Qingshan Wild Man Valley

Chapter 16

My hand was suddenly grabbed. I was startled and turned to look. The savage was supporting himself with one hand and had his other hand on my hand.

I thought you were gone… he wrote, then looked into my eyes. His gaze was still clear and deep, but there was no joy or impatience in it. He could stare at me without blinking, his expression filled with gentleness and doting. If no one disturbed him, he could keep looking at me like that forever.

"Are you frigid?" I asked, and he smiled faintly.

Without further ado, I pushed him down and immediately bent down to help him with his gear. He reached out and gently stroked my hair.

However, neither of them were satisfied that night.

The savage treated me like a fragile item marked "handle with care." He kissed me repeatedly, but he was very restrained. He was not as ferocious as his name suggested, and he even controlled his movements perfectly, giving me no chance to moan wildly.

When I was beneath him, or on top of him, I was so conscious that it chilled me to the bone. He was thin and bony, but none of his sharp edges hurt me. This was what he really wanted.

I wish he could be even crazier, even more reckless.

Because what I want is not these things at all...

Apricot Yellow Flag Order

I have done something wrong, and I will regret it for the rest of my life without seeking forgiveness.

...

In front of the fireworks shop, everyone was arguing over the uncle again.

Unfortunately, the main character is not here.

Sometimes I really wonder how this uncle has survived to this day. He's so flamboyant and showy, so strange and heartless (as noted by those seeking medical help). He hasn't saved many people, but the number of people he's offended is as high as a mountain... Yet even today, no one dares to smash the fireworks shop's sign with a rock, and no one dares to easily offend the uncle. There are two reasons for this.

First of all, the uncle is a hero. The people he saved include the former leader of the martial arts alliance, the current leader of the martial arts alliance, the leader of the Wufu Gang, the number one gang in Jiangzuo, the deputy leader of the Eight Swords Alliance in Shaanxi, Owl, the number one divine constable in Tokyo, One-Eyed Ah Qi, the leader of the Thirteen Docks along the coast, the right protector of the Chen Gang Hall, the number one sect in the demonic sect, and the eldest son of the famous Nangong family in Chengdu... Why does he only save famous people? This guy has no character!

That's why the uncle doesn't need to find a backer; naturally, the most respected figures in the martial arts world will come to him.

Even without a powerful figure like the man in the small village outside Chengdu that day, if someone wants to kill him, then naturally someone else who needs him will stand up to protect him. When everyone wants to kill him, there's still me, Sun Qingshan, and the savage to protect him. I remember that day I blew a big bubble with chewing gum in front of the man in black, and the bubble burst, knocking the man in black unconscious.

Then, the second reason why the uncle was so arrogant was the collective punishment system he invented. If anyone accidentally angered him, his father's four relatives, his mother's three relatives, his wife's two relatives... the uncle would never treat them again.

So the man disappeared, and no one dared to track him down.

That day, I was utterly despondent and decided to abandon Uncle in the crowd and lead the wealthy merchants and martial arts practitioners to the small town beside the Dujiangyan embankment to find Uncle.

"Xu Yi, you sorcerer!" A young man from the Lingnan Sword Sect kicked into someone's courtyard. "Where are you? I'm going to kill you!!"

The Korean Rakshasa woman then lashed out with a leather whip, coldly snorting, "You brat, you should know your limits before you kill someone. If you're really capable, I'll be waiting for you to whip your corpse!"

"Heh." Then came a disdainful chuckle.

"What are you laughing at? Laugh again and I'll poison your muteness!" The two people walking ahead suddenly turned around, their eyes blazing with anger.

"Don't look at me!" I waved my hand. "It wasn't me!!"

"It's me..." A young man, who was underage, stepped out from behind me. "It's me laughing. I'm laughing at how arrogant you two are. Who in the world doesn't want to kill Xu Yi? But if we kill him, will there be another Doctor Xu Yi?"

"That quack!" the Rakshasa woman scoffed. "I refuse to believe he's the only doctor!"

“Hey—” the young man shook his head, “Of course, he’s not the only doctor, but he’s the only doctor who can make even Yama, the King of Hell, stop in his tracks…”

"Cough cough..."

Before the young man could finish speaking, a soft cough came from the crowd, causing him to turn around immediately. His previous "I'm very humble, but I just look down on you" expression vanished instantly. When his entire face turned around, the young man, who appeared to be underage, suddenly became respectful and humble.

"Xiao Qian, don't talk nonsense."

As the crowd made way, the tall and elegant young man appeared as if surrounded by stars. He was dressed in plain clothes, yet his overall appearance was incredibly luxurious. He looked sickly, his fist clenched, and he was coughing lightly against his lower lip.

