Why do I have so many masters?

The young man was slightly startled, just now he was able to suppress it, but now, reminded by the old man and thinking of his parents trapped in the poison fog, his face showed urgency, yet he couldn't move. The middle-aged arrest officer was already frowning and shouting:

"Hurry up, heed the doctor's words, start from the nearby areas, and take the villagers away."

"The poison fog is too thick over here, move briskly!"

Following the arrest officer's scolding voice, these town constables crashed into the houses on the street, disregarding everything else, swung their battle sabers back to their waists, and with one hand each, they pulled out those who were too weak to walk and sprinted back, bringing them to places where the poison fog was slightly thinner.

Meanwhile, the middle-aged arrest officer had not left but stood there with his battle saber in hand.

The old man had his apprentice follow them, and he himself sat down on the ground, not caring about his appearance, watching the other middle-aged arrest officer carelessly throwing special herbs into the fire and roughly refining the medicine's potency. He gasped twice, smiled, and said:

"It's really tough on you all..."

"Why don't you leave? I can handle it alone here, elder."

The arrest officer didn't look back and said:

"Do you think the salary is easy to collect?"

"At your old age, what are you talking about? Just be a doctor and do your job well."

"You wouldn't understand even if I told you."

The old man was slightly taken aback, then burst into laughter. He had been practicing medicine in this town for decades, and no one had ever talked back to him like this before, which made him laugh heartily for a moment before he said:

"May I ask you for a favor then?"

"Speak."

"Too many people have been poisoned this time. Although the toxicity is not fatal, it is still troublesome to handle alone. Since you're fast on your feet, could you shout a few times in the street?"

"Shout what?"

"Just shout for a doctor, someone with medical knowledge to come out."

The arrest officer furrowed his brows and said, "At a time like this, everyone is looking after themselves. Who cares about your shouting? What's the use?"

The old man burst out laughing, and after a while, he finally said:

"You wouldn't understand."

"If you trust me, give it a try."

The arrest officer was slightly startled, and before he could speak, he suddenly noticed something unusual and instinctively looked up, his expression suddenly becoming very animated.

Enshrouded in poison fog, plumes of smoke rose as if they were signals of fire seen at the border of the Great Desert.

The poison fog fluctuated violently.

The arrest officer's eyes widened.

He had never been to the Great Desert Border Pass, but at this moment, he felt that the magnificence of the flames and smoke rising from the corners in this small border town amidst the poison fog was by no means inferior.

"This... this is..."

The old man's eyes narrowed, laughing heartily. He supported himself off the ground to stand, and from within the poison fog, a hoarse voice sounded, seeming to have mustered all its strength, as boisterous as a strong man bellowing in fury.

"I am Li Si from Reviving Spring Hall; are there any Medical Family students here?"

"Come out quickly!"

"Saving lives is of this moment!"

"I am Li Kong from Li Family's medicine shop, any offspring who have studied medicine, come to this place!"

"Citizens should first cover their mouths and noses with wet hemp, do not panic!"

"I am..."

Several voices rose in a chaotic and weak manner, sounding bright and spirited. The arrest officer opened his mouth and said, "This, this is..."

The old man laughed heartily, hearing the voices closing in on this place with the strongest toxicity, watching face after face, old or young, with an expression of pride and piety in their eyes, and he laughed loudly:

"Human life is of utmost importance, no matter the distance or urgency, a summons must be answered!"

"That is what it means to be a doctor!"

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

Atop the mountain.

Zhao Guang stood with his hands behind his back, coldly watching the town below. He could clearly see the smoke from the medicinal fires, but even if the range of his poison fog was extensive and the potency of the medicine greatly reduced, it was not something that the rural doctors of this small place could counteract.

With them, as dull as logs, also qualified to practice medicine?

The poison fog had thickened by then.

He could almost see the agonizing faces of Meng Yushu's descendants.

Just thinking about it made him almost want to shout out loud, feeling exhilarated and nearly forgetting the dangers behind this matter.

Faint traces of blood were emerging in his eyes.

Mei Feng looked at the old man in front of him, his brows slightly furrowed.

Since Zhao Guang had applied the poison, three quarters of an hour had passed. According to the response speed of the Great Qin, Xi Dingzhou City must have already received the news by then, and the martial artists mobilized might have already left the State City.

Only it was uncertain how much longer it would take for them to arrive.
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If by then he reacted too slowly, missing the prime opportunity, he might very likely be considered Zhao Guang's accomplice by the Qin wind patrol officers, at which point it would truly be a case of 'stealing chickens without succeeding in erasing traces of the milling, reaping just what he had sown.'

Just at that moment, a strange sound suddenly reached his ears.

Zhao Guang and Mei Feng's expressions changed slightly at the same time, both casting their gazes towards the direction from which the sound came. One was staring intently at a peculiar flower that had been set down, while the other instinctively gripped the weapon in his hand, with the peripheral vision of his gaze falling upon the back of the former.

The sound drew nearer.

Continuous and gradually clear, it was the sound of galloping horse hooves. Mei Feng's brows tightened slightly, uncertain in his heart whether it was the city's overconfident martial artists coming, or a Middle Third Rank expert from within Xi Dingzhou.

Zhao Guang, however, was unconcerned about the sound, his eyes only fixedly staring at a frail white flower on the hillside.

By the time the figure had already appeared, and the flower showed no abnormalities, the huge stone hanging in his heart finally fell.

This flower, a rare species he had stumbled upon, usually shrinks like a stone and when placed into the soil, blooms within a quarter of an hour, extremely sensitive to the True Qi cultivated out by martial artists.

If a Middle Third Rank expert approached within three steps of it, the flower would not be able to withstand the True Qi inadvertently emanating from the martial artist, causing its petals to shrink and tremble incessantly.