53: The pursuit of the Gale family

Jia Lie Bi's gaze shifted to Mr. Yao, the collapsed owner of Wan Yao Pharmacy.

When Mr. Yao met that emotionless gaze, he shivered violently, almost truly collapsing to the ground.

"Mr. Yao."

Jia Lie Bi's voice was devoid of any ripple, yet it made Mr. Yao feel as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.

"Yes… this humble one is here, Master Jia Lie!"

Mr. Yao's voice was tearful.

"I heard your Wan Yao Pharmacy is the most well-stocked place for medicinal ingredients in Qingshan Town."

Jia Lie Bi said indifferently, as if discussing a trivial matter, "Bring out all the medicinal ingredients in your storeroom that can heal injuries, sustain life, and detoxify, as well as those high-quality hemostatic powders, Qi-restoring pills… bring them all out. Mu She's men are going into the mountains to fight, so they need some provisions."

Mr. Yao felt a sudden darkness before his eyes, and his heart felt as if it had been brutally gouged out.

Those medicinal ingredients, those pills, were the foundation of his Wan Yao Pharmacy, the accumulation of half his life's efforts.

Among them were many rare treasures he had acquired at great cost, through countless connections, from Black Rock City and even more distant places. Was he to just hand them over for nothing?

"Ma… Master!"

Mr. Yao knelt down with a thud, tears streaming down his face, his voice utterly miserable, "Those… those are the lifeblood of this humble shop! They are this humble one's savings of many years. Please, Master, have mercy, and… and leave a way for Wan Yao Pharmacy to survive! This humble shop is willing… willing to donate all its money…"

"Savings?"

A cruel sneer twisted Jia Lie Bi's lips. He leaned down slightly, his cold gaze piercing into Mr. Yao's eyes, which were filled with fear and pleading, "I am informing you, not discussing with you. Either hand over the medicinal ingredients, or… you and your Wan Yao Pharmacy will be like the garbage on the ground, left here as fertilizer."

"Choose."

The last two words were like a death sentence.

All of Mr. Yao's pleas, all of his hopes, were instantly shattered under Jia Lie Bi's cold gaze.

His body completely went limp, his eyes vacant, as if all his Soul Power had been drained, leaving only the desperate ashes of despair.

He trembled his lips, finally emitting a faint, almost inaudible sound: "Hand… I'll hand them over…"

Jia Lie Bi straightened up, his indifferent gaze sweeping over the Qingshan Town residents in the square, who were silent as cicadas in winter, their faces a mixture of fear, resentment, and a hint of schadenfreude.

He looked at these "weaklings" who usually dared not speak out against the oppression of the Wolf Head and Wan Yao Pharmacy, now watching their tormentors being crushed and stripped by an even fiercer bully, with unconcealed glee in their eyes.

Jia Lie Bi's heart remained unmoved.

The strong prey on the weak; it is only natural.

Today, Jia Lie Bi was the strong one inflicting fear; if he were to encounter someone stronger one day, his fate would be the same as these ants on the ground.

This truth, every person in Qingshan Town should engrave it deeply in their hearts at this moment.

"Second Elder."

Jia Lie Bi's voice returned to absolute calm, "You take a team of people, escort the Wan Yao Pharmacy staff to retrieve the medicinal ingredients, watch them closely, dare to conceal even one plant, and show no mercy."

"Yes, Family Head."

Second Elder Jia Liejie bowed in acceptance, his sinister gaze sweeping over the collapsed Mr. Yao and the trembling Wan Yao Pharmacy staff.

"The rest of you."

Jia Lie Bi's gaze fell upon the dark, beast-like silhouette of the Monster Mountain Range, his voice carrying an unquestionable iron will, "Follow me into the mountains! Block all the passes that can be exited. That little brat sustained no small injuries; he won't escape even with wings."

"Even if we have to burn down this entire forest, we must dig him out!"

He took the first step, his dark green Dou Qi gauze cloak gently fluttering in the blood-soaked air, his figure resolutely disappearing into the shadows of the town entrance leading to the Monster Mountain Range.

Behind him, the Jia Lie Family guards followed silently and swiftly, like a cold torrent.

In the square, only the thick, suffocating smell of blood remained, along with the suppressed gasps of Mr. Yao and others who had survived the ordeal.

The night, like thick ink, completely permeated the outer reaches of the Monster Mountain Range.

Towering ancient trees, like monstrous claws, fragmented the already sparse starlight.

Wind whistled through the dense forest, making a mournful sound, mixed with the cries of unknown night owls and the faint roars of beasts in the distance, adding to the eerie atmosphere.

Inside a hollow tree trunk, formed by an ancient tree struck by lightning, the darkness was almost impenetrable.

A heavy scent of blood and a faint bitter aroma of herbs permeated the confined space.

Mo Yuhan was curled up in the deepest, driest corner of the tree hollow, his back against the cold, rough inner wall of the wood.

Every subtle breath tugged at the tearing pain in his back, causing fine cold sweat to seep from his forehead.

Jia Lie Bi was, after all, a five-star Great Dou Shi; his terrifying impact not only shattered his Flame Armor Guardian but also injured his internal organs.

Forcibly activating his Soul Power and Dou Qi for a burst had also greatly overdrawn his body. Whether on the Douluo Continent or the Dou Qi Continent, this was his first time experiencing such a setback.

His consciousness floated in waves of intense pain and exhaustion. Mo Yuhan gritted his teeth, relying on a resilience far beyond his age, to prevent himself from completely losing consciousness.

He laboriously lifted his arm, heavy as if filled with lead, and fumbled to pull out the healing medicine Master Gu Ni had refined for him from his embrace, pouring all several pills into his mouth.

The medicinal power slowly spread within his body, bringing a faint but precious warm current that temporarily suppressed the churning, agonizing pain in his internal organs.

But this was merely a drop in the bucket.

Just then, an extremely subtle rustling sound, almost blending with the wind, came from not far outside the tree hollow.

Mo Yuhan's muscles instantly tensed, and his pupils sharply contracted in the darkness.

He held his breath, curling his body even tighter, like a stone merging into the shadows, even his heartbeat was strenuously suppressed to the slowest rhythm.

The sound grew closer, accompanied by deliberately hushed conversations.

"…Damn it, this cursed place! That old dog Mu She is truly insane. The Jia Lie family's evil star is chasing someone; what does it have to do with us! He insists on forcing everyone to come in and die!"

A hoarse voice complained, filled with heavy fear and resentment.

"Shh! Keep your voice down! Do you want to die?"

Another slightly younger voice nervously stopped him, "If the Jia Lie family hears us, we'll all be finished. Didn't you see those… those… in the square?"

He seemed to recall a terrifying scene, his voice trembling.

"Sigh… this is truly bad luck. Where do you think that kid is hiding? With such serious injuries, how far could he have run?"

The owner of the hoarse voice seemed to be scared too, lowering his volume.

The footsteps and complaints gradually receded, disappearing in another direction of the forest.

Inside the tree hollow, Mo Yuhan's taut nerves relaxed slightly, but cold sweat had already soaked his undershirt.

He closed his eyes, forcibly suppressing the churning blood and the renewed sensation of dizziness.

Jia Lie Bi… what a ruthless tactic. This is a human wave tactic, to dig him out even if it means tearing up the earth.

His consciousness sank into his body.

His retreat had already been personally blocked by Jia Lie Bi and his men.

Mo Yuhan slowly opened his eyes.

He planned to go deeper into the Monster Mountain Range. As long as he found a quiet place to heal, it wouldn't be too late to make other plans.