The man waved his hand. A grey mist flashed about. It was heading straight for the huge dog but dissipated.

Woof!

The dog shook its head and wiggled its body for a bit before pouncing right before that man.

“Damn, what the hell?”

The huge dog arrived right before the man while he was still flustered. He quickly rolled to evade the attack, but he still somehow ended up being hit by the huge dog. He felt a huge force coming down on his back. It caused the man to almost spit out blood.

“What great force!”

Back in the clinic below the mountain…

Huh?

Wang Yao suddenly got up and looked outside.

“What’s wrong, Master?” Jia Zizai asked.

“I heard growls from San Xian earlier,” Wang Yao replied. “Someone is up in the mountain. It is an uninvited guest.”

“I’ll go up there and take a look.” As he spoke, Jia Zizai emanated a killing intent.

“Let’s go.”

By the time they arrived, they saw a crippled man on the ground in shambles.

That man was all bloodied. He took in a lot of breath but was letting little out. The huge dog, which looked like a lion, stood in front of the man. The dog opened its mouth wide and happily waggled its tail at them.

“What the hell? Is this even a dog?”

That man stared at the dog with indescribable shock in his eyes. He had pulled every trick up his sleeve in the fight—poisons, curses, blades—but the dog seemed immune to all the poisons and curses he was capable of dishing out. The dog was so surreal that even blades were unable to penetrate its skin. That man’s blades were utterly useless against the dog. Not even a real lion was that formidable. He had been confident that he was able to take down that animal, yet the oversized dog turned out to be a monster.

“This is interesting.” Wang Yao glared at the man on the ground.

“How is this thing immune to poisons and curses?” the man asked. His face was subconsciously filled with despair.

“Are you talking about San Xian?” Wang Yao asked as he went up to pat the dog’s head. “He’s immune to all poisons and demonic functions.”

The dog was basking in the nimbus of the mountain day and night. Wang Yao had also fed him some pharmaceutical solutions, which included all manners of magic herbs. The dog had long been more than just an ordinary animal.

“Zizai, you’re up,” Wang Yao said.

“No problem, Master.” Jia Zizai smirked and said, “Man, I just love interrogations.”

“Interrogations?”

When he heard that, the man suddenly twitched.

I’m sorry, Chief, but I won’t be able to see your dream become a reality.

“Do you want to die?”

The man struggled on the ground. He was filled with frustration and reluctance as he prepared to die. A huge, undeniable force shrouded his body.

“Ingesting poison? Are you going to kill yourself?” Wang Yao took out a bowl of medicine and immediately fed it to the man.

The pain in his body quickly dissipated.

The poison was cured.

“How is this possible?” he asked.

That man glared at Wang Yao with his eyes wide open.

It was a poison from his village. The prescription and end product were concocted by the chief. There were only a handful of people in the village capable of curing the poison. Although the man brought the antidote with him, he was not about to use it. He was determined to die for the cause right there and then. He had not expected the young man to be able to cure the poison so easily.

“Who the hell are you?” he asked.

The man stared at the young man before him, wondering how the other man had become so capable despite being so young. He wondered who that other man had studied under, why he had never heard of that young man, and if his people had been isolated for too long.

“You best be more concerned about yourself right now.” Jia Zizai single-handedly hoisted him up and took him to the cottage on the western mountain.

Luckily, I told the chief what happened here, the man thought.

Without the threat of bug curses, the man was hardly considered a professional special agent.

Jia Zizai quickly learned a big chunk of what he was out to learn from that man.

“Gosh, you’re good.”

“Stay here and, don’t bother trying anything funny.” Jia Zizai dumped the man, who was reduced to a shell from his former self, to a corner, before heading down the mountain. He told Wang Yao what he had learned.

“Miao Xihe again?”

“Yep.”

“That asshole just doesn’t know when to give up,” Wang Yao said with a smirk.

“Master, how about I head out to southern Yunnan and see what he’s made of myself?” Jia Zizai asked.

“No.” Wang Yao waved his hand dismissively.

“We’ll wait. I think they’ll still send men here. Didn’t you look into that poor chap’s phone? That guy already sent some stuff out there. Chief Miao probably knows all he needs to know by now.”

“Sure, we’ll just wait,” Jia Zizai replied.

In the Valley of Thousands of Medicines, thousands of miles away…

Miao Xihe received the message and images sent by that man who was sent to scout the northern village. He remained stunned for quite a bit. He hardly flinched for a time.

