How come I was the one being targeted?

Hearing this, Bai Jun's expression changed slightly. He lowered his head and sniffed his clothes. The smell that was not clear before gradually became clear, and his expression gradually became solemn.

The name "Huanhun Zhengqi Powder" may be unfamiliar to most people in the Xianzhou. Even if they know it, they will definitely not talk about it in detail, because behind its name is the nightmare that equally occupies the heart of every immortal in the Xianzhou - the devil's Yin body.

Granted the power of the Plague-Born Ancestor, the Immortal Boat people receive the endless lifespan any creature could desire. However, this gift is also a curse, engulfed in the demonic abyss, beyond cure. Once trapped in the demonic abyss, their flesh and blood mutate to the point where they can no longer maintain a stable human form. Their emotions fluctuate between joy, sorrow, resentment, and anger, and all their treasures, including wealth, family, faith, and honor, vanish into thin air.

Perhaps at this level, the so-called immortals in the immortal boat are no different from the poor short-lived species. No, the demonic body is far more terrifying than death. If the death of life means the end, then the demonic body will bring eternal and endless pain and torture.

Moreover, this process is the inevitable destination of every immortal in the Immortal Boat. The reason why most people in the Immortal Boat are unfamiliar with the name of Huanhun Zhengqi San is related to the strict control of drugs.

Currently, there are only two types of mainstream medicines in the Xianzhou Alliance for treating the demonic body, namely Jiezhan Jiuku Powder and Huanhun Zhengqi Powder. The former is mainly used to temporarily slow down the progress of the demonic body during the early symptoms of the demonic body, while the latter is more effective and is mostly used when the demonic body is about to break out in the final stage to temporarily preserve consciousness so that one can see his family for the last time.

The Xianzhou Law strictly prohibits private preparation of these two types of prescriptions. At the same time, the Ten Kings Division also lists the act of privately preparing prescriptions as one of the "Ten Unforgivable Evils."

When needed, you must apply to a local officially certified medical practitioner for use, and must take it according to instructions under the supervision and control of the medical practitioner. Afterwards, there will be a special patrol responsible for cleaning up the residue and medicine paper.

Therefore, most people in Xianzhou only know that it can be used to treat the evil spirit body, but they have no idea what these two medicines are called.

And now, there are people in the private sector who dare to carry banned drugs in the streets. It can be seen how bad their behavior is. And for some reason, Bai Jun always has a vague feeling that something is not right.

"Abai, what should we do?" Bai Lu looked a little nervous, and her little hand held Bai Jun's fingers helplessly.

Bai Jun rubbed his lips with his thumb, and after a moment of careful thought, he said, "I'll catch up and see. Lord Bai Lu, just go to the nearby Cloud Cavalry to explain the situation, and then go home with Shan He. The rest will be left to us adults."

"But, but!"

Bai Jun could sense her nervousness and worry, so he took her hand in his, squatted down, and held her in his arms. He gently comforted the trembling little body in his arms, saying, "It's okay, Lady Bai Lu, just head north of Jinren Lane. Don't worry, I'm actually very strong, okay?"

After saying that, he smiled and rubbed Bai Lu's little head, looking like a naughty child. Then he stood up and walked quickly into the alley, following the direction where the boy disappeared.

He continued to move forward, gradually moving away from the main road of Jinren Lane.

After turning a few corners following the lingering scent of the Huanhun Zhengqi Powder, the alley began to feel faintly dirty, with a slight stench wafting out. It was the smell of kitchen waste. Bai Jun stopped and looked around thoughtfully.

The clue is broken...

Sure enough, the boy was not running away randomly, but was intentionally using the smell here to get rid of the trackers.

However, the fact that he was so familiar with the street structure of Jinren Lane at that age and could even lead him around in these intricate streets gave Bai Jun a good reminder - he was probably a local living in Jinren Lane. No, it can even be said that many local children probably didn't know the streets here as well as he did, so it was very likely that the area he lived in was near this location.

