Looking at Chief Steward Li not far away, Gu Han's heart instantly tightened, and he subconsciously gripped the long sword in his hand.
Strong!
Very strong!
This old man, who referred to himself as 'this one' and spoke in a feminine tone, gave him an extremely dangerous and utterly irresistible feeling!
Moving a step lightly, he instantly blocked the cave entrance behind him.
There, A Sha was still in a deep sleep.
Two days had passed since her battle with Commander Gu, but A Sha was unusually still sleeping. Gu Han thought it was due to her extreme fatigue, so he simply dug a cave here for her to rest well.
With the lingering aura of the small red snake, few people or Yao Beasts dared to approach here. For a short period, it was considered a safe place.
As for that fruit, it had naturally been picked and eaten by him long ago.
However, although this fruit was miraculous and helped him successfully Breakthrough to the Ning Qi Realm, it only allowed him to enter the second stage of the Meridian Opening Realm. It was far inferior to the venom of that small red snake.
After much thought, he had no clue, so he could only attribute the reason to the liquid Qi in his body and his Meridians, which were much wider than those of ordinary people.
"Boy!" Chief Steward Li grew impatient seeing Gu Han remain silent.
"This one is asking you, where did that yang fruit go?"
yang fruit? Was that the name of the fruit?
"I don't know," Gu Han naturally wouldn't admit it. "I haven't seen any yang fruit you're talking about."
"Sly boy!" Chief Steward Li raised an eyebrow. "How dare you lie to this one? If you haven't seen it, where did the aura of the yang fruit on you come from? Hurry up and confess everything to this one!"
"..."
Gu Han was speechless. Was this guy a dog? He could even smell that?
"Hand over the fruit obediently, and if this one is in a good mood, you'll naturally be rewarded. If you dare to spout nonsense again, hehe, you'll get to taste this one's methods!"
As he spoke, a chilling aura pressed down!
"You're too late." Seeing him so aggressive, Gu Han naturally understood that today's matter would not end well, so he no longer concealed it and spoke the truth. "The fruit is gone."
"What do you mean?"
"I ate it."
"What did you say?!" Chief Steward Li shrieked. "Ate it? Boy, there's a limit to arrogance! The yang fruit's Medicinal Power is overbearing; even a Gathering Yuan Realm Cultivator needs to refine it carefully. With your mere Meridian Opening Cultivation, can you withstand that violent fiery power?"
"Whether you believe it or not, I ate it!"
"Good, good, good!" Chief Steward Li sneered. "You refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit. Since you're so stubborn, don't blame this one for bullying the young and teaching you a lesson!"
With that, the chilling aura instantly intensified several times!
Gu Han was on high alert, gritting his teeth, his Cultivation instantly operating at full power, and the Da Yan Sword Qi poised to strike!
"Stop!" Suddenly, an angry shout came from afar, stopping Chief Steward Li just in time.
It was Dr. Xue.
"Chief Steward Li!" He walked closer, his expression slightly grim. "What are you doing?!"
"Old Xue, you don't know." Chief Steward Li glared fiercely at Gu Han and recounted the incident. "This boy has a very bad temper, and this one was helpless..."
Across from him, Gu Han looked at him coldly. My temper is bad? You should look at what kind of person you are!
"Enough!" Dr. Xue frowned deeply upon hearing this. "This matter was your rashness! He was here first, and this yang fruit should rightfully be his. If he doesn't want to give it, you try to forcibly take it? Improper, very improper!"
"Yes!" Chief Steward Li quickly apologized with a smile. "Old Xue's lesson is correct. This one was worried about the Seventh Prince's safety and acted a bit thoughtlessly."
However, he didn't think so in his heart. This Dr. Xue, everything about him was good, except his personality was a bit too soft, a complete pushover.
"Little friend." Dr. Xue pondered for a moment, then looked at Gu Han. "Although the yang fruit is precious, it excels in fiery power. Its Medicinal Power is not only overbearing and fierce, but its effect on improving Cultivation is not as great as imagined. Moreover... for a Cultivator of your Cultivation, this thing is just a chicken rib to you."
Excels in fiery power? Gu Han suddenly understood. No wonder the fruit's improvement for him was far lower than expected; so this was the reason.
"Little friend," Dr. Xue continued, "This yang fruit is of great use to this old man. How about you let this old man have it? Don't worry, this old man will definitely not let you suffer a loss and is willing to exchange it for cultivation materials of equal value!"
"..."
Gu Han was actually regretting it a bit. He ate it too early! If he had kept the fruit until now, the cultivation resources he would have exchanged for it would probably have pushed his Cultivation to the third, or even fourth, stage of the Meridian Opening Realm!
