Wild cultivation begins with wielding the Taiyin talisman.

"If you want to touch the shed, you'll have to get past me first!"

With a loud shout, Lin Ye charged forward.

Eight streams of blood energy coiled around him, his clothes billowing in the strong wind. He met the burly man's downward slash with his fist.

The burly man was wielding a sharp weapon, and it was assumed that he would temporarily avoid the attack, so he did not withdraw his sword to defend himself.

Unexpectedly, Lin Ye was completely unreasonable, letting the blade slash at him, and almost simultaneously, he punched the man in the chest.

The man's chest deflated completely, and he spat out a mouthful of blood before flying backward and crashing into the Shi family's carriage.

The wooden planks of the carriage split open instantly, scattering medicine boxes, curtains, and pieces of wood all over the floor. The horse, startled, reared up, and the driver scrambled to the side, clutching his head and shouting, "Don't step on me! Don't step on me!"

Lin Ye also suffered a knife wound to his right arm.

The cut extended from below the shoulder to the forearm, and blood quickly stained half of the sleeve red.

He glanced down at it and muttered, "That's it?"

Before he finished speaking, his left fist had already slammed into the second person.

The man had just rushed close and hadn't even had time to change his move when his nose collapsed, and he fell backward, the knife in his hand sliding a long way across the ground.

Lin Ye attacked wildly, but his magic was useless. However, his opponent was clearly not very capable either and was completely unable to defend himself.

The eight strong men from the Shi family originally intended to take advantage of their numbers and overturn the medicine shed in one fell swoop, but when they started fighting, they discovered that although the mountain guard was not the team leader, he also had the cultivation level of the eighth rank.

And this guy fights like he's out of his mind!

Even ten ordinary ninth-rank warriors couldn't withstand the power of a reckless eighth-rank warrior.

The offensive came to a halt, and no one dared to advance.

The man selling steamed buns had just pushed his stall to the side of the street when he saw this and, startled, pressed down his wooden lid and yelled at the crowd, "Nobody pushes my stall! If the buns break, I'll get compensation from the Shi family!"

Some people bent down to pick up the medicine packets on the ground, some helped up patients who almost fell, and an old woman picked up her cane, pointed at the Shi family guards, and cursed: "What kind of skill is it to cut down the price of medicine? If you're so capable, go cut your medicine prices!"

Zhao He had already stood in front of the medicine shed, gripping his knife with both hands, as if facing a formidable enemy, but no one rushed over.

Old Qian stood inside the tent, his hand still pressing on the pulse point of the poisoned man. Lin Caiwei stood beside him, looking up at the scene.

Ning Che glanced at her, then looked away.

Next, he took action.

With his left hand on the Crescent Moon Blade, he drew it, its cold light flashing across the front of the shed.

With a single step, Ning Che darted past Lin Ye, landing with an extremely cunning footwork. One moment he was several steps away, the next his blade was already close to the ribs of a burly man.

Before the man could react, his wrist was struck by the back of a knife.

The long sword slipped from his hand.

Ning Che didn't pursue the attack; instead, the back of his blade sank, striking the man's knee. The man's legs buckled, and he collapsed to the ground. Just as he tried to get up, the back of the blade pressed against the back of his neck again. The icy touch made him afraid to move, and he obediently lay down.

Another person swung a knife from behind.

Ning Che lightly touched the ground with his toes, shifting his body half a foot away. He then countered with a backhand strike of his Crescent Moon Blade, deflecting the blade. He then raised his knee and struck the man in the abdomen, forcing him to bend over, before delivering a final blow to the back of his blade, knocking him unconscious.

The others sensed something was wrong and turned to retreat back to Shi Mingxuan's side.

Ning Che didn't chase after him, but instead kicked a falling knife at his feet. The hilt struck a man's ankle, sending him sprawling face-first into the mud, his front teeth knocking off the ground and flying away.

Lin Ye glanced at it and said disdainfully, "You're being too polite with your fighting style."

Ning Che said, "Keep it to report to the authorities."

Lin Ye grinned: "Alright, let's leave a few more survivors for the officials, so they won't say we have no witnesses."