After narrowing down the specific scope to this area, Bai Jun's thoughts gradually became clearer. Suddenly, an idea flashed in his mind, and he thought of a guy who was well-informed. If he wanted to inquire about things happening nearby, it would be best to find him.

With this thought, Bai Jun turned and walked into a more secluded back alley. The narrow lane was lined with tall, uninhabited buildings, blocking the light and making it difficult to move forward. But this was no problem for Bai Jun. He moved forward silently, as if blending into the darkness, and quickly turned and headed in another direction.

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

Third Brother Huo looked up at the sky slightly. It was almost time to get off work, so he packed up his backpack, stuffed all the goods he was selling into it, zipped it up, and tied it with a rope to avoid leaving any goods behind when escaping.

"It's time to go back. I'm so tired. The clothes I'm wearing today are really tight."

He took off his huge hood and mask, yawned deeply facing the sunset, and pulled at his collar, which was rough and lacked elasticity. This kind of rough clothing was not suitable for casual wear, but was indispensable in daily work.

Because its only function is to prevent him from being stabbed by some unruly people who call him a profiteer. Although his working location is not fixed every day, to be on the safe side, this piece of clothing is a necessity that he must have no matter how uncomfortable or hot it is to wear.

As for his work, it is nothing more than selling rare objects, secret information, or some ancestral recipes. His work location and working hours are not fixed. He can be said to be a mysterious businessman wandering in Jinren Lane.

Some people call him timely rain, some call him a profiteer, and some irrational people even throw eggs at him. To Brother Huo San, these things don't matter at all. As long as he can make money, nothing else is within his consideration.

Rumor has it that Third Brother Huo of Jinren Lane has some rather risky ways of getting his wares. No one knows if the rumors are true, but he certainly has a lot of good stuff he can't buy anywhere else.

Just like now, he took out a few strange branches carved into gold from his pocket, and the smile on his lips seemed to make him feel in a good mood.

"Hmm~ The branches growing from the Demon Yin are sold for 20 credits each. I sold three today, making a net profit of 60 credits after deducting the cost."

Fortunately, the area around us is secluded and out of reach of ordinary people. If someone really heard it, they would be shocked. Can this really be used as medicine? Is it really suitable? This evil black marketeer actually did such a cruel thing! Report this profiteer to the police and have him arrested and sentenced to death!

But Third Brother Huo naturally had his own methods and wasn't afraid of such things at all. If you really wanted to argue with him based on the laws and moral standards of Xianzhou, I'm afraid even the Dihengsi wouldn't be able to match him.

There are always loopholes in legal regulations, and there are always fish that slip through the net of moral norms. He makes money from this. Do you really think he would risk his head to pluck the branches from the demon? What a dream! This is the branch he picked up from Yongshuyuan. The reason it looks like this is because he deliberately dipped it in rouge. By the time those barbarians seeking immortality reacted, he had already disappeared.

As for whether he was worried that they would be desperate enough to report him to the police, there was no need to worry about that. No, even if they were desperate enough to report him to the police, the crime that Third Brother Huo would be arrested for was nothing more than inflating the price. He would be fined 5000 credit points and at most be put in jail for a few days.

However, the situation was not so simple for the group of barbarians who tried to buy the branches of the Demonic Yin Body. Either "causing the destruction of immortality" or "coveting immortality" were serious crimes. It could be said that the lightest punishment was to arrest and imprison them for hundreds of years. Therefore, even if the group of barbarians had ten thousand courages, they would not dare to reveal such things and could only swallow this loss in silence.

As for whether he would feel bad about making such unscrupulous money, it was not within his consideration at all.

"This is considered as spending money to avoid disaster. There is no point in feeling sorry for the money. It is not a bad thing that they have given up the idea of ​​seeking immortality?" Brother Huo sneered to himself, which made people feel scared.

"What is immortality?"

A cold voice came from the side. Brother Huo was startled and immediately put the branch into his pocket. At the same time, his thigh muscles were tensed, ready to abandon the bag and run away at any time. It can be seen that he has experienced this kind of thing many times.

But when he saw the face of the person coming, his tense nerves relaxed instantly.

