Whoever was spitting such vulgar language kept cursing and yelling outside of the pharmacy. At least ten pairs of feet sprinted alongside the road leading up to here.

Not a good sign for business.

The weighing scale tumbled over. The ginseng rolled over. Then, everything toppled to the floor.

“W-Wait, wait!” the stranger called. Time to break bones! The white-cladd ed person didn’t wish for such an event. They grabbed the bamboo hat off from the shelf, placed it on their head, and smoothed out the long white veil. “I’ll be on my way! Just wait outside!”

Could they be the stationed royal guards? Here to take this doctor away?

Or maybe they could be some of the men from the teahouse, still mad about the broken chairs and crushed food?

There were plenty of possibilities. Well, lucky for them, this doctor saved a century-old aged wine for a likely occasion.

As the stranger closed the doors behind them, they raised a brow. Even through the hazy veil, it was obvious that their wooden floor sign had been snapped in two! There went the advertising.

But what the stranger saw next was even more bewildering. They tilted their head, confused by the commotion happening in the street before the pharmacy.

“Trouble!” someone called out.

Aiya.

Ten rugged men had surrounded a lone figure, some of them carrying sheathed swords, others just making huge fists.

At the center of the group was the same young man from yesterday, with lean arms crossed against his chest and a huge grin on his face. Yue Liang.

The stranger’s jaw dropped in surprise. Wait! Why was Yue Liang here?! How did he know?! About a billion questions rushed through their mind.

One of the men craned his neck and made a face. He pointed at the white-robed person and yelled, “Hey, that’s the guy from Chuánqí Teahouse!”

“Huh? Where?!” Soon, the other men turned their heads. They gawked at the confused stranger, who only came outside to defend their business. “Oh, it’s him!”

“Can I help you?” asked the stranger, flicking their eyes from one side to the other.

Ten men. Only three carried swords. Seven were unarmed. Four were tall and huge. The others were a bit on the shorter side, and thin. Quickly, the stranger made note of where every one of them stood and how they were standing.

All had terrible postures, not even grounding themselves in stance.

The largest of them all had turned around, and with a smirk said, “Thank you, sir, but you already helped yesterday! You can go on with your day because the Eight Snake Gang is here to teach this violent criminal a lesson!”

Eight Snake Gang, ah?

But there were ten of them. Who was more violent? One boy or ten grown men?

“No, no! I was just…!” With a sheepish smile, the stranger waved those words away with their hand. “Just being a doctor trying to help others!”

It was too early in the morning, but many people had overheard the yelling and stopped to crowd around the pharmacy. Given the normally quiet streets, a big fight was what they needed: excitement. Besides, everyone loved to see a good brawl, and some loved cheering for the underdog even more.

Now, wait a moment! the stranger thought. Why did the skies grow so dark and ominous?

“Repeat what you just said to me, you little shit!” The largest man snatched the collar of Yue Liang’s ragged shirt. “Awfully brave for someone who ran away yesterday!”

The stranger, witnessing trouble, creased their brows together.

Aiya, the people whom Yue Liang showed aggression to weren't even any of these men! If anything, it should’ve been the Yéye storyteller and the granddaughter companion to show up here and beat some fear into Yue Liang.

Since people would gossip today about yesterday’s event, and the Eight Snake Gang, who has never been heard of before, would jump at this chance, turning this whole mess into being about them. They wanted to be transformed into feared heroes!

Not that the stranger cared about who was taking whose credit. Ah, the way those men phrased their responses was odd. They made it seem like…

“Oh, were they the ones who saved Chuánqí Teahouse yesterday?” asked a woman, one of the people gawking at the street fight. “Wow, they’re all so brave for saving that old man and the little girl, ah!”

Just like that—the stranger was removed from the true narrative!

Humans of the Mortal Realm had always been quick to be judgemental though, and the world didn’t always have to make sense. This was a lesson that the stranger had to learn in the most difficult way. After that long ago experience, they were greatly changed, which was reflected in their reactions toward violent people.

A hundred years ago, the stranger would have unsheathed their sword in a showy demonstration of their strength. They would also be eager to strike others down for their own amusement.

Now, the stranger preferred for the morning to be quiet and peaceful.

“AHHHH!” A scream erupted their musings when the man was flipped over Yue Liang’s shoulders.

In a blink of an eye, a red spiritual aura arose from Yue Liang. It was briefly bright before dissipating altogether. The young man raised his burning eyes and locked them with the stranger’s. A smile formed on his red lips.

Yue Liang was aware of the stranger—just as they were of him. Technically, they were both practicing cultivators of the Heavenly path. But one of them was more chaotic in nature than the other. It distorted their moral alliances and made another question if both were still walking toward the same direction. It was easy to understand why.

Every cultivator exudes a particular aura that reflects the color of their Qi. Some scholars theorized that it was a manifestation of the element they were most compatible with. Others argued that it was more complicated than that—that it also revealed the true nature of a cultivator. Only a cultivator with a mastered sight and other senses can see another’s spiritual aura, among other features.

However, a well-disciplined cultivator would never let just anyone see their spiritual aura. Such power should never be leaked so carelessly. For two hundred years, the stranger took a painstaking effort to keep the aura inside, not out. To let spiritual energy out basically meant a lack of control over one’s Qi.

One papered window was destroyed immediately.

The stranger turned to see another man’s pair of shoes sticking out of the pharmacy. On the other side, another man was tossed against the wall. Like a sack of potatoes, he folded over.

It was clever of Yue Liang. Getting rid of the armed ones was the first thing that the stranger would’ve done too!

“Get him!” All seven remaining men rushed toward the young man, with tight fists in the air and bulging eyes.

Quickly, Yue Liang grabbed their folded friend by the legs—and swung him around and around. Struck, men flew in many different directions. When they hit the ground, their eyes had already rolled over to the back of their heads. Pleased with his work, Yue Liang smiled and brushed dirt from his clothes.

All the while, the stranger awkwardly stood in front of the pharmacy’s entrance doors. Dozens of eyes turned to them. They swallowed. They tipped the wide bamboo hat forward, hoping the veil was dense enough for people to not look into their soul.

Aiya… So many hoped that they, the doctor, would do something about Yue Liang.

When the stranger looked up, Yue Liang had already squatted down beside the large man, the group’s leader.

Yue Liang counted some shiny coins on the palm of his hand. A pouch had been opened and left aside on the ground. He was so engrossed, he didn’t notice the other person’s open mouth of shock. Too soon, ah!

“Return that money to him.”

“Don’t you know that one needs money to eat?” the young man asked, standing up.

“As a righteous cultivator, you shouldn’t do that.”

“And if I do?”

“Then, you leave me no ch—”

In a flash, Yue Liang’s breath caressed the stranger’s cheek. His fist blurred toward them.

“Are you going to stop me?” said Yue Liang, coolly.

This kid was too fast! Was he a mortal?! What about their heart-to-heart talk yesterday? Did Yue Liang even learn anything?!

However, as the stranger recoiled, their foot stumbled over a rock.

Oh…

Soon, the dark skies seemed to engulf more space. The stranger staggered back against the doors. Red autumn leaves fluttered around. Several women covered their faces, and the men’s eyes were wide.

Yet no pain came.

Instead, Yue Liang’s eyes grew large, with raised brows. His red lips pressed together as though he held his breath. Water filmed over Yue Liang’s eyes, also rimmed with red. One hand was flat against the door, supporting his weight. His other hand, though, wrapped around the other person’s waist.

At that moment, the young man could only stammer out, “Mei…Ying?”