MY BEAUTIFUL COMMANDER

chapter 101-120

Chapter 101: The Dark City (1)

" The dark city.." Xia Lian's words made both Fan Ling and Bao Su frown in displeasure. They naturally heard about this dark city which was well known for its auction house and the underground battle arena. It was said that all kinds of people from all corners of the world assemble here just to test their strength. What these two shadow guards did not understand is their master's sudden interest in such a place. This dark city is no place for women.

" Master, why that place of all places?" Bao Su was unsettled by her choice of place. Well, his master was known for breaking the general stereotypes. But, this dark city is much more than she can handle, that is what he thought.

" To earn money" Xia Lian very naturally answered his question. She heard that one can money in the battle arenas through bets. Other than that, she had a solid plan in her mind and she will take it step-by-step. And for her plans to bear fruition, this dark city is the foundation she required the most.

Xia Lian heard of this city from her master Wu Gong. He told her many things of this Dark city and due to her curiosity she made him spill out many secrets of this place. In that way, this place caught her interest.

This Dark city is a basically a home to mercenaries, assassins, thugs, secret dealers and what not..

Women are rarely seen in this city as there are very few to zero women mercenaries and assassins. Mostly, houses are seen about a few kilometers away from the center of the city. But, no one is to disrespect the women present here. The leader of the Dark city had strict rules and one of those rules is to respect women. If anyone tries to misbehave with women, they are immediately executed.

But, no one knows who the leader is. There are only rumors that this leader is extremely cruel and bloodthirsty. They say that he loves killing and anyone who looks at his face dies out of fear. They say that he is ugly. But, rumors are rumors.. Xia Lian never believed in rumors.Nah! She refused to believe those shitty rumors.

Ugly.. How can someone who respect and treasure women be ugly? In her view, it is the inner beauty which matters and not the outer shell.

'Disrespect a woman and you will be immediately executed..' Even many countries in the modern world lacked such strict rules regarding the safety of women. So. introducing such rule in this ancient era can be considered as something revolutionary.

This rule of immediate execution naturally scratched Xia Lian's itchy heart. Who in the world made such awesome rule? She wanted to meet this leader.. If possible she wanted to get an autograph..

She had an intuition that this person might become a great partner if roped in her plans. So, she wanted to try her best to meet this person hiding in the shadows.

Other than the leader, Xia Lian was interested in other things as well..

1) The Black Dragon auction house

The Black Dragon auction house is the biggest auction house in this Qilin continent. It houses many ancient and mystical weapons, herbalists can sell their medicines, very rare stones and precious metals are auctioned here. It was also named as the auction house for the rich and wealthy.

It is said that princes and many important people form various corners of the world visit this auction house. Such is it's popularity.

Xia Lian felt that a partnership with this auction house will be helpful in future. No matter what, having a person with many contacts and resources is always beneficial. So, Xia Lian decided to form a partnership with them.

2) The Golden Lion mercenaries

This group of hot blooded mercenaries also caught our bad wolf, Xia Lian's eyes. They accept various tasks and most importantly they go on treasure hunting. Ancient artifacts, precious herbs whatever or how difficult the task may be, they accept as long as they are paid well. They never betray their employer. Xia Lian naturally cannot bring herself to hate these well behaved mercenaries.

'First become one among them and then conquer their hearts' This was Xia Lian's strategy with regards to the Golden Lion mercenaries. Fair play or foul play, does not matter as long as she was able to get these mercenaries into her hands.

Xia Lian decided to conquer these mercenaries for herself. Having a group of well trained men is helpful to her as she want to build her own army.

3) The Slayer grounds

The Slayer grounds is the underground fighting place where one can challenge other and fight for money. The top fighter is known as Slayer.

It is said that people of all kinds can be found at this place. It is the only place which has the signboard ' Women are advised not to enter. Your safety is your responsibility here.'

This is the only place where fights take place at any time.

Xia Lian needed money and wants to improve her fighting skills. So, this is the best place for her.

Xia Lian had three goals in her mind as she stared at the gate of the Dark city. This is not just some random place, this is the land of her dreams. She was going to start form the scratch and this place was going to be her base.

" Master.." Fan Ling called out as she noticed Xia Lian staring at the gate. Xia Lian did not respond for a while and no one knew what was going on in that meticulous mind of hers.

" Fan Ling, from this day you call yourself Fan and I will call myself Li." Xia Lian turned to look at her loyal sub-ordinate. Fan Ling nodded at her master. Whatever her master says, she follows.

" Bao Su, from this day treat us both as men. You should forget that we are women." Bao Su nodded in understanding. After all, this Dark City is no place for a woman. Then again, he sighed as his master is no where close to be called as an ordinary woman. She was a unique woman after all, who managed to capture the heart of the wooden block prince.

" Ming.." before she could continue the little bunny raised his hands in surrender " Brother Li and brother Fan.. I know how I should call you both.." the little one was too intelligent for his own good. However, that was what made him look cute and enchanting in the first place.

Xia Lian and the others laughed heartily on hearing his words. They all loved this little bunny deeply. Both Fan Ling and Bao Su spoiled him to the maximum. Xia Lian naturally took good care of him and now he looked round like a fluffy ball with chubby cheeks, thanks to her excellent cooking skills. He fell in love with her cooking and now he is not eating anything unless it is cooked by her.

' This little bunny is truly clever.. May be I should start polishing him..' Xia Lian thought deeply while looking at her little bunny. He is clearly three years old, but it seems that the little one's IQ is quite high. Xia Lian was sure that her bunny is intelligent. She will start to teach him slowly. He's still young and she did not want to rush up anything.

Chapter 102: The Dark City (2)

Xia Lian and the group entered the city gates. The guards at duty stared at this group of lookers. Xia Lian and Fan Ling although they are females, they looked quite handsome in their respective male outfits as Xia Lian altered both of their facial features using her special cream.

Bao Su and her little bunny also had quite the killer looks.. So, many stared at this group for a while before resuming their works. The group slowly made their way forward ignoring the heated gazes directed at them.

But, many of them stared at Xia Lian's horse with envy. They can only look from a distance, but no one dared to steal the horse as they knew that this breed of horse recognizes only one master. Those who dared to covet it, never met with a peaceful death. So, all the envious men cursed a few words under their breath before reverting to their original business. Xia Lian raised her brows at her lovely horse. This horse of hers was too eye-catching and it is totally out shining her. Hurricane snorted in pride as if he read her thoughts.

The petite frame of Xia Lian made some people get sinister ideas of picking up a fight with her. But, those who had some sense reprimanded them saying that the one who was able to scarlet dragon horse is not a normal person and should not be underestimated. Though Xia Lian looked weak after hearing such words of warning, no one dared to under-estimate him because normal person can't subdue this mad horse. So, slowly the commotion calmed down.

If Xia Lian knew their thoughts, she would have rolled on the ground laughing loudly. What mad horse? Her Hurricane is a lovely horse which followed her willingly and the horse which melted under her little bunny arms. If they knew that the horse which they are fearing can be subdued with pancakes, she wondered if they would puke their guts out.

Xia Lian observed all the inns in the city while riding her horse. Now, thanks to the veiled man's and Li Wei's grace, she had enough money for now. So, she would obviously choose the best inn which had good security. She cannot neglect her people's safety in this city.

Finally, Xia Lian's gaze stopped at a large inn which read ' Kuaile inn..'.

" Happy inn.." Xia Lian raised her brows after translating it's meaning. She nudged her horse and started to move towards the restaurant.

Xia Lian dismounted from her horse and made her way towards the entrance, but she raised her brows when she was stopped by guards. She did not understand why they were stopped at the entrance. This was clearly rude and it reflected the narrow mindedness of those who are running this inn.

" You poor commoners are not allowed in here.." the first guard snorted with disdain. On seeing their plain clothes, the guard assumed that they are lacking in money. Though they are good to look at, what use is looks without having sufficient money?

" Just go and search for other restaurants which fit your status." another one waved his hand as if driving them away.

" Why? Is this inn only for royalty?" Xia Lian was totally unaffected by their words whereas Bao Su and Fan Ling were ready to tear their heads off.

" Why should we answer you?" the first guard sneered at Xia Lian.

Without giving time for Xia Lian to react, Fan Ling rushed forward and kicked them in the knees making them kneel before her master. How dare these scum insult her master?

" Now, will you call your owner or manger whoever it is or.." Fan Ling pointed her sword at their necks " Should I cut off your heads?"

" Master, shall I cut off these worthless heads?" Fan Ling tilted her look at her master who had a lazy smile on her face.

" Brother Fan, just let them go and call their owner" Xia Lian spoke slowly with a look of amusement on her face. 'This Fan Ling is quite fierce..' Xia Lian had a wild tiger at her side.

" Yes, Master" Fan Ling then turned to look at the two shivering men before her " Didn't you hear my master's words?"

The two men were stunned when the young man before them addressed the young kid as his master. Then again, this group looked weak except the muscular man so they thought that they can drive them away. But, they didn't expect that this skinny young man to have good skills.

But, he addressed the young kid who was barely 12 or 13 as his master. So, the young kid must be more powerful than him. So, they secretly gulped and hurried inside to call their owner.

Xia Lian and Fan Ling chatted in the mean time and Bao Su silently looked at his new master.

After sometime, the guards returned with a fat man of about 40 years old. His oily and greasy skin shone under the sunlight making Xia Lian cringe.

" Are you the owner of this inn?" Xia Lian asked the fat man who decorated himself with various ornaments.

" No, I am the manager." the fat man replied in an arrogant tone " The owner of this place is the first prince of Qilin empire."

Chapter 103: The Fourth prince's people

" Oh! So, this inn is under the First prince?" Xia Lian asked for confirmation.

The fat man thought that these lowly peasants are now afraid after hearing the First prince's name. So, he raised his chin with a smug smile on his face.

Bao Su was unable to watch anymore. Before he could open his mouth, Xia Lian interrupted him " Give me the token."

Bao Su was dazed " Master, how did you know that I am having Fourth Prince's token?"

" I can easily guess that fool's actions. Don't tell me that he simply sent you to guard me.." Xia Lian rolled her eyes at him. If they took her for a fool, they are mistaken.

Bao Su face-palmed and he absentmindedly handed the jade token to his master. He now remembered Xuan Li Wei's warning ' Your new master is quite clever. So, serve her wholeheartedly and no need to send any reports about her. If she finds about it, she will slice both of us into mincemeat without any hesitation.'

Bao Su shivered involuntarily. He decided that he will try to play any tricks on his master. His master is scarier and ruthless than the fourth prince. Truly a match made in heaven.

" Hey fat man!" the fat man's body shook in anger on hearing how the kid called him.

" How dare you call me like that?" Xia Lian ignored his loud voice and she raised her hand motioning him to stop.

The fat man sub-consciously closed his mouth on meeting with Xia Lian's fierce gaze. Xia Lian then displayed the token in her hand.

The fat man's body shook and he dropped on to his knees after seeing the token in the kid's hands.

'Fourth prince? This kid is related to Fourth prince.' the fat man now felt a sense of dread in his heart.

Even a kid in Qilin empire knows how the four princes treat each other. They are known far and wide for their brotherly affection. No intricate scheming and No backstabbing.. They support each other and the Qilin empire is prosperous today because of their combined efforts. Even the emperor is proud of his four sons.

The First prince takes care of business with in and outside the Qilin Empire.

The Second Prince takes care of administration within the empire and helps his father in ruling the kingdom. He is also the crown prince.

The Third Prince is known for his scholarly knowledge. He is the one who takes care of education and examination system.

The Fourth Prince, the youngest and most loved by his brothers is in charge of the military and defense system of the Qilin empire.

Now, this fat man was disrespectful to Fourth Prince's people. If this matter makes way to the First Prince's ears, he would surely lose his head.

