Chapter 915: The Great Bandit

Spring departs and autumn comes.

In the blink of an eye, another year has passed.

Aaron walked out of the Li Family Inn with a smile, carrying a basket of red eggs in his hand; this was because the wife of the Li Family had conceived and given birth to a big, chubby boy, which made Li Erniang so happy she couldn't stop grinning, and she had set up a banquet to feast the guests.

Regarding the birth of Li Xiao's wife's child, Aaron could be considered to have contributed a great deal... This, of course, does not mean he played the groom every night, but rather that he had prescribed quite a few pregnancy-stabilizing formulas, and when the labor became difficult, it was thanks to a dose of fetal-protection pill that the lives of both mother and child were saved.

In this era, for a woman to give birth is to pass through the gates of hell.

This made Li Erniang and Li Xiao feel quite endlessly grateful to Aaron.

In her gratitude, Li Erniang even wanted to find a wife for Aaron; after all, Aaron's age was even greater than Li Xiao's!

While Aaron politely declined, he also developed a little scheme of his own.

"Uncle Fang has arrived?"

Regardless of whether Li Xiao's opportunity was Zhang Chengxiang or not, it was actually none of his business, and he could continue to sit firmly on the fishing platform and watch the show.

With the plan settled, Aaron would not go to marry some woman from a good family, but instead prepared to buy a Flower Courtesan who had retired from the profession.

As soon as these words were spoken, Zhang Chengxiang's expression changed, and his Judge Pen almost struck out.

But in the end, he still did not make a move.

"Many thanks!"

"Brother Xiao has grown up, there is no need to say these things anymore."

This day.

With no patients coming to the door, Aaron simply closed Banxian Hall and went to the Li Family Inn to drink.

Just as he was laughing, he suddenly heard Li Xiao say: "A few days ago, I went to Yuanjia City to purchase goods and met a blind old Daoist... He cast a fortune for me, saying that my life would be mediocre, and although I recently had an opportunity, it was accompanied by a death tribulation!"

No sooner had the words fallen than a person appeared before his eyes.

'It just had to be at this time... Could it be... Zhang Chengxiang also wants to play a game of hiding in the dark, and hasn't actually fled yet?'

'I still have to worry about you people acting recklessly and overturning my Five Poisons cauldron; if that happens, so many rare poisonous creatures will scatter, and the entire Yukan Town will be wiped out... That would be a true catastrophe!'

This made Aaron wonder if he should take on a few Apprentices.

'Even if I don't marry or have children, I can get some fakes and some adopted sons and daughters, then start a lineage of my own, first pretending to be my own son, then pretending to be my own grandson, great-grandson...'

Li Xiao hurriedly beckoned, and a beautiful woman with a melon-shaped face wearing a cloth skirt came over holding a wooden tray, on which were a pot of wine and a few side dishes; after setting the table, she bowed.

Those people from the Jianghu gradually dispersed.

Even that Treasure Map was tossed to him!

In reality, he was secretly thinking that this might be a scenario of some cultivator playing in the mortal world.

"Who I am is none of your concern; you are a doctor, heal me, and I will surely reward you handsomely!"

It must have been that Zhang Chengxiang's original diversionary tactic had failed, and he had ultimately been tracked down by Li Qing.

Zhang Chengxiang's expression changed several times, and finally, he gave a miserable smile: "Since you think I am a great bandit and will not treat my wounds, then so be it... I will leave now, and the silver is yours, but remember, do not leak my whereabouts, otherwise I might be fine, but if you are caught by the government and subjected to torture, it would not be worth it."

Aaron waved his hand, seeing that Li Xiao was still that mischievous monkey at heart; having obtained an opportunity, he couldn't help but show it off, yet he couldn't speak clearly, and in his mind, he had already conjured up the image of a monkey scratching its ears and cheeks.

Aaron sighed faintly: "You are poisoned by a mixture of five types of venomous snakes, relying entirely on your Internal Energy to suppress it; one slight mistake and you will die from the poison... Take this 'Heavenly Snake Life-Snatching Pill' of mine, three times a day, one pill each time, and after two days, you will be fine."

Moreover, this Treasure Map had changed hands several times, finally falling into the hands of 'Fire Hair Ghost' Tang Xiong, one of the three brothers!

Tang Xiong was also a meticulous man; after obtaining the Treasure Map, he kept it a secret, telling only his two sworn brothers, intending to secretly unearth the Daoist treasury, at which point the three brothers would step onto the path of Taoism together, learn immortal techniques, prolong their lives, and become carefree immortals—wouldn't that be wonderful?

Alas... 'Swallow' Li Qing developed evil intentions, wanting to swallow the Treasure Map alone, and launched a secret attack, first poisoning 'Fire Hair Ghost' Tang Xiong, and even 'Iron-Faced Judge' Zhang Chengxiang was severely wounded.

And these Detectives, under the guise of searching, went around the small town extorting and blackmailing, which also caused a great deal of resentment.

After all, he prided himself on chivalry; what would it look like to strike a common doctor?