"Yes." The underage boy immediately bowed.

“This guy is rich…” I muttered to myself, leaning against the savage.

The wild man ignored me. In fact, he had been angry with me since early morning because I had revealed the uncle's secret and brought a large group of patients from all over the country, from all walks of life, to this place.

Even earlier, the wild man had discouraged me from pestering the uncle to treat his illness. He said he wasn't sick, and that his inability to speak might be congenital. He said his stomach was weak and he would recover on his own in a couple of days. As for amnesia... he countered: "Do you really want me to remember everything?"

Actually, I don't think that way.

But I think the savages are good.

The sickly-looking young man took two steps forward slowly, and someone bowed to him, addressing him as "Second Young Master".

It is said that the Nangong family has three sickly members, and this young man should be the second young master of the Nangong family, almost certainly.

The second young master nodded and said, "Senior Song, the Iron Palm Divine Fist, it's a pleasure to meet you."

This single sentence immediately sparked a flurry of whispers:

"How did the Iron Palm Divine Fist arrive?"

"Why can't the Iron Palm Divine Fist come?"

"You don't know? I heard that he stole the treasure map from his senior brother, Iron Hand Plum Blossom, and went out to sea to search for treasure, didn't he?"

"Who told you that?! Who would dare to flaunt a treasure map? And who said the Yan family's treasure is really overseas?!"

"Stop speculating and listen to me!! It's like this... It's true that the Iron Palm Divine Fist got the treasure map, but before he could even warm it up, someone else snatched it away!"

"What happened? Explain yourself! Explain yourself! How come it was stolen again?"

"This matter... how many incidents have occurred in the martial arts world over the Yan family's treasure in recent years? This time it might be a fake map again. However, possessing a treasure is a crime. I heard that... the only son of Iron Palm Divine Fist was crippled because of this map, and that's why he came to find Xu Yi."

"Is that so?! That treasure is really strange. It's been going on for years, but there's never been a trace of it, only one bloody incident after another..."

"Shh! Stop talking! Can't you see the Second Young Master is frowning? Watch your tongue!"

"Look at what you're saying! I've exposed Iron Palm Divine Fist's secrets to you. Aren't you afraid of him? Are you afraid of some sickly young master?!"

"What do you know?! The Nangong family is incredibly powerful, how can you compare?!"

"Cough cough..." The second young master of the Nangong family frowned and coughed lightly twice.

The man beside him, Iron Palm Divine Fist Song, had a livid face, but he had good endurance and held back his anger. Instead, he changed the subject and asked about other people's business.

"Is the second young master feeling unwell, and has he come to see Physician Xu for treatment?"

This is the first time I've heard people call me "Uncle, the Divine Doctor," but they're only doing so out of respect for the Second Young Master. In reality, everyone would like to call me "Xu Yi the Demon."

However, the Second Young Master of the Nangong family shook his head and said, "That's not the case."

Iron Palm Divine Fist awaited him, and he continued, "It's just that my elder brother recently heard that someone was looking for trouble with the owner of the fireworks shop, and asked me to keep an eye on it when I had some free time. Also, I happened to get a few thousand-year-old ginseng roots today, so I thought I'd take them to the fireworks shop to help the divine doctor recover. But as soon as I got to the shop, I heard that the divine doctor had come to Dujiangyan. I had nothing else to do, so I decided to come and join in the fun, which can be considered as fulfilling my elder brother's request."

After he finished speaking, whether intentionally or not, the sickly young man's gaze shifted and landed on me.

I was horrified. Just a moment ago he said someone was looking for trouble with the fireworks shop owner, and the next moment he dragged me into it. His eyes were full of meaning, making me unconsciously wonder: Could the person looking for trouble with the old man be me?!

But soon, Iron Palm Divine Fist took over the conversation, clearing up my doubts and also eliminating any suspicion against me.

"Is the person you're referring to, Second Young Master, the bandits of Liangshan Marsh? I heard that three of their leaders recently died. The bandit leader once asked Doctor Xu to come and treat him, but Doctor Xu refused. He held a grudge and issued a yellow flag decree: whoever in the world can take the head of Xu Yi will receive the entire Liangshan Marsh stronghold, along with all the brothers in that stronghold."

The second young master of the Nangong family nodded calmly, "That is indeed the matter."

But I couldn't stay calm.

First, I heard about Liangshan Marsh. It was the early Northern Song Dynasty, and the time for Liangshan heroes or the Water Margin stronghold was not yet right. But when I first heard this word, which included both bandits and strongholds, I obviously couldn't get used to it. The image of the fierce and incomparable 108 heroes popped into my mind, and I longed for it. For a moment, I only regretted that I was born at the wrong time and missed the opportunity to join a large group of heroes on Liangshan!