" So, even the fourth prince's people are not allowed in here?" Xia Lian had a mocking smile on her face.

" No.. N-No.. I was wrong. Please forgive me." the fat man started to kowtow to her and Xia Lian did not stop him.

Xia Lian allowed him to stop only after his fore-head started to bleed profusely. Xia Lian looked at the ground which was painted in red before her and nodded in satisfaction.

" The next time I see you speaking disrespectfully to anyone is the day you die." Xia Lian spoke coldly " Rich or poor, Young or old.. learn to respect everyone. It is the basic human nature." Xia Lian brushed past the fat man and the guards who are now trembling on the ground.

The waiter in the hotel did not dare to neglect this big boss and so they immediately arranged three rooms for the group. A single room for Xia Lian and the little bunny, and a room each for Fan Ling and Bao Su respectively.

After entering into her room, Xia Lian took out a paper and started to write something. Xia Ming looked at her curiously. She then melted the wax and stamped it with a seal which Xuan Li Wei gave her. She then tied it to the bird's leg and patted it's head. The little bird then soared into the air and it disappeared with a lightning speed.

' Just how fast is it?' Xia Lian wondered for a while before heading into the bath.

Chapter 104: The Four Pillars of the Qilin Empire

In the Imperial Palace,

Three pairs of eyes stared at each other in disbelief and the room was filled with a strange atmosphere. They pinched themselves to make sure that they were not simply seeing an illusion.

" I never thought I would see my Wei'er again in this lifetime.. So you finally remembered that you have three pitiful brothers waiting for you at home." a young man of about 25 years old sighed dramatically. He had extremely beautiful facial features with long silky jet black hair. Appearance as breathtaking as if he came straight from a beautiful painting. One could say that he was the heartthrob of the Qilin Empire. This man was the First Prince of the Empire, Xuan Li Yan.

"Hehe.. Bro, it's good to see you back" another man of about 23 years enveloped Xuan Li Wei in a huge bear hug. He then scrutinised Xuan Li Wei from top to bottom and nodded his head with pride "You've grown up.. You look more handsome and dashing than us brothers..If I were not that excited about the lost son coming back, I would truly envy you!" Xuan Li Wei was speechless after seeing his second brother's excitement.

Was he truly the calm and reserved Crown Prince? This was his silly and fun loving second brother, who he followed like a tail in his childhood. Xuan Li Wei hugged his second brother with a huge grin on his face.

"Ahem!" Xuan Li Wei and Xuan Li Min broke out of their happy hug and turned to look at the darkened face of the third prince, Xuan Li Shan. He was the scholarly prince and was widely known for his knowledge across all the different empires. The young man of 21 years had an attractive

charm of a scholar around him.

Xuan Li Min raised his brows after seeing the wronged look on his third brother's face and spoke up with a tinge of provocation" Don't look at us like that. You should read more books on how to interact with others rather than those boring scrolls. "

Xuan Li Shan's face darkened dangerously. Just as Xuan Li Wei was about to greet his third brother, his second brother spoke again " Your third brother missed you the most. He would always say 'Little fourth must have grown up, right?' or 'I wonder how he looks now' or " Xuan Li Min was suddenly interrupted by Xuan Li Shan as the latter punched the former in the stomach making him stop spouting all his secrets.

Xuan Li Wei had a silly smile on his face watching his brother's antics. He knew that his third brother was poor with words, a trait which they both shared in common.

Xuan Li Wei only chuckled and tried to smooth the waves, "Third brother, shall we play Go. It's been a long time since we played, just the two of us together."

Xuan Li Shan nodded with a smile " Alright, let's play." No extra words were needed between them as a million emotions could be conveyed in those two exchanges between close brothers.

" Let's gather in our fun room.." Xuan Li Yan was now excited. It's been a long time since the four of them gathered. But before they left he looked around and frowned at Xuan Li Wei "Where is Moyin?"

Xuan Li Wei face-palmed after noticing his elder brother's blaming looks. He immediately defended himself " Moyin will be here in a while. He went to meet mother."

Xuan Li Min started to laugh heartily " No wonder Mother Hu Rui likes Moyin more than you and that little devil." Xuan Li Wei naturally understood that the little devil his second brother was speaking of could only be his little sister, Xuan Li Na.

Xuan Li Shan summoned a palace servant and instructed him clearly " Go and tell the princess that this prince invited her to play." After making sure that the servant left, Xuan Li Shan turned around only to meet with the killing looks from his brothers. They truly wanted to skin him alive.

" What is wrong?" Xuan Li Shan was naturally confused as to why his three brothers were glaring at him.

"Eunuch Jang.." Xuan Li Min summoned his personal eunuch " Go and tell the princess that she can come only after the sunset. Tell her that her brothers have some important works to do."

Xuan Li Shan scratched his head and voiced his doubts after the eunuch left " Brother, what work do we have?"

" My silly third brother.." Xuan Li Yan sighed helplessly " We brothers need to have a heart-to-heart talk and obviously girls should not be there."

Xuan Li Shan scratched his head and spoke up sheepishly, "Why?"

Xuan Li Yan had a sudden urge to strangle this brother of his. How can they talk about girls in their sister's presence. He really wanted to spank this brother of his and impart him some knowledge about the affairs between men and women.

Xuan Li Min interfered before his elder brother could flip out, " *cough* Let's go.. Let's go.. We have a lot to talk today. I heard a lot of sweet rumours recently ah!"

Watching the playful scene of his brothers quarreling with each other left Xuan Li Wei helpless and amused at the same time. But he was also excited as it was very rare to see this side of his brothers.

Chapter 105: The Wooden block is in love!

Xuan Li Shan and Xuan Li Wei sat across each other, the former taking white pieces and the latter adjusting his black pieces on the board.

" Should you really play this stupid game now?! We want to have a friendly and brotherly chat with our dearest brother!" Xuan Li Min pouted at his younger brothers.

" Shoo.. Go away.. Don't disturb us." Xuan Li Shan waved his hands at his second brother. Xuan Li Yan's lips twitched after witnessing this blatant denial and he dragged his second brother away from them.

Xuan Li Wei and Xuan Li Shan were deeply involved in their game, when they heard a lively voice chirping through the corridor.

" Hey big bro's.. your silly little bro is back." Jun Moyin had a huge grin on his face as he entered the room.

" Speak of the devil and he shall appear!" Xuan Li Yan's face was full of smiles. He was just thinking about this brat and in the next minute he found him in the room. How could he not be happy? This Moyin was the right medicine, or rather happy drug, for the two wooden blocks in front of them.

Seeing the two wooden blocks who were deeply involved in their Go game the red devils lips twitched and his brain was already working on a plan! He needed to disturb them without provoking them too much, truly a dangerous job.

Jun Moyin sat in between his first and second brother while rubbing his chin. Slowly, a sly grin spread across his face as he turned to look at his eldest brother.

" Bro, I heard that your marriage talks are going on. Let's talk about life a bit hehe!" Jun Moyin had an evil grin on his face. Xuan Li Yan choked on his tea and looked at the brat with disbelief on his face. He wanted to tease his younger brothers, how did he end up being teased by this brat?

Jun Moyin slowly inched closer and spoke loud enough to grab the two wooden blocks attention " Bro, how can you keep such things a secret. I wonder who is the lucky girl?"

Xuan Li Wei's hand stopped in the middle and he had an incredulous expression on his face " Elder brother is getting married?!"

" No.. No.." Xuan Li Yan immediately refused " Father is searching everywhere for the ' perfect girl'. He asked me if I have someone I like, but too bad this prince's heart is still not taken. That is why he started to search like a mad dog and he just wouldn't stop, no matter how much I am begging!"

' Mad dog??' Xuan Li Wei's lips twitched. Only his elder brother had the audacity to call their father a mad dog. Everybody else would tremble, just from listening to their discussion.

On the other hand, Xuan Li Shan was glaring at the two who disturbed their game. Jun Moyin noticed his third brothers fiery gaze and shivered.

He then coughed to gain everyone's attention " Ahem!"

All the four turned to look at him with inquisitive gazes. Jun Moyin then looked at Xuan Li Wei with an evil grin on his face. Xuan Li Wei felt a bad premonition in his heart. Sure enough he was not disappointed by his useless brother of his, because before he could think about it he already heard Jun Moyin's conspiracy voice " Brothers, I got a sister-in-law.. hehe.."

All the three princes were surprised and Xuan Li Wei had a priceless look on his face. Xuan Li Min was the first to catch the change in Xuan Li Wei's expression. He instantly understood that Jun Moyin was referring to Xuan Li Wei. The world was going to end, there was simply no other explanation!

' This wooden block is in love!' Xuan Li Min raised his brows in amusement. His amusement was clearly reflected in his voice " So, Little four is in love ah..."

Xuan Li Yan also joined in the fray as he crouched before Xuan Li Wei " So, who is she? Tell me everything about her!" He asked while raising his brows. His expression is like ' Don't even think of lying! You won't be able to shoulder the consequences!'

Xuan Li Wei smiled wryly after seeing his eldest brother's expression. Even if he wanted to keep it a secret for the time being, this Moyin was more than ready to spill the beans.

Since the things have already reached to this point.. What was the point of hiding and evading? It's better if he revealed the truth himself, otherwise thinking of how his brothers will tease him in the future made him shiver involuntarily. There was no other way around it anyways.

" Ahem!" Xuan Li Wei cleared his throat. All the three brothers looked at him with curious and intense gazes.. The atmosphere changed to a courtroom. Judgement Day was nearing!

Chapter 106: We have a sister-in-law

" W-well I saved her li-.." Xuan Li Min interrupted him ,"Our little brother is the knight in the shining armour?!" Tsk..Tsk.. Typical love at first sight! Xuan Li Min was disappointed. There was no totally romantic chance encounter and a following dramatic chase of love?! It seems he expected too much..

How could Xuan Li Wei not understand his second brother's thoughts. As a result he quickly explained everything that happened between him and the little girl.

By the time he completed the whole story, Xuan Li Yan had a priceless expression on his face. Xuan Li Min was rolling on the ground with laughter and even Xuan Li Shan had a huge grin on his face.

The main culprit Jun Moyin was relishing on the pastries while enjoying the four man show before him. Truly entertaining.

" You want to tell me, you are still chasing her?" Xuan Li Min's eyes glistened due to the tears caused from his laughing fit earlier.

" Yes. I am not as talented in this sort of skirt chasing as you all, sadly." Xuan Li Wei nodded with a solemn expression on his face. Xuan Li Yan asked with an incredulous voice "Seems like a hard case if she was not wooed by your looks.."

Xuan Li Wei rolled his eyes at his elder brother " Elder brother, she doesn't care about looks." he then sighed sadly "She considers only Moyin as her close friend. I think the little girl sees me rather as an enemy to be cautious about. Sigh!"

" Oh! Then what does she think about you?" Xuan Li Shan was thoroughly intrigued by this little girl.

" I am just a flirty prince in her eyes. I don't know if I even caught her eyes." Xuan Li Wei sighed and the three brothers looked at him with pity in their eyes.

"Big bro, please don't lie ah!" Jun Moyin interrupted them. Under their curious gazes he spoke in a playful tone " Actually, sister-in-law likes brother's smell very much!"

Boom!

All the three princes remained frozen on the spot and let their imagination run wild..

" Hehe.. Just what in the world happened eh!" Xuan Li Min was the first to react. He had a naughty expression on his face.

" Bro.. How can you do this to a young girl? She is just twelve! Show some restraint please.." Xuan Li Yan shook his head in disappointment. Anyone could tell that he was exaggerating his actions. Jun Moyin's lips twitched after hearing his elder brother's words. It seems like he was not shameless enough yet, for this bunch of brothers appeared more shameless than him.

" If I find that you did anything immoral, I will castrate you! A shame for the royal family." Xuan Li Shan spoke in a calm tone which made everyone in the room shudder. This prince had ice in his veins.

