"Reporting to Young Master! Both brothers have been safely returned to the Prince's Mansion, and Physician Mo personally treated them!" one of them reported in a loud voice. "The brother with the piercing waist and abdomen has recovered from his fever, his internal organ injuries are stable, and his life is out of danger! As for the brother with the severe shoulder blade injury, Physician Mo said that his tendons and bones have been set. He has used a unique bone-healing ointment, and after half a year of rest, he is expected to recover 60-70% of his arm strength!"

"Good! You've worked hard!" Xiao Chengkang said in a deep voice, a look of satisfaction flashing in his eyes. "Go down and get some rest."

"Thank you, young master! We are not tired and can set off immediately," the two said, clasping their hands in greeting.

Xiao Chengkang stepped forward and personally helped the two up: "No rush. You've been traveling a long way, so rest up first." His gaze swept over the undisguised fatigue on their faces.

Xiao Chengkang himself bought a bunch of medicinal herbs and then refined a life-saving medicine, which was both crucial for survival and potentially fatal.

The simple guest room at the inn once again became Xiao Chengkang's temporary medicine hut. The oil lamp stayed on all night, and the air was filled with a more complex and intense medicinal smell than in the previous days—a bitter herbal fragrance, a mineral odor, and a faint, cloyingly sweet and fishy smell that made one's scalp tingle.

On the table, in addition to the previous bottles and jars, there were many newly made products: a deep purple, viscous, paste-like "Corrosive Heart Erosion"; a colorless, odorless, and powder-like "Soul-Stealing Agent"; and a "Poison Dragon Smoke" that was placed in a specially made iron tube and could emit highly toxic smoke when lit... Each one exuded a deadly danger.

Xiao Chengkang's face was solemn, his eyes bloodshot with fatigue, but his hands moved with unwavering steadiness. He was carefully dripping the last drop of the viscous, emerald-green liquid into a specially made porcelain bottle with spiral patterns engraved on its inner wall. The liquid fell to the bottom of the bottle with a slight hissing sound, and a few wisps of almost invisible pale green smoke rose from it.

"It's done." He put on the special cork and sealed it with wax, his voice tinged with a hint of relief. This was "Azure Phosphorus Mist," a poisonous fumes that slowly evaporates upon contact with air and can cause madness and paralysis if inhaled in excess. The only antidote was the other bottle of "Heart-Clearing Dew" in his hand.

He placed the extremely dangerous "Azure Phosphorus" and "Heart-Clearing Dew" separately in a small iron box and kept it close to his body. Then, he began to organize the bottles and jars on the table, carefully sorting and packing the various poisons and sedatives with different effects, as well as a large quantity of life-saving medicines such as wound medicine, hemostatic powder, and heart-protecting pills.

Steady footsteps sounded outside the door. The Shadow Guard leader, along with two returning Shadow Guards and the remaining nine, stood quietly at the entrance. They were refreshed after being washed, but their eyes were sharper and more focused than before, like blades that had been tempered.

Xiao Chengkang opened the door and handed each of the pre-packaged medicine packets to a shadow guard. Each packet was meticulously labeled in tiny characters with the name of the medicine inside and its usage. He said nothing, only letting his clear, deep eyes scan each resolute face.

The shadow guards took the medicine packet, feeling its heavy weight—not just the weight of the medicine, but also the young master's silent entrustment and the weight of life itself. They straightened their backs, their eyes meeting in a tacit understanding and resolute determination that needed no words.

A-Yuan also came over. She had changed into a practical outfit, cinched at the waist, making her look dashing and heroic. She gripped the short dagger tightly in her hand, her eyes calm, no longer showing the hesitation she had before. Seeing the faint bluish shadow under Xiao Chengkang's eyes and the dangerous-looking medicine packets in his hand, she felt a pang of pain in her heart, but even more so, a firm resolve to fight side by side.

Xiao Chengkang's gaze finally fell on A Yuan, and he handed her a specially made, small brocade pouch: "Inside are 'Three-Step Enchanting Medicine,' 'Heart-Clearing Dew,' and a few silver needles coated with anesthetic. Keep it close to your body."

A-Yuan took it, her fingertips touching his slightly cool fingers, and nodded vigorously: "Mm."

The morning light pierced the clouds, illuminating the simple courtyard of the post station and the figures of the dozen or so people who were now fully prepared for departure. Ahead, the border of the Western Ling Kingdom was already in sight, but even more turbulent undercurrents and deadly dangers were bound to follow. But at this moment, they gripped medicine and poison tightly in their hands, their eyes burning with an inextinguishable flame. Their sharpening was complete; they were ready to move forward.