How many people would this vast field of poppies harm once processed into narcotics? And upon how many broken families was the immense wealth hidden in the villa built?

Zhang Yang was acutely aware of the dangers of drugs. Before him, this field of poppies was the source of all wickedness.

The Jiang family deserved death!

Zhang Yang clenched his fists, wishing he could immediately raze everything before him to the ground!

Tap-tap-tap!

Zhuifeng had already returned to the villa after delivering Yan Liangfei back to the Yan family residence.

Seeing Zhuifeng, Zhang Yang knew exactly how to deal with the villa.

In the depths of Yanming Mountain, the sudden eruption of light and fire caused the villa, hidden deep in the ancient forest, to be utterly consumed by a massive blaze.

That day, the rear slopes of Yanming Mountain glowed fiery red, leading the residents of the nearby North Suburb county seat to believe the Mountain God of Yanming was enraged, causing a mountain fire. Fortunately, the blaze was extinguished after just one night and did not spread to cause a greater disaster, so it was simply dismissed as a natural calamity and gradually faded from memory.

On that very day, the Police Department of the North Suburb county seat suddenly received an anonymous tip: the North Suburb's wealthiest family, the Jiangs, were secretly manufacturing and trafficking drugs. Initially, they dismissed it as a prank. However, shortly after, Deputy Director Zheng Qimo of the Changjing City Police Department, which bordered the North Suburb, personally led anti-narcotics SWAT teams to the North Suburb, successfully raiding the Jiang family mansion and seizing irrefutable evidence of their drug manufacturing.

That day, the Jiang family’s illicit drug production shocked the North Suburb!

Not a single servant or retainer of the Jiang family managed to escape; for the crime of manufacturing and trafficking drugs, even being executed hundreds of times would not suffice.

All of this was naturally orchestrated by Zhang Yang, leveraging his connection with Deputy Director Zheng Qimo. Not only did it resolve the issues left by the Jiang family, but it also bestowed a monumental achievement upon Zheng Qimo.

As for the deaths of the Jiang brothers outside their manor, they were overshadowed by the massive drug case involving the Jiang family and went uninvestigated.

Per Zhang Yang’s request, Zheng Qimo suppressed the matter entirely, revealing no information about Zhang Yang to the outside world. This affair had broad repercussions, keeping Zheng Qimo intensely busy. After their initial meeting, Zhang Yang never saw him again, but everything that followed was no longer Zhang Yang’s concern.

Because Yan Liangfei had still not woken up, Zhang Yang was forced to delay another day in the North Suburb. The elders of the Yan family, upon learning of Wang Daolin's fate, merely sighed and said no more. (To be continued)