Whoa! Jun Moyin really wanted to prostrate in front of his third brother. Such a righteous person, one could not help but admire.

" Am I even a brother to you?" Xuan Li Wei was unable to endure " First listen to what I have to say, then judge me after hearing all the facts!"

Once again, the brother's became breathless due to their unceasing laughter after witnessing Xuan Li Wei narrate the incident and with Jun Moyin's exaggerations in between, the atmosphere turned lively real quick. They seemed like a bunch of girls, gossiping away.

"In the end, the girl doesn't even have a crush on you?" Xuan Li Wei's face darkened because this was the major point that hurt his pride so much. Even after all his relentless efforts the girl didn't show many emotions to him at all! Seemingly hitting bullseye with his assumptions, Xuan Li Yan broke out in roaring laughter again. This was truly too priceless of an event to ever forget about it again in this lifetime!

" And you say that she doesn't even know that you are the one who saved her." Xuan Li Min was curious " Why don't you tell her that you are her benefactor and even carried her and the little bunny around hehe. Maybe she will like you then and if not, maybe she will at least stay a few years with you to repay the debts. It would give you time to twirl her around your fingers."

" No, then she will like me out of gratitude." Xuan Li Wei was strongly against it " I want her to like everything about me, not just the kindness I showed her in a moment of need. Our relationship would seem forced that way."

" My bro is deeply imprisoned in the lake called Love.. Truly unable to drown within, but without any chance to rescue anyways." Jun Moyin choked after hearing Xuan Li Yan's words.

"Wait a moment, you are saying that the girl entered the brothel. Did she not have any disgust towards such places?" All the men in the room glared at Xuan Li Shan for asking such an unrelated question and destroying the moment. Did this guy not have any skill in reading the atmosphere at all?!

" No, sister-in-law doesn't loath anyone. She is a wonderful person.." Jun Moyin continued to speak about Xia Lian without a pause.As a result, Xuan Li Shan's opinion on the girl started to improve for the best.

The three brothers listened to Jun Moyin chatter with a genuine smile on their faces. This scene was truly picture perfect and even the normally stern general of the Qilin Empire had a calming smile on his face.

How long had it been since they saw such an sincere happy expression on this little kids face?

Ever since that incident, the genuine smile on Jun Moyin's face disappeared for a long time. He locked his heart and refused to speak to anyone.

If not for Mother Jun Hu Rui taking him under her wing, he would have turned into an emotionless stone. Even now his cheerful demeanor was only an external facade. Deep under the smiling mask was a young man who had suffered grievances and whose heart contained nothing but sadness and thirst for revenge.

Even they, as his brothers and family, were not able to make him smile happily, no matter how long they tried. But who would have guessed, this random girl ,seemingly appearing out of thin air, did it somehow.

At this moment, all three of them had only a single thought in their minds " We have a sister-in-law. And if not, we will catch her anyway!"

Chapter 107: A Blood Debt

After bantering and teasing each other for a while, everyone in the room calmed down. In the end they were still respectable princes! One had to take care of their behavior and attitude ah.

" I wish that you will introduce our sister-in-law soon. You have to put in more efforts!" Xuan Li Yan sighed. He was looking forward to meet this interesting sister-in-law quite a lot.

" As if I will let you meet my wife so easily.." Xuan Li Wei rolled his eyes making Xuan Li Yan speechless. When did she become this fellow's wife? Xuan Li Yan face-palmed after witnessing his brother's shameless action and words. He should teach him about being calm and classy again.

" Hah! She didn't even have a liking towards you. Isn't it funny that you are already calling her your wife.." Xuan Li Min teased but Xuan Li Wei maintained a straight face as if it's only natural that he would call her his wife.

Xuan Li Min wondered when this brother of his turned so shameless!

" You have a long way to go. Work hard. Maybe you will make your mother happy for once." Xuan Li Shan once again spoke nonchalantly as if he is reporting today's weather.

" Did you find anything?" Xuan Li Yan spoke in a serious tone while looking at Moyin. Jun Moyin's hand froze in the middle and he shook his head while looking at his brother, "Nothing."

Xuan Li Wei sighed after noticing the murderous intent behind his voice. Even he could not help but clench his fists while remembering the events that happened in that year. But in the end, everyone seemed helpless as they were not able to find even a single clue. No matter how hard they tried, they were back at square one.

No one could imagine what Jun Moyin was feeling at this moment as he was the one who survived in that hellish nightmare. The four of them only heard about it, but Moyin was the one who went through it.

Xuan Li Yan still remembered the day when he first saw Moyin. A young boy with lifeless eyes and pale face. Tattered clothes and a face painted with blood. The kid was only 8 years old at that time, but it seemed like he went from heaven to hell in a single night. Xuan Li Shan and Xuan Li Wei were only 12 and 10 years old at that time, still children. They did not understand much about the situation back then, but even though it was hard for them to realize what was going on exactly, the devastating atmosphere could not be forgotten, not even after all this time.

But, Xuan Li Yan and Xuan Li Min ,who were 16 and 14 years old at that time, clearly understood everything and the implications of the incident. In the past, they could not help but feel a chill in their bones after listening to the way in which the Jun family was exterminated.

They still remembered the valiant figure of their Mother Jun Hu Rui when she vowed to kill every last one of those, who were responsible for the fate of their Jun family. Jun Moyin was her younger sister's son.

Only Moyin was able to escape from the terrible fate on that day, because the family's head servant escaped with him and brought him to the Jun mansion.

Jun Hu Rui raised him as her own son. In the beginning, he did not open up himself to anyone. But Jun Hu Rui stayed true to her efforts and the only thing that still connected her to her beloved sister, so did not give up, no matter how many efforts it took.

Slowly, the little boy began to develop a response. Xuan Li Na was born just a few months earlier to his arrival. Jun Moyin started to smile around her and started to play with the baby girl. As the years passed by, the voids in his heart were replaced by the warm memories of his mother, brother and his little devil of younger sister. Especially the girl was a huge part of his healing process. His other three brothers were like an icing to the cake.

But a part of him was never able to forget the events of that day and the memories haunted him even now. Sometimes he couldn't sleep for the whole night.

How could he forget those masked men who mercilessly killed the entire Jun family. He could never forget. He would never forget.

" No need to worry. We will continue to look for clues." Xuan Li Min spoke with a grim expression on his face " I deployed my Eagles troop. Let's hope for some leads.."

" Brother, my shadow troop is not able to find even a single clue." Xuan Li Wei's words made Xuan Li Min frown. If Li Wei's Shadow troop were not able to find the clues, then his Eagles troop had no chance of finding anything at all.

Xuan Li Wei vowed to kill all those bastards who were responsible for making his mother and brother sad for many years. He put all his efforts in finding informations about that incident, but till today they were not able to find even a single lead. Thinking about all of this, he had a worried expression on his face.

Everyone in the room had either a grim or concerned expression on their faces.

" Brothers, don't worry.." Jun Moyin smiled warmly after observing their concern for a while, " I will turn every stone upside down, if that is what it takes to find them."

" A blood debt will neither be forgotten nor forgiven." Jun Moyin spoke in a calm voice, which was quite unusual for himself.

" They own me a blood debt.." were his words before they were interrupted by a young and melodious voice.

Chapter 108: Their Little Devil

" Brothers, did your meeting go well?" a melodious voice interrupted them, turning the grim atmosphere into a happy one instantly.

All the five brothers had huge grins on their faces, because of the arrival of their little devil, Xuan Li Na. Only this girl could make them smile and only she could receive all their love and care.

The seemingly sweet girl folded her hands across her chest and glared at them. Her cheeks turned pink and she looked very adorable, even when she was angry and displeased. The little girl was very tiny, of course, because she was only 10 years old. As a result, all of them immediately started laughing after witnessing her cute but funny appearance.

" Humph.." Xuan Li Na stomped her feet " I am taking back the desserts prepared by mother. I will eat everything by myself!" After saying her part, she immediately turned to leave.

Her words about desserts made the five men stop laughing. They had a huge impact on them, similar to a declaration of war. Desserts made by mother Jun Hu Rui were simply the best. Mother Gu Xinyi and Mother Wan Bing could not even compare to her cooking. After some contemplation, all the brother's cast their pride aside and shamelessly started to beg for the desserts.

" Hehe.." Xuan Li Na had an evil grin on her face " Then you should accept my conditions."

" What are they?" Xuan Li Wei asked even though he had a faint idea of what was going to come, and anything that comes out of this little devil's mouth couldn't be good for their current leisure time.

Sure enough, she did not disappoint them.

" Eldest brother, you must carry me on your shoulders and run 4 rounds around the palace.." Xuan Li Yan's face darkened but he nodded. A few rounds around the palace were nothing compared to the delicacies. Anyways, this was not the first time, and will not be the last, he made rounds with this little devil on his shoulders. Once, this girl started to use his head as a drum and started to sing when he was making rounds around the palace. On that day, rumours spread around the country, about how the princess was doted on by the eldest prince.

" Second brother, you should sing 20 songs for me. And you should use your jade flute." Xuan Li Min readily agreed. After seeing this, Xuan Li Yan grunted " On a normal day, you won't even sing a single song for us.."

Xuan Li Min naturally ignored his eldest brother's complaints.

" Third brother is actually good, so I will naturally give the best desserts to him." Xuan Li Shan had a smug look on his face when he looked at his two elder brothers.

" Fourth brother, this time I will make sure to strangle you in the pillow fight. Let's have a pillow fight later on." Xuan Li Wei's lips twitched slightly, but he remained his composure on the outside. Did she even remember that he was her elder brother at all!?

" Big bro.." Xuan Li Na was closest to Moyin as he doted on her the most from childhood till now, " Are the desserts delicious?" Xuan Li Na asked Jun Moyin who was eating the best of the best desserts. This little devil saved all the best desserts for him and she naturally gave the leftovers to her other four brothers. She snuggled in his embrace, to feel his warmth.

The four princes gritted their teeth and endured this ill-treatment from the little girl. Xuan Li Na teased them for a while, before serving them their desserts. All six of them chatted happily and the servants who were in the room smiled because of the harmonious atmosphere.

" Finally, the little devil is tired.." Xuan Li Yan chuckled. He could finally relax, since the little devil was peacefully sleeping in his lap.

" Eldest brother, I am going to allow women to participate in the Imperial Civil Service Examination from this year on wards." Xuan Li Shan informed them of his decision. Though it was going to be a tough fight, he was ready to fight it out with the court till the end.

" What made you to think about such a good thing?" Xuan Li Min raised his brows.

" Li Na is quite clever for her age. If I groom her from now, maybe in the next five or six years she might be a great officer of court. Well, there might be other girls like our Li Na out there. We should just give them the opportunity.." Xuan Li Shan then turned towards Li Wei " You should ask sister-in-law to participate in this exam. A woman who is not disgusted about other women, no matter the circumstances, is surely a woman of character.."

" I will tell her" Xuan Li Wei nodded " But well, my wife is more interested to lead armies than to sit in the court."

" She wants to be soldier?" Xuan Li Shan felt that his sister-in-law never failed to surprise him.

" No, not a soldier.." Xuan Li Wei's voice had pride in it " A General, or if possible a Commander."

Chapter 109: My Dear..

' Commander?' The three princes fell silent for quite a while after hearing Li Wei's words. The Qilin Empire never had any women warriors in its history. It will be really difficult for people to accept women in such professions. From this point forward, the road ahead was going to be a tough for their sister-in-law.

" Anything can happen in three years. Let's wait and see. If she is determined to join the army after returning, remember that we will do our best to support her." Xuan Li Yan's words made Li Wei smile subconsciously "Well then, I will be counting on you elder brother."

" Chirp.. Chirp.." Xuan Li Wei immediately stood up after listening to a certain bird's voice. Since the scene was a bit strange at first, Jun Moyin could only chuckle after noticing his brother's anxiousness whereas the other three princes looked at him in amusement, already aware of what was going on.

