The deflated cultivator refused to give up and vowed to turn the tables.

Su Zinong touched the right pocket of his clothes. Fortunately, this was where he kept the medicine box, and it was still there. Thank goodness.

Su Zinong didn't chase after it, because the box on the left contained a luminous pearl. Although it was worth thousands of taels of silver, he figured it was an apology for the time he and Huang Chenghe had tricked someone into falling into a mud pit.

Then Su Zinong thought again, "Wait a minute, what a coincidence! To run into him on this narrow street, in a sparsely populated shop, is too much of a coincidence. Maybe he was waiting here on purpose. Then perhaps he didn't actually want the luminous pearl. Judging from the young man's appearance, he seemed wealthy; he wouldn't be here for a luminous pearl or silver. Could it be that he knows I have a precious medicine and is trying to steal it?"

Su Zinong couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat. If he had been hit on the right side, the small medicine box might have been lost. In that case, one pill might not have been enough to cure Huang Chenghai, which would have delayed things.

Su Zinong quickly took out the medicine box from his right pocket and checked it. Hmm, the precious medicine was still inside, and he was slightly relieved.

In the evening, Su Zinong checked into a roadside inn in a small town and ordered a pound of beef, a large bowl of wolfberry soup, and a bowl of white rice.

Just as the dishes were served, a man in white sat down across from us and said, "Brother, would you mind if I set up a table for you?"

Upon hearing the familiar voice, Su Zinong looked up and saw that the handsome young man had returned. A barely perceptible smile appeared on Su Zinong's lips.

“Please, have a seat. You are a handsome and talented young man, and I’m sure you are a man of refined tastes. It’s better to meet by chance than to invite someone. Please join me for a meal!” Su Zinong said generously.

“Thank you for your generosity, young master,” the young master said.

Su Zinong ordered a few more dishes and a plate of peanuts from the waiter, and also ordered two small pots of wine, pouring a cup for the handsome young man.

"My surname is Mo. May I ask your name, sir?" the handsome young man asked.

"Why bother with past acquaintances when we meet? Let's drink!" Su Zinong raised his cup.

"What a wonderful encounter! Why must we have known each other before? Let us raise a toast to life's joy!" exclaimed the handsome young man surnamed Mo.

"I see that you are a cultivator, young master. May I ask which sect or family you belong to?" Su Zinong poured Young Master Mo another cup of wine.

"I wouldn't call myself a noble family, because although some of my family members cultivate, there aren't many, and their cultivation levels aren't high. You could call me a rogue cultivator, since I do have a master. But right now, my master doesn't belong to any sect, so let's just consider me a rogue cultivator." Young Master Mo picked up a piece of beef and put it in his mouth.

"Oh, what a coincidence! I am a true rogue cultivator." Su Zinong laughed heartily.

He noticed that Young Master Mo tugged at his clothes, as if he was a little afraid of getting cold, so he poured him a small bowl of goji berry soup. "There's pepper in the soup, it'll warm you up."

"Thank you. Young Master is truly observant and considerate." Young Master Mo drank a bowl of pepper and goji berry soup, and indeed felt a bit warmer.

"Not at all, I've been traveling the world since I was a child and have always taken care of myself, so I'm quite familiar with the trivialities of life." Su Zinong didn't feel cold at all. Even though he had the cold poison in his body and there was a slight breeze, he still didn't feel anything and couldn't figure out why.

Logically speaking, the red spirit stone shouldn't have such a great function, and it was only used once in the ice storage; he didn't use it at other times.

The two talked back and forth for half an hour, and before they knew it, they had finished two jugs of wine. Su Zinong had drunk quite a bit and was a little drunk, so he slumped onto the table.

Young Master Mo couldn't bear it and said with concern, "Don't sleep lying down outside, you'll catch a cold. Let me help you to the guest room to rest." After saying that, he got up, walked around to Su Zinong's right side, helped Su Zinong up, and the two stumbled to the guest room.

Su Zinong lay down on the bed and fell fast asleep. Young Master Mo closed the door and left.