"Oh my, it's Mr. Bai Jun! I was so scared."

Third Brother Huo clutched his chest, his face pale with fear. He looked terrified, causing Bai Jun across from him to show a rather disgusted expression: "If you haven't done anything wrong, how could you be so shameful?"

Third Brother Huo chuckled and spoke frankly, "How could that be? Look at what you said. I could lie to anyone else, but I wouldn't lie to you. After all, no one in Luofu would give me pig's trotter rice except you."

"Then you should stop worrying about it. I'm short on money this month, so you can save me a few bowls of pork trotter rice." Bai Jun was too lazy to chat with this frequent visitor to the Diheng Division's detention room. He said seriously, "I want to find out something about Jinren Lane."

Bai Jun's expression didn't seem joking, and Third Brother Huo gradually became serious. After all, this person was one of the few people he admired and was grateful to, so he naturally had to show his attitude. "Go ahead, I'm not a know-it-all, but as long as I have information, I will definitely not be stingy with you."

"Is there any boy around here who's about my chest height?" Bai Jun used his hand to indicate his approximate height, then added, "He's very thin and looks like he's stunted."

Even the well-informed Third Brother Huo gasped and scratched his head, feeling deeply troubled. "This range may be a little... too broad. Do you remember any other notable features?"

"Other characteristics..." Bai Jun rubbed the corner of his lips, thought for a moment, and recalled: "His hair color is a rare dark blue. It looks like it has not been taken care of for a long time. It looks messy like seaweed."

After triggering the seaweed keyword, Third Brother Huo slapped his forehead and suddenly remembered something: "Oh, then I know, it must be the kid from the Qiu family. He's the only one around here with blue hair, and he's sloppy and aloof."

Bai Jun's eyes lit up and he moved closer.

Third Brother Huo could read Bai Jun's eyes, which probably meant "Stop talking nonsense and speak!" So he didn't keep the conversation a secret and said what he wanted to say:

"That kid's name is Qiu Zhou. His father, Qiu Kui, was a Cloud Rider back in the day and seemed to have participated in quite a few battles. Qiu Zhou and his parents are the only ones left at home. His grandfather was a complete gambler, and Qiu Zhou relied entirely on his mother for support. However, his grandfather fell into the evil spirit at an early age, and his mother was seduced by some barbaric people from somewhere, leaving Qiu Zhou alone and eloping. Qiu Zhou was the only one left at home. Fortunately, he had the help of his neighbors, otherwise he probably wouldn't have lived to see his father return from retirement."

"What will happen after his father comes back?" Bai Jun frowned and said in a deep voice.

"Ah, or maybe it's just that Qiu Zhou is a pitiful fellow. His father was seriously injured on the battlefield, and upon returning home he suffered such a blow. He became so angry that he became hysterical and couldn't even take on the easy jobs assigned to him by the army. Now he and his father can only rely on the monthly rations to get by. I don't know any more details."

Humans are not plants or trees, so who can be heartless? Even Brother Huo San couldn't help but sigh and shake his head at such a tragedy.

"That should be him." Bai Jun murmured and nodded, then suddenly asked, "Where does he live?"

"Uh, it seems to be... the street that turns left at the end of that alley?" Brother Huo stretched his neck and walked around in a circle, pointing to an alley to the south with a less-than-confident tone. To be honest, he was not sure, so he changed the subject:

"Did that guy steal your wallet? But don't worry, let me treat you to a nice meal tonight, and I'll get it back for you tomorrow—"

The voice stopped abruptly. In the blink of an eye, Huo Sange turned around and Bai Jun disappeared. He disappeared like a breeze. He couldn't help but sigh and smack his lips: "Mr. Bai Jun is really not simple..."

"Well, since everyone's gone, there's nothing we can do about it. Let's save this meal for next time! Anyway, let's go to the Industrial Manufacturing Company tomorrow to do some business. It just so happens that we have nowhere to dispose of the pirate equipment we salvaged from outer space last time."

Third Brother Huo packed his backpack and left muttering to himself.