Xuan Li Wei untied the paper from the birds leg and immediately broke the seal, because he simply could not wait any longer, to hear news about his little treasure.

" Yay! Love letters. Fufufu!" Xuan Li Min smiled naughtily " It's so good to be young ah!"

" Second brother, you are expecting way too much from my sister-in-law. She would never do something like this!" Jun Moyin rolled his eyes. Was his second brother's brain mentally ill? How did he possibly come to the conclusion that she would write a love letter. The day his sister-in-law wrote a love letter to his big bro would certainly be his death day!

" She's also my sister-in-law! You can't take her for yourself alone. " Xuan Li Min frowned.

" One idiot calls her his wife and the other idiots call her sister-in-law. Brothers, our little four did not even enter her eyes." Xuan Li Shan brutally extinguished their excitement.

" Elder brother, this letter is related to you." Xuan Li Wei's lips twitched.

" Oh! What is my sister-in-law saying?" Xuan Li Yan perked his ears.

" She says it's time you inspect your restaurants and pull out the weeds." Xuan Li Wei spoke in a mirthful voice " I think she stopped at one of your inns and she had to use my token to enter. It seems that things are going out of our hands. It is time to tighten the reins again."

" How Presumptuous! How dare they insult people based on their social status! " Xuan Li Yan's face darkened " I think I've been too lenient these days. It's time to show my dark side again, or else people might come to the conclusion that I have grown weak with age hehe."

Everyone in the room shuddered. Their eldest brother may seem too kind and beautiful, but no one was deadlier than him when angered.

Combined with his sinister laughter, it was a sign to go for away and don't look back for a while.

Xuan Li Wei started to write a reply as the others were involved in a serious discussion.

..................................

" Clank.. Clank.." the sounds of metal clashing reverberated throughout the area. Fan Ling has been watching Bao Su and her master practising sword play for one hour already.

" Ouch.." Xia Lian grunted when she was pushed backward by Bao Su. Bao Su's swordsmanship was indeed quite superb. With his incredible strength, he was able to defeat Xia Lian easily.

Xia Lian knew that her skills in using swords were very poor. As a result, in her eyes this Bao Su was like a fat piece of meat. She was determined to improve her skills with his help and only a large amount of serious practice could help her out. Bao Su also didn't hold back after getting to know her intentions.

By the time time one hour had passed, Xia Lian's hands started to ache. How could the hands of a tiny 12 year old be able to hold back a 20 year old man's strength, and a trained shadow guard at that?

Bao Su sheathed his sword after noticing her pant heavily. He was more than sure that her hands were aching terribly. In response, the loyal follower decided to stop for now, " Master, let's take it slow. Your moves are excellent already.Only your strength is still lacking, but this needs some time and constant training. You can't force an issue like that in a single day."

" To improve the process, I will teach you how to develop your inner strength in the future. With inner strength your attacks will become a lot stronger and deadlier. You should focus on training your hands well. But don't overdo it, your body is still in the growth process. If the impacts received are too big, it can hinder your future potential."

Xia Lian nodded and decided to follow his words. A month or two, no matter how long it would take, she must improve her strength. Only a leader strong in both mind and body could develop powerful armies.

What she lacked most at the moment was physical strength, so she must train well, continuously. Her archery skills were back, but now it was time to take it to another level, a supreme level.

After taking a glance at Hurricane, she fell deep in thoughts for a while. The little girl must practice shooting arrows from horseback. Hurricane was her horse, but she must practice riding on it's back so that both of them will get used to each other. It would truly be a waste to not use the potential of such a horse with devastating power.

Xia Lian returned to room with many thoughts on her mind. She slowly massaged her hands to relieve at least a bit of pain. She could already imagine the calluses that would form ah! Well, she could take care of her beauty after surviving the hellish training.

" Chirp.." Xia Lian broke out of her training thoughts and looked at the source of the sound with widened eyes. This bird was back in about 5 hours.

Whoa! It's too fast! That was practically cheating.

Xia Lian rubbed the bird's head while removing the paper that was tied to it's leg.

" My Dear, Elder Brother will take care of the inns. You just stay safe and train hard. But don't force your little body too much." After reading the message, the little devils face immediately darkened.

This flirty prince was becoming bolder with each day!

'My dear!' Xia Lian gritted her teeth and kept the paper in a box. She would deal with that man as soon as she returned home!

On the other hand, Xuan Li Wei was laughing hard because he could almost imagine her furious reaction. Jun Moyin and the other princes just ignored this creep. Their sister-in-law didn't deserve such treatment ah! She is really getting bullied by this big wolf!

Chapter 110: The Herbalist Awakens

" Whoa! Not again..." Xia Lian cried as she fell on the ground with a thud! Hurricane rushed towards her and started to lick her face. The saliva mixed with all the dirt combined to a wonderful picture. A little girl playing with her big horse.

Xia Lian looked at her partner with a gloomy expression on her face. For the last five days she was trying her best to maintain any kind of balance on this godforsaken horse while sitting in a crouching position on it's back.

Who would imagine riding in new positions to be this difficult, as it didn't even take a few seconds before the last tiny bit of hope she had for a wondrous performance on the battlefield vanished. What kind of disastrous picture would a commander that couldn't even sit on his own horse be?! The morale of her soldiers shouldn't even be mentioned. As a result, she continued to practice no matter what, which lead to the little girl being thrown off again and again. The tiny body was already covered in cuts and bruises and one could imagine her current mood. She was slowly beginning to imagine what horse meat would taste like ah!

After tormenting her for all this time, this horse was acting sweet and innocent before her. This damn horse was exceeding her in shamelessness by a large margin. Well, as the saying goes, the apple doesn't fall far from the trunk.

First, she had to master the crouching position before proceeding to standing on the running horse. It was a highly important task, because she had to learn to shoot arrows while standing on her horse. Only then could she consider herself as a master in archery. Xia Lian sighed and got up. Numerous thoughts run through her mind while she led her horse to the stable, but she did not lock it in there. Her Hurricane was a wild and free horse. She loved it and she did not want to tame it. Both of them would slowly get used to each other. If her interest in horse meat would vanish within the next few days ah!

Xia Lian patted herself on the shoulders encouraging herself. Yes, she needed some self motivation to get going. This horse was making her go crazy! But in the end, she loved challenges the most and making sure to be in resonance with her lovely horse soon was definitely the most challenging at all!

The little girl, covered in mud and injuries, took a warm bath and changed into a set of royal blue male robes. She tied her entire hair into a simple bun, supported by a plain wooden hair pin. After applying her unique cream and altering her facial features to look more masculine, she perfectly fit the role of a young master.

To be fair, she looked more like a young scholar. Xia Lian nodded her head in satisfaction after staring at the young man reflected in the mirror.

'Knock.. Knock..' A series of patterned knocks interrupted her thoughts. Xia Lian knew that it was Fan Ling because she taught her on how to knock the door following a certain pattern. Anticipating the reasons for her visit, she immediately called out, "Come in."

Fan Ling and Bao Su entered the room with huge sacks in their hands. Xia Lian's face bloomed into a handsome smile after carefully observing the sacks.

" Did you get everything I asked for?" Xia Lian was mostly concerned about this.

" Yes Master, we bought everything you asked for. No mistakes were allowed." Fan Ling and Bao Su replied at the same time.

Herbs! Finally, she got her hands on the herbs! Now, it was time to satisfy her pair of itchy hands. She would make use of the knowledge which her Master imparted to her! With this knowledge she could beat the crap out of those who dared to insult her or belittle her master. Let's see who would dare to look into her direction again, after she finished her preparations.

" Good! Keep them on the table." Xia Lian instructed them to place the bags on the working table, which she specially prepared for the herbs.

" Bao Su, search for a house. We will be moving out of this inn as soon as possible." The little girl wanted to have her own working space. Naturally, it should be big enough to fit at least a hundred people. " Oh by the way, it should be able to accommodate a hundred people at the least. Well, the bigger the house, the better obviously."

" Yes, Master." Bao Su immediately left the house while humming a song.

" Fan Ling, you will help me with these herbs. But be careful." Xia Lian showed her how to grind the herbs using a stone. Fan Ling observed her master carefully for a while. As soon as she remembered all the necessary steps and was ready to grind, Xia Lian suddenly stopped her.

Fan Ling looked at the gloves in her hand with a confused expression her face. Xia Lian sighed, " Put these on your hands. Now, we are going to make some pastes and poisons."

The loyal maid followed her instructions and started to grind the herbs. Xia Lian busied herself in extracting the juices from the mashed herbs, using the special equipment which her master gifted to her.

Since it was a necessary step, some of the herbs were hung up to dry. They would be made into powders and pills. But it was of the utmost importance to carefully follow all the procedures in a correct order.

Xia Lian worked for quite a while and finished concocting her first poison. She used up all the Midnight Grass and Poison Ivy flowers for this particularly dangerous poison.

While looking at all the transparent jade bottles, containing a faint purple liquid in them the little girl had a mischievous smirk on her face. This was going to be her own first signature poison and the consequences it would bring to the poison market would be truly beautiful. The little devil nodded her head in satisfaction while she left the room.

Chapter 111: The Black Dragon Auction House

" Bao Su, which is the richest auction house in this city?" Xia Lian questioned him while feeding her little bunny with delicious snacks. The little money-grubber had her eyes only on the very rich this time. She would make sure to squeeze their fat pockets completely.

" Black Dragon Auction House." Bao Su immediately replied. All these years he did not serve Fourth prince in vain. He continued to speak, " This auction house sells very rare and precious items from all over the world. You could describe it as overly luxurious and extravagant. If you don't have very deep pockets you will never be able to be even a single item, not even the cheapest. That is the reason why only the rich and influential persons come to this auction house. It would simply be a waste of time and a disgrace for other people, trying in vain. Furthermore, even people from neighbouring countries visit the Dark City especially for this auction house. One can imagine the variety of items resulting out of this arrangement."

" And the head of the auction house is known for his eccentric attitude. The rumours suggest that he is too beautiful for a man and that even men cannot help but stare at him. Well, Master please be careful even when you are just speaking with him."

For the next 20 min, Bao Su continued to explain the story behind the name of this auction house. History tells that this auction house was established many centuries ago and it is named after the mystical Divine Black Dragon.

Xia Lian let out a deep breath once he stopped speaking. After digesting the information for a while she could not help herself but ask the most unexpected question, catching both of her subordinates off guard, " Bao Su, do you know everything?" The little girl was completely fascinated and awed during the time when he was speaking. It was like a historic excursion into the mysterious past of the continent.

" When serving under the Fourth Prince, I read a lot of books." That's it! This man was a living encyclopaedia. Xia Lian ,for the first time, thought that the flirty prince did something excellent. It could be said that this Bao Su will be of great help to her, who lacked complete knowledge about the history of the continent, so she pardoned him for making a gaffe in calling her "My Dear".

Well, Black Dragon Auction House it is then.

'Hold your breaths, this lord is coming for you hehe.' Xia Lian smirked in her heart and stretched her body lazily " Come on, let's go and meet this beautiful man. Let's see if he can enchant me."

Xia Lian took out 10 jade bottles of her newly concocted poison and placed them in a wooden box. Afterwards she excitedly exited the inn along with her little team.

The group of four walked along the busy streets observing their surroundings carefully. Almost everyone was in their own world and minded their own business. It could be said to be a very pleasant experience to travel around the city.

After wandering for a while, Black Dragon Auction House , a magnificent sight to behold, appeared in their line of sight. It was a gigantic building and it looked absolutely majestic, befitting that of it's name. The aged stone walls seemed completely out of the place though. Xia Lian thought that this would be considered as a world heritage site in the modern era.