"Senior." Dr. Xue's attitude was amiable, not using his power to oppress others, so Gu Han naturally wouldn't speak coldly to him. "It's not that I'm unwilling, that fruit... was indeed eaten by me."
"Boy!" Chief Steward Li shrieked again. "You..."
"Enough!" Dr. Xue looked at him displeasedly and shook his head. "Since the little friend is unwilling, this old man won't force him. Chief Steward Li, let's go."
"This... Alas, alright!" Chief Steward Li was a bit unwilling and glared fiercely at Gu Han again. "Boy, don't let this one meet you again!"
Gu Han was expressionless. Threat? He naturally wasn't afraid. Although from the tone and address, he had already vaguely guessed Chief Steward Li's identity, he didn't have much feeling for the Great Qi royal family.
From childhood, Gu Tian had taught him a principle: A true man stands between heaven and earth, only respects, never fears!
"Young Master..." Just then, a soft, weak voice came from behind. It was A Sha stumbling out, still looking sleepy, as if two days and two nights of rest couldn't replenish her expended energy.
"A Sha?" Gu Han's face lit up with joy, and he quickly supported her. "You're awake? Don't move around; your foot is still injured!"
"Young Master, I'm so hungry..." She had no Cultivation to protect herself; being a mere Mortal, she naturally couldn't hold on after so long without food or water.
"Hungry? Alright, I..." Just then, Dr. Xue's voice came again. He had returned and walked in front of Gu Han.
"Senior." Gu Han's heart tightened, and he quickly shielded A Sha behind him. "That fruit was really eaten by me!"
"It's not about that." Dr. Xue smiled and took out a jade bottle from his storage ring. "I see this little girl is badly injured. This is a medicinal powder that this old man formulated in his spare time; I'll give it to the little friend."
"Thank you, Senior!" Gu Han breathed a sigh of relief and, without being pretentious, took the jade bottle. Just by looking at the exquisite jade bottle, one could tell how precious the medicinal powder inside was, far from comparable to the ordinary Medicinal Pills he had obtained from Commander Gu.
In the distance, Chief Steward Li's face was dark, wanting to erupt but not daring to. Bah! This boy got lucky! He actually ran into Dr. Xue, such a well-known pushover in the Great Qi Dynasty; he was lucky!
"Thank you, Grandpa!" A Sha peeked out from behind Gu Han and thanked him weakly.
"Good, good, good!" Hearing the word 'Grandpa,' Dr. Xue seemed to think of something and was momentarily lost in thought.
"Little girl." Recovering his thoughts, the tenderness in his eyes deepened. "You are quite well-mannered. This old man's medicinal powder wasn't given for nothing... Eh?"
Mid-sentence, his brows suddenly furrowed. "No, that's not right!"
"Senior, what's wrong?" Gu Han's heart sank.
"It seems..." Dr. Xue carefully examined A Sha for a moment, pondering. "Girl, come here, let this old man take a look."
"Ah?" A Sha looked timidly at Gu Han. "Young Master..."
"Go ahead," Gu Han smiled. "This Senior means no harm."
He naturally knew that both Dr. Xue and Chief Steward Li had unfathomable Cultivations, far surpassing his own. If they wanted to harm him, they would simply act directly; there was no need for such tricks.
Dr. Xue's large hand slowly covered A Sha's forehead. A faint milky white halo flowed continuously.
After a long while, "Alas..." Dr. Xue withdrew his hand, and his eyes showed more pity when he looked at A Sha. "Poor girl."
"Senior." Gu Han's heart tightened. "What's wrong with A Sha?"
"If this old man hasn't misjudged, this girl should be suffering from the legendary Soul Deficiency Syndrome!"
"Soul Deficiency Syndrome? What's that?"
"The Soul is the foundation of a person. Whether Cultivator or Mortal, the Soul is tightly locked within the spiritual platform, without any leakage. A person with a deficient Soul is muddled, dull, and slow-witted. In severe cases, there are even signs of idiocy..."
The more Gu Han listened, the colder his heart became. It matched! It all matched! From when he picked up A Sha ten years ago, she had always been like this, with a muddled mind.
"Ten years?" After hearing Gu Han's account, Dr. Xue's frown deepened. "According to ancient texts, those suffering from Soul Deficiency Syndrome are in a constant state of Soul Power loss and cannot live for more than three years. But this girl..."
Beside them, A Sha looked at him softly, listening as if she understood and yet didn't.
"Senior!" Gu Han listened anxiously. "This Soul Deficiency Syndrome... can you cure it?"
"This old man's skills are not refined enough..."
Gu Han's eyes dimmed. His heart instantly sank to the bottom.
"However..." Dr. Xue's next sentence reignited his hope!