Chapter 21: The Demonic Yin

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

As he hurried through the crisscrossing alleys, Qiu Zhou's heart was beating so fast that it seemed like it was about to jump out of his chest.

He wrapped his clothes tightly, and the straw paper wrapped around the medicine in his arms became slightly warm. He didn't know how long he had been running before he stopped panting. The hot breath coming out of his nose met the cool air in the evening alley, and light white mist rose up.

"Hiss...it hurts." Qiu Zhou leaned against the wall, holding his chest and gasping for air.

The handsome face of the young man he had just bumped into was still vivid in his mind. To be honest, he was one of the most handsome people Qiu Zhou had ever seen.

Although he looked tall and skinny, the collision felt like a giant piece of steel, and even now his chest and buttocks were in terrible pain.

Fortunately, the man had been left behind, and Qiu Zhou was able to relax and continue to drag his tired body into the narrow alley.

As long as the planter didn't lie and gave Dad this medicine, his illness would definitely be cured.

"Dad, wait a minute, I'll be home soon."

Holding the medicine tightly in his arms, Qiu Zhou quickened his pace as he walked quietly in the darkness.

Soon, a heavy iron door appeared fifteen meters away, and a little light from the room leaked through the gap in the door.

He walked forward, fumbled for a key from his bosom, and slowly pushed the iron door open amidst the creaking sound. After confirming that no one was following him, he squeezed out all his strength, slowly closed the heavy iron door with a bang, and finally fastened the hinges before stopping.

Blood-stained bandages and cotton balls were randomly discarded in the courtyard. The air was filled with a faint pungent smell of herbs mixed with blood, and the shattered windows on the ground were shocking.

Qiu Zhou had no time to care about these things now. He walked quickly into the house, his eyes quickly searching for his father's figure.

The bloody smell inside the room was even stronger, mixed with a strange medicinal aroma that made people nauseous. The floor and ceiling were covered with sticky bloodstains, and carelessly discarded bandages and brown-yellow grease dried and stuck to the floor. White teeth were scattered on the ground, and there were clumps of black hair everywhere.

The corners are filled with wriggling flesh tentacles, countless teeth, limbs, hair, fat... growing and falling off madly, making it impossible to imagine that all this flesh and blood came from a human body.

“Hu…ho…”

"Dad!" Qiu Zhou immediately looked towards the source of the voice and found his father lying under the sofa.

But when he bent down and saw that face, Qiu Zhou was so frightened that his face suddenly changed color, his pupils dilated instantly, and his body staggered backwards.

He retreated to the wall again and again, his back against the cold wall, cold sweat quietly sliding down his forehead, his hands swinging unconsciously, trying to find an escape route, but because the movement was too big, he accidentally knocked over the mirror hanging on the wall.

A shattering sound completely attracted the attention of the father who was lying under the sofa. His terrifying and hideous face was reflected in the broken mirror.

Half of his face looked like the flesh of a hemorrhoid that had been cut off, with branches growing out densely and turning outward. The thick blood vessels in his throat were exposed through the broken branches, and the openings of the blood vessels and the inside of them rose and fell and contracted with his breathing, making a sticky and heavy breathing sound, as if he was swallowing a lot of thick phlegm.

How can this person look like my family? It's clearly... clearly an evil creature!

At that moment, Qiu Zhou even thought about escaping and looking for the Yunqi Army, but when he saw that familiar pair of light yellow eyes and thought that this was his biological father, his only family, Qiu Zhou clenched his teeth and forced himself to calm down.

"Dad, Dad...Take, take medicine..."

Perhaps because of fear, Qiu Zhou suddenly felt an unbearable headache, his stomach sinking, and a chill creeping up his spine. Trembling, he pulled out the powder from his arms and poured it into his hands as he had done in the past, holding his breath as he walked towards his father.

Surprisingly, the father lying on the ground had no intention of moving. His indifferent pale yellow pupils watched Qiu Zhou approaching quietly, as if he was a well-behaved pet waiting to be fed. No, it was too scary to be a pet.