It was fortunate that he did not strike, otherwise Aaron would have casually sent a blast of Five Poisons baleful energy to take his little life.

The three of them became sworn brothers and walked the Jianghu, living quite happily.

One must know that even those great martial arts sects have very strict requirements for accepting disciples, and will even send people to their birthplaces to investigate.

Several years ago, the Zhao Family was haunted, and a wandering Daoist came to treat the ghosts, but was later exposed by another Sword Hero playing in the mortal world, who immediately took action; the whole city heard it, and even Li Xiao saw those immortal means, bragging about it for a full several years after returning!

After all, over these past few years, the people in the town all knew that his medical skills were superb and that he was quite benevolent, and there were even people from other places who came to him by reputation.

As for why he fought with his third brother, and even fought to the death, he refused to say.

But by the second and third generation, there were fewer people who suspected him; this is what they call time revealing a person's heart!

"Ah!"

He used the pseudonym Fang Yuan and settled in Yukan; in reality, besides living a carefree life in the mortal world, he also had the idea of forging his background.

But in the eyes of Aaron, a cultivator, his gaze was somewhat flickering, and even in his walking and sitting, he leaked a bit of his foundation, appearing as if he had begun to practice superior martial arts!

However, his movements were not Slow, and he still closed the door, then muttered to himself: "Eh? Why is there a smell of blood?"

Li Xiao answered casually, looking completely fine.

Aaron had also been tempted for a moment back then, and then there was no then...

Zhang Chengxiang had seen too much darkness; this kind of thing was truly not a lie.

But in this world where there really are immortals, he did not dare to be so careless, and his face became solemn: "Great nephew... you believe it?"

"Come, I will pour wine for Uncle Fang."

A few days later, government Detectives did indeed arrive in this small Yukan Town, searching everywhere for the 'great bandit'!

Aaron's 'Banxian Hall' was searched inside and out several times.

Li Xiao toasted Aaron three times in succession, then suddenly sighed: "I was mischievous back then, and made Uncle laugh... Only now do I know that Uncle was willing to teach me medical skills, but I was unwilling to learn, truly failing the expectations of my elders, which is highly unfilial."

However, after he had poured and drank three cups by himself, a figure flashed before him; it was Li Xiao, who couldn't help but sit down and say: "I will keep Uncle Fang company for a drink..."

He turned to leave, but suddenly felt a wind behind his head, and his right hand instinctively grabbed, catching a porcelain bottle.

Anyway, the other party clearly wouldn't want to talk about a Flower Courtesan retiring from the profession, and then it could proceed logically.

"Great disaster?"

Zhang Chengxiang said no more, turned around, and using his light-body technique, silently vaulted out of the courtyard.

If this were truly ancient times, Aaron would just treat it as passing wind.

Since ancient times, petty officials have been as cunning as ghosts; no matter who you are, once you enter a prison, they will try every possible way to squeeze you dry.

Aaron opened Banxian Hall as usual and was busy for the better part of the day.

This middle-aged man wielding a Judge Pen was named "Zhang Chengxiang," a great hero of the Northern Sichuan martial arts world, skilled in using a pair of Judge Pens to strike people's acupoints; he never missed a shot, and the people of the underworld nicknamed him "Iron-Faced Judge"!

He had two sworn brothers: the eldest, "Fire Hair Ghost" Tang Xiong, and the third, "Swallow" Li Qing.

He looked around and discovered that business at the inn was also poor, so he naturally understood what was going on.

But whenever Zhang Chengxiang recalled these matters, his heart would ache as if twisted, so naturally, he would not tell Aaron.

Otherwise, spending the whole day treating people would be quite dull.

"This is... did you receive guidance from someone?"

Aaron complained inwardly, but on the surface, he put on a calm expression: "I am a doctor, and a doctor has a benevolent heart. Sit down first, and let me take a look at you..."

In Aaron's view, it was either an emotional entanglement or interests moving a person's heart; there was no third possibility.

The middle-aged man holding the Judge Pen looked slightly dejected and replied: "It is my third brother's Flying Swallow Wheel! He likes to use snake venom, and I heard you are skilled at treating the poison of snakes and insects, which is why I came to seek medical help..."

Although this person had some fame in the martial arts world, he was only muddling through the Post-Heaven realm, and in Aaron's view, he was no stronger than a chick.

Li Xiao was now a father and had gained a bit more composure; he greeted him: "The usual three things?"

Since ancient times, the common people have not fought with officials; even if those ordinary folks had minor illnesses, as long as it wasn't a critical condition that would kill them on the spot, they were unwilling to go out for fear of running into government runners.

In reality, that was exactly the case.

Fortunately, Aaron had been prepared; he had used a Magic Treasure Pouch to pack away all the eye-catching items like the Five Poisons Cauldron, so as not to cause any major trouble.

"Sigh... I don't know how long this will go on."

Those who cultivate immortality, especially those from the great sects of the Mysterious Gate, would naturally be even more strict.

