Chapter 4: Both victory and defeat are decided, and life and death are also decided

Starry night.

Zhongdu, Zhao Wangfu backyard.

A young man who looked broad-shouldered and sturdy with thick brows and large eyes supported a middle-aged man under his arm with his left hand, led by a boy, heading toward a dormitory.

Then, led by the boy, he entered a room filled with the smell of medicine, only to see that the room was filled with various medicinal materials, as well as various bottles and jars.

The boy lit the candle, then skillfully took out four kinds of medicine, wrapped them up, and handed them to the middle-aged man. The middle-aged man then carefully gave them to the young man beside him.

After the young man took them, he let go of the middle-aged man and walked out of the pharmacy one after another with the boy. Unexpectedly, the middle-aged man took the opportunity to close the door decisively and put up the door bolt.

"Thief..."

When the young man heard the first two words, his face changed drastically. Hearing the shout that reached outside the house stop abruptly, his expression froze, but his hands did not stop, pushing the door hard.

The boy on the side was very clever, taking the opportunity to snatch the medicine from his hand, throwing it into the pond, and then running away quickly.

Seeing that the situation was not good, the young man immediately circulated his internal energy, broke the door bolt in one go, and saw the middle-aged man lying on the ground, not knowing whether he was dead or alive.

He didn't have time to think too much, and turned to chase the boy. To avoid him shouting and exposing his whereabouts, he instinctively used the extremely ruthless "Bone-Dislocating Hand," but unexpectedly, in his anxiety, he accidentally took the boy's life.

Immediately looking around, seeing no one, he quickly lifted the boy's corpse into the house and closed the door.

Inside the house, the young man looked at the middle-aged man who had no breath with suspicion, and then stared at the bottles and jars in the house, when he heard a voice with a hint of laughter coming from above.

"Guo Jing, it really is true that life is full of coincidences."

Hearing someone call his name, he couldn't help but look vigilant. Looking up, he saw a green-robed youth sitting on the roof beam, who looked very familiar. It was none other than Zhuang Buran.

Only to see him at this moment, his smooth and delicate face had a faint surge of blood, and if one smelled carefully, one could smell a bloody scent mixed with the fragrance of medicine.

"Brother Zhuang, why are you here too!" Guo Jing looked surprised.

"I have always liked to punish evil and promote good. Hearing that the Zhao Wangfu has recruited many Jianghu villains, I came to take a look."

Zhuang Buran's gaze lowered:

"It just so happened that I heard there was a banquet in the mansion tonight, so I planned to wait a while. Unexpectedly, during the waiting time, I discovered this pharmacy."

He smiled and continued:

"Sure enough, good people have good rewards. I came to eliminate evil people, and halfway through, I first obtained rare treasures that can increase internal energy. If Heaven gives it and you don't take it, you will suffer the blame, so I simply took it here."

"Brother Zhuang, let's skip the small talk. I don't have time to say much. Rong'er is still outside the front hall of the Zhao Wangfu. If discovered, there may be danger at any time."

Guo Jing hurriedly asked:

"We came to find medicine. I don't know if you recognize the four herbs: blood-dried, Panax notoginseng...?"

Zhuang Buran leaped down from the roof beam. Before he crossed over, because the original body had been weak and sickly since childhood, he had become a doctor through long illness.

He inherited everything from the original body. Perhaps because of the crossing, or perhaps because he had completely merged with the original body, his talent and understanding were even better than before.

Just in terms of memory, he used to read a book three or four times to remember it, but now he has photographic memory, and various martial arts are learned at a glance and refined with practice.

Therefore, finding a few herbs was naturally not a problem. Not long after, he gave the four herbs to Guo Jing.

"How long have you known that little girl Huang Rong? She is so reckless with her life, following you into the Zhao Wangfu?"

"We haven't known each other long, but we are friends of life and death. Originally, I didn't want her to come, not to mention the injury on her foot."

"But after applying the medicine to reduce the swelling and being able to move without worry, she insisted on following me, and even said that sneaking into the Zhao Wangfu was fun. I couldn't refuse her."

"But please rest assured, Brother Zhuang, as long as I have a breath left, I won't let anyone hurt Rong'er."

Zhuang Buran glanced at him:

"Why tell me this? In this world, I have nothing to do with Huang Rong."

