Chapter 34 The Hidden Danger of Qingshan Village (Seek Yue tickets, seek rewards, seek follow-up reads!)

Martial Artist Epidemic!

Wang Sheng was now extremely sensitive to this term.

He had not expected to hear this news from another martial artist's mouth.

He exchanged glances with Old Ji, then said, "Elaborate!"

Xu Qu had not noticed anything unusual about the two men and continued, "I actually stumbled upon this by chance. Not long ago, I discovered someone dumping something into a section of the Yellow Dragon River. Upon eavesdropping, I found out they were poisoning the water. Those people weren't very strong, so I tracked and investigated a bit and finally confirmed they were King Yong Nian's men.

They've set up who knows how many poisoning points in the Yellow Dragon River basin in Shuzhou, pouring in toxins day and night, polluting the entire section of the Yellow Dragon River within Shuzhou territory..."

"That's impossible!" Xu Qu hadn't finished speaking when Old Ji interrupted him, "If you said they were putting poison in well water, I might believe you, but do you know how large the Yellow Dragon River is, how rapid its flow? To contaminate the entire Yellow Dragon River..."

Old Ji's voice trailed off, losing confidence.

He thought of the situation in Qingshan Village. Zheng Ankang had died from the Martial Artist Epidemic, and it was likely that everyone in Qingshan Village had been affected.

Could it be that there were martial artists who would use methods against fellow martial artists on ordinary people?

That was simply not worth it.

So it must be collateral damage.

And the greatest possibility of infecting the whole village was through the water source.

In Shuzhou, the largest water source is the Yellow Dragon River and its tributaries.

He knew that River King Zhou Yuanqing's main forces were all stationed at various ports along the Yellow Dragon River, and all water, whether for use or drinking, came from the Yellow Dragon River.

King Yong Nian was now confronting River King... But was it really necessary to go to such lengths? The River King was no match for King Yong Nian!

Xu Qu guessed something from Old Ji's reaction and realized that the two men in front of him knew about this matter.

"Whether it's possible or not isn't important, but my investigations have shown that the majority of villages, towns, and cities that use water from the Yellow Dragon River have been affected, which is enough to prove something."

"You've even investigated all this?"

Wang Sheng also interrupted him, meddling in others' business was always the root cause of trouble.

Xu Qu looked a bit embarrassed and said, "Well, it's because I coincidentally became a martial artist from being an ordinary person, so I have a bit of a stronger sense of justice..."

"So strong that you nearly got yourself killed?"

Without the strength or backing of a Great Grandmaster, getting involved was asking for death.

"..."

Xu Qu could not refute; it was the truth.

This time, he had come very close to dying.

He noticed that the thing that had saved him countless times had dimmed, and one or two more such incidents would likely see it disappear.

That left him feeling apprehensive.

The last of the hot-bloodedness in his heart was extinguished. Without sufficient strength, venturing out was courting death.

Wang Sheng, after retorting, didn't continue.

The matter of the Martial Artist Epidemic could not be kept secret. Before long, the whole world would know, and there was no need for Xu Qu to lie.

He had also timely identified the culprit responsible for the sudden illness inside him.

King Yong Nian!

The situation was as he had previously guessed; he was just unlucky collateral damage.

He had thought about revenge, of course, but a gentlemen's revenge need not be hasty - it could wait ten years.

When he became an invincible Great Grandmaster, and if King Yong Nian was still alive, then he would settle scores.

If he couldn't currently beat him, couldn't he at least outlast him?

Wang Sheng made a decision in an instant within his heart. To live longer, one must never act impulsively.

Xu Qu was a living example.

What he wanted to know, he had already found out from Xu Qu's words—

"When you're healed, just leave on your own, and don't cause trouble for the village."

Although Xu Qu claimed there was no risk, a prudent man does not stand under a collapsing wall, and he wasn't keen on spending the effort to verify it.

Letting him leave after healing was already a discretionary gesture in consideration of the information provided.

Old Ji had a different opinion, "No, we can't leave now. I can't heal the martial artist."

"..."

Xu Qu fell silent again, after all I've said, you're really not budging, huh?

You're a physician, seeing a seriously injured person lying before you, how can your heart be so cold?

"Healer's duty is like a parent's..."

"I don't have a rebellious son like you!"

Old Ji had lived most of his life and never had anyone been able to stand on the high ground of morality to lecture him.

"If you were my son, daring to cause such trouble, I'd break your legs!"

Xu Qu had no choice but to come up with another idea.

"I can offer you compensation, like martial artist skills, for instance!"

Wang Sheng paused when he heard this, as if he remembered something, and said, "Right, we took a risk to save you. We can't go unrewarded. The debt of a life saved is greater than heaven, so it shouldn't be a problem to compensate with martial artist skills, should it?"

Although those skills didn't mean much to him, they were extremely valuable treasures for the people in the village, a chance to score some benefits.

Xu Qu's eyes lit up, indeed, only a martial artist would be interested in martial artist skills. "Does that mean I can stay?"

Wang Sheng gave him a strange look.

"Who said that? The martial artist skills are just compensation for us saving you."

Though odd that this man was insistent on staying, it was still important to clarify the situation.

"..."

Geez, just because I casually said a few words, now I have to give away a book of martial artist skills?

Wang Sheng didn't care about his thoughts but turned to Old Ji and said, "Well, since we've already saved him, let him recover from his injuries before leaving, and in the meantime, we can record the skills."

Old Ji nodded in agreement. The skills, on terms like that, he could stay.

Wang Sheng, having received the response, turned back to Xu Qu.

"Although I don't know why you're so determined to stay, you must leave once your injuries are healed."

The moment they saved him, Qingshan Village became entangled with Xu Qu.

There was no need to deliberately disassociate, just treat him as a normal injured person. That would seem more normal, even if someone came looking for him.

Of course, this was under the premise that Xu Qu would leave once his injuries improved a bit. Otherwise, if his pursuers did show up at their doorstep, would King Yong Nian's people care about being reasonable with commoners?

A man who doesn't even abide by military discipline, Wang Sheng did not believe they would consider the lives of ordinary people.

Having said that, he walked outside to the courtyard, ready to start his daily practice.

He would need to be here until Xu Qu recovered.

Old Ji was also aware of this and said nothing, preparing a clean room for Wang Sheng.

Wang Sheng began his daily cultivation at Old Ji's home.

Ba Duan Jin was powerful in that it had a progression that others couldn't simply learn, so there was nothing to hide.

He had no reservations practicing it.

Old Ji carried on with his own things.

Xu Qu lying in the room, however, wondered how he could manage to stay.

He didn't even know why he felt the need to stay in this insignificant little mountain village.

It was purely an instinct!

Before this, it was this instinct that had brought him great opportunities, making him a Third Grade Martial Artist.

This time, he chose to trust that instinct again, but currently, there seemed to be no chance of staying.

Both the physician and the young man were unmoved by persuasion. If he didn't come up with a plan, he'd have to leave as soon as his injuries healed.

After pondering for three days, he suddenly came up with an excellent reason.

"What? You want to let that man stay for a while?" Wang Sheng looked at Old Ji and frowned, not a good decision at all. "And the reason?"

Old Ji sighed, he actually didn't want to, but what Xu Qu knew was indeed something urgently needed by Qingshan Village.

"He could solve the hidden danger of the martial artist plague among the villagers of Qingshan Village..."

Just for that alone, Xu Qu had to stay!