" Sis, let's go in.." Xia Ming's eyes twinkled after witnessing the splendor of the auction house. It was his first time coming out of the home and wandering around like this. Naturally, he was clearly excited and his face completely reflected his inner enthusiasm.

" Alright, let's go. I am eager to learn about it as well!" Xia Lian chuckled as she led him towards the entrance. The guards clad in silver armour blocked their way, but they spoke in a polite voice, " Young master, are you here to buy or sell?"

" Sell." Xia Lian also answered in the same calm and polite voice. Since they were respectful towards her, she will reciprocate the same, obviously. The guards were pleasantly surprised after noticing the young boy's respectful tone.

Many of them either shouted or tried to pick up a fight, when they blocked them from entering. It was a strict protocol to ask first and then allow them as per their need. It was meant to be a thoughtful assistance for their customers, but many interpreted it as a disgrace of their honor. Truthfully, hearing a calm and polite voice in the midst of curses and misunderstandings was really refreshing to them. Afterwards, they spoke in a more amicable tone, " What are you planning to sell, young master?"

" Poison." Nevermind then, the guards were seriously surprised that the most amiable person they meet for a long time, came to sell the most sinister thing in the world and gazed at each other with disbelief. Almost everyone appeared in front of them, telling that they were selling poisons. In most cases though, it turned out to be a prank.

Xia Lian naturally understood their worries. In response, she assured them in a cozy tone, " I am not speaking empty words. I believe that there is a herbal master in this auction house. He will naturally appraise the quality of my poison. As a result, you don't have to worry if I am a fake or not. If you come to believe that I lied to you after the appraisal is finished, then you can punish me, as per the law."

The guards felt their worried hearts calm down after hearing her confident voice. It was pretty rare for them to hear such a calm and collected explanation from such a young person. Out of their own goodwill towards this customer, they did not push the matter further and immediately brought them inside. After making them sit in a private room they hurried to call their appraiser, a bit excited to see the results.

Chapter 112: Silent Night

Xia Lian played with the wooden box in her hands while waiting for the person to appear. Xia Ming continued to observe his surroundings. Everything around him was new and the little bunny soaked all the impressions like a swamp. The duo of loyal followers simply sat behind her because she didn't allow them to stand.

The little girl lifted her head as soon as she heard the sound of faint footsteps coming towards their direction.

" Fan Ling, take Ming outside or sit in the adjacent room." Xia Lian instructed her and then looked at the little bunny, " Go with brother Fan and I will come back to get you later. Be a good boy and listen to your elders."

Xia Ming nodded and Fan Ling carried him in her hands. She understood that her master didn't want him to experience the things that were going to happen next. It's really not good to spoil a little child's innocence, at least not yet.

Xia Lian stood up and did a 90 degree bow when she saw an old man, about 50 years old, entering the room. He calmly nodded his head in approval ," Young lad, I heard that you are here to sell a poison."

In response, he received a decisive conformation, so he continued " Let me have a look at it." The wooden box was slowly opened and the old man came into contact with an exquisite jade bottle.

The appraiser stared at the bottle with amazement, because he simply never witnessed such a beautiful poison. He carefully opened the lid and a strong smell assaulted his nose. He immediately recognised the herbs which were used in this poison's preparation and compilation, " Midnight grass and poison ivy. Truly excellent."

Receiving such an accurate appraisal this fast, Xia Lian raised her brows slightly. Well, this old man was indeed quite good. She didn't expect that he would recognise the herbs contained in the poison just based on smell and in such a small amount of time. It seems like she had to pay more respect to the important people in the Dark City and she scrutinised him from head to toe again. If even the appraiser of the auction house was this skilled, she had to be more careful in the future.

He might recognise the herbs but she was sure that he could not possibly guess the effects of this poison. It was her own creation of poison and she was quite proud about it. Anyways, it would be unfair to expect any positive response from the old man. Sure enough, he looked at her with curious eyes, " Young lad, what exactly is this poison?"

" It can be considered an instant death poison. The person who takes it will experience a serious organ failure, and most vital organs will stop working within a few seconds. First, the victim will find trouble with breathing and after his breathing stopped, everything else will follow very quickly. You could say, he will die quickly and the process will be very smooth and efficient."

" Oh!" The old man was pleasantly surprised. He did not think he would see such a single hit-kill and less insidious poison. " To summarise, the victim won't feel any pain." It was more like a statement rather than a question.

Xia Lian nodded as she created her first simple poison with only a single thought in her mind. She should created a poison which would be useful for the army. It could replace executions and gory scenes in the military barracks and camps. Criminals or captives could be executed in a humane and efficient way.

" So, could you tell me the name of this poison? I never heard about anything remotely close to it."

"The Silent Night."

The old man chuckled after listening to the name. A truly beautiful name to describe the effects. It nearly inflicted melancholy, even as a poison.

" Old sir, I have a request." Xia Lian spoke seriously attracting his attention " I want you to sell this poison only to the army and royalty. I don't want to sell my poisons to the other nobles. It is not meant to be a tool for silent assassination."

" Why?" the old man was confused. Why would you decrease the market for such a interesting and useful poison. The loss of profit would be immense.

" I don't want to have any innocent's lives on my hands. It is only about my clear conscience." Xia Lian shrugged her shoulders. She really didn't want to become an indirect murderer. The use of poisons in this era was quite common and the success of many schemes depended on them. As a result, no one thought twice when they were selling them. Even though she created poison herself, that did not imply that she would support this idea.

The little girl simply did not want to take the lives of innocent. The only measure left, was limiting her poisons only to army and royalty. The royalty including the king and princes.

" Again, don't sell these to women. It's a strict rule." The old man had an incredulous expression on his face. Xia Lian cleared her throat " Poison is a woman's weapon. They will use it to kill someone out of their jealousy or on a sudden whim. I don't approve of this, it's a big no."

" Well, at the beginning of the auction, announce that only those having army tokens and those having the token of a prince can buy them." Xia Lian had an evil smile on her face.

"If any one from the Qilin army or Qilin royalty comes, bring them to me. They need not participate in the auction. Nevertheless, make sure to squeeze as much money as possible from the royalty of other nations. Let's see how much our poison is valued by them."

Chapter 113: Young Master Wu

" Your aim is really gracious I admit. Sparing innocent people seems really noble in itself." The old man chuckled, " But, why do you think that the royalty would spare the innocents?"

Xia Lian looked deeply into the eyes of the old man while speaking, " Old sir, if the royalty truly want to kill someone, nothing can stop them anyways. Those who are targeted by the royalty will die no matter what. My poison doesn't make any difference, at most it may ease their suffering. At least they won't feel any pain in the end. And I am no saint, to take up the mission impossible of protecting everyone was never my intention. For every innocent soul in this world, there is one that deserves to die and I have my own priorities." The old man looked at the young lad in admiration. What the kid spoke was the truth. He only wanted to test him, but he did not expect such sharp words from such a young mouth. It felt like talking to one of his peers with a lot of life experience.

" I can only try to minimize the deaths. That's all I can do." Xia Lian spoke in a monotonous tone " And no one in royalty is clean, one could say it is the home of the most ruthless people. Everyone's hands are stained with the blood of the weak and poor. The riches they are experiencing now is built on the blood and sweat of the common masses. No need to treat them any better than slaves, make sure to extract as much money as you can."

The old man stopped asking too many questions, because he was more than satisfied by the young kid's attitude. But, he had one last question remaining," If I may ask, did you concoct this poison personally?" There was a saying, 'Curiosity kills the cat', but he truly could not contain his desire to know.

" Yes, I did." Xia Lian answered directly. She had no reason to conceal the truth. Anyways, now she possessed the appearance of a young man and no one would be able to recognise her later.

" Oh! Well, who is your master?" the old man was excited. Who in the world trained such a talented poison master? He really wanted to meet this fellow's master to exchange some notes.

" It's a secret.." Xia Lian spoke slowly, " at least for now it is."

The old man was disappointed but he did not pry further. There was a limit to his curiosity and not prying too deep into some secrets was a common courtesy in the Dark City. As an experienced appraiser he knew where he should stop and so he did, naturally.

" Young master, I am Du Weng. May I know your honorable name?"

" You can address me with the surname Wu." Xia Lian decided to use her master's name. It was the safest and she had an additional reason for using that name.

" Young master Wu, everything's fine so far. But, we need to test it out to be sure."

" Alright, I have no objections. But, how are you going to test it?"

In response, Du Weng clapped his hands and a servant dressed in brown robes immediately rushed into the room. The servant did not dare to raise his head, because the only purpose of his life was to listen to all the orders with his head bowed down. No questions were allowed.

" Bring out the next test body." This commonly used phrase for Du Weng nearly ignited a powder keg in Xia Lian's mind. This auction house was really testing her temper and patience.

The servant left the room very quickly and returned, a little while later, with a young man bound in chains. The subject was so frail and weak and his tall frame had to be supported by two guards. Wearing torn down clothes he looked absolutely pitiful, while spreading the smell of reek and filth in the room with his each step in.

The guards just threw him onto the cold floor, not treating him any different from a cold corpse. Xia Lian's gaze turned cold and it was harder and harder to suppress her killing intent, after witnessing the scene in front of her. Again and again, she was hit by the cruel truth of this world, the weak were bound to be abused by those in power. She fiddled her fingers as she tried to control her raging emotions. To be honest she didn't know why she felt such strange emotions about a stranger. But the implications on society of treating humans like trash just passed on the stamp of slavery nearly turned her insane. She was not a naive girl, one could describe her as an asura of the battlefield, but she always had a soft side for the innocent, with a pure soul.

While still contemplating about how to handle the situation, Du Weng was about to move and the end for the slave seemed imminent.

In this sliver of a second everything seemed to be out of her control and her heart already decided before her mind could wager the benefits. She intercepted at the last second, while screaming inside to stay calm. But, her voice came out a few degrees colder than she intended to, " Did he do anything wrong or immoral?"

" No."

" Then why are you treating him like that?" Xia Lian was clearly agitated now.

" Because he is a slave." This simple answer was so much more destructive than the appraiser could have ever imagined. This very instant was the moment no one in this world should ever witness, Xia Lian was absolutely pissed off, close to unleashing her fury and removing all brakes she put into place after arriving in this era.

" I refuse.." Du Weng widened his eyes in disbelief as he did not believe his ears. Not only the words spoken, but also the way they were spoken left him with a deep unease. It didn't feel like a rejection for business, more like a judgement of his life.

" Young master Wu, I did not understand.."

" What part of my words did you not understand?" Xia Lian spoke lazily with a dark expression on her face. Du Weng felt cold sweat building on his forehead when faced with this young kid. All that was left was single premonition: 'If I refuse him now, there will be a deadly storm.'

" You cannot kill them under the pretext of testing poisons under my name. Test this poison on those who committed crimes, or don't test it at all.

If you cannot accept my conditions, then I will search for another auction house. If you can't decide within five seconds, this deal is canceled and my relationship with the Black Dragon Auction House is severed for all eternity. " Xia Lian's resolute voice left no room for any kind of argument.

Chapter 114: Forbidden Love

Du Weng was put in a tough situation. In such a small timeframe, he had to weigh the pros and cons of the situation before him. He mentally calculated in his mind and no matter what, the poison which valued over thousands of gold coins was far more important than a few nameless slaves, who could be bought with only a few silvers.

He was a businessman and he always calculated profit or loss? Human emotions and compassion were never known to him. Furthermore, if he was able to please this young kid, then the young master before him may sell all the new poisons from here. Contrary, if he rejected now, he might even create a future enemy. This kid choosing another auction house could be an important step for another rival to appear. Having two famous auctions in the vicinity would lose them so much money.

As a result, he replied in a resolute voice, " Young master Wu, we accept your terms."