"Brother Zhuang, how come you are the same as Rong'er? When I mentioned you, she also said the same thing."

Guo Jing paused and tentatively said:

"But after thinking about it repeatedly, I finally understood. You and her have a deep connection; I'm afraid it's a close relative relationship, right?"

"From now on, you should continue to keep your honesty and loyalty, and don't use your brain too much. Don't be corrupted by Huang Rong."

Zhuang Buran walked out of the pharmacy quite speechlessly.

"Thanks to Brother Zhuang for taking action just now, otherwise, after I was exposed, I'm afraid Rong'er would also be exposed and discovered by the people of the Zhao Wangfu."

Guo Jing looked like he trusted Zhuang Buran very much:

"The Zhao Wang is holding a banquet in the front hall, and there are many experts inside. Rong'er is outside helping me keep watch. Now that the people of the Zhao Wangfu haven't noticed, please, Brother Zhuang, take Rong'er out first. I'm going to save Uncle Mu and Miss Mu who were abducted into the mansion by the Zhao Wang heir."

After speaking, he ran toward another direction vigorously.

Zhuang Buran laughed dumbly, really not knowing what to say to this honest boy. He was convinced that he and Huang Rong were close relatives who were having a quarrel.

Not long after, he saw Huang Rong fighting with a white-clothed man with a handsome face and heroic spirit in the courtyard outside the front hall.

Only to see a circle drawn on the bluestone floor, the white-clothed man's hands were bound by a belt, and many people were watching.

There was an old man with a medium build, hair like silver, a smooth face, and a childlike face with white hair.

There was a big man with no hair on his head and protruding eyeballs, a thin man with a long face and three large meat tumors on his forehead.

There was a foreign monk with a burly build, draped in a bright red cassock and wearing a golden, radiant pointed monk's hat.

There was also a man with a short stature but eyes like electricity, holding a pair of iron judge's pens.

The white-clothed man was none other than Ouyang Ke, the young master of Baituoshan, and the onlookers were Liang Zi Weng, the Ghost Gate Dragon King Sha Tongtian, the Three-Headed Dragon Hou Tonghai, the Great Hand Seal Lingzhi Shangren, and the Thousand-Handed Butcher Peng Lianhu.

"You said just now that if both people go out of the circle, you lose, so I'll go first."

Huang Rong saw that her palm strike toward Ouyang Ke was borrowed by him, causing her to almost go out of the circle, so she said with a playful face.

Ouyang Ke was immediately left in place, neither chasing nor not chasing, and a look of annoyance at being deceived appeared on his face.

At this moment, Lingzhi Shangren actually rose with the chair under his butt and blocked Huang Rong's path in the blink of an eye.

A pair of copper cymbals flew out from his monk's robe, and the sharp cymbal edges, shining with golden light, struck Huang Rong directly.

With two light sounds of "chi," the copper cymbals made a "dang dang" sound of impact. Others saw the copper cymbals being bounced away by something and embedded hard into the courtyard wall.

Everyone looked up suddenly, only to find that at some point, a green-robed youth was standing on the eaves.

"Bullying a little girl, what's the point? Why don't you let me ask you for advice? Group fighting or single fighting doesn't matter. Even if you all fight me together, or fight me one by one, it's fine."

Zhuang Buran looked down from above, looking nonchalant:

"Tonight the bright moon is in the sky, shining for a thousand miles. I am Huang Yaoshi, willing to ask for your advice."

A playful look hung on the corner of his mouth:

"This competition, both victory and defeat are decided, and life and death are also decided."

"Where did this ignorant and fearless brat come from, daring to impersonate the Eastern Heretic." Ouyang Ke frowned.

"Hey, I don't care for your help. With just a few of them, how could they do anything to me." Huang Rong looked up and shouted.

"So these two are in the same group. No wonder they look somewhat alike." Hou Tonghai said loudly.

Zhuang Buran's gaze remained unchanged, ignoring Huang Rong:

"Who is Sha Tongtian, Hou Tonghai?"

He didn't wait for the people below to speak and said lightly:

"It is said that a master and apprentice are like father and son. The Yellow River Four Ghosts, I killed them. Do you want to come and take revenge?"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 5 =====