“How could there be a place like this up north?” He was excited, puzzled, and restless.

“Qingfeng.” He quickly summoned his most trusted student to his side.

“What do you need of me, Sir?”

“Take a look at this,” Miao Xihe said.

He handed the phone to Miao Qingfeng.

“Did you send someone over there, Sir?”

“Yes, but he was caught and trashed by a dog,” Xiao Xihe said.

“A dog?” Miao Qingfeng was dumbfounded.

Miao Qingfeng knew how capable people from his village were. The ones sent out on missions like that were the elite. Those people saw their fair share of ferocious beasts and bugs throughout the years in training. They were so good that not even the likes of lions and tigers were able to take them on, let alone a dog. Furthermore, they also carried curse poisons with them. Miao Qingfeng was puzzled as to how the man ended up being taken down by a dog.

“I’ll send someone to take a further look over there,” Miao Xihe said. “Oh right, was Yinghao there before?”

“He was.”

“Tell him to get moving.”

“Yes, Sir,” Miao Qingfeng answered.

Miao Qingfeng left Miao Xihe’s place and walked silently on a road in the village. Before he realized it, he had arrived at the lake.

He fished out a cigarette from his pocket, which was a rare thing for him to do.

“So, you’ve taken up smoking too?” A voice was heard from behind.

That man was none other than Zhao Yinghao, who had a very dark complexion. He was one of the very few people in the village without the Miao surname.

“I just saw the chief, and he has an assignment for you,” Miao Qingfeng said.

“What would that be?”

“Make a trip to that village again.”

“Which one? That one up north?” Zhao Yinghao was puzzled for a bit, but he quickly realized what was asked of him.

“Yeah, that one,” Miao Qingfeng replied.

“No problem. What’s my assignment?”

“It’s a scouting mission.”

“Scouting? Scout what?”

“You’re not the only one heading you. There are others from the village heading out with you, Yinghao.” Miao Qingfeng tapped the other man’s shoulder

They were considered peers. Although they had not spent much time with each other, unlike the ones from the village who Miao Qingfeng grew up with, he still got along well with the other man.

“A word of advice. No matter what happens, make sure you come back alive,” Miao Qingfeng said.

There was a possibility of turning things around as long as one stayed alive. Ending up dead was the end of everything. It was a cold, hard truth.

“I know.” Zhao Yinghao nodded solemnly.

He remembered well just how formidable that young man over there was. All three of them, the master and his students, were utterly incapable of fighting him. The situation had been so hopeless that he felt helpless.

“I’ll only be there to scout things. I’m not going to fight him.”

“Yeah.”

In Lianshan County…

“What do you mean another one?”

“Well, another one showed up, and he was heading for Dr. Wang’s place.”

“Goddamn these people!”

Two men coming one after another, who were obviously up to no good, to see the doctor compelled them to take things seriously. Many people in the county owed Wang Yao debts of gratitude. Some of their family members had suffered from diseases for years with little hope of recovery, yet they had all recovered after visiting that doctor. Now, they all knew how to return the doctor’s favor.

“Tell everyone in the town’s police station to keep their eyes peeled.”

“Sure.”

Back in the mountain village…

Despite it not being the day he was supposed to receive treatment, Guo Zhenghe was at the clinic.

“I heard that you’ve run into some trouble,” he said.

“Yeah, an uninvited guest,” Wang Yao replied.

“I’m sorry. They probably followed me,” Guo Zhenghe said. He looked noticeably better than he had a few days ago.

“It’s too late for that now,” Wang Yao said. “Just let them come.”

“You best watch out,” Guo Zhenghe said. “These people have no lines they won’t cross to get the job done. Even if you aren’t afraid of them, you still have your family to think about.”

“Sure, thanks for the reminder,” Wang Yao said.

Wang Yao’s parents had taken the medicine that allowed them to become immune to all poisons, just like how it was with Zhong Liuchuan and the others. Those poisonous bugs no longer dared to get close to his parents at all, so they were no longer afraid of the curses. However, there were still other things to consider, such as his sister and brother-in-law’s family.

“Secretary Guo, you’re the one who started this, and you should be the one to end them,” Wang Yao said.

“I’m taking care of those matters as we speak,” Guo Zhenghe said. “Rest assured, they won’t be able to throw their weight around for long.”