Then I heard that the "miracle doctor" had rejected the person, and my professional instincts kicked in, making me feel cold all over. My first thought was, what's wrong with this visa officer now? Or is the economic crisis over, and his country is overflowing with people sending him money, so he's just finding some excuse to reject the person...

After a moment of stunned silence, I heard the surrounding chatter resume:

"...Once the order of the apricot-yellow flag is issued, all the outlaws in the land will follow suit. Will that sorcerer Xu Yi still have a chance to live?"

"Yes... not only will the fireworks shop owner not survive, but my sect leader, who suffered a stroke during martial arts practice, probably won't survive either..."

"Wait a minute!" someone shouted. "You all need to explain clearly, what's so magical about this apricot-yellow flag? What exactly are the abilities of those Liangshan bandits that even the Nangong family considers them a threat? Are they really that extraordinary?"

“Of course it’s not simple!” one of them replied. “Do you know who that bandit leader is? He’s none other than Yan Tuliu, the one who ‘hides a secret in his sleeve and leaves no survivors’!”

"It's him?!"

"And do you know what kind of people he leads? The second and third on the assassin ranking list, Wuhen and Duandao; the notorious thief Xiao Liu who committed numerous crimes three years ago and outwitted the government; even the top constable of Kaifeng, Owl, doesn't consider Liangshan Marsh a den of thieves, but only Yan Tuliu as his brothers!"

"Is that really the case?"

"That's really true!"

"Unbelievable..."

"It's not over yet," someone added. "The Apricot Yellow Flag Token is no joke. It's a martial arts manhunt order. It's been issued three times so far, and in each one, someone brought back the head of the person on the wanted list the very next day. The effect is extraordinary."

"If that's the case... then when was the order to hunt down the Xu Yi sorcerers issued today?"

"Not today, but... three days ago."

"Three days ago?!"

Those who didn't know the situation were frequently astonished, and then they launched into a series of back-and-forth discussions.

The Second Young Master Nangong and Iron Palm Divine Fist had also fallen silent, standing attentively to the side listening intently. Once everyone had finished discussing, the Second Young Master Nangong coughed twice and began to offer his comments.

"In fact, Yan Tuliu's issuance of the Apricot Yellow Flag order this time was a very unwise move. As long as Doctor Xu lives, the value of Liangshan's Apricot Yellow Flag will decrease. The longer it goes on, the greater the damage to its reputation will be. In addition, Doctor Xu frequents brothels, which is always under the watchful eyes of the heroes of the martial arts world. If Yan Tuliu cannot kill him, he will be in a difficult position."

Iron Palm Divine Fist immediately replied, "That's right, what the Second Young Master said is very true."

I was no longer calm. It turned out that Uncle Xu Yi was so powerful. One group of people killed him, another group protected him, and even though a kill order was issued, he was still alive and well. Moreover, his life was obviously not threatened in any way, and even his daily routine was not affected in the slightest. This man was too capable. Therefore, I was in despair.

I no longer expect to get leverage over him to threaten him; I'm afraid I'll end up losing my life myself.

Just as I was thinking about Uncle Xu Yi, his voice, which was clearly deep but pretended to be gentle, rang out at just the right time.

The courtyard was packed with people when the uncle's chilling voice rang out behind them: "Oh my! What's going on here? Are you ransacking our house?"

Assassin Beauty

His words stirred up a storm; the uncle's one sentence silenced everyone.

I turned around and followed everyone to retreat to both sides of the courtyard. The uncle was pushing a wooden wheelchair and standing at the courtyard gate. Sitting in the wheelchair was a woman with a sallow and thin face. The woman's original appearance should have been delicate eyebrows, big eyes, and an oval face, but she was sick and looked frail.

It's also my fault for chasing after miracle doctors lately; all I see are patients or people who are weak and afraid of me.

The woman looked around at everyone in the courtyard with some surprise and asked the man, "Your friend?"

The middle-aged man gave a flamboyant smile, bent down to wrap the blanket around the woman, and his ten fingers still bore the nail polish I had painted for him days ago, a very sincere red. Onlookers, upon seeing this, couldn't help but murmur again: "A devil, truly a devil..."

The older man heard him, but ignored him and turned his head to ask, "Shall we go inside?"

"No," the woman shook her head, "It's rare to have guests, how can we leave them unattended?"

Can we be considered guests? I looked around, then heard a soft shout: "Xu Yi, prepare to die!"

Before the middle-aged man could even stand up straight, merely tilting his head slightly, Iron Palm Divine Fist swiftly stepped in front of him, striking the sword light with a palm strike, and loudly proclaimed, "Who dares to be so insolent!"