137: A simple task

After hearing Cai Xiang's words, Long Yuan walked to Lin Han, picked up the large bag he had just taken from him, and rummaged through it. Sure enough, he saw a stack of booklets. Opening them, he found they were indeed ledgers. He quickly scanned them and—good heavens—Tong Jingshan had a total of five rearing bases in Fengyang. If one rearing base could produce one supreme-grade mysterious stone for him every year, he would have an annual income of five supreme-grade mysterious stones. Calculated proportionally, that was five million low-grade xuan stones. This income was incredibly substantial!

"Long Yuan, I'm right, aren't I? Tong Jingshan controls all these bases, and Lin Han helps him manage them. People like us are just laborers they hired. We earn hard-earned money and have to risk our lives. Many people have already died under the claws of these exotic beasts. If it weren't for the need for Cultivate resources, who would be willing to do this?" Cai Xiang said hoarsely.

"What? Many people died?" Long Yuan was also slightly startled.

Cai Xiang sighed, "These exotic beasts occasionally wake up. I even suspect some of them pretend to be unconscious on purpose, just to find a chance to escape. Some people are caught off guard and lose their lives to their claws! Moreover, every year there are incidents of exotic beasts escaping, and every time it happens, many people die!"

Long Yuan was speechless. Had these exotic beasts become spirits? To think they could even put on an act like faking unconsciousness; their intelligence was almost catching up to the Human Race!

And these were only exotic beasts below the third grade. If they were those Innate exotic beasts above the fourth grade, wouldn't their intelligence truly rival that of the Human Race?

No wonder it was said that the threat of exotic beasts was growing... As Long Yuan was thinking, he suddenly murmured, "They're almost back! Although Cai Xiang was involved in this, he wasn't the primary culprit and has confessed the truth. I'll help him reattach his severed arm. As for Lin Han's severed hand..."

He said to Tong Xueqin, "Young Miss Tong, why don't you help Lin Han reattach his severed hand first? I'll handle Cai Xiang's severed arm!"

Tong Xueqin was stunned and asked in surprise, "You're going to reattach their limbs? Aren't they both major criminals of the imperial court?"

Long Yuan smiled and said, "Reattaching limbs is our business as healers. As for punishing them, that will be for the County Head and the others to judge!"

"This... my medical skills are mediocre. How could I reattach limbs for them? I've never even seen this kind of surgery, let alone performed it myself. I'm afraid only my Family's Old Ancestor could possibly accomplish it!" Tong Xueqin sighed.

"Is that so? Then come over and give me a hand; I'll do it! Oh, first go and find their severed hand and arm..." Long Yuan said. He first pointed out the locations of the two men's severed limbs to Tong Xueqin, then quickly took out many medical tools from his space, including anesthetics, scalpels, surgical needles, sutures, disinfectant, and bone-joining willow twigs. Once everything was laid out and Tong Xueqin had brought the severed limbs, Long Yuan immediately began the surgery!

First, he administered local anesthesia, then stopped the bleeding, cleaned and disinfected the area, trimmed away necrotic tissue, connected and reinforced the broken bones, sutured the main internal vessels and the external skin, and finally bandaged and stabilized everything. This entire process was done in one smooth motion, leaving Bai Shan and Tong Xueqin standing by in shock, their bodies trembling and unable to even speak clearly. They knew very well that cutting off someone's hand or arm only took one strike, but reattaching them was as difficult as Hell; the two were on completely different levels... "Mr. Long, can this really restore the severed hand and arm?" Bai Shan asked in shock.

Long Yuan nodded and said, "No problem! After all, the time they were detached was very short, and the cell activity at the site is still strong. With their blood Qi and Physique as Xuan Practitioners, it won't be difficult to recover."

"Then about how long will it take to fully recover?" Bai Shan asked again.

"It takes a hundred days for tendons and bones to heal. Given their injuries, I'd estimate about half a year!"

With a "thump," Cai Xiang knelt on the ground and said emotionally, "Long Yuan, this teacher is ashamed! I cannot thank you enough for such great kindness. No matter what, I will cooperate with the county office in this case. If I can make it out alive, I will definitely visit you to express my gratitude again!"

"It's nothing, just a simple favor! I have no right to judge or demand how you act. Everyone has their own unavoidable choices. I just feel it's best to do everything with a clear conscience..."

"A clear conscience? This teacher has a guilty conscience..."

At this moment, a burst of noise rang out as dozens of people swarmed in from outside. They were the ones who had rushed out earlier to pursue the suspects, led by Geng Yun, Bai Pu, Lei Hao, and the others.

"What's going on here? Little Brother Shan, are you all okay?" Bai Pu asked in shock, looking at the figures rolling on the ground.

Bai Shan snapped out of it and said, "I'm fine, Big Brother! These people are the ones who were rearing beasts here. They didn't flee before; they were hiding in another passage, planning to kill us and move the Xuan Beasts after you left!"

"Is that so?!"

"Heavens!!!"

"We were tricked!"

"Fortunately, Senior Bai was exceptionally brave and took them all down by himself. This is truly worth celebrating..."

"Senior Bai took on a hundred alone; my admiration for you is like a surging river, endless and never-ceasing..."

"Me too..."

"Me too..."

Everyone praised him one after another. A hint of embarrassment flashed across Bai Shan's face, but he didn't deny it. After all, this matter was far too strange. Even now, he hadn't discovered who the person who struck from the shadows was. After seeing Long Yuan's miraculous limb reattachment technique, he strongly suspected that the person was Long Yuan. However, Long Yuan was just a middle school student; could it really be him?

He couldn't figure it out, he simply couldn't, so Bai Shan gave up because he didn't know where to begin.

Lei Hao immediately led the County Government Guard to arrest the people on the ground. When Tong Xueqin saw Tong Jingshan being tied up and taken away, a look of bewilderment appeared in her eyes. This matter was beyond her capability; all she could do was report it to the Family as soon as possible. In fact, she had thought about pleading with Bai Shan and Long Yuan to let Tong Jingshan go, but she knew Bai Shan would never agree, so she had no choice but to accept her fate... Everyone finally discovered Tong Jingshan. He was one of the famous figures in Fengyang County, and no one expected him to be among the bandits, which left everyone utterly shocked!

Geng Yun quickly understood and said angrily, "Brother Tong, I never thought you were the one behind all this. Is your Tong Family planning to rebel?"

Tong Jingshan had just recovered slightly. Seeing the situation before him and the sturdy binding ropes on his body, he sighed in his heart. He hadn't expected that after surviving so many great storms, he would capsize in such a small stream. All his hard work over the years had gone down the drain!

"Why did I suddenly have a headache just now? Who ambushed me? I swear I will have my revenge!!!" Tong Jingshan roared in his heart.

But hearing Geng Yun's words, he still suppressed his anger and forced a smile, "Geng County, this is a misunderstanding! A huge misunderstanding! I live nearby, and when I heard a commotion here, I rushed over to check. I didn't expect to be ambushed and knocked unconscious..."

...