Hearing the words "report to the authorities," the onlookers grew bolder.

"Yes! Report it to the authorities!"

"We all saw the Shi family wielding knives in the street!"

"Don't let them get away!"

Shi Mingxuan stood in the street, his folding fan gone, his brocade boots stained with crumbs from the carriage. Of the eight men he had brought, most had collapsed in the blink of an eye, and the remaining two were forced to cower by Lin Ye and Zhao He.

He came here to trample on people, smash up stalls, and establish his authority.

Before they could establish their authority, the Shi family's face had already been humiliated.

The man selling steamed buns, not wanting to miss out on trouble, lifted the wooden lid and shouted, "Young Master Lin, who's been cursing the Shi family, is invited to have a bun! Line up, don't rush! Take a bun first, then curse; the loudest curse gets the thickest!"

Lin Ye forced one of them back with a punch, then turned and shouted, "Leave two for Old Qian!"

Old Qian didn't look up: "My teeth aren't very good, so thin ones will do."

The crowd laughed again.

Shi Mingxuan's noodles change from green to white, and then from white to red.

"Untouchables"

He squeezed out two words through gritted teeth.

The next moment, he drew the long sword from his waist.

As soon as the sword was drawn, a burst of magical light shot up, sending shredded medicine papers flying everywhere. Unlike the guards, his sword strike was fueled by his cultivation; the sword energy arrived before the blade even touched the ground.

Zhao He brandished his sword to block the way.

Ning Che moved even faster.

A beam of golden sword energy, like a rainbow, struck his sword.

With a loud "clang," the sharp sound of metal clashing against metal was so intense it hurt one's eardrums.

Shi Mingxuan felt a tremendous force coming from the sword, his hand instantly split open, and the sword almost slipped from his grasp.

Ning Che gave him no chance to breathe. With a swift turn, the blade slid down the sword, aiming straight for his wrist. Shi Mingxuan hurriedly withdrew his sword and retreated, but he was still a step too slow. His sleeve was slashed open by the blade, leaving a deep, bone-revealing wound on his forearm.

Just as Ning Che was about to press his advantage, the dark shadow in his marrow sea suddenly stirred, and a bone-chilling cold rushed up his head through his meridians, causing him to abruptly stop.

Shi Mingxuan seized this opening and swept his sword horizontally, the sword energy grazing Ning Che's ribs and tearing open a bloody gash.

"Brother Xing!" Zhao He roared, wanting to come and help.

Shi Mingxuan watched Ning Che's staggering figure, a ferocious smile spreading across his face. He raised his longsword once more, unleashing his eighth-grade cultivation without reservation: "You dare to oppose the Shi family? You're courting death!"

Ning Che hadn't expected him to be so distracted.

But Ning Che's movements did not slow down at all; the Lung Golden Sword Qi had already burst forth.

This time, he couldn't hold his sword anymore. The long sword, inlaid with gold and jade, slipped from his hand, spun out, and embedded itself in the wooden pillar in front of Huichun Hall.

"You dare—"

Before he could finish speaking, the back of the knife fell.

Snapped!

Shi Mingxuan bent his left knee and knelt on the ground.

The street fell silent, and everyone turned to look.

Shi Mingxuan's face flushed crimson, and he roared, "Ning Che! You dare make me kneel? Do you even know I belong to the Shi family—"

Snapped!

Ning Che swung the back of his knife again, striking Ning Che's shoulder.

Shi Mingxuan knelt down on his other leg as well.

He knelt very properly.

Lin Ye punched the last burly man to the ground, turned around and saw this scene, and laughed.

"Oh, Young Master Shi, you're giving such a grand greeting? It's not a holiday, I didn't bring any red envelopes."

Zhao He, standing guard in front of the medicine shed with his knife tip lowered, couldn't help but say, "You can keep accounts. Aren't the Shi family the best at bookkeeping?"

The onlookers immediately burst into laughter.

Shi Mingxuan gritted his teeth, trying to stand up.

Ning Che's knife pressed down on his shoulder.

"Don't move."

After those two words were spoken, Shi Mingxuan dared not move.