" That's good for you." Du Weng was speechless now. Where did this young man get this confidence ah?! He had to admire his conduct. But, their auction house had a rule as well. Preparing himself for the following, he cleared his throat, " But, you must take the slave under your wing because you refused to kill him. Either you take him or he dies now."

" Then I will take him. By the way, no need to write a new contract. Just destroy the old one." Du Weng was again surprised and nodded his head in a daze.

Today he came across too many surprises, all because of the unknown kid before him. Afterwards, the appraiser called his servants and started to give them several orders.

Under careful instructions, the servants hurried outside to bring the next test bodies. Now, Du Weng raised his chin and spoke in a proud voice, " Young Master Wu, you will definitely be satisfied after seeing the next criminals."

" They better be criminals or else I will use this poison on you." Xia Lian raised her brows and spoke in an eerily calm voice making Du Weng shiver. Behind her, Feng Bin was clearly enjoying the show. His master seemed to be formidable and sly. Finally lady luck was on his side for once. After going through a lot of darkness and despair, there was a tiny seed of hope placed inside his heart, after witnessing the conduct of his new master. Days seemed to get better, slowly.

Just when Xia Lian started to get restless, the door opened and this time two men were brought inside bound by heavy metallic chains. Xia Lian's mouth formed into an 'o' after observing the two extremely beautiful human beings in front of her. Their beauty and elegance was not concealed in the slightest by those unsightly rags covering their jade white bodies. Though they were frail and weak, their bright eyes were enchanting. The unlimited potential, wasted in such a cruel way. Sigh, today was just getting more problematic by the second.

After some contemplation Xia Lian raised her brows after noticing their intertwined hands.

What could they have done to deserve death? Xia Lian had a hard time believing that the couple, while having such bright and faithful eyes, did something immoral. Considering this fact, she turned towards Du Weng ," What did they do exactly?"

" They did the most shameful thing possible." Du Weng snorted disdainfully, resulting in a deep frown by the little girl.

" Just tell me exactly what they did. I don't want to hear any nonsense, and keep your opinions for yourself!" Xia Lian was slowly getting annoyed with this old man.

Du Weng straightened himself and explained in a loud voice, " They both are men and they announced to the world that they deeply loved each other and could now be considered an official couple."

The whole room fell silent and waited curiously for Xia Lian's reaction. Nevertheless, Xia Lian was still looking at Du Weng without any worries, waiting for him to continue. After not receiving a satisfactory answer for quite a while, she admitted defeat and sighed, " I asked what wrong they committed and why is that you are not speaking? Do you take me for a fool?"

Du Weng widened his eyes like a fish and exclaimed, " It is Forbidden Love. That is a sin. It's the biggest crime. If not death, what do they deserve?!"

Xia Lian did not know whether she should laugh or cry. She came to this auction house in high spirits and with so many expectations for the future. Now, this old clown drained all the positive energy out of her.

What will he do next?! Bring in little fluffy puppys and kill them because they are just animals?!

" Just because you find it difficult to accept doesn't mean that it is forbidden." Xia Lian spoke while rubbing her forehead because she was starting to get a headache.

It was truly hard to keep her composure, but she did not bother to banter with the old man now. As calm as possible she spoke without beating around the bush, " I am buying those two. As for the slave contracts, I presume you know what to do."

" Young master Wu, they will be a taint to your name. Don't be tricked by their harmless appearance!" Du Weng opposed the idea strictly.

Xia Lian didn't bother about these things. So, what if they were gay couple? She is from the modern era and she didn't give a damn about what others gossiped about behind her back. The silence of the room was interrupted by a commanding voice, " When I said I will buy, where is there room for you to interfere. Aren't you meddling too much in my affairs, manager Du?"

Du Weng stiffened and immediately apologised after realising his folly, " Please forgive me young master Wu."

The little girl waved her hands and spoke calmly, " The next person you bring out must be a murderer, did you get it?"

" Yes. I understand." Du Weng spoke nervously and returned to shout orders to the servants in the room. He was pretty sure that this was his very last chance, he had to make it count ah!

Chapter 115: The Outcasts

Obviously, this time they did not disappoint her again. The first victim of the new poison was a murderer and a child murderer at that. Without waiting for the appraiser to ask about her consent, Xia Lian already spoke up," You can use him."

"Ah?" Du Weng was speechless by this kids decisive attitude. He asked once again to confirm, " Young master Wu, are you sure?"

" A life for a life. It's only fair." Du Weng could only slightly nod after listening to her sharp words once again and began to test the poison. The guards held the man captive and one of the servants proceeded to pry open his mouth. It was quite a cruel scene, but Xia Lian never felt pity towards people that harmed innocent children.

Afterwards Du Weng poured all the contents of the jade bottle into his mouth and watched the process closely. In the beginning everything seemed normal. But, in the next instant the man started to have trouble with breathing and his face turned into a light shade of blue. Slowly his nerves started popping up and without suffering for long he dropped on the floor, no reaction remaining.

A simple and neat poison!

Everyone in the room had the same thought in their minds. Du Weng was highly satisfied with this new product. As a result, he immediately displayed his professional smile, " Young master, we will be more than honoured to sell this poison. Do you have any additional requests?

" No. Just make sure that they are sold at a sky high price."

" May I ask how many bottles are you planning to sell?"

" Fifteen. I will bring more the next time. But act as if the supply is highly troublesome and you don't know about future deals." Du Weng was truly happy now. This young master would bring his future poisons here and he had a mind for business opportunities. Finally, his constantly anxious heart calmed down. Seems like he avoided any trouble in the end, without offending anyone.

" So, how many slaves are you having here in total?" Xia Lian had her mind on this since witnessing the treatment of the first slave, who was meant to test the poison for no reason but being a slave, and she was unable to get away from those thoughts, no matter how hard the little girl tried to convince herself.

" Answering young master Wu, they are many sick people and they are not fit to be ordinary slaves. " Du Weng continued to speak as Xia Lian's perked up with interest, " Their families abandoned them because if such a severe illness would spread, not only could they not afford the treatment, even their entire family would die as a result. That's why we keep them in the underground den. They just have no other purpose left, but to die. The family of an outcast doesn't have any other chance to be honest."

Xia Lian understood everything clearly now. Since these people were terminally ill and not physically fit, they were being used as test subjects for various medicines. It was truly cruel, but not to blame on anyone, but the medicine standard of this era.

" Take me there, please." Xia Lian's sudden request placed the appraiser in a highly awkward situation and he replied flustered, " Young m-master Wu.. It's a filthy place and filled with germs.."

" Just show me the way, I will go in on my own. There is no need for you to accompany me, or to trouble yourself with my matters." Xia Lian didn't want this clown by her side either, it was starting to annoy her too much. She wanted peace of mind for a moment. An important decision was right in front of her, she could feel it.

Du Weng could only nod helplessly as the latter did not heed to his warnings. All that was left for him to do was order one of his servant to show the way. Bao Su followed Xia Lian without second thoughts.

Nevertheless, he was curious why his master suddenly wanted to go there. In his opinion, this place didn't hold any value. The loyal shadow guard couldn't see the bigger picture yet.

" Young master, this is the place.." the servant started shivering as if the god of death was waiting for him behind the door. From his reaction alone, one could imagine the horror and despair awaiting them. Xia Lian could do nothing but sigh and dismiss them. Keeping hundreds of terminally ill humans within a small, dark and unclean environment. One didn't have to contemplate for too long, to shiver from the thought of it. If it was not hell, it was as close as you could get. After resolving herself for the last time, she slowly pushed the heavy door in front of her, with both hands.

As soon as the Pandora box was opened, a foul stench assaulted their senses. Bao Su felt his stomach turn immediately and a nauseous feeling nearly overwhelmed him. Witnessing her followers situation the little girl immediately pushed him outside again, shutting the door behind her before locking it. Only after taking deep breaths for quite a while did the feeling from before slowly subside. His personal training as a shadow guard could be considered frightening, but this situation was out of his wildest dreams. As if struck by lightning he suddenly paced forward and tried to open the door hysterically. His normally indifferent face was suddenly filled with horror as he banged the door from the outside. Only a few seconds in there made him feel absolutely weak, how could his fragile little master be in there for such a long time already?

Did his master faint? Bao Su had various thoughts in his mind. One more devastating than the last. He was done for..

Just when he was about to knock again, the door opened without any warnings and his hand stopped in mid air, directly in front of Xia Lian's nose. Like a reflex, his hand repelled backwards, leaving him with the pain of the impact.

" Why in the world are you making such noise?" Bao Su gulped after seeing the furious expression on her face. Xia Lian hated to be disturbed when examining her patients. And this fellow here was shouting as if the end of the world arrived. Was he truly a man?!

Bao Su looked at her and was shocked beyond words. The little girl was perfectly fine and there were no traces of uneasiness on her face all.

She didn't even look pale. Bao Su ,for the first time, felt ashamed of himself, even slightly afraid.

Xia Lian chuckled after noticing his gloomy face. Since he was worried about her earlier she decided to comfort him a little bit, "I am a doctor and these sights are simply nothing in my eyes. I've seen many situations worse than the current one. Don't take it too hard, because it is only a matter of experience."

Although speaking the truth, how could Bao Su understand? At the time they were undergoing training to be a doctor, working on numerous corpses to get used to the smell and not to faint was one thing they slowly got used to. Burnt corpses, bloated corpses, mutilated corpses.. what did she not see already?

Xia Lian closed the door again before patting him on the shoulder,"Cheer up, we have a lot to do in the coming days. And if this can already bring you down, you better return to your prince as soon as possible. But well, what do you think would happen if you returned without me ah?"

Chapter 116: You want to buy them?

Bao Su was scared out of his wits at the very instant the fourth prince was mentioned. He steeled his heart and vowed to never show any weakness again for the rest of his life, and followed behind her with a determined expression on his face.

Du Weng noticed them returning and he quickly approached them, " Young master Wu, our master decided to auction this new poison on the third day of the next week. On that day, many important people are scheduled to participate in the auction. Is this arrangement according to your wishes?"

" I have no problem." Du Weng breathed out in relief after hearing the kid's confirmation. Finally no surprises anymore, otherwise his poor heart couldn't take it.

" But, I need to speak with you about another thing."

" What is it young master Wu?" The old appraiser broke into a cold sweat again.

" I want to buy most of the sick slaves in there. I don't want those who have any history of violence though." Xia Lian was interrupted by the old clown again, " Y-young master.. You want to buy them?"

" Yes, is there any problem?" Du Weng shook his head as he knew that he couldn't knock any sense into this kid. Well, if one wanted to buy them they could as long as they can afford to pay. As a result, there was no need to anger a potential future business partner over a few worthless people.

" Young master, I will sort them out as per your orders. I will remove all those with questionable history. And each one costs between 5 to 10 silvers based on their age and other factors. There are about 200 in here. After removing the criminals, the number may reach approximately 100. Let me ask you again, young master are you sure that you want to buy them all?"

" Yes, all of them." The clarification seemed to be resolute and having received a decisive answer Du Weng nodded in understanding" Then I will proceed with the work."

" Furthermore, I need some carriages and some people to transfer the sick into them. I hope you could help me arrange them." Another request was suddenly placed in front of him, but he decided to stay quiet. Actually, the old man simply did not find the courage in his heart to disobey.

After concluding the deal, Xia Lian no longer stayed in the auction house and immediately left the place with Bao Su following closely behind her. On their way they met Fan Ling and her little bunny at a tea shop. After pacifying her little brother with some cuddling, she instructed them to return to the inn, while Xia Lian and Bao Su walked around the streets for a while.

" Erm.. Master, where are we going exactly?" Bao Su could not help but ask her. It's been an hour and they were still wandering aimlessly.

" Just follow me. You will know when we go there and don't ask such silly questions again." Xia Lian's cold voice made him shut his mouth instantly.

