Chapter 125: Clash at Pan Family Garden

The Zhou family's threat is greater than imagined, and more direct.

They are determined to seize the Medicine Sect's medicine cauldron, and their methods are this vicious.

Zhou Qian waiting for them to strike again will only make us more passive.

"I want to take the initiative to contact the Zhou family." Zhang Jun made up his mind, his voice low but clear.

The icy tension on Lin Xue's body eased a little; she lifted her face and looked at Zhang Jun.

Qin Yueyao lifted the tea cup on the table to her lips, but didn't drink.

"Oh?"

"Rather than wait for them to come to us, we should first go sound them out." Zhang Jun met Qin Yueyao's probing gaze. "Last night's affair was just an appetizer. Since they've set their sights on us, they won't back down."

Qin Yueyao set down the tea cup, her fingertip lightly rubbing the rim.

"The Qin family can arrange an opportunity for you to 'run into' Zhou Qian. We can handle the place and the means."

She paused.

"However, the Zhou family's methods are sinister; you must be extremely careful."

She curled the corner of her mouth slightly, unreadable.

"The Qin family also wants to see just how poisonous the Zhou family's twenty‑year‑old hidden snake really is."

Pan Family Garden.

Forever in that messy state.

People pressed together, shouting all kinds of things; the din could numb your ears.

The air was a complex mix—dust, sweaty stench, the musty rot of old objects, and the greedy aura emanating from those genuine‑or‑fake "leaks," all blended together.

Zhang Jun pressed down his newly bought baseball cap, the brim shading half his face.

Beside him, Lin Xue wore a dark scarf around her neck, covering most of her face, revealing only a pair of eyes lacking any warmth, as she moved with the crowd.

The two of them, like water droplets, merged silently into this turbid river of people.

Elsewhere, unseen, the Qin family's people had spread out, forming an invisible net that both pointed the way and blocked off various miscellaneous troubles.

Zhang Jun's pure yang energy circulated steadily, filtering out the miscellaneous qi around him.

Mostly it was the ordinary vital energy of people, or the temporal imprint left on old objects.

Yet there was also a faint, sticky yin chill, like a boneless snake weaving through the crowd, pointing toward a certain spot in the market.

He gave no sign, leading Lin Xue along that feeling.

They passed through the area selling old calligraphy and paintings, then detoured around a few stalls hawking fake antiques.

That yin chill grew nearer and more substantial.

Finally, in a rather secluded corner, the two stopped.

Here there were far fewer people, and the light was dim.

A nondescript stall stood there, displaying jade pendants, copper coins, and some implements whose age was indiscernible, most covered in dust and exuding an antique smell.

Three people stood before the stall.

The one in the middle was Zhou Qian.

He wore a drab gray jacket, but the gloom emanating from his bones and the corpse‑pool‑like chill on his body could make one's skin tighten even a few steps away.

This chill was stronger and more piercing than what I felt at the Qin family's place that day.

At his side followed two men in black, expressionless, hands hanging, their bodies also exuding a yin chill, like two unmoving stones.

Zhou Qian was lowering his head to speak with the stall owner.

The stall owner was a gaunt old man, his face all smiles, though beneath them lay a hint of nervousness and eagerness to please.

Zhang Jun regulated his breathing, his pure yang energy rising slightly as he took a few steps forward, pretending to be drawn by the stall's wares.

His hand landed on a jade pendant.

That jade pendant was ordinary in material and crude in carving, yet it bore a faint trace of the same yin qi as Zhou Qian's—unmistakable.

"Boss, how much for this?" Zhang Jun picked up the jade pendant; as his fingertip touched it, a chill seeped into his flesh.

The stall owner blinked, not expecting anyone else nearby, and quickly turned his face, putting on the usual merchant's smile: "Sir, you have a good eye—this is an old pit……"

He hadn't finished speaking.

Zhou Qian slowly lifted his eyes, his empty gaze falling on Zhang Jun.

He didn't speak right away, just scanning him up and down—a feeling like being stared at by a venomous snake.

Zhang Jun held the jade pendant, examining it seriously, then added offhand: "It's got some age, but this yin qi is too strong. Wear it long enough and you might lose qi and blood, attract evil spirits."

As soon as he said that, the surrounding air 'whooshed' and grew several degrees colder.

The stall owner's smile froze outright, and he instinctively shrank back half a step.

The two lackeys behind Zhou Qian tensed up, their sense of danger intensifying.

Zhou Qian's face remained unchanged, but the yin chill about him suddenly intensified, and he spoke in a hoarse voice: "Friend, you look unfamiliar, yet you seem knowledgeable. Which path do you follow?"

His words carried a barb, his probing intent barely concealed.

Although Zhang Jun had changed his attire, Zhou Qian clearly sensed something off from him—or from his remark about attracting evil spirits—and it made him uneasy.

"Just passing by, taking a look." Zhang Jun set the jade pendant back on the stall, his tone even: "I just feel that toying with these things requires a sturdy body; otherwise you'll easily be played by them."

"Really?" Zhou Qian stepped forward.

They were less than three feet apart, the yin chill nearly condensing into ice shards, pressing hard upon them.

"I think some things are meant for certain people by birth; outsiders should stay out of it."

His words had barely fallen!

The mute lackey on Zhou Qian's left, without any warning, moved!

His boneless body slid forward a step along the ground, a withered palm clutching a foul wind, straight for Zhang Jun's lower abdomen dantian!

Terrifyingly fast, his strike was an extermination move, clearly aiming to cripple Zhang Jun's qi sea.

Zhang Jun had been on guard!

As soon as the opponent moved, his pure yang qi burst forth with a boom!

He didn't retreat—he charged forward!

His right palm flashed like lightning, wrapped in a scorching airflow that could set the air ablaze, and he slapped it at the ghost claw.

Bang!

A dull thud.

The two palms collided, an invisible burst of force exploded, making the items on the stall clanged and clattered.

The lackey grunted, then was shaken by the pure yang force in Zhang Jun's palm, flying backward and hitting the rear wall with a thud, a dull sound.

Almost simultaneously, Lin Xue moved.

She flickered and silently appeared before another lackey who meant to sneak‑attack from the side. Her fingertips gathered cold energy, a few ice‑shard‑like glints of cold light flashed, and she went straight for the lackey's vital joints.

The lackey's movement stalled, a thin frost instantly coated his body with a swish, and his movements slowed and froze.