TDSDE 32

32. This scene felt strangely familiar.

Though they were both Protectors, there hadn’t been a single instance in past years where the Left and Right Protectors had been dispatched together—and without anyone else present. So now, seeing Xiao Qing acting under the title of Left Protector, Bai Yuanxiu was suddenly struck dumb with disbelief.

Xiao Qing, at this moment, was radiating an aura that clearly said “strangers stay away.” His back was straight, his seated posture composed yet alert, and the altered voice behind the mask had a raspy, low tone—something almost inhuman.

Bai Yuanxiu recalled the Xiao Qing who had once clung to him with affection and couldn’t help the thought that popped into his head:

Sigh, not recognizing Xiao Qing was the Left Protector all these years… yeah, that really wasn’t his fault.

After Xiao Qing’s initial blunt statement, the woman in front of them immediately furrowed her brow. Once she’d heard the entire situation, she mulled over it for a while before saying uncertainly, “That day I made Jade Brocade Soup with Pearls, and most of the ingredients were sourced from within the Sect…”

“But there was one exception.” Her frown deepened, expression turning grim. “It was a spice called cassia leaf.”

Every cook had their specialty, and what made this chef famous was her one-of-a-kind secret recipe. Skills like that were a person’s livelihood—the Demonic Sect never forced its members to share their techniques. So to this day, no one knew exactly what was in her blend of spices.

“The area around Yunhua Mountain doesn’t have cassia,” she explained. “Technically, the dish works without it, but it won’t taste the same.”

The chef said that the first time that Yunhua disciple came to see her, he’d eaten that same Jade Brocade Soup. He’d done so much for her, she just wanted to make it for him again.

Since it was her personal matter, she hadn’t wanted to trouble anyone in the Sect to run errands for her and had gone down the mountain herself to search for the cassia leaf.

She had assumed she’d need to go all the way back to the old base of the Demonic Sect to find any, but luck was on her side—before long, she ran into a young man selling herbs by the roadside.

Suddenly, the chef’s expression froze. Bai Yuanxiu immediately pressed, “What is it?”

She slammed her fists on the table in frustration. “He said something to me, I think! But there were too many people around—I didn’t catch it clearly. I was in a hurry to get back and thought it was just some polite small talk, so I didn’t pay attention.”

Bai Yuanxiu looked down at the spiderweb cracks forming on the table and couldn’t help twitching at the corners of his mouth.

They asked for more details—what the boy looked like, exactly when she’d made the purchase—but once they confirmed there was nothing else useful, they left the White Tiger Hall.

Bai Yuanxiu tilted the small porcelain jar toward the sunlight, then glanced sideways at Xiao Qing. “Heading down the mountain now?”

Xiao Qing nodded and reached out to pull Bai Yuanxiu with him. Then, leaping lightly to a nearby treetop, he vanished in a few swift movements.

Bai Yuanxiu looked down and noticed that where he’d been about to step was a tiny snail. If Xiao Qing hadn’t pulled him aside, he would’ve crushed it for sure.

Bai Yuanxiu chuckled to himself, pocketed the jar, and followed the direction Xiao Qing had gone.

They were right—the boy selling the cassia leaf was Zhou Xiaoxiao. Bai Yuanxiu couldn’t figure it out. The kid had said he was heading north, so what was he doing back near Yunhua Mountain?

Whatever the case, the top priority was to find Zhou Xiaoxiao.

The problem was, Zhou Xiaoxiao might not be good at disguise, but he was very good at hiding. If he really wanted to vanish, he’d be hard to catch.

Luckily, Vermilion Bird Hall was also helping in the search. It was just a matter of time. The real concern was the Yunhua disciple’s condition.

According to the Yunhua Sect, after they found that elder’s disciple unconscious, they’d tried many treatments: medications, acupuncture… but for someone poisoned, all that was practically killing him.

That drug was designed to slow breathing and reduce consumption—it let people sleep through the effects. Normally, they’d wake once the drug wore off. But the Yunhua Sect hadn’t known that and had used all sorts of stimulation to try to wake him.

Now things had gotten worse. The person still hadn’t woken up, but his physical energy was draining even faster than normal. If this continued, he wouldn’t last much longer.

Bai Yuanxiu drummed his fingers lightly on his sword sheath and prepared for the worst.

Five days later, several people in dark gray uniforms appeared from various alleyways and gathered before a young man, their faces full of guilt.

—

“Sorry… he got away again.”

Bai Yuanxiu rubbed his temples and ran the tip of his tongue along one of his sharp fangs.

Still, he couldn’t take it out on his companions. He waved a hand. “Go get some rest.”

Once they left, Bai Yuanxiu cracked his knuckles, the sound sharp in the quiet, though the smile on his face only grew brighter. “You little brat. Once I catch you, you’re dead meat.”

Two days ago, Bai Yuanxiu and Xiao Qing had come to this small town and managed to drag Zhou Xiaoxiao out of a brothel where he’d disguised himself as a servant. But the moment the kid saw who it was, he threw a handful of powder and bolted.

It wasn’t poison or anything dangerous—Bai Yuanxiu just ended up sneezing nonstop. The nearby civilians, however, weren’t so lucky. People were coughing, crying, snotting, and tearing up all over the place.

And Xiao Qing… Xiao Qing got the worst of it. His eyes were so swollen from crying that he looked like he’d been stung, and the tears wouldn’t stop.