Then they heard the sound of horses' hooves outside the inn gradually fading away.

Su Zinong sat up abruptly, and when he reached into his right pocket, the medicine box was indeed gone!

He strode out of the inn and used all his speed to chase after the sound of horses' hooves.

Those at the late fourth-star level ran as fast as galloping horses, their clothes fluttering in the cool breeze. After running for more than an hour, the sound of hooves stopped ahead.

Su Zinong quietly approached. Young Master Mo had already dismounted and walked to the front of a large manor, looking around before lightly leaping up and quietly placing the box behind the signboard. The signboard bore four large blue characters: "Qinghe Manor".

After putting down the medicine box, Young Master Mo did not leave. Instead, he whipped the horse's rump, and the horse ran away in pain. He then hid in a corner to observe secretly.

Su Zinong found it strange. He hid in the shadows on the other side, watching Young Master Mo while also looking at the plaque above the gate of Qinghe Manor.

But as dawn broke, no one came to claim the medicine box on the signboard. Young Master Mo slowly walked out, took the medicine box down, and went to the left, looking listless.

After walking about a mile, Young Master Mo suddenly collapsed to the ground.

Su Zinong was puzzled and quickly walked forward.

Young Master Mo was already unconscious, and when I reached out to touch him, his whole body was ice cold.

Su Zinong was startled and quickly helped Young Master Mo up, leading him into a small inn on the street.

Young Master Mo's pulse was slow and weak, his whole body was cold, and his lips were purple. His pulse and symptoms were very similar to Huang Chenghai's, only milder.

Su Zinong instructed the waiter to boil a bowl of strong ginger soup. Then he took out the red spirit stone, circulated his energy to convert the spiritual energy absorbed by the red spirit stone into true energy, and slowly poured it into Young Master Mo's palm.

Half an hour later, Young Master Mo's body slowly warmed up, and he slightly opened his eyes.

"Are you feeling better?" Su Zinong asked softly.

"You saved me, I'm so sorry," Young Master Mo said, feeling embarrassed.

"Don't speak yet, drink some ginger soup." Su Zinong picked up the ginger soup on the table and fed it to Young Master Mo.

"Thank you!" Young Master Mo was moved to tears.

"How did you get poisoned like this?" Su Zinong asked in surprise.

"This is a small amount of soft stone powder, colorless and odorless. It's easy to get poisoned if you're not careful. The person who poisoned me didn't want me to die immediately, so they reduced the amount of the formula to force me to do something, ordering me to steal your medicine box," Young Master Mo revealed everything.

"Who is it?" Su Zinong asked curiously.

"I don't know either. The person was masked and had a strange voice. He only told me to leave it at the entrance of Qinghe Manor after I got it, but no one came to pick it up at the agreed time," Young Master Mo said truthfully.

"It's possible they're trying to frame Qinghe Manor," Su Zinong said after thinking it over.

Young Master Mo nodded, then asked, "How do you know fire magic? If I hadn't met you, I probably would have frozen to death or turned into a stone statue."

Su Zinong simply smiled and did not deny that he knew fire magic.

After drinking the ginger soup, Young Master Mo felt a little better and was able to sit up on his own.

He said, "My cold poison flares up every ten days or so. I've seen many doctors, but none of them know what it is or how to cure it."

“I happen to know a little about medicine,” Su Zinong said. “There should be a way to treat this.”

"You must have a way to cure me, please help me!" Young Master Mo pleaded.

"You should rest first, we can talk about other things later." Su Zinong did not give a clear answer.

By the next morning, Young Master Mo had actually returned to normal.

"I'm relieved that you're alright." Su Zinong smiled, then waved goodbye and walked out.

"Hey, where are you going?" Young Master Mo ran after him.

“I have urgent business to attend to. Since you have already returned the medicine box and the pearl to me, you don’t owe me anything anymore. You don’t need to follow me.” Su Zinong waved his hand.

Young Master Mo's eyes darted around as he said, "No, I might die one day from a relapse of my cold poison. From now on, I'm going to stay by your side every step of the way..."