The Xiling Mountains are a rugged and sparsely populated region, but they are home to numerous medicinal herbs and exotic animals, and the townspeople at the foot of the mountains make their living collecting them. While this is risky, the rewards are plentiful, and they can sell them at the neighboring market for 50% more than elsewhere.
This small town at the foot of the mountain is called Shaoyao Town. It is not large in scale. The townspeople make their living from the mountains and the water. They have lived here for hundreds of years. It is the place with the best quality Chinese medicinal materials and is the most famous in the surrounding area.
A prominent family in town named Zhao had over a dozen members and was a medical family. Besides operating a pharmacy in town, they also had a dedicated herbal medicine caravan that transported them to nearby cities. While not as prestigious as the county families in the larger cities, they were still a well-to-do family with a modest fortune.
On this day, the second master of the Zhao family stood at the gate of the courtyard as usual, waiting for his third brother to come back from selling medicine, but when it was almost dusk, he still didn't come back.
This is half a day later than usual.
"Yuzhong City is only a dozen miles away from here, and it won't take long to go back and forth. What delayed you, Third Brother? Did you encounter bandits?"
This made him pace back and forth in the courtyard a little uneasy, silently calculating the possible situations he might encounter.
"Hey, Uncle, don't worry about it. The official road has always been safe and sound, and there are imperial soldiers patrolling it. How could we have been attacked by horse thieves?" A young man came over. He was the legitimate son of Master Zhao San and said with a smile, "I heard that a fierce dragon from across the river has recently arrived in Yuzhong City. They are a herbal medicine family from the provincial capital. They have partnered with some prominent families in the counties and have the support of an Earth-level Grandmaster. They are suppressing the market price of our local medicinal materials. My father may still be in Yuzhong City and be very worried about this. Can we bargain?"
"Business hasn't been good in recent years, but any profit is enough. Harmony brings wealth!" Mr. Zhao shook his head and sighed, "As long as nothing else goes wrong, it doesn't matter if we make less. After all, we can't afford to offend those big families and county leaders."
But when night fell, there was no sign of the Zhao family caravan, and not even a single person came to report the news.
Now it wasn't just Master Zhao Er who was feeling uneasy, the entire Zhao family was feeling a bit uneasy. If there really was something delaying them, it would be understandable to send a servant over to inform them of the situation.
But now, there was no sound at all.
Amidst this uneasy mood, a blood-stained man rushed into the brightly lit Zhao Family Hall, repeatedly calling out, "Master, Second Master, something bad has happened!"
Everyone was shocked. Seeing the wounded man, they all felt something was wrong. This young man was also a member of the Zhao family and one of the caravan's guards. He had practiced martial arts since childhood and was taught by a master from Yuzhong City.
Master Zhao quickly stood up, disregarding his manners, and stepped forward to support the other person, saying in a deep voice: "Ah Hu, what happened? Were we really robbed?"
Although Zhao Hu's vital parts weren't seriously injured, he had too many wounds on his body and was bleeding profusely. He was about to die. He shook his head, forced himself to look at the Zhao family, and cried, "It wasn't a bandit attack, it was an unexpected disaster! An unexpected disaster!"
Knowing his time was running out, he quickly said, "One of the White Lotus Sect's protectors was injured by a government detective and recently fled to Yuzhong City. I don't know where he got the news, but he learned that my Zhao family possesses a medicinal treasure called the Tianshan Snow Lotus, which can revive the dead. That's why he left the city and followed our Zhao family caravan, killing them en route! Third Master Zhao was even...even beaten to death in order to protect me and report back."
"This... this... this..." Mr. Zhao, standing by, turned pale with fear at the tragic news. He felt dizzy and took several steps back in disbelief. "But didn't we sell this Tianshan Snow Lotus to the government a while ago? We should avoid the idiom of "the innocent man is guilty of possessing a treasure". How could our Zhao family dare to keep even a single cent of such a treasure!"
"That's right! Master Zhao San also told them that at the time, but they didn't believe him! The White Lotus Guardian believed that even though my family handed over the Tianshan Snow Lotus, there must be some branches and leaves left. Just for these unfounded branches and leaves, they forcibly gave our caravan... our caravan..."
Speaking of this, Zhao Hu couldn't help but feel sad. His injuries were instantly aroused. After coughing up blood several times, he fell into Master Zhao's arms and died.
Before he died, he didn't even close his eyes. The reluctance was written all over his face, he truly died with his eyes open.
The Zhao Family Hall was filled with silence. Everyone present was so shocked by the tragic news that they were speechless.
Master Zhao Wu, who was sitting on the chair, still maintained his rationality: "After such a murder, we must report it to the police immediately!"
"Report to the police?" Master Zhao reached out and stroked Zhao Hu's eyes, causing them to close. He said in a deep voice, "Fifth brother, do you know what level that White Lotus Sect guardian is at? He's at least a congenital master, a human-level martial artist! The only way to deal with such a master is for Yuzhong City to send troops to encircle and suppress him, or for the capital city to send a great master to pursue him. That would be a sure win!"
"But no matter which option we choose, if the government were to send someone here, our Zhao family would have ceased to exist long ago!"
Innate martial artist!
In the towns surrounding them, there wasn't even a single post-natal master. Even in a big city like Yuzhong City, a post-natal master could open a martial arts school and recruit apprentices.
Not to mention the innate martial artists!
Even if you go to the City Lord's Mansion, you will be a guest of honor, but you can become a guest official by being affiliated with the government!
"Then... then there's no possibility of peace talks?" Master Zhao Er came to his senses and asked tremblingly, "Our Zhao family really doesn't have a single branch or leaf of the Tianshan Snow Lotus left!"
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