Just as Qiu Zhou handed the medicine to his mouth, thinking that it would be over soon, the pretended calmness was completely torn apart. His pale yellow pupils were stained with bloodthirsty madness, and he opened his bloody mouth and bit off Qiu Zhou's outstretched left hand along with the bones like a beast.

"Ahhhh!!!"

Qiu Zhou howled miserably and fell to the ground holding his broken arm. The pain and fear from the broken arm continued to invade his mind, almost making him faint.

"Roar--!"

The monster that bit off the arm chewed the flesh and blood in its mouth and swallowed the broken bones into its stomach, roaring excitedly. Its hands were so strong that they dug deep claw marks on the floor. The hardwood board crackled and broke into pieces, leaving a deep pit.

The only hands that retained their human form were bent and twisted by the reaction force during this process. First the nails, then the fingers, and finally the flesh and bones under the skin were exposed.

However, in just a moment, the tragic hands recovered as before, and became even tougher as branches grew wildly.

Qiu Zhou watched everything in despair and horror. Seeing the monster standing up and slowly walking towards him, he couldn't even muster any desire to survive. He just wanted it to be over quickly.

But under the great fear, his body still trembled uncontrollably and tears fell.

boom--!

The rotten and old wooden door shattered instantly under the impact of huge force. The flying wood chips, at an extremely fast speed, were like bullets and deeply engraved into the wall, embedding into the body of the evil creature.

Amidst a sharp and painful roar, Bai Jun stepped through the broken wooden door and slowly walked into the house.

"He's not your father anymore."

The calm voice reached the ears of the boy who was trembling with fear.

The voice was like a clear and quiet stream, which was completely inconsistent with the hideous and ferocious father opposite. Judging from the appearance, he had no chance of winning against his father, whether it was muscles, bones, weight, or the violent aura he exuded.

However, the thin body in front of him, which seemed to be about to be torn into pieces, exuded a certain aura, making people feel extremely at ease.

Bai Jun glanced at the miserable situation in the room, frowned slightly, patted the dust off his clothes, and said in the same calm tone as before, as if he was shooing away flies: "Go away, stay in the corner."

Qiu Zhou held his broken arm and stared at Bai Jun in a daze. Excessive blood loss made his already malnourished face even paler. Even after hearing what Bai Jun said, he had no idea what to do.

Bai Jun sighed softly upon seeing this, holding his unsheathed long sword at an angle, his gaze calmly turning towards the fat-drenched creature before him: "This is a city of fat. This kind of demonic Yin body is truly rare."

As if taking this as a signal, a streak of blood appeared on the body of the evil creature at some point, gathering at the bottom and turning into blood beads that rolled down. Along with the blood beads, a thick arm wrapped in flesh, blood and golden branches also fell down.

"Ow—"

In an instant, the house was filled with the creature's painful howls. It couldn't even see the trajectory of the knife, nor when the other party drew the knife. When it reacted, it immediately opened its bloody mouth, roared, and swung at Bai Jun with its only remaining arm.

Bai Jun casually held up the long knife and took just one step forward, and his figure completely disappeared from the eyes of the evil creature.

A streak of flame seemed to flash across the dark room, dazzling but not blinding.

The next moment, the monster's head slipped from its neck. Not a drop of blood flowed out of the smooth cut. At the same time, the broken part that should have recovered quickly made a sizzling sound. The charred flesh and blood lost its vitality and finally twitched a few times before becoming motionless.

In Qiu Zhou's sight, Bai Jun just passed by his father gracefully and calmly, drew his sword as gently as picking up butterfly wings, and the blade passed across his neck like a stream of fire, and then he put the sword away as if nothing had happened. His smooth movements seemed to have been repeated thousands of times and were deeply imprinted in his instincts, and then his father's head fell off.

After Bai Jun finished all this, he hung his sword back on his waist as casually as eating and drinking water, and turned to look at the young man behind him.

His eyes were filled with disbelief and a variety of complex emotions. Compared to the first time we met in the street, there was only deeper fear, but no gratitude at all.