The little girl stopped in her tracks after noticing a cloth traders shop. She immediately made her way towards it without any hesitation. One of the shop assistants observed them disdainfully, obviously because of their poor choice of clothing. But he did not say anything on the outside and asked them politely, " Young sir, what are you looking for."

" Cotton cloth.. I want huge rolls of cotton cloth." The shop assistant was immediately taken back as soon as he listened to the request, because an entire roll of cotton was indeed quite costly. After the initial shock passed, he kindly reminded them, " Young master, each roll costs about five gold coins. Well, how many rolls do you want."

Xia Lian paused for a moment before replying, " I want about 100 rolls."

The shop assistants jaw dropped to the floor as he stuttered, " Young master the entire store only possesses only 40 rolls at the moment."

" Then pack all of them and tell me where to pay the bill." The little girl spoke while taking the money pouch from her robes. Another young boy led her to the payment counter and everyone watched in awe while this tiny and plain kid easily paid about 200 gold coins.

" Young master, we can deliver them to your address." the shop owner was extremely polite to them after receiving such a huge business deal. Xia Lian didn't refuse his gesture of goodwill," Then many thanks to you kind sir. We are searching for a new house. We will come back later to give the address to you."

The shopkeeper nodded in understanding and promised to keep their purchases safe.

" Well, what are we going to buy next, master?" He simply could not comprehend as to why his master went on such a large shopping trip.

" We need to buy some pails, gourds and raw cotton."

Now it slowly dawned upon him! His master was buying all this equipment for the slaves she acquired today. Sigh! Using cotton silk to dress 100 outcasts. Anyone else on this continent would simply declare her as insane!

" By the way, get these herbs as quickly as possible and make sure to buy all the herbs available." Xia Lian handed over a list to him.

" You get these herbs and I will get the other things. I need to something and I will be late. Anyways, you go back and don't wait for me."

Bao Su accepted unwillingly, because he simply couldn't disobey her. In the end, he just sighed, " Then, be careful master."

Xia Lian nodded and both of them parted ways to complete their respective tasks.

Chapter 117: The Money Tree

After parting ways, Xia Lian searched around the city for cloth shops and finally managed to purchase another fifty rolls of cotton silk. The large acquisition of cloth was paired with an equal amount of sacks containing raw cotton.

To finish her shopping tour, clothes for men and women were purchased on a large scale and in many different sizes. Obviously, because she brought a whole lot of people back with her she had to provide their needs. She simply can't leave them after treating their illness.

Only after hiring a carriage and loading everything did she relax again. With the release of so many trapped people she not only gained additional manpower for her future goals, but also a large responsibility. Even though they were just filthy slaves for other people, her conscience wouldn't be able to keep up if her people would be mistreated.

Because the errands went relatively smooth, she proceeded to buy some fresh vegetables and fruits in addition to other ingredients and utensils required for cooking.

After finally finishing everything she needed, Xia Lian risked a glance at the money left in her pouch. Her lips twitched continuously after noticing the pitiful fifty gold,which was the only money in her hand now. Well, now she slowly began to understand the importance of strong finances and that she should start planning to earn more money, as fast as possible. If not for the flirty prince's grace, she would have been a pauper long ago.

Xia Lian sighed after coming to terms with the kind of depressing reality. Never mind, after the auction she might earn a good amount of money. But, she would pay back everything that she borrowed from the flirty prince with interest, of course. That's the only right thing to do and she couldn't owe this sly guy a favor over something as easy as money. It was finally time to start her next plan after the auction. This would take some time, but she needed to train herself in inner qi before attempting the next goal anyways.

" Master.." just when she was immersed deeply in her thoughts a familiar voice caught her off guard and she had to raise her head abruptly. Xia Lian was stunned to see Bao Su in front of her. Why would he come searching for her when she strictly ordered him to return back without returning anymore?

As if reading her thoughts, Bao Su immediately started explaining," Master, I came here to check if you have enough money or not?"

' Money...' Xia Lian's head dropped after hearing that word. Bao Su tried hard not to laugh after seeing the dark cloud above her head. Sure enough, he heard her say, " How great it would be if we have a money tree. Then I would just sit in home watering it everyday."

"Pfft! Master.." Xia Lian furrowed her brows after noticing him laugh, and about her if nothing else. But, it only made him laugh harder. Afterwards she observed him taking out a golden card and place it in her hands " You already have the biggest money tree in your hands, no need to fuss about it."

" This.." Xia Lian did not find the right words to describe what she was feeling at that moment.

" This is the fourth prince's card. You can use it however you want."

No reaction from the other party..

"Master, feel free to use it. Please don't hesitate.."

Bao Su thought that she was too emotional to speak. For many people in this era, a sudden gain in money was hard to understand immediately, and she was only a 12 year old girl at that. Just when he was about to put in some good words about the prince, he heard her laugh.

Yes, laugh and a creepy one at that. Something he had never seen before. A new side of his master, a evil and dark side. Bao Su silently lit candles for his general 'My lord, you better be careful in future. Mistress is more sly and black-bellied than you.'

"Fufufu.." Xia Lian had an evil smirk plastered across her face, which made him shudder. He was not looking at a little cute girl anymore, but a bottomless pit of evil. He suddenly had a ridiculous thought 'Maybe the Qilin Empire would be sold off by her?!'

" Why would I ever hesitate? I will make sure that I will use this card to the best of my ability." Xia Lian was in an extremely happy mood. Now, she could take care of those 99 odd people and nurse them back to health with proper food and medicine. Good food and medicine needed money and now the world bank was literally in her hands. It was as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. It was time to invest in the future!

Nevertheless, she left a tiny, infinitely small thought in the back of her mind to repay back this favour of his a hundred times over.

" Master, here are another thousand gold for immediate use." Bao Su handed her another money pouch.

" When and where did you draw out this money? And how come you found me so fast?" Xia Lian was truly curious.

" Master, don't worry. I took the money from the bank which is located in Xianzu village. Don't worry, the prince will not be able to find our exact location."

Xia Lian nodded but now she didn't have any problem even if the flirty prince knew their location. He was giving her enough space already. No need to be overly insensitive. Furthermore, she didn't know why, but she believed that he wouldn't spy on her. He would be at least that smart hehe.

" By the way master, my inner qi is quite powerful because the fourth prince personally taught me. It is really not troublesome for me to cover a large distance in a short amount of time."

Xia Lian was actually envious of her subordinate now and she felt really bad about it. She immediately requested him, " Teacher Bao, your student is ready to learn manifestation of inner qi as per your instructions."

"..." A certain teacher was speechless.

After a few moments he smiled helplessly, " Master, we can start training whenever you are ready." Xia Lian grinned happily as she was finally going to learn this formidable ancient martial art skill.

Chapter 118: The First Hospital

" Master, I've found the perfect house to use as our temporary base in the Dark City. You will be definitely satisfied with my choice. "

Xia Lian's smile widened after hearing the good news. Her initial gloomy mood totally disappeared like the wind while her face was bright like a thousand watt bulb within seconds.Having money wasn't necessary to be happy, but it made life incredibly much easier though.

" Let's go. We need to forget sleep for a few days as it's going to be busy soon." Bao Su nodded, even though he had no idea about what was going on.

Xia Lian repeatedly nodded her head and praised Bao Su after carefully observing their new house. It was so much better than what she thought it would be, as it had many rooms. There was so much space to work with.

After the initial shock subsided, Bao Su started to describe the history of this spacious house, " This place was formerly owned by Wu Gong and this was his first hospital, back in the day. "

What a pleasant surprise! Xia Lian never expected that she would stumble across her master's first hospital.

Bao Su continued speaking "After careful search I just couldn't find a single house big enough to accommodate a large number of people, so I went to look for former businesses. I found this property in the afternoon and was surprised for it to be empty, even though it was in such a nice location and due to the large space, the potential for business was unlimited. Later on, I researched about the origin and due to master Wu Gong's name being a taboo across the continent, no one wanted to invest in his former first hospital."

" Master, do you know that Wu Gong's name is a taboo?" Bao Su asked the question which was bothering him the most. He knew that Wu Gong saved her life, but she needs to know about this. Xia Lian nodded. She was his student, how could she not know?

Master Wu Gong's name was indeed a taboo, but Bao Su only knew that he was Xia Lian's benefactor and saved her brother before. That was the only reason he dared to make the decision and purchase the property without asking for his masters consent first. But what he didn't know, was that Wu Gong was the one who taught her everything about poison concoction. Everyone only knew about Wu Gong the godly doctor, but no one knew about his identity as the deadliest poison master of all time.

Bao Su had no idea that Xia Lian was his student. If he knew, may be he would not have worried so much in the first place. After making sure that there are no signs of displeasure on his masters face, he continued his explanation, " Even though this place is abandoned, this is the only place which is best for us. So,I immediately purchased it and ordered a thorough cleaning. If we find anything out of place, we can just renovate the whole place."

Xia Lian finally understood why her master knew so much about the Dark City. It was his first hospital and it must have meant a lot to him, obviously anyone feels the same about their first practice. The best way to repay his teaching and clean his name, was to rebuild his former hospital and bring glory to its name!

"No need for any drastic changes." Xia Lian's face was full of smiles as patted Bao Su on the shoulder, "You've found the right place. Nothing could be more perfect than this."

" Thank you.." Xia Lian sincerely thanked him. Now,this was going be her first hospital as well. She wouldn't change much about the buildings as she found that they are good enough to accommodate various patients.

Xia Lian examined all the rooms carefully. They were specially built to accommodate the sick patients. There were sufficient windows to allow free circulation of fresh air and to allow ample sunlight. Sunlight was very important because she was sure that many of the outcasts were suffering from leg pain due to lack of Vitamin D.

Then she was in for another surprise, because she noticed that the hospital had many partitions and she decided to turn each partition into a wing for each specialty. It was important to keep a strict system of order.

Xia Lian slowly took in all her surroundings of the very huge hospital. What hundred? This hospital could accommodate about a thousand people. She now finally recognized the former glory of her master and she was able to figure out his tragic fall. The higher the glory, the deeper and more desperate the fall.

Each room was additionally equipped with many wooden beds covered with new quilts. The quilts were new but the wooden beds were pretty old. Bao Su explained to her that he only managed to buy the quilts on time and the beds were already there before he arrived. But those beds, even though old, were not rotten or eaten away by termites. Apparently, someone must have taken care of this place without anyone knowing about it.

Xia Lian truly wanted know her master's secret admirer. Naturally, she only wanted to thank him or her for taking good care of this place. Otherwise, it would have been a great pain to replace all these beds and clean up the place. Nevertheless, she pushed this matter for later because the task to do now was to get ready for treating everyone she freed earlier today.

Afterwards she hurriedly visited her little bunny who apparently was fast asleep, with Fan Ling closely guarding him. Motioning Fan Ling to follow her out, Xia Lian exited the room and Fan Ling immediately followed her gently closing the door behind her, without making any unnecessary noise.

" I need the both of you to help me in the upcoming couple of days and be warned, I will not go easy on you guys in the slightest. If you can't surpass the hurdles of the next days, I will reevaluate your position next to me." Xia Lian spoke sternly while looking at her two subordinates.

After receiving a determined conformation from both of them, she started giving out orders. " Bao Su, place a quail filled with water near each bed."

" Fan Ling, cut the cotton silk into several strips vertically. Each strip's width should be roughly the size of your palm."

" Now start the work assigned to you while I visit the patients." She needed to have a close look at everyone to determine what they are suffering from. She then needed to separate them as per their conditions. Those with mild injuries can be left for later, but those in dire or life-threatening situations must be treated first.

" M-master.. You are really going to treat them all?" Bao Su asked a totally stupid question.

Xia Lian and Fan Ling stared at him with an expression of, ' It's so obvious! And are you really that stupid to ask such a foolish question after preparing so much to receive them afterwards?' In the end, he could only rub his nose in embarrassment and clear his throat while hurrying away to start his work. Fan Ling also followed suit, full of determination to not disappoint her master.