Because the blade was only half an inch away from his neck.

Ning Che turned to look at Qian Lao.

"Is this person still salvageable?"

Old Qian had already let go of her hand and was looking for medicine. Without looking up, he replied, "Yes. It's not a deadly poison. It's just that the wrong medicine damaged her spleen and stomach, and she also took some medicine to stimulate her blood and qi, which made her look like she was about to die."

He looked up at Shi Mingxuan, his face cold.

"Young Master Shi is quite good at picking medicine. It's enough to scare people without actually killing them on the way."

Shi Mingxuan sneered: "You say it's true? Who would believe that?"

Ning Che sheathed his knife and reached into the man's arms to take out a small paper packet.

There was still half a pinch of medicine residue left in the paper packet.

He handed it to Mr. Qian.

Old Qian took a pinch, held it to his nose, and then named several herbs.

"Black tongue grass, revitalizing vine, half a qian of pungent heart sand, and a little bit of green hemp seed."

As he said this, he looked up at the people around him.

"These medicines are not available at the free clinic."

Someone in the crowd shouted, "Where is it?"

Mr. Qian raised his hand and pointed to the opposite side.

"Always available at Shijia Pharmacy".

Shi Mingxuan's expression changed.

"You old fool, you're spouting nonsense!"

Ning Che bent down and picked up the folding fan that Shi Mingxuan had dropped from the ground.

The fan is inscribed with the words "Benevolent Heart Helps the World".

He glanced at it and felt that those four words had suffered today.

He threw the folding fan in front of Shi Mingxuan.

"You brought people to smash up the shed, accusing us of murder. Now the medicine has been tested, and no one is dead."

He paused for a moment.

"It's your turn to explain."

Shi Mingxuan stared intently at him: "You think that by suppressing me, you can suppress the Shi family?"

"I have no interest in betting on the Shi family."

Ning Che said, "I just want to know, who gave you the audacity to set up a scheme using the patient's life?"

Upon hearing this, the man who had just been carried in suddenly let out a groan.

Old Qian fed him the medicinal soup and then inserted acupuncture needles at several acupoints. After a while, the man's abdomen gradually shrunk, and his lips stopped turning purple.

He woke up.

As soon as I opened my eyes, I saw Ning Che and Shi Mingxuan.

The man shuddered in fright and turned to scramble away.

Zhao He grabbed him and pressed him down.

"No rush, finish what you have to say first."

The man's lips trembled: "I...I don't know, I just took the money..."

Shi Mingxuan suddenly looked up: "Shut up!"

Lin Ye stepped on the stone slab next to Shi Mingxuan, and a piece of it cracked.

"Try shouting it again."

The man burst into tears.

"It was someone from the Shi family's pharmacy who gave me the medicine. They told me to take half a packet and then pretend I got the medicine from the free clinic. They'd give me three thousand coins if I did it. My mother is sick, and I have no other choice..."

The street exploded.

"It was Shi Jiagan who did it!"

"Using sick patients to harm other sick patients, is that what you call benevolence and compassion?"

"Pah! My family still owes them money for medicine!"

There was a chorus of curses.

Shi Mingxuan's face finally turned pale.

Ning Che didn't look at him. He turned around, picked up the account book from the ground, dusted it off, and turned to a page.

"Twelve years ago, the formula for Pingzhang San was stolen. Three months later, Shi Family Pharmacy launched Qingzhang Dan."

He turned another page.

"Six years ago, the herb 'Hundred-Cure Grass' in Caixia Village was forcibly harvested. The person who harvested the grass had a mole on his left cheek and wore gray clothes with a short sword."

Ning Che closed the account book and tossed it into Shi Mingxuan's arms.

"Go back and tell the Shi family head."

"This isn't just about a shed of medicine."

"From today onwards, the decision to treat and save lives in Feihu City should not be made by one single entity."

After those words were spoken, the crowd fell silent.

Even Zhou Huaili stood at the entrance of Huichuntang, not daring to say a word.

That's a huge statement.

It's not just about criticizing the Shi family.

Instead, it's about dismantling the long-standing rules of Feihu City.

