Xiao Zhuzi didn’t say a word.
He stared at the fat manager with eyes full of hatred and disdain.
But he was just a child.
Being glared at by a child wouldn’t cause any stir in the fat manager’s heart.
He only felt that this little brat was truly ignorant.
Slap!
With the sound of a crisp slap, the fat manager knocked Xiao Zhuzi to the ground.
“Hmph, your mouth is stubborn, but what’s the use? There are 100-plus people in Yaoxi Village. Could it be they’re all as unafraid of death as you?”
The fat manager sneered.
It didn’t matter even if Xiao Zhuzi refused to talk; he already intended to turn his spear toward the other villagers of Yaoxi Village.
“Manager Cui, what should we do with this kid?”
“Kill him, and then throw him in the river. This is the consequence for anyone who dares to steal my things!”
“That… isn’t your possession!”
Xiao Zhuzi finally couldn’t help but speak out, his thin little face flushing bright red.
“That’s the token my father and mother left for me! You stole it; you’re the thief!”
Slap!!
Another even louder slap rang out.
“You little brat, you just have to force me. You guys, stop dawdling and get to it. It’s the middle of the night; if you wake up the Sect Leader or the Young Lord, none of you will have a good ending!”
Manager Cui cursed as he shook his slightly numbed hand.
“Yes, yes!”
The patrolmen nodded like chickens pecking at grain.
They immediately hoisted Xiao Zhuzi up, preparing to end his life.
The night was terrifyingly quiet.
The screech of a blade being drawn from its scabbard was exceptionally piercing.
The cold, miserable moonlight shone on Xiao Zhuzi’s pale face, a scene of dead silence.
No one knew what the child was feeling at this moment, but from beginning to end, he never bowed his head to these people.
Precisely because he kept his head held high, he could clearly see the branches of the nearby trees slowly extending, blocking out the moon above.
In the next instant, six flying swords arrived from all directions.
Like butterflies dancing through flowers, they passed by the patrolmen, effortlessly piercing through every single one of their hearts.
Thud.
The sound of bodies hitting the ground behind him reached the ears of the fat manager, who hadn’t walked far yet.
His fleshy ears twitched.
He turned around with a look of confusion, only to see the large tree in his own courtyard.
Its branches had twisted into the shape of human arms, holding up a petite young girl.
The girl’s hair hung down like long willow branches.
Six flying swords floated around her.
Her expression was lazy as she glanced at the fat manager.
With a flick of her finger, a blood-stained flying sword instantly shot out.
The fat manager turned to flee, but before he could even make a sound, the flying sword pierced through his head from behind.
The night was terrifyingly quiet.
A thick, bloody scent filled the air.
Xiao Zhuzi looked at Ye Qingluan sitting in mid-air with a face full of horror.
Dazed, he said, “Doctor Ye… You…”
“My medical skills can’t cure being brain-dead.”
Ye Qingluan tilted her head, staring at Xiao Zhuzi as she asked, “Didn’t I tell you not to come here again? You don’t listen to reason; do you like seeking death?”
The Ye Qingluan before his eyes was like a completely different person, leaving Xiao Zhuzi unsure of how to respond for a moment.
“Why are you still standing there like an idiot? It’s one thing for your brain to have problems, but are your legs broken too?”
“No, they’re not broken.”
“Then why aren’t you running?”
Xiao Zhuzi nodded hurriedly and quickly fled from the territory of the Xincheng Sect.
Soon after, lights flared up across the Xincheng Sect, and more and more footsteps were approaching this area.
“Sigh, it looks like I’ll have to get even less sleep today.”
Ye Qingluan let out a yawn.
She circulated her Zhenqi, and a green glow erupted from her body.
The branches beneath her began to grow wildly like awakened beasts.
In just a few breaths, the entire Xincheng Sect was enveloped by gnarled, intertwining branches.
The people of the Xincheng Sect either had their life force drained by the branches or were strangled to death.
No one knew which scream belonged to the Sect Leader and Young Sect Leader, who had yet to even show their faces.
Very quickly, without Ye Qingluan even lifting a finger personally, the entire Xincheng Sect was wiped clean.
This was her way of protecting Xiao Zhuzi.
Admittedly, as a Physician, Ye Qingluan knew she couldn’t casually interfere in the lives of others.
That was why she hadn’t accepted Xu Tianlong’s request in her capacity as a Physician.
Instead, after casting aside that identity, she had come here “privately” according to her own thoughts.
In this way, it didn’t count as “a physician interfering in a patient’s life.”
Perhaps to others, Ye Qingluan’s actions seemed utterly nonsensical.
But she didn’t care.
She did this to convince herself; she felt that doing so would preserve her “medical ethics” and “reputation.”
The reason Ye Qingluan left Among the Colorful Clouds was because her “desires” could not be satisfied.
Her desire was to treat the injured and the sick.
While she was still at Among the Colorful Clouds, people refused to let her treat them because of her status as the “Disciple of the Demoness.”
Situations like this had happened many times.
Furthermore, even her Master refused to be her patient and wouldn’t let her properly examine his body.
Thus, after her desires went unsatisfied for a long time, Ye Qingluan took the initiative to propose a temporary leave from the Sect.
By now, Ye Qingluan had successfully established herself as an Anonymous Traveling Doctor.
Every time she reached a new place and helped a new group of people, her desire would be satisfied.
However, she couldn’t stay in one place for too long.
Otherwise, things like what just happened would occur—she would reveal her true face in order to protect her patients.
This true face couldn’t be exposed too many times.
If everyone found out, she probably wouldn’t be able to practice medicine everywhere anymore.
Ye Qingluan manipulated the branches to retrieve the jade pendant that had been taken from Xiao Zhuzi from the fat manager’s room.
‘If I put this item at his door, I can say goodbye, right?’
Ye Qingluan said to herself.
Xiao Zhuzi probably wouldn’t dare to see her again.
After all, he could never have imagined that the gentle-handed, Buddha-hearted Doctor Ye was actually a well-disguised “beast.”
He knew even less that this “beast” was ranked third in Among the Colorful Clouds.
At the same time, she was ranked eighth on the Blacklist of Evildoers—two spots higher than her Second Senior Sister, Blue Ling’er!
Despite possessing the magic treasure Azure Wood Jade and the Wooden Sword from the Sword Pavilion, what Ye Qingluan actually practiced was genuine Demonic Art!
As one of the Demonic Cultivators, having “healing people” as a hobby—there was nothing wrong with that, was there?
***
Several days later.
At the foot of the mountain of Among the Colorful Clouds in Yizhou, before the Mountain-Protecting Array.
“Master, that Demoness hasn’t replied at all. She clearly has no intention of returning the Wooden Sword! Why are we still waiting here?”
The fourth disciple of the Sword Pavilion, Liu Mingyan, asked with her arms crossed, looking confused.
Recalling how she had been frightened away from this place by the three people from Among the Colorful Clouds earlier, Liu Mingyan couldn’t help but turn red in the face, feeling she had lost all dignity.
Now that her Master was personally visiting Among the Colorful Clouds, the other party hadn’t shown any reaction at all.
This lack of respect was truly unbearable for Liu Mingyan.
“This is her territory; we must not lose our manners.”
“But Master, we can’t just keep waiting like this. Think of a way to make her notice we’re here.”
“If I strike, this formation will break in an instant. Do you think she will believe we’re here to negotiate, or to pick a fight?”
“Then… how about I do it?”
“If you strike, it would be a lack of respect for elders, and a failure of my discipline.”
“Then, then we can only keep waiting?”
“Yes.”
“…”
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.