Seeing Aaron at this moment, he even had the mindset of entrusting his family to him: "I... if I truly meet my doom, I hope you, Uncle, will look at our many years of friendship and take care of my wife and child..."

In this way, it would be a proper, clean background...

"This person... is actually foolishly cute."

Li Xiao said vaguely.

Speaking of this, his eyes were already red.

She was Li Xiao's wife, whose life Aaron had saved years ago during a difficult childbirth.

"Looking at it this way, it's best to have one with a child... Could it be that I have to become a 'step-father'?"

Aaron cried out in "great alarm": "Who are you?"

He had the man sit on the medical couch, used scissors to cut open his clothes, and suddenly sighed: "What kind of weapon were you wounded by? It was even quenched with poison!"

After all, his principle in life was to stay far away from trouble... and he certainly wouldn't go looking for it.

"Hmm, double the wine, and bring a plate of braised meat."

It even attracted a group of martial arts practitioners and children of wealthy families to gather in Yuanjia City, wanting to find the inheritance of the wandering Daoist or to apprentice under that Sword Hero.

Aaron sighed: "There hasn't been much business lately, so I might as well come here to kill time..."

Later, no one knew who won or lost in the battle between the two sides; in any case, the wandering Daoist never appeared again, and the streets rumored that he had been beheaded by the Sword Hero's Flying Sword and had died, his Taoism extinguished.

Aaron laughed: "Are you not heartbroken over your own fine wine, coming here specifically to drink mine?"

In any case, it wasn't as if Aaron hadn't done this kind of thing before; he could be called well-versed in it.

Near dusk, he stood up, stretched, yawned, and was just about to close the door when his brow suddenly furrowed.

And with Aaron's patience, he naturally wouldn't mind breeding for seven or eight generations here, then pretending to be his own descendant to head to the Orthodox Xuan Sect.

That year, this matter caused a huge stir and shook the martial arts world; many people fought to the death near Yuanjia City, and dozens of famous great heroes died in one go, but in the end, not a single hair was found.

It was just that he still wanted to find that old Daoist, but in the vast sea of people, how could he find him?

Especially recently, he was unable to sleep at night; looking at his beautiful wife and beloved child and thinking of his own death-tribulation, he felt even more uneasy.

Aaron offered a few words of comfort and couldn't help but ask: "What did that blind old Daoist look like? I'll help you look for him too?"

Aaron had settled in Yukan since the generation of Fang Yuan, and his background was perhaps suspicious.

The middle-aged man holding the Judge Pen threw a silver ingot on the table: "Also... remember not to tell anyone that I have been here. This is for your own good, otherwise, there will surely be a great disaster!"

"You are in good health, don't think about these things; besides, you still have your aunt..."

If things went wrong, they might investigate eight generations of ancestors!

But it didn't matter!

Aaron poured himself a cup of wine and picked up a piece of braised meat with his chopsticks, feeling quite at ease.

And recently, he had even come to Yuanjia City and gotten involved in a major martial arts case...

Li Qing naturally pursued Zhang Chengxiang relentlessly, and he didn't know what connections he had pulled to mobilize government officials to help with the pursuit!

Zhang Chengxiang was helpless and could only run wildly while wounded, eventually escaping to this place!

"How could it be like this?"

Aaron wiped his face, feeling inexplicably amused.

Aaron did not move to treat the wound, but instead rubbed his chin: "I seem to have seen on a government notice that you are a notorious bandit recently wanted by the authorities!"

This person was burly, wearing a black short-sleeved martial outfit, holding a golden, glittering Judge Pen; he looked to be only thirty or forty years old, with a square face and eyes flashing with sharp light; more importantly, there was a wound on his body that was almost deep enough to see the bone, and the flesh on both sides emitted a foul, rotting odor.

Originally, he didn't really believe what that blind old Daoist said, almost treating the man as a swindler and driving him away with sticks.

Especially those who were proficient in the art of calculation; if he saw them in the future, he would have to stay far away.

"I... I have no choice but to believe it."

But after he obtained that "opportunity," he started to believe it a little.

"Oh?"

Fortunately, at the critical moment, Tang Xiong risked his life to hold back Li Qing, which gave Zhang Chengxiang a chance to escape!

However, he also knew in his heart that he was already quite old; in the eyes of others, he was twenty-five real years, twenty-six nominal, twenty-seven by hair count, twenty-eight by estimation, and rounding up, nearly thirty. In modern times, not being married invited gossip, and in ancient times, it was even more so.

Until recently, there were rumors that a Treasure Map left behind by a wandering Daoist from back then had appeared, containing his mantle and inheritance!

Aaron shook his head and let out a dumbfounded laugh, then went back, put away the silver, and continued to close the shop and tidy up as if nothing had happened.

"He..."

Li Xiao was already quite tipsy, recalling the description: "Wearing an apricot-yellow Daoist robe, carrying a fortune-telling banner, with an ancient and strange appearance, and a Turtle Shell hanging in front of his chest..."

There is a coin event in the book review section.

(End of this chapter)