Shi Mingxuan held the account book tightly, his teeth clenched.

"Ning Che, you'll regret this."

Ning Che said, "Say that in order."

Shi Mingxuan was taken aback.

Lin Ye laughed loudly: "Did you hear that? There are plenty of people who want him to regret it, your Shi family should be on the list."

Zhao He added, "The free medical consultation is free; threats are a separate matter."

Shi Mingxuan was helped up and led the group of wounded soldiers away in a dejected manner.

Before leaving, he turned back and glared fiercely at Ning Che, his eyes brimming with resentment. Ning Che simply returned the gaze calmly until his carriage completely disappeared at the street corner.

East Street did not immediately return to its former bustling state.

The people looked at the simple medicine shed, at Old Qian still bowing his head to take pulses, and at Ning Che using his left hand to right the overturned medicine shelves one by one. Suddenly, the woman carrying a child who had come to seek medical help first knelt down again and kowtowed heavily: "Thank you, Lord Ning, thank you, Old Qian, for saving my life."

This time, she wasn't alone.

A dozen or so people who had received medical treatment knelt down, their words of gratitude echoing in the wind of East Street.

Ning Che frowned and stepped forward to help them up one by one: "Don't kneel. If you need medical treatment, please line up. We, the guardians of this mountain, are meant to protect you."

Lin Ye shouted at the top of his lungs, "Listen up, everyone! You can't cut in line, even if you have to kneel!"

A burst of laughter erupted from the crowd, and the tense atmosphere that had just been palpable completely dissipated.

The line in front of the medicine stall quickly formed again, even longer than in the morning, and extended into the alley next to it.

Old Qian worked until dark, his hands trembling as he held the medicine scale, but he never stopped. Zhao He was sweating profusely as he dispensed the medicine, Lin Ye was running around carrying water and medicine, and Lin Caiwei sat quietly by the medicine box, helping to sort the herbs. Her eyes could accurately distinguish the poisonous plants.

It wasn't until late at night, after the last patient left, that the medicine shed finally became completely quiet.

Old Qian wiped his hands, his tone grave: "We're running out of medicine. We've used up most of the usable herbs in the old medicine warehouse. At today's rate of visitors, it'll only last half a day at most tomorrow."

Zhao He panicked instantly: "What do we do then? Most of the pharmacies in the city are connected to the Shi family; there's no way they'll sell to us!"

"There are some in the mountains," Ning Che said, tapping the table with his fingertips. "There are wild medicinal herbs in the nearby mountains. Mr. Qian, could you draw a picture of the herbs and mark their locations? I'll go into the mountains to find them."

Old Qian was taken aback, then quickly waved his hand: "No! Your right arm is useless; going into the mountains is too dangerous, especially since there's miasma and monsters in there!"

"I still have my left hand." Ning Che shook his intact left arm, his tone leaving no room for argument. "You all stay here and guard the medicine shed. Don't let the Shi family have a chance to take advantage of us."

"I'll go with Uncle." Lin Caiwei immediately stood up, looking up at Ning Che. "I recognize poisonous plants, and I'm not afraid of miasma."

Ning Che wanted to refuse, but swallowed his words. With Lin Caiwei around, they could indeed avoid many of the poisonous miasma and dangerous places in the mountains.

That night, Old Qian drew up diagrams of the medicinal herbs and clearly marked the mountain paths and water sources. Before dawn, Ning Che took Lin Caiwei out of the city.

Over the next seven days, Ning Che traversed almost the entire mountainous region surrounding Feihu City.

Every night, the people of East Street would see the one-armed mountain guardian returning with two large baskets full of medicinal herbs, followed by a barefoot little girl whose shoes always had half a bowl of muddy water inside.

During this time, the Shi family sent men to block the road outside the mountain. Lin Ye heard about it, chased them out of the city and gave them a severe beating. The men were so badly beaten that they scrambled back into the city and never dared to show their faces again.

Late on the seventh night, Ning Che returned to East Street for the last time, then prepared to head to the Rat Swamp to bring Zhong Hongyao to the city.

When he set off again, there were two morning stars in the sky.