Chapter 119: Doctor Hunt

Xia Lian crouched in front of the first male patient who seemed to be around forty years old. He had a wary look in his eyes while he started to move backward as if to avoid her.

Xia Lian didn't move any further and spoke with a gentle voice " Calm down, please. I will not hurt you. I am here to free you from this endless suffering and cure your illness."

The frail man visibly relaxed, one could ever see a glimmer of hope in his eyes, that felt lifeless before. After giving him some time to adapt to the new situation, she spoke up again, " I am a doctor, let me examine your body carefully. Nothing will happen to me or you. I give you my word!"

He remained silent, and taking his silence as confirmation Xia Lian started observing his eyes and his body. Due to being highly serious while examining, the little girl didn't notice the blatant confusion of the patient.

Why would such an elegant and delicate young boy waste any time to treat someone useless like him? The cruelty of this world long robbed him of any kind of charity, but what use was staying vigilant anyways. He would just be freed of his suffering a few days faster. The decision was made rather quickly, let's just pray for the last time.

Meanwhile the little doctor examined a character closely which has been carved deep into his body. The man noticed her gaze and patiently explained the circumstances, " They place a different marking on everyone, it is a way of removing the last hope of us and states that we cannot be used as an ordinary slaves anymore and we basically belong to them. We are just waiting to die here. This marking seals or fate in this place." Xia Lian was infuriated inside but calmly nodded in understanding.

The best way to gain the trust of these hopeless people was to stay as emotionless as possible. No one in this cage would believe you if you turned angry for their sake. It would seem like playing an act in front of them and receive nothing but additional distrust.

Afterwards she made her way towards the table where a book and a ink stone were present. While grinding the ink slowly she made mental notes about the condition and the possible treatment methods for the first patient. It had to be extraordinarily successful, for the future patients to gain trust in her. After grinding for a while with great difficulty, she started to note down her first patient's condition according to her practice from the modern world. Not many people would truly understand her notes. It could be considered an additional safeguard for all the information about her future loyal followers.

The character on his shoulder served as primary identification name. It was definitely the easiest way of identifying them because she didn't know their names, or if they even possessed one in this hell. A list of her observations, containing all sorts of illnesses like broken ribs, fractured hands and many more minor injuries, was finished after writing for a few minutes.

Since the examination of her first patient was finished successfully Xia Lian proceeded to her next patient and again, she ended up sitting at the table while noting down her observations. This seemingly endless process continued for a long time, without anyone disturbing her at all.

After nearly losing track of time, the repetition of steps was finally interrupted by a familiar melody.

" Master, can I do anything? I've finished my work already." Bao Su reported to her with a hint of pride contained in his voice, which prompted Xia Lian to chuckle slightly.

After contemplating for a while the little girl expectantly looked up to him," Yes, there's indeed something I need you to do, and the faster the better."

" What is it, master? Your loyal subordinate will obey!"

" I need you to assemble those who are familiar with medicine. I can't possibly treat all of them by myself. The sheer amount of work is simply too much for me. Nursing someone back to health doesn't require my personal time. Therefore, go around the city and request any qualified doctor to help us. Tell them that there are lot of injured people here. For the time being, don't promise them any big reward."

Actually, Xia Lian had another purpose. It was indeed true, she needed help, but what she also wanted to know the attitude of doctors in the Dark City. Would anyone come to help, simply because they possessed the heart of a doctor, or turn a blind eye to this matter? Well, she had to wait and see for the time being. Xia Lian resumed her work after Bao Su took his leave.

It took almost an three hours for Xia Lian to make a detailed analysis for all the people there. There were young and old, men and women and overall, people of many different groups were present. The youngest being ten and the oldest being about sixty. So many different injuries and treatment methods would require a lot of work. But when thinking about the smiles of the people, formerly despairing in hell, and possibly gaining the complete loyalty of all of them, she deemed her actions well worth it.

The patients were divided into various groups. It was not possible to completely unify the different illnesses, but at least a general differentiation was possible.

" Fan Ling!" Xia Lian called out loudly, resulting in a certain girl throwing away everything in her path and rush towards her master.

" Master..." she was greeted by a paper and a person too busy to even look up to her, "Divide them into groups, exactly like I mentioned in this paper. Allot a separate room for each group. Don't make any mistakes, the health of our people is at stake."

Fan Ling nodded seriously and started to move them as per the instructions given to her.

Subsequently Xia Lian made her way to the room where all her herbs and equipment were located.

She looked around the room and rolled up her sleeves, mentally preparing herself for a long working session.

Meanwhile in the Dark City streets,

" I told you already, we won't be treating those filthy and sick people. We don't want to get their diseases by staying too close to them."

Bao Su forced a polite smile and left from the place at the very first chance. Otherwise, he was truly afraid that he would squash all those noisy flies. How dare they turn down his master's request!

Additionally, this is not the first hospital which straight up rejected their request. Many of them shut the doors on his face without even giving him a chance to speak. Some had the basic courtesy to listen first and then turn him down, mostly not very polite anymore.

This doctor hunt is turning out to be more difficult than expected. The shadow guard sighed while he observed his surroundings helplessly. He almost went through every street and was pretty afraid that there were no longer any doctors left to ask.

A short collection of ideas granted him with a new stroke of inspiration: 'Why not simply ask the common people, if there is any doctor around the Dark City that is treating the poor?'

" Mister, do you know of any doctors who are willing to treat the poor?" Bao Su asked a man in the tea shop.

" Oh! That's easy to tell. There is only one man living within the Dark City, who is willing to treat everyone, no matter how much money you can afford. He's such a good soul!" the man didn't think twice before answering him passionately.

" Really! Then tell me who is he and where does he live?"

Chapter 120: He Chun and Twins

" It's Doctor He and there is a pair of twins by his side all the time." The man in the tea shop explained, while relishing on the steam bun. " They are the only ones who are willing to treat commoners like us. It is truly fortunate for the people of the Dark City."

"Furthermore, they live in a rather normal place. But let me warn you beforehand, don't make wrong assumptions based on their normal clothing. The common masses respect them for their skills. If they wanted to, they could live like any other rich doctor in the city, don't look down on them!" His gentle attitude turned to a defending one and he gazed at Bao Su while speaking in a threatening tone, " You look quite rich. If we hear that you disrespected them in anyway, then be prepared for the consequences. Doctor He is the only one that cares about us and the common people of the Dark City will always be loyal to him."

Bao Su was surprised definitely surprised after witnessing his protectiveness. The man's attitude was rather straightforward and impressive and it left Bao Su already with a faint idea about the Doctor in question. He must be a truly remarkable man and his skills must not be shabby either. Most importantly though, his character seemed to fit well with his master.

In the group of mirages, he finally found an oasis. And this was his last hope of finding a doctor to assist them with their hospital. Therefore, he immediately explained to the man in a calm way, " We have about a hundred sick people. We are looking for some doctors to assist us. But, all the doctors drove me away and not even a single one is willing to help us at all. That is the sole reason I urgently need to talk with this Doctor He!"

After careful contemplation the customer assessed that Bao Su was indeed telling the truth, his sincerity was not faked. Nonetheless, there was still room for confusion, so he questioned again, " Don't tell me that you are a doctor.You don't look like one. How were you supposed to treat anyone in the first place?"

" Of course not. My master is the doctor and I am only his guard. While I am desperately searching for aid, he is already treating the people at our place." Bao Su immediately spoke up patiently.

The man stopped eating and pondered for a while before speaking in the end, " Since it's for a good cause, I will personally take you to Doctor He Chun. He will definitely accept your request, as long as you are respectful and speak with a sincere heart."

Bao Su smiled in relief and thanked the man profoundly. This was indeed the fastest way to quickly find a passable doctor and accomplish the goal of his mission. Bao Su carried the man on his back ,using his qing qong, while the man pointed out the directions in front of him. Due to his earnest attitude, he finally completely convinced the middle aged man of his intention.

The doctor lived in a rather secluded place, but because of Bao Su's abilities they reached in front of the 'clinic' rather quickly.

Bao Su could not help but be taken aback after witnessing the simple and desolate house in the midst of wilderness personally. The house, well not a house but a straw hut to be exact, was rather big and similar to the crude lifestyle formerly described.

Bao Su mind contained only a single thought at the moment and he wasn't able to hold back for long, so he put his assumption into words to satisfy his curiosity. "Did this man never charge you any money at all? Not even once?"

" Yes,he never charged money. Doctor He is a great person, don't you think the same?" Bao Su nodded quickly because he didn't want to disappoint the excited man in front of him. In his eyes, only his master is the greatest!

After looking at the hut before them, anyone could understand that this man must be treating free of cost. But, how on earth did this man survive all this time? He must be surviving with the help of wild fruits and some gifts of the people he treated!

While all sorts of thoughts kept running through his mind, the man already went forward and knocked on the door. After completing his task, he took a few steps back and waited patiently for the doctor to open.

After a few moments, the door was indeed opened and a young man with refined features stepped outside. His hair was tied into a tight bun and a simple jade hair pin supported it. The long and loose robes made him look like a well educated man. All-in-all , he had the appearance of an attractive scholar.

" He is He Chun, the doctor I spoke of." the man whispered in Bao Su's ears.

" Shun, what is the issue? Is anyone not feeling well?" He Chun asked while looking at Bao Su, " And who is this?"

He Chun had a warm expression on his face and his voice sounded like the breeze caressing one's heart and one could not help but feel relaxed after listening to his melodious voice.

" Brother He, who came at this hour?" Two teenagers, about 15 years old, stepped outside with curious expression on their faces. 'Quite obviously, these are the identical twins. Truly not an understatement.' Bao Su thought to himself.

" Greetings, Doctor He Chun." Bao Su bowed slightly and He Chun nodded at him in response, " Well, is there any problem that needs my attention?"

" The truth is Doctor, I came here today to request for your help on a special task." After confirming that He Chun was listening attentively Bao Su continued, " We have about a hundred sick people at our residence. Our master cannot possibly cure everyone only by himself. Therefore, if you could help us we would deeply appreciate it."

" A hundred sick people?" He Chun frowned, " Did an epidemic break out?"

" No Doctor, nothing problematic like that. The thing is, they are all slaves from the Black Dragon Auction House." Bao Su sighed, " And they are in a pretty bad condition. I am here in order to request your help on their behalf. For the sake of those innocent people, doctor are you willing to help us?"

Bao Su could not waste his time here any longer. His master must be expecting him by now. If this person also rejected them, then he would have to think about another way to effectively help his master, so he waited rather anxiously for the reply.

" Yes, I am willing to help you." He Chun's words prompted Bao Su to sigh in relief.

" And I think it's best if we leave now. We cannot leave the sick unattended for a long time." After saying his part, he turned towards the twins behind him, obviously implicating something with just his look.

They immediately understood as they rushed into the hut to get their equipment ready. After a moment, the twins returned with a rather simple box and He Chun received it from them.

"Let's get going then." The doctor seemed definitely time efficient when it was related to treating patients in need.

Bao Su calmly observed the twins who were coming along with them, doubt obviously visible on his face. He Chun noticed his changed expression and he cleared the situation, " They also know the basics of medical practices. They will be helpful. I promise they won't be in the way of treating the patients."

Bao Su felt that this was also considered good fortune for his master, to relieve her of some burden. Therefore, he did not probe any further into the matter. Instead he asked attentively, " Doctor, is it ok if I carry you? I fear we can't delay any further."

He Chun nodded , naturally very understanding of the seriousness of the situation, and Bao Su cast a single glance at the twins. But, the twins beat him to a response before he could even speak, " We know qing qong. So, we will just follow you. Don't worry about us!"

Bao Su nodded and went forward to carry the doctor before leaping in the air. He instantly sped up to reunite with his master and finish his mission. The twins closely followed them closely.