Bai Yuanxiu had rushed him to the nearest clinic, only to be told: great—Xiao Qing had broken out in hives from the spicy, pungent powder. No wind exposure, daily medicine.

With no other choice, Bai Yuanxiu left Xiao Qing to rest at the clinic and went after Zhou Xiaoxiao alone, every second itching to beat that kid into the ground.

If at first he’d only intended to give the kid a scare, now Bai Yuanxiu was ready to pound Zhou Xiaoxiao into hand-tossed meatballs.

The Demonic Sect had no shortage of people skilled in tracking. One after another, they showed up, leaving Zhou Xiaoxiao not even a second to sip water in peace.

So when Zhou Xiaoxiao finally ducked into the backyard of an herb shop to catch his breath, a net suddenly dropped from the sky.

He reflexively dodged to the side—right into another iron-wire net that had already been laid in wait.

The edges of the iron net were suddenly yanked taut by a few sect members, pulling it in one direction and using it like a rope to bind Zhou Xiaoxiao up tightly. He was completely immobilized.

Realizing he wasn’t going to escape, Zhou Xiaoxiao immediately started shouting, “Despicable Demonic Sect scum! So sneaky and shameless—!”

His lower body went numb in an instant. The layers of iron net wrapped around him made his body simultaneously tingle and ache. It was a truly miserable sensation.

Bai Yuanxiu tossed a few stones in his hand and crouched in front of him, lips curling into a grin. “Still got something to say?”

Zhou Xiaoxiao immediately backed down—but only halfway. He clamped his lips shut and didn’t make another sound.

Bai Yuanxiu couldn’t figure out why this little brat was so wary of him. “Didn’t we get along fine before? You even scarfed down two taels’ worth of noodles on my tab. Why’re you running away now?”

Zhou Xiaoxiao turned his head, refusing to look at him, expression resolute like a martyr heading to the gallows.

Bai Yuanxiu gave a short laugh and wasn’t in a hurry. He lowered his voice, speaking softly, “You know, if you bury someone with just their head sticking out of the ground, then drill a hole in their skull and start pouring mercury in…”

He tossed a stone to the ground. Click. A crisp sound.

“When the pain hits, they start struggling, twisting all over, desperately trying to claw their way out of the earth.”

“Guess what happens in the end?” Bai Yuanxiu flicked another stone. Click, click. The sound echoed like blood dripping onto stone. “In the end, they do manage to crawl out—but their skin stays behind in the dirt. So when they come out…”

His voice grew softer and softer, creeping under the skin.

Zhou Xiaoxiao was just wondering why he’d suddenly gone quiet when he turned slightly—only to find a mangled, bloody face right next to him.

“AAAAAHHHH—!!!”

The scream rang through the entire courtyard. Bai Yuanxiu jumped back with his hands over his ears, and only returned when the noise finally subsided. He picked up the mask that had fallen to the ground and dropped it in front of Zhou Xiaoxiao. “Know what this is? A human-skin mask.”

His smile grew wider, his expression wild. “You’re young. You’ve got nice skin. Bet you’d make a great mask.”

As he said this, he slowly reached out toward Zhou Xiaoxiao. Just as his fingers were about to touch him—

“Okay okay okay! I was wrong! I’ll talk, I’ll tell you everything!”

Bai Yuanxiu straightened up at once and dusted off his robes. When Zhou Xiaoxiao didn’t speak right away, he casually picked up a twig and poked him with it. “Hurry up. Don’t play dead. Talk.”

The twig just so happened to jab Zhou Xiaoxiao right in his still-numb leg, making him yelp and burst into tears on the spot.

The sect members nearby looked at the pitiful, teary boy, then at their ever-persistent Right Protector, who was still poking at him with a stick, and silently averted their gazes.

Between sobs, Zhou Xiaoxiao spilled the whole story. The cassia leaves had indeed been sold by him to the sect’s cook, but he’d specifically told her that these weren’t ordinary leaves—they were for external use only, not to be eaten.

They had been grown using water mixed with medicinal powder. For someone with strong inner energy, they could greatly accelerate healing, but for those with weaker cultivation, the effects were negligible.

And that was only for external use. If ingested… it would act like a sedative.

Zhou Xiaoxiao had warned the buyer at the time, but seeing how careless she looked, he’d wanted to chase after her. Then he figured, who’d be dumb enough to eat something clearly marked for external use? So he’d let it go.

Who could’ve guessed—the Demonic Sect people really were that abnormal.

As for why he was hiding from Bai Yuanxiu—well, that was because he’d seen the man he admired as the noble “Hero Bai” actually traveling around with the Demonic Sect members.

Zhou Xiaoxiao didn’t hate the sect as much as he used to, but he still didn’t like them. Especially after learning they had taken over half of Yunhua Mountain—he grew even more distrustful of their ways.

Seeing his idol transform from a righteous warrior into someone mixed up with the Demonic Sect left him feeling deeply betrayed.

He didn’t want to face Bai Yuanxiu—but the man kept chasing him. He couldn’t win in a fight, so the only option was to run.

With snot and tears covering his face, Zhou Xiaoxiao looked pitiful. “What do you even want from me? Are you really gonna take my skin?”

Bai Yuanxiu was just about to say, that was just a scare tactic, you’re fine now, when a voice suddenly called out behind him:

“Hero Bai!”

Bai Yuanxiu looked at the tear-streaked, pathetic Zhou Xiaoxiao, then at the sect members around him still wearing their uniforms.

And suddenly—he felt a strange sense of peace.